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Post by rockymountaineer on May 3, 2024 2:41:01 GMT
Today's Public Service Announcement.
So this afternoon I happened to be online when Mr. Muffin's Trains pumped out one of their email blasts announcing some new arrivals at their store. Two of them happened to be Atlas-O Trinity Tankers for Mr. Muffin's custom-run in 2 #'s of RJ Corman livery. The email mentioned they'd be processing pre-order invoices shortly... and that only a few remained in-stock.
The brilliantly detailed red tanker really "popped" in the photograph, so I placed both road-numbers in my shopping cart. Then while I was debating whether to add another item in the same purchase, my wife reminded me I was running late for a 6:30pm meeting. So I left the items in the shopping cart and figured I'd finalize everything when I returned home later in the evening. WRONG STRATEGY.
Just for grins... when my meeting ended around 9:15pm, I checked Mr. Muffin's website with my iPhone in the parking lot... and yep... you guessed it... the RJ Corman Tankers were SOLD OUT.
So this is what our hobby has become: either you pre-order custom-runs OR you don't delay for a NY minute when extra custom-runs are advertised as newly in-stock. Today's BTO custom-run "business model" literally pits enthusiasts against each other, if they don't pre-order. There simply aren't enough made to go around. The old model of sitting back, relaxing, casually shopping and hitting the purchase button at leisure is DEAD.
On the plus side... I saved $200. And the sun will still shine tomorrow.
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Post by Traindiesel! on May 3, 2024 5:46:37 GMT
I don't know, David, this stuff has been going on for years. Note the Lionel scale Penn Central GG1 with TMCC back in 2005. It took me 15 years to track one down, and that was a regular production run. I was told by a dealer (you know how that goes) at York that had one for sale that only 57 units were made back then. That was even before the announced BTO movement.
But you are right about acting quickly. I got hung up on the fence more than once waiting to make a purchase at my leisure. Hmmmm, isn't this supposed to be a leisurely hobby? There's stress in everything today!! 
Addition: Another trap was the MTH Premier Burlington AA E8's from a few years ago. I waited too long on those, they don't even show up on eBay. They are as hard to find as shark ears!!
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Post by superwarp1 on May 3, 2024 12:11:43 GMT
Not all custom runs sell out. JR Junction did special run of B&A and NYC woodside cabooses. Either those who pre-ordered bailed or he ordered extra but JR still has stock. So Dave you want a accurate caboose to run behind that Berk you have on pre-order, now is the time to pick one up.
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Post by rockymountaineer on May 3, 2024 15:21:07 GMT
... JR Junction did special run of B&A and NYC woodside cabooses. Either those who pre-ordered bailed or he ordered extra but JR still has stock. So Dave you want a accurate caboose to run behind that Berk you have on pre-order, now is the time to pick one up. 
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Post by rockymountaineer on May 3, 2024 15:40:14 GMT
I don't know, David, this stuff has been going on for years. Note the Lionel scale Penn Central GG1 with TMCC back in 2005. It took me 15 years to track one down, and that was a regular production run. I was told by a dealer (you know how that goes) at York that had one for sale that only 57 units were made back then. That was even before the announced BTO movement.
But you are right about acting quickly. I got hung up on the fence more than once waiting to make a purchase at my leisure. Hmmmm, isn't this supposed to be a leisurely hobby? There's stress in everything today!!
... Even more rare was the second of two Lionel diecast BNSF ES44AC locomotives, #6436. Rumor had it that only somewhere in the neighborhood of 30+ were made. It was priced at $850 MSRP in 2011 Signature Edition Catalog. But even the more generally available BNSF #6431 typically sell for over $1,100 on eBay nowadays. I had hoped to acquire #6436 from Grzyboski Trains when they were selling the Dick Kughn collection, but that locomotive wasn't part of the collection.
Lionel has since made plenty of BNSF diesel locomotives with EXCELLENT Legacy Railsounds. So I've had plenty of opportunities to expand my BNSF fleet. But BNSF #6436 remains an elusive catch. And those diecast ES44's were the best of the best.
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Post by superwarp1 on May 3, 2024 18:14:13 GMT
... JR Junction did special run of B&A and NYC woodside cabooses. Either those who pre-ordered bailed or he ordered extra but JR still has stock. So Dave you want a accurate caboose to run behind that Berk you have on pre-order, now is the time to pick one up. Good, It takes MTH special runs to do what Lionel should of done with the first run of berks almost a decade ago. Reminds of the B&A Tank engines Kline and Lionel have produced. Where are the commuter passenger cars to go with them? 
