I've recently noticed that sometimes items that are on-sale at Walthers.com were at a lower price than at any Internet discount site or at the local hobby shop. I asked a not-so-local hobby shop and he said he would honor the Walthers sale price, but the Internet site I asked said he would not. I would have expected the sale price at Walthers to fillter down to sites and shops quickly, but maybe I just don't understand that which makes sense to me. Example: Walthers currently has some Proto (Life-Like) FA-1 and FB-1 powered sets for $31.98 which is a price I have not seen anywhere. Jim
Jim, Those FA sets have been on sale for a long time. A few months back they were in the high $30s, and most roads were available. They went back to regular price for a month or so, then reappeared at the now $31.98 price, but as you can see, very limited roads. They must be getting close to clearing them out. When they blow things out, they really price them to move. That is an excellent price for a 2-powered unit set. And they pull well. The only rub I can see with the FAs is that they are not DCC ready. I think you can have the frame milled, and hardwire a decoder in there if you need them DCC, but then you have added $30 (or so) to the cost of the set before decoder cost. But if you are a DC guy, those units are a steal. They are nice to have around for the kids to run. You can take them out when the youngsters come round and want to "run" a train with the throttle, etc. The downside is minimal if anything happens. I've heard rumors that they are just trying to clear these non-DCC units so they can come out with the new DCC-ready chasis. Who knows? But they sure are tempting.
I'm not a DCC guy so I could not resist such a great price so I ordered a set. Didn't get my first choice in road name, but a little repainting and redecaling later is an easy fix. Then again, maybe I'll keep them as Readings just to show the PRR gods that they should have used a little more color in their engines. As you mentioned, the price may be low as the engines may be scheduled to be replaced. But I would think the Internet shops and LHS would know this also and reduce their prices also to clear the shelves so to speak.
I just received the Walther's January 2008 sale catalog and I don't see the N scale FA1s. Do you have a page number? I do see some other good deals like a LL GP38-2 for $12.98, page 54. I presume this is the old non-split frame version? The EMD SW8s are $31.98 on the same page.
Sale pricing roll-down at Walthers.com I just checked the Walthers web site and I see the Alco FA/FB sets are listed on page 3 of the on sale locomotives. Listed as Proto.
One of the things to watch out for at Walthers is the cost of _shipping_. I have heard it is very steep. If I was an etailer with reasonable shipping cost I would not meet such prices. Disclosure: I work for Pacific Wester Rail Systems - an etailer that does not advertise on trainboard.
I am new to the Walther's catalog and I am now getting the "sale" items by mail. I just want to understand, but I do not see any FA1s for sale at Walthers, either in the sale catalog or on the website.
Walther's website: advanced search/locomotive-traction/N/in stock and on sale items. Page 3 under Proto. That should get you there.
Very simple, I see. So you do have to search, but apparently, any time something is for sale, this search will call it up. Thanks for the help, Ray! :thumbs_up: [edit] Using this search, I also see the Life-Like $12.98 GP38-2. ATSF, CR, BN, CSX.
They are no worse then any other etailer that I buy from. Actually they are right on par with the industry from what I've seen. Having said that, it takes 30 days for it to arrive at my APO address because the "ship cheapest way" option = USPS parcel post, but I'm never in a hurry when I buy from them anyway. Brian
They have the high end turntable on sale for $189, about 37% off retail of $300. I asked my LHS about it and they said they don't always pass those prices on, but they would match it to make the sale. Might be worth asking. The dealer has usually paid for his stock, perhaps before the sale is announced and can't sell at a loss. In other instances, I have had an LHS owner tell me that Walthers will give them similar credits on future purhcases to make up for the discounted sale on a current item. He may have been saying that to justify a sale at a lower price, and "save face" or maybe he had such a deal with walthers, I don't know. Short version, I bet if you take the catalogue to an LHS, in many cases they would match the price.
They are the old ones with the motor in the middle and weights in the front and back, no lights either. They run OK. My LHS ordered a bunch. I bought one of the BN units and will probably buy another (he's holding it) and renumber it. A fellow ntrak member bought a couple and put DZ123s in each, we speed matched them and we ran them as a double header on a 70+ car train at the most recent show we did. I think it was 70, may have been 50, I can't remember.
I have ordered directly from Walthers.com a few times and the orders arrived in a week with a reasonable shipping cost. When your looking for something specific, or just a great deal on something you had not planned on, they are another source for potential sale items along with their flyer, Internet sites, auction site, and your local hobby shop that you should check for the best value. Jim p.s. My FA-1 & FB-1 are on-the-way. Now if they would drop the sales price on the C-Liner....
Jim, it appears the C-Liners are on sale: Under the "Proto" section for $59.98 for the A-B set. I have not checked how "good" a discount that is, but at least they are on sale. For the DCC guys: The C-Liners are not too difficult to convert, I just did a AB set (and left a mini-tutorial in the Trainboard "DCC and Electronics" section). Cheers Dirk
Dirk, I was hoping the A units on sale for $33.98 would drop again. I don't do DCC so that's not a concern. Jim
