Bought a Lionel S2 Turbine (18010) “new in the box” back on 10/18 online from a store called “All About Toy Trains”. Today is 11/21 and I STILL don’t have it. Made at least 8 calls to the store (located in Crystal River, FL) and every time I am told “it is shipping Friday” or “it is shipping Monday”. Last week on Monday I called and they admitted they “couldn’t locate the loco in the wharehouse”. They asked me to call back next Monday and they will either give a refund or they will ship it. So I called back one last time yesterday and they said “WE FOUND IT!!!”, but we probably won’t ship it until AFTER Thanksgiving. Amazingly, I held my temper. I calmly said “okay” and this morning I called VISA and filed a dispute for the charge. Over a month, the loco was billed to my VISA the day I ordered it INCLUDING SHIPPING, and now they want to wait till AFTER Thanksgiving because they will be closing early this week. Amazing!!! I called the store back today and the guy that’s been giving me the runaround said “it will ship tomorrow”. I told him "I’m sorry but you have used up ALL your credibility with all those other “shipping Friday-Monday” stories. I told him DON’T ship it…credit it to my account.
What’s surprising is we aren’t talking about some cheap, crappy, inexpensive loco. The S2 sold for $899 and with shipping it climbed to$925. The good news is I have the MTH version of it so I’m not completely out as far as having one. I really wanted the Lionel version too, but there is a limit to how long I will dance on the end of a rope [:(!]
Unfortunately this is not an unusual situation with this dealer; check his ebay negatives and you’ll see the greatest number of complaints are about slow (or non) delivery
Laz: Exactly right! I’m hunting again [:D]. I sent in an inquiry to another store that advertises one. The Lionel version is REALLY cool and is HUGE. They even made a caboose for it that is made out of solid brass. It sells for $200-$300. I am crazy about the S2 so I was VERY disappointed when this purchase fell through. I am wondering if we shouldn’t start a list of “do not buy froms” so that others don’t get burned. I have had some spectacularly GOOD buying experiences on both E-Bay and on websites with toy trains.
jaabat: I am a firm believer in “you get what you pay for”. Or more bluntly…if you buy cheap…you GET CHEAP. [;)]
sulafool: WOW!!! I wasn’t aware they had that rep or that they even sold on E-Bay. Thanks for that info!!! [tup]
Dep, You were more than patient with this clown, there’s no excuse for that kind of “customer service”. Fortunately when I’ve ordered from dealers over the internet they have always been upfront and provide me with the tracking #. This dealer certainly earned the X on his front door. Jon Hope you can find another one out there, I’m sure you will.
I live near West Palm Beach FL and have never heard of Crystal River FL, is it on the west coast? [?]
I deal with Ready To Roll in Miami FL and never had a problem with them, always send what they say they will send and when!! At the most a day late once.
Make sure you write a letter to the credit card company disputing the charges. Credit card companies only seem to act on written documentations. Been there, done that.
Here’s a web page that explains it much more eloquently:
We have a Chase card and this year we put the wrong account number on a check. Sure enough, it looked like we hadn’t paid the bill. We called Chase and within 72 hours everything was fixed perfectly by them and they didn’t call us stupid.
Yup, this guy certainly has a rep. He’s a dirty rotten stinking spammer to boot. I think the thread title needs to be changed though. The horror story has nothing to do with the Lionel S2, it has to do with the jerk dealer who tried to sell you one.
Perhaps he didn’t even have it to sell. I forget if it’s this particular individual or not, but I have heard of unscrupulous sellers doing that and then looking for one to sell after the sale is made. As you note, all this while, they have hit your CC immediately.
I bought my 675 from this guy. While I didn’t get burned, I won’t do business with him again. When I bought it, he wouldn’t even test it for me. He had a really bad attitude as well. After I called to pay for it, I thought of another question and called him back. He must of seen my name on caller ID. When he picked up, he said:“Ok Jim, now what do you want?!”. Not a way to win customers if you ask me. If it had a 675 prior to dealing with him, I would have told him to keep this one, or something along those lines…
Try “Main Street Trains”.He is reasonable and pleasant on the phone.Have never purchased anything that was not exactly as advertised.He ships quick an is very knowlegable about his products.Phone number is 304-736-6254.
Dave: I’m inclined to agree with you about him not having one to sell in the first place. The Lionel 671 Century Club Turbine is one of the more difficult locos to get hold of. It wasn’t all that popular when it first came out, and new ones go for a considerable chunk of change, and they aren’t readily available. It was pretty stupid of this seller to advertise having one and then try and locate one. Selling it at $899, he would have to be able to buy one dirt cheap to make a profit, and that isn’t very likely.
the last time I paid for something over the phone with a credit card, it was on backorder. Due for delivery “anytime” (part for my '69 road runner). It was billed to my card THAT day, and was on back order almost a YEAR before I cancelled it. Never should have let it go that long. If I can’t use a money order for an in stock item, I pass on it.
and if you do go thru the mail, be sure and ask for the tracking ni\umbers, that way they can’t BS you about shipment.
I am still working through a “rip off” from a New York MTH dealer (since June 06’). These creeps and horror stories they cause may become more common, as mail order seems to be replacing the local hobby shops. Sounds like you are talking about the scale S2, but wanted to mention that the Williams S2 I saw this past Friday looks incredible! It comes in Brunswick or black, but the Brunswick is about the best (blacker than black) I’ve seen. Williams closely resembles Lionel, and this one was selling at $199, no fancy electronics, just rock solid performance. Feature wise, not even in the same ballpark as your scale S2, but if you like Lionelish S2’s, you might want to check this one out. Good Luck, and thanks for the warning about this scoundrel! Rich F.