Advance Reservations ! Do they help ?

[Atlanticflier]

Do advance reservations really help you, in any way ?

With so many delays and reservations, months in advance, I would need a spreadsheet to keep track of them all.

I always liked to know a couple months in advance, maybe more with special items, but knowing and keeping track for 6 months and more in advance can make a hobby - well work .

Do you plan out your purchases that far in advance ?  I've been just taking my chances when the model is finally in stock, and so far, I haven't missed out on anything.

Just interested in others' experiences / comments.........

[Mark5]

I'm a little picky about what I'll "reserve", so my list is usually short.

[John]

I have all the stuff I will ever need ..

[Ed Kapuscinski]

They do help me, because without them, I'd never have seen a factory painted Black River & Western RS1.

[Chris333]

The only thing I ever bought before it was made was Atlas C55 turnouts. It was pointless since I got to hear about them for weeks before I finally got a hold of the dealer to ask where mine were... oops order was lost. By then I could get it anywhere, so the pre-order didn't help me none.

[up1950s]

Yes they help manufacturers decide the interest of a planned car or loco road name . If they get X number of advanced interest , they can extrapolate from there to how big the run will or should be . As far as me , I get to THINK my vote counts toward not dropping my road name . Also I can put it out of my mind , and just wait for the item to arrive .

[cfritschle]

I have the same position as Richie.  It helps the manufacturers measure the level of interest.

One example where there was not enough interest shown, and the production of the model was shelved was the Athearn John Deere 6420 farm tractor.  After being announced, there was no hype about the need to pre-order.  I emailed Athearn when it was "discontinued," and the reply I got back was that there was not enough interest in it to justify the cost of producing the model.

We seem to have a similar situation with the Athearn John Deere 7820 farm tractors.  They were announced a month ago, but very few online dealers have put it on their websites for pre-ordering.  If Athearn does not get enough orders, we may not see this model either.   

Carter

[Atlanticflier]

I have the same position as Richie.  It helps the manufacturers measure the level of interest.

One example where there was not enough interest shown, and the production of the model was shelved was the Athearn John Deere 6420 farm tractor.  After being announced, there was no hype about the need to pre-order.  I emailed Athearn when it was "discontinued," and the reply I got back was that there was not enough interest in it to justify the cost of producing the model.

We seem to have a similar situation with the Athearn John Deere 7820 farm tractors.  They were announced a month ago, but very few online dealers have put it on their websites for pre-ordering.  If Athearn does not get enough orders, we may not see this model either.   

Carter

If that is the case, maybe manufacturers should mention that when announcing a product - Yes ? [most would not want to admit this upfront]

Also, after xxx number of times cancelling a product will consumers become dis-interested at announcements ? ("why pre-order - it just gets cancelled, because when I last pre-ordered.....")

I see the advantages for manufacturers, and us modelers, but I am afraid some good project smy get cancelled because of timing of announcement, more than lack of interest. The farm tractors for instance, IMHO, would sell if made. Modelers may pre-order for different reasons, at different times.

[Denver Road Doug]

I think the theory is good, and practice has been beneficial to me as I was unable to get a lot of things prior to the new way of doing things.

Unfortunately, I think the system is now being abused by manufacturers that are refusing to provide pricing on their products until long after reservations were opened.  Intermountain is doing this with their flat cars, and there have been others. (not to mention Bachmann jacking their MSRP 50% right before shipping the Dash 8 locos a few years ago) 

I realize MRR companies can't do a lot of market research, but setting their prices based on preorders seems a little slimy to me.  Wait until you know the retail price before opening reservations, in my opinion.

[wm3798]

I have taken to the idea of pre-ordering locomotives, and so far I think it's been a good thing.  One of the first I did was the Atlas Shay, mine was the undec, which was delayed considerably due to a QC issue.  I was glad to be on the list, and gladder to get one that had been revised. 

I also pre-ordered some Kato SD-40's, undecs, because I figured they would hard to find once they hit the shelves.  I was right.  The same with the WM F-units from Intermountain.  I've been going to train shows locally for several years since these were out, and I have yet to see them laying around un-sold.

