Author Topic: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount  (Read 7651 times)

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victor miranda

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #15 on: July 23, 2014, 01:52:37 PM »
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take it easy on Max,
I paid 79 dollars for my LL paperweight. oops... berk.

this thread is becoming a LL bash.  I have no doubt that the b-mann berk will pull more
and since my paperweight appears to have a failed motor,
I can imagine the b-mann will be a very small improvement there.

so that leaves deciding the value of sound and dcc.

.... I don't want either.

coosvalley

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #16 on: July 23, 2014, 02:06:49 PM »
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take it easy on Max,


It's nothing against Max, I'm just curious about that figure...And wondering if there was more work factored in ?...100 bucks can buy a lot of trucks and traction tires...

victor miranda

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #17 on: July 23, 2014, 02:18:20 PM »
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It was mostly meant as a joke.
pointing out that I spent more and am at the same starting point.

I know the pickup version of the ll berk tender truck is/was hard to find
in that I ended up buying a broken and complete berk to get it.

It is not hard to spend a hundredish bucks to improve the ll.
what price does a ll berk command on the bay?
and he said he cut a TT groove.

woof! the prices on the bay are a little steep.
I just went looking.

eta:  I shoulda said take it easy on Chris333 cause that was the paperweight reference.
I didn't realize you had addressed both.  sorry for messing up the joke.


victor
« Last Edit: July 23, 2014, 02:22:12 PM by victor miranda »

Baronjutter

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #18 on: July 23, 2014, 02:47:56 PM »
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After the brand new switcher I bought from Bachmann didn't work and I had to pay money to mail it back for a refund I'm not sure I trust any of their products. I know they've improved, but I've heard their decoders are still kinda crap and prone to have issues. 

mmagliaro

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #19 on: July 23, 2014, 03:23:27 PM »
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It's nothing against Max, I'm just curious about that figure...And wondering if there was more work factored in ?...100 bucks can buy a lot of trucks and traction tires...

Well, you probably don't realize that to put a real traction tire on a LL Berk, you have to machine a groove into the drivers
on one of the axles.   It's not as simple as just plunking a tire on there.   I also had to hunt down somebody at Life-Like
who was willing to sell me an extra power pickup truck (this was when there was actually a separate Life-Like you could call).
It was not a stocked, offered, or available part.  I really had to chase and squeeze them to get them to part
with an extra one out of their stash of spares they were using for repairs.

It easily took me over 10 hours to get that traction tire on there and get full power pickup in the tender.  Maybe you are willing to do loco repairs and upgrades for under $10/hour.
But I am not.

coosvalley

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #20 on: July 23, 2014, 03:40:26 PM »
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Thank you for clarifying......Yes, that sounds like a lot of work, far more involved than you original post suggested...It still sounds expensive, but I would pay to get a loco I really wanted too....

LV LOU

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #21 on: July 23, 2014, 05:45:47 PM »
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That seems like a high cost for adding trucks and a traction tire??????? :o



Has the dollar de-valued that much?..That still sounds like a lot of $ for a paperweight........Though, they do run great with the Readers Digest GP-35s... :facepalm:
40-45 bucks is about all I'd go on a Bachmann SD45 also.I have Katos,WAY superior in every respect,looks,running,quiet,pulling,almost the same money..I think this nonsense of DCC and sound whether you want it or not is stupid...I have no interest in either,if they're forcing me to buy something I don't want or need for 20+ dollars more than it should be,as far as I'm concerned,they can put it you know where..

MichaelWinicki

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #22 on: July 23, 2014, 05:49:45 PM »
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40-45 bucks is about all I'd go on a Bachmann SD45 also.I have Katos,WAY superior in every respect,looks,running,quiet,pulling,almost the same money..I think this nonsense of DCC and sound whether you want it or not is stupid...I have no interest in either,if they're forcing me to buy something I don't want or need for 20+ dollars more than it should be,as far as I'm concerned,they can put it you know where..

If they don't change the tooling then I probably wouldn't pay that amount.

