Well the LGBoA website is gone and up pops Silvergate… It’s got it’s up’s and it got its downs… Will miss the LGB logo that rolls off the screen and the look to all LGB fans have came to love…
[%-)] no link? [%-)]
It’s the same as it was www.lgboa.com
Ouch! $75 for the Toytrain tender? I think I payed $25 for mine 4 years ago.
Oh well, that just goes to show that whole supply/demand thingie, no new product and the NOS stuff starts going thru the roof. Given that Marklin may not import anything for another 2 years or US rolling stock for possibly 2-3 years, methinks LGB will become like gold when it comes to prices.
methinks LGB will become like gold when it comes to prices.
Yep, Time to invest.
If I only would have bought all that Aristo track (to sit on) before it sky rocketed… LOL
if it is gold, then I’m a millionaire… Deal or No Deal?
www.silvergatedistributors.com is the primary URL.
www.lgboa.com is being redirected here.
I think the prices listed on the new web site are the manufactures suggested retail prices and not the actual prices you will pay in stores UNLESS that store sells everything at list price. If you look at the Aristocraft or USA Trains sites you see their MSLPs. I have never paid that price anywhere for any of their products and don’t expect to. I realize that the price of everything is going up but I just don’t believe they expect us to pay double the price we were paying and expect to stay in business. There are other manufactures to buy stuff from. Unfortunately it looks like we are going to have to wait about another full year before the line has recovered enough to have all the products available like they were before this mess started.
I agree with you. The market usually determines the “street” price in the long run. My impression has been that a business will always first try to gain monopolistic control over anything it can (sometimes that may be in the form of “exclusive distribution rights”…) - and thus be able to charge higher prices (if demand permits) - before it will start cutting prices or offering other add-on services or enticements to differentiate itself from its competitors. So time is usually on the consumers’ side. If you don’t like the price, let it sit on the dealer’s shelves or make them a reasonable offer (I have done that successfully many times at local hobby shops). They’ll get the message sooner or later.
Yeah it came to a bit of surprise to me! All this change going on something will fall over…I hope not though I have only gotten into to Garden Railroads[:)] (last August). I’ve spent the last years modelling Z, N and HO in Australian liveries mainly Victoria as that is where I am from it makes sense. Now this change with LGB I think it might be harder to get the gear over here, maybe scratch build time.
The web site listed on their business cards being passed out at BTS is: www.silvergatemanufacturing.com
If you have sole distribution rights for a product in a given market, yes you can expect them to charge you whatever they want, and unless you can find an alternate source for said product, you can expect to pay that price or forgo that product.
Example: Walthers for years had just such a claim on the distribution of a number of model RR products in the smaller scales by having exculsive deals with the brick and morter hobby stores. At one time you virtually could only order product only thru them, if you bought from any other distributer it negated their contract and you lost ALL ability to order product via Walthers, who at one time controlled about 90% of the product line and could therefor control the prices of the market. The ability to direct order from manufacturers, bypassing the distributor completely, has changed that, but if you can control the spigot, you control the price charged for the drink. If Silvergate can control access of their product line to the marketplace, and eliminate the direct from manufacturer option, they can charge whatever they feel the market will bear.
But you are correct in that, charge too much and the stuff will just sit in the warehouse.
Remember Vic now most of the stuff is made in China so now there profit should go out the roof. Why I buy cheap (if I can). [2c] Why I could careless if the LGB track cleaning loco works or not! I ain’t payn for something I saw @ 400.00 + and now is $600.00 +, you have got to be kidding me…keep it on your shelf for a fool.
Toad