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BLI in Trouble?
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<p>Well, I used a little bit of credit to make the engine purchase happen. The actual funds is ready to go in the account and will be transferred to pay off the credit bill without one penny of interest paid. That makes me what Credit Card Companies like to call "Deadbeats" Customers who use credit and pay off in full before the grace runs out and interest gets charged. But Credit Cards are useful in a Internet Situation where you need to make the sale happen very quickly or someone else will get the goods before you do.</p><p>I hear Congress is fixing to run a bill to enforce credit card holders to have a fee imposed. In this case of the T1 purchase it was availible and shipped very quickly. Where did the engine or other 4 copies come from? Returns?, Warranty problems? Other types of returns? Who knows?</p><p>The recent experience with Broadway on this particular purchase hardly indicates a company teetering on the bankruptcy. I recall 4 seperate employees were involved in my particular sale alone either by phone or email. Hardly a bankrupt company.</p><p>If China says the US Dollar is no good inside thier lands and impose thier own Money, it would make things very expensive in a hurry. That is one reason why I say: Why bother having stuff made over there and shipped here? China would like to keep spending on the 20 dollar walmart toaster to be built but rake in 100 dollars income each. That will enrich them very quickly.</p><p>To say a company is bankrupt such as Broadway is rumor.</p><p>Why?</p><p>I point to Riverossi. They had ads everywhere and everyone was in a race-horse lather all over the new 2-6-6-6. Ebay bidding went nutz on these units and ferociously defended the 350- mark and in some cases who had the most money wins. One day the sun came up and we all heard the word: Riverossi is KAPUT. Finished. That is that folks.</p><p>Would Broadway see the same fate? Who knows? I do notice that when they first started to produce HO engines and established a website, they would update the thing VERY VERY often. Suddenly engines no longer in production such as the T1 Duplex sits on the website now for months and months. No one takes the time to update.</p><p>Instead they choose to create splashy catalogs and update the front pages of websites to indicate the new Blue Line product or the latest offering by FDT or PCM. Those old engines .. oh those? Sorry not availible. We encourage you to pre-order with the knowledge that the product MAY NOT BE produced should there be not enough demand.</p><p>Obviously that means BLI is being agile enough to put the money into production of items that will make them a profit. I think it is outstanding and applaud them for it. But the CUSTOMER.... he aint going to be happy. he is not agile. he is not full of money. He or she might have a credit card debt (Sure! You can buy groceries with that credit card... dont worry about that paycheck that got spent last week) or a mortage. </p><p>Does this mean the company is quietly donning life vests and getting off the titanic on a lifeboat? Who knows?</p><p>I fear that going with BLI Blueline, PCM Loksound and upcoming engines in BRASS no less.... I think Broadway is on it's way to bankrupcy very quickly. Do they want to sink the plastic business and get all into brass? Possibly. In fact, I think they might actually become the next OMI, Overland or Pacific Importers of Brass before we know it everything will cost 5000 dollars have Smithsonian Class Features and only go to the truely rich who has the funds to drop literally upon demand. Leave us working stiffs off the departing train of pre-orders.</p><p>IF all the HO scale manufactors followed BLI's lead and started to produce everything that modelers could want complete with very high quality dual mode decoders, sound and decent detailing as well as performing good on 3% grades with nice rolling stock to match... BLI might find themselves with nothing to do. Except go into Brass.</p><p>I think that after this years crop of engines in plastic are finished and shipped out I bet we are going to see them continue into Brass and continue into specialty rolling stock sets that no one else is producing at the moment. They are probably going to be on a collision course with Rapido before too long.</p><p>I am seeing incredible numbers of product being moved to meet the surge in customer demand. Yes there were 5 BLI Duplex T1's sold this week, but keep in mind that last summer there must have been dozens gathering dust.</p><p>Look at the PCM Y6b's They blew out at 400 dollars apeice. They retail at what? 750? With no need to pay taxes it is very good for the 400 dollars. Im half tempted to get a copy myself. Look at the 2-6-6-4. They are still availible. Will they continue to be availible? Who knows?</p><p>If QSI says good riddiance to BLI and shifts thier business to producing QSI engines for everyone such as IHC for a good price... BLI is going to have to show horsepower to keep up. When everyone says good riddiance to QSI's license fees I think it's QSI who will go bankrupt first. Espeically when everyone thinks that they can build thier own sound systems cheaper.</p><p>I see this entire HO Scale Engine market in a state of war. Those models with good quality sound, pulling power and other things demanded by customers will sell. The rest.. well they become test-beds for decoder/speaker installs and eventually get produced with DCC and SOund ready to go.</p><p>10 years from now we will point out the Analog power pack in a museum and tell our children that is how daddy ran trains. Then all will be DCC and Sound.</p><p>Would Broadway be bankrupt? No. I see them going totally into brass once they finish the current crop of Plastic engines. No need to deal with uncertainty among the great unwashed masses who are trying to juggle a mortage, credit debt and working 3 jobs to afford enough to get to the end of the month at 6.00 an hour. Oh no. Let's go brass. There are plenty of people willing to drop a few thousand without any trouble who wont be caught dead with a plastic engine in the roundhouse.</p><p>I do think that all of these engines being returned must be a little bit of thunder on the horizion. (Not Horizion Hobbies) suppose these 300 dollar engines arrive very quickly at the Hobby Shop and the customer decided that he or she does not want them after all? Back they go. That cannot be sustained very long without Hobby Shops taking a hard stand and maybe say: You order it: You buy it. Because maybe BLI or another company might tell the stores STOP returning product.</p><p>Last year I did about 200 dollars worth of rolling stock business. That happened in about May-July Time period. All of them were limited run, pre-orders, Deadline orders or some form of restricted orders. If you dont order, you dont get it. Late November to Early Janurary All of the product arrived to both of my stores VERY quickly. it was a challenge to cover the costs of all of those deliveries that just arrived but was not too hard considering I planned these purchases 6 months in advance.</p><p>After that, I decided that I am done with the rolling stock pre-orders. I am focusing on the occasional replacement purchase, new item purchase, supplies and structures etc. I will still visit the Hobby Shop and browse the store and perhaps drop a few dollars once a month that will never stop. But what is on the shelf is what will be considered. Not some fancy dancy limited run pre-order widget that requires a Certificate of Deposit wired to the factory before they will actually make the <span class="smiley">[censored] thing.</span></p><p><span class="smiley">That will probably make the hobby shop happy knowing that I am still a customer very much into the hobby and participating in the monthly needs of my trains stuff at the house. A box of 148 kaydees? Sure, thanks! Paint? Ok fine. That nice Boxcar or Passenger Car? Great!</span></p><p><span class="smiley">What's this? A announcement of a PRR Broadway Limited Passenger set Retailing for 1400 dollars, 12 car set and required to pre-order, deadline? HAH. I think I will go to Rapido or Walthers, IHC and get the cars and fit them out until I have what I think the Broadway Limited should be. Rivet Counters need not apply to my railroad. I rather to have Quality through out the entire 4x8 foot table than some basement that is a monument to a 50,000 dollar pile of limited run equiptment all released between 2006-2009 time period.</span></p><p><span class="smiley">It might actually be much more lucrative to wait a year and grab the product when they get blown at 600 dollars or less for the set.</span></p><p><span class="smiley">Makes you wonder if ... 10,000 items are rotting slowly in the BLI warehouse because no one is ordering them waiting 12 months or so for them to finally hit the FDT website.</span></p>
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