Bad news from Athearn

[brothaslide]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JEIERMANN

Some of the spelling is terrible in these posts . C'mon dougal, you can do better than that I'm sure. If not, quit worrying about Athearn and worry about your future, because if your school is passing you along with those spelling skills then the rest of your education is in trouble also.

JEIERMANN,

How would you like it if you were called you out like that? Be wise and be careful what you post. You can always e-mail someone off line. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and my spelling is awful - I use spell check for everything - even these posts.

Sean

[Anonymous]

I attended two model railroad shows approx a month ago-one in the Atlanta area and the other was a GATS show in Knoxville on the same weekend. I could have bought Athearn blue box kits at heavily discounted prices and there was plenty to go around - in fact I saw one particular 'dealer' take home a van full of unsold 'blue boxes' including freight, passenger and a bunch of diesels, after the Knoxville show, and he was selling at approx 40% off MSRP.

A LHS explained to me that the whole Horizon deal is still somewhat vague (to him-he wasn't the owner, but is a seasoned veteren in the hobby). This may be old news to most of you, but he said that Walthers will not be stocking, and therefore not distributing Athearn anymore. Since most LHSs are set up with Walthers, and if they are primarily a train store only, they probably are not set up w/ Horizon-at least not yet. They won't have a source for future Athearn inventory, unless and until they sign on w/ Horizon.

Horizon has an opportunity to do this right if they are fair to the stocking LHS, continue to offer kit versions of the 'blue boxes', and don't step on the prices like another distributor has. I know that 'other' distributor is part of the food chain, stocks a lot of stuff the LHS can't, blah, blah, blah. . .I just wonder how many would -be model railroaders gasp at the retail prices in that very thick catalog (that also has a lofty price tag on it, too), and say never mind, that looks like a rich person's hobby?)

Could it be that the 'other' distributor may be telling the LHS the tale about the impending death of the 'blue boxes' so that the LHS stocks up for the last time from that 'other' distributor, enabling that distributor to clear their shelves before they may unable to, due to their loss of the Athearn line? I saw this happen time and time again during my career in semiconductor sales and marketing, "and parts is parts"

I would hope that the 'blue box' kits remain the staple of the product line for they have always been a great value until recently. I know that many of them are compromised versions of prototypes, but they have worked for many of us for a long time. Lately they have faced considerable competition from other manufacturers who are offering viable and more accurate kits for similar pricing, esp. when compared to Athearn's ridiculous RTR prices in that 'other' distributor's catalog. Anyone who needs to buy a RTR 'blue box' item either doesn't have the time or basic skills for this hobby, and Horizon should consider dropping both the RTR versions and their prices on their kits. An exception would be to offer their train sets only as RTR. I also don't think they should loosely use the "Genesis" name on anything other than their top of the line offerings.

[JEIERMANN]

Some of the spelling is terrible in these posts . C'mon dougal, you can do better than that I'm sure. If not, quit worrying about Athearn and worry about your future, because if your school is passing you along with those spelling skills then the rest of your education is in trouble also.

[trainfan1221]

I guess its a matter of time before we see what really is going to happen. I certainly am not going to hold my breath waiting for any more n scale stuff from them.

[cacole]

I attended a large swap meet in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, January 17th, and there were more Athearn blue-box kits for sale that any one person could possibly ever assemble -- every dealer had hundreds available, and there was no panic buying by anyone in attendance that I could see. I think the dealers might have anticipated a run on them, but probably wound up taking them back to their stores afterward. All of the rumors about Athearn doing away with kits seem to be started by hobby shop owners trying to panic people into buying.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dave9999

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus



WHY DOES FLEX-TRAK COST $4.85 at the LHS? And don't tell me it's the LHS's making money hand over fist.[:(!]

I would have to say that it IS your LHS. Both of my LHS sell code 83 flex for $3.00 EA.
It sounds like they are marking it up ABOVE even the Walthers list price. Walthers
list it for $3.75. Sounds like a case of highway robbery. Dave

PS I assume you are refering to Atlas Flex??.

Heres the Canadian Issue:

If the Canadian dollar is valued at $.76 US the $3.00 US translates into $3.95 Canadian. Add shipping and handling and duties it adds up, real quick. If one buys direct from Walthers then we are looking at $4.93 Canadian again before shipping and handling and then the $5.00 customs charge. Then we're still talking an additional 15% GST (sales tax). I just feel the price for something as simple as flex track is too much. Especially as I see it advertized in bulk for $1.19 US, which translates into $1.57 Cdn. And yes I realize economics of being able to sell cheaper in bulk but I still feel somewhere in the food chain someone is taking more than there fair share and are not willing to cut the smaller LHS's better deals. If I'm wrong then break the costs down. And far as the LHS's I deal with in my area. They treat me very well ! And cut me deals when they can.

