Thinking of buying a loco from this store.
Two questions:
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Any experience with this store?
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I live in U.S. Will that be a problem in terms of the time it takes to ship and receive?
Thanks.
Rich
Hi
I cannot tell about US shipping and stuff since I live in Canada, but I am a regular cutomer from that store. They have a great inventory, they ship quickly and prices are lower than most other online stores in Canada.
Never had a problem with them. Always got what I ordered in good shape well packed and quickly.
Antoine
Antoine, thanks for that info.
Now, the only question is, can an Ontario hobby shop ship product to the U.S. (Chicago area) in a timely fashion and at a reasonable shipping cost?
Rich
I don’t see why not. With the Canadian dollar worth little more than seventy cents U.S., you could probably afford to drive up here and pick it up in person. [swg]
I’ve only dealt with them once, but was surprised by their large inventory. I drove down there, about a 1 1/2 or 2 hour drive, to pick up a car kit which I couldn’t find locally…
…and was pleasantly surprised to find a kit for this load…
I had wanted one when they were first introduced (before on-line purchasing) but had never seen them offered, at least in nearby hobby shops.
The staff was friendly and helpful, too.
Wayne
Rich,
I live in Winnipeg and have purchased a couple of locos from them. I found that the service was very good. The prices were too especially on the TLT Northern I bought a couple of years ago.
As far as shipping to Chicago that won’t be a problem but postal rates are higher in Canada than the US. and international are higher still but that goes for stuff coming here from the US too.
CN Charlie
He who hesitates is lost.
Nuts.
Their In Stock availability went from one to zero this morning.
Gotta start a renewed search.
Rich
Aww man that sucks. What were you looking for?
An Atlas C&NW MP15DC switcher. The build date is late 80s so not my time frame anyhow since I model the mid-50s.
Rich
Based on Canada Post’s on line calculator, postage would be a little under $20.00 USD, $30.00 if you want to trace the package.
That is based on a box 15" x 6" x 6" weighing 4 lbs., and with the Canadian dollar worth $0.70 on the US dollar.
I’m not sure if business rates are cheaper.
Dave
If you are looking to take advantage of the strong US dollar from Canada, another good source is Action Hobbies …
http://store.actionhobbieskingsville.com/default.asp
Just doing some price comparing on identical items, their prices are even lower than Otter Valley.They ship by courier which is a lot quicker than Canada Post, and that same package Dave just quoted would only cost about $20 CDN WITH tracking !
Might want to do some price shopping. [swg]
Mark.
I’ll put in a good word for Action Hobbies as well. Fast, cheap shipping and good prices.
Dave
and
Thanks for the links maxman. I don’t want the Operation Lifesaver version. Trainworld had a nice one.
Rich
I noticed that the stock at Ottervalley web store is reduced as soon as someone puts the item in his or her shopping cart. Like “reserve”. I’ve managed to realise that when I put a few items in my shopping cart and then stock would go to 0, and when I removed them it would go back to the original number.
So basically if the person who wanted to buy the loco didn’t and still hasn’t checked out, it’s possible they still have it in stock.
Check with the store owner.
Antoine
Antoine, apparently, that is exactly what happened. There is one in stock. When I first visited the site the morning of my thread, I did add the loco to my cart to make certain it was in stock. Apparently what you suggested is exactly what happened. Now, I need to reconsider this possible purchase.
Thanks for pointing that out.
Rich