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29/12/2004 5:59 pm
I've been reading this forum for some time now and have chirped in with my own two cents worth at times. I have come to the conclusion that many of the members use this forum for the express purpose of complaining. The height is wrong, the suspension doesn't work right, this is another repaint, the alignment is wrong, the list goes on and on and on, etc. Why is that? No one has ever held a gun to their heads and said "YOU WILL BUY THIS CAR"
I've worked with my hands for over forty years and made a good living at it and am considered by others to be very good at what I did. (Retired now) Yet, I know that the things I've made are not perfect. Nothing in this world is. No matter how hard we strive for total perfection it just doesn't happen.
It is unfair to complain all the time about a company that is going through a transitional period and trying to get back on the right track. No matter the reason for their decline of quality in the first place. Give them the chance to get it together.
Many of you out there have made money (some more than others) on ebay and on this club's auction. Some of you are collectable dealers and depend on this and other companies for your livelyhood.
Many of you say that this forum is monitered by the manufacturers. What does this tell them? Go out and spend big bucks on tooling and maybe if it's good enough we'll buy. Remember this, in our quest for perfection we have DRIVEN the cost of these toys way out of proportion. Just a few years ago the old style of tooling was great and everyone jumped on the bandwagon and drove the prices up-up and away. Then another company reinvested in newer technology and tooling and now the old is trash. If that were the case, the Aztec Gold, the 97 Black Vette and countless other diecast cars of all makes would be reselling for peanuts.
HELLO-------It's time for a reality check, fellas.
Lets try to start off the new year with POSSITIVE thoughts and comments about the one thing we all have in common. DIECAST CARS & TRUCKS, no matter what the scale or what the cost. This is in my opinion.
PS....I've never met any of you fine gentleman and hope I haven't offended anyone, but this had to be said.
29/12/2004 6:04 pm
Great post Tom!!!
29/12/2004 6:44 pm
I agree with you 100% Tom. Don't worry about offending anyone. .......
If you don't like it send it back and get your money back.
29/12/2004 7:04 pm
I'm with you Tom...
...if the Mints evaluate it's not worth it based on our complaining/not buying then we get nothing.X-( They don't put money into a loosing proposition. They do repaints and LE's to make the tooling/marketing costs payoff. Let's say they wholesale a model for $75 and do 2,500 pieces. That's $187,500 less costs for tooling, manufacturing costs, freight, warehousing, advertising & marketing, employees to handle the merchandise, customer service personel, phone, electric, heat, insurance & etc. All the time keeping those people on the payroll sales or not. How do they make it work when they've put all that cash in and then we don't buy because we're expecting perfection for cheap bucks? I doubt any of us would end up making 10% profit on that $187,500 if you figure the costs. Of course if sales are not what you'd expect the profit gets shot in the butt and you still gotta pay the bills every month. So, even at the newer pricing these scale model cars are the cheapest way I know of to own my dreamobiles! Besides I'm a glutton for repaints of 1957 Chevys.:x Bring 'em on!!! :))
29/12/2004 7:12 pm
Frank........you're absolutely right. The money involved is astronomical
30/12/2004 12:30 am
Right on target Tom. Thank you.
30/12/2004 12:36 am
Well said and an excellent recommendation for our New Year's resolutions, Tom.
30/12/2004 4:52 am
Man! I've been wanting to say that for years. Right on!
30/12/2004 5:04 am
Ah, yup. There's enough negativity in the 1:1 real world.
Our 1:24 play world should be fun.
30/12/2004 5:21 am
There is nothing wrong with discussing the flaws and good in a product
Exposing the positives and negatives of a specific product gives valuable information for newcomers. Discussing the suspension, paint, and any other flaw give the less experience something to look for in their next purchase, its not a world of "caveat emptor" and I don't think helping others become a better buyer is a sin.I have learned so much about diecasts in so little time by reading this forum day by day. I wasn't there when the 1:1 1957 Bel Air came out, I didn't know the dashboard was always painted in the same color as the body, I want to have diecasts that match the 1:1 and I would had always thought I bought a perfect diecast if it wasn't for a discussion of this flaw in this forum. Some manufacturers don't value the consumer and aren't willing to take a risk and end up offering us what in their concept is a sure sale, however we expect new images not repaints. I admire TFM, I love and own a lot of their product, my collection is based more on TFM then any other diecast Manufacturer, however is very disappointing to see they are not trying to give us the consumer greater options. Perfection is an ideal concept, however it is the outcome of our efforts that show our willingness to become better that give others the trust and give us the attention we deserve.
One more thing, I don't think they or anyone from TFM reads what we say and gives a penny for our thoughts, otherwise they wouldn't be doing what they do.. repaints.
30/12/2004 6:14 am
Translated as only "happy talk" and no constructive criticism?
No, thanks. I am not going to sit back and be thankful for what TFM or any company offers when I know they can do better.
When a mint gets it right, like DM did with the '48 Buick, they deserve all the praise we heaped upon them. When one of them gets it wrong, they deserve the criticism. How else will they improve? Sure, they can ignore us. We're only the small vocal lunatic fringe in this hobby.
We buy their products passionately. Most companies would kill for this level of devout following and repeat customers. We therefore have bought the right to criticize them when they don't meet expectations. If they choose to ignore the criticism, eventually all of us will stop buying their products and they can then live on impulse buyers.
My .02 worth.
Rick
30/12/2004 6:23 am
Well said Rick! I think this way too! I applause your opinion!
30/12/2004 6:46 am
And your point is...?
Methinks you might want to take a closer look at your own comments rather than criticize others. I don't see it as our responsibility to offer support to those companies who produce inferior die casts, regardless of whatever problems or issues they might have. This isn't a therapy group, afterall. Facilitating good feelings in manufacturers isn't the goal. It's getting (and enjoying) state of the art die casts. And if they're not at that level, then let the criticism begin. Darwinism. Why do you think some of the latest offerings are so good in the first place?
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