http://120pointme.blogspot.com/2009/08/if-only-you-lived-in-japan.html
How does one say “fix your window blinds” in Japanese?
Lynch?
That would be pronounced “Rinch”, right"
Rots of Ruck.
Well, Japan is closer to China than we are. Toss a few boxes overboard as the boat sails past Tokyo, and continue happily on your way… Anyone care to head down to Panama and see if they can toss some boxes over to us as it goes through the canal?
Later,
K
And, it seems they said that on the blog.
About 8K closer.
So?
To schedule a new release, doesn’t the plan generally fall under, “oh, let’s ship the ones that have to go the FURTHEST about a month early…and the closer ones a LOT later”.
That would take thinking and planning, right?
Jack Lynch posted on Bachmann that he is pacing back and forth on the loading dock as we speak. 
Quote:TOC, did you just use "Schedule a release" with reference to a large scale manufacturer? Methinks you haven't been getting enough sleep. ;) The "release date" has long since come and gone on virtually every product currently in production by any large scale manufacturer. Why expect a manufacturer to throw money away storing products in a warehouse just so they can play "catch-up" with products that have further to travel? Customers on every continent have been long waiting; get the product to them as soon as possible.
... To schedule a new release, doesn't the plan generally fall under, "oh, let's ship the ones that have to go the FURTHEST about a month early.......and the closer ones a LOT later" That would take thinking and planning, right?
Later,
K
I did not reference a large scale manufacturer.
I did reference "To schedule a new release, doesn’t the plan generally fall under, “oh, let’s ship the ones that have to go the FURTHEST about a month early…and the closer ones a LOT later” ".
Which, if you will carefully notice, didn’t mention any manufacturer.
Followed by:
“That would take thinking and planning, right?”.
The “thinking and planning” part DOES, in fact, apply.
However, your absolute support of said manufacturers has been noted.
Probably even to the point of pacing the loading dock with Bucksco waiting for that lost ship to arrive.
Doesn’t bother me any, especially since we have been waiting HOW long for this to happen?
Do you think, possibly release date in CONUS might be dependent upon factors not in play in, oh, let’s say Japan?
Wait.
That would take thinking and planning, right?
The problem arises, Kevin, when one’s nose gets too close, and all you see is cheeks.
This has been promised for how long?
C’mon, you know.
So, why not do it right, and schedule the release times so they are a bit closer?
You know all about “embargoes”, and you should know that if this was simply a new release, never discussed, yeah, no problem.
One could almost understand the couch when the same thing happened, but objectivity is what one needs, which usually means back off and look at the entire picture, not just the…well, we won’t go there.
It really makes no difference to me at all, as I have no intention of buying one, two, or many.
Or any.
In fact, other than rebuilds or custom builds, I am generally finished with all purchases.
If another Magnus was to show up, maybe, if the price was right.
Build your own!! I am about to start a set of plans to do just that. Don’t like Bachmanns price or their delivery time!
Paul
Geez, what’s the problem? I’ve had mine, oh, 6 or 7 years now.
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh58/rgseng/Operating%20session02/ops008.jpg)
Quote:What's "right?" If I'm paying for warehouse space, "right" may be getting the product out of the warehouse so I can either (a) stop paying for said space, or (b) fill it with the next item off the production line. Otherwise I'm backing up product and losing money. If I'm a big technology company, "right" may instead be making sure everything hits the market at 12:01 AM on a certain day to make the biggest market splash. What's "right" varies from company to company, product to product. Clearly, you and I have differing opinions of how we'd handle product releases. I'm very much in the "get it out the door ASAP" school. Product collecting dust isn't collecting revenue. Get it out the door and get the cash rolling.
... So, why not do it right, and schedule the release times so they are a bit closer?
Model trains don’t fall under the “gotta-have-it” technology business model. People aren’t lined up 500 deep, sleeping in tents to get the latest release from (insert model train manufacturer in any scale here). As such, there’s no real benefit to be derived from coordinating release dates. If I want to buy something, I’m not going to not buy it because my friend in Tokyo bought his a month before I can. Instead, I’m gonna bother him endlessly about his opinions of the product until I such time as I can have one in my hands. That–in itself–can in fact generate as much excitement about a product as hyping a single release date. (And is why–even with technology products with a single release date–there are enough examples in the market to generate the same excitement.)
There is still the larger issue of the manufacturers’ inability to stick with a production schedule and actually hit their original target dates, but that’s not what this argument is about. This is about one group of consumers getting product before another. I rarely see our brethren in London or Melbourne crying the blues because we in the states generally get our products first.
Later,
K
What makes you think they aren’t here already?
Remember the tank cars?
Ever compare what they are producing (including non-white grabs) to other 0503 and 0505 cabeese coming out elsewhere?
Ever wonder what the real reason for the delay is?
Wonder is all we are doing, of course.
Do we have to wait for the announcement of the “other” cabeese being released first?
Is this another one of “those” arrangements?
What better way to distract the modeling public (you know, those pesky individuals sometimes referred to as “customers”) by having Bucksco pacing the loading dock and The BachMan stating nobody knows where the ship is?
Oh, anyone ever leak what ERA these cabeese really are?
Like, these have window awnings on the lower windows.
Highly interesting.
