Is preordering worth it?


Highball

Member
Hi folks,
I would like to hear your opinion about preordering items. Do you think it´s worth it or do you think it´s better to wait till the item hits the stores?
What is your experience with limited edition items? I mean items of which you know that only a limited number will be produced? Do you preorder these out of fear that you won´t get it otherwise, or do you still wait till it´s released because you are sure that the price will be lower than any preordering price even when you know the production of this item is very limited?
Let me know your thoughts!
 
It's a crapshoot, really. Depends on how badly you really want the item, or THINK you might want it in the future.

Manufacturers are trying harder and harder to avoid having any leftover inventory, so as soon as the run of models is shipped, oftentimes there are few or none leftover for the dealers' shelves.

In my own experience: I model the B&O 1969-72 era, and in 2013 Athearn had just announced their line of four prototype-specific GP9's in the dark blue-with-yellow scheme. These were perfect for my road and era, so I took the money I had been saving for a new riding mower and preordered all 4 of them thru my LHS.
 
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I would like to hear your opinion about preordering items. Do you think it´s worth it or do you think it´s better to wait till the item hits the stores?
Better in what way? Do you want really want/need that particular item or do you want to save some bucks?

What is your experience with limited edition items? I mean items of which you know that only a limited number will be produced?
The things I've pre-ordered I have regretted. For example:
1. I pre-ordered two of the original Proto-Heritage USRA 0-8-0 in NP scheme. When they hit the shelves they sat there for a few months and the price was lowered to way below what my pre-order discount was. Plus just recently Walther's re-ran them with better tender pick up AND sound.
2. Pre-ordered the Walther's Empire Builder set. Two years later they were selling all over for less than 1/2 price.
3. Pre-ordered the Broadway Limited GN S-2 loco. Waited, waited, waited, 10 years later still waiting.
4. Did not pre-order the 20th Century Passenger set. I've been able to pick them up through the last few years here and there for less that 1/3th it would have cost me to pre-order. The Kitchen-Dorm is still on the Trainworld site for $29.99 vs the original $79.
5. Did not pre-order the Walther's Pennsy Broadway Limited passenger set nor the UP Cities Of set. Prices have gone through the roof. Some of the UP domes are selling for 3x their original value. Am I worried? No, they will eventually re-run these. I will eventually get them all for a price I want to pay. There are plenty of model railroading products out there on my list that I can buy instead of the over priced "limited edition" ones.
6. I pre-ordered a Bachmann K27 that didn't come for years. More years later after they finally manufactured and delivered the unit, I picked up one on e-bay with a custom sound system for less than 1/2 the pre-order price.


Do you preorder these out of fear that you won´t get it otherwise, or do you still wait till it´s released because you are sure that the price will be lower than any preordering price even when you know the production of this item is very limited? Let me know your thoughts!
Nothing in model railroading is that "precious". Those who order out of fear are just falling into the vendor's trap, re-enforcing the vendor's marketing scheme, and driving up the prices for everyone.
 
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Iron horseman said it best.

Preorder sales get the best of most. If anything I think the mfg use this as a tool to gauge interest in a model. Yes some pre sales are hard to pass up but history tells me if a model is made once. It will be made again. And again....etc....

It comes down to how bad do you want it?

For me I can wait a few years and pick up most locos I like for 1/2--1/3 less the msrp. I search train shows,dealers or on eBay for deals.
 
If you go the preorder route, try and find a retailer who won't mind if you don't close the transaction. It can take 2+ years for the product to get to you and during that time modeling tastes and financial circumstances can change. Aka you may have gone from modeling the modern era to steam and the kids may need braces. Also, the model may be a disappointment and as a result you don't want it anymore.

You can find retailers out there who don't mind if you don't want to take delivery and not screw them over in the process.

Regards,

Brad
 
I've only pre-ordered once & never again.
In 2011 I pre-ordered a loco.
It took three years to arrive & when it did it lasted less than an hour before one of the motors packed up.
It was a fault which seemed to effect most of the models produced.
I returned the model for a refund but was very disappointed having waited three years for it to arrive.

In future I'll wait until the model arrives on the shelves & see what it turns out like.
If I miss out then so be it.
 
I don't pre-order, period. Before I spend money on a particular item, I want to see it, feel it. You always find these "limited editions", generally 3-6 months after release at train shows. They even show up on e-bay, and other places on line as well.

There has never been a model that I wanted so bad that I pre-ordered it. Its like finding something on e-bay. if you don't win it first time around, just wait, it will show up again.
 
