Best Hobby Shops on the Web

[tankist]

Hey Anton, i sent you an email a few days back, but i dont think you got it. I just re-sent it to the email addy you gave me in the PM, hopefully it went through this time

strange. email usully don't get lost. but regardless, i got your last one and will reply shortly - bit hectic now, will be putting the little one to sleep soon

EDIT: check your mail.

 

[ChevelleSSguy]

Well, chock one demerit up for Walthers. They somehow sent me an N scale kit and keep trying to say im the one that ordered it. Even after a long list of HO scale items on my invioce. Seems strange that a guy would order everything off the HO scale area but have one N scale item listed in there. They refused to work with me over the phone and all I can do now is waist more money sending it back just to get a few bucks more back.

Anyone want to buy an N scale Brachs Candy factory? I paid 14 bucks for it. Hoping to at least get that plus the ride. Walthers claims it retails for 25 bucks.

 

[diburning]

One of the local hobby shops said that dealing with Walthers was a pain. They never fill orders correctly and that if his business didn't depend on it, he wouldn't order from them.

I don't have a problem with Walthers except that they charge ridiculous prices for shipping and handling then only use a fraction of what they charged me to actually ship it. Now if I need anything I either get it from the LHS, Ebay, or Josh (who orders from walthers). I will never order from walthers directly again.

Horizon Hobby (Athearn) is another one of those shipping overchargers. They charged me $8 to ship a pack of old GP-9 handrails which were worth $5 (which was the retail price and the price they charged me), and they mailed the set of handrails in an oversized envelope and only paid $1.55 for shipping.

 

[railBuilderDhd]

Well, I have an update on web site orders that I figured I would share with you guys.
I placed a few orders lately on-line and here are the results:
1. I placed an order with modeltrainstuff.com and had the items in a few days.
2. I placed a large order on Walthers but purchased it from a local hobby shop called Becker's Model Railroad Supply because they have free shipping on orders over $120 and great prices. They take a few extra days to process your order but the price is worth it. They are my go-to shop as the price is good and I normally get the free shopping.
3. I ordered from Scenic Express directly and got the order in a few days. They charges shipping but I wanted to give them a try directly. Shipping is high but not to bad as I wanted to get items they didn't have on other sites without spending a ton of time searching.
4. I ordered from Model Railcraft Supply on 11-18-09 and I still don't have the items I ordered today 12-9-09. I sent e-mails and finally I called yesterday. He did recall the order but needed my info to look it up as he didn't have a record of it. I told him I ordered from him in the past but one time the order never was sent and I finally gave up on him. Since I heard others here had some luck i tried and he had items I couldn’t find elsewhere. He told me he was cutting back on the small time hobbyist and only focusing on the extreme hobbyist. They didn't make much on the guy who had a problem with his train not working vs the guy doing detail work on a loco. The guy is nice and if you keep after him it’s okay but there is many out there that are less of a pain in my mind.
Dave

 

[BNSF_Denali_Sub]

One of the local hobby shops said that dealing with Walthers was a pain. They never fill orders correctly and that if his business didn't depend on it, he wouldn't order from them.

I have never had any problem with Walthers. The shipping on some of my larger orders is a little high, and yes that does cut into my profit margin, but for the most part I get great service, both from my rep and from the shipping and warehouse guys who pick and pack my orders. I have never had a problem where i ordered something and it didnt show up with the rest of the order, every single one of my orders has been dead on accurate when checking package contents to the packing slip/invoice. I personally think Walthers is one of the best large places to deal with, both as a dealer and as a retail customer (yes i used to order from Walthers direct before i opened my own hobby shop)

I don't have a problem with Walthers except that they charge ridiculous prices for shipping and handling then only use a fraction of what they charged me to actually ship it. Now if I need anything I either get it from the LHS, Ebay, or Josh (who orders from walthers). I will never order from walthers directly again.

I will agree with you there, they are in it to make a little on the shipping i think. Even for a dealer order, im sometimes surprised at the FedEx Freight Bill on some of my larger orders. I think my record freight bill so far was $108, but that was for a very large order with alot of their HO Cornerstone Structure kits, which are bulky and heavy.

 

[UP2CSX]

I've never had any problems dealing with Walthers although I do tend to buy mostly sale items. They've always been good about noting what's out of stock on the web site and, the few times I didn't get a complete order, they normally had it filled within a couple weeks. I'd like to order through a local hobby shop but we don't have any. The next large order I have will go through Josh. Walthers shipping has never seemed particularly excessive to me. Most of my orders are about $8 shipping unless it's something really heavy.