Quote:
... What makes you think they aren't here already? Remember the tank cars?Ever compare what they are producing (including non-white grabs) to other 0503 and 0505 cabeese coming out elsewhere?
Ever wonder what the real reason for the delay is?
When my 6 o’clock producer calls back at 5:57 wondering where the lead package is, he doesn’t give a fig about why it’s not there yet; he just wants to know if it’s going to be there by 6 o’clock. When my flight is delayed, why it’s delayed doesn’t change the fact that I’m not leaving on time and invariably be late getting to where I’m going.
“Why” is trivia. It’s fodder for the curious mind, but it ultimately has no bearing on the larger question of “when.” When will consumers actually see the product that’s been advertised for months and months? The presence of a product in another market is a harbinger of things to come. It’s confidence that “soon” is in fact a tangible timeframe, no longer an abstract notion. It’s like seeing the delayed plane pull into the gate. You’re still not airborne to your destination, but you know it’s only a matter of time.
So, to answer the questions, no. I don’t wonder why. I don’t care. I’ve had a locomotive reserved from another company for upwards of three years now, with no sign of it coming to fruition. I don’t care “why.” I want to know “when.” I’m still waiting for that plane to pull up to the gate. Until that happens, I’ve bought a ticket to nowhere. In terms of the caboose, we know that “nowhere” is indeed “somewhere.”
Later,
K
And this all started with “when”, you changed the context here:
“Well, Japan is closer to China than we are. Toss a few boxes overboard as the boat sails past Tokyo, and continue happily on your way… Anyone care to head down to Panama and see if they can toss some boxes over to us as it goes through the canal?”
If you will note, I started the thread with:
“http://120pointme.blogspot.com/2009/08/ … japan.html”
and nothing more.
In fact, the only arguments STARTED with you.
I’m just here feeding you rope.
One helluva investigative reporter you’d make.
My initial statement was a tongue-in-cheek explanation as to how those in Japan received their cabooses before they’ve arrived in the US–hence my suggestion that we all go down to Panama and hope they toss some from the boat there as well, so we don’t have to wait for the boat to dock in Philly. In other words, “it was a joke, son.”
Rather, the discussion began in ernest with this statement from you…
Quote:To which I responded that yes, that would make sense [i]if[/i] a targeted release date was what a manufacturer was after. I countered that large scale manufacturers in general (and regardless of whether you referenced them or not) tend not to worry about such things as release dates, therefore are unlikely to schedule shipping dates so that a specifically targeted date can be met. The target in many cases is so far past that it's completely irrelevant. I was equally as vague in not specifically referencing any single manufacturer. They're all guilty.
... To schedule a new release, doesn't the plan generally fall under, "oh, let's ship the ones that have to go the FURTHEST about a month early.......and the closer ones a LOT later"...
Quote:
... However, your absolute support of said manufacturers has been noted.Probably even to the point of pacing the loading dock with Bucksco waiting for that lost ship to arrive.
“Absolute support?” How does putting forth a general shipping model that’s followed by thousands of businesses worldwide equate to “absolute support of said manufacturer?” That is all I had done up to this point in the debate. I–like you–had mentioned no manufacturer by name. I made a reference to Japan being closer to China than the US, and the Bachmann PR guy says the same thing. A knowledge of basic geography makes me an “absolute” supporter?
Quote:If this weren't dripping with sarcasm (and don't for a second tell me it's not), I'd thank you.
... One helluva investigative reporter you'd make
I know exactly where you’re going with this. You’re putting forth the theory that the delays with the caboose may not be “on the water” delays so much as they may be contractual, owing to agreements drawn up between Bachmann and other companies. Therefore the statements by the PR guys may not be all they say they are. You’ve already called my objectivity into question, so the fact that you sarcastically question my basic understanding of my own profession doesn’t surprise me in the least.
Here’s how I see it. You’ve offered no evidence to support your theory that contractual obligations similar to those which may have played a role in the past are playing a role now. Innuendo and supposition are not facts. You have not put forth any reasonable expectation as to when these contractual obligations–if they exist–may be met so that we may actually see the cabooses. You’ve also not contacted me back-channel offering off-the-record information as you have done numerous times in past situations. Therefore, the only conclusion I can logically draw is that your theory is at best just that–a theory. It addresses the question “why not yet,” but not “when we will,” which is after all the pertinent question being discussed.
On the other hand, you’ve got the PR guys saying “any day now.” That’s what PR guys are supposed to say. As journalists, we’re trained to take that with a grain of salt. The presence of product on distant shores in and of itself has no bearing on when we may see it here. But when you take that in conjunction with the PR guys saying “any day now,” and lack of concrete evidence to the contrary, one has to be a bit hopeful that perhaps we’ll be seeing them soon enough. Give me evidence to the contrary, and I’ll reconsider.
Later,
K
a matter of who gives a >>>> to me.
I just hope Thomas can clear customs by 11.01.09 so I can surprise the kids on the Makers Birthday…
Like I said before, Curm, No one at Bachmann knows if they are afoot or on horseback.
There appears to be no inter office memo’s. Or if there are, they are ignored.
Jack says $20.00 gets a new gear. Bill says no, it’s fifty bucks.
No wonder you left Bachmann as an adviser. I would have jumped ship long before you did. You have more staying power than me.
Ahhhh. This reminds me of the good old days… 