ndbprr, you have missed some important context, unfortunately. Andre is responding, in a separate thread (here), to the argument going on in the thread that is close by dealing with the costs of the hobby (Who bought out who, and who just folded). He is merely posting examples of places that have considerable below-msrp discounts…he has nothing to do with them as companies.
Are you sure about that? For all you know, they could be paying me to bring them to the attention of forum members with the intent of rustling up some business for them.
[/conspiracy theory]
Andre - agent provocateur and marketing genius [swg]
Actually, I’d rather use the time for something else, but the trains are packed away because we’re in something of a transition. There’s that and the fact that it’s fun to poke holes in the regularly scheduled 3 most common prophecies of doom.
Does anyone know what the markup is on train stuff, at full MSRP? It has to be quite a bit, given how they can discount so deeply and still make a profit. Why anyone would pay full MSRP is a mystery to me. I only pay MSRP on small items that I absolutely can’t find at a discount.
My brother in law who sold Walthers train stuff out of his hobby store was charged 60% of MRSP from them, so they were making at least 10 or 20% selling to him. So that makes markup 50 to 60%. So a 20% discount from a retailer is very easy to do. Why the brick and morter stores don’t do this is a mystery to me, and the reason many of them have closed their doors.
Speaking as a former part time train show dealer I can assure you there are discounts from your distributor…Buy several cases you get a discount…Pay by cash you get a “cash discount”.Of course the smaller shops doesn’t always have the up front cash for case lots and cash payments and there lays the rub…The bigger money shops get the best deal as a preferred customer…The little shop gets the normal 40-45% wholesale price.
[i]So first things first…let’s have suggestions from the group for let’s say FIVE POPULAR ITEMS that train hobbyists want to buy to begin the process.
Any volunteers?
TMT[/i]
Are you trying to tell me that the Spectrum Decapod, USRA heavy Mountain, Athearn GP-40x and P2K 2-10-2 aren’t popular items?
For the most part, those those items were not at closeout prices, either and I didn’t cherry pick 'em. I just went to sites Google listed as among the most popular for the items in question.
I know an LHS where you can get virtually every item in the store for 20% off (and that ranges from Accucraft G gauge live steamers to the latest N gauge items from Kato, Athearn and the like). Why in the name of all that’s holy should I do any homework whatsoever for you? You can do your own research, pal. If all you can do is complain about prices without at least taking a few minutes to see if you can get something for less, then you can sit in the darkness with an unlighted candle and curse while the rest of us save a buck or two or three.
LOL…so you admit that you haven’t done YOUR homework.
As I said if you want to PROVE your contention that competitiveness exists, then please provide the supporting evidence.
You say that the "Spectrum Decapod, USRA heavy Mountain, Athearn GP-40x and P2K 2-10-2 are popular items…so show the range of prices that they come in…what guages they are offered…and the TRUE cost of the items delievered to your door.