MTH parts update

All Facets of O-Gauge, 3-Rail, Model Railroading
KeithL
Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 1:44 pm
Location: Chicago

MTH parts update

Postby KeithL » Thu Jul 29, 2021 5:32 pm

From the MTH e-newsletter...

New M.T.H. Parts Site Update

July 28, 2021 - M.T.H. Electric Trains is slated to begin again taking parts orders later this summer as the new online parts store spins up online. The new store will replace the previous parts order site that was shut down during the company's relocation to a new, smaller location in Elkridge, Maryland as part of the company's reorganization coming on the heels of M.T.H. owner Mike Wolf's retirement this year.

M.T.H. Parts and Sales LLC is one of M.T.H.'s three new spinoffs and will promote and process all parts sales exclusively through an all-new parts site. M.T.H. Electric Trains' R&D Division will continue developing DCS and other electronic products on its own in the satellite location it has occupied in Western Michigan for the past 24 years, while M.T.H. Electric Trains will be operating alongside the parts company in the smaller Elkridge, Maryland facility. The train company will continue to market and produce new model train products - including select RailKing and Premier O gauge models and occasional production of RailKing One Gauge G Scale models.

Initially, We had hoped that the new parts site would be live in July to coincide with the conclusion of the monumental task of the inventorying and stocking of parts in more than 38,000 locations in the new facility. Unfortunately, that work continues even now alongside the continued testing of the new website, forcing us to push back a formal rollout until later this Summer. Rest assured, when the site goes live, we'll be announcing it through our website and our E-Newsletters. If you're not yet a subscriber to our FREE newsletters, sign up HERE.

While we understand the disruption of parts sales is a frustrating interruption for many of our Authorized Service Centers, M.T.H. Authorized Retailers, and consumers (and for us too!), we are asking for continued patience in awaiting the rollout. The good news is that the new site will allow you access to our entire parts inventory, with a powerful search engine to drill down to the parts you need. We're including new exploded view diagrams for a wide array of products alongside access to operator manuals, sound files, and more! This effort has been in motion for the last year in preparation for this summer's launch.

The previous "face" of M.T.H. parts, Midge Wilburn, has officially retired and is now spending some well-deserved time with her family after decades of valued service at M.T.H. Electric Trains. The new parts site has been designed to allow everyone complete access to all of our service parts, so with just a tiny bit of effort, you can find the parts you need with just a few keystrokes! We'll even have some short tutorial videos to help guide your experience as there are no M.T.H. Sales or Parts customer service agents available at M.T.H. Parts and Sales or at M.T.H. Electric Trains.

Finally, as a reminder, M.T.H. implemented a new warranty policy in May 2021 directing ALL warranty repairs, exchanges and refunds to be processed through the M.T.H. Authorized Retailer from which the product was purchased or by any M.T.H. Authorized Service Center. M.T.H. Electric Trains will NOT accept any repairs at its Elkridge, MD facility. Any products that do arrive for service will be returned unrepaired.

Neil
Posts: 4215
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2005 8:44 pm

Re: MTH parts update

Postby Neil » Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:13 am

Lots of announcements of various sorts. Lots of important details yet to be revealed. Lots of doubts about the ultimate outcomes. Fortunately, I'm not invested in DCS or PS3 to any significant extent. Sympathies to those who are living through this disorganized mess.
Neil

Rufus T. Firefly
Posts: 41330
Joined: Wed May 16, 2007 6:52 am
Location: Departed from this forum

Re: MTH parts update

Postby Rufus T. Firefly » Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:20 am

Neil wrote:Lots of announcements of various sorts. Lots of important details yet to be revealed. Lots of doubts about the ultimate outcomes.


Lots of entertainment value.
Conservatism: The intense fear that somewhere, somehow, someone you think is inferior is being treated as your equal.

