Is it just me??

Is it just me or are you guys getting tired of manufacturers anouncing stuff a decade or two in advance?? And of course then it doesnt show up when they say or maybe never at all....I mean...come on...literally waiting years for some items to show up. I am getting so old I wonder if I will live long enough to actually see some of this stuff. If I pre order are the grandkids abliged to buy the stuff when it finally arrives years after my demise?
:tb-mad:

 

Like the Con-Cor Navajo?

 

Personally, I'd rather know what the manufacturer's plans are than not know. I know that the Atlas Dash 8-40C will be out around 11/2008, the Atlas Dash 8-40CW will be out around 3/2009, and the Kato SD70ACe will be out around 5/2009. I can budget accordingly so I don't grab another bunch of GP38s and then not be able to afford the models I would rather have when they hit the stores by surprise. BTW I do not plan on pre-ordering any of these; my LHS will usually get them for me in advance no problem. Besides, you could always just ignore all the advance announcements Jamie

 

My LHS allows me to cancel pre-orders as long as I do it early enough that they can cancel that part of their pre-order.

This just becomes a modeling challenge. If nobody is yet making that loco you need you just have to build it yourself. For inspiration on some of the oddball projects I consider I just lurk for a while over in the Z scale forum.

:thumbs_up::thumbs_up::thumbs_up:

 

Concur with Jamie ... I like to know what's coming rather than have it just 'pop-up' at the last minute. :tb-smile:

 

The Navajo was delivered. It was however about 1 yr after originally expected.

The C-C Surfliners were announced in 2002 and so far we have yet to see them however.

 

Oldrk,

Before I get wound up. I'l take a minute to say I like the most recent picture you posted. Looks good! Now to the heavy stuff.

This Rick's Lament!

I've watched and listened over the years in wonderment as we complained about late deliveries or no delivery at all. I've been involved with model railroading since I was 12 years old. Working in HO and now N scale. The good news is: Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed? That's good news?

All the whining, fussing, fuming, name calling, references to or about someones mother, crying and throwing a tantrum on the floor has accomplished NOTHING! NOTHING...just in case you missed it the first time.

The concept of pre-ordering is undermined by the lateness of said deliveries. After years of disappointment...both in the delivery and end product. I seldom give these announcements my full attention or give it a second thought knowing full well that, "It will be delivered, when it is delivered" I growled with a sneering expression.

To answer Oldrk's question. No, it isn't just you and No, you aren't alone.

To follow your thought: My dearly departed Dad, wanted to see a Cab Forward operating on his railroad. He called them a "Back Up" as did other rails of that time. He passed while waiting for such a delivery. We kept hearing rumors and then finally an announcement. He didn't live to see his dream come true. I promised I'd buy one when it comes out...but little good that does him. Those of us moving along in years do have the right to question and wonder about this on going but nasty habit, on behalf of our model railroad providers.

The only attitude I can have toward all of this is "Wait and See". I don't pre-order, I don't encourage you to pre-order... unless they can give you a 10% discount for every month they are late and a free one if it takes longer then two years to make the final delivery. Grin!

Like that's going to happen. Heck, most of the time they jack the price up.

Back to the fun...I was having making fun of this whole pre-order nonsense. That said without a grin...hurrmph! So where's the fun?

I honestly think these announcements so far in advance are to discourage other would be competitors from building said locomotive. Does that make sense to you? Never mind the false hope it sets up for us the customer.

As a good friend once said, "It is what it is".

 

I like knowing what's in the pipeline, too, but I absolutely detest "delivery dates" that are consistently missed by anywhere from 2 -12 MONTHS!

 

Actually Wig-Wag gives about a $10 buck discount on pre-orders requested before the due-by date, so if it comes in great, if not no big deal. I do understand how some people don't care for all the pre-order hype. Stinks if you are really counting on a delivery that gets cancelled.

