Caboose

[ednadolski]

Is this the same place that initially made a re-opening splash with the website "mycaboose.com" 

Yes that's the same.  That vid is dated March 2019 which just reinforeces @Dave V 's point about this long preceding covid.

That website still says "Down for Maintenance" and "Relaunching Soon" but I have no idea what to make of that.     Seems a new splash pic will be needed at the least 

Ed

[ednadolski]

Just found this pic on someone's FB page.  Seems to be an attempt to scapegoat Covid.   Also seems strange that the Caboose FB page still has made no mention of this.

https://scontent.fapa1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/131098968_10224491539176414_3437546014642252_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=2&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=I2euhRpWou4AX9Yvxsc&_nc_ht=scontent.fapa1-1.fna&oh=7a17b2492932712c489b0e7940b5de48&oe=60000F6E

https://www.facebook.com/Jaybohmer/posts/10224491539616425

What an ignoble way to go.... 

Ed

[Dave V]

Good news is if that caboose is headed to the CRRM, Golden's not far up the road.  The loading/unloading will still be costly though.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ironically, their domain might be the most valuable part of the business.

[Jbub]

Ironically, their domain might be the most valuable part of the business.

I'm guessing for non model train or train related things though 

[mu26aeh]

Utter nonsense they're using the covid situation as a scapegoat.   Do they think modelers are that dumb, that we don't talk to each other, share experiences with retailers, good or bad, and in this case, share photos of how sparse their stock was long before this all started ?  Shame on them

[StewRRFan]

Agree with all the above.  Two years ago I was in Denver for the day and this was my first stop.  Even then, there were holes on the shelves and no one to help.  I guess it always the fault of something else....

At least it sounds like there is new place or two to check out the next time I get to Denver.

[Philip H]

So, reading between the lines:

1.  It appears the hobby store no longer owned its building.  That's never good.  And it may be the building owner told them he wasn't going to retrofit for COVID, which can be a thing in some places (I don't know if it is for Denver). 

2.  Most likely, given its location, the owner wants to capitalize on the federal center across the street and put in some sort of other business that will drive more traffic, and thus generate more rent. 

3.  Whatever the business chops of the original guy who bought Caboose, he didn't really have any clue what he was doing with the store, and didn't have long term planning down to the science it needed to be to weather the storms it has crossed. 

4.  The formation of the PBC told me the employees were trying to save something, but I suspect they don't really have the business background to make this work either.

5.  The Domain may be valuable, but if they intend to have a hobby on-line business with it, they need some serious help.  I found their website less useful then Wig-Wag, and thats saying something.

[Rossford Yard]

Utter nonsense they're using the covid situation as a scapegoat.   Do they think modelers are that dumb, that we don't talk to each other, share experiences with retailers, good or bad, and in this case, share photos of how sparse their stock was long before this all started ?  Shame on them

A bit harsh, IMHO, but agree most folks tend to look for excuses when failing when the wound was mostly self-inflicted.

I'm sure COVID contributed, sort of like when a patient has underlying conditions, but the final straw is getting COVID, causing death, and, its called a COVID 19 death.

As a once per year Denver visitor, yes, the new Caboose wasn't ideally located, but neither was the old one, at least for me.  Neither is N Scale Supply, and I don't mind the difficulty of getting there!  A case of "it's the destination, not the journey," LOL.  When traveling, IMHO, the only LHS worth visiting are the ones that are better than the local store, at least in terms of stock.  The fun is in finding obscure items, including detail parts, scenery, etc. that most shops just don't carry.  The old Caboose filled that bill, the new one doesn't.

Very prototypical, though.  Proto trains don't have cabooses any more, and now, neither do mode railroaders.

[ednadolski]

A bit harsh, IMHO

If you think that's harsh, you should read some of the comments responding to Caboose's posts on the ISE FB thread.   

Sad fact is, the store seemed to be in trouble from the day it re-opened.  I was there on day one and even the 3-hour waiting line of customers buying things was due to the credit card system at the registers malfunctioning, and that few items had actual prices on them or on the shelf pegs.   That sort of thing went on for months, and the website was virtually unusable for a very long time as well.  My experience with ordering future product consisted of waiting for a very long time and the product never actually appearing, even after other places had filled their advance orders for the same items.

Not a recipe for success even under the best conditions.

Ed

[Chris333]

In the video he is standing in front of nearly empty shelves and talking like that isn't the case. So why not so show some full shelves to make his point?  I know it is because he has none. So why even mention it.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Baghdad Bob Opens a Hobby Shop?

[ednadolski]

Curious note about the property history (from various realty sites):  looks like the last sale date of the property was May 2018 (for $615k), and there is a record showing "Caboose LTD" as a tenant with a triple-net lease having an expiration date of Dec 2018.  (Triple-net meaning the tenant pays RE taxes, insurance, and maintenance in addition to the usual rent/utilities/etc.)

So it doesn't sound like Caboose is/was the property owner, but could they have been operating with an expired lease for nearly 2 years?   

Ed

[Rossford Yard]

Ironically, their domain might be the most valuable part of the business.

My wife thinks I should trademark the phrase, "My big (or big a$$) caboose" but the reason has nothing to do with trains.......

[dougnelson]

All in all a really sad tale.  The "new" Caboose certainly had every advantage including the international clientele and reputation of the original Caboose.  Would be good to know the cause of this failure.

In some ways similar to the tale of Allied Model Trains in Los Angeles.  For a number of years they operated in a purpose-built semi-replica of LA Union Station, and maybe as large as Caboose.  They eventually downsized into a store across the street and then disappeared.

With all our technology, why isn't someone working on a time machine for one more hours-long visit to the old Caboose?