|
|
Post by josef on Dec 28, 2023 11:58:18 GMT
So here we are... nearly one month after I started this thread... and I stumbled upon a YouTube review of this set by one of the popular YouTubers. Interesting perspective in that he maintains a very upbeat attitude about this set despite the gross misspelling error... almost as if "near perfect" in a product is OK these days.
Frankly, I think it sends the wrong message to Lionel execs that the bean-counters can continue scraping every last penny of profit out of the company... pumping out ever-larger catalogs with a seemingly endless number of products. And even when errors are made, it's OK... because... well, that's just the way it is. Stuff happens... and we must take whatever is delivered as a matter of course. These social media "influencers" are definitely an interesting breed for sure. They don't influence my buying habits in the slightest, but there's no denying their audience: nearly 47,000 subscribers and nearly that many views of this video in less than a week. Online train forum stats pale in comparison.
Lionel must be grinning from ear-to-ear. And they have absolutely no incentive whatsoever to correct the error in this flagship 2023 passenger set, when one of the big YouTubers thinks this set is worthy of a "train set of the year" award. All I can do is shake my head, while sadly acknowledging the quest for excellence is now dead... because producing upbeat, positive videos has taken precedence over tasking today's model train importers to do better. Sigh.....
For some reason that hit me after watching so many O gauge Videos of new purchases of products, mostly Lionel, I came to the conclusion that they purchase many just to have an audience and hopefully see some return in way of monetary gain. They never seem to cover the faults or that the product just has a few changes, decals, paint, or gizmos added to an old mold that represents engines for every railroad and isn't a true version. Personally I can't for the life of me figure out were they acquire the funds to purchase all these releases every year, every release produced. Also wonder how many will be seeing running time after the video is made. I also think to myself that every time a new Big Boy is released with new added features, they have to have it to replace their previous BB. How many BB can one have on their layout or run at one time? I no longer watch these videos and haven't in months since their not giving true evaluation of a product. I believe also the ones that have a big following also get huge discounts or free samples to show on their YouTube channels.
|
|
|
|
Post by dlagrua on Dec 28, 2023 12:35:54 GMT
Although choosing not to be a member of the "deep pocket" Lionel buyers, I sometimes wonder what the agenda is at that company. When you are selling a $2000 or $3000 Chinese engine that IMO is worth $500 it doesn't take more than selling a batch of a few hundred to make a considerable profit.
My layout runs very few products manufactured after about 1990 and the total layout presentation is very satisfying to me. The layout has four loops and there are probably about 75 engines and 300 rolling stock in my collection. Do I need more??? What is surprising is that no matter how high the prices go there is a dedicated group that still purchases the new product irrespective of quality.
In closing I will just say that consumers should expect and have every right to deserve value and high quality for their money but the L logo seems the only thing important to some.
|
|
|
|
Post by healey36 on Dec 28, 2023 15:51:24 GMT
To be fair, they (Lionel) offer quite a lot in the sub-$500 range, especially entry-level sets, and hopefully that will continue. I recall the early Richard Kughn days of $1200 locomotives and little else, and that was discouraging. I find the accelerating disappearance of the Williams line under the stewardship of Bachmann to be more discouraging. Williams made a lot of nice relatively bullet-proof stuff over the years, but now there's not much out there.
|
|
|
|
Post by rockymountaineer on Dec 28, 2023 16:11:18 GMT
To be fair, they (Lionel) offer quite a lot in the sub-$500 range, especially entry-level sets, and hopefully that will continue. I recall the early Richard Kughn days of $1200 locomotives and little else, and that was discouraging. I find the accelerating disappearance of the Williams line under the stewardship of Bachmann to be more discouraging. Williams made a lot of nice relatively bullet-proof stuff over the years, but now there's not much out there. No argument that Lionel's hefty Big Book doesn't have a wide variety of product for everyone. But just to be clear, the point of this thread was not that Lionel ONLY caters to the affluent... but that when they DO cater to their big-ticket market, they can't treat those buyers as if they're buying throw-away "starter" products.
To summarize, Lionel committed TWO major faux-pas with their Sleigh Bell Ltd passenger set: (1) the misspelling screw-up which was clearly identified AND acknowledged BEFORE production, and (2) the deafening silence that Lionel would step forward and make it right for buyers who spent between $1,300-$1,800 for the 7-car passenger set (not including locomotives). The first faux-pas was unfortunate. The second was and still is unforgivable.
|
|
|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Dec 28, 2023 16:27:16 GMT
Please allow me to float out this variation of RM's recent post with which I agree.
Let's consider for a moment what the so called influencers are hawking. Sleigh Bell Limited Train of the Year, The 20th Century Dreyfuss that looks great, and oh those cars that were ridiculously expensive ('C'mon Lionel' or words to that effect) on his 2023 Catalog video now look so good with that engine that he just had to have a set which his hobby store had in stock. The more plausible explanation is that the MTH cars he was planning to use did not match the new Dreyfuss!
