Large Scale Central

Why do Manufacturers websites stink?

General Discussion
#1

I have been in the market for a new locomotive, seriously looking at the Bachmann C-19 or an Aristo Dash-9. Hard choice as they are so interchangeable.

So I perused the various manufacturers web-sites for information and came to an overwhelming conclusion…They suck eggs.

Seriously, you want me to shell out hundreds or thousands of $$$'s for a loco based on a single side shot? Sometimes it’s not even of the actual locomotive but an enhanced drawing of one! Where are the detail shots, the close-ups??? Where are the features?

Marketing is seriously lacking. Images, videos, and stats should be easy to find and right out front. I find more and better information on line from sources other than the manufacturer. Don’t complain about your lost market shares when your sites are that sparse on showing the goods.

#2

Should add…It was a tough choice but while at the club layout last night a series of three BNSF freights went by in less than 2 hours. When this goes by at a distance of 10 feet it leaves quite an impression…

(http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj222/Noble_Dreg/Depot/3faf1868-55d8-42ab-82e2-22d0fd3d868f_zpsc277aa55.jpg)

I ordered the Aristo DASH 9 “Swoosh”. Now I need another to MU.

:slight_smile:

#3

So, a good lookin’ Heritage II goes by, and you order a Nike?

'Splain that to me, Grasshopper.

:slight_smile:

#4

So, if you’ve seen the 1:1 from 10 feet away why do you need to see the model ??? :slight_smile:

Seriously, I agree. A few years ago when retail hobby shops were stocking the stuff you could at least go get a look-see in person. Now if you can’t get to one of the shows you really don’t know what you will get until it arrives. It wouldn’t be hard to take multiple photos. They probably never thought of it. Why don’t you suggest it to Mr. Polk & Mr. Ro. I doubt Bachmann even cares. Too busy with lines that outsell LS.

#5

Steve:

Oh I went back and forth on that one! I have a fair amount of “traditional” GN but I like the darker trim of the “swoosh”. I feel the real answer is to add a “Heritage” unit and “double-head”.

:slight_smile:

#6

I got the swoosh too! Beautiful loco. Now, I’d also like more to go with it. The Heritage 1 and 2, the dark blue CSX is my most wanted, then, I’d need another CSX to go with that. They are releasing the NS Heritage paint schemes so we’ll all need a few of those. Darn, I need mo’ money.

Pictures? they need there own credit line…

#7

Your question really depends on your layout . The Dash 9 is a mainline engine; it will tolerate 8 ft dia curves but won’t be happy. It’s not an engine you will use for switching.

The C-19 is actually quite small and would be happy with 8 ft dia curves. If you want to see the C-19 check the photo’s from Day 3 of the American invasion 2013 as we parked one beside an Annie and a Connie for comparison. We were very surprised as it was more comparable in size to the Annie. It was longer than the Connie but significantly narrower. It is however a very nice engine.

I have a Dash 9 and will MU it with my SD-45. I also have a Connie which I love; But these are very different engines. You really need both.

#8

Mark V said:

I have been in the market for a new locomotive, seriously looking at the Bachmann C-19 or an Aristo Dash-9. Hard choice as they are so interchangeable.

Mark
I guess I don’t understand how the C-19 and Dash-9 are interchangeable. They are different scales and one is steam and one is diesel. The only thing that is common is they are both locomotives.
Tom

#9

Tom Stephens said:

Mark V said:

I have been in the market for a new locomotive, seriously looking at the Bachmann C-19 or an Aristo Dash-9. Hard choice as they are so interchangeable.

Mark
I guess I don’t understand how the C-19 and Dash-9 are interchangeable. They are different scales and one is steam and one is diesel. The only thing that is common is they are both locomotives.
Tom

What the internet needs more than anything is a sarcasm font…

:slight_smile:

#10

OH yeah and the MSRP on that Dash 9 is how many hundreds over what the actual street price is??? Who needs a manufacturers website to tell the tale of equipment? you just need to put your inquiry here and there are plenty of guys who will tell you what a piece of junk it is!!
Just kidding of course.
One would think that the manufacturer would have a kick butt website with photos and videos of their stuff in action but that cost money, lots of money. My sis in law is a freelance “user defined architect” or something like that in NYC and when she works she makes upwards to $175,000 a year. I don’t get it either but thats what they pay for her to work through a website and make recommendations that something could be working better. She doesn’t write code or anything. She just suggests that the colours could be different or the buttons should be linked to blah blah blah…
I don’t think there are too many toy train companies that could afford that besides word of mouth is the best advertisement.

#11

Tongue in cheek

“I have been in the market for a new locomotive, seriously looking at the Bachmann C-19 or an Aristo Dash-9. Hard choice as they are so interchangeable”.

…joke

#12

This helps a bit with the sarcasm…

:wink:

#13

Mark V said:

Tongue in cheek

“I have been in the market for a new locomotive, seriously looking at the Bachmann C-19 or an Aristo Dash-9. Hard choice as they are so interchangeable”.

…joke

Really? I thort you was serious. :wink:

#14

Y’all know what thought thought…? :wink:

#15

Ken Brunt said:

This helps a bit with the sarcasm…

:wink:

Why must you be so sarcastic?
:wink:

Seriously though…I do think adding a few pictures on their websites would be pretty easy and straight forward…Most of the information already exists in their print ads. If you are selling direct you need to show your customer what it is your buying. Heck, I even uploaded a video to youtube the other day, how tough can that be?

Example, every bit of 1:20.3 I own I bought “sight unseen”. Both the Bachmann Forney and 2-6-6-2 were complete leaps of faith as I had not even seen much on the internet at the time. I had a history with 1:20.3 that let me make the jump but others new to the hobby would not. The websites do a lousy job across the board.

#16

And back to the original question: Why do manufacturers’ web sites stink?

Because nobody at the company pays any attention to it. They might hire some website designer to make a cool web site, then ignore them and not provide anything usefull, like detail shots. Then when it looks good when they first view it, they say, “Cool. That’s done,” and never bother with it again.

Just like mine! And I make it myself.

#17

In my current modelling interest, British “OO” if I need to see what an item looks like then I visit not a manufacturer’s website, but a particular retail seller’s website. As Mark has stated, the manufacturer gives you one not particularly detailed photograph. With the retailer’s site, one gets multiple high quality images, including an image with a rule included to gauge the overall length of the item. This is not just for high end items but also for the cheapest little four-wheel waggon.

If a retailer can manage a decent site then surely a manufacturer can do something similar.

#18

I blame Rooster…

#19

Tim Brien said:

SNIP…

If a retailer can manage a decent site then surely a manufacturer can do something similar.

Yes! They have so much more to gain for so little! I really don’t get it, my ebay ads are better than anything I have seen on a manufacturers page.

#20

The days of Retail stores and beautifully done Catalogs are drawing to a close, I believe. We really have to rely on one another on these forums to tell the “Rest of the Story”. I’ve been hopping around between all of the Garden Railway forums for alot of years and have found invaluable information in the Product Review topics on all of them.

For us the critiques are a big help in making the decision whether or not to purchase something. And in reality, the same critiques are free advertisement for manufacturers. Even if some flaw is uncovered by someone on the forum, at least we all get a heads up on how to handle it. And sometimes the manufacturers actually make corrections to the product.