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What does MRR do with their review models?

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  • Member since
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  • From: Pennsylvania
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What does MRR do with their review models?
Posted by Trainman440 on Friday, June 14, 2019 8:14 PM

Hi, dumb question. I never knew what media providers such as Jlwii2000(Youtube), MRR, etc do with their review models after they review them. How does it work?

Do the companies just send them models for free to review, and then return it back to the company? Or do they just keep them? If so, MRR must have an entire fleet! Also, would the reviewer get to pick which paint scheme they want?

OR do the reviewers have to purchase the engines themselves? If that's the case, do they sell the engine later after the review is published?

Thanks!

Charles

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modeling the PRR & NYC in HO

Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/@trainman440

Instagram (where I share projects!): https://www.instagram.com/trainman440

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, June 14, 2019 8:25 PM

There was a video about the MR&T on MRVP a few years back that showed the yards jammed full of rolling stock, I think that is where the review samples end up (the MR&T).

  • Member since
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Posted by nealknows on Friday, June 14, 2019 8:28 PM

We send the MR staff what we would like them to review. We don't ask for it back nor do we expect it to be sent back. For our product, we would hope they add it to the MR or MRVP layouts... Then when people ask, they tell them who it's made by. 

Neal

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Posted by oldline1 on Friday, June 14, 2019 8:33 PM

nealknows

We send the MR staff what we would like them to review. We don't ask for it back nor do we expect it to be sent back. For our product, we would hope they add it to the MR or MRVP layouts... Then when people ask, they tell them who it's made by. 

Neal

Who is "WE"?
 
oldline1
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Posted by NittanyLion on Friday, June 14, 2019 9:11 PM

Well, he has his location as Morristown NJ and my box of Atlas rolling stock I got today was from Morristown, so... 

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Posted by Trainman440 on Friday, June 14, 2019 9:27 PM

nealknows

We send the MR staff what we would like them to review. We don't ask for it back nor do we expect it to be sent back.

Ah, gotcha, that was what I suspected. But then, I can't imagine MRR keeping every single review item in some kind of warehouse...I wonder what they do with it?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modeling the PRR & NYC in HO

Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/@trainman440

Instagram (where I share projects!): https://www.instagram.com/trainman440

  • Member since
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Posted by nealknows on Saturday, June 15, 2019 5:14 AM

NittanyLion

Well, he has his location as Morristown NJ and my box of Atlas rolling stock I got today was from Morristown, so... 

Sorry, that was not me shipping you...

Neal

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Posted by nealknows on Saturday, June 15, 2019 5:17 AM

oldline1
 Who is "WE"?
oldline1

I don't think the MOD's would allow me to name my company since it would be considered a form of advertising. Just want to play by the rules..

Neal

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Posted by NVSRR on Saturday, June 15, 2019 8:02 AM

A lot of the youtube reviews, at least with the popluar pages, have agreements with the page.  The manufacturer sends the item,  it is reviewed on video.  Some have also set up small sponsorship agreements tohelp offset the cost of review video production.  IE he gets paid for the time to do it as well.  The manufacturer does want honest feed back.  The manufacture also gets free advertising that way on social media over a wide range.  It is a pioneering form of advertising

A pessimist sees a dark tunnel

An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel

A realist sees a frieght train

An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space

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Posted by BigDaddy on Saturday, June 15, 2019 8:57 AM

Trainman440
Jlwii2000

advertises for Trainworld.  I suspect the small time reviewers are buying their own models.  Some of them have set up Patreon accounts to supplement their income to attend train shows or buy models to review.

There is something called Youtube monitization.   If you have 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of views, youtube shares the revenue from those advertisements that appear before the actual video.  This is entirely separate from income that is comes from reviewing a product.

JLwii has 40,000 subscribers, Luke Towan 800,000 and another guy I follow who goes by the name of Hickok45 has 4 million.   The subject of Hickok45's videos is banned in this forum, but I can tell you he was able to quit his job to make youtube videos full time. 

