Hi all,
I am sure one or more of you can offer a suggestion. I am looking for the cheapest place to buy trains and woodland scenic products. I just finished my layout construction and am read to start scenery. I llike Woodlands products but they are expensive. Also need to start building my fleet of trains… 
Thanks
Trainworld
I beg to differ. 1st Place Hobbies has at least some WS products about 6% less than Trainworld. Not a lot for a few items, but it adds up! Their web site is quite good, shipping is quick, and they stock just about everything. Give them a look at:
You’ll find that there isn’t “One Place” which has the best prices on everything. Trainworld and M.B. Klein have great “blowout” prices on certain items. I’m thrilled with the stuff I’ve gotten from them. Trainworld in particular concentrates on engines and rolling stock, so their options for scenery and structures are kind of limited.
I order some stuff from Discount Trains Online, too. They have good prices and a very large inventory, with pretty much every category represented. For me, the trick is to wait until you’ve got a bunch of stuff, so you don’t eat up your savings by paying a lot of shipping charges. DTO charges a flat rate, no matter how much stuff you get.
But don’t forget your Local Hobby Shop, or LHS. They often have good bargains, and you don’t pay any shipping charges. You might, however, pay sales tax. But, you get to hold the train in your own hands before you buy it, and once you put your money down all you’ve got to do is take it home and put it on the track. There’s a lot to be said for that. Also, a good LHS is a great source of information, particularly for new modellers.
Start with your local hobby shop. Some shops will have extra discounts for members of the NMRA and local clubs. Also they may have sales on scenery products from time to time. Above all when shopping on-line, look at how much you are going to get hit with shipping and handling charges. What you pay in s&h may wipe out your discount and make the total cost more than if you shopped locally. Some places have raised their rates. While others have eliminated free s&h on orders over “x” amount. I would also check their returns policy too. Most local shops will issue cash or store credit refund, while internet places may charge a restocking fee for returns. Personally, I’ll shop my local store before I even think of going on-line for my purchases.
If your LHS is a Walthers dealer, they should be able to order from Walthers for you, special order. I often buy sale items this way. The major plus is no shipping costs, and sometimes I get an additional 10% off too. Yes, I have to pay the sales tax, but it is still cheaper than the shipping costs.
Not to beat a dead horse here, but the question was, who has the best price for Woodland Scenics and engines?
I agree that sales, closeouts, and blowouts will often be better than somebody else’s everyday prices, especially on engines.
And yes, there doesn’t seem to be anybody who consistently has the best price on engines.
But for Woodland scenics, for regular prices, I don’t think you can beat 1st Place. And I have no connection with them whatsoever except as a satisfied customer.
About once a year I check several of the major online sellers’ prices on a few of the things I am buying or think I will be buying. I hadn’t done that in a while, so here’s today’s partial results:
Item . . . . . . . . . . List/Walthers . . . .Trainworld . . .Disc. Trains Online . …1st Place
1201 Hydrocal. . . . . . . . 8.99 . . . . . . . . 6.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.01 . . . . . . . . . . 6.29
1570 Tree pkg . . . . . . .25.98 . . . . . . . . n/a . . . . . . . . . . . 20.26 . . . . . . . . . . 18.19
1382 Ballast Shaker . . .9.49 . . . . . . . . . 6.99 . . . . . . . . . . . 7.40 . . . . . . . . . . . 6.64
1474 Trackbed Roll. … . 8.98 . . . . . . . . .6.99 . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.00 . . . . . . . . . . 6.29
I don’t have the luxury of a LHS; the nearest one has only fair stock, and only minimal discounts. So yes, by all means, look around and, especially if you’re buying online, try to make one large order instead of several small ones.
I purchase all my scenery from hobbylinc.com. I think its prices are lower than most other hobby outlets.
Check it out: www.hobbylinc.com.
GGB
Woodland Scenics- Try Hobby Lobby.
Look at there website or the Sunday paper for 40-50 percent off coupons.
They also have a yearly 50 percent off on train items which includes Woodland Scenic.
There overall items are not much but it is worth to go there for scenery stuff.
Mark
Thanks all. Wow, a lot of great info!!!
I shop using Google. I look up the Wathers part number, if it’s something they sell, and do a search.
I look in Model Railroader for ads of hobby dealers with web sites.
I also check my LHS before I buy. It might be cheaper without the shipping cost, even with sales tax.
I also check eBay. But most likely not find the best price. Or have to wait days only to loose the auction if they don’t offer the buy now option.
Amazon is best for books. Usually at a discount and free shipping for purchases over $25. You can usually find used out of print books. If they don’t have it, you can sign up and place an amount you want to pay. When a book becomes available and the seller agrees with your offer, you get the book.