I don't think I could sort through the 9000 post I have downloaded to find where the best deals can be found. Could someone share with me where some of the best places to purchase model railroad supplies and trains, etc are. I love the internet stores and ebay but I do not know what a good value is when I see one. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Mark Schulte
. There are most likely others. I goto Walthers.com to look at the goods and then discount for ordering. Wathers has a great search engine and most of the items are pictured. At Discount you can save 15-25% of Walthers prices.
Someone asked this just a few posts above. What kind of trains are you looking for? Lionel or HO? Stop by a hobby shop if you can and pick up a copy of Model Railroader Magazine if your interest is HO, or Classic Toy trains if your interest is Lionel.
Why in the world would anyone recommend this dealer?!
Discount Trains Online dot Com's prices are 150-300% above street prices across the board on new merchandise. Of the hundreds perhaps thousands of online/mail order vendors, I can think of only one that is higher priced.
examples:
----------------------------------------------- Trainmaster, PH1A, 1LT Undecorated Atlas N Scale Item #150-49500 Retail $99.95 Our Price $77.96 That's 22% OFF Available usually ships in 4-5 days
Can be purchased from a half dozen dealers at $28-$30 each; mailed the next day.
------------------------------------------------ SD-7, W/DB Union Pacific Lifelike N Scale Item #433-7775 Retail $65.00 Our Price $50.70 That's 22% OFF Available usually ships in 4-5 days
Have been available at $19.90-$21.10 for more than 4 years; shipped upon receipt of payment
----------------------------------------------- Highballer Set Santa Fe Bachmann Electric Train Sets Item #160-24003 Retail $67.00 Our Price $46.90That's 30% OFF
$7.50/set at KayBee Toys last Christmas(and almost every year for the past 15). Hundreds available.
----------------------------------------------- SW8/900/600 Atlantic Coast Line, #50 Lifelike HO Scale Item #433-30077 Retail $110.00 Our Price $85.80 That's 22% OFF Available usually ships in 4-5 days
Just try to find it this high-priced anywhere else!
---------------------------------------------- 2-8-0 Consolidation, Wood Pennsylvania Railroad Aristo Craft G Scale Item #614-80209 Retail $449.95 Our Price $404.95 That's 10% OFF
I agree. I can't think of any "service" issue that would make me want to pay that much for trains.
I like for good service - Caboose Hobbies
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for good prices - Train World
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have purchased from many others and had excellent luck with all of them. The best way to find a good price is to decide what you want and then hunt around for it.
On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 07:32:16 GMT, "Mark Schulte" shared this with the world:
Stop by a local hobby shop (assuming you are near a city of 50000+, there should be someplace that sells at least a bit of train stuff). That'll let you compare quality, and get a feel for prices. You can also buy something and have it to use the same day. Mail order/internet can't do that for you. Then look at
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. Their prices will be close to what most non-discount shops sell for (Walthers sells to hobby shops, and their retail division does not undercut their wholesale customers).
Then with that idea of prices, don't pay more for anything on E-bay. You'd be surprised how often something sells on E-bay for more than it goes for in a store.
I buy all my stuff from local stores, so I can't help you with recommendations for on-line places, but keep watching here. There should be lots of opinions along shortly.
I know of only two local stores (within a 25 mile radius). One sells for full Walthers MSRP, always. The other discounts maybe 10% off of Walthers MSRP. Just try to sell something on eBay for that. You won't get even one bid. You'll be *lucky* to get 50 cents on the dollar. There's a huge discrepancy between the prices in local stores and the prices you can get on eBay. Unless what you're selling is rare, or you bought it from a private owner and stole it from him/her (say paying 10 to 25 cents on the dollar for it), or if you run into a sucker on eBay, you're not going to make a profit selling on eBay. eBay takes their cut, PayPal takes their cut, and you're left with a loss.
I've been at local shows, had new stuff listed for 30 to 50 cents on the dollar, and it didn't even go.
On 3 Dec 2003 15:11:35 GMT, "Mac Breck" shared this with the world:
Maybe that is the reality where you live (and I wish it was around here, too), but those kind of deep discounts are unheard of anywhere near me. A store having a 20% off sale weekend is big news for many of us. :-(
Deep discounts? I'm a private seller, and was selling some of my stuff at train shows to raise some cash. The stores around her don't discount at all, or discount ~10%.
After checking my DiscountTrainsOnline.com order against trainworld1.com. I find item for item that the two are about the same price. Trainworld does consistently have a bit lower price ranging from 0.12 to 1.34 per item, which for large orders will decrease your costs. However there were items that Discount had the lower price. Trainworld charges 7.95 minimum shipping compared to discount's 6.95. I did not itemize every product between the two just my needs. YOUR needs differ, however the 150-300% remark I feel is undeserved. Again this is based only on my needs. How much I would have saved going to trainworld amounts to about $10, so I'm not going to cry over spilled milk.
Discounts product listings are pictured where trainworld mostly lists by text. You have to know what your looking for at trainworld. That's why I search at Wathers or Discount and order where I need to. Actually thanks to everyone for recommending to their favorite, it gives me a wider base to search. Now for what I needed and will need, EBAY is a waste of time, I can not get the diversity of items I need at one time or one place and I'm not going to bid on every piece and hope I get what I want. It would take a lot longer to build my layout.
What's the basic idea here: Shop and Compare!
For hydrocal I refuse to buy the (trainworld) $6.50 2lb milk carton ( $6.62 at discount) . I goto my locale Stucco supply yard and get a 40 pound bag for $10. For Woodland scenic plaster cloth (6.22 at discount and 5.99 at trainworld) I order from a Orthopedic supply house ( medical supplies). I got two cases ( 12 6 inch rolls each) for $27 each. That's $2.25 a roll. Its still 5 yards long. Paints I can get at Hobbylobby or Michael's for less.
AGAIN What's the basic idea here: Shop and Compare! Use your imagination to locate supplies. Some stuff you need can be found cheaper by looking at other industry's suppliers.
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