User avatar
jlong
Posts: 12246
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:26 pm
Location: Kaukauna, Wisconsin

Re: MTH parts update

Postby jlong » Fri Jul 30, 2021 7:10 pm

Richard Kughn must be rolling in his grave laughing his *** off.
John Long

One nation under Josh with ozone an magnetraction for all

Chris Webster
Posts: 819
Joined: Mon May 25, 2015 7:25 pm

Re: MTH parts update

Postby Chris Webster » Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:27 pm

KeithL wrote:We had hoped that the new parts site would be live in July to coincide with the conclusion of the monumental task of the inventorying and stocking of parts in more than 38,000 locations in the new facility. Unfortunately, that work continues even now alongside the continued testing of the new website, forcing us to push back a formal rollout until later this Summer.

It kind of sounds like they've outsourced order fulfillment to a logistic company, but I don't know if there are any actual companies willing to dropship 38,000 different small parts that are rarely ordered.

Rufus T. Firefly
Posts: 41330
Joined: Wed May 16, 2007 6:52 am
Location: Departed from this forum

Re: MTH parts update

Postby Rufus T. Firefly » Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:45 pm

Chris Webster wrote:......I don't know if there are any actual companies willing to dropship 38,000 different small parts that are rarely ordered.


Amazon? :wink: :wink:
Conservatism: The intense fear that somewhere, somehow, someone you think is inferior is being treated as your equal.

User avatar
chuck
Posts: 5867
Joined: Thu May 27, 2004 7:43 pm
Location: Plymouth, Michigan
Contact:

Re: MTH parts update

Postby chuck » Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:12 pm

I see major problems for them moving forward with their stated warranty position. If you can't get it repaired "locally" (and I am being very loose in my definition of local, like within your state) your only recourse is to take it back to whomever you bought it from for an exchange or refund?

Does this leave the dealer on the hook in the case of a refund. If they can't fix anything back at headquarters what happens to the returns, eBay?

This doesn't seem to be a well thought out plan.
Once I built a railroad, I made it run,
Made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad, now it's done --
Brother, can you spare a dime?

User avatar
G3750
Posts: 4308
Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2010 6:02 pm
Location: Cranberry Township, PA USA

Re: MTH parts update

Postby G3750 » Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:52 pm

chuck wrote:I see major problems for them moving forward with their stated warranty position. If you can't get it repaired "locally" (and I am being very loose in my definition of local, like within your state) your only recourse is to take it back to whomever you bought it from for an exchange or refund?

Does this leave the dealer on the hook in the case of a refund. If they can't fix anything back at headquarters what happens to the returns, eBay?

This doesn't seem to be a well thought out plan.


I don't know. The current (or past?) policy was that warranty repairs were to be carried out (or at least attempted) by the local hobby shop. MTH wouldn't reimburse them for labor but would supply parts. If you couldn't fix them, then you sent the item back to MTH for repairs.

As to it not being a well thought out plan, why change things now? :lol: Half-a**ed seems to be working for them. :roll:

George
What is a 'Conservative'? "Someone who wants society and policy to recognize objective reality- economic, biological, and historical."

—Katy Faust

User avatar
chuck
Posts: 5867
Joined: Thu May 27, 2004 7:43 pm
Location: Plymouth, Michigan
Contact:

Re: MTH parts update

Postby chuck » Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:23 pm

If you couldn't fix them, then you sent the item back to MTH for repairs.


That was then. Now they ain't going back, period. I don't see how they are going to survive if they don't have anyone to do repairs back at home base. Lionel doesn't encourage this but they have found it to be useful in detecting/ironing out issues with production runs, parts, documentation, etc. This pretty much relegates them to a contractor/wholesaler.
Once I built a railroad, I made it run,
Made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad, now it's done --
Brother, can you spare a dime?

Norton
Posts: 2158
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 1:59 pm

Re: MTH parts update

Postby Norton » Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:38 am

FWIW just about any MTH PS3 engine can have its board swapped in about ten minutes including removing the shell. Two screws and about 4 connectors and you are done. Labor cost in time and skill level is minimal. Pretty sure MTH was doing this themselves when they weren't able to get replacement boards for a while given the amount of parts donor engines available a while back. I picked up three of those myself. As long as the electronic parts are available I don't see repairs as being a problem. Parts availability is not just a problem for MTH. Lionel recently ran out of radio boards for the majority of their TMCC engines. Currently you can use a 13 year old Legacy part to make the repair but those won't last forever.
Wouldn't be ironic if you had to use MTH parts to get your Lionel engine running again? Then there are always bridge rectifiers.

