Another new person here so please bare with me. Despite being in what I thought would be a decent population area that would have some good stores (San Diego), none of the hobby shops around here really carry any kind of selection when it comes to model train stuff. (Small inventories that are shoved in the back of the store.) So what are some good online retailers that have decent pricing?
I would appreciate any advice when it comes to making purchases in general though.
Best?? I view that as a individual’s personal experience that entails many answers. Shipping/service, instock, courtesy, etc. I have dealt with quite a few on-line retailer’s and I’m fortunate to say, havn’t had a problem with any yet. Walthers, Hobbylinc, MBKlein and many other’s. To me, like I said, Best??:
If You would like to review many from state to state, including MFG’s of same and ton’s of other info, click on the link I will provide and do some surfing Yourself. A encyclopedia of Cyberspace On-line Retailors: ( some are no longer around, though) You will find that out, when You go to the site.
Like Frank, I have bought MRR stuff online from all over the world and I have never had anything but a good experience. That also includes products other than MRR.
All I can add is, don’t be afraid to shop beyond your borders and the other thing is, if you hear of someone having a bad experience somewhere, there are two sides of every story. It’s kind of like airplanes. You don’t pay any attention to the millions of safe landinngs, but you will sure hear about the one that crashes. I would want to hear more than one complaint about a retailer before I’d cut them off.
Have done business with them all numerous times with shipping to Canada as well, and the transaction has always gone well and I have been pleased and satisfied.
They all have a great inventory in stock.
Johnboy out…not affliated with them only a smiling customer of those four. [tup][tup][tup][tup] [swg]
I have had good experience with Highball Graphics Decals who also sells a lot of detail parts and has reasonble shipping costs compared to others like MB Klein and Toy Train Heaven. Also buy from Hogtrainz and Trainmaster Models (Atlanta GA, free freight over $75.00). In addition I purchase my Plano Roofwalks and Detail Parts direct as he has reasonable shipping costs also.
I do not use MB Klein for pre-orders as his notification systems SUCKS!
I also use Walthers (great selection) but a little pricey. I also buy from Ebay (you can find almost anything for the hobby) and Amazon (more limited selection, but good pricing)
A word of caution on Ebay. If you are new to the hobby, I would wait until you become more familiar with products, or know exactly what you are looking for (manufacturer, model number, etc.) before buying thru them. And, check out the sellers before buying! Ask specific questions of the seller. There are some very reputable sellers and train hobby folks, but there a few who shall we say, “stretch the truth” a little. Ebay does a good job protecting buyers but if you have to send something back because you didn’t get what you thought you were buying, it can cause delays in your project and be frustrating.
You can also buy online direct from manufacturers. I buy from Micro Trains, Kato, Grandt Line, Chooch, etc.
I have used several of the ones mentioned above. My suggestion is shop around. By doing so with an order that was going to total a little over $200 I saved about $15 by splitting my order. Yes, I paid two shipping charges (some places ship free), but still saved the money by finding the lowest prices for each item. There were a couple of items that I didn’t pay the absolute lowest price for, but ordering from another dealer would have added another shippping charge, negating the saving. Spend a little time and save yourself some money.
I primarly use Modetrainstuff (MB Klein), Trainworldonline and Walther’s (sale prices), but will look at others such as Toy Train Heaven, Yanke Dabbler, Internet Trains and Caboose Hobbies to see how their prices on the items I am looking at, compare.
Have you checked for hobby shops listed in Resources in light gray above right and the ones listed on the Walthers site?
Agree, Kleins is great. The down side to them is they they are often sold out of trains I am interested in buying. I guess thats the down side to liking popular railroads and/or freightcars!
Well, that and the fact that Eastern dealers tend to order as few western roads as they can get away with, and vice-versa. I should probbaly move to California, probably have PLENTY of Reading stuff all over the place.
I have bought from Otter Valley Railroad Model Trains and M B Klein. Both great experiences purchasing from them, but because I live in Canada I prefer Otter Valley, no taxes to pay for importing the item into the Canada from the US.
Trainworld advertises minimum shipping 9.95, but charged me 17.75 shipping on a single Athearn Genesis loco to Michigan. Silly me. I thought a single loco would ship for the minimum charge.
I’m done with Toy Train Heaven. Last winter I ordered from them and had it shipped to my daughters house in Florida, where I was staying. In July, I ordered from them again, and entered my correct Michigan address. I removed all traces of the Florida address from my account info. They sent me an Email order confirmation showing my correct Michigan shipping address. A week later, I got a call from my daughter in Florida, saying a package had arrived for me. I had her reship it up to me in Michigan. I sent Toy Train Heaven an Email at the Customer Service address provided on the invoice, and pointed out that they had shipped my order to the wrong address. They never replied! I know some people say a phone call is better. But their invoice says to report any problems to Customer Service and the address. They should have at least refunded the shipping and handling. Now they’ve lost my business for good, and I’ve spent over a thousand dollars with them in the past year and a half.
Here’s another vote for MB Klein…That’s my “go to shop”.
Since I’m not sure the rules allows this I won’t name the 5 e-bay stores I use that has competitive BIN prices and fast shipping.These are B&M hobby shops.
Toy Train Haven,Train World and First Hobby is good shops as well.
For N Scalers Brooklyn Locomotive Works,Fifer Hobby Supply, MB Klein and N Scale Supply is hard to beat.