Athearn Are You Serious?!?

Virginian Railway Jun 4, 2014

  1. Kisatchie

    Kisatchie TrainBoard Member

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    I have to disagree with those saying, let Athearn off the hook. Athearn went with a cheaper method of packing the cars, so they should have to make good on their warranty.
     
  2. Doug A.

    Doug A. TrainBoard Supporter

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    Something isn't right. ALL of the previous runs of Athearn bethgons going back to the very first were in the vacuum formed packaging until very recent. I haven't purchased EVERY run of every roadname, but from what I know the change has been made since the change in factory a year or two ago. There MAY have been one or two runs prior to that, but CERTAINLY the latest runs of BNSF and BN are in individual jewel cases, not the vacuum formed packaging. (Of course, there MAY have been a situation where they "used up" the vacu-formed cradles, in which case part of the run may indeed have been in those... I honestly cannot imagine them doing that though.) But the ones I have from the latest run (confirmed by road number among other methods) were in separate jewel cases.

    And I certainly stand to be proven wrong, but being a hard-core coal guy, I am pretty sure that what I'm saying is accurate. If you got them off eBay they MIGHT not be the new run, or the may have simply wanted to keep the jewel cases and swapped them out with old packaging. It should be easy to tell...the new ones have metal wheels.

    I don't recall seeing anyone suggesting Athearn be let off the hook for this issue...only to give them time to respond. It is very possible that if this is a widespread issue they may have their hands full and they're trying to figure out how to proceed. They may even be considering another run or something. I don't think anyone should be expected to accept broken items, nor do I think Athearn or any reputable hobby shop would expect you to. But flying off the handle isn't gonna help the situation...if they haven't responded soon, then turn up the heat a little.
     
  3. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    To me, post #19 seems to read of taking a route which would let them off the hook.
     
  4. J911

    J911 TrainBoard Member

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    And they shouldn't. Were paying top dollar for the product should it not meet the value? If they are going to provide poor standards than it should be a poor dollar.

    Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
     
  5. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Up until now I haven't weighed in on this but now is the time. When one pays the prices one is doing today for something like this one expects to have it arrive in good shape. Expecting to sit and try to assemble all the minute little pieces to re-glue everything is not what you pay your dollars for. When something breaks rather than just comes apart you can never get it back like it was because there will always be some small piece that is either missing or just defies the odds to get it in the right place because it is that small. Actual breakage versus just coming apart are two different things. If it broke it is Athearn's or their contracting factory's issue not yours. If it came apart re-glue it back and let them know your dissatisfaction so they can take steps to insure it doesn't happen again. If it is broke upon arrival send it back and let them honor their stated warranty.
     
  6. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Oh Oh...Flo-Bot...is...broken !!!

    I agree with most.

    If something just 'fell off'...glue it back on.

    If it's 'broken"...send it back !!
     
  7. Doug A.

    Doug A. TrainBoard Supporter

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    I see. Fair enough...I stand corrected.

    Anyway, I guess part of that is maybe just not having to deal with the return process or an argument with Athearn. In other words, not saying it's not Athearn's fault, but realizing that you can spend a ton of time and stress trying to achieve justice, versus just moving on. (not saying that's what I would do, just that that's how I interpreted it)

    I do think that one of mine had a loose weight but I don't think the supports were broken. I'll check....who knows I might have to break out the pitchforks and torches and join in!!! :rolleyes:
     
  8. Virginian Railway

    Virginian Railway TrainBoard Member

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    Well I called Athearn today, but all I got was a recording saying the guy I needed to talk to was out for a few days. Oh well I can wait.
     
  9. NS1980

    NS1980 TrainBoard Member

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    I myself had the same thing happen when I opened my 5-pak of new NS bethgons at least 1 or 2 of the car weights came unglued & damaged the internal braces beyond repair. But fortunately for me I run my cars with coal loads dropped in at all times therefore I basically remove all braces anyway. But my point is at that particular time when these braces where damaged I thought that's really not supposed to happen & if I did want to use these braces I wouldn't have the option. I just got lucky I guess which is not the norm for me.
     
  10. Virginian Railway

    Virginian Railway TrainBoard Member

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    I was able to go to the LHS and return my cars today. With my refund I picked up a knife set, some Unitrack, and Kato power pack. They also owed me some money after that so I actually left with more money than I came in with! I'm glad this whole ordeal is over with.
     
  11. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

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    When you tacitly accept inferior quality like was stated here, then you are setting a new acceptable standard of expectation and letting the manufacturer off the hook for delivering anything more than the accepted standards. The only way to keep the quality high is to bring this to their attention for remedy or refund. Money is the loudest voice.

    In contrast to what has been said before, could it be more a function of the glue that was used than the change in packaging?

    I am not trying to let Athearn off the hook, but I do think that pointing the finger at the packaging without looking at other potential causes is a tad shortsighted. It is best to get to the true cause of the problem rather than focus on one possibility at the expense of other possibilities.

    I have had the same thing happen with another manufacturers cars and brought it to their attention. In that case the issue was simple, there was no glue used to keep the weights in place. That was remedied at the factory.
     
  12. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

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    To reinforce the comments, above, it’s essential to inform the manufacturers in the event that their process needs improvement. This is particularly applicable to those "manufacturers" who are not actual producers. They may receive sealed boxes from the off-shore assembly subcontractor and reship them to stateside distributors/dealers without adequate quality control inspections.

    Merely returning the product for a refund, or posting a complaint on a forum such as this one, doesn’t always close the loop with the manufacturer. The manufacturer may erroneously conclude that a given product didn’t sell well simply because there was a lack of consumer demand, rather than a problem at the factory or in the supply chain which prevented that item from being delivered to the end customer in saleable condition. The end result can be that the item in question will never again be produced.
     

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