Train Shows


B

BMR777

Member
Who here regularly goes to train shows? I went to one this past weekend which is held every month (except July) at the Dupage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL.

I always like going to the shows to get new ideas for my layout, and I can see so much more there than at my LHS just because of the sheer size of these things.

I like going to try and find deals too. Usually with freight cars I can get them between $10 - $15 below the hobby shop price at the shows, which saves me a bit and lets me get things I normally wouldn't get.

I have found that there are two types of sellers at the train shows, those who are willing to make a deal and those who are not. I always try and ask for a discount or try and "bundle" if I can to get a better price. Sometimes this works well, other times I get a few bucks off, then sometimes I don't have any luck.

This past weekend at the show there was a seller there who I tried to bargain with and he wasn't having any of it. He said he drove for 4 hours to get to the show! Considering that the show makes you set up between 7 and 9 AM for that day, he either stayed in a hotel overnight or woke up at 3 AM to drive to the show. I ended up getting a Walthers autorack from him for $25 which had an original price of $45 on the box.

Once in a while you get really lucky at the shows. I once bought from someone who owned a hobby shop and was basically dumping his excess stock at the show. I ended up getting a few Walthers wood chip cars that retail for $20 each for $5 each, which was a great find!

Anyone else go to train shows? What was the best thing you ever found there? What was the best bargain you ever got?
 
went to one yesterday. found some of the proto 2000 hopper kits about 10.00 apiece. i have seen alot of vendors at the shows raise the price on the sticker and then put a "discount" on that price. found it to be good to do your homework before you go.
 
We normally only have one show here put on by the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club, which they had last weekend. I picked up a set of 8 IHC Via Rail passenger cars for $70 and a couple of Intermountain grain car kits for $20. This year, however, there was actually another show a couple of weeks back in a hockey arena which included train rides for the kids. I picked up 5 Athearn BB boxcars with Kadee's for $15 there, plus a few detail parts for 50 cents each.

I prefer buying at shows because:

A) You know exactly what you are getting.
A) There is no sales tax
B) There are no shipping costs or in our case duty or brokerage fees.

I wish we had more of them.
 
CMMR, that's not true necessarily about the tax. I had to pay IL tax on one of my purchases from the show this past weekend.

They might be able to sometimes get away with not charging the tax, however I have heard that at some shows there will be undercover agents from the state dept of revenue who try to buy and see if state tax is taken or not. I don't know if this is true or not, but I wouldn't put it past them here in Illinois. :)
 
wright2626 said:
found it to be good to do your homework before you go.
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Absolutely! There are 5 or 6 good shows in my area each year and I try to make them all. I always make up a list of things I'm looking for. If it is currently available I note the retail price from either the Walthers catalog or the mfgrs catalogs or web sites. Sometimes there are discounts and sometimes not. If it is a deal I'll buy it, if not then I know my LHS can do better on the price and I get it from him. Then there are the impulse buys like an out of production item or something that just catches my eye at a good or really good price. There are a couple of dealers who buy out collections and going out of business stock from others. I've got several super deals on older Atlas yellow box locos and Athearn BB locos and cars that were new and never run. I don't run DCC and don't have to have the latest things in super detailed freight cars so the earlier stuff works for me just fine.

I also spend time checking out the modular layouts and always come home with some fresh ideas.

Long story short, I like the shows!
 
BMR777 said:
CMMR, that's not true necessarily about the tax. I had to pay IL tax on one of my purchases from the show this past weekend.

They might be able to sometimes get away with not charging the tax, however I have heard that at some shows there will be undercover agents from the state dept of revenue who try to buy and see if state tax is taken or not. I don't know if this is true or not, but I wouldn't put it past them here in Illinois. :)
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Here in Mass they do randomly check. Out of state vendors must charge the Mass sales tax and not their home state tax, if they have one there. Not sure how the state deals with private non business individuals who are selling off some of their unwanted items.
 
I live in south Florida & we have one in Englewood this coming weekend, next one in Ft.Myers the weekend after Thanksgiving, next one in Palmetto either in Jan. or Feb. & then one in Plant City in March. That's about it for my area unless you want to make a trip to Tampa or St.Pete & they have shows 3 or 4 times a year over there. I always find something I can use for CHEAP. If it's not a low price I don't buy it. One of my favorite places to hang out at all train shows is the Club Tables. They always have great buys. Another place is a person downsizing from HO to N scale because of retiring to a Condo & having limited space for a layout.:D:):rolleyes:
 
I guess the shows in the States are a lot bigger than ours. We don't have too many dealers set up, mostly just guys trying to get rid of things they are no longer using. It's more like a garage sail for train stuff!
 
I got to go out of state b/c east TN dont have any train shows i go to the Asheville NC, thats about the only one i get to go to went this weekend got an sd60m UP and two wood chip frieght cars and a poster of the NS heritage units.....
 
Gary you found some goodies, did you?
I didn't make it at all, maybe for the better!

The reason there is no tax at the shows up here, for the most part, is because of most things being second hand.
 
at a train show here a couple of years ago the state went through at the end and hit all of the vendors up for the taxes they were supposed to be collecting. the next year they were all collecting the tax. now it is hit or miss on who charges tax and who doesnt. but here most of the vendors are people that their career is to go to train shows and sell product. anymore i just go and look for things on a very short list. after that maybe something that really catches my eye.
 
There's a few in the Dallas /Ft Worth area regularly. One coming up in Ft Worth in November and the same (mostly) group in Dallas (Plano) in January. Mostly I go for the home layout tours that are held. Some good bargains are to be found. The same vendors are always there and if you get to know them they will usually forgo the sales tax (8.25% in Texas) if you pay in cash. Note that prices are usually less in Ft Worth than in Dallas.
willie
 
im up in the air about whether or not i am going to the next one at the next one in fort worth. went to the lockheed martin one yesterday. it was so-so. worlds greatest hobby will be here in january, and the plano show. i think that the plano show is the best one.
 
I went to one two weeks ago at the Cuyahoga County fairgrounds. Big show, but didn't have a whole lot I was looking for. I got an Athearn AMD 103 powered for $25 plus tax Runs like a champ.
 
fire28 said:
:eek: A joker! :rolleyes:
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Absolutely. How did you know?

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I too, like many of you try to go to those that are closest to my house here in Northern Ohio. That is about 2-3 shows per 'season'. Personally, its more than just having the opty to buy stuff. For me it's just being around all the different things that are available. Usually I have one or two things on my list that I really want to find, but the rest of m purchases end up being treasures that are somewhat unique that you just can't get at a hobby store. Plus, if you happen to have some extra stuff, you may even get some trade value for it.
At the Cuyahoga County show last week I traded a tech 2 transformer for a bachman dcc loco. I did put some extra in, but still gave me a dcc loco in a paint scheme that I didn't have, plus get rid of extra hardware. Also, two rolling stock with kadees and steel wheels and a track cleaning car. the three cars totalled 15 bucks.

Like I said..I just enjoy going.
 
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