Subject:
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Re: PROPOSAL for new track (was Re: New Lego Track!
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains, lugnet.loc.au
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Date:
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Wed, 18 May 2005 17:00:35 GMT
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Viewed:
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3085 times
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Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> In lugnet.trains, Jonathan Wilson wrote:
> > > Australia is definitely not the unique case, but more likely the
> > > typical case. In the US, most consumers can only buy Lego trains
> > > online or from S@H. During the holiday shopping season, TRU may
> > > carry trains, but other than that, trains are non-existent on
> > > retail shelves in the US.
> > The big question is, why arent LEGO trains available on the retail
> > shelves? I suspect part of it is because LEGO trains as a rule are
> > expensive. Expensive compared to other LEGO sets (due to the cost of
> > the electrics) And more to the point, expensive compared to other
> > toy train sets.
>
> Is this actually true? I think you need to compare to LGB, Lionel, or
> quality HO or N gear rather than comparing to Bachman or Tyco stuff
> (or the equivalent low quality Oz brands). In that case LEGO stuff is
> cheaper. At least the starter sets are... the track, on the other
> hand is way more.
Hmm, you need to be careful in including Bachman in the list of cheap
trains... Bachman has remade itself and is now a purveyor of reasonable cost
high quality trains...
I agree though, LEGO trains are of comparable cost to comparable quality
trains. What it really comes down to however is that toy stores pretty much
don't carry trains anymore. Sure, they carry some really cheap stuff (not
even as good as the Bachman of old). During the Christmas season, it's
possible they carry a set or two, but I think they're pretty much gone.
On the other hand, our local independant toy store (Finnegans for those in
the Portland OR area) right now has a rather extensive line of LEGO trains:
Santa Fe, one Santa Fe car [the observation car set], 3 My Own Train cars,
track, the engine shed, the station, the level crossing, and maybe one or
two other things I missed. Definitely no BNSF though - I might have
purchased one if they had it. Oh, they also had a train set or two (at least
the new passenger train, and they have had the new freight train in the
recent past if they don't currently have one). I should note that this
occupies 20-25% of their LEGO shelf space! In fact, no other theme has
nearly as complete a selection (well, perhaps the new Star Wars does). They
have pretty consistently at least carried a train set or two. Interestingly,
although their Playmobil section is at least twice as big as the LEGO
section, I couldn't find any Playmobil trains in the store.
Frank
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