Parts site gripe

[Anonymous]

Far be it from me to down talk anyone but enough is enough. Please allow me to complain a bit about trainrepairparts.com. I discovered the site when I was looking for parts for my restoration project of my lionel 2344 F3 set. I was happy to discover a site that matched Lionel's numbers according to the greenberg book. I browsed through the online list and quickly reached and past the $20 minimum and reached the $40 mark. It wasn't until after I placed the order that I was unhappy. Unless you read through the whole site you wont find out that a last text box at the end of the order form is for out of stock Items (there are three options). So I quickly wrote to them with no answer, that was until the day after I received the package was when they responded. They said that they didn't get my mail until after the order was mailed. I placed the order at 12am on a saturday and sent a comment 10 minutes later, I got the package 12 days later. To add insult on to of injury they sent me damaged parts, the worng ones and they even skimmed off where, if you got a few of the same item you got a deal (less than the specified 10 eliminated the "sale" I was sent 9 and charged full price for each) They sent me creased and cracked decals "GM" ( I ordered for NYC 'black' and they sent Santa fe 'red') . They sent me portholes instead of head light lenses. They sent me plastic sequin looking disks instead of portholes. They even sent me a cracked windshield. Not to mention they left a lot of things off. I thought it was all an honest mistake until I stupidly ordered again. I received knurled nuts and posts for my ZW. Not only were the posts all a different length and the nuts were assorted chrome and brass, but a few of the knurled nuts were not tapped so they couldn't be used. I wound up tapping them myself. they sent me decals(again the GM) only this time the General Motors on the bottom was unreadable. I ordered head light lenses (2333-11) again and they sent me port holes(2333-14). Again they left a bunch of stuff off of my order. Is this some type of initiation process for new restorers or are they just a bad company to deal with? Anyone have a better company to deal with? Any one have the same problem with them? Sorry for the negativity but I don't think what they did was fair. Thanks for reading.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear of your bad experience. I've never bought from them due to thier prices, high S&H and a high $$$ minimum orders. I buy parts as needed and it's not typically a lot at one time. As they do not budge on the minimum S&H or the minimum $$ for an order I've never completed an order with them.

So I've been *very* happy with purchasing many parts from Jeff at http://www.ttender.com/ and if he doesn't have what I need I've bought from http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/ with no problems.

[brianel027]

Yeah, sounds like a bum deal NYCPA. But I'll second the recommendations of KJWest. Jeff at traintender is a good guy to buy parts from. I've also bought some from East Coast Parts. Absolutely no gripes with either from my viewpoint.

brianel, Agent 027

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info guys. The prices are a lot better and there is no minimum order. I already placed an order with them. Guess I sould have asked first (well live and learn).

Thanks Again
Angelo

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend Dr. Tinker (David Laughridge) also. He charges decent prices and ships quickly.

[sulafool]

Yeah, thanks for the heads-up; I, too, recommend Dr. Tinker for parts as he will supply originals rather than repros whenever possible. He is a fountain of knowledge as well....

[johnnyc]

NYCentralPA , I've used Olsen's many times , they have huge inventory and are very nice to deal with . johnnyc

[Kooljock1]

East Coast is good, and I love George Tebolt and his wife. They're terrific!

Jon [8D]

[GPJ68]

Another vote for Train Tender - excellent service, fast shipping, well organized website, best prices I've found anywhere. I've also bought a few things from Olsen's off ebay and was equally pleased with their professional and courteous service. Only minor gripe about Olsen's is that I've had big problems at times trying to get around their website - been awhile since I've checked it out, so maybe they've gotten it working reliably now.

[nitroboy]

The Train Tender is by far the best one of the lot. Olsens is my second choice. Jeff at The Train Tender is one of the nicest people to deal with. And you wouldn't believe the stuff he has that he doesn't list. I needed a frame for a pre-war 810 crane car, he said he would have to look, and sure enough he had several of them! And if you are not sure of a part number, just tell him what you are looking for. His knowledge is first rate.

Dave

[eZAK]

Here are a couple others that have online ordering;

http://www.stanorrtrainparts.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/index.html

http://trainshoponline.com/

[Anonymous]

NYCPA,
I do not know how effective this is, but it may be worth a shot. Are you a current member of TCA? If so, do you have the name of the owner or anyone else at trainrepairparts.com? If so, you may have some recourse through the TCA. At the very least, if you are a member, you should be able to lodge a complaint against them. Just be prepared to substantiate your claims.

Good luck
Chris
LVHR

[Anonymous]

Hey Guys,
Thanks for all the responses again, I tried the train tender . Jeff is very nice, reputable, ships fast, and has everything. I am glad I checked it out. Thanks againg guys. I would recommend this site to anyone who needs parts. Also Sharon at Olsens is really nice too. I got paints and decals from her. I would also recommend Olsens.

http://www.ttender.com/
http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/
Haven't tried the others yet.

Thanks again
Angelo