Large Scale Central

Aristo-----

General Discussion
#21

And if Scott listened to his web site guy and pushed it back a week or two to give them more time, he would have been lambasted for being late again on another promise.

Its coming along. If they migrate all the old forum posts, then it’s worth a few days down time on the forum. The new photos look great. The 40% price discount is there. The additional 10% is good. I noticed that at least one on line dealer has adjusted his prices a few % to beat Aristo’s discount.

Yeah, he probably could have put more money into the migration but hopefully he is putting that money into building their inventory. In a couple weeks time no one will care it took a few days to implement.

#22

They just sent an email blast out offering free shipping with $1000 order! Wow, what a deal! You’ve gotta be kidding!

#23

Sounds to me like they are passing on free shipping to the direct customer at order levels below what they give to their dealers. Shipping on an order of that size could easily be 5% or more of the total. May not seem like much but it is significant.

#24

WAIT! I have it! This is their subtle way of pre-announcing new kits! Yup, we send it to you unfinished.

#25

I’d prefer it that way, then you have only yourself to blame if it wasn’t put together right. Built a lot of HO locomotives and bunches of rolling stock, large scale would be easy compared to HO !

#26

People find something to complain about no matter what !!

#27
Chuck Inlow said:
.... I think we are going to see a big shift with all manufacturers of any product. I think you are going to see more direct sales to customers because of the internet. The manufacturers don't need the dealer (middleman) to present their product to the general public anymore. I know that except for a few specialty products that I manufacturer, I see more of my customers buying from the internet because it's cheaper.
I don't think any of the players in this market have any other choices than the ones they are making, Chuck, and I'm not at all sure it's just because of price.

For example, I buy off the net because I don’t have any choice. There are no hobby shops around here carrying any of what I want, and I don’t blame them, because there’s no real big market for LS trains. It’s all so specialized that manufacturers couldn’t put every little bitty item in every hobby shop, if there were serious hobby shops any more, which there don’t seem to be anyway. So at all three levels there are forces that pretty well oblige us all to deal directly. If I want something from a specialized Mfr, I’m wisest to deal directly with him nowadays, and the best way for him to find me is through the internet.

This, however, is no way to expand the market for LS trains.

If the larger manufacturers want to expand the market, I believe they ought to sell their trainsets in the same places that people go to buy garden ponds and the like. Let new people discover the hobby. Most guys like you and I have all the trains we need, and in my opinion are not likely to buy enough to sustain the industry for much longer, but we, the established hobbyists are the only ones they seem to be trying to sell to. What’s up with that?

It’s way past time for the Mfrs to really do some out of the box thinking here.

#28

Some years ago, Aristo had the ‘audacity’ to advertise their product line with a ‘woman of all things’ displaying the product (back cover ‘Garden Railways’ magazine). Now one would think that Aristo would be applauded for such a daring venture into the unknown. Everyone knows that women are used to demonstrate white goods and home cleaning products and yet Aristo were using a woman to display their train products. There were criticisms but fortunately these were overshadowed by a chorus of positive comments. Alas, shaken by the experience it seems the bold venture where no man had gone before in using a woman in a non-sexy way to display a train, Aristo shied away and resumed normal advertising channels.

Some say the answer is simple - dsiplay trains where the masses are like garden centres. The truth is this does not work. It has the ‘ooh-ahh’ factor, but the public in general unless having a predisposition to ‘model trains’ does not act on what they see. How many children actually go to garden centres???

The answer was the age old railroad display in the shop front window each Christmas (can I still use the term Christmas without fear of harassing the population?). Alas, the demographic has changed. Parents no longer take their children to view the annual yuletide displays in the many stores. It is a little difficult to view railroad displays on online stores. Unless children are involved then any marketting venture is doomed to fail.

The baby boomers (post war births) were a ‘mechanical age’ and interested in things mechanical. today’s generation are cyber related and view the internet as their domain. They have no time for mechanical hobbies. they prefer an online experience to share their personal lives and tell the whole world every second of their existence.

#29

Sure, garden centres seem to be an obvious possible outlet to grow the hobby. So why is it they don’t work?
For a start the only way you can guarantee a somewhat reliable Large Scale garden railway display in a garden centre, is to have it indoors. Which sort of defeats the purpose.
The garden centre owners simply do not want the responsibility of any on going outdoor maintenance, period. If it doesn’t work first time every time and run forever with no maintenance, they will dice it.
…and battery power is not the answer either. They simply could not be bothered to keep the batteries charged.

#30

Tony,
many years ago, the local Westfield shopping centre (then the largest in the southern hemisphere) decided to run an elevated Christmas railway over the summer period. They contacted the local hobby centre who installed an extensive Aristo trackwork plus Aristo Rogers loco and coaches. Well, it ran perfectly the first day. After that is became very sporadic and in general was a dismal failure. Every time the train stoped the hobby shop propietor would dispach someone to clean the rail. Not an easy task when the track was raised many metres overhead. Well, interest in the venture wained (from both sides I would suggest). the shopping centre’s patience was pushed to extreme and the train was dismantled, a complete disaster, never to resurface.