Pete

User avatar
jlong
Posts: 12246
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:26 pm
Location: Kaukauna, Wisconsin

Re: MTH parts update

Postby jlong » Sun Aug 01, 2021 11:58 am

If the new proprietors expect to see any kind of sales of DCS locomotives, they need to do something about this. This isn't a couple ebay clowns high on crack. It's a trend. But then there is morse code with a transformer handle.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/255066361476?hash=item3b6323ce84:g:4SIAAOSw0KFg~eH-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124817536005?hash=item1d0fb47405:g:ZdEAAOSwPDBg9f0-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184970001898?epid=1901857811&hash=item2b11123dea:g:wBcAAOSwyvFgviB4
John Long

One nation under Josh with ozone an magnetraction for all

Neil
Posts: 4215
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2005 8:44 pm

Re: MTH parts update

Postby Neil » Sun Aug 01, 2021 12:16 pm

These eBay vendors are just exploiting the reality that MTH's moves of the last 1.5 years inspire no confidence whatever that there will be a long term viable DCS company, parts company or much of a residual MTH company. People have invested tens of thousands of dollars in PS2 and PS3 locos and see the writing on the wall, and do not believe the hard to credit happy talk on the OGR Forum and similar places. Not everyone believes the hot air coming out of Maryland obviously :). Otherwise, they'd just wait for MTH to come through on the new WIU/TIU Frankenstein thingie that is said to be on the way. Even if it does arrive, many do not want to have to use a smart device to control their trains rather than a physical remote. MTH has decided to make the remote go away, and now the radio frequency controlled TIU is going away as well. Pretty soon MTH will likely go away.
Neil

User avatar
jlong
Posts: 12246
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:26 pm
Location: Kaukauna, Wisconsin

Re: MTH parts update

Postby jlong » Sun Aug 01, 2021 4:58 pm

Neil wrote:These eBay vendors are just exploiting the reality that MTH's moves of the last 1.5 years inspire no confidence whatever that there will be a long term viable DCS company, parts company or much of a residual MTH company. People have invested tens of thousands of dollars in PS2 and PS3 locos and see the writing on the wall, and do not believe the hard to credit happy talk on the OGR Forum and similar places. Not everyone believes the hot air coming out of Maryland obviously :). Otherwise, they'd just wait for MTH to come through on the new WIU/TIU Frankenstein thingie that is said to be on the way. Even if it does arrive, many do not want to have to use a smart device to control their trains rather than a physical remote. MTH has decided to make the remote go away, and now the radio frequency controlled TIU is going away as well. Pretty soon MTH will likely go away.


You and George sum things up quite well. Poorly executed. Poorly planned. Like Atlas O guys who are well vested in TMCC are going to rush out and buy Atlas O Premier and pay crazy money on the secondary market for a control system or run the engines with a futzy phone pad. Or MTH guys who are well vested in DCS are going to rush out and pay Atlas O prices after Atlas refines the tooling and graphics to Atlas O standards. They bitch loud enough as it is over Lionel prices. You really think they are going to succumb to Atlas O prices?????? LMAO!!!!!!! You were right about the fate of MTH 18 years ago when you lit up train forums like an XMAS tree. The days are here as far as I'm concerned.
John Long

One nation under Josh with ozone an magnetraction for all

Norton
Posts: 2158
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 1:59 pm

Re: MTH parts update

Postby Norton » Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:02 pm

I picked up the early version of MTH WIU which plugs into a TIU just to play with it and have something to fall back on if/when the handheld fails. I am not much into using an iPad or phone to run trains was pretty impressed how well it worked. Then read that there was little or no effort to address software bugs and many experienced runaway engines while using the app. Too bad as I think it would be cool way to run a layout, especially a large layout with control for switches.
The new hardware with wifi built into the TIU is going to have to prove it doesn't still have these issues.
I'd like to try Lionel wifi but really can't justify it on my test track and I haven't been able to talk the club into investing in one.

Pete


Return to “O-Gauge, 3-Rail, Model Railroading”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests