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Post by seayakbill on Mar 15, 2024 22:53:01 GMT
RIGHT UP UNTIL I SAW THE $100 PRICE TAG.
What I find interesting is that Menards price their regular boxcar at $25. So between parts, manufacturing, shipping, and Menards distribution expense there is still a few bucks remaining for Menards bean counters bottom line.
Bill
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Post by david1 on Mar 15, 2024 23:06:49 GMT
David and Brian seem to onto something. I myself about six years ago stopped buying any new items from Lionel and others because of the price increases. My last new engine from Lionel was 2017 and there will be no more from any manufacturer. I have been in this hobby since 1970 and its been great but it seems Lionel and others think we are made of money.
I'm on a tight budget so even thinking of spending the money our train manufacturers want is a no brainer.
But I still enjoy my hobby, if I buy anything it will be on the secondary market but when I say the secondary mkt. it does not mean 95% of the steam engines with Legacy or proto3. It means I'm looking for early year 2000-2007 tmcc diesel and electric locomotives.
Being on a tight budget means no vacations, no eating out every week and being careful with every dollar you spend.
With that being said I can still buy something nice for myself within my parameters every couple of months.
Some of you may think I'm living a horrible retirement but after going through several bankruptcies with several employers and the cut of my pension amounts several times because of mismanagement that the federal gov't was supposed to be watching led to the position I'm in.
But please Dont feel sorry for me, I'm doing well despite the problems I've had. I still have most of my trains, I'm happy, I have great friends, fairly healthy and my friends here at OGF.
Sorry for the rant,
Dave
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Post by Adam on Mar 15, 2024 23:10:23 GMT
David and Brian seem to onto something. I myself about six years ago stopped buying any new items from Lionel and others because of the price increases. My last new engine from Lionel was 2017 and there will be no more from any manufacturer. I have been in this hobby since 1970 and its been great but it seems Lionel and others think we are made of money. I'm on a tight budget so even thinking of spending the money our train manufacturers want is a no brainer. But I still enjoy my hobby, if I buy anything it will be on the secondary market but when I say the secondary mkt. it does not mean 95% of the steam engines with Legacy or proto3. It means I'm looking for early year 2000-2007 tmcc diesel and electric locomotives. Being on a tight budget means no vacations, no eating out every week and being careful with every dollar you spend. With that being said I can still buy something nice for myself within my parameters every couple of months. Some of you may think I'm living a horrible retirement but after going through several bankruptcies with several employers and the cut of my pension amounts several times because of mismanagement that the federal gov't was supposed to be watching led to the position I'm in. But please Dont feel sorry for me, I'm doing well despite the problems I've had. I still have most of my trains, I'm happy, I have great friends, fairly healthy and my friends here at OGF. Sorry for the rant, Dave Sorry to hear about your challenges, but it sounds like you are very resilient and know how to adjust your approach to things as needed. Good on you! My wife and I also try to live frugally. With kids in college and everything costing more, we are always looking for ways to save. For that reason, I am very similar to you with train purchases. I primarily buy used and sometimes "very" used which is fine with me because I love projects.
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Post by david1 on Mar 16, 2024 1:58:34 GMT
Thank you Adam, we all have had challenges in our lives. I have learned alot, of course some of mine was too late but being older now and still being alive has brought alot of wisdom my way. With every issue put in front of us we either bow to it or face it head on and deal with it.
Nothing is perfect in our lives and I sure had things that could have been very destructive but as I said above Don't allow them to destroy what you love, face them head on and deal with it.
Btw who ever said life is easy, I sure didn't but it made me a better man by overcoming life's blockades. Btw the military and my Mother taught me never ever give up. Guess I took it to heart, thanks Mom!!!! and my military brothers.
Dave
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Post by david1 on Mar 16, 2024 2:06:34 GMT
Guys, I'm sorry for going off topic but sometimes you just cannot help it and here it is my third post saying I was off topic.
Sometimes yelling can be cathartic (did I spell that correctly) well back to regular programming!!
Dave
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Post by rockymountaineer on Mar 16, 2024 2:15:29 GMT
RIGHT UP UNTIL I SAW THE $100 PRICE TAG. What I find interesting is that Menards price their regular boxcar at $25. So between parts, manufacturing, shipping, and Menards distribution expense there is still a few bucks remaining for Menards bean counters bottom line. Bill I have always joked over the years that we probably don't WANT to really know how much it costs Lionel (or MTH or Atlas) to have these trains made overseas. We'd very likely be quite depressed to know how much of our dollar goes to the importers' bottom line... along with the various middlemen in the supply chain.
K-Line perhaps gave us some excellent insight into the cost differentials involved. Today we still have MTH vs. Lionel, but K-Line vs. Lionel revealed some eye-popping cost differences that you had to see to believe. Really hated to see them exit this market space.