However if it's new tooling with a new shell, accurate ride height and improved electrical pickup... I'd give it a look.

daniel_leavitt2000

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #23 on: July 23, 2014, 06:13:13 PM »
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The SD45 is just effed up. It doesn't look right from any angle, though it doesn't run too bad. The newer C40-8W is actually pretty decent looking (I know some of you dislike it), especially when repainted. It looks right at home with my Atlas engines.

All these engines started with an MSRP of $135. Way too much but in a matter of months, they slid to $75 and eventually settled at about $45-60 which is a reasonable price for an engine that could use some detailing or painting, but otherwise has good bones.

I am waiting for the 70 tonners to level out a bit before I pull the trigger on one. I did bite at the $85 Mogul and love that thing to death. I wish they did a GP9... I have use for a few more and I'm rather bored of my Atlas units (nothing wrong with them, I just like to tinker with different mechanisms).

I should have bit the bullet on the Walthers USRA 0-8-0 while they were available. The B&M engine would be perfect for the new shelf layout.
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Mike C

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #24 on: July 23, 2014, 07:08:44 PM »
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After the brand new switcher I bought from Bachmann didn't work and I had to pay money to mail it back for a refund I'm not sure I trust any of their products. I know they've improved, but I've heard their decoders are still kinda crap and prone to have issues.

I have 4 of their steamers (2-6-0 4-6-0 2-8-0 and 2-6-6-2 ) with the factory decoders , and while they don't have all the features of aftermarket decoders , all of them run well , have good control , and have never given me a single problem . I wouldn't believe everything you read on the net .  8)  I have 7 of their steamers total and with the exception of the ( easy fixed ) 1st run 4-6-0 problems , I've never had any trouble with their products . Of course I could be the exception ????  :scared:

LV LOU

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #25 on: July 23, 2014, 07:47:53 PM »
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If they don't change the tooling then I probably wouldn't pay that amount.

However if it's new tooling with a new shell, accurate ride height and improved electrical pickup... I'd give it a look.
I have three Bachmann Reading SD45's..They're not bad locomotives,but just the fit of everything,gaps,paint quality & colors,noisy,ETC,just inferior to my Katos..

MichaelWinicki

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #26 on: July 23, 2014, 08:47:24 PM »
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I have three Bachmann Reading SD45's..They're not bad locomotives,but just the fit of everything,gaps,paint quality & colors,noisy,ETC,just inferior to my Katos..

I've got the PRR version and it runs like a dog... That electrical pickup just renders it a "shelf queen".  HOWEVER I do have a custom painted Kato SD45 that I luv to death... Wonderful locomotive.  Heavy as a bear.  My ONLY complaint?  The motor speed jumps so abruptly from slow to fast. 

reinhardtjh

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #27 on: July 24, 2014, 03:32:26 AM »
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Pete at BLW now has pre-orders for $210
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LV LOU

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #28 on: July 24, 2014, 10:12:32 AM »
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I've got the PRR version and it runs like a dog... That electrical pickup just renders it a "shelf queen".  HOWEVER I do have a custom painted Kato SD45 that I luv to death... Wonderful locomotive.  Heavy as a bear.  My ONLY complaint?  The motor speed jumps so abruptly from slow to fast.
I wouldn't say I have those problems with either my Bachmann SD45's or my Katos.I have two three unit sets of Katos,3 D&H and 3 EL,[In the real world,the same locomotives,LOL!!] they run perfectly.Even the Bachmanns are smooth,just noisy.One has a pretty bad click in one truck,got to get around to ordering a new truck..I have a bunch of old Con Cor SD45's that don't sound much worse than the Bachmann's..

mu26aeh

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Re: Well! Bachmann's new pricing is NOT so great after discount
« Reply #29 on: July 26, 2014, 02:35:27 PM »
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Pete at BLW now has pre-orders for $210

He also has the SD-45's listed with the SoundTraxx STEAM Package .  That's going to sound awesome  :trollface:
« Last Edit: July 26, 2014, 03:44:11 PM by mu26aeh »