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by oldline1 on Saturday, June 15, 2019 9:37 AM

nealknows

 

 
oldline1
 Who is "WE"?
oldline1

 

 

I don't think the MOD's would allow me to name my company since it would be considered a form of advertising. Just want to play by the rules..

Neal

 

Is mentioning a name of a manufacturer improper? It isn't advertising the way I see it and names of companies are often brought up on various topics.

oldline1

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Posted by xboxtravis7992 on Saturday, June 15, 2019 10:15 AM

BigDaddy

There is something called Youtube monitization.   If you have 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of views, youtube shares the revenue from those advertisements that appear before the actual video.  This is entirely separate from income that is comes from reviewing a product.

Its true, with YouTube any person with enough subscribers and video content can be monetized. Its why you see most YouTube channels with large subscriber accounts have fully quit their 'day job' and devoted it to their channel.

But does that gurantee that a famous YouTube reviewer is going to get their products for free? No... not really. It depends on a manufacturer to manufacturer basis, and some manufactures might blacklist a reviewer if that reviewer starts to ask for to much free stuff (say a reviewer goes from asking for just one review sample to say; 20 or 30 review samples...and that is going to raise a manufacturer's ire). Very rarely do manufactures 'loan' out product expecting it to be returned like some old Blockbuster Video rental, once the hassle to ship a product out has been made its rarely going back to were it came from so in effect the reviewer owns it. Other-times a reviewer likes to buy the product themself (instead of recieving it for free) to emulate the experience of the average consumer and to assure their fans "I have not been bought out by free gifts from this manufacturer, I am a real consumer like you." But once your at the point of YouTube monetization were your making a couple hundred dollars off each video... then buying a car off the shelf is less of a hobby purchase and more of a financial investment at that point. New car means new video which means more sweet monetization profits. 

So what happens after the review? In the case of a magazine I imagine the car is put into storage either for use in future projects or to be used on group layouts. For a YouTube reviewer the car might just be put on display, re-sold for profit, or donated to somebody else who wants it. Again it really depends on what the reviewer wants to do after the review is over, they own the product now so its their choice.

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Posted by York1 on Saturday, June 15, 2019 10:23 AM

oldline1

 nealknows

oldline1
 Who is "WE"?
oldline1

I don't think the MOD's would allow me to name my company since it would be considered a form of advertising. Just want to play by the rules..

Neal

Is mentioning a name of a manufacturer improper? It isn't advertising the way I see it and names of companies are often brought up on various topics.

oldline1  

 

I have no connection with Neal or his company.  I do know that he has some very good signal circuits, lighted vehicles, and lighting products at a price less than many others.

I'll bet that if you message him, he will be glad to contact you.

York1 John       

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Posted by dknelson on Saturday, June 15, 2019 12:25 PM

I believe back in the day a few of the items reviewed by MR in trade topics (the column) were lent by the maker or importer such as limited run brass.  

I also believe the staff had and perhaps still has dibs on items they could use for their own layouts, and this makes particular sense if the item is a kit that they had to build. 

There was a time in the 1960s and 70s when some local Milwaukee and Chicago area modelers would help the staff build kits for review and from time to time you'd see names as reviewers who were not on staff.  i believe they kept the item as their reward.

Dave Nelson

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    April 2019
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Posted by SPSOT fan on Saturday, June 15, 2019 3:34 PM

I've watched alot of MR/MRVP videos and often the staff will say that some car or loco they are using for a project was once used for a review or "found under the MR&T". I think that MR just puts the reviewed items under the MR&T to storage them until they someday dig them up and use them for another project. I anyone has seen the Cody Grivno video were he weathers a SP loco (which I believe went on the Jan 2016 MR cover), he references the fact that it came from under the MR&T and was once a review sample if I recal correctly.

Regards, Isaac

I model my railroad and you model yours! I model my way and you model yours!

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