Best Hobby Shops on the Web


WOW i cant thank ya guys enough for mentioning model railcraft supply, they have a great selection of athearn parts at pretty good prices.

hmmmm thats not good maybe i shouldnt be thanking anyone..... LOL


But one I know of that ive delt with personally quite a few times is tnt trains in Iowa.

www.tnttrains.com
 
I use MyAtomic on eBay. They had a problem when they moved to a new location a while back but it seems that they have gotten the bugs worked out of their transition.

Bob
 
Indeed, this should be a sticky. Lots of modelers, both new and experienced, are looking for reliable places on the net for orders. If this gets made inot a sticky, and gets enough responses, I think it would be fair warning to order from other places at your own risk.
 
I've had really excellent service from modeltrainstuff.com, they have really good prices and a nice wide variety. I also use Walthers on the odd occasion when modeltrainstuff.com doesn't have what I'm looking for. Soon I'll venture out and try another online source, but these two have been my only online sources thus far.
 
Does any of those stores accept checks or money orders? It seems like every single online store I've encountered scoffs at my debit card (and I won't touch credit cards!).
 
Charles, how about Paypal? They will send an electronic check and debit your bank account. Almost all online stores I've dealt with will accept checks or money orders, it just slows down your order because they won't ship until your check clears the bank. You can also get a rechargeable credit card that only allows you to charge up to the amount of money you put in the account but works the same as any other credit card. You can do an electronic funds transfer to the credit card for just the amount you need to buy what you want. Debit cards are actually the most risky way to pay online since that gives an unscrupulous merchant (or outright thief) direct access to your checking account. If you're worried about things like fraud or identify theft, a credit card is the safest way to pay. They will credit back any charge where the merchant didn't ship the merchandise or overcharged you. Credit cards have elaborate systems to make sure that your information stays secure. No system is foolproof but I've been shopping online for at least 20 years and never had a problem my credit card company didn't take of right away.
 
I agree with Jim. PayPal is the best option. But, a pre-paid credit card also works well. PayPal also offers you a debit/charge card. I transfer monies from my bankl to my PayPal account, then use the card.

Bob
 
I tried paypal once, but it was too much of a headache... especially considering that I had to borrow father's credit card hehehe. And for some reason it didn't accept my debit card either (although I didn't know those were riskier).
 
Since you have a checking account, that can be linked to paypal and the money is debited from your account and sent directly to the merchant. Perhaps I'm wrong but I'm assuming you're not a minor. If you are 18 or over, you can get a rechargeable credit card even if you've had past credit problems, since you can't use it for more than the money you have on deposit. Some web merchants don't accept debit cards simply because their processing system is not set up to handle and verify PIN numbers. There have also been some problems with people setting up checking accounts, getting a debit card, and then writing a check to empty the account that hasn't cleared yet. The debit card will be authorized but there's no money to pay for the charge since the check written is dated before the debit card purchase and banks process checking account transaction by date.
 
Paypal should take debit cards IF it has a Visa/Mastercard logo on it and can be run through as credit. (it debits it from your account anyway but it would need your CVV code from the back of your card instead of your pin)

One thing Paypal CAN detect is whether the debit card is held by a minor (Bank of America allows people age 16 and up to get a debit card)
 
Well im gonna bring up Model Train Stuff.com again, because im so happy with their service...I ordered a Dash 8-40C on friday, along with an AC unit to put on it, and i got it this morning :D i couldnt ask for better service

time to go play!
 
nateL said:
Well im gonna bring up Model Train Stuff.com again, because im so happy with their service...I ordered a Dash 8-40C on friday, along with an AC unit to put on it, and i got it this morning :D i couldnt ask for better service

time to go play!
Click to expand...

I agree with you. As much trouble as I had with SPTrains.com (see thread below on that), Model Train Stuff is fantastic. I received an Athearn SD60I from them that looked like it had been through a war with broken handrails and steps. I called them, they immediately e-mailed me a shipping label. I sent it back on UPS and three days later received a store credit. The people I dealt with on the phone were polite and very efficient. I will continue to buy from them based on customer service alone!
 
csx 404 said:
I agree with you. As much trouble as I had with SPTrains.com (see thread below on that), Model Train Stuff is fantastic. I received an Athearn SD60I from them that looked like it had been through a war with broken handrails and steps. I called them, they immediately e-mailed me a shipping label. I sent it back on UPS and three days later received a store credit. The people I dealt with on the phone were polite and very efficient. I will continue to buy from them based on customer service alone!
Click to expand...

lol its funny you mention the broken parts on your loco, cuz on little tiny peice of the hand rail that leads up to the cab on my new Dash 8-40C is broken, i noticed it as soon as i got it out of the box...but its not enough for me to send back...ill deal with it :) nothings perfect haha..oh and what i love about model train stuff.com is that they have awesome prices hah (just had to throw that in there)
 
How many of you go to 3 or 4 different online hobby shops & compare prices? I do--you would really be surprised at the low & high prices of a lot of stores. Some as much as 30 to 40%.
 
Larry, I do it all the time, usually between Hobbylinc, ModelTrainStuff, ToyTrainHeaven, and Walthers. As you say, sometimes the price differences are substantial. Suprisingly, sometimes Walthers items on sale will beat all the other prices. I haven't found one place on-line that always has the lowest price on everything.
 
I want to add http://www.empirenorthern.com/ to the list of good people to deal with. I consider this place as sort of a LHS as it is only 1.5 hours away and have always had a good experience with them. They are mostly a internet business but the store is open on Fridays and Saturdays. he has a great selection, is competitive on pricing, good shipping and like most good places can order pretty much anything you would need.

I am just getting back into the hobby and was in store last weekend browsing for rolling stock to build up my collection since I don't currently have a layout. When I went to pay the owner asked me a few questions on who/what I was modeling and finding out I want a Conrail themed switching layout we shot the shit about Conrail and layouts and he even clued me in on Conrail gp38-2 he had on clearance:D The best part of my stop though has to be how helpful he was with explaining DCC to me. I notice that his shop layout uses the NEC powercab system and I asked him what he though of it. Instead of answering my question, he brought me over to the layout, showed me the ins and outs of using it and let me play for a bit. What started out as a 30 minute stop at the LHS turned into 2.5 hours :eek: but I am glad because not only did I get some good deals, I also got a ton of questions answered and had my first experience operating with DCC.







diburning said:
Paypal should take debit cards IF it has a Visa/Mastercard logo on it and can be run through as credit. (it debits it from your account anyway but it would need your CVV code from the back of your card instead of your pin)

One thing Paypal CAN detect is whether the debit card is held by a minor (Bank of America allows people age 16 and up to get a debit card)
Click to expand...

I always use my debit card like a credit card and have never had a problem.
 
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