tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680441260735659551.post2815185430319530259..comments2023-12-25T06:50:30.229-05:00Comments on Elgin Car Shops - Custom Model Assembly and Finishing: I wish I knew who wrote this!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680441260735659551.post-32520305612087263982016-09-24T19:51:17.909-04:002016-09-24T19:51:17.909-04:00It looks like Caboose Hobbies may be coming back a...It looks like Caboose Hobbies may be coming back as an online store. I am amazed at the sheer volume of product we have available for us in the hobby today. <br /><br />Walther's inability to change with the times is obvious. They are getting run over by better run online stores. They remind me of Kodak ("This digital thing is a fad, people love real film"). Those that don't adapt, die.<br /><br />As for the NMRA, I have been trying to find a reason to join, but they don't provide me with one. The value just isn't there for me.Karl A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16321265208083134312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680441260735659551.post-75171995849157474032016-09-09T12:19:00.073-04:002016-09-09T12:19:00.073-04:00I agree with what you have said, Pierre. I would ...I agree with what you have said, Pierre. I would also add the Closing of Caboose Hobbies due to loss of their lease and retirement of the owners as a result had nothing to do with the state of the hobby. Caboose Hobbies was one of the first to offer their inventory on the internet back when their listings were text only and you had to phone in your order. They were way ahead of the trend. Walthers as a manufacturer, wholesale jobber and retailer has never really been able to satisfy their wholesale customers by not stocking the goods they are supposed to be distributing and by directly competing with their wholesale customers. Hobby shops can't reliably order goods that are in stock at the manufacturers through Walthers and they are in direct competition with their wholesale customers. Their insistence on only serving brick and mortar stores has also hurt them by pissing off long standing customers that have gone internet only. A case in point is a close friend of mine who had a shop for over forty years and went internet only as he went into semi-retirement. Both Athearn and Walthers shut him off even though he paid cash quickly and never owed anybody a dime for the shop's entire history. Walthers not performing as wholesale agents is also legendary. Many manufacturers that relied on Walthers as distributors went direct to dealers themselves and experienced runaway order volumes as the dealers could finally order products by the gross whereas Walthers would order $3.00 items a dozen at a time twice a year and take a cut. Their low volume infrequent orders drove small manufacturers nuts! Their pricing for illustrations in their catalogs for carrying product lines was also cost prohibitive for small manufacturers. Many went to text only listings in the Walthers catalog and others just quit using them altogether. This is a major reason why the paper catalogs have been condensed under one cover. The other reason is why would anybody buy a paper catalog when they could just go to the manufacturer's site to see what is currently available and one can usually order the items at the same time with 100% fulfillment. As a retailer, Walthers also does not have a live inventory system when one uses their site. If one needs to order multiples of items one does not know that Walthers cannot fill the order immediately. Only after completing the order and paying does one find out that they only had three on hand instead of the twenty you needed and even then, it can take over a day to receive an email letting you know what you will get. Things have changed, period. Those that don't change fall behind like any other business and are not an indication of a failing hobby. The hobby is fine and doing well. We have mind boggling choices of products and sources for products that we never had before and we're all having a blast! Steve Solombrinonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680441260735659551.post-25719990155788934852016-09-04T17:07:42.658-04:002016-09-04T17:07:42.658-04:00I've gone through two episodes of large but in...I've gone through two episodes of large but inflexible businesses caught in technology changes that caused their breakup, one in real life and one vicariously. The former was the breakup of the Bell System (AT&T), the latter the breakup of the Pullman Company. In both cases competitors instituted anti-trust legal action to gain access to otherwise protected markets, and in both cases high-level decision makers were so confident that their size and dominant economic presence protected them that they never prepared to lose the litigation.<br /><br />In this age of planned obsolescence and short product life cycles, it may be hard to comprehend that Bell System standards (I worked for Bell Labs) required that every new piece of equipment had to be compatible with every piece of equipment already in the field, no matter how old it was or how ancient the technology. The huge bureaucracy needed to administer all this made the company top-heavy, and the resulting conservative corporate philosophy made it difficult to respond to the opportunities offered by new technologies. <br /><br />In retrospect, Pullman's breakup went more smoothly in terms of work force retention, but the company does not exist today. The remnants of the Bell System do exist, but in the aggregate they are but a shadow of its former self. The consumer, though, is much better off and the communications field is totally different and much more advanced than it might have been had Ma Bell survived intact.<br /><br />The lesson for our hobby's organizations and businesses? Past success means little when the ground shifts beneath you - you have to change and adapt with the times. Whether it's the landlord selling the building, customers finding alternative sources, or potential members seeing your organization as out of touch, unforeseen events are really inevitable. These are existential threats that can wipe you out. But if you pay attention, try to anticipate things that can go wrong and be prepared to react quickly when they do, you may find that fresh opportunities are inevitable, too.<br /><br />Tom MaddenTom Maddennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3680441260735659551.post-63629998461873360722016-09-04T10:58:22.714-04:002016-09-04T10:58:22.714-04:00I definitely support your take on the hobby. E-co...I definitely support your take on the hobby. E-commerce being available to the small manufacturer has made listing in the Walthers catalog unnecessary. The small vendor can be discovered on the web and sell direct without the challenges of supplying inventory to a big operation like Walthers.Mark Znoreply@blogger.com