NJ International

[EspeeGoldenState]

A friend was told by our LHS that NJ is gone and no longer available to get product from. Their website says nothing, but the N scale listing is void of much of anything.

Anyone else hear/see anything to that tune as well?

[Mark5]

A friend was told by our LHS that NJ is gone and no longer available to get product from. Their website says nothing, but the N scale listing is void of much of anything.

Anyone else hear/see anything to that tune as well?

NJ International availability historically ebbs and flows (periods of "drought"). That said, the old website says they re-located to Florida and it points to https://njisignals.com

Have you tried contacting them on that website?

Mark

[unittrain]

I bought some HO signals from them not more than a few months ago. Hopefully they aren't gone.

[peteski]

Seems odd for a company to create a new website because they have moved to a different physical location. 

[tehachapifan]

Seems odd for a company to create a new website because they have moved to a different physical location.

I think what they did was add another website with a shopping cart system. I can still find the old website that is/was pretty basic and, IIRC, didn't have a shopping cart.

[sirenwerks]

Seems odd for a company to create a new website because they have moved to a different physical location.

Sounds like they're rebranding, getting away from the oil bunkers and fueling platforms and specializing in the signals.

[nkalanaga]

I just looked at their new site, and it's also "void of much of anything" N scale.

[spookshow]

N Scale Supply "resupplied" their NJI stuff back in March, so it's been a while. I sure hope they're not gone cuz I'm in desperate need of a 2164 crossing signal.

-Mark

[trainpixsnet]

I reached out to NJI last night acquiring about some of the n-scale grade crossing signals/gates, here was the reply I received this morning:

You took good advise...go directly to the horses mouth.
All our crossing are currently out of production, we hope to have things back to normal early next year.
 
Jack La Russa
NJI

This is great news that they are still around and that they will hopefully have things back to normal next year!

[C855B]

NJI has consistently been a bit of an enigma; the principal or principals have had very little to no dialog with the buying public, product shows up when it shows up, WYSIWYG. I'm grateful when it does, and grab a crossing gate or two or three or four when I can. OTOH, I keep telling myself I can do better with a 3D printer and have done so, and I'm not alone. That may easily be an issue "they" are considering, and might have a bearing on how much investment NJI makes in future RTR product for N.

[Mark5]

OTOH, I keep telling myself I can do better with a 3D printer and have done so, and I'm not alone. That may easily be an issue "they" are considering, and might have a bearing on how much investment NJI makes in future RTR product for N.

I sure hope they are not considering this!  While I can afford a 3D printer - not everyone can. I personally cannot justify a 3D printer and the associated supplies for the small number of applications that I would currently find it useful for (that could change in the future!). I suspect that the percentage of model railroaders that actually own 3D printers is less than 5% (I could be wrong!).

[Ed Kapuscinski]

NJI has consistently been a bit of an enigma; the principal or principals have had very little to no dialog with the buying public, product shows up when it shows up, WYSIWYG.

It sounds like, given how modelers typically act with manufacturers, they're taking the smart route.

[C855B]

I sure hope they are not considering this!  ...

For the limited quantities they sell, I would think they would have to. Given the "supply chain" issue that is dominating the discussion now, the hobby is retreating a bit into "modeler" mode rather than "buy one and plant it on your MRR", but the modelers happen to have much better tools now especially for detail bits.

That said, RTR is a good thing. I'd rather buy than make, time being a precious commodity at this point in my life, but often off-the-shelf doesn't work with the modeling vision. Anyway, the manufacturer has to weigh demand versus minimum production runs. That demand may decrease by 5-10% given what is already available in the 3D market, either in the form of printable files or buy-on-demand from somebody like Shapeways.

My sense is that NJI accumulates backorders to a tipping point, then makes a run of X+% quantity, fills the pipeline, and then we start the cycle all over again. Given the relatively recent (for NJI) refilling of a handful of N products, they have exhausted inventory and are now in order-accumulation mode again. If the repeated history with them remains a valid indicator, then figure on crossing signals magically available again maybe by the end of 2022. Just a hunch.

[EspeeGoldenState]

So I passed on the information to my friend and he indeed reached to them last night. And they responded to him this morning. Perhaps it has to do with the move.

[wazzou]

So I passed on the information to my friend and he indeed reached to them last night. And they responded to him this morning. Perhaps it has to do with the move.

Suddenly, a strange sense of deja vu.  ^^^

I reached out to NJI last night acquiring about some of the n-scale grade crossing signals/gates, here was the reply I received this morning:

You took good advise...go directly to the horses mouth.
All our crossing are currently out of production, we hope to have things back to normal early next year.
 
Jack La Russa
NJI

This is great news that they are still around and that they will hopefully have things back to normal next year!