Containers Price Quality etc


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LotoQuestions

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What are any other big names producing HO containers besides Walthers and Athearn?

I see some by Atlas listed on Walthers site at $33 - what are they - made out of gold?

All containers seem quite pricey for what they are but is there a signicant quality difference in them?

Any place to get deals on them?

I know there has been talk of some sites for creating cardstock ones but given the expense of inkjet ink is there a recommended commercial (Staples?) that might produce better results?

Still in the day of $50 US MSRP freight cars I guess I am expecting too much:(

thanks ,,, ken
 
From what I have seen the quality is all about them same. $33 is way over priced and you better be getting a 6 pack or more for that price. As far as deals, your best bet is to keep on eye on the walthers sale flyer, they have some decent deals in there sometimes, especially if you buy a lot of stuff. Otherwise you have to watch ebay or go to local trainshows/swap meets and look there. ;)

and btw, you're not expecting too much. I still refuse to pay mroe then about $25 for athearn blue box locos...but its getting harder and harder to do nowadays
 
Well I know the detail on the newer Atlas containers is nice. The have all of the graphics that the real ones have and some separate parts. Plus the detail is more crisp then the Walthers containers but you pay for it. I know the new 53' Atlas containers are $34.95 for a 3 pack which is very expensive but I get them for $21.00 which is a better deal.
 
LotoQuestions said:
What are any other big names producing HO containers besides Walthers and Athearn?

I see some by Atlas listed on Walthers site at $33 - what are they - made out of gold?

All containers seem quite pricey for what they are but is there a signicant quality difference in them?

Any place to get deals on them?

I know there has been talk of some sites for creating cardstock ones but given the expense of inkjet ink is there a recommended commercial (Staples?) that might produce better results?

Still in the day of $50 US MSRP freight cars I guess I am expecting too much:(

thanks ,,, ken
Click to expand...

I have been buying them on Ebay. Most are new or nearly new. I have always done well on them as long as you stay the course on what you want to spend. Stay away from Ebay stores and go for the private sellers. If you are buying a price that is no different than what your LHS is selling then buy from the LHS since you won't be paying the shipping.
 
LotoQuestions said:
What are any other big names producing HO containers besides Walthers and Athearn?

I see some by Atlas listed on Walthers site at $33 - what are they - made out of gold?

All containers seem quite pricey for what they are but is there a signicant quality difference in them?

Any place to get deals on them?

I know there has been talk of some sites for creating cardstock ones but given the expense of inkjet ink is there a recommended commercial (Staples?) that might produce better results?

Still in the day of $50 US MSRP freight cars I guess I am expecting too much:(

thanks ,,, ken
Click to expand...

I have been buying them on Ebay. Most are new or nearly new. I have always done well on them as long as you stay the course on what you want to spend. Stay away from Ebay stores and go for the private sellers. If you are buying at a price that is no different than what your LHS is selling then buy from the LHS since you won't be paying the shipping. I always base my pricing on what the large internet stores are selling at (approximately 4.50).
 
My LHS sells Walthers containers for $3.95 each. They're prety good, but I still cringe when I see mroe expensive Atlas or Athearn containers (it's a piece of molded plastic! There are no moving parts, no metal parts, no detail parts, and no effort to produce. Theres no reason why I should pay more than $5 for a container!)

Someone should get into contact with a manufacturer for dollar store toys and see if they can manufacture the containers.
 
I agree that the containers cost way to much and even with better paint and separate parts (Door Latches and Bars) they are well overpriced. at $34.95 retail for a 3 pack of containers the price per container is $11.65 which is ridiculous for something that cost less then $1 to make. Even at a discount price if say $19 your still looking at around $6 per container. I have a lot of walthers and older Athearn containers and less of the newer ones from Atlas or Athearn as the price is way to much, even the new trailers from Athearn are high in price.
 
I do not model modern intermodal or container traffic any more, but in the past I always stocked my container yards with the Athearn blue box kits. They were cheap, took only a few seconds to build, and my LHS always had dozens of them in stock. Walthers also used to be inexpensive. When I see the markup on newer Atlas and Athearn containers it makes me glad I model agriculture centric railroads.
 
LotoQuestions said:
What are any other big names producing HO containers besides Walthers and Athearn?

I see some by Atlas listed on Walthers site at $33 - what are they - made out of gold?

All containers seem quite pricey for what they are but is there a signicant quality difference in them?

Any place to get deals on them?

I know there has been talk of some sites for creating cardstock ones but given the expense of inkjet ink is there a recommended commercial (Staples?) that might produce better results?

Still in the day of $50 US MSRP freight cars I guess I am expecting too much:(

thanks ,,, ken
Click to expand...

Lance Mindheim on his East Rail layout, used a photograph of a stack of Antillean Containers, (side and end shots) that he took in Miami and then scaled it down with one of the Photoshop software packages (Corel..etc). He then printed it on matte photo paper. Since the containers were setting against the wall, he used a small block of wood the same height and width as the reduced photos and glued the side and end photos to the wood. From the layout photos they are as realistic as you can get. To enhance the scene, you could then add additional Athearn or Walthers containers without all the expense.

www.lancemindheim.com
 
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This is one of the very complaints I have always had about these containers. They are way over priced for what you are really getting.

As far as Ebay goes. I have seen a lot of people spend rediculous amounts on lots of these containers. I never understood what the deal is with these regarding ebay.

When Walthers had plenty of these listed in thier bargain bin earlier this year. I did the best I could to stock up. Its the only way I can justify spending that kind of money on these things.
 
ChevelleSSguy said:
This is one of the very complaints I have always had about these containers. They are way over priced for what you are really getting.

As far as Ebay goes. I have seen a lot of people spend rediculous amounts on lots of these containers. I never understood what the deal is with these regarding ebay.

When Walthers had plenty of these listed in thier bargain bin earlier this year. I did the best I could to stock up. Its the only way I can justify spending that kind of money on these things.
Click to expand...

Chris, I agree with you concerning EBAY. There are deals, but at the same time you can get really screwed over. You got to figure in shipping into the final price you paid for any item. When totaled and then divided by the number of containers you purchased, only then will it tell you what you actually what you paid per container.

Some people make up for there cheap asking price by jackin the shipping and then pocket the difference between what it actuallly cost to ship.

Larry
 
I do watch out for the shipping prices, but if the amount of money used to ship the package (usually it's on the label, if not it can be calculated by weight and distance) is more than a couple bucks less than the shipping price on the auction, then I will leave the appropriate feedback so that other people can see it.

I understand if they want to charge a dollar or two over the actual shipping cost for materials, but if they are jacking up the shipping cost to profit, then I'll leave the appropriate feedback as well as report them to ebay. (jacking up shipping is not allowed on ebay although people get away with it)
 
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