M-T TBOX

[peteski]

I reserved mine (quite some time ago) at Hogz Trains (even thought I'm not a fan of that vendor's website), and mine arrived today, shipped in a bubble envelope, wrapped in bubble wrap.  No damage.

Paid the reservation price of $89.95 + $10 shipping.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

And as of now, the last set in stock is showing full MSRP for the price. Likewise for the last sets of graffiti/weathered RBOX cars that just came out. Is Klein's now doing some sort of adaptive pricing that accounts for supply vs. demand of hot items?

It'd be amazing if they did.
I'm fascinated by variable pricing like that.
I long thought it'd be fun to have a restaurant who's prices varied based on the number of people in line.

But I don't think that technology has quite filtered into BigCommerce yet.

[GaryHinshaw]

I've been watching the stock at MBK for the last few weeks but never pulled the trigger.  Good thing too, because about a week and a half ago I got an email from Fifer* that my order had shipped.   Order?  What order?  Turns out that I forgot I pre-ordered not 1 but 2 sets, which showed up today.  (They're beautiful.)

Then... I just got an email from N Scale Supply last week saying my order had shipped.  Order?  What order?   I wonder how many sets I ordered from them!  Who else did I pre-order these from? 

*Fifer's price was $83.99 a set.  Two thumbs up.  I'm quickly losing interest in MBK as a vendor.

[wmcbride]

I've been watching the stock at MBK for the last few weeks but never pulled the trigger.  Good thing too, because about a week and a half ago I got an email from Fifer* that my order had shipped.   Order?  What order?  Turns out that I forgot I pre-ordered not 1 but 2 sets, which showed up today.  (They're beautiful.)

Then... I just got an email from N Scale Supply last week saying my order had shipped.  Order?  What order?   I wonder how many sets I ordered from them!  Who else did I pre-order these from? 

*Fifer's price was $83.99 a set.  Two thumbs up.  I'm quickly losing interest in MBK as a vendor.

Ditto (almost). I was surprised by follow-on emails for pre-orders of these I had forgotten about completely...

[MetroRedLine]

ARRIVED!!!!!

That's some pretty fancy packaging there...

[pedro]

It'd be amazing if they did.
I'm fascinated by variable pricing like that.
I long thought it'd be fun to have a restaurant who's prices varied based on the number of people in line.

But I don't think that technology has quite filtered into BigCommerce yet.

A friend just pointed out yesterday that MBK’s price on Atlas code 55 flextrack went to full MSRP when their stock got low. The same thing happened on the JTC well cars.

If this is a trend, I certainly don’t find it “fascinating” as a consumer. It’s their business to do with as they please, but it smacks of big commerce greed, pisses me off and makes me vow to never be a customer of any company that engages in it.

[jereising]

You'll note the difference and I'll note the difference and we'll find what we need elsewhere.  But they obviously think it's a good idea, and it's their sandbox.  I don't play in that sandbox anymore.

[basementcalling]

I have seen it that if MBK sells out of an item and gets a restock, that second supply is usually priced higher than what the first batch sold for. I always assumed it was because they paid more to acquire the restock items.

They sort of replaced BLW for me as a go to order spot, but lately I've bought more from Lombard or Midwest Hobbies than MBK. Gosh knows how they place items on the website now is ridiculous with the coming soon or Fall2022 tags. They feature more out of stock N scale items than in stock, and their set up makes it hard to tell without specifically setting things to show one or the other.

I really miss BLW.

[ryan_wilkerson]

I really like Lombard's preorder system. When something is announced, I fill in the form. https://lombardhobby.com/pre-order/
Then when they arrive, I get a call and an email with a link it to add the preorder to my cart. I can add other items and checkout, very easy.
While talking with Lombard, the fellow mentioned that the preorder price is the lowest...same as the in-store price. Also, the preorder is set aside before any items are added to their stock (online/in-store).
I've done this three times now and it's working well so I will continue.

[w neal]

Inferior however they may be, I'm still not throwing out my old LBF's with the bath water...

[kscessandriver]

I really like Lombard's preorder system. When something is announced, I fill in the form. https://lombardhobby.com/pre-order/
Then when they arrive, I get a call and an email with a link it to add the preorder to my cart. I can add other items and checkout, very easy.
While talking with Lombard, the fellow mentioned that the preorder price is the lowest...same as the in-store price. Also, the preorder is set aside before any items are added to their stock (online/in-store).
I've done this three times now and it's working well so I will continue.

Interesting, I'd never used Lombards pre-order, I usually pre-order at NScaleSupply. But that's good to know Lombard has that option, their store is most excellent and worth a stop if you're in Chicago.

I picked up a set from MBK. I'm very impressed with the boxcars. Wish I had a reason to get more, but I've got so many boxcars that I don't think I can justify it.

[sundowner]

Inferior however they may be, I'm still not throwing out my old LBF's with the bath water...

You can actually see the difference of quality of construction between the lbf and mt car in that picture.
It also shows how far Nscale has move in the last 20 years to what modelers consider standard feature on new railcars models.

[mu26aeh]

And yet people still pay $50-60 for the LBF/Huberts cars

[Englewood]

And yet people still pay $50-60 for the LBF/Huberts cars

I'll sell them mine for $40 each! Save $20!

I have a half dozen or so, and while I might still run them, I won't put them next to the MTs because there's too much difference.

[w neal]

Meh, some weathering/fading, DOT stripes. They'll be fine for me. I wouldn't put them in the Tyco bin just yet.