The reason for this thread now being five pages long escapes me.
The OP got his answer on the first page.
Athearn is now owned by Horizon Hobbies and every loco it produces is quickly distributed to retailers. So, if you look on the Athearn web site, everything is always out of stock.
Specific road names and engine types, if they are available at all, are buried on the shelves of LHS and on line retailers.
Rich
Alton Junction
"Maybe this thread should get back to it's O.P.'s intent which is Athearn's products always being out of stock. I've been to their website, most of what they show as products they produce, is sold out! This begs the question: If the products you show as being for sale are sold out, are they actually for sale?"
Well I don't hold any fancy collage degree, but getting back to the OP's question, as others have explained already, just because it is sold out at Athearn does not mean it is not available. You doubt they are actually for sale? I will see about posting a picture or two of the hundreds of pieces of Athearn RTR still in the boxes in my possession.
Athearn makes it, they sell it to dealers, to distributors and direct to the public through the Horizon web site.
BIG dealers like Trainworld CHOOSE to buy up large volumes of each and every item. Other BIG retailers do the same. The last few remaining sizable distributors do the same. Hundreds of smaller dealers also buy what they think they can sell. ALL of these customers have the option of preordering these items before they arrive or waiting to see how much is available after they arrive.
What should Athearn do? Not sell to the BIG BOYS so that the stock stays at Horizon's warehouse for the OP and others to buy direct? I think not.
I'm sorry if the shop you want to buy from does not have a good stock of Athearn, but a great many of the shops I go into do have hundreds or even thousands of pieces of Athearn in stock - ALL THE TIME.
Is it always going to be the exact items you are looking for? - NO. Is it going to be everything they have ever made? - NO. Will it be everything they have made recently? - that depends on the willingness and ability of the retailer to INVEST in inventory when Athearn says "preorder XYZ for delivery on 123".
Like it or not this industry has moved into the age of "if you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch".
So places like Caboose Hobby, Train World, FDT, Model Train Stuff, Star Hobby, Toy Train Heaven, and others willing to buy the product BEFORE the customer asks for it, are the ones who have it.
So if you want a specific item - YOU need to search out WHO has it and buy it from them!
Athearn is not in the warehouse business - that IS the retailers JOB to have products ON HAND to sell his customers.
As for Blue Box - AS I HAVE EXPLAINED ABOUT 50 TIMES NOW - more than half the current RTR Athearn is only SLIGHTLY upgraded versions of those same kits. I know that the perception of this is skewed depending on the era you model, but if you examine the WHOLE Athearn RTR line it is fact. Most of the detail is no better than Blue Box cars - BUT the paint jobs are all much better.
I buy lots of Athearn - I buy the new RTR, I still buy Blue Box kits when I find the ones I want, I buy new high end RTR from the other companies out there, I buy Accurail and Bowser kits, I buy lots of craftsman kits too, resin, old wood kits, new wood kits. I like detail, but I don't obsess about every piece of rolling stock being some over the top museum piece.
BUT most importantly I don't have any problem finding the items that I want - it is all out there. All you need is a phone, a computer, a car and a credit card. The mailman brings those nice packages from all over the country in a matter of days!
Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRAL (Sheldon) said:
"BUT most importantly I don't have any problem finding the items that I want - it is all out there. All you need is a phone, a computer, a car and a credit card. The mailman brings those nice packages from all over the country in a matter of days!"
That sums it up quite nicely.
Folks, we are not going to change the manufacturing policy of Athearn or any other manufacturer/importer. So let´s move on, before this ends up in a flame war.