I need some help shopping online. My local train dealer is 65 miles away and not very good.
I’d like to create a list of online stores you guys use and trust. I’ve seen some sites that give little info and are very difficult to navigate. Please help me compile a list of sites/places you think have great online stores and are great to do business with.
Thanks,
Dan
I’ve had great service from
Jim’s Trains in Homer, PA,
MA & PA Junction,
Grzboskis,
Lantz Train Shop in NY, and
Treasured Toys in Salem, NH.
Jim
Best guy I have ever dealt with over distance is Jim’s Train Shop in Homer City, PA.
Unfortunately, he only sells MTH. I purchase scenery materials and figures from him over the phone.
Jim is absolutely the best train shop guy I’ve ever encountered.
Dan,
Just about all my purchases are from the Train-station.com. They have lots of stock on hand and pretty much anything from the catalogs. I still prefer to call them as the folks at the store are good and have a better handle than trying to navigate web sites.
Another good store is Hollash’s trains in Florida, around the tampa area. they have a web site that you can google. Bill Hollash has a lot of parts on hand and often has some good deals.
Dennis
Frist question I would ask is what product lines are you most interested in buying? My list of recommended dealers is fairly specific to the items I order: certain dealers for Lionel, others for MTH, still others for K-Line (what remains of it), and even others for Williams, Atlas, etc.
I have been dealing long distance with certain train shops for a good many years, dating back to the 80s, so will be happy to provide my “recommended” list if I know the brands you would most likely be looking for.
Lionel and MTH are the top two I’m interested in. I buy Weaver directly from the mfgr, and dabble in all others.
TM books and video also have a great site for videos and dvds.
Thanks,
D
I have used the following and have been very happy with service / shipping / responsiveness:
JusTrains.com (Delaware) - Their on-line catalog is very static, but they have great customer service and are really easy to deal with.
HobbyStation.net (South Carolina) - some of the best prices on current Lionel and they have just upgraded their site. They are very nice folks to deal with as well.
NormsOScale.com - Norm has Lionel but is my Atlas dealer of choice.
www.trainbuddies.com - I would not term them as “dealers” exactly, but they have an awesome selection and focus on harder to find / out of production items - I have bought everything from an AMC / ARC Gantry Crane to an ACL GP7. They also have consistently provided some of the best customer service I have seen anywhere.
Here are the online dealers that I’ve been happy with:
www.justrains.com
www.trainworld.com
www.mapajunction.com
www.jimstrainshop.com
www.modeltrainstuff.com
www.charlesro.com
No problems with any of the above. There are a couple of other dealers that I won’t mention.[swg]
http://www.wholesaletrains.com usually has a darn good selection.
Since Lionel and MTH are the two brands you’re most interested in, my list own would/does include the following:
Jim’s Train Shop (Homer City, PA)–MTH
Charles Ro (MA)–Lionel
Davis Trains (OH)–Lionel and MTH
Ready-to-Roll (FL)–MTH
Sommerfelds Trains (WI)–Lionel and MTH
JusTrains (DE)–MTH
Purkey’s Toy Trains (MD)–MTH
All of these are brick-and-mortar businesses, and all have been around for a while–a long while in some cases. Their websites may or may not be up-to-date, but I usually don’t shop that way anyhow. I learn about or see something I want, and then pick up the phone and call in my order. I much prefer dealing in that way, not just for the sake of security, but also because it helps to establish a more personal one-to-one relationship with the dealer. All of the above are first-rate dealers, in my opinion.
I’ll add my 2 cents.
AM Hobbies for Atlas
Charles Ro for Lionel
Davis Trains for MTH & Lionel
Walthers for all the odds and ends
I have two good shops near by so only order occasionally via the internet.
I have made several purchases in the past from www.trainworld.com.
Some folks (on the other forum) have complained about a lack of helpfulness when trying to get information from Trainworld. However, since I know what I want when I call to place an order, its not an issue and I also appreciate fact that they have excellent prices, and quick delivery.
My wife, ordered for me a MRC Pure Power Dual Control (270 watt) transformer from Trainworld, the week before Christmas. Although the order was place in the morning, I was very suprised to see UPS deliver the transformer the next afternoon!
Jim
My wife bought me one of those MRCs for Christmas also.
Jim
For us newbies, how about a list of those to avoid? Every now and then someone will mention a place in vague terms, and forum members do a virtual nod in agreement, but this newbie doesn’t have a clue who you’re talking about.
I whole heartly avoid Charles Ro Supply. I would not buy from them if you held a gun to my head.
1st and last time I ordered from those clowns was 1993. Avoid them at all costs unless your interested in foul language and personal threats.
Island Trains is good but the website is horrible. You can never tell if anything is in stock! I used to order from Island but they went “down hill” a little. You will get decent service if you CALL them.
www.wholesaletrains.com is GOOD and I have ordered several times. If you spend $200 at their store you have the ability to get even better prices.
Charles Ro has been a good place for me to get good deals & I see others get stuff there also.
Don’t forget AM Hobbies for Gargraves track & Ross switches, also.
For S gauge stuff, I use Port Lines Hobby, Doug is very good to deal with. Placed another order yesterday.
Jim
Island Trains website is very poor, but phone orders work out okay. Often not as good prices as advertised on the website when you check out or call though. They say the website hasn’t been updated. I’ve bough t from Gryzboskis, Wholesale trains, trainworld (they have a new search engine that is 100 percent better than their old set up BTW), as well.