Wondering if anyone has ever ordered from www.trainworld.com. Did you get good service? Was the product top of the line or a factory reject? Some of the prices blow the Walthers Catalog out of the water and they have always maintained a two page add in model railroader but I have never heard anybody mention them.
Just checking if anyone has any opinions or input.
Thanks
A pretty large percentage of us on this forum have ordered from Trainworld. Its fine. most of the time, their prices are the lowest you’ll find on a particular item. They’ve never shipped me the wrong item, or sent me somthing in damged condition. Some times their shipping gets a little high if you live far away from them. Packages still get here in 7-8 days. I do my ordering on the phone to avoid anyone intercepting my card number from the e-mail.
BTW–Up until recently, they had a 4 page add in MR.
I’ve ordered from them several times and always been satasfied. I did have one loco that they shipped me that didn’t have a whistle on it (not their fault) and they offered to replace it, no problem. I had a whistle in my parts box and so I didn’t send it to them, but it was cool that they offered.
Concur with the above. Been a satisfied customer going on eight years.
Just familarize yourself with their terms.
Shipping fees, out of stock/back orders, additional shipping charges, returns/exchanges re-stocking fees, defects out of the box.
Some firms may want you to return a defect direct to the manufacturer for re-place-
ment. Probably depends upon product availability.
I too, use the 1-800# and never a problem. Just have the stock # ready and an
alternative just in case it’s out of stock.
The following day of your order you can call them back and get the UPS tracking
#. This way you track it all the way to your front door.
I’ve ordered from them and gotten what I’ve ordered promtly. But keep in mind they are just a warehouse. No one there knows an iota about trains. If you need advice choose another outlet.
But if you know exactly what you want, you can’t find cheaper.
I have ordered from Trainworld many times in the past, and will order from them in the future. I have never had a problem with my Trainworld orders (I buy most of my On30 items from them). Hard to beat their prices, and their service is prompt.
Do they sell walthers/shinohara code 83 flextrack and turnouts?
Trainworld is great. I always call them so I know if whatever is in stock. If you need technical help, they have it, but the folks who are in the know are not at the 800 number. I have been dealing with them for over 30 years with no problems. I always try to put together as big an order as I can to spread out the shipping costs.
I recently ordered a PR2000 GP-9. Rx it promptly and will probably purchase another loco when I see it come along. No probs with them with the exception you have to mail, fax or call in your order. They don’t have a secure web server. My wife and I use our Nextel cell phones exclusively and do not have a land line. Cell phones are as unsecure as email so what I do for venders that do not have a secure web server is call and give the CC# type and all but the last four digits and the exp date. I then back it up with an email with the remaining info. Most online venders are familiar with that tech and it gives me piece of mind.
Terry
I ordered a Bachmann Spectrum J-Class 4-8-4 several years ago, and I was disappointed to discover that a couple links in the valve gear were misassembled (overlapped bassackwards–factory defect), preventing the engine from running properly. I also discovered later that the paint on the red stipe had a slight fade (incomplete coverage) back towards the cab. Upon noticing these things, it made sense to me why they made such a point that I should fill out the manufacturer’s warranty card as soon as I get it. In retrospect, I highly suspect the unit I received was a factory second. Lesson learned: You get what you pay for.
Now I don’t know if everything they sell is factory seconds (my guess is probably not), but this was my only dealing with them. I gather from reading other people’s comments that most of the stuff they sell is good stuff. If they sold nothing but crap, I doubt they would have remained in business as long as they have. I will say to their credit that they were friendly to deal with, and I was fully satisfied with the ordering/billing/shipping process.
Would I buy from them again? Maybe, but if I do, I’ll be a little more cautious about what I order, and more likely to pay a few bucks more elsewhere if I think it’ll save me the hassle of dealing with a defect.
I ordered a set of Lifelike R-17 subway cars from them on Wednesday night about dinner time. They arrived mid-day Friday, less than 48 hours later. Trainworld is in New York, and I live in the Boston Burbs. This was standard shipping, UPS. The trains were great, too. Of course, once it’s out of their doors, they can’t do anything about the shipping, but other on-line vendors I’ve dealt with sometimes take as long as a week to ship. Trainworld must have had my subway trains out the door within an hour or two after I called. (Hmmm. As a former NYC subway rider, I doubt that such speed and efficiency is really true to prototype, though.)
I’ve purchased several items form them and have been staisfied. I’d buy more but I feel that my LHS should get some of my money as he stocks the little stuff that’s hard to find. I also buy some of the big items from the LHS and pay a little more for his service.
When I ordered from them, I got good service.
Mark
DavidJ611, I ordered a Spectrum J from them also, and I bet I paid the same thing you did, and my was fine. I don’t think there is such a thing as factory seconds packed with a lifetime warranty card. Blame manufacturer quality control for yours, but I bet Bachmann got you another one if you got in touch with them.
I got a Spectrum N&W auxiliary tender with lettering only on one side, but since I have scads of N&W decals I took care of it.
I’ve ordered from Trainworld off and on since the early 1990s. No problems, good service, and great prices.
I tried to order from them, but the lady appeared EXTREMELY unfriendly on the phone (I asked for s+h to Germany on the phone), and she told me that she´d need a faxed photocopy of my Mastercard along with a photocopy of my passport faxed before she could give me that information.
I bought from my LHS, as I do not pass that information to somebody I don´t know just to get an s+h quote; I wasn´t even sure if I´d order from them if the quote were too high.
I have ordered several times form Trainworld, but your overall satisfaction depends on the person taking your order They are in New York and have an attitude that if you don’t have the proper numbers for the item you are ordering, you are wasting their time.
If you ask too many questions trying to get your order correct, you will end up talking to yourself and anyone else that would listen.
On the upside, they usually have the best prices, and you can save money for sure.
I have found at least two other places that match their prices and I avoid Trainworld if anyone else is close to their price.
I am thinking about ordering some things from there too this is good to know.
This might depend on not only the specific employee but also which phone line you call them on. If you call on the 1-800 ordering number they expect you to be ready to order. Even then, I don’t consider them to have any more attitude than any other business person I’ve dealt with from Philly, NY, or Boston. On the other normal number I’ve chatted with them for extended periods trying to figure out exactly what road names/current deals they had and what I was ordering.
When I order from them I do always try to be ready with stock numbers, road names, and any specific question I might need to choose one item over another.
I, too, make sure I have my “ducks in line”–brand, product number, description, credit card info, etc.–before I place my call to them (or just about any other dealer). Time is money, and they’re in business to move as much volume as they can. The 800 number is for orders only, so use the other number if you want to ask questions about a particular product.
As for “factory seconds”: I don’t know of a single manufacturer in the model train industry that sells factory seconds to distributors or dealers. Certainly you can get a defective model from time to time (or even lots of the time if you’re in O gauge), but those are almost always factory defects that somehow slipped through, or damages incurred in packing or shipping.