Hi all, just a thought that crossed my mind and I thought it would make a good topic.
What are your personal opions on purchasing a product online v.s. instore. I mean most people feel more comfortable when they can physically touch and feel and item rather than just seeing a pic and a price online. I understand that once you have tried a product you know what to expect but I mean more like new products you have never tried before.
Personally if it is a brand such as Woodland Senics I will generally trust all products they produce simply because they have been around for so long.
Personally it depends on whether you have a Hobby shop near you. I would like to purchase more from a local hobby shop to support the hobby but the closest one to me is a 2 hour ride. The next closest one is almost 3 hours away. Now if I am looking for decals or detail parts, I tend to buy them at a store v.s. online. I enjoy looking through the boxes of detail parts and decals, thinking about projects, tough to do that online. I guess having worked at a hobby shop, I do miss talking to other modelers face to face, then online. Just my opinion.
Generally, I spend between 80-90% of my hobby $$$ at three LHSes in my area. It’s important for me because I want to see these establishments stay in business. Each has it’s strengths and weaknesses. I find LHSes great places to compare products side-by-side. However, I realize that some modelers don’t have this ability so that buying online is their only option.
With that said, for buying rolling stock: Unless I know what the BLT date is, I always buy it from an LHS. Locomotives, on the other hand, I generally buy online because I can usually find deals anywhere from 20-50% off list. Supplies and kits I generally buy from my LHS, as needed.
I am very lucky to live with in 2 miles of a great LHS, K-10 Model trains. I spend 95% of my funds there. I have bought a few engines on line. Mainly because K-10 did not have one. K-10 all so sells at a fair prices.
There is no LHS close by, the nearest is more than an hours drive away and does not carry the stuff I need. So I have to relay on on-line purchases. In case of locos, I am not particularly fond of this, as I like to see ´em run, before I cash out my $$$.
I buy most of my stuff at my local hobby shop less that a mile away from my house. I do alot of preorders with him, most of the time the stuff i want is gone before its shipping date and i can find it online or trainshows for a couple years.
I perfer on line shopping since I have a better selection then I have at my not to local hobbty shops.
Now to be fair both shops will order anything I need and will have it in 3-5 days and will go the extra step and call me when its in.
I don’t know…Some times I feel I should support them more since my on line orders is shrinking in size because I have most of the needed N Scale items and won’t be adding that much more in either HO or N.
My online purchases depend on how the treasurer, aka wife, is feeling. Mostly I get things from the LHS as those purchases are easier to “hide” from her [:)]
Online for me is the winner because we have LHSs that like to price gouge. They insist on a 40% markup on all items. For my hard-earned money, I much prefer getting the most for my buck.
However, if I am looking for an item that is used or out of production, then I will check the LHS. But that is few and far between. Even Ebay is more attractive then my LHSs.
I have about three LHS near me. One has a good selection of cars. One has a good selection of “used” stuff. Third has a half-decent selection of buildings, and plastics. It just depends on what I am looking for.
Sometimes I do find a cheaper price on-line when it comes to train cars. I asked if the one hobby store will match prices, he said “no”. So if its cheaper, I will buy it online. If I need something NOW, it will be a LHS.
I have two reasonably stocked LHS nearby. I used to go there a lot (and spend $$$), but the better (meaning most inventory & stuff) of the two is a physical mess with piles of stuff (literally), and an often intolerable check-out process. I just quit going there a couple of years ago as it was unsettling.
The other store used to have a lot of train stuff, and still does, but not the level that it once had. Also, both LHS charge full retail (or near it), so I have gotten to the point that I used them for emergency or “gotta have now” items.
Early last year I began a layout rebuild, and literally spent just over $4k (2k on DCC stuff) since then. The vast majority of it came from four online shops, whose prices and product availability were as good as it gets. I figure if I had ordered the same stuff all through the LHS, it would have cost closee to $1k more - assuming they could get the items.
