In the World’sGreatest Hobby ETC. thread here I have noticed many folks complaining about not seeing Model Railroader and Trains in their local Wal Marts and grocery stores.
About six years ago I found that I could not find ANY train magazine outside of the local hobby shops.
I began asking the managers of the local Smith’s (Kroger back east) store if they would please start carrying Model Railroader for me, just a copy a month and I would guarantee to buy it.
The manager laughed and said she would as a favor.
The first two months I dutifully bought my magazine on the last week to be sure it was on the shelf to be seen. The third month it was gone on the first week. I asked the manager if she had stopped ordering it. She assured me that she had not and that the distribution driver had instructions to bring one.
She had one brought in for me that week.
The next month on the first week of issue there were two on the shelf and by the second week they were gone.
The next month they brought four and also RMC. I bought mine the first week, by the third week they were gone. Both magazines.
Now ALL of the local groceries carry MR and a few also RMC. they sell, and not to “train hobbyists” just regular people who are interested in the catchy covers and when they open the book are HOOKED!
Where do you buy your magazines?
I get my “Model Railroader” and “Trains” directly from Kalmbach as a subscription. A few of the other popular magazines I am considering a subscription also. I obtain my other magazines and books via Ebay, the Web, and numerous other stores like hobby stores, craft stores and convenient/grocery stores. I also shop a lot of train shows for out-of-print books, modeling guides, and colorful train calendars.
"ATTA-BOY, Doug!!!
Nothing like spreading the gospel! I have been bringing in some of my old “Model Railroader” mags to work, and I see lots of folks reading them on their lunch break.
Todd C,
Have you tried Barnes & Noble and/or Borders bookstores? In my opinion they have the best selection of magazines, better than Walmart or any grocery store chain… If they do not carry it, they can order the magazine easily, and if necessary, they can REORDER a monthly magazine if it is sells out early. IPD is the best national distributor of magazines in the country.
IF I BUY,IT WOULD BE “MR” & I WOULD BUY AT "TRACKSIDE TRAINS,202 E.PIONEER,PUYALLUP WASH,CTT & O GUAGE COME TO ME IN MY MAILBOX & HAVE FOR YEARS,HAVE TRYED TRAINS & GOT I RAILFAN,BUT THEY HAVE WEB SITE,SO WILL CANCEL THAT MAGAZINE, I BELONG TO LIONEL CLUB,& THEY PUT OUT A MAGAZINE EVERY SO OFTEN & I ALSO BELONG TO “LOTS” & THEY ALSO PUT OUT A MAGAZINE,BOTH ARE SMALL IN PAGES AND VERY INTERESTING…AKA HUB
I have a subscrip to MR and have had for years. Also MRC Garden Railways and N Scale Mag.
I purchase many back issues of MR ,MRC and Nscale on ebay and have MR issues numbering near one thousand and as old as 1939.I also purchase out od print items on ebay,but try to purchase new Kalmbach material from my local hobby shop.Ebay is great for some things ,but dont forget the guy who takes care of you locally.Help him out and he’ll return the favor in more ways than one
There’s a most excellent magazine store five minutes from my house. I pop in once a month or so, and they have 'em all - including some of the British mags (I might buy one of these on occasion, I prefer the looks of their passenger trains). I do get MR and Canadian Model Railroader (or whatever it’s called) by subscription.
I only subscribe to one magazine, O gauge Railroading. The other one that I usually buy, Classic Toy Trains, usually comes from Barnes and Noble, Books-a-million, Borders, or Joseph-Beth(whichever one I’m closest to). I have also occasionally picked up a copy of Model Railroader from Wal-mart. Also, when close to one, I usually choose a hobby shop over a book store.
I’ve been getting MR & MRC for about 30 years by mail. It’s a lot cheaper than buying it at the store. I use to get about 5 others, but that gets too expensive. Now, when I go to the book store I look to see what’s new & I may buy something else.
I also advertised on my local ISP that I wanted to purchase some old MR mags. Well, let me tell you what happened. I got a collection of “MR” magazines from the 40’s to 2001 for FREE. A man saw my ad on his advertising page about my wants. he called & said, “If you come & get them, they’re your’s free of charge”. So, I drove about 75 miles round trip & filled up the back of my van w/perfect condition Model railroader mags. in magazine boxes, all labeled w/the year
& months. The old ones take up 3 years in 1 box. I think in the past 2 years, I’ve looked thru all of them at least twice. It pays to advertise.
Doug,
The local magazine vendors seem to vary over time in what mags they carry…or don’t.
But currently, I’m getting MR via subscription. I also just subscribed to Classic Trains after missing an issue I used to be able to pick up at a magazine rack at my local pharmacy. I’m also considering subscribing to Model Railroad News. My LHS carries Mainline Modeler, Railmodel Journal, Model RailroadING and also an N-scale and an O-scale magazine if I should ever want to pick up one of them. For some personal reason he doesn’t carry RMC and I’ve been unable to find it carried locally anywhere. However, I recently found they carry it in the bookstore at our local mall, so I’ve been buying it there. I don’t know yet if I want to subscribe as I’m more of model railroader than a railroad modeler, so I like to flip through each issue of RMC before deciding if I want to purchase it or not.
I subscribe to MR and Trains, I also do the pre-pay order for the annuals. I would like to note that our local Wal*Mart (50 miles away) does have MR and the Great Layouts '04 magazines in the rack.
I buy it in the store - but although there are several days left in October, the November issues are gone (returned), and December is on the shelf – I need to buy the current months’ issue 6 weeks earky.
I do enjoy the trips to the store for the newest issue
I sometimes buy it at a magazine smoke shop store when I buy my car magazines but usually its at my local hobby shop. Its gives me a reason to go to the hobby shop once a month.
