On 10/28/2012 5:09 PM, ctxmf74 wrote > Hi Ed, We only have ourself to blame for letting the manufacturers get > away with this scheme. If we refused to buy stuff with pre-orders other > companies would step in to fill the void. Old Irv Athearn didn't wait for > orders to build his new line, he apparently had faith in his vision to be a > mass merchandiser of HO stuff so started cranking it out at prices we > couldn't resist. (snip)
One thing about Athearn back in the old days is that the factory did things in batches. Run boxcars for a few weeks, fill the backorders, and have some left over. Switch to gons, and do the same thing. Some low-sale items, such as RDCs, cranes, snowplows, etc., were often out of stock for years awaiting sufficient backorders before they got back around to running them. At least that is the info I got when I called Athearn in the early 1980s asking why RDCs had not been available for several years. So in his way, Irv was relying on pre-orders. Take care Bill -- == Scale Model Railroad Products == == Manufacturer - Retailer - Importer == Bill and Diane Wade B.T.S. RR 1 Box 141A Belington, WV 26250 Phone: 304-823-3729 FAX: 304-823-2901 http://www.btsrr.com We wish you Fair Winds and Following Seas. ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