Lets face it, online shopping has drastically changed the marketing landscape. Pretty much anything you could want is available online, and typically cheaper than you could get locally. Of course you pay for shipping, but that is often offset by not paying sales tax (a whole different issue). And then there is Ebay…
To be perfectly frank, I would much prefer to see, touch, and feel a loco before buying, and I would sure prefer to spend the money locally. But I just can’t spend the extra bucks - assuming its significant - to do so.
Internet shops and Ebay is it for me. I am currently working in southern Colorado about 3 1/2 hours from Caboose Hobbies (Denver) and make the treck several times per year.
Back when I had TWO LHS’s I bought most stuff from one or the other. Used to stop in on the way home from work. The shopping experience was pleasant. One LHS did a lot of on-line sales and he offered deals nearly as good in the store.
Time moves on, one LHS went out of business, and then I moved. Now the closest LHS is an hour and a half away. Every so often I will make a pilgrimage to the not so local shop, but mostly I order on-line, just to save a long drive.
Buying on line usually doesn’t save much, what with shipping charges and buying “small ticket” items that don’t have the serious discounts that the big ticket items (locomotives) have. On-line, and E-bay have pretty good deals on big ticket items.
We used to have two hobby shops here and there were five or six in Tucson, 70 miles away. Today only one shop is still open in Tucson, The Hobby Place in an Ace Hardware store. The next nearest would be in Phoenix, a four hour one way trip.
I have always been one who favors supporting my LHS being as the one I frequent is “old School” don’t even have email…lol but they are nothing but trains and all very nice and knowledgeable people there. Not to mention it’s inevitable that if there are more then two people in the store your going to be engaged in conversation before too long which is nice as I usually have no one to talk trains with here at home or shall I say no one other then the dog and he doesn’t have much to offer in the way of good advice. Once they get to know you that our not a one shot Charlie they give you a nice discount which makes the 55 mile trip all that more easy to take. All that being said there are some internet stores which typically are brick and mortar stores as well who offer really great deals and if it’s a named brand item I’ll make a purchase via the website. I have and still do buy stuff directly from Walthers. As hard as it might be to believe I have gotten better prices from them on some items they I could have from going to the LHS or an online store. It’s nice to have multiple options available to you today but there is one place I avoid like the plague and thats eBay. I don’t care if a seller is offering something I want at 50% off the selling price I won’t buy it. I have had nothing but bad experiences and found that a lot of the stuff sold there are seconds and as far as reliability and customer service goes well everyone has heard horror story’s about dealing with eBay where if you deal with the better known more well established internet stores like MB Klein for example you’ll have nothing but a great experience. Thats why this forum is important as it’s a great sounding board for places to deal with and not deal with and good and bad experiences that you can’t find anywhere else. Just as an important part of the hobby as anything else.
For me, it is a mix. I have a LHS that keeps a decent selection of rolling stock (both kit and RTR) and good selection of detailing and scratch building building supplies. The shop also has a good selection of Digitrax and Soundtrax decoders and Digitrax DCC equipment. Other brands can be ordered as desired.
The owner offers a decent discount off list and I was able to negotiate a good deal (at least as good as online, better than some) on a set (ABBA) of P2k F3s (ATSF of course).
I also order online when I have to (Sergent couplers as an example) or when eBay presents an item I can’t get through normal channels.
I normally go to my LHS first, and then online if the LHS can’t get what I want or need. Most of the time, I may spend just a bit more for a given item. That’s ok with me. If I happen to be out of Reboxx 33" 1.020 wheel sets when I need them to complete that new Rr23, I just head over the the shop and pick up a package of 12 for an $10.00 bill.
What little I can spend these days, I spend online. My “local” LHS is in MA. So not only do I have to drive there, but I also have to pay MA sales tax on everything. So with his prices already higher than online, and tacking on my trucks gas and sales tax, I save by spending online. I know that sounds like I’m being cheap, but I need to keep my costs under control. After all, I have to eat too.