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Model Railroading > Wholesale trains going out of businessDate: 08/22/16 17:48 Wholesale trains going out of business Author: suvart Went on their website and it said that they will stop accepting orders next monday, August 29th. I know some people have had problems with it but I certainly will be sad to see it go!
Travus Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/16 18:59 by suvart. Date: 08/22/16 18:15 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: Frank30 Where is Wholesale Trains located??
Frank30 Date: 08/22/16 18:59 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: suvart It's mostly an online retailer, but they have a storefront somewhere in New York I believe.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/16 18:59 by suvart. Date: 08/22/16 19:05 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: waivethefive They are located just outside of Elmira, NY. I think the store itself has already been closed. I went to visit the other day and a sign stated they were closed.
Posted from Android Date: 08/22/16 19:55 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: garr This makes two hobby shops, with large online presences, closing within a month of each other. Online is where we have been told model railroading sells were going. With hobby shops having a large online presence closing, are we going to get to the point where there are only two or three large hobby shops left in this country?
Jay Date: 08/22/16 23:41 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: Stottman I would agree. Prices on somethings have almost tripled in the last 10-15 years, and dealer discounts have all but disappeared.
Date: 08/23/16 05:35 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: SPDRGWfan Being a bearer of bad news isn't going to make anyone popluar; in general there is already more than enough bad news as it is. The cards will fall where they will and as always, the customer will have to adapt to changes. Change seems to be the only constant.
At least for the present, I agree with Harry, that model railroading is insanely good these days. Nothing is guaranteed but I'll enjoy what the hobby has to offer and if things eventually start to dry up, I'll enjoy what I have. Cheers, Jim Fitch Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/16 05:38 by SPDRGWfan. Date: 08/23/16 06:19 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: JLW2K This going out of business is no indication of the hobby's health. Their discounts were average and they never had in stock what they claimed.
If businesses can't follow basic universal business rules such as staying competitive or good customer service they will go out of business selling ice cream in the Sahara. It's not necessarily attributed to a percieved death march of the hobby. Posted from Android Date: 08/23/16 07:45 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: P JLW2K Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------- > This going out of business is no indication of the > hobby's health. Their discounts were average and > they never had in stock what they claimed. > > If businesses can't follow basic universal > business rules such as staying competitive or good > customer service they will go out of business > selling ice cream in the Sahara. It's not > necessarily attributed to a percieved death march > of the hobby. > > Posted from Android While I can't say I agree or disagree on the state of the hobby,I do agree that basic business principles will win in any business. Just because you sell a product or service that is desirable, it doesn't mean that you will be successful. Train stores are no different than any other business. If you shake out a badly run business, the ones left should be more successful as they inherit their customers - assuming they still want to buy. I don't know about this particular business, but it seemed clear that Caboose Hobbies' closing was a timing factor with the owners as they seemed ready to retire given the options given of starting in anothe rlocation from scratch. Yes, they had a customer base, but for someone that is of retirement age that has spent their lifetime building a business, the prospect of moving and settin up shop somewhere else may not have seemed all that attractive. The fact taht no-one was interested in buying CH may be a little concerning, but perhaps there was no real desire by the owners to sell. Bottom line is that it remains to be seen where the hobby will go IMHO. SInce I got into O guage 15 years ago. I have been hearing of the coming demise of the hobby and 15 years later, things still seem to be humming along fairly well considering the overall poor economic conditions that the entire country (outside DC) is living in. Date: 08/23/16 08:12 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: HNGDCS I have done business with Wholesale Trains for years with no problems. Their prices usually were better than most other online retailers, and their customer service was good. If you go to their website (wholesaletrains.com) and click on "Closing Announcement", it tells you exactly why they are closing. Goverment overreach is one of the main reasons.
Date: 08/23/16 09:33 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: SPDRGWfan HNGDCS Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------- > Goverment overreach is one of the main reasons. I may or may not agree, but when politics enter in - just a guess but it could go south quickly. Warning Will Rogers! > Train stores are no different than any other business. In many ways yes and in some no. Train stores are different than many business because of the rather limited clientel and, to many, "niche" line of products. So in that way, train stores may be better related to business which have less "reach" due to their niche genre, and the additional challenges that poses. Cheers, Jim Fitch Date: 08/23/16 13:24 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: johnsweetser garr wrote:
>Online is where we have been told model railroading sells were going. The word is "sales." Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/16 13:25 by johnsweetser. Date: 08/23/16 16:22 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: mhiser No the real reason is they can't find anyone to buy the business. The retail and and service type businesses are stagnant with plenty for sale, but almost all are horribly overpriced. The owners have a golden parachute dream of what their business is worth, but in reality it's usually worth 50% or more LESS than what they will even consider to sell for. It's hard to put the blood and sweat equity into something and walk away with less than whatever you think it's worth. On the flip side why would someone pay more for a business than its really worth unless you have plenty of money to burn? Owning a successful business is lots and lots of hard work.
HNGDCS Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have done business with Wholesale Trains for > years with no problems. Their prices usually > were better than most other online retailers, and > their customer service was good. If you go to > their website (wholesaletrains.com) and click on > "Closing Announcement", it tells you exactly why > they are closing. Goverment overreach is one of > the main reasons. Date: 08/23/16 19:01 Re: Wholesale trains going out of business Author: Trainatic Owning a business is a huge amount of work and folks always think it is so easy to be your own boss and run a business. My wife owns a business and works 70 hours per week on average and occasionally can get some time off to just get away for a day or so. We have to cover our own health insurance which is super expensive - thanks to Obamacare and we have a huge deductible. The government is constantly adding new rules and regulations. I'm seeing more and more of the middle class getting squeezed out especially relating to having money to take the trips that her business offers.
Joe |