I wish I had known, also. It is only about 1.5 hours from me.

It is a pity that we all missed this sale, Mark. They had some lovely stuff.

Cheers,
Ranjit

The owners were retiring, David. Actually, they were not going out of business.

Cheers,
Ranjit

But, it's gone, David. Too bad!

I am actually interested in the manufacturing, and not in buying and selling.

Cheers,
Ranjit

Thanks for posting the list, Steven.

Cheers,
Ranjit

Juhan as you say Marklin overseas marketing remains very poor. I would have thought the new owners would have done something about it but the appear to have left this the way it was.
The German market wont be sufficient to keep M going at its present size ( they would like to reduce wage costs now anyway) so to maintain the workforce some expansion would be useful.
I dont know what your dealers are like in Sweden or if they can compete with Lokshop etc.

david

These folks, Lowell and Joan, were my local dealers -- 15 minutes away. They are lovely people who had no beef at all with Marklin. They just were tired after 43 years in the same shop (literally). Their wonderful personalities and helpful manner allowed them to survive well into the age of the big box store. Theirs was a quintessential Mom & Pop (literally) hobby shop, and they continued to do well right up until the end. They simply wanted more independence than they had had, tied down to a shop for over 40 years. What is very sad to me personally is, of course, losing an excellent Marklin dealer so close to home, but also the fact that Lowell's was one of a vanishing species, the hobby shop where you could always have a pleasant conversation with the owners and your fellow customers. This is a remnant of my childhood that, I am afraid, my grandchildren will never know in this age of impersonal, internet shopping.
By the way, I snapped up a few of their best locs and other inventory as the prices dropped, though I bought my fair share from Lowell and Joan over the years at UVP (list).
Farewell to good friends of the hobbyist, Lowell and Joan!

Thanks for letting us know, Fred and Martin.

It is really sad to see a store close after so many years. The friendship, the store ambiance, the informal chats with other customers is gone.

Sure, Martin, support of your local Marklin dealer is crucial. Unfortunately, in my case. I have no dealers in the vicinity. My weekends are boring to say the least.

I am glad you got what you wanted from Stoneleigh Hobby, Inc., Fred.

Cheers,
Ranjit

Lutz,

Nothing is going to stop a store owner from retiring. It has nothing to do with Maerklin, it has to do with personal priorities and the amount of time that can be devoted to the venture.
I am sure that if they could have found a buyer, they would have sold the business and left it in the new owner's hands.
Unfortunately, many of these local Maerklin dealing hobby shops are in areas with significant German, Austrian or Swiss populations. These mom and pop ventures have stayed with the program much longer than the ones in the big cities.
The sad reality is that even Toys R Us may be getting out of the toys business. At first, they were putting Toy Stores out of business, because the smaller stores could not match the prices on the Cabbage Patch Kids, Nintendos and whatever other trendy toys were on the market. Now, even Toy R Us is having a hard time competing with Wall Mart for Play Stations and the last generation Nintendo.
Your view is coloured by the fact that you are in Germany, where Moba Shops are still pretty common. In fact, there used to be one on each corner, like Starbucks.

Since the list was revised as the sale went on, no wonder you did not find much interesting stuff. I remember ordering some freight cars from Stoneleigh a few years back, after Marklin's website listed them having the item in stock.

As far as their liquidation of stock. I am sure that they posted the info on their website, emailed and mailed their clients.

As the former salesperson in charge of Maerklin and European Trains at our former local dealer, I know what it is like to clear out an inventory. When my boss closed his store, he asked me to help with selling off the Maerklin. We sold the sets to another dealer and sold most of the individual items to our customers.

Since then, our other local dealer passed away, and I am still working with his daughter to liquidate his collection when she decides to proceed.

All of which leaves me with NO local dealer, so be happy about where you are and stop criticizing everybody else.

Regards

Mike C

Bob he is unable to tell us about the new CS. If you are looking for technical knowledge we have Lars and others who will give you a completely unbiased view.

Mike as you say local dealers are getting fewer which is a great pity. These days nobody will purchase a toy or model shop and even worse I have not seen any new ventures start up.

Martin Your comments here are always welcome and we know you did your best to keep the store going. Hope you are enjoying retirement.

david

Sorry Mike. You are of course the exception. From what I hear from members on the forum you give a great service and as I think I have said if it wasnt for the extra 25% on to the price from the USA I would be buying from you as well.
I do hope you are doing well and the present economic situation is not having an adverse effect on business.

David

Spot on post Fred.
Lovely sentiments as well.

This is the reason why I support our local dealer (albeit in the South Island)and I am prepared to wait for my orders. (The lack of supply from M* v orders is another but relevant issue of course).
A young family interest making the most of their passion and doing their level best to give great service.
That is why I am quite prepared to order through them and wait.
They attempt to have their pricing as near as possible to European prices.

Martin, I appreciated your comments as well.
Both postings reflected your points of view perfectly.

Regards
Tony

Hi Lutz,

There were a number of tracks (K + C), bridge accessories, some signals, etc. that I was interested in.

Why do you call it 'retirement closure flu'? This is certainly not a flu. Surely, we are all going to retire someday. Looking at our ages, it could happen anyday!

I am sure after 43 years, Lowell and Joan would have informed Marklin, and all their customers and alliances of the closure. It is just that members in this forum did not know about it.

Cheers,
Ranjit

Thanks, Tony, for your kind words. Progress and change, though inevitable, are often hard on the heart.

Interesting store, Fred!

I like the bit about the tenant taking a bath once a week, and how Lowell and Joan managed the leaks!

Cheers,
Ranjit

Guess having been the "Last of the Independents" (almost) has become very hard business, today [:(]