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Post by sdivtim on Apr 3, 2020 3:52:31 GMT
This was posted on Facebook by Henning’s Trains. I knew the Alleghenys would not meet the minimum needed. MTH and K-Line has beat them out for a smaller and affordable model. If they put Legacy in it instead of the LC+ 2.0 stuff, it would of sold like Hotcakes.
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Post by rockymountaineer on Apr 3, 2020 4:45:32 GMT
Given the enormous 2020 V1 Catalog, that short list of cancellations is nothing. I'd say lots of dealers are still ordering BTO extra's in order to help Lionel meet its minimum production runs for various offerings... because honestly, I -- and many other peeps I've spoken to -- didn't pre-order much of anything. So we shall see....
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Post by ptc on Apr 3, 2020 11:08:30 GMT
Expect more, in my opinion. Given the fact that many buyers are nervous about GC issues and the impact from covid-19, the market may be uncertain.
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Post by Yellowstone Special on Apr 3, 2020 11:50:59 GMT
So, the first casualties of a bloated catalog.
And yes, there likely will be more.
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Post by harborbelt70 on Apr 3, 2020 11:55:19 GMT
At first sight I thought that some of these, in particular the LionMasters, must be very late cancellations as the Lionel Shipping Schedule (OK, I know it’s unreliable) originally showed them as due this month or next.
But looking at the Charles Ro website, which is normally the most accurate in terms of when main dealers expect to receive Lionel products, it shows that a large number of Lionel products are in fact not expected until a full quarter of a year after their scheduled date. Otherwise Lionel would be receiving tons of products shortly, not only in O but HO and AF as well.
It does look like a few products came in on time and shipped just under the wire in terms of beating the stay at home orders and Lionel’s N.C. facility shutdown. That would explain people on this forum reporting getting Norfolk excursion car sets (in a peculiar color).
What little I have on order doesn’t seem likely to arrive until the second half of this year (August and December), at least according to Ro. Maybe more ominous is that Ro seems to have a lot of inventory from pre-2020 catalogs although none of it is listed at anything resembling blowout prices.
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Post by josef on Apr 3, 2020 12:03:18 GMT
What is amazing is that Lionel still refers to theirs as a "catalog", rather then a "speculation leaflet".
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Post by Adam on Apr 3, 2020 12:16:16 GMT
This is the oddity about this hobby. I don't know if any category of consumer goods where a vendor would release a catalog as a "feeler" with the full intent of not delivering on some of the products. Sure, some companies have delays (a common occurrence in high tech) or occasionally cancel a project that was too ambitious, but the initial intentions are always to deliver.
There are other ways of testing ideas in the market prior to send out what looks like an official, please buy these items, catalog.
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Post by harborbelt70 on Apr 3, 2020 12:27:38 GMT
I know what you mean, Adam, and I am not sticking up for any of the importers (except 3rd Rail, whose info is always credible), but in fact this is the way it’s been for years and well before Lionel’s QC debacles. All of MTH, Atlas and Lionel issue catalogs in the hope of getting advance orders and in a small, marginal and specialized market such as 3 rail O gauge some products are not going to get made in the end. Ro seems to be stuck with a lot of stuff still on the shelves and if he is, I expect other dealers are too. I would not want to be carrying surplus inventory in much better circumstances than at present.
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Post by Craignor on Apr 3, 2020 13:50:12 GMT
With all the screw ups by Lionel, this may be addition by subtraction.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2020 13:59:23 GMT
So far nothing of ours has been affected. We will wait and see!
Gary.
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Post by Sir James on Apr 3, 2020 14:21:21 GMT
With their Terrible QC issues not many buyer's are willing to preorder from Lionel.
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Post by Country Joe on Apr 3, 2020 15:08:44 GMT
I don't pre-order from Lionel, or even MTH, so this cancellation list doesn't affect me. When I see something in a Lionel or MTH catalog that I would be interested in I look at it as a future possibility. When I saw the Railking green cigar band E8 AA set in an MTH catalog I took note and then forgot about it. When I saw the engines a year of more later is when I made the decision to buy.
I much prefer Menards marketing philosophy. When they announce a product it's in stock and ready for purchase and often you get a freebie with it. You don't have to wait a year or two or more. You like it, you order it, and in less than a week it's on your doorstep. If the item is defective Menards replaces it right away. Minimal waiting and no grief.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2020 16:26:01 GMT
Lionel’s catalog was tremendous and this is a small drop in a large bucket. 14 items of which 4 were Alleghenys.
I was amazed that Lionel did not cancel more last year. From what Scott said in his latest newsletter, his products are pretty much on schedule so it appears that Chinese production is ramping back up. BTO may be down but we don’t have the facts.
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Post by JDaddy on Apr 3, 2020 19:43:52 GMT
has the date been extended to order items from the latest catalog?
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Post by josef on Apr 3, 2020 19:54:55 GMT
At my age, ordering any BTO may mean my surviving relative may have to pay for them when finally built. On the other hand, I could place an order in for any of the canceled items and won't think about the wait.
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