[dave9999]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus



WHY DOES FLEX-TRAK COST $4.85 at the LHS? And don't tell me it's the LHS's making money hand over fist.[:(!]

I would have to say that it IS your LHS. Both of my LHS sell code 83 flex for $3.00 EA.
It sounds like they are marking it up ABOVE even the Walthers list price. Walthers
list it for $3.75. Sounds like a case of highway robbery. Dave

PS I assume you are refering to Atlas Flex??.

[CP5415]

I was at my LHS this week. He had about 50 Athearn units in stock including about 10 SD40-2's.

Most are priced around $70 Canadian which is I think about $50 US.

Gordon

[Anonymous]

I come from New Zealand
In 1997-98 I bought it GP60 Athearn about nzd 70 was cheap but there no some part of detail thing e.g slowplow etc it is hard to get from USA to New Zealand
From now price went go up so expenise !!!!!!!! cost around NZD 100-200 !!
sound like rip off price

[CBQ_Guy]

Well if it does turn out to be true, it will be interesting to see how Terry Thompson will spin it because he publicly stated he thought the buyout was good for the hobby! (And gee, I don't have a clue why!)

[AltonFan]

QUOTE: Looks like Trainworld is getting out of Athearn too. .....

A friend of mine tells me this is because Athearn has been more careful about how many units it produces so that there are fewer gluts to benefit the deep discounters.

[Anonymous]

You may be on to something. I recently tried to purchase some Athearn kits from a hobby shop that in the past always had plenty of Athearn in stock. They were unable to fill my order. I couldn't get any of the kits I wanted, but it seems that they had plenty of
R-T-R available. Could be just a coincidence. Only time will tell.

Jim

[AggroJones]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kbfcsme

RELAX!!!!!!!!![:D]
From another forum group I subscribe to, a level headed hobbyshop owner relayed the following info: He has spent a great deal of time talking to Horizon and has found that Horizon is NOT going to be running Athearn, only distributing. Athearn will still have a free hand to build what they want to build, and to develop new products. (I doubt they will be dropping SD40-2's, especially after upgrading the drives.) Looking at past Horizon purchases (RC models) prices for items produced have stayed the same, and in some cases decreased after Horizon took over.
Things might be a little bumpy at 1st, but a year from now, I doubt any of this will matter.

I hope you are right. [|)]

[Anonymous]

Crewdog,

I appreciate your post about legitimate prices. The man in the basement buying for buddies is no different than say a model railroad club seeking parts or locos etc or a customer looking thru ebay and calling hobbyshops for the item. The internet is a tool of communications and as such, we communicate faster.

Couplers, tools, paints and small items costing a couple dollars add up over the course of the year. I see my budget in the hobby a full 1/3 of it goes for these items. The rest in trains, structures, and scenery. And some of it for books magazines etc.

Frankly I believe a "Good" store will be glad to sell couplers to you. Heck I buy a 20 pack of Kaydee ($19- us) several times a year for my fleet. IF I did not need to buy couplers then that money would be spent on cars, paint etc. The point is, any business is good for the LHS.

As a customer, I have seen cases where I hear and see 'Grumbling" because I bought a 1.50 part for a badly needed engine that has been rotting on the bench for 2 years for want of that part. I pay for the part and say "Thank you!" and not come back becasue of poor treatment.

Good Stores will treat each and every customer as "Somebody" to be welcomed and helped where ever possible by answering questions or digging thru for that one detail part for an hour. Those are the ones that will survive.

I remember having 5 to 8 hobby shops back home in the Mid Atlantic area and several trips a month we would hit em all. Model Railroader back then was the major source of new products information. And Trainshows such as Greenburg's was a "Forum" for makers of trains to announce and show off the new products. Things moved slower then.

Today you can search the world in a hour or less for specifically the part you want. "Scary"

It has been my experience that hobby shops will discount some items such as engines and pricey cars by a small percentage to give a customer more incentive to buy. If it results in profit for the owner of the store.. that depends on what price the distributor sold it at. And in turn the distributor must pay a price from the factory for em.

