> The trend was started by the IRS when tax laws changed so holding inventory
> became something that distributors and retailers could no longer afford to
> do, even in times of low cost of money.
Interesting point, Charlie, I wasn't aware of that.
> We are indeed in the Golden Age of Model Railroading.
Well, I certainly agree on the point of all the cool models that are out now.
However, I'm still not so sure. Let me illustrate my points...
Several models were released last year that were sub-par in the terms of being
accurate. Now, the way things are going, you may need to pay in advance to get
what you want. But then, in some months time, you're stuck with a model that
you either A) need to fix yourself to make it prototypical, or B) run it as it
is...an expensive 'Athearn blue box'.
Second, over the past month, my supplier has notified me of quite a few items
that I'd like to have. If I cannot guarantee that I may get it later (or pay
inflated prices for on eBay or something), I have to shell it out up front or
when they come in. I could easily crack $2,000 in a month. I don't know about
you all (maybe I'm the only one not independently wealthy here), but putting
out that amount of cash on my hobby at once is just not happening. If I could
guarantee that I could pick them up over a few months, that would not be a
problem...but you can't.
Cheers!
Jan
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBQ/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
CBQ-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|