a little OT - Unhappy events at Athearn Models

I have a feeling you are about to be out of luck. According to a dealer friend of mine Horizon is suppose to be sending out disposable cameras for you to take a picture of your store front. He also mentioned something about minimum order limits before Horizon will even sell to you. I can imagine the excitement in other companies that compete with Athearn. This is a major mistake I think

Jerry

I have noticed several saying they will have to drive several hours to hobby shops to buy Athearn. I don't understand that. I buy almost all my Athearn thru the mail. I order from discount hobby shops but they are for the most part actual store fronts. For instance, I order a lot from MB Klien in Baltimore and Caboose Hobby in Denver. Outside of maybe increase in price and lack of parts if production goes to China, I don't see any real problem making one drive to a hobby shop

Jerry

Rick, many of the companies that Walthers "swallowed up" were taken over because Walthers loaned them money and they could not pay it back.

Back in the early '80's, Hobbies for Men, in Beacon, NY would buy large quantities of product direct from the manufacturer, get great credit terms, then default on the bill. In order for the manufacturers to cover their costs, they borrowed money from Walthers, using the business as collateral. Magneson Models is one example. Those kits are now the basis of Walthers cornerstone series. Fortunately, the owner of Magneson made a comeback as DPM.

There are many others that got screwed by HFM.

-- Please note; return email address has changed. It is now snipped-for-privacy@sbcglobal.net. Emails to Earthlink will be ignored.

The Gratiot Valley Railroad Club bi-annual train show and sale March 7, 2004, at the Macomb Community College Sports and Expo Center. Macomb County Michigan. Please visit our Web Site at:

since

interesting

I believe they are owned and distributed by Hobby Stores Distributing, but can't swear to it.

I get my Branchline kits through the LHS where my repair shop is colocated.

-- Len Head Rust Scraper KL&B Eastern Lines RR Museum

operators. It's

For the record, my repair shop is located in a 'brick & mortar' shopping center. I am colocated with, but legally a seperate business from, a retail train store in the shopping center.

Right now I can use my "Industrial Account" to get Athearn parts for my shop through Walthers. My, and my customer's, concern is whether I will still be able to get those parts after March 1st, as neither Horizon or Athearn has addressed how, or if, they will deal with repair shops like mine.

respective states like

Comp, they

they keep any

You're assuming facts not in evidence, and taking overly broad strokes with accusations I know to be false in the case of many 'basement' parts dealers I do business with.

Many of them are sole proprietorships that do not generate a large enough volumn of parts sales to justify the expense of a 'brick & mortar' location. So they work out of their basesments. In every case they have been more than willing to exchange sales tax IDs for keeping track of parts bought or sold for resale.

Operating out of a basement does not automatically equal breaking the law.

-- Len Head Rust Scraper KL&B Eastern Lines RR Museum

"Mark Mathu" wrote in news:8DPLb.70217$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com:

snip

No one is. But if you want a Farri, you don't go to the Ford dealship.

"Art Marsh" wrote in news:wkPLb.2772$zj7.30 @newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net:

I regard supporting local hobby stores as enlightened self interest.

For instance, I just went and dropped $500 yesterday at a local hobby store. (And I got a nice discount too.)

Why would I do that when I could have saved about $50 buying online, or $100 for buying from an independent without a store?

Well, if I need spikes, or 2 turnouts, I can go to the hobby store and leave with them. Can I do that at an independent? Well, maybe, if he happens to have some around.

An internet store? Forget it. Not only will I have to wait, but I'll pay shipping on top of it, and state tax too, soon.

The independent distributors will still have other lines they can sell, if they wish.

Hobby stores have thousands of dollars worth of stock. At some point, it's going to pay them more to go out of business and just draw intrest on that money. The hobby will be in dire straits if that happens.

Independants keep a low profile. There is no place for John Q Public to go to see the hobby, without hobby stores. Model Railroading will become a thing of the past as fewer and fewer people see it.

Now, if they want to say, OK, you can continue in this vein, but you have to have sales of X dollars a year, then I would think that would keep most everyone happy. The stores may still be a bit unhappy, but these things are frequently a trade off.

I'm sorry to have to disagree with you. It's obvious that you have a particular passion for independent hobby dealers.

I am one of your so called gargage operations. For you to suggest that I do not pay taxes is absurd. As a matter of fact, I pay twice the rate as you and most others do and double the Social Security.

As for your insinuation of a paper trail, you have this all wrong also. It is much easier for a storefront to cheat the government than a strictly mail order business. Virtually every penny of my income is generated electronically and readily traceable as opposed to a store who deals in far more cash.

Your example of HSD/ Branchline is an excellent one as they already have one foot out the door and the other on a bananna peel. Horizon /Athearn may find the same fate waiting for them in the near future, and they deserve nothing better.

You are cetainly entitled to your opinions but before you spew the mindless and baseless blather that you do, you should at least get your facts straight and be able to substantiate them.

Mail order is a convenient and economic means for the consumer not only in Model Railroading, but in countless other markets as well. Most dealers are equally as legitimate as any store if not more so.

If you and others want to march into stores and pay higher prices, that is your business, but where do come off admonishing others because they want to save money. To some this is a hobby they enjoy and they must juggle their funds after feeding and supporting a family and sending two or three kids off to college.

And, by the way any time you wish to purchase anything at full retail that the stores charge, please let me know, I would be most happy to accomdate you and if your order is large enough, I will pay the freight and throw in some free product...something your favorite store would never even consider.

Al

Technology passed those companies by; Ulrich continued to make the same die cast metal cars without upgrading the quality. Silver streak ditto; except crappy wood kits.

You can't compare the quality of what Walthers sells today with what they sold decades ago. Sure, those companies are gone (even though Ulrich is still trying to return to business with improved dies). Even Athearn quit selling the lithographed side kits.

How do you figure? You either have a brick and mortar (whether you sell mail order or not; give discounts or not) or you sell out of your house (ditto). It's one or the other. Horizon is just saying you have to do the former.

I have to agree, if the minimum order policy is correct. Eventually, Horizon may fine tune that, but only after losing ground to others.

Actually it has to do with Walthers enforcement of it's own rules. I'm quite aware of the store you mention and the fact that I was required to prove I have a storefront (including after this past years relocation). I like to dig at them occassionally at trade shows because of this. I usually get "I don't know" even though I'll bring out copies of ads after they tap dance.

Dave

Actually I would have looke to cannibalize another car if possible and hten gotten a replacement or credit from my distributor. You would not have had to drive back either as I would have sent it to you. Dealers need to add the extra customer service in my opinion to stay ahead of the competition.

Dave

It's $300 per month net or about $10 per day net. If a store can't sell the equivalent of one or two freight cars per day then they have bigger issues such as why are they in business. BTW sell three genesis and you'll make that "quota".

Dave

Still does.

I'll bet that won't last. Who do you buy from? If it's mail order only then go with a mail order business with a storefront like MB Kleins or Caboose Hobbies.

Dave

Not a thing. Fill out 15 minutes worth of paper and snap some photos. It's quite painless .

Dave

You read the subject matter incorrectly. He was not talking about you as a consumer. He was talking about the Retailers source distributors. That is a big difference.

Dave

Only via Hobby Stores Distributing and no where else. Oh then that would make them like Horizon wouldn't it?

Dave