Availability

[BigRailNut]

Hey guys. It's seems like most online shop have low to no stock on a lot of locos and rolling stock. I understand most hobby products are batch produce, but it seems like currently no one has much of anything. Is there a better time of year to shop? or is it just get it when you can?....

 

[Bruette]

Have you tried these shops?

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/ my personal favorite.

http://www.trainworld.com/

Both have large inventories.

 

[Mike_Arnold]

Better yet, check out www.lombardhobby.com they beat most places on pricing. Really decent prices. I stopped shopping everywhere else...

 

[Charles Smiley]

I second the suggestion for trainworld. The website can take a little getting used to finding your way around but they have a ton of stuff and are fast shippers.

 

[bnsf971]

It is going more and more to a "get it when you can" model.
It is also becoming more and more "pre-order", and if you don't pre-order, you don't get it.

 

[OldGuyHO]

I just checked Lombard against modeltrainstuff.com and on the loco I saw, they had the same price.

 

[Cjcrescent]

Many so called "online" shops have no inventory at all. What they do is get orders in, contact a distributor and then get the item(s) in. They may rebox it or just print a new label and send it off to the customer.

 

[tootnkumin]

I have to say that, apart from their prices and superb packing/delivery service, Klein's has the absolute best website of all the online dealers, and the very best feature is that they tell you exactly how many of an item they have in stock. None of this enter how many you want, pay for them, only to discover later they were short or NIS and have to wait for a refund. Add to that, that as soon as you confirm and pay for your purchase (at Klein's) the "in stock" list is immediately updated. Walthers for one, need to get their act together in that regard.

 

[Bruette]

I have to say that, apart from their prices and superb packing/delivery service, Klein's has the absolute best website of all the online dealers, and the very best feature is that they tell you exactly how many of an item they have in stock. None of this enter how many you want, pay for them, only to discover later they were short or NIS and have to wait for a refund. Add to that, that as soon as you confirm and pay for your purchase (at Klein's) the "in stock" list is immediately updated. Walthers for one, need to get their act together in that regard.

Pay and pray, like Train World? I love train world because they have the best O gauge inventory, but you won't know for a day or 2 if the order goes through because they don't have a real time inventory like MB Klein.

 

[Bruette]

Many so called "online" shops have no inventory at all. What they do is get orders in, contact a distributor and then get the item(s) in. They may rebox it or just print a new label and send it off to the customer.

I would not be surprised if some distributors will soon if they don't already direct ship to the customer for the small dealers.

 

[Fifer]

I would not be surprised if some distributors will soon if they don't already direct ship to the customer for the small dealers.

This is very unlikely as well as the comment by Carey as it is simply not cost effective except on overly large items. ALL of the online shops I know have their and our own inventory. What happens is most everyone only stocks the railroads that they are pretty sure will sell and less of the more obscure roads or geographically different roads for their area. Your best bet to get what you want is to PRE-ORDER and most online shops have a pretty good pre-order list.
In all honesty there is not much coming out.
What type of locomotives are you really looking for??
Thanks , Mike Fifer

 

[tootnkumin]

Once something has run it's "life" at the larger on-line retailers and they've discounted the last couple to clear them, then ebay becomes your friend (back up at the higher prices of course)

 

[Cjcrescent]

I for one, have never, and will never pre-order. I have also never failed to get an engine/car/structure that I truly wanted, and I've rarely paid MSRP. I do have enough equipment now that if I never bought anything else except scenery materials, I would have a very complete layout. After over 50 yrs of acquiring equipment, I really don't need anything else.

Mike, I'm not going to dispute what I said about the online shops that have little to no inventory. I've been to several that also had a storefront, and they had almost no train inventory at all. In fact I will say the Hobby Lobby had more. I also still see their ads in MR and other mags, advertizing all these engines and cars, that they don't have. If they did have them, then they'd have to be in a bigger shop. What I find funny is when they advertize as having certain locomotives that the company had just announced wouldn't be out for another 18-24 months.

 

[Fifer]

I for one, have never, and will never pre-order. I have also never failed to get an engine/car/structure that I truly wanted, and I've rarely paid MSRP. I do have enough equipment now that if I never bought anything else except scenery materials, I would have a very complete layout. After over 50 yrs of acquiring equipment, I really don't need anything else.

Mike, I'm not going to dispute what I said about the online shops that have little to no inventory. I've been to several that also had a storefront, and they had almost no train inventory at all. In fact I will say the Hobby Lobby had more. I also still see their ads in MR and other mags, advertizing all these engines and cars, that they don't have. If they did have them, then they'd have to be in a bigger shop. What I find funny is when they advertize as having certain locomotives that the company had just announced wouldn't be out for another 18-24 months.

Well you need to stop here some day but I do hear you in some of those cases!!
Thanks , Mike

 

[Cjcrescent]

I would love to see another well equipped LHS. We have a good one here, but it does have some short comings. If I'm ever out in NM, you can bet I'll stop by.