The dealers I have worked with have all offered their usual discounts, and haven't charged for anything that hasn't been delivered, so I think that part's fine.

I do think it's silly to have to pre-order something like a 1978 Ford Fairmont, or a John Deere tractor.  To me, these are scenery accessories, nothing more, nothing less, and should be available with the same ease as something like telephone poles or fencing.  I'm certainly not going to put my name on a list and anxiously wait for something as mundane as a green tractor.  Likewise most rolling stock. 

I pre-ordered the last batch of Atlas fishbellies, and frankly, I forgot about them.  I had ordered the same set from an Ebay dealer, then a couple days later my credit card gets pinged for the pre-order.  I wasn't upset, you can never have enough coal hoppers, but there was really no need to pre-order since there seem to be supplies available for a fair amount of time after the cutoff.

Lee

[bobcat]

I have all the stuff I will ever need ..

Now that is an idea I wish I could adopt.

Then somebody comes out with things I really like and I can't help myself.

[Wlal13again]

I pre order locos and cars that I really want. Most are from Atlas so it`s low risk.

[RockGp40]

I have never pre-ordered anything from a dealer, but earlier this year, I wish I had. I was under the mindset that Atlas dealers would have a bunch of Rock Isalnd GP38-2s lying around. Well, I wasn't quick enough to get them from Klein's before they were sold out. In April after the GSMTS, I placed an order with Tex'n Rails as they showed them in stock on their webpage. I anxiously waited for two weeks before my first phone call. Well, to make a long story short, I gave them until July before I cancelled my order. Fortunately, I was able to snag two off Ebay from a dealer in the midwest who actually had them.

The lesson learned for me was that even former, defunct Class 1 railroads don't stay in stock as evidenced by a short production run by Atlas. I wanted it, so I should have placed an order!

[GonzoCRFan]

I think the last time I reserved a locomotive was when Kato did the CR SD80MACs. I called Kleins and reserved a case, at about $70 per unit. I get them, and a few months later the things are all over Ebay, going for $50-60 a unit. So that was about the end of that for me. Besides, there are very few manufacturers I would pre-order anything from anyway. Atlas is one of those manufacturers, but I've never had problems getting my hands on their stuff. There are also certain models that I would pre-order, depending on who was doing them. The few things that would get a pre-order from me would be a C40-8W (and I can't believe we still don't have that model available from a top-notch manufacturer), a SW1500, SW1001, and a GP15-1. Also probably 86' boxcars and LPG tankers. But as I said, it would depend on the manufacturer. If Atlas announced the Dash-8s, we could be a little more laid-back about them, because they tend to be pretty good about availability. If Kato did them, I'd have no choice but to reserve the 15 or so Conrail ones I would need...

Plus, as time goes on, I get more and more forgetful, so I would hate to have my pusher calling me to tell me my stuff came in, and have to be like "what stuff?"

But I just prefer to see the thing for myself before I decide to purchase it anymore. I know if I had reserved Life-Like GP38-2s and they showed up on my doorstep with those obnoxious mounting holes for the winterization hatch on the outside of the shells, they would have heard me screaming obscenities all the way up at the offices in Wisconsin...

[Nato]

  There were not enough reservations and money up front $50.00 deposit ,so Con Cor's SP AC12 Cab Forward locomotive project never got started. We all got our fifty bucks back and it was probably a good thing as Rivarossi went under and is now a part of British Hornby with no planned N releases in site . Oh well, someday we will have one from Intermountain although that will not be before the massive backlog of FP-7's 45-2's and passenger cars.I use to order locos and cars as pre orders from dealers like Brooklyn Locomotive works, because I got discounted pricing for pre ordering,plus with the limited edition mentality of manufacturers in the 1990's the various road names I wanted were often in short supply and BLW even admitted to getting stocks of scarce locos from other smaller dealers so he could fill orders. Now the situation has changed somewhat, and I find my self only reserving (pre ordering) expensive stuff like Athearn Challengers and Big Boys, or brass passenger car sets, CP Canadian, NP North Coast, etc.     Nate Goodman (Nato)."Who did reserve a brass MLW Little Joe".