I live in New York City. My boro has no hobby shops that sell trains. There are two hobby shops in Manhattan that I am aware of selling trains. One is a suite in an office building. Nice guy, nice selection, but of course, his prices reflect his location. Another shop has a large eclectic collection, much of it old and covered in dust, or behind glass, also covered in dust. His marked prices are reasonable. I managed to find something I wanted (a set of older, out-of-production cars) in this shop, price unmarked. I asked the owner for the price, and he gave me one that made me very happy. I put my selection under my arm, and continued to browse, hoping for some buried treasure. After a few more minutes of looking, I found nothing else, and proceeded to check out. Suddenly, the price has changed. It has gone UP. And not by any reasonable amount, either. What was a bargain find was now more expensive than buying new stock. I'll be doing all my train shopping via the Internet in the future.