Is Walthers ignoring N scale?

Yup! There are a few kits I wouldn't mind buying.

 

Someone needs to tell them Walthers reps that it's a 2 way street. If they didnt price their products so high to begin with (out of the reach of most modelers)...we wouldnt have to wait for the closeout prices ! :tb-mad:

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Amen brother!!!!!

I have been making an NP NCL recently and couldn't believe that Walthers retail for a 72' baggae car was over $30! YIKES!

 

Yes I buy Walthers products also, usually second hand @ swap meets or on clearance. I have almost 60 of their MILW log cars and I dont think I have paid more than $10 for ANY one of them. Retail price on the new ones are almost $20. Yes I am a cheap skate! LOL

 

I think what they need to realize is that the market is speaking to them.

If we are buying the items at the close-out prices... but NOT at the regular overly inflated prices... then the deep discounted price is where the market value of the items 'really' are at. If they refuse to accept that this is what the market will bear... then they will not make sales. Worse yet... because we've become accustomed to those Walthers 'sell-offs' of the past few years... they have created an atmosphere of 'wait and see' from N scalers.

 

When LifeLike was shoving the FA/B1's out the door a few years back I bought a dozen of them. 3 ABBA consists. Took a little work to fit them with Unimate couplers on the B's and rear of the A units but these were [and still are] the best locomotives I own. This is especially true when price is considered. Each consist of four powered locomotives went for about $64.00 total. I loaded up on the GP 20's also. But you just had to know that somethng was in the works because stuff like that does not always happen. Walthers did improve on the LifeLike Y3b but their refusal to sell parts to update the older Lifelike model with traction tires was a signal that they were severing ties to the past. Walthers hit the bottom [so far] as far as I am concerned with the re-release of the NE caboose. A model that could be had for the $4-6.00 range was now suddenly $24.95 with no improvements made in the model. With that, I gave up on Walthers.

Maybe someday they will surprise me but it would take a fundamental change in their management thinking as well as their marketing.

 

I preordered two of the Walthers SW9/1200 switchers...

If it weren't for Walthers buildings, my layout would be pretty bare of structures.

Don't get me wrong the laser-cut buildings are A-OK... But there isn't a lot out there in laser-cut that offers something other than a wood-siding finish.

 

A lot of you guys seem to find this unreasonable. Why? If you were in the hobby supplies business (providing luxury items, not necessities), wouldn't you concentrate on the markets which could return an adequate profit? No manufacturer has a moral obligation to provide us with our toys at low prices. The only way they will do that is if the market forces them to. Apparently, the HO and O scale guys are willing to pay more, and N-scalers are viewed as being overly price conscious. If that is true, the price complaints we constantly post to these boards are probably counterproductive.

MH

 

But you can decide to leave the N-scale market, and concentrate on HO and O...

MH

 

This was the PRIME reason I went with the Atlas GP 38-2 project that I recently had. Knowing that the LL model was more acurate, I still went with Atlas simply due to the fact of parts availabilty. As it turned out, I had lost a couple of headlights and a handrails or 2 in the process. A simple call to Atlas cured my problem. Now if I would have went with the LL model, who knows what would have happened.

 

Don't know. BTW, I'm not opposed to low prices, as such. But when they are too low, I worry about stuff like exploited workers, etc. Few things in life are really "free", correct?

MH

 

The first run of GP 18s were around the $20 range. These were the version with the spring drive. The second run came with the 5 pole motor, flywheel, and split fram design, similar to what the GP 20 had. Now that same second range GP 18/20 is going for $70-80 range, which in my opinion is competitive. It sure beats the latest run of Atlas GP 9's that are well over $100! YIKES!

 

If, (and maybe I will), ever release a "special run" I will probably do it in "N Scale" first simply because I would want it for myself. That said, if I had the time, energy and resources I would definitely do it in HO for the profit.

Profit is good.