    The disaster does not and should not reflect on Aristo,  as any extensive railroad, indoors or outdoors is not self servicing.  It needs regular maintenance to reinforce consumer interest in the productline.  Lack of maintennance and no doubt interest killed off the venture.
#31

The disaster should have been the responsibility of the installer who was stupid enough to use equipment that could not do the job. They should have used LGB which remains the ONLY brand that can handle such situations. Provided of course the skates are left on the loco(s).
Many years ago I was involved in servicing a McDonald’s “delivery” train. It ran just fine even though the installer reduced the radius of some # 1 curves to make the layout fit the given space. The store owner wanted an LGB Mogul because it looked more authentically western. I warned them that the Mogul could not handle the reduced radius curves and sure enough it kept derailing more or less every circuit. You could not blame LGB although the store owner did and ripped out an almost perfectly good system, when some careful track relaying would have solved the problem.

#32

Where there’s a will there’s a way.

Imagine in a garden center, not far from the fountains and ponds, a video display of a great garden Railroad, and alongside, a colorful display of starter sets. Maybe an infomercial showing a little beginners’ how-to. Add some business cards or brochures about the local garden RR club, maybe some websites worth visiting.

I say, get Granny’s attention, never mind the kids; they don’t have any money anyway: “Oh Harold, look at the cute little train! Wouldn’t that be nice among the rosebushes? Let’s get one for when the grandchildren visit!” Grampa Harold is grinning from ear to ear…

It’s easy to dismiss such ideas, but what’s the point? If an attitude of negativity prevails, nothing can be accomplished. I don’t claim these are the best or the only ideas - they’d better not be - but they might be a jumping-off point.

What is really needed is the determination to expand the market, one way or another. If Mfrs would decide they seriously want to do that, then the brainstorming can begin in earnest, new hope can flourish, many, many new ideas can be tried.

It’s about will. My ha’p’ny’s worth.

#33

5 days later and still the only thing working is online ordering.

There was no pressure nor public schedule forcing them to cut over to a incomplete web site and take the forum offline.

I’d get some new computer people, or make better decisions on when to roll out a new site. They were sort of bragging on their facebook how smooth it went… hmm… with only a fraction of site working, smooth would not be the adjective I would use…

Greg

#34
Greg Elmassian said:
..................... They were sort of bragging on their facebook how smooth it went... hmm.... with only a fraction of site working, smooth would not be the adjective I would use...

Greg


They, and a few other people I won’t mention, obviously have their very own “standards” when it comes to upgrades. :smiley: :smiley:

#35

For those of you with kids it took 9 months for your loving wife to spit out a kid and then it takes 20+ years to get the bugs worked out of it.
I dont think giving them a bit more time is asking all that much.

But then again I run B-mann Annies with BBT drives and USA locos so I dont realy care if they ever get the site working.

#36
Randy McDonald said:
The forum link is not working for me either...the Aristonauts must be going crazy not being able to slap each other on the back on their own fora. ;) :)
I think it's more they miss the tong to cheek thing............... :)
#37

Hi Guys:

In the early days of Lionel, Lionel personnel personally installed XMAS window display operating layouts. This was NOT done by the individual stores! This was part of the advertising budget.

Aristo Craft, for instance being located in New Jersey, is especially fortunate as they could do exactly that in a New York City major retail store window display perhaps in conjunction with TrainWorld.

Thousands of New Yorkers walking past what ever is the major retail street in New York City viewing an operating XMAS train layout in what ever is the major department store window in New York City displaying what ever is the best and most exciting product Aristo Craft has to offer.

I mean, this is just a basic business advertising concept developed by Lionel years ago.

Joke by Jay Leno:

" Why are New Yorkers always so depressed?
Because the light at the end of the tunnel is Jersey! "

Residents of Jersey, please email your complaints to Jay Leno, thank you!

Norman

#38

On Aristo’s page

Our Forum

This page is currently under construction

Still waiting!!!
Sean

#39
Norman Bourgault said:
Hi Guys:

In the early days of Lionel, Lionel personnel personally installed XMAS window display operating layouts. This was NOT done by the individual stores! This was part of the advertising budget.

Aristo Craft, for instance being located in New Jersey, is especially fortunate as they could do exactly that in a New York City major retail store window display perhaps in conjunction with TrainWorld.

Thousands of New Yorkers walking past what ever is the major retail street in New York City viewing an operating XMAS train layout in what ever is the major department store window in New York City displaying what ever is the best and most exciting product Aristo Craft has to offer.

I mean, this is just a basic business advertising concept developed by Lionel years ago.

Joke by Jay Leno:

" Why are New Yorkers always so depressed?
Because the light at the end of the tunnel is Jersey! "

Residents of Jersey, please email your complaints to Jay Leno, thank you!

Norman


Norman,
I think after the screwing Aristo gave it’s dealers this week, I think the last thing you will see is “any” Aristo products in any store fronts ever again. In talking with a few Dealers this week, you’l be lucky if you see any Aristo ever again in a Hobby Shop. Aristo can not show case there products without the help of there dealers period, and now that they screwed them, my opinion is Aristo is on its death bed just like the fall ECLSTS. I opened a going out of busness savings account so if it happens i can buy up a few remaining spare parts i need to keep the problem trains going a little longer.
Nick

#40

NS

You’ve heard the “From rags to riches to rags in three generations”, haven’t you? :wink: