Includes HO & N Heritage, P2K & P1K locos all listed at full MSP.
I paid TW $250.00 for the HO Berk last summer. Walthers’ standard DC,$385.00, Sound & DCC $485.00 WOW! Who can buy at these prices?
I hope this doesn’t mean the end of reasonable prices.
Yes they are expensive
With some locomotives I recieve a discount from my local hobby shop as long as the owner is able to make a profit.
Otherwise wait a year or two and get em for 1/3 or less on ebay or internet houses.
Hasn’t it always been that Walthers prices were MSRP?
Walther’s generally sells to the public at full retail as to not undercut the hobby shops they sell to. Every now and then they offer some “on sale” items at about 20% off. When they do this and the price is lower than the LHS my LHS will usually match the price.
Most hobby shops will probably get life-like and P2K stuff at the same rate they were getting before.
Bob DeWoody
As an example, they discounted the New Rivarossi FEF-3 down to $129.00 a few months back.
135 bucks for a gp38-2! i need 2 Sanat fe’s in Ho scale
I goota wait for one to come on ebay to buy!
And that’s for DC.
So I guess the motto is, if it’s not on sale ( locomotives that is) at Walthers, buy at LHS or online/ebay.
Since the Great Divide in HO happened–you know, when Irv died and Athearn locomotives went from $25 to $40 or $50 or more or “out of production,” I’ve hunted down a few more bluebox pieces to round out my roster. I’ve got about three years of building and repainting before I run out. My new purchases are limited to special items, like WA&G F-units and non-dynamic GP-35’s after prices drop a little. Beyond that, I plan on running my fleet with maximum spare parts and minimal locomotive replacement.
The good news is that my wife and I dabble in G gauge, where I don’t mind paying $200 or so for a 4-wheel steeple cab that seems as big as a steeple cab. I also feel more free to “wing it” and experiment in what seems to be the wild west of railroading. Link and pin radial couplers rule! All I’m saying is this–if I’m going to pay $400 plus for plastic, it had better be 3 times as big as my old B&O F-7 and 3 times more fun.
I’m rebelling against the prices by not going DCC. I like my analog layout. I can take an Athearn BB engine, replace the gears and motor and end up with a superior engine for half the cost of the average MSRP on a P2K engine. Thank goodness for eBay and great train shows!
The Walthers sale catalogs come out monthly. When Walthers puts items on sale the hobby shops also get an additional discount and should match the Walthers price or even give a little better break on the price.
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I’m new at this so help me out with this, guys. So, does this all mean that eveything in the Walthers catalog is full msrp and you’d get a better price buying the same thing elsewhere?
JaRRell
Yes
Train shows and Ebay seem to be the only places I find to get deals. I usually spend time at 2 hobby shops, one gives me a break on tax while the other one doesn’t.
My favorite on-line hobby shop still lists P2K locos for the same discounted price that they always have, about 20-25% off list. As stated earlier Walthers is obligated by their status as a distributor to hobby shops to not discount items to individuals.
Bob DeWoody
there are good deals on structure kits and scenery items in these sales catalogs, I’ve found some of the dealers don’t always honor the sales price so i order direct. shipping is very reasonable and it keeps me on the mailing list 