For Example, The 4-8-2 HO Scale Mountain from Spectrum. Bachmann wants a retail (Suggested) price of about $200.00 I bought one last year at the LHS for approx 150.00. I dont have any idea if there was a profit to the store or to the distributor. I think that kind of info is kept quiet. But I do know that Bachmann did not get 200.00 for that unit.

Code 83 Flextrack is about $2.80- a section. I remember Brass being deeply discounted when everyone bought Nickel Silver. Now everyone wants code 83 on down. You cannot really find brass track anymore. (And I dont want brass)

I hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

I thought this was bad news a couple days ago, but upon further reflection, there may be a silver lining in this cloud.
If it is true that Horizon only sells to honest-to-goodness, retail-storefront hobby shops, then the guys working out of their garage or basement with a lap top and a phone line will not be getting Athearn products anymore. The people who have been buying deeply-discounted Athearn from the garage types, or at the swap meets, will have to start getting their Athearn products from a real hobby shop.
Of course, the hobby stores have to charge more than the web dealers and mail-order places charge, since running a legitimate retail hobby shop costs way more than setting up a clandestine wholesale buying club for your buddies in your basement. Some people will whine about that, but they will have to grow up.
Bottom line: if you want a hobby shop to be there for you when you need them, and to bring new blood into the hobby, then you should be willing to pay a retail price that allows your hobby shop to stay in business. Buying an expensive loco from an online discounter, and then going to the hobby shop for the couplers, is trying to have your cake and eat it, too. Keeping Athearn products in bona fide retail hobby stores may help the hobby stores survive, which is in every railroad modeler's best interests, whether he has the foresight to see that or not.

[Anonymous]

This is pretty much what the guy in my LHS told me last time I was in there - whether it's true or not I don't know. Have to hope that Athearn do continue with the blue box kits, as they're a superb way of encouraging new modellers - they look good, run well, don't cost megabucks, and only need a little careful work in fitting and painting handrails to complete. Luckily, I'm only short of two or three more Athearn locos to complete the lash-ups I have - need a powered SD40-2, probably in BN livery, and something to run with an SP U33C - maybe an SD40T-2 if I can find one!

The other thing I was told by my LHS is that the dummy locos are to be discontinued. if so, this is a great shame - they were very handy for people operating cab units (F7s, C-Liners, etc) as they could be used to allow the loco to reverse when operating on an end-to-end layout. I've tried using two powered locos but they tend to become detached over the uncoupling magnets!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

WHY DOES FLEX-TRAK COST $4.85 at the LHS? And don't tell me it's the LHS's making money hand over fist.[:(!]

Now you are scaring me! [:0] I can remember nickle silver flex track at .99 cents !
<insert "old geezer"emotiocon with long white beard here!>

[Anonymous]

After reading Highirons editorial I will say he makes some excellent points that should be heeded by all. As for kbsfme's comments he is right about the relax part, however it's that word he uses, the infamous "D" word, no I don't mean [D)] I'm talking about the distributor. Just another level in the food chain that eats up our money [oX)]

WHY DOES FLEX-TRAK COST $4.85 at the LHS? And don't tell me it's the LHS's making money hand over fist.[:(!]

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info!

[Anonymous]

RELAX!!!!!!!!![:D]
From another forum group I subscribe to, a level headed hobbyshop owner relayed the following info: He has spent a great deal of time talking to Horizon and has found that Horizon is NOT going to be running Athearn, only distributing. Athearn will still have a free hand to build what they want to build, and to develop new products. (I doubt they will be dropping SD40-2's, especially after upgrading the drives.) Looking at past Horizon purchases (RC models) prices for items produced have stayed the same, and in some cases decreased after Horizon took over.
Things might be a little bumpy at 1st, but a year from now, I doubt any of this will matter.

[Anonymous]

I maybe going out to buy more Athearn but only if it's at fair market price. If Athearn goes, there's still Roundhouse, Atlas and a few others.

[Anonymous]

Actually, we were going grocery shopping, and our area is rich with hobby shops anyway. As I was saying before, I won a powered and dummy engine from Ebay, and the guy who was selling it seemed to be nice. I'll let you know when I got the engine. When I developed my roster, I had no idea Athearn would get sold so the mainstay of my fleet was to be SD40-2s and SD50s, even earlier we wanted Tunnelmotors and not a single hobby shop sold them. I fact, I checked the Internet, and I could not find a single one.

