Best Hobby Shops on the Web


great topic. there are so many stores online, it is nice to have some kind of idea whos good to work with.
 
wholesaletrains.com you have to be kidding right? They are absolutely disgusting when it comes to ordering anything. They have so many complaints against them for:

ordering
shipping
customer service
product knowledge

that the BBB is considering having a site specifically for them.

This IS one place to avoid at all costs, in fact, they are so bad - I wouldn't use them if my life depended on it. By the way, my views are based on Personal Experience.

Cheers,

wombat457

PS: It is; however, a good place to walk in and shop if you know what you want.
 
I recently ordered (pre-ordered) from dcctrain.com. Ive heard good things and the people (rob & Alex) are very personable and modelers/railfans themselves. Rob actually gave me his preorder position on a model that is already sold out to me so I could have it. Anybody have additional input on them?

Regards,

Brad
 
wholesaletrains.com you have to be kidding right? They are absolutely disgusting when it comes to ordering anything. They have so many complaints against them for:

ordering
shipping
customer service
product knowledge

that the BBB is considering having a site specifically for them.

This IS one place to avoid at all costs, in fact, they are so bad - I wouldn't use them if my life depended on it. By the way, my views are based on Personal Experience.

Cheers,

wombat457

PS: It is; however, a good place to walk in and shop if you know what you want.

Hadn't ordered from them in a few years. I remember shipping was ridiculous, info on order hard to get, and to double check if its in stock before actually ordering. Doesn't surprise me they have taken their fair share of lumps. Can't say ill be shopping there again.

Brad
 
G'day..For Australian modellers .....via EBAY there is Little Caboose Trains 2013...and Bonzy 69 Trains...both excellent...Bonzy 69 has some great deals on DCC locomotives often...mostly Broadway Limited , Intermountain and Bachmann Spectrum....Little Caboose all sorts of stuff from N to G scale and everything in between..Another two places via EBAY for vehicles , buildings etc...and occasionally locos and rolling stock is Model.Trains....and Somerset Models.....Another great Online store but also has a retail outlet in Adelaide is Orient Express Models....They have a great range..a little pricier but included free delivery...overnight...courier...The prices are fair but the attention to detail , the back up etc is amazing..compared to EBAY...All ship worldwide....Cheers Rod..
 
I have found that most of the stores on this thread (for better or worse) have not changed that much since this thread was begun back in '09 in terms of service. I have found that my favorite stores (they havent changed much) are those that, in addition to good/excellent exceptional service, clearly state the shipping charges that will be billed to you. There is nothing worse when opening an order and seeing some surprise shipping and handling charges.

I remember seeing an email about 18 monthas ago from Internettrains.com saying that they were under new management. You could tell they were trying to win back some customers from some mis-steps by previous management. I havent ordered from them, but occasionally they have a sale or two where I am tempted to pull the trigger. Just what I need and what they have on sale have not yet come together.

I wanted to know if we have an update on internet trains.com site for ordering from? I noticed they have a large list of items from Cannon and Co and I've not found other sites that sell Cannon and Co.

Dave
 
Here is one site to stay away from, so far as shipping goes:

http://www.activepowersports.com/

I placed an order through this mob last Friday and according to the updates it is STILL waiting to be shipped, hell, it took them 3 days just to put the order together! If I get this order by the end of next week I'll be surprised, damned surprised. This just goes to show that the price of something isn't always worth it in the long run.

How hard is it to put one section of track and 2 built up models in a box, seal it and send it???

On the other hand, I ordered an Airbrush System from TCGlobal this past Monday and it is arriving today!!! That is what I call GOOD service and is a company I will deal with again.

Cheers,

wombat457
 
How hard is it to put one section of track and 2 built up models in a box, seal it and send it???


Cheers,

wombat457
If it was flex track and a built up it would be almost impossible to ship in the same box if they use USPS and boxes.
We would have to do it in 2 boxes.
Mike
 
I may have posted this earlier, but I went back several pages and did not see it and I think it worth mentioning again.

My local hobby shop MB Klein / http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/ Great prices, big inventory, everything is discounted, great service from repairs to fast fair priced shipping.

I am only 20 miles away and if I order something small or something I can wait a couple days for I just let them ship it to me because most things they can ship via USPS and its cheaper or not much more then the gas I would use to drive there. They offer UPS if you prefer that.

Also they have a great support staff ready, willing and able to answer questions with specialist in the different scales. Call them or better yet email them.
 
If it was flex track and a built up it would be almost impossible to ship in the same box if they use USPS and boxes.
We would have to do it in 2 boxes.
Mike

Sorry, should have been specific about the type of track. It was one pack of Atlas Code 83 15/30 track. Regardless of whether they use one or two or a dozen boxes, it doesn't take three days to do it. As said, I ordered an entire Air Brush System (including Compressor) from TCP Global last Monday (4 days ago) and it arrived about an hour ago. In the time it took this other mob to JUST pack something, TCP Global had it at my home, almost.

I do take your point regarding Flex Track and the need to probably use two boxes.
 
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Has anyone dealt with Perry's Hobbies in Morgan MN 56266, particularly with regard to their Lay-a-way service ?
 
Can't help with Perry's but here are a couple of places that I use and am happy with:

MB Klien
Rusty Stumps
Black Bear Construction
Scale trees (Canada)
 
Has anyone dealt with Perry's Hobbies in Morgan MN 56266, particularly with regard to their Lay-a-way service ?

I found Perry's a few years ago during a search on the Internet. I never ended up ordering from them but I noticed they have good prices and a robust amount if inventory available online. I was glad to see they updated their website when I went to their site today.

Is order from them if I found something I wanted from them. Tootnkumin time to take one for the team...:)
 
Perry's always makes the drive from Morgan up to the Twin Cities to set up at the train flea markets up here and ive bought several things from them in person, ive never had any complaints and they are good guys. I havent found myself in Morgan yet to check out thier shop though. I cant see dealing with them being any less then pleasurable through mail order.
 
I saw today a post on a yahoo group that Acculites.com is closing its retail business to focus on product development due to the death of one of the two business partners. Very sorry for their loss, but maybe some of you guys can find some deals and help them out at the same time. They've always had great deals on decoders and they were massively discounting DCC systems.

http://acculites.com

Brad
 
I made my first purchase at Hiawatha Hobbies today. http://www.hiawathahobbies.com/

I bought an Athearn Genesis GP40-2 w/DCC & Tsunami Sound, Chessie/B&O GM50 http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATHG40678 Athearn's list price is $269.98 and I paid $229.99 + $8.95 shipping. That is just about what MB Klein/ Model Train stuff would have charged. If MB Klein had it in stock I would have saved only about $5. That is a good deal if you ask me, but I am far from an expert on HO pricing.
 
Hey, Louis... Hiawatha is just about I'm my back yard, but I only visited just recently. (happened to be up that way - - about an hour from home - - because DairyStateKid-M wanted to check out the big airsoft gun store in the same town). I expect I will be back.

From the DairyStatePhone
 



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