I need to have a new shop as the one I used (Myatomic) seems to have gone away. No I don’t want to pay retail and shipping needs to be reasonable. I am in HO as this maters in some cases and e-bay stores are fine (love “the favorite spot” on ebay for anything Bachmann).
There are many good stores as you know. I seem to be happy with these at least:
http://www.blueridgehobbies.com/index.htm
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/
http://www.wholesaletrains.com/Default.htm
I now use these two almost excusably, Free Time Trains and Model Train Stuff. Free time Trains has the best rates on shipping. Prices are reasonable with both in my opinion. Then if they do not have the item I will go where needed to get it.
I am a big fan of www.trainworld.com. They have a lot of closeout items. They are not a “reshipper.” Everything they have listed as “in stock” is actually in stock, right there in the store.
These are a few of the many on line retailers I’ve used and been pleased. There are many sites depending on just what it is you need as you will find out.
By reading the threads and asking on subjects you have on your horizon you will learn of them.
http://www.cchobbies.com/ (Cherry Creek Hobbies)
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/
http://www.hobbylinc.com/index.htm
http://www.hobbylinc.com/rockets/rockets.htm Forget this one I don’t think yuo want rockets my error
Happy Railroading,
Bob
My favorite one is the one with the lowest price, including shipping, on whatever I want to buy. Go to any of the sites mentioned above, add everything to your cart, and compare. Buy the one with the lowest price, and clear the other carts.
Even Walthers can be a good place to shop if you can find a lot of sale items (you can often get a free shipping deal, which offsets their generally higher prices).
I use Acculites.com They can order from Walthers and you get a 20% discount. Shipping is very reasonable.
They also carry a lot of DCC items and are real close to Tony’s prices, plus their listing shows how many they have in stock at the time.
They also take PayPal.
[:-^]
Craig at Dallas Model Works, works for me .
Another is T-J model trains in Euphoria Washington. 509 266 4482
I am not related or any way connected with these two stores other than they get my business, and I am very satisfied with their service.
Johnboy out…
Been looking at them also, so far MOLDELTRAINSTUFF and HOBBYLINK seem the most promising (the first being slightly cheaper with high initial shipping cost but lower prices), dealt with the first one before they had an Internet site as I lived in Baltimore. Just did the final numbers on Dallas and they come out way higher do to shipping. The thing I liked about Myatomic was the prices were discounted (about the middle of the pact and they offered free shipping on orders over $35.00 and even when they started to charge for shipping it was reasonable. What was in my cart were two types of items I will be buying shortly 2 shakers of ballast and 25 pieces of cork, of course by the time I order the list will get longer.
Hi!
I’ve bought over the net for years, and in the last three spent well over $5k as I am building a new layout and converted to DCC at the same time.
For the most part, one supplier does NOT fit all needs - at least not pricewise or availability wise. In example, I did a lot of research for my sizeable orders and ended up using NHS hobbies for track (HO), toy train heaven for locos, tonys train exchange for decoders, model train stuff (MB Klein) for DCC systems, and Caboose hobbies for turnouts, etc.
All of these are top notch dealers, and there are certainly others out there. My suggestion is that if you are in doubt, ask the good folks on this forum about specific companies. Trust me, we will not be shy in telling you the good/bad/ugly about them.
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
Right now it is scenery stuff, have more than I could use for most everything else. I have been bottom feeding for years both in shops and on ebay. As my selection of products I will actually use gets narrowed down, I find that sometimes (like in the case of ballast) I do not have enough of one color and or type. My railroad is growing large ( I should know better and keep my projects smaller).
I’ve bought nearly everything for my layout on eBay. Generally, I get a good deal and I don’t mind doing some refurbishment on used stuff. I know it is hard for LHSs and online hobby stores to compete, but we’re talking about MY money - I need to stretch it as far as I can.
That said, I’m not a typical 21st century model railroader, I like craftsman kits and old brass locos (I like the fact that you have to “tune them up” to get them running right). I don’t have much interest in RTR anything and generally I dislike plastic as a model medium (it always looks like plastic to me). I love to build and tinker, so eBay and its vintage and/or distressed brass and ancient kits is perfect for me.
I’ve been around the block a few times and I know some tricks. For example, colored GOW and GOR light bulbs can be made clear by wiping them with acetone (colored bulbs often sell for around $5 per 100 on eBay; clear ones cost more).
I’m happy to paint my own figures and unpainted ones usually sell at light bulb prices.
I love it when a brass loco is described as “doesn’t run” or “runs poorly” because they usually are easy to fix and sell for half of the price they would have brought if they ran well.
I’ve made hundreds of eBay purchases and have not had a bad experience, and I’ve built a darned nice layout with a dozen brass locos for about $3,000 (about $300 per year).
eBay is my favorite hobby store!
After four or five years of being back in the hobby I discovered one of the biggest suppliers is near to me (sort of) and I had no idea it existed.
These guys are a former club which decided to become an organized quantity buying outfit and then a full-fledged online store. The “salesmen” are actually acquaintances within the club who then take you (the new customer) through the operation of their sophisticated website which allows you to keep informed of all new products available and coming up.
I just ordered over $2000 of layout materials from them. They do have a massive warehouse, but bring in materials from the big suppliers as needed…and in such quantities as to be on weekly shipment basis.
Apparently, in the downturn of the last economic period they saw their sales increase from 1.5 million to 1.8 million.
They receive and ship orders worldwide. They have a warehouse in Blaine WA as well as Surrey, British Columbia.
I’m glad someone asked about this, because I didn’t want to be accused of promotion…but I was very impressed with their matching any current prices I found on other sites and/or giving me a flat 20% discount on my big order.
The technique of having you, the customer, in charge of your notification section on the website is unparalleled and does require a lesson via telephone (toll free) in a form of walkthrough and tutorial so that you can fine tune your info.
Take a look at the advanced search function. The railroads tab has more rail lines than even the most experienced hobbiest could think of. But to really learn how to use the site, you have to call up and let the fellows give you a tutorial.
My Atomic is still there - they appear to have closed down their eBay Store.
Didn’t you notice that no one was home!
No great loss if MyAtomic is gone - they tried a ‘bait & switch’ on me from their Ebay site. Now I can recognize when someone else tries it.
The method is simple - advertise a much-wanted item, (like a new Rapido car) at a ridiculously low price; then, when you win your bid, you’re told that THAT particular car is sold out but for just a few dollars more, bringing it up to the original retail, or more, (off Ebay!) another one can be purchased. There’s usually a disclaimer stating that the same item is for sale at their bricks-&-mortar-store and that every effort is made, blah blah blah. The ‘sale’ item then disappears from the listing but magically re-appears a few days later.
Ebay also takes a dim view of this practice.
And, yes, I’ve built my whole set off Ebay; love it. All the hobby shops here in Toronto seem to be way out in the suburbs, so when I compare shipping costs to my door to the cost of transit and taxes, it’s usually worth it to just get it on Ebay.
I found Blue Ridge Hobbies to have high shipping rates.