Being new to the hobby I have only ordered from a few places, the big one being Ebay.
Between MarkVIII.org, Mustangsandmore, Gardenweb and Gardenwatchdog I have been able to shop with reasonable confidence for those hobbies. Is there a good vendor list around here or what on line retailers do you all prefer?
Thanks again.
No, there’s no specific list as such because Model Railroader magazine does’t encourage specific endorsements on the forums, although you’ll see comments both pro and con regarding experiences of shopping on the Internet if you read back through the forums.
Hi!
I’ve been ordering trainstuff via phone and the net for decades and can say I’ve never had a “non-repairable” experience. Said another way, the few goofs the dealers made were swiftly corrected.
The key is to either stay with the “big boys” (i.e. Model Train Stuff, Caboose Hobbies, Toy Train Heaven, Tony’s Trains, etc) or to run the proposed vender by this forum. Trust me, if a vendor does a lousy job consistently, the Forum folks will let you know.
I’ve bought and sold a lot of train stuff on Ebay for 13 years. During that time, and the hundreds of transactions, I only got ripped off once - and that was before Ebay’s assurance and Paypal program. It was about $30, and in hindsight I didn’t pay heed to the seller’s poor ratings.
In short, I think you will find that the model train folks are by and large honest, reputable, and care about the hobby and their customers.
You can ask about a specific vendor you find, or ask who has what for sale,and as pointed out above, you will get responses.
You can also read the MR magazine and see who has advertised what.
There are a variety of merchants out there online to order from. SOme are 'better" than others, some are “worse” than others based on an individual’s experience.
You CAN ask a question {post a thread} such as “who are your favorite vendors?” and get the responses.
If you scroll down the right side margin, you will find a box that says “search our community” and you can type in a dealer’s name you are considering buying from. Then you will get links to the threads about that dealer.
For example, My favorites are :
http://www.wholesaletrains.com/
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/
Here’s info tips on DCC:
http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips.htm
for trains AND tools:
http://www.micromark.com/trains-and-accessories.html
Good luck and ENJOY the hobby your way!
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There are some very fine online retailers that have good web sites and make ordering from them very simple. Here are my favorites: MB Klein - www.modeltrainstuff.com Caboose Hobbies - www.caboosehobbies.com Dallas Model Works - http://www.dallasmodelworks.com/index.asp There are also some good sellers on EBay but do your homework on their reputation and service. I think the closest thing to a actual list of manufacturers would be the Advertisers List in the monthly MR magazine.
…and don’t forget about Walthers.
They don’t discount, but they often have many items on sale.
Rich
I’ll second Galaxy’s list. Those vendors cover 99.9% of my model railroading purchases that I don’t get at my LHS.
Although I have had issues with orders from Wholesale Trains having excessive S&H charges that negate low prices, and items showing as “available” taking forever to arrive (because that means it’s available at their suppliers, so they have to order it first).
Walthers can be a good source – certainly for comparing available products. Even though they are the largest wholesaler in North America, they DON’T carry some major brands – notably Horizon Hobbies, which includes Athearn trains, McHenry couplers, and some other stuff. If you want to buy from Walthers, wait for a sale (they send a monthly sales flyer out so you know what’s on sale).
I’ll second Model Train Stuff and Toy Train Heaven. I’ve ordered from each for several years and never had a problem with either.