Paint or striping issues were given lip service because if you forget about the real 20th Century Limited, this set is 'gorgeous in its' own right' and the water scoop effects, whistle steam Legacy Sound and other features make it all worth while. Maybe they should have named the set the 21st Century Limited as a fantasy scheme release.
Nothing but high fives and smiley faces on these two infomercials feigning as legitimate reviews.
Rather than indicating robust sales, I take this to mean that the sales of these two sets are possibly flagging/being returned/canceled otherwise why would these hucksters be promoting them? They sure waited long enough. In the meantime they were promoting starter sets or were absent. Likely they were trying to figure out how to scrub their message on sets that were clearly problematic except for those individuals who have lowered their expectations accordingly.
Trainworld in their promotion of the Sleigh Bell set does not even show the 4 pack. If you seek it out, they have a warning about the misspelling.
And yes josef, it is all about the money, build up your subscriber count so you can monetize your content.
But to RM's point about the rise of the influencers I am not so sure that subscribers and views translate into actual sales. As my wife who is advertising will attest the ratio of views/impressions to actual sales of product is an inexact science at best.
Unless the viewers are self made IT zillionaires, do the majority of viewers have the kind of where with all to buy? Manufacturer's and certain dealers likely support influencers because it is a cheap compliment or substitute to their advertising budget.
Remember in the old days when you asked youngsters what they wanted to be when they grew up, it was a doctor, a police/fire/armed services person, engineer etc. If any of my children had said they wanted to grow up to be an influencer I would not have been pleased to say the least.
|
|
|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Dec 28, 2023 18:14:28 GMT
As some of you may have guessed from my videos, the large amount of records along the walls hints that I may listen to music. I mention this within the context of influencers/reviewers.
While the audio community has more than it's fair share of click bait empty headed aping to the camera types there are also a far greater number of legitimate reviewer/influencers than to my knowledge we have in the train hobby.
The point is not to opine about the why's and where fors of that apparent fact but to bemoan the absence of real honest to goodness knowledgeable reviewers with You Tube channels.
We know you have to be out there, show yourselves!
If you know of any good train reviewers please let us know, even if it is yourself. Self promotion is not a sin if it is warranted and you deliver content of merit.
The best way to get rid of some of our gadflys is to promote the real experts who have the right to be influencers in the best possible sense.
Let me kick this off with my favorite influencer/expert Sean of Sean's Trains. If you are not looking at his You Tube channel which is more nuts and bolts rather than train reviews per se you are missing a guy with real bona fide talent.
|
|
|
|
Post by josef on Dec 28, 2023 20:19:11 GMT
As some of you may have guessed from my videos, the large amount of records along the walls hints that I may listen to music. I mention this within the context of influencers/reviewers. While the audio community has more than it's fair share of click bait empty headed aping to the camera types there are also a far greater number of legitimate reviewer/influencers than to my knowledge we have in the train hobby. The point is not to opine about the why's and where fors of that apparent fact but to bemoan the absence of real honest to goodness knowledgeable reviewers with You Tube channels. We know you have to be out there, show yourselves! If you know of any good train reviewers please let us know, even if it is yourself. Self promotion is not a sin if it is warranted and you deliver content of merit. The best way to get rid of some of our gadflys is to promote the real experts who have the right to be influencers in the best possible sense. Let me kick this off with my favorite influencer/expert Sean of Sean's Trains. If you are not looking at his You Tube channel which is more nuts and bolts rather than train reviews per se you are missing a guy with real bona fide talent. If this is the Sean your writing about, yes, he has a great site.
|
|
|
|
Post by runamuckchuck on Jan 10, 2024 0:51:52 GMT
As some of you may have guessed from my videos, the large amount of records along the walls hints that I may listen to music. I mention this within the context of influencers/reviewers. While the audio community has more than it's fair share of click bait empty headed aping to the camera types there are also a far greater number of legitimate reviewer/influencers than to my knowledge we have in the train hobby. The point is not to opine about the why's and where fors of that apparent fact but to bemoan the absence of real honest to goodness knowledgeable reviewers with You Tube channels. We know you have to be out there, show yourselves! If you know of any good train reviewers please let us know, even if it is yourself. Self promotion is not a sin if it is warranted and you deliver content of merit. The best way to get rid of some of our gadflys is to promote the real experts who have the right to be influencers in the best possible sense. Let me kick this off with my favorite influencer/expert Sean of Sean's Trains. If you are not looking at his You Tube channel which is more nuts and bolts rather than train reviews per se you are missing a guy with real bona fide talent. Yes indeed! If this is the Sean you're writing about, yes, he has a great site.
|
|
