Hi all,
I had a couple orders in with IMT and it seems to be taking forever. One order is from the 9th of Oct…not here and got a message it will be on its way soon and sorry for the delay. I ordered last year and it was only about a week total. Anybody out there with orders pending? Just making sure they are not going to go out of business and I get nothing. The website mentions a new order processing system, maybe that is the issue. Thanks ----Rob
If you search this forum, I think you’ll find a number of posts over the years with the same issue. So while I don’t think it’s all that unusual, I also don’t think you probably need to worry about them going defunct…
I’ve had long delays with some on-line vendors, too. Many of them do not actually have much inventory. At then end of each ordering day (or whenever) they order stuff from their supplier. When it comes in, they ship it. If you’ve ordered a bunch of different items, the whole order may hang up waiting for one delivery from a slow supplier.
I too have had the same problem. In short, they are terrible. They seem to keep very little actually in stock and take forever to get it. When their web site says available it means they can eventually get it from Walthers, not that it’s actually in stock. In addition they charge you the full amount of the order before it’s shipped complete of not. The best place I have found is First Place Hobbies. Excellent web site, in stock status which 99% of the time is accurate, reasonable prices, fast turn around on your order, back order options, no hassle returns, and email notification of out of stock items when they come in. Search options could be slightly more robust but that’s it. Check them out.
daverailrd
Yes it takes awhile. If you have something backordered it takes forever.
-dekruif
The last time I ordered from Internet Trains was back in June… I ordered a bunch of Details Associates and Detail West parts, and it was not shipped until today, and half the things I ordered back in the beginning of June were not in the order, even though their website said the stuff was “in stock” at the time I ordered.
Usually I’m pretty patient and understand when things might take a month or two to get. But an order that took 5 months with half the stuff I ordered not shipped… That’s the very last time I’m ever ordering anything from them.
If you’re an impatient person like I am, you might want to avoid most on-line or catalog train stores… I’ve had them take three to four weeks or longer to ship me an item. I’ve finally gotten to the point that I only buy from ebay anymore because I can get my item or items within just a few days.
Tracklayer
Thanks all,
The first order was for one N scale Bach. F7, they said it was availible…I’ll have to be patient. The second order was for a bunch of Woodland Scenics stuff also “availible”. My LHS is very far and they don’t have much of an inventory either. Guess I’ll wait it out and try a differrent place next time
----Rob
Oh, now I get it…
I discovered this ruse a while back by making a typo. I’ve done business with Discount Trains Online, and I’ve always been happy with their prices, stock and service. I also like their web site, because they have a huge product base, and it’s well-indexed with a good search engine, and most of the products have pictures available. They are at:
Then, one day, I fat-fingered the keyboard. Instead of typing the above link, I entered
That’s only different by the double T for discount trains. But guess where you end up? The same place as Internet Model Trains, not Discount Trains Online at all! These scuzbags are hijacking another merchant’s business. That may be “legal” in the Wild, Wild Internet West, but it sure isn’t ethical. So, my advice would be “Don’t do business with these clowns until they clean up their act.”