Anyone here sell model trains?


C

clayguthrie

Member
I sort of have an entrepreneur spirit and now that i have my career going, I've thought about trying to sell model trains online on ebay/amazon and also going to local shows. Our new house isn't really big enough for a very big layout, so this would be my way of staying in the hobby i guess.

Does anyone in here have a dealers license with ModelTrainStuff or Walthers? Walthers seems to be pretty hard-set that you must have a brick and mortar operation but their yearly ordering amount is lower than ModelTrainStuff. But ModelTrainStuff appears to allow selling at shows only and even online it appears. Just wanted to know if anyone has any experience at this? I'm not worried about making huge profits, it's more a pass-time than anything.
 
clayguthrie said:
I sort of have an entrepreneur spirit and now that i have my career going, I've thought about trying to sell model trains online on ebay/amazon and also going to local shows. Our new house isn't really big enough for a very big layout, so this would be my way of staying in the hobby i guess.

Does anyone in here have a dealers license with ModelTrainStuff or Walthers? Walthers seems to be pretty hard-set that you must have a brick and mortar operation but their yearly ordering amount is lower than ModelTrainStuff. But ModelTrainStuff appears to allow selling at shows only and even online it appears. Just wanted to know if anyone has any experience at this? I'm not worried about making huge profits, it's more a pass-time than anything.
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Competition is brutal, and going to local shows can be fun but is also a lot of work. Expect 18 hour days and erratic profits. I have had stuff for sale and had people stand at my booth working their smart phones, come up with a cheaper price and ask me if I can match it. I have also had folks look at merchandise take up a lot of my time with questions and how to's, then buy the stuff somewhere else for a dollar or two less, and come back to me with questions or problems. This can be quite frustrating not to mention incredibly rude, but that's life in the hobby biz! If your house is too small for a layout, I would suggest finding a suitable club and joining it, as opposed to becoming a dealer. If you really want to start a business I would recommend choosing a specialty (as opposed to becoming a generic mobile hobby shop) and choosing your shows carefully. Attend them once as a customer and check out the traffic. Talk to other vendors. Do your homework, because you can lose a fair amount of cash if you aren't careful! I was once told by a very smart man that the best way to ruin a perfectly good hobby is to turn it into a business. Balance is important. Good Luck!
 
Maybe this is an understatement......but it seems there are way too many model train dealers and not nearly enough customers. Another thing is if I veer away from my two most used most trusted vendors....I end up ordering from someone with a decent looking website.....but after I place an order I find they are out of town at train shows for two weeks...and they play dumb when I ask.....where is my stuff and how can they run a business that way? So...this could be good to consider if you're thinking about a business. The vendors I use ship in less than 24 hours. There aren't too many of those.

When I was a kid in the sixties and seventies......there were stores packed with a good selection of model trains. It's so different with all the pre-ordering needed now. Over time some rogue players and attitudes at high levels have made it harder to survive in the business world.....and we know who they are....but that's a topic for a different forum....and they'll kick us off here if we open up that can of worms. :eek:
 
As a FORMER Walthers (and other suppliers), I must agree with the two posts above me. Walthers probably had the worst discount of all my suppliers - and then they discounted items to the general public in their monthly fliers. Model Train Stuff sells many items to the general public for the same (or lower) price than what I paid for the same item. Most wholesalers also want a brick & mortar address and some require an ad in the yellow pages. One person on this list uses a relative's business as his shipping location so he can get away as a Walthers dealer. As a dealer you would also need a state (and possibly local) tax IDs and filing federal taxes can be a pain (would you want to be an LLC?)

Bear in mind most buyers also want the item for cents on the retail dollar and the pre-order craze can lead to the old "I got it elsewhere" where you are stuck with a $200 engine. Then there are those, as Railfan said, there are more dealers than customers at times and it IS a cutthroat business.

I don't know where you live, but I would check out local shops to see what you like and dislike in each one. Dealer personality is a big feature too. Would you buy something from a totally arrogant jerk?

If you want a model train shop, go for it - BUT be advised you probably won't be a millionaire over night but that's another topic. I have tried to give some observations of my 15 years in the business (now retired).
 
Sounds a lot like an air conditioning company I worked at for a while. The owners said the best way to have a million dollars in the AC business was to start with two million!
 
I've been buying locomotives, cleaning them up and reselling them on EBay. I've purchased locomotives from various sources, from the local auction house to here to EBay and my local railroad shows. It's definitely a pass time and not a profitable organization. My main intention was to support my hobby. However, it's just a money pit. I set up rules for how much I want to pay and the conditions I am willing to accept. I've been stuck with lots of junk and a huge learning curve. In the end, however, it does sort of support my "keepers". I can occasionally use a junk engine to get another junker (in better shape) going and sale-able. Most engines that make it out of the "shops" just need a good cleaning and lube job. Perhaps a new coupler. All of this takes time away from expanding my railroad empire.

