Soundtraxx to help dying Local Hobby Shop's battle evil Internet

[Anonymous]

I'm with you RMax1. The LHS is suffering because they have not adapted well. 2 LHS in my area selling everything at list, even Walthers catalog orders. If I want to pay list for Walthers items, I'll order direct from them, at least I know they have it on hand.

I live in NY and I order Walthers items from a guy in AZ, which discounts Walthers items. I save big bucks doing business this way. The guy in AZ has LHS and he knows how to do business. The problem with the LHS is themselves, not the internet or mail order. What cracks me up is the same LHS guys try to sell their stuff on ebay for list! They just don't get it.

[RMax1]

Let's see...... A growing number of hobby shops struggling???? Well that is because they are charging list price for everything. Nobody pays list price! Many of these guys are their own worst enemy in the fact that they have other business problems. The internet allows me to have minimal contact with which I like, lower prices, no sales tax, bigger selection, and service to my door. I do support the best of my local hobby shops but there are a bunch of them that have high prices, hit and miss customer service, poor inventories, and I have to drive 60 miles round trip to get to. Another factor would be many of the LHS around when I deal with them it's as if I speak Greek to them. The online people have 800 numbers for the most part and as a general rule understand what i am talking about.. Information is available on the net all over the place. Bottom line is the business is getting tougher for LHS's and they need to adapt.

RMax

[rrinker]

Your a LITTLE off base there Parkerlegend.

4 years ago the only DCC you were going to get for $500 was a non-full featured system. You can get it for HALF that today, starter systems under $100 now. Top of the line systems back 4-5 years would set you back $1000. That's $500 now.

4 years ago, decoder were more like $50 with minimal features, You can get ones with silent running and lighting effects for under $15 now (ever hear of TCS?)

You also have to realize that as you make things SMALLER they cost more. That $50 decoder from 4 years ago was a LOT bigger than the $30 micro-decoder you can buy today. If you compare apples to apples, the price HAS gone down, and the features have gone UP.

The trend towards higher prices elsewhere in the hobby has a lot to do with the trend of people to not want to build kits anymore - this I agree is a BAD THING. I was able to pick up some nice Red Caboose kits cheap because the dealer wanted to close them out - for the price of one of the SAME items int he new RTR Red Caboose line, I could have gotten FIVE of the kits. Only Branchline seems to bother anymore, with a decent kit (not that Athearn BB aren't decent, you just have to add a lot more extra details). I'd much rather pay $10-$15 for a Branchline kit than pay nearly $30 for a Kadee RTR.

--Randy

[Fergmiester]

Easy Al!

MAP sounds like Nintendo's marketing plan of pricing, where no matter where you buy the price is the same. Then again the direct translation of the word Nintendo stands for "North Americans will buy anything".

If we want prices to drop we'll have to influence the kids of this generation (the Eectronic Junkies) to get involved as they wield the spending power with their needs.

Fergie

[cacole]

Monopoly is the problem -- SoundTraxx is the only game in town for good quality after-market sound systems. MRC sound decoders are cheaper, and their sound is also cheap. QSI doesn't sell their systems to the end user, although there are rumors circulating that LifeLike is planning to market QSI sound decoders as separate items instead of already installed.

Note, too, that SoundTraxx is not the first company to do this -- North Coast Engineering was the first, and SoundTraxx probably won't be the last.

[Anonymous]

That does not mean jack to me dawg. The prices are not going down! They will remain the same for us "Consumers" but the prices may go down for the local hobby guy. Those stupid *** tiny units cost more than a dvd player. Innovation in the Model railroader hobby is not like in the electronic business of games, music, tv, etc. In fact they are opposites!!!

DVD player 5 years ago $499
DVD player today $59

Plasma Tv 3 years ago $20,000
Plasma Tv today $3,000

Home PC 5 years ago $999+
Home PC today $400

Cell phones 10 years ago $1000+
Cell phones today Free-$400 for camcoders+camera

Camcorders 10 years ago $1000+
Camcorders today $200

DCC 4 years ago $500
DCC today $500

Decoder 4 years ago $30
Decder today $30

Soundtraxx 3 years ago $119
Soundtraxx today $119

Atlas track 5 years ago Cheaper
atlas track today MORE

Plaster cloth 2 year agos $6.59
Plaster cloth today $8.19

*** is crazy man. With new innovations and easier manufacturing in this shtuff the prices seem to only rise. This is especially for the electronic stuff in this hobby compared to other electronic stuff.
Some of the prices are not accurate but they are close.

[Anonymous]

In recent years, the practice of selling our products at heavily discounted prices has increased to the point where we feel this is not conducive to good business. A growing number of hobby shops are struggling to make a profit, feeling the pressure to compete on price with Internet and catalog-based businesses. In an effort to support all of our dealers in a fair and equitable manner, we have decided to institute an MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) plan. Therefore, effective March 1, 2005, a Minimum Advertised Price plan will be in effect. The following describes the rules and conditions of the MAP Plan. If you do not understand something about the plan, please be sure to ask one of our staff for clarification. It is your responsibility to fully comprehend and follow the policy.

read more here:
http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips/2004/121704.htm