However, it does seem to me this helps us out in the long run because it enables the manufacturer to get tangiable feedback on how many units they will sell of a particular model before starting production. This way, they make only what they will sell (plus a certain % more), which means they do not have a bunch of dead stock sitting around unsold, which means better margin for them and ultimately the best selection and pricing for the modeler. Or at least that's how my theory goes

Jamie

 

I pre-order, but only from a dealer who doen't require a deposit. If the item comes in then it's great, if not, oh well. I have pre-ordered for products from Atlas, Kato, Athearn and IM. IM is the worst when it comes to slow delivery but it does show up most of the time. I just don't let late deliveries bother me.

Dave

 

I don't so much mind waiting, for instance, until April 2010 for a loco as much as when April 2010 arrives to be told the loco won't be delivered till late 2011. These are N scale locomotives, not the space shuttle, why is it so hard to stick to a delivery date?

 

I don't mind the waiting as long as the end product is correct and not full of inexcusable detail flaws.By that I mean the cab windows are to short/tall,locomotive over length is to short/long causing the engine to look like that GP7/9 monastery that Atlas/Kato did in '87.

Of course I am not to fond of "vapor ware" models either that never gets produce.

 

This lament seems to be the norm in the hobby industry. I also purchase 1/35th scale armor and 1/32nd scale slot cars. If you go to boards relating to those two subjects,you will see the same kind of posts as this. We are not alone. It seems all hobby manufacturers suffer from this. What is really wierd are the models that show up out of the blue. You know the ones that weren't pre-announced. I don't get it.

Outa here,

 

On the other hand, it's not like we're waiting on a kidney, or on life-saving medication.

I have placed very few pre-orders ever. It just makes me pine for the new stuff. These customary 2 plus month delays have actually helped me because it seems that something always goes screwball at the original release date, such as I suddenly need to make a car repair. One time, the furnace went out and that cost me $389. I could have bought some really nice N scale stuff for $389, but I would have been playing with it in cold storage.

 

You can buy a furnace, or N Scale equipment for $389? Dang, I've been paying too much. Right now I'm sweating the possibility of Broadway cars, Walthers 2-8-8-2, and PCM locos all coming the same month. Won't happen but I worry anyway.

I'm not against announcements covering long periods of time. I wish every manufacturer would announce their 5-year plan. And stick too it, of course. It would at least cut out the silly speculation threads on "what's next?" as soon as one product is delivered.


Ben

 

I like the Atlas system: announce things about six months in advance (when the design and perhaps even the tooling are already in place) and then deliver on time, subject only to the uncertainties of Chinese manufacture. Kato seems to be following a similar pattern, but even though they control their own production, it sometimes takes longer than they first think.

But the old ConCor policy of floating rumors a decade in advance or PCM's announcing a model when it's just an idea in some employee's head seems to be becoming a thing of the past--due to the very loss of credibility such a marketing strategy engenders.

 

I've got so much crap on order that every month something shows up.

 

No your not alone in your feelings. I can hardly keep up anymore with all the Pre Orders that I have. It wouldn't be as bad if the manufacturers would come out with there products when they say that they will but we all know that rarely happens. Also it would be nice if Pre Orders were advertised or Pre Orders were opened three months before release. You could still plan/budget but the anticipation wouldn't be as great either.
Just my two bits:tb-confused:

 

This has got to be the funniest post I have seen here all week!

:thumbs_up::thumbs_up::thumbs_up::thumbs_up:

 

Like MTL, apart from the odd item like the heavyweights that Joe's given us the heads up on, and the runner packs we don't know what they're up to till they make their monthly product announcements of items that will be out in a couple of weeks and they've been around for years and seem to do pretty good business.

Would it be better or worse to have a new loco turn up out of the blue and decide "Oh well, I can't afford it at the moment, I'll have to pass it up", or have a have a dozen locos you ordered all turn up at the same time because of planned delivery dates, and hence your expenses, spread over a year or so not being met? I think shorter delivery times would help budgeting because they could be more accurate. You've just got to resist the temptation to buy if you can't afford it.