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Post by madockawando on Mar 16, 2024 15:10:48 GMT
Don’t forget the Space Force run locomotives and train cars offered by Legacy Station. Big sellers!
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Post by rockymountaineer on Mar 16, 2024 17:16:26 GMT
Don’t forget the Space Force run locomotives and train cars offered by Legacy Station. Big sellers! Yes indeed!!! How could I forgot to mention them, when I already pre-ordered them???
Seriously... when you look at all the good stuff available as custom-runs, Lionel doesn't need to even publish a catalog. However, these custom-runs are ALWAYS tied to what's been announced in the catalog. I talked with Brian at Legacy Station about making the 3-pack of Space Force tank cars as Vision Line w/FreightSounds. But that couldn't be done, since Lionel hadn't cataloged Vision Line tank cars -- something they haven't done since 2008.
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Post by madockawando on Mar 16, 2024 17:23:11 GMT
Don’t forget the Space Force run locomotives and train cars offered by Legacy Station. Big sellers! Yes indeed!!! How could I forgot to mention them, when I already pre-ordered them???
Seriously... when you look at all the good stuff available as custom-runs, Lionel doesn't need to even publish a catalog. However, these custom-runs are ALWAYS tied to what's been announced in the catalog. I talked with Brian at Legacy Station about making the 3-pack of Space Force tank cars as Vision Line w/FreightSounds. But that couldn't be done, since Lionel hadn't cataloged Vision Line tank cars -- something they haven't done since 2008.
That would have been really cool if the tank cars were vision cars! I have the Space Firce Caboose in hand as I am anxiously awaiting the second edition SD70ace Space Force locomotive. |
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Post by dlagrua on Mar 16, 2024 20:15:15 GMT
RIGHT UP UNTIL I SAW THE $100 PRICE TAG. What I find interesting is that Menards price their regular boxcar at $25. So between parts, manufacturing, shipping, and Menards distribution expense there is still a few bucks remaining for Menards bean counters bottom line. Bill I have always joked over the years that we probably don't WANT to really know how much it costs Lionel (or MTH or Atlas) to have these trains made overseas. We'd very likely be quite depressed to know how much of our dollar goes to the importers' bottom line... along with the various middlemen in the supply chain.
K-Line perhaps gave us some excellent insight into the cost differentials involved. Today we still have MTH vs. Lionel, but K-Line vs. Lionel revealed some eye-popping cost differences that you had to see to believe. Really hated to see them exit this market space.
My friends daughter was a designer for Coach Handbags. The MSRP on that Coach bag was $369.00. The cost to make it in China was $12.00. I would venture to say that a Chinese made boxcar or any piece of rolling stock cost is in the $5-$8 range. The importers are making huge profits on all items. Of late I have turned to buying common items off Temu direct from China. Temu's price can be 30-70% lower than the rebranded imports. While I prefer to buy American made stuff the majority of goods available are rebranded Chinese. If I am forced to buy Chinese then I just go around the middleman and buy direct. It saves big bucks.
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mopac
Full Member
Posts: 142
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Post by mopac on Mar 17, 2024 0:56:24 GMT
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Post by azdutch on Mar 17, 2024 1:50:38 GMT
Yeah I about fell over when I saw that. My dad worked for the Milwaukee Road when he was young and that's always been his favorite road. I don't have the heart to tell him about the black bonnet Hiawatha.
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Post by rockymountaineer on Mar 17, 2024 1:59:26 GMT
As much of I've supported Pat in his Black Bonnet offerings over the years, this one was an easy pass for me. For whatever reason, the Hiawatha styling has never called my name. So no matter how many models Lionel offered in its catalog, and no matter how many custom-runs are offered -- including Lionel's own "locomotive of the year" exclusively available from its Lionel company store, my wallet is safe. 
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Post by JKP on Mar 17, 2024 12:53:10 GMT
I was going to order the UP TOFC from Brady's Trains but @ 155$ plus shipping- no thanks. My recent purchase of UP heritage TOFCs were 110$, 20$ freight for 6.
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Post by rockymountaineer on Mar 17, 2024 14:12:29 GMT
I was going to order the UP TOFC from Brady's Trains but @ 155$ plus shipping- no thanks. My recent purchase of UP heritage TOFCs were 110$, 20$ freight for 6. Once again... when something is priced "right", I don't mind buying several. I bought a bunch of those UP Heritage TOFC's: a few KATY's, and a few D&RGW's.
Even the newest TOFC's with twin trailers are on Charlie Ro's website for $115/each. So Brady's custom-run UP model -- as nice as it is -- is premium priced significantly over the street-price of the same models in Lionel's latest catalog. Everybody is pushing the envelope these days... and they don't even blink an eye about it.
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