Athearn is bought out!!!!!

I've done that. Still, I like finding the odd books at the brick and mortars mainly because my time is limited and if I got into buying tons of books like I used to, I'd never get around to doing anything else, much less read them all....

Wait! I can't read everything I buy now!

:D

Kennedy

Really? I thought they were still making everything at their plant near Reno.

Yes.

Repairs will be handles by Athearn. However as a dealer I find Horizon very quick about fixing problems. They will either send parts or new kit whichever is faster.

Dave

We HAD a train store at the mall. I think it closed. All that's left is those little shops with low overhead...LOWER PRICE, AND A BETTER SELECTION. Woo-hoo!

Jay

Dave, since it appears as you already work with Horizon. What is the minimum monthy purchase required by Horizon in order to use them as a distributer? Also, if they don't have a monthly mininum, what is the minimum order you can place with them? Do they pay for shipping like Walthers does, and what is the normal dealer discount that they work with?

John Binford

I dunno what it is with this town. On the west side, Horizon and it's warehouse. About a mile away, Hobbico and its warehouses. I will admit, I had to chuckle a little bit when I first discovered Great Planes, Tower Hobbies, and Hobbico are all essentially the same company.

-Eric

"Livin' in Champaign"

Don't forget United Models is now part of Great Planes as well. It's a really huge operation. Horizon is right up there with them as they slug it out for the Hobby dollar.

Dave

When it comes to this thread's topic, of Athearn's sale to a distributor, the consensus seems to be "it's bad for the hobby." Peter King simply said he thought it's a bad business decision, where Horizon's policies are concerned.

Curious, I asked a friend whom I telephoned the other day whether he'd heard about it. Sure enough, he had. What did he think of it?

Well, it may turn out to be GOOD for the hobby in the long run, especially assuming Horizon relents on their dealer policies. How?

Consider that Walthers has a practical monopoly on distribution of model railroad products. Horizon's acquisition may work to challenge Walthers' dominance in this area.

Because of their size, Walthers has the luxury of being able to dictate certain terms (why does a certain software maker with the letters "M" and "S" come to mind?). These terms are dictated to the shops, who must then accept them. As a result, they're caught in the middle when a customer, who has ordered an item and must wait X number of weeks for it. (Those RMR participants who also run hobbyshops may be able to back me up on this.) Never mind that it's available AT THE MANUFACTURER.

This is what happened to my friend. He special-ordered three sets of Athearn RDC trucks to repower his cars. Note, though, that at the time this took place, the trucks were in production at Athearn, and thus available.

A month after he placed his order through a local shop, he received the FIRST pair. Two weeks later, the second pair arrived. (Remember, they're available at the factory level at this point.) He's still waiting for the third...about a year or more later.

It's Walthers' arrogance that's coming into play here, and they don't realize that a dealer's being an authorized Walthers dealers no longer has the same cachet as it once did. The economic paradigm has shifted, for better or for worse.

However, I am curious about one aspect of Horizon's policy. While they're requiring that DEALERS must order Athearn through them, what about other distributors? Would Walthers be able to order Athearn product from them?

In the end, I suppose one could use "fallen flag" to describe the loss of independence of a venerable hobby manufacturer.

Dieter Zakas Monopoly, NJ

Monopolizing another train line is only going to raisr prices and cut back on where it is sold. Neither of those is good for the hobby.

stuff deleted...

Dieter, in traditionally distributed lines, there are three prices.

- The MSRP. This is set by the manufacturer, obviously.

- The dealer wholesale price. This is set by each distributor. There's a "standard" discount, but it's not really standard. Various distributors have different discounts, and may or may not offer an additional discount for paying within 10 days. The discount can vary as much as 10 percentage points between distributors. Some manufacturers may also sell wholesale to dealers. (Athearn does not, and has not for some time.)

- The distributor price. This is also set by the manufacturer and varies, but there's one figure that's more "typical" than others. It can be quite generous. You'ld be surprised what distributors pay for Bachmann! It explains why big places like Trainworld can sell it so cheaply. They're still making good money on it. Some manufacturers will sell at distributor discount to very large retailers. Again, Athearn would not. (Someone physically toured the country in the mid '90s. Anyone getting distributor pricing who didn't appear to have a real wholesale operation was cut off.) Also, some distributors negotiate better terms.

When Bowser pulled out of other distributors, they eliminated the distributor discount. Distributors are allowed to buy, but they must pay the dealer wholesale price. Obviously, this would be higher than what they were paying before. If you look on the Walthers web site, they carry Bowser. They sell it at full MSRP through Terminal Hobby Shop, and offer a small courtesy discount to dealers. This is less than half the discount the dealer could get by going to Bowser directly. Not practical for buying a large amount, but if a dealer needs 1 or 2 pieces quickly, and he has a Walthers order going in, it's convenient.

I haven't heard anything about what Walthers will do, but I assume they MAY do the same thing that they do with Bowser. Buy it for sale through THS, and offer a small courtesy discount to their wholesale accounts. But that's speculation only.

Peter King in NY

What Rathburne left unsaid and assumed, is that if usual past trends reassert themselves here. Control the access, control the price. I tend to agree. But then if quality of the product goes up with it, well, then it's a different ball game. I'm not betting on that happening.

FWIW I bought an Athearn SW-1000 last year to build my RS1325. Both 23-tooth gears in the tops of the towers were cracked. A nearly microscopic hairline crack, but cracked all the same. It took 4 months to get replacements through the LHS/Walthers. I tried Athearn, but they would be back-ordered through them also.

Jay CNS&M North Shore Line - "First and fastest"

Funny, I have ordered parts via internet and phone from Athearn, Atlas, P2K and Intermountain over the last couple of years. I don't think it took over three weeks to get them from any of the companies. Jerry