[Anonymous]

$60 Canadian is worth roughly 38 dollars us.

There is a run on Athearn products on now. I just finished buying 40' box cars for my grain section. I have been very lucky to date.

Now, I had a heart talk with my LHS< and it is said that those after March the 1st who fail to participate in Horizions's distribution system will not carry these products.

The second fact is this, there will always be a "Blue Box" style kits and possibly others in the near future. Why??

Hobby Shops collect orders and requests. Distributions send them to the Manufacter. The Manufacter waits until there are enough orders to do a production run. Once the item shows up in the stores it's gone. No manufacter wants to make the full line 24/7 because of money reasons anymore.

Train Shows will probably be the last bastions in the near future as people seek products that are out of stock, back ordered etc etc. The first people into the gate will have the product period.

Later this year when things calm down it is my fervant prayer that everyone can find what they are looking for without the scares, rumors etc.

Dougal, visiting 4 hobby shops an hour away looking for something out of stock is a tragety. It would have made life a little easier to call ahead and ask specifically for the product.

I myself have faced the road name problem. For many years I have done without because the item is out of production by time I found out. No more.

I choose to buy the specific engine, research the decals, paint and railroad's need for this engine and get it out of the hobby shop regardless of the roadname or color. Then the big strip job followed by a bath then a dry usually yielded a surface ready to be lettered and decaled in the road name I desire.

I encourage you to keep in the hobby, I remeber the times other maufacters such as "VARNEY" and "Train Minature" went out of business followed by the similar hysteria from those who mourn the passing of a great product while scrambling hand over fist to grab the last few left.

Use the internet, manufacter's web sites, email with your hobby shop and phone calls and such. Keep asking questions such as "Do you have these coming soon?" Or- "Does the distribution have this in stock? can you get one?" etc do not quit.

Keep practicing your airbrush skills, I have yet to learn how. I hand brush all my stuff. Maybe I will find room to learn some day. No one is too old to learn.

I apologize for such a lengthly post and such a bully pulpit and a loud [soapbox]

No young child should have to endure 4 trips to find that product missing. What a waste.

Lee

[cacole]

This alleged bad news from Athearn is exactly opposite to the official press release from Horizon Hobbies. Horizon claims that Athearn will remain in Compton, California under the previous management and that no changes in the Athearn product line will be made. News to the contrary seems to be generated by hobby shop owners in an attempt to panic people into buying all of their Athearn products. You can read Horizon Hobbies' news release at Tony's Train Exchange (http://www.ttx-dcc.com)

[Anonymous]

I posted "The Direction of the Hobby" a while back. I expressed concern over the RTR vs Kit question. During that time, I emailed Athearn, MDC, Walthers and Intermountain. Both MDC and Athearn came back to me and stated that they were not going to stop producing kits. Walthers and Intermountain did not respond. Yes, this was before the Horizon deal! I have always found both Athearn and MDC to be good at corrisponding. If your really concerned, ask them about this!

[nfmisso]

Looks like Trainworld is getting out of Athearn too. .....

I am very glad that I have moved on to an era where most of Athearn's current production does not fit very well, and I already have the ones that do....

[Anonymous]

I think I saw the writing on the wall when I heard that Athearn was sold. Consolidation with larger companies always turns the same card "The Money Card !!!!!" Believe me I've seen it happen for real where I live now, Charlotte, NC. The second largest banking city in the country. Acquisition is the name of the game. Of course what is not mentioned in the hype about better service and savings is that soon after acquisition comes that dreaded word "Downsizing" "We have to reconfigure to insure economic stability" Economic stability for who ?? The stockholders, the BIG stockholders. Be damned that during the past year 6,000 people were put out of work just in this area alone. I'm [:(] that our brothers and sisters are going to be hurt by this action. Maybe that's one reason why I chose to model in the era before there were diesels. Just a lucky move I guess. Things have a way of working out though. Wait and see.

JR

[Anonymous]

I forgot to mention I just won two CR SD40-2s (one dummy) on EBay.

[Anonymous]

About two hours ago i read a post on another forum website which contained a copy of a reply from an Athearn spokesman. He stated that Athearn was NOT going to discontinue the BLUE BOX offerings. Maybe there is not a need to get our underwear in a wad just yet. Why not wait and see?

jon

[dave9999]

The sky is falling!! The sky is falling!! The sky is falling!! Come on, they're just one of many manufactures.It WILL be OK.
Dave