I have only pre-ordered twice, and both were for BLI steamers that took at least five years to delivery. Was it worth it? Well, I did identify each of them as a desired model. The initial price offering was reduced by the retailer, Factory Direct Trains. They stood by that price when they took my one red cent back in 2008 when I placed both orders. Yes, you read that correctly; they took one penny on deposit from my credit card.

Now, with life having flowed under the bridge as it should, I look back several months and find I have both locomotives, priced right to me, and they are both keepers. Was it worth the wait? I think I would have answered no if that's all my life was about. I have many other passions, duties, and work that keep me busy. That's the life-under-the-bridge part. I now have two wonderful grandsons. We are buying a new home and selling my 'railroad' home in which we have lived during the past 11 years...the one where I took up the hobby. My wife has come to the end of her work life, now joining me in retirement. We can travel. I taught her to run the yard tractor so she can do the mowing...for a change. :)

If you measure your fun in the moment, it might not be a good thing to defer gratification. Buy what is available immediately and have fun with it. For me, I felt the locomotives were appealing enough that I could wait for my manufacturer of choice to produce it...now six years later. And here one of them is!

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Oh, yeah. One of those pre-ordered Proto-Heritage 0-8-0's has never been out of its box. So I would have never even noticed if I had not gotten it.
 
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The one time I pre-ordered, I knew the Genesis Geeps would be shipping within a few months so the wait wouldn't be unacceptably long. My LHS didn't require any money down, and he charged me way under MSRP for them.

I know all about BLI and their indefinitely postponed pre-order releases, I don't think I'll ever want anything quite that badly..!
 
A lot depends on WHAT ...............For example I have some of the Lowell Smith SP&S stuff, which I guess would be considered "limited edition". I missed about half the early items, and in 7 years of watching train shows, ebay, ect. I have only found a single car up for sale. They just don't come up for sale, and at least one of the more recent items sold out before they even arrived for shipment, and all the older stuff is sold out. I preorder if I want it. In some cases there are only 50 to 100 units produced, and with the number of new items Lowell is trying to produce, the items may never be rerun.

Most regular production items you'll be able to pick up later, probably at reduced price. But there is only one decent RR shop in the state, and I only get there a few times a year, so I end up ordering most items on-line anyway, and my chances of getting a "hands-on" with most items is not too good, so there isn't any big motivation to NOT pre-order. And the on-line shop I do all my pre-orders from doesn't charge me ANYTHING till the items hit their shop. and with so many items being announced months to years in advance, I find I forget to go back and get the items later when they hit the shelves if I don't pre-order.

And I HAVE hit a few situations when there weren't enough orders and the items NEVER hit the shelf. Sort of disappointing.
 
G'day ....Only did it once for two Broadway Limited SD40-2 s Waited and waited and waited...Nearly 8 months ....It's a frustrating and annoying , never will again. Next time I'll just ask the dealer to let me know if/when the item I'm interested in arrives .Cheers Rod....
 
Forum:

I preorder mainly locomotives that I know should be popular sellers. I preorder when I see the advance notice and I don't want to forget about the coming release.

I order through local hobby shops just in case there is a problem with the new locomotive and then it is an easy return. When gas prices are high I may just have the hobby shop ship the locomotive to my address. The lower cost of shipping, saves money on gasoline, on time spend driving and wear and tear on the vehicles. Plus, by shipping, it keeps me out of the hobby shops where I'll spend more money during by visit.

Thanks.

Greg
 
I pre-ordered exactly twice. I pre-ordered the 1st run of the BLI California Zephyr (all DRGW cars in case I wanted to run the Rio Grande Zephyr). I also pre-ordered the PCM PA's in the Rio Grande Aspen Leaf Scheme to go with the CZ cars. Both Pre-orders saved me about $100.00 on each. I haven't pre-ordered anything since. This was probably 10 years ago.

I have also very much set an era (1975-1990) for my layout and I am trying to stick to it. This limits me to what I buy. While the PA's don't exactly fit the era...I shall refer to rule 1... It's my railroad.

I really need to sell off a bunch of stuff that doesn't fit the era.
 
Preorders are good for two things. 1. Ensuring your spot in line. 2. If a manufacturer has doubts about the popularity of a product, it helps the manufacturer feel better about the products sales.
 
I preordered a ATLAS ALCO C420 in N-SCALE for BUFFALO SOUTHERN Railroad from my hobby dealer, 1 week later my father passed away ,we were in the beginning stages of a new layout in a tribute to my late mother... 1 month later I found myself residing where I am now and regret the pre order.

BCK RR
 



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