 

[BNSF_Denali_Sub]

I've never had any problems dealing with Walthers although I do tend to buy mostly sale items. They've always been good about noting what's out of stock on the web site and, the few times I didn't get a complete order, they normally had it filled within a couple weeks. I'd like to order through a local hobby shop but we don't have any. The next large order I have will go through Josh. Walthers shipping has never seemed particularly excessive to me. Most of my orders are about $8 shipping unless it's something really heavy.

I had meant to say something about Walthers backorders as well in my last post, but im multi-tasking right now dispatching trucks to get their loads in 6 different states, so it slipped my mind LOL. As Jim said, most of the time when i have something backordered that is out of stock, Walthers has it in to me within a couple weeks. There listed expected due dates for items to return in stock are always pretty accurate as well, and sometimes they even come in a few days or a week ahead of the expected arrival date. Ive been surprised by a few things that have been backordered that have shown up way before the listed date on their website, which is always nice as well Pre-orders for items are always usually in on time as well, unless the manufacture has delayed production or the shipment, which is not Walthers fault...

The next large order I have will go through Josh.

Jim, i look forward to your order, you know where to find me and how to reach me when your ready

 

[diburning]

I will have a decent sized order as well, but it will have to wait until I actually have money (probably sometime in february)

I'll ask the club I belong to whether they need anything and maybe tack on their order with mine.

Also, how are those Atlas gensets coming along? Is there a ship date from Atlas/Walthers yet? (Atlas's site says January)

 

[BNSF_Denali_Sub]

I will have a decent sized order as well, but it will have to wait until I actually have money (probably sometime in february)

I'll ask the club I belong to whether they need anything and maybe tack on their order with mine.

Thanks, I appreciate it and look forward to your order as well!!

Also, how are those Atlas gensets coming along? Is there a ship date from Atlas/Walthers yet? (Atlas's site says January)

I just checked, and their due in at Walthers on January 31st, 2010. Im exited for these units, got a few on order for myself, plus yours and a couple others who i have pre-ordered them for. The BNSF and UP Gensets have sold out in pre-orders, so im glad i got mine while i could lol. I still may have to order one each of the CSX's for myself as well

 

[Mogul2-6-0]

I used TheFavoriteSpot on ebay a few times for Bachman stuff, Locos, NS EZ track etc.
Good prices, good track bundles, shipping, very helpfull via email.
http://stores.ebay.com/THE-FAVORITE-SPOTCheers,

Just used discount trains online for xmas and they delivered!!
(3 Athearn UP trinity covered hoppers and Walthers UP bay window caboose nice)

Cheers,
The Newb

 

[railBuilderDhd]

I use Walthers as well and never had a problem with them. I like to have the order placed with a local hobby shop called Becker's Model Railroad Supply. They have good service and free shipping on orders over $120 or something like that. I had one order filled by Walthers directly because I had a gift certificate to use. I had no problem as usual when dealing with them.
Right now I'm looking for a new DCC system (Digitrax) and So far Becker's is the cheapest and when you are looking to spend something like $500 you gotta research all over.
Dave

 

[diburning]

When you order directly from Walthers' site, you pay full MSRP unless Walthers is having a sale. If you order from your local hobby shop where you know the owner or have a special deal, or if you order from (Josh) Mader's Trains (Trucklover), you may get a generous discount off of the MSRP. Josh is very honest about the shipping charges and will give you the best rate availible for shipping.

 

[railBuilderDhd]

When I order from the Walthers site I buy from Becker's Hobby shop and he give a great discount like Josh, who I've also purchased a lot from and he is a great resource. I'm sorry Josh I forgot to mention you before. I do purchase from Josh and he has great deals and fast shipping at a good rate.
Dave

 

[BNSF_Denali_Sub]

Thank you guys for once again mentioning me and my store in this thread

I ship USPS exclusively, and Ive found their shipping charges to be the best and lowest overall no matter what size box I ship and no matter how much the box weights. Im also not in it to make any money whatsoever off the shipping charges like alot of other places do. That was one of my biggest pep-peeves when I didnt have a store, was buying from a place and then getting charged outrageously overpriced shipping charges for a relatively small order. I have made fair shipping charges a personal goal for my shop, since I was always bummed and often pretty mad when I would order from somewhere and see the high freight bill.

 

[NH Mike]

Shipping & Handling. Ok, I get the shipping costs but still get annoyed about the handling. I've been told by almost everyone who charges so called handling it is the labor and packaging costs associated with getting the order ready to actually ship. With very few exceptions every carrier ( UPS, Fedex, USPS) does not charge to come by and pick up these orders so there is not any cost there. Now we are down to simply the cost of styrofoam peanuts and tissue paper and a cardboard box and a few feet of tape.

