[HO] Overland Models discontinues parts business

"Mark Mathu" wrote

Well, at least that explains why he hasn't answered my emails inquiring about parts.

-Pete

Sounds like they are getting stung by the risings costs of making things in China - the olympic games are going to make wages in china rise massively over the next 10 years so that could make it start to become cost-effective to manufacture 'at home' again.

I don't know how this would affect brass model and detail part manufacturing though. Most of that is done in Korea now I think since it's too expensive to get Samhongsa to make small to medium runs in Japan. Then again the size of the runs Overland does are quite large.

Craig.

I don't think that would explain his lack of a reply to you.

"Mark Mathu" wrote

Well, there's probably some basic impoliteness towards -and lack of concern for- his customers going on there too; but no longer supplying parts makes for a good excuse to put off doing something that you weren't very inclined to do in the first place...

I ran into the same problem when I had to return a factory defective loco to Overland: it generally took three emails to get an answer to most any question.

-Pete

On 5/18/2008 10:59 PM P. Roehling spake thus:

So--and pardon my ignorance, not ever being loaded enough to even think about buying those high-priced Overland models--isn't the arrangement that Overland works through dealers? Could that be the cause of your problems? Or are you forced to deal with them directly?

"David Nebenzahl" wrote

They understandably want you to buy your locos through a dealer, but parts are a different story.

It's always been difficult to get Overland parts through a dealer. Since Overland doesn't sell many locos compared to say, Athearn, it doesn't pay many dealers to stock spares that they might not ever sell; and in my experience the dealers rarely -if ever- know what Overland has available anyway.

When you add that to the fact that I'm over 50 freeway miles from the nearest dealer who'd even *try* to special order Overland parts for me, dealing direct with Overland is -excuse me- *was*, the only practical way to get what you needed before the advent of the next ice age.

Frankly, I'm thinking of selling my Overland locos off on eBay before they begin breaking down. There are a lot of collectors out there who don't run their stuff, but I don't enjoy owning paperweights. (I should have probably seen this coming, since I bought one of their new SP AC-12s several years ago and it spun the drive gear on the axle of the rear engine the third time I ever ran it.)

I returned it to Overland and then waited *15 months* while it got sent back to Korea *twice* for full disassembly and repairs. Getting any information out Overland during that period was closely akin to pulling teeth. It seemed that they simply didn't want to be bothered.

-Pete

On 5/19/2008 12:02 PM P. Roehling spake thus:

... all of which seems to confirm my suspicion that most Overland models never see a single volt of electricity through their little motors ...

Just list them as "Never runs" instead of "Never run".

On the other hand, when I had to contact Bowser for parts for the Pennsy Atlantic I just built, they were helpful, and if the guy answering didn't know the answer, he handed me off to ... Lee, I think, who *did* know it all. Nice guy, and fast response from Bowser, always.

mark

"mark" wrote

Thenk yew for mentioning that. Hopefully it will throw a few more customers Bowser's way.

Too often we enjoy cussing out the bad guys so much that we forget to bestow appropriate kudos where they're deserved.

-Pete

"David Nebenzahl" wrote

Could be, although their diesels seem to be pretty reliable.

I've never understood the collecting mentality anyway. Stamps take up so much less space...

-Pete

"Steve Caple" wrote

I see: sort of like Ron Paul.

I thought you were thinking of selling your Overland locos now, before they began breaking down? You wrote that you had a SP AC-12 which spun a drive gear on the third time you ran it....

____ Mark Mathu Whitefish Bay, Wis.

"Mark Mathu" wrote

I am. Although they don't seem ready to fall apart right now, and I've not had many problems with their diesels in the past, *everything* breaks down sooner or later; and I'd rather not be the one left holding the bag when that eventually happens and repair parts are no longer available.

AC-12 = steam engine. The diesels don't seem to have the same problems, as I mentioned above.

-Pete

Who's this Ru Paul everybody's talking about?

Did you ever see the movie, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert?

-- Ray

The ping-pong movie?

When you've got two more locos than your layout requires for operation you're a collector. (the first excess loco is of course a "spare") When you buy a loco "because I like it", you're a collector.

Regards, Greg.P.

That was Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert.

-- Ray