02-09-2023, 11:39 AM
I pre-order all the time. The shops I use do not charge a deposit or make you prepay. Preordering with them is free. Yes, I have waited a long time for some orders to come in. I have a couple of Atlas S-2’s that I have been waiting nearly four years for. They are still listed on Atlas’ website with a TBA date for shipping.
As far as HO manufacturers go, I will say the following:
Atlas – preorder and forget it. Then some date in the future I am surprised by an email saying the item is on the way to the hobby shop. For example the S-4 locos that arrived last week were announced in November 2020 and arrived at the hobby shop two weeks ago. I know COVID has affected things and I believe Atlas has been harder than any other model railroad manufacturer. Their website leaves a lot to be desired regarding the status of preordered items.
Athearn/Roundhouse – They are pretty good. They announce about a year ahead of delivery and I have found them to be pretty much on time. Sometimes they are a couple of months early and once and awhile I have seen them delayed by six months. Preordered items are kept up to date.
Rapido – They have been a little erratic at times. I have experienced them taking anywhere from a year and a half to three years to deliver something. They do keep their website up to date on the status of their announced items.
Intermountain – They announce items and then they wait for the appropriate number of orders before moving to the next stage. Their website is good at telling the status of items. I have not been able to judge the time it takes from announcement to delivery. Many times I wait until the item is either in production or in transit before I order. I have found it takes about 7 or 8 months from when they say an item goes into production until it is delivered.
Walthers – On many items they announce the items when they are in production or shipping. When they do this wait time is down to six to eight months in many cases. They are still some items that they announce before production and those have taken a year or more. They are very good on keeping track on their website.
Broadway Limited – They are pretty good. They usually make announcements with a six to eight month waiting time. However, I found in reality it is closer to a year for most items. They are good at keeping the website up to date.
Accurail – Announce an item and then your guess is as good as mine as to when it is going to show up.
Bachmann – Similar to Accurail. I wait three years for my K4 to arrive. I would say it was about two years late.
Sorry for being long winded but this has been my experience with preordering. I am not a fan of it but I resigned to the fact that this is the way it is nowadays.
I will not deal with anyone that requires a deposit or prepaying. If you want the list of online shops I deal with, I will gladly post it.
As far as HO manufacturers go, I will say the following:
Atlas – preorder and forget it. Then some date in the future I am surprised by an email saying the item is on the way to the hobby shop. For example the S-4 locos that arrived last week were announced in November 2020 and arrived at the hobby shop two weeks ago. I know COVID has affected things and I believe Atlas has been harder than any other model railroad manufacturer. Their website leaves a lot to be desired regarding the status of preordered items.
Athearn/Roundhouse – They are pretty good. They announce about a year ahead of delivery and I have found them to be pretty much on time. Sometimes they are a couple of months early and once and awhile I have seen them delayed by six months. Preordered items are kept up to date.
Rapido – They have been a little erratic at times. I have experienced them taking anywhere from a year and a half to three years to deliver something. They do keep their website up to date on the status of their announced items.
Intermountain – They announce items and then they wait for the appropriate number of orders before moving to the next stage. Their website is good at telling the status of items. I have not been able to judge the time it takes from announcement to delivery. Many times I wait until the item is either in production or in transit before I order. I have found it takes about 7 or 8 months from when they say an item goes into production until it is delivered.
Walthers – On many items they announce the items when they are in production or shipping. When they do this wait time is down to six to eight months in many cases. They are still some items that they announce before production and those have taken a year or more. They are very good on keeping track on their website.
Broadway Limited – They are pretty good. They usually make announcements with a six to eight month waiting time. However, I found in reality it is closer to a year for most items. They are good at keeping the website up to date.
Accurail – Announce an item and then your guess is as good as mine as to when it is going to show up.
Bachmann – Similar to Accurail. I wait three years for my K4 to arrive. I would say it was about two years late.
Sorry for being long winded but this has been my experience with preordering. I am not a fan of it but I resigned to the fact that this is the way it is nowadays.
I will not deal with anyone that requires a deposit or prepaying. If you want the list of online shops I deal with, I will gladly post it.
Tom
Silence is golden but Duct tape is silver
Ridley Keystone & Mountain Railroad
My Rail Images Gallery
Silence is golden but Duct tape is silver
Ridley Keystone & Mountain Railroad
My Rail Images Gallery