Best Hobby Shops on the Web


G&G Hobbies Houston

Went to G&G Hobbies in Houston today as I wait out Hurricane Sandy's aftermath.

A very nice store and a decent website! Good mix of N/HO/O Scales and scenery products at competitive prices. They also have an impressive amount of new Athearn Bluebox locomotives and cars. Also good selection of paints. Most importantly, the staff is very friendly and helpful. I can verify that virtually every piece of their in stock rolling stock is on their website. The staff clearly worked very hard on it. Very organized store. I was impressed.

From now til Christmas, they have a special promotion where they provide free shipping for orders over $35. Free USPS 1st class under 20 oz, then free priority shipping over that weight or bulky items. Also for the remainder of October, they are giving 10% of internet sales to Breast Cancer/ACS.

Check it out...www.gandgmodelshop.com
 
I'm really starting to like using eBay. You know the inventory, you know the reputation, and you know what the whole price will be. It seems like quite a few eBay stores now offer free shipping too.
 
I'm really starting to like using eBay. You know the inventory, you know the reputation, and you know what the whole price will be. It seems like quite a few eBay stores now offer free shipping too.

Definitely the first place I look when I'm shopping for hard to find parts, vintage trains, and discontinued model railroad cars. I'm not saying you'll get the best price on everything, but the selection definitely wins in my book. Plus I love to bid:p
 
I'm really starting to like using eBay. You know the inventory, you know the reputation, and you know what the whole price will be. It seems like quite a few eBay stores now offer free shipping too.

Definitely the first place I look when I'm shopping for hard to find parts, vintage trains, and discontinued model railroad cars. I'm not saying you'll get the best price on everything, but the selection definitely wins in my book. Plus I love to bid:p
 
I'd like to give a "plug" for Tom&Phil Edwards of

JR Junction Train & Hobby
2176 Erie Boulevard East
Syracuse, NY 13224-1246
www.jrjunction.com

Their service to me in supplying 4 MTH 60' wood deck flat cars was exceptional.
1: considering the relatively small size of the order
2: that it was to be posted to the other side of the world
3: the excellent packaging to protect the items
4: the fact that my business was obviously as important to them as someone that lived next door.
I highly recommend them to the members of the forum.
 
Don't visit the website of Model Train Stuff, it's cost me a fortune over the last 18 months. My last order (5th one) only took 7 days from placement of order to when I got it in my hot old hands. All my orders have only taken between 7 and 10 days which is great from US to Australia by USPS.

I find them and Fifer to be very good and reliable to deal with and with great websites.
 
Don't visit the website of Model Train Stuff, it's cost me a fortune over the last 18 months. My last order (5th one) only took 7 days from placement of order to when I got it in my hot old hands. All my orders have only taken between 7 and 10 days which is great from US to Australia by USPS.

I find them and Fifer to be very good and reliable to deal with and with great websites.

Where are you in Aus, mate? Always seems to take another 4 days to get to me after tracking says it's arrived in Sydney.
 
Don't visit the website of Model Train Stuff, it's cost me a fortune over the last 18 months. My last order (5th one) only took 7 days from placement of order to when I got it in my hot old hands. All my orders have only taken between 7 and 10 days which is great from US to Australia by USPS.

I find them and Fifer to be very good and reliable to deal with and with great websites.


Thanks so much.

Mike
 
Where are you in Aus, mate? Always seems to take another 4 days to get to me after tracking says it's arrived in Sydney.

Toot, I'm just down the road from Sydney in Canberra. I've noticed that once an item hits Aust Post in Sydney it slows down and can take longer to travel 300k to Canberra than all the way from the supplier in the US to Sydney.
 
Toot, I'm just down the road from Sydney in Canberra. I've noticed that once an item hits Aust Post in Sydney it slows down and can take longer to travel 300k to Canberra than all the way from the supplier in the US to Sydney.

Aust Post definitely lives up to the "snail mail" moniker.
 
Since I have been out of trains for a while. I may just take a road trip. Caboose hobbies is about an hour and half from me. No waiting for the brown santa, LOL.

Tim
 
Who do you use

I start with Walthers to get the base price. Sometimes the item is on sale and actually cheaper than E-bay or a supplier. My favorites are Model Train Stuff, E-bay, Dallas Model, Tony's and of course my LHS who usally gives 20% off list. Usally it's not the price, it's the shipping, and tax that close the deal for me.
 
just getting back into the hobby so i spent a lot of time on the 'net looking around. I bought all my track from billstrainsandtrack.com. I had some questions and called him direct. he spent about 15 to 20 minutes on the phone helping me get all the things i needed, not the things he would have wanted to sell me. I really appreciated that!
also made a road trip about an hour and a half north of me to Mainline hobby and supply in Blue Ridge Summit, Pa. i had been looking for some code 80 flex and they had quite a bit.when i called they pulled everything i needed and put a ticket on it and put it away. as i was ordering things they were walking the aisles pulling them so i knew instantly if they had it in stock. i had a ton of questions and they a ton of answers. even though the place was packed with customers the guy took all the time i needed.
i am new to this again and by looking at pages upon pages of items listed on websites which i could never identify in person if my life depended on it, you hopefully can imagine how overwhelmed i was.
i left there knowing I will be back. an hour and a half drive one way is well worth it to me for the time and energy they invested in my needs.

gary
 
I didn't see anyone mention billstrains.com

He does atlas stuff at like 30% off list, I got all my track from him and he was super helpful

Matthew
 
I am about to start on a new section of my layout and had to find some code 70 track and turnouts and ended up putting an order with Modeltrainsnstuff. I had been trying to find code 70 on ebay and people were going nuts and driving the prices way over retail. I have been looking to a double crossover and saw the price driven up to $72 on ebay. Glad I quit bidding at $50. I ordered one from modeltrainsnstuff for $55.99. I have saved some money on ebay on Shinohara picking up a doubles slip switch and a three way switch, but it can be very time consuming and frustrating. They offer excellent prices, and for people like me who have absolutely no hobby shops in the area, store like this are great. It's going to be good to start the last expansion into an area about 13' by about 30 inches. Have to get a post started when construction gets started.
 



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