I thought I read some time ago, on this forum, that Walthers signed some deal with Wal-Mart. Does anyone else remember that? I was under the impression at the time we would begin to see some Walthers stuff on the shelves.
Anybody know or heard of anything?
Robert Sylvester, WTRR
Wasn’t it for the LifeLike Slot cars?
That is big news! I hope this includes Walmart Canada! It sounds like it should happen at Christmas…naturally. [;)]
Edit: Bah, it appears that it will just be slot cars…I hope it leads to Model Railroad products becoming available at WalMart though. Some decent pricing would be nice instead of the gouging I see at the LHS’s around here. It seems like this is kind of old news too. The article mentions the 2006 Christmas season…?
It way lead to it because a cople of years ago I got my first set from walmart, It was an Athearn HO scale jondeer set but it had LL track (IDK why it did) but it quit working in 2 weeks but last summer they had a cople of LL ho starter set that you coud order on walmart.com.
As I recall, the LifeLike slot car deal was in place before Walthers bought LifeLike. Any new deal would just be a continuation, but it may be a foot in the door for putting model trains on to the shelves, too.
Two years back, Lionel had a deal with Target. A bunch of Lionel stuff appeared on their shelves right before Christmas. At the time, we debated whether this was going to be good or bad for the hobby. The LHS, like most retailers, depends on a good holiday season to survive for the year. So, in that regard, a big-box store which is able to negotiate lower wholesale costs from the manufacturer/distributer will hurt the LHS’s sales. On the other hand, the trains left on the shelves went on sale December 26th, and were gone by New Years. Anyone who wanted to add to their Christmas present after that would end up being a new customer of the LHS, so that’s going to be a good thing.
I wish that Wal-mart would sell Model RR stuff. That way it would be easier on my gas tank and my wallet to get train stuff. The LHS is crap for Model railroading, no one there knows anything about it, so they have lots of Train set quality stuff.
Besides, LHS’es are better about special ordering than Wally’s place ever is. [yeah]
Jim in Cape Girardeau
That was before Xmas about 2 years ago. The manager at my Wal Mart didn’t know what I was talking about. The only train stuff my store ever had were some Athearn sets from Horizon.
What are you talking about? Wal-Mart sells tons of Model RR stuff! Acrylic paints, matte & gloss medium, X-Acto knives and blades, 1:87 model vehicles, 12" square cork tiles, the list goes on… [;)]
Model railroading is a far too narrow niche for Wal-Mart to mess with, it’ll never happen. They are getting out of a lot of the hobby market, not adding hobbies.
We don’t really want Walmart and Walthers to have a cozy relationship. Everything Wally sells is cheap to the max - have you noticed? If Walthers or some other reputable MRR company did a Wally deal, you can bet the boys in Benton, AR would beat the price and product quality (and the margins for the manufacturer) down to a minimum. Then when the MRR company goes belly up, Wally moves on to focus on the latest-greatest toilet paper dispenser. This would not be good for our hobby.
I’m a Purchasing Director for a Fortune 50 company - I know how these guys work. I own WMT stock too - they’re good at their game.
So the brand names that Walmart sells, those companies will all go bellyup as a result of their relationship with Walmart. I better contact Mattel and Fisher Price and warn them of the dangers! [(-D]
I notice that Walmart sells many of the same brands as other stores, same item, lower price. As for the really cheap stuff I kinda hope those companies do go bellyup from dealing with Walmart but they seem to be hanging in their with their cheap to the max products regardless of their dangerous relationship with Wally World. [;)]
I don’t know but it seems like it has to beat the LHS and their cozy relationship with 150% and higher markups over prices available at companies like Standard Hobby Supply. Maybe it’s just where I am…[:(] [2c]
Fiddlesticks! A department store selling model railroad equipment? Dream on! Even the days of department stores selling train sets and accessories (locos, cars, track, etc.) have long since passed.
We can dream still right? (hoping I don’t have to shell out $220+ for some Genesis F45s when they come out in BN)
Not sure what planet your LHS is on, but having owned a shop for almost 5 years, and worked at others for about 5 years, I can assure you the LHS is on nowhere near 150% markup. [%-)] If it was I’d still be in business!
40% off retail is the STANDARD discount given to hobby dealers by the hobby distributors. Sometimes a little more, often a little less.
Rotor
Guys If you are expecting Wal Mart to be carring Model Train stuff. What world are you living in? If they do carry anything its going to be the cheaper toy train items and not the decent stuff that you think. They are aiming at 5 year old Johnny hanging on his Mamas cart. KB
The LHS here sells a 3 foot section of flex track for around 5-6 bucks. The guys at the train club don’t like the shop but they buy supplies (like track, ballast, roadbed) there since it’s faster and less expensive than ordering.
The LHS here sells a 3 foot section of flex track for around 5-6 bucks. The guys at the train club don’t like the shop but they buy supplies (like track, ballast, roadbed) there since it’s faster and less expensive than ordering.
As far as hobbies and Wal-Mart goes, if you notice, some of their stores don’t even carry model cars anymore. So, I doubt that they would EVER carry model railroading stuff. As it is, they DO carry some hobby items in their craft sections. That’s where I buy my acrylic paints, X-acto knives and blades, and I use the Mod Podge (glossy) to model water.
I agree. Wal-Mart sells cheap stuff. They might do trains sets but you’ll never find a decoder there.