Is there a good source to buy out of production Hobby Craft Canada items, more specifically the Ontario Northland Railway locomotoves and rolling stock? I see the odd one pop up on Ebay once in awhile but are there any other sources any forum members know about? Thanks in advance.
Google is your friend.
Actually, I’ve found Google to be less than useful for finding out of production items. Very few places have accurate on-line inventories. As a turn-of-the-century modeler, I’m often chasing out of production items. The best sources I’ve found are:
- a select list of hobby shops. I call them (not on Saturday morning!) to inquire about a particular item. I buy the item on the spot if the price is reasonable. Within Canada, your list of hobby shops to call won’t be all that long. Once you’ve established which shops actually have stocks of various OOP items that you might be interested in, the list shrinks to reasonable. E-mail doesn’t work for this purpose - it has to be a phone call (with credit card in hand) during a time when the help is not too busy.
- eBay. Sooner or later (could be a year or two for some items) practically everything shows up here. The catch is whether or not you want to pay the sometimes exorbitant price to win/buy the item. I prefer to do my buying in the summer or over the holidays when the buying competition is not as fierce.
While I have stumbled across bargains and made private purchases in the various specialty Yahoo Groups I’m a member of, this tends to be much more of a “just happened” rather than a deliberate search.
Some of the small manufacturers make announcements in the appropriate specialty Yahoo Groups, as do private sellers. If I were interested in Canadian prototypes, I would consider joining Yahoo Groups catering to that interest.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
I’m a big fan of PWRS but they don’t have much old stuff. I’ve Googled, Yahooed etc with not much luck. I guess I just have to wait for certain things I want to get ;listed on Ebay.
Does the ONR have a historical society? Sometimes their lists can be productive – or you’ll run into people chasing the same stuff you are…[%-)]
Yes they do have a historical society. I’ve picked up a few things from members of it.
Google may be your friend for a Gordon Ramsey skillet or a Michael Koors dress, but for out of production hobby items its a waste of time. All I ever get is out of date inventory lists, catalog pages telling me the item is not in stock, and years old reviews/press releases. You will have better luck posting a “want to buy” notice on the many selling lists like HOinterchange.