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Post by ron045 on May 4, 2024 12:00:08 GMT
I don't understand BTO. I get there has to be a minimum quantity, but why a maximum? What's the difference if they make 100 or 102 to fill rockymountaineer order? Isn't that just a few extra dollars in their pocket? |
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Post by rockymountaineer on May 4, 2024 14:07:48 GMT
I don't understand BTO. I get there has to be a minimum quantity, but why a maximum? What's the difference if they make 100 or 102 to fill rockymountaineer order? Isn't that just a few extra dollars in their pocket? Ron, most dealers/clubs who announce custom-runs BEFORE THEY GO INTO PRODUCTION do accept as many pre-orders as they can. In this case, I was gonna purchase two of Mr. Muffin's EXTRA's that he ordered. Had I pre-ordered when the custom-run was announced, I would have gotten the rolling stock. But it wasn't until I saw a photo of the cars produced in Steve's email blast that I was moved to purchase. Just bad timing on my part that I didn't click on the checkout button, when the extra's were still in-stock. A few hours later and they were gone, gone, GONE.
Possible that a pre-order buyer might cancel, and those might become available. But that's pure happenstance. And forget about the secondary market on these kinds of custom-run goodies. The shysters are already salivating, and I want no part of that scene whatsoever.
Now on a related note... I've been noticing a trend where some dealers/clubs are announcing a custom-run or two AFTER THE ITEMS GO INTO PRODUCTION. In those cases, they're doing some speculation that they'll be able to sell the items they're announcing as custom-runs. It isn't BTO in the true sense, but those tend to be limited production items nonetheless.
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mopac
Full Member
Posts: 142
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Post by mopac on May 4, 2024 14:43:23 GMT
Capitalism & Free Enterprise are what built the USA into the biggest economic powerhouse the world has ever seen.
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Post by rockymountaineer on May 5, 2024 1:25:14 GMT
Success!!!! As of Saturday evening, those RJ Corman Atlas-O Trinity Tankers are available (again) on Mr. Muffin's website. I was checking something else and thought... why not check the RJ Corman tankers while I'm here... and sure enough I was able to add them to my cart and buy them. So we'll see what happens. Steve's webstore is usually accurate... and updated in realtime. Keeping my fingers crossed. 
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Post by frankmulligan on May 7, 2024 20:05:16 GMT
I was on Trainz' website and I saw a reefer that I wanted, but it was listed as sold. I clicked on the item for more detail and the price came up. So, I figured I'd put it in my cart, along with a separate reefer and purchased it right away. I ended up getting the car. I've never seen that before. I tend to think someone had it in their cart and just didn't commit to purchase it yet.
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Post by frankmulligan on May 7, 2024 20:17:25 GMT
From what I understand there is a maximum that some manufacturers place on custom runs. Why, I have no idea. Also, I believe dealers and clubs who place custom runs need to estimate how many of an item they will be able to sell. I know some items have not been made due to lack of orders. Some of these custom run locos can be $2000 or higher. Can you imagine a dealer getting stuck with 10 of these?!? Here's a product that doesn't seem to be selling well at all: www.tcatrains.org/product/mth-pennsylvania-reading-seashore-lines-heavy-duty-snow-plow/They've had 95 in stock now for over a month. |
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Post by firewood on May 7, 2024 21:00:07 GMT
Well, that’s interesting - I’d have thought a NorthEastern US roadname would sell quickly. Let’s see how it goes now that you’ve posted the link. 😉
Dave
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Post by rockymountaineer on May 8, 2024 13:48:54 GMT
From what I understand there is a maximum that some manufacturers place on custom runs. Why, I have no idea. ... Generally speaking, this seems counter-intuitive to me. But I suppose anything is possible. I do know that the importers need to sign off on a custom-run being made... so as not to compete with a regular-production offering that might be scheduled in an upcoming catalog, for example. And the custom-run is limited to offerings in the current catalog production cycle. Legacy Station's Space Force tankers were limited to those offered in the recent catalog. I suggested they me made as a VisionLine product with FreightSounds, like Lionel's first VisionLine tankers in 2008. But that option wasn't available to Legacy Station, since Lionel's catalog didn't have VisionLine tankers.
Once again... there are essentially three types of custom-run categories: [1] announce, take pre-orders, then submit the order with the importer. This is the most common scenario, and often occurs within days/weeks of a new catalog being released. [2] Place an order with the importer, then announce at a later date to take pre-orders. [3] Place an order with the importer, then surprise announce when the offering is delivered for immediate availability.
I can't recall the last time we've seen category [3]. But we've seen several instances of category [2] this year... likely because SO MANY custom runs are now being offered. So dealers/clubs have decided to spread out their announcements to not overwhelm folks with too many offerings at one time. I've seen this occur with some offerings this year from METCA, The Train Loft, and Pat's Trains. METCA did it with their clear-shell E6 locomotive offering. And The Train Loft and Pat's Trains did it with their H-7 offerings.
Locomotives from Lionel now have a MINIMUM production commitment of 40 units (up from 20 units a couple of years ago). So category [2] and [3] offerings are a pretty gutsy move, since there's no pre-order window to test a custom-run's viability.
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