Blue Ridge Hobbies

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Has anyone had any dealings with Blue Ridge Hobbies?

I need to start mail-ordering most of my stuff now as the two big train stores in my city are both closing. All the other shops are 40+ miles away so it’s going to be easier to mail order.

Thanks,

Roger

2

What city is so unfortuanate as to lose two hobby shops so close together. We lost the only real good one we had here and now it is 100 miles to the closest one. I suggest Caboose Hobbies in Denver. Quick service and they have just about everything.

3

I agree Caboose is well stocked. Be carefull with mail order, many online shops will not hold a partial order to wait for something else before shipping. This caused me a week delay in receiving a portion of my order and two seperate shipping charges. STill a good way to go, but be carefull.

4

I had a couple disappointing orders with them quite a few months ago. I told them to contact me if something was out of stock and maybe on back order. Waited about three weeks and finally called. They claimed they had emailed me. Finally got the order Second time, one item back ordered with a shipping cost more than the cost of the single item. Again, they claimed they emailed me. I stopped ordering from them. Caboose Hobbies, Klein, Cherry Creek, Peach Creek, plus a few others I use now. Sometimes I use the phone to order if I am not sure the item is in stock.

Your mileage may vary.

Rich

5

My issue was similar. Even though I contacted the manufacturer to discuss availability and in turn contacted Caboose that one item was on its way to them I was charged two seperate shiping and handling charges and all they had to do was waite a couple days.

6

I have used Walthers with good results, but they are full price. I am currently trying HobiesUSA as they give a discount. So far things are OK with them.

7

First Place Hobbies is excellent!

8

I delt with just about every listing in Garder Rairoad Mag.

I have always received great service.

The only thing I learned is not to put a deposit or greater on MTH’s new porducts. They take to long to show up.

But once you get it you LOVE it.

9

richg1998-Thanks for mentioning Peach Creek! I’d never heard of them. They have some killer prices! I can’t believe how cheap their Boley vehicles are.[:O]

10

I used to use Blue Ridge Hobbies extensively. They’re ok. They take a relatively long time for delivery however, likke 3-4 weeks. I think they don’t have the stuff in stock and place a wholesale order with Walthers, thus the delay. They seem a bit of a scramble.

Their stated price is a bit lower than anyone’s elses on the stuff they advertise, and i think their web site got easier to use (search-wise). However, I stopped using them because of their delivery charges, which seemed to wipe out most (but not all) of the purported savings. However, they are honest and nice people if not wholly efficient. They’re not a rip-off.

I like to stick with dealers who deliver in a week or so, and who are upfront on stock availability - Walthers (whose sale items often cannot be beat on price), Trainworld (though limited selection), Scenic Express. Kudos here to a fellow who attends this site sometimes, DallasModelWorks…excellent online vendor too in these regards, plus on the stuff he has the price is very attractive, always in stock.

I guess I stopped looking to save a dollar or two on an item and went with dependability and service.

11

Not yet, but I live 2 1/2 hours from it, and my grandma lives in Greenville, so I could drop by their new store. I’m probably going to get a DCC system from them. They seem like a pretty easy store to get an order placed. Have you checked out their website?

12

Please note:

The above responses from 2008 are not about the current Blue Ridge Hobbies, which has gone through many changes and updates. We now have a staff that has been with us for 4 years now. Our retail store started in 2007 with our business start up in April 2005.

We had a lot of early year growing pains with steady increases in business since 2005. We have many new and repeat customers. We have an A rating with the Better Business Bureau. We out grew our fist store within 2 years, we have out grown our second store which had double the space and now we are awaiting the move into our newest store with 3 times the space we currently have.

Have there been issues with some orders and customers, yes! But these problems are few with 99.9% of our customers satisfied.

We have a bit of different business model and for some, it takes a bit to get used to how we do things. But if you use BRH, you will save money on both product and shipping costs.

So, if you should have ay questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 864-255-4671

Frank Ruby
Owner
Blue Ridge Hobbies

13

Blue ridge is a joke. Higher shipping long waits plus no communication. Stick to the other shops listed above you’ll get better results

14

I’ve been a loyal Blue Ridge Hobbies customer since I moved to the Greenville-Spartanburg area in 2009. They’ve always had a far better selection in N Scale than the other hobby shops in the area. There staff is always very knowlageable and happy to help. Blue Ridge has also opened a very nice attraction called the Miniature World of Trains here in Greenville.