My advice, don't bother unless you have a unique product. I have a few ideas on this front. A line of streamlined steam engines that are easier on the wallet than those currently available would be top on my list. I also have some ideas for craftsman buildings.

Just some thoughts.
 
To the OP,

I've heard this saying over and over again: "the best way to make a small fortune in the Hobby Shop buisness is to start out with a BIG one"

As others have alluded to, its a very difficult and competitive business. I've done a fair amount of traveling, been to 45 of the 50 states, and I've watched quite a few hobby shop close over the years, and ready about many more. If you choose to do this, go in with your eyes open and it's going to take a lot of savvy to come out ahead.

railfan said:
Maybe this is an understatement......but it seems there are way too many model train dealers and not nearly enough customers. Another thing is if I veer away from my two most used most trusted vendors....I end up ordering from someone with a decent looking website.....but after I place an order I find they are out of town at train shows for two weeks...
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Interesting, I found a online vendor who was one of the few who still had Athearn SP SD45T-2's in stock and at a fair discount price. They are often gone to shows and they didn't always get back to me in the same day, but they also kindly held a couple loco's for me and let me buy them over a couple months and shipped them both within a couple days of me paying for the second one. I was very happy to deal with them and I didn't care if they shipped within 24 hours, as long as I got my items in good order and within a week. This online vendor was reliable and courteous and worked with me - and I ended up with four loco's that were getting hard to find and selling for at or more than retail on ebay.

When I was a kid in the sixties and seventies......there were stores packed with a good selection of model trains. It's so different with all the pre-ordering needed now. Over time some rogue players and attitudes at high levels have made it harder to survive in the business world.....and we know who they are....but that's a topic for a different forum....and they'll kick us off here if we open up that can of worms. :eek:
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It is a different world now than 20 or 30 years ago, like when I was a teen in the 1970's, but then again, we have a ton of very nice rolling stock that we could only dream of back then. I'd rather have things as they are today than backin the stone age. Thats my two sense worth into the can.
 
Railrunner130 said:
I've been buying locomotives, cleaning them up and reselling them on EBay. I've purchased locomotives from various sources, from the local auction house to here to EBay and my local railroad shows. It's definitely a pass time and not a profitable organization. My main intention was to support my hobby. However, it's just a money pit. I set up rules for how much I want to pay and the conditions I am willing to accept. I've been stuck with lots of junk and a huge learning curve. In the end, however, it does sort of support my "keepers". I can occasionally use a junk engine to get another junker (in better shape) going and sale-able. Most engines that make it out of the "shops" just need a good cleaning and lube job. Perhaps a new coupler. All of this takes time away from expanding my railroad empire.

My advice, don't bother unless you have a unique product. I have a few ideas on this front. A line of streamlined steam engines that are easier on the wallet than those currently available would be top on my list. I also have some ideas for craftsman buildings.

Just some thoughts.
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Been doing the EBAY rebuild/repair route mostly for Athearn Blue Box loco's. All I can say is last time I looked I make about $3 an hour, or less than half of minimum wage. Very unpredictable. NOT RECOMMENDED. Once I finish up a few last locos I am selling my parts supply and getting out of the EBAY wars.

Tables at swap meets or shows - very cutthroat on prices and heavy on time and up front money. You can recover some $$ by selling your old stuff, but not as a retail/resell business. For example, cheap, say $2 rolling stock, will move. Asking $5 for NIB roundhouse kits from the 80s and 90s and they will sit.

Working for McDonalds or Walmart is not nearly as fun as fixing up trains, but you will make alot more money at McD's or Wally World.

Just my 2 cents worth.
 
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I think the basics of small business apply to our hobby as well: Simply put, you have to provide the customer a reason to buy from you. Better price, better quality, better customer service, better selection, etc. As the global economy, on the whole, worsens, people are becoming more and more focused on the price aspect. It used to be that people could be choosey and pay a bit more for the better quality product, or forego LHS 'A' and go pay more at LHS 'B' because the guy running 'A' is a real jerk. Nowadays, you've got to hit it all as a retailer: Price, quality, selection, customer service... and even then people will skip your store because of 'Store' or 'Brand' loyalty.

I think that jumping into the general hobby merchandise brawl is not recommended and it's sage advice given above to study, identify and then leverage a niche in the market.

That's my $0.02 at least :)
 
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