As a former small business man I believe that is called overhead and should be already figured into the price of the products you sell just like rent and utilities. If it isn't then these outfits may be playing Russian Roulette with their profit margins. Example: you have one order picker and one shipper who get paid by the hour every day of the work week whether or not you sell anything. Two weeks go by without a single sale being picked or shipped so no handling charges are brought in to cover their payroll. They still get paid out of the dangerously narrow profit margin. Sooner or later this just stops working and the red ink begins to flow.

 

[tankist]

Mike, while what you saying is true, the reason for this simple - physiological engineering. which means how would you entice a person to spend money and make purchase. as owner of small business you should be well aware of the "is it in stock?" customer calls game. if answer is " oh, i will have to look. we did sell lots of these lately, wait a sec... oh, we actually have 3 left" customer will be more likely to buy then if the answer was "oh yeah, we have shelves full!"
by moving out the handling charges, the price remaining is more attractive. while some like yourself will fume about the extra charges, most will accept it as yet another inevitable charge. you can go miles about how wrong is this, but it seems like the entire population of US is completely blind to even more important charge - VAT. while it is inevitable, in most of the world VAT tax has to be included on the price sticker by law. here however it is not so to trick customer and not to scare him off. most of the time he only knows his total at the register and by that time its already out of his CC account. another example that comes to mind is "activation" charge for your new cellphone device...

actually, being fresh from the plane i had a fun experience with this VAT peculiarity. i usually don't eat mcdonalds, but that particular time i kinda got packish, was walking nearby one and seen the poster for 1$ snack that read "got a buck? you in luck!". well i happened to have exactly that - a 1$ bill , and as you can imagine i was asked 1.11$ at the register. i apologized for the trouble and left. now after years while i understand the local acceptance mentality, if you ask me that was false advertisement, even thoguh somewhere on bottom it did say "taxes may apply". which yet another point - "may"??? that implies it is not yet determined. was there ever situation that tax doesn't apply? not really, so this is yet another trick. i will go as far as to say almost EVERYTHING in this country is geared towards manipulation of minds to entice population to spend more then they should.



So, Mike, while i totally see and agree with what you saying, pointing out and fuming about just one minor flaw when there are loads and loads of much more serious problems exist with consumer protectio, looks a bit, well, strange

 

[ChevelleSSguy]

I know there is a lot of us on this forum that are in the car hobby. Plenty of car guys here. So most are familiar with mail order speed shops like Summit racing and Jegs. Neither of which charge for shipping, just the handling, unless its an oversize item or its heavy. There is no doubt in my mind that a big mail order and manufacture like Walthers doesnt do enough business that they cant take the hit on shipping and just charge for the handling part.

They have already marked up most of thier products to make a good chunk of change. After all. There is no way an intermodal container costs 5 dollars to make. To gouge for shipping to me is just insane. I will say though with that said. The shipping from them to me wasnt all that bad for all the orders I have placed. Less then 10 dollars IIRC. Would have to go back and look.

Ordered from Atlas the other day and took advantage of thier free shipping during the christmas season deal. No complaints about that.

 

[UP2CSX]

You know, the House just passed a "Consumer Protection" bill that will lead to the death of capitalism as we know it. Rather than giving the executive branch yet more power to dismantle businesses at their whim, how about if we had some real consumer protection, like passing a law that all advertised prices must include shipping? Ya think that might be more helpful to the average Joe than making American corporations spend money to draw up their death plans?

 

[beiland]

Peach Creek Shops

Just wondering who is your favorite online retailer?

I'm reading thru this subject thread and I've not seen any mention of these guys, Peach Creek Shops

John Glabb is the owner and also published the Brown Book of Brass Locomotives (Third Edition). He once was a very big player in quality brass locos (still has some), but he saw the writing on the wall with all of the quality and relatively cheap plastic ones coming along.

He now sells lots of Bachmann at very good prices, as well as other manufacturers. His retail shop is just a very short ride off of Rt#95 in Laurel, MD between Balt and Wash DC. And he does lots of mail order, particularly since he honed that craft shipping brass all around the world.

Very knowledgeable and nice staff. And John is the C&O expert that has helped Bachmann and Rivarossi when they sought to do C&O locos.

http://www.peachcreekshops.com/

Sign up for his news letter

(I'm just a customer)

 

[beiland]

I think Ive become familiar with several over the past year or so, and google can find you some more, but Id like to hear what you guys view as the best hobby shops that can be accessed on the web.

I few Ive found

wholesaletrains.com
tonystrainexchange.com
modeltrainstuff.com
firsthobby.com
etc.....

I recently ordered a few tank cars they had on a weekly special, and the service was very good.
http://www.wholesaletrains.com/storetour.html