Island Trains.com

[Buckeye Riveter]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dan18425

I just had to laugh when someone posted above that "I ordered from Grzyboski trains once and had no problems." I had seen their ads in the magazines for a long time and was aware of their "Lionel top 10 dealer" status, etc. I went in to their store in Scranton for the first time on the weekend of Thanksgiving. They were not jammed with customers, and I think I found out why that was the case.

dan18425 and I may have crossed paths during Thanksgiving. I was in Grzyboski Trains on the Friday after Thanksgiving at about 10:00am. It was my first visit and I too was surprised that they were not jammed.

I did not see or experience the rudeness, but I did see a store that does not want to cater to the person in the store. Most of their stock is in the basement and not out where one can see the items. I didn't visit Scranton Hobby across the street, but did stop in at a train store in Wilkes Barre where on the same day was very busy and packed with customers. The Wilkes Barre store had a small layout and you could easily see hundreds of items on display including the BEEPS. [2c]

Davis Trains in Cincinnati, Train Express in Indianapolis and Watts Train Shop in Zionsville, Indiana have always treated me great and their stores are great places to visit.
I have ordered once from World of Trains and there was no problem. For an attractive display of trains, there is a hardware store just east of Toledo, that has a great train section with a big layout in the center. [:D] Even John and Betty's just north of here, although small is fun to visit with their layout in the store.

Now that I think about it, why doesn't Grzyboski have a layout in their store? I thought I read somewhere that a Lionel Dealer had to have a layout. [?][?][?][?]

[Anonymous]

One other point to make:

According to Federal Law, if you make a purchase with a credit card, you have 60 days to dispute a charge in writing from the date of the bill (it may be from the date of the charge posting to your account), or you lose your rights to dispute a charge. This must be done in writing, not just by calling the credit card issuer and making a report or asking for the paperwork to be sent to you. Your credit card issuer must get the dispute in writing by 60 days and not one day more, or they must pay the seller and you are going to get stuck.

What a lot of disreputable sellers do is to string the customer along with promises of "the item will be in next week", or "it is going to ship in 10 days", etc. They basically run out the clock on the 60 days and then stop answering your calls and emails because at that point, they have your money and no one, including the bank, is going to help you.

SO, IF YOU HAVE ANY INKLING THAT YOU ARE NOT GETTING WHAT YOU ORDERED, YOU MUST CALL AND GET THE PAPERWORK TO OPEN A DISPUTE ABOUT THE CHARGE RIGHT AWAY. The clock is ticking. If ultimately the seller comes through, you simply withdraw the dispute or let the credit card issuer know that the matter has been resolved. If you wait, you lose.

[willpick]

I've only bought frm Island Trains twice. First time, no problems, got everything I ordered at stated prices, and shipped reasonably swiftly. Second time, most of the order was never shipped. Got the runaround similar to other complaints that have been posted. Since I had paid for these items via credit card and never recieved them , I called the credit card company and disputed the charges on the items I never got. Company agreed that I need not pay and credited my account. I have never done any business with Island Trains again.

[Anonymous]

I just had to laugh when someone posted above that "I ordered from Grzyboski trains once and had no problems." I had seen their ads in the magazines for a long time and was aware of their "Lionel top 10 dealer" status, etc. I went in to their store in Scranton for the first time on the weekend of Thanksgiving. They were not jammed with customers, and I think I found out why that was the case. First of all, they seemed genuinely uninterested in selling anything to anyone. There was a grumpy older man sitting at a desk talking on the phone and getting more and more frazzled as the minutes ticked by. Between his phone calls, people in the store would ask him questions about items they wanted to buy, and he could not even pretend to be interested in their questions or their potential purchases. Another guy who worked there, a younger guy, actually seemed to be downright annoyed with any questions that I asked or that anyone else asked. I got a lot of meaningless one word answers to my questions, and his entire approach was as if to say, "You could not possibly know anything about trains so why don't you just get out of here now?" It was so bad that it was actually comical. While I was there, an older man shuffled into the store and he was greeted by name by all of the employees. I thought to myself that this must be a known local customer who probably buys a lot from this store and is now on a first name basis with everyone. Apparently, he as there to pick up some stuff that he had ordered, and apparently, someone at the store had called to tell him that the items were now in stock. Although the emplyees greeted him by name, the courtesy, and service, stopped right there. They ignored his questions, acted like they had never heard of the items that he was there to pick up, tried to convince him that the manufacturer never made such items, and refused to go in the back or the basement to look for the items that the customer had been told to come and pick up.

I would never buy a track pin, let alone anything else from these ying-yangs.

And, some people actually can't figure out why it is hard to attract new people to this hobby...???....

Interestingly, across the street from them is a place called Scranton Hobby Center which does not have as much in the way of Lionel but has plenty of MTH and K-Line. They were as nice as could be, and just as helpful as any customer could ever want.

[brianel027]

Well I'm not buying trains at all these days, but this doesn't sound like much of a commercial for Island Trains. I hope someone at IT is reading this and realizing that though thousands may not be reading this, a lot of train buying guys are.... and there's no shortage of places competing for our / your dollars.

In the past I have done business with JusTrains, MB Klein out of Maryland, T&K Hobby and Train Express. These folks have all been courteous on the phone and orders were shipped promptly with no problems. I will add of the four, Train Express was least able to answer questions about what I was buying - but this is probably because they do so much business that the folks who answer the phones do only that... they aren't train folks. Whereas the other businesses, whoever was on the phone knew about trains and could answer questions. Something to be said for that.

Don't read that as a knock against Train Express... they're selling trains at a big discount and the idea is to get the orders in and get them out. It's just that when I've called the others, I could ask questions about this or that, and whoever was on the phone could actually answer the questions... if something wasn't in stock, they knew why and knew when it was or wasn't coming... not the typicial "my computer shows that items is backordered and I have no other information at this time."

Of course in this day and age where local shops cannot compete with price on the mail order places, and cannot possibly stock everything - there is STILL something to be said for having a relationship with a local dealer who cares about having your business and will work in order to have it. Too bad we all don't have dealers like that with in close driving range. Of course I'm sure many do mail order business with Wholesale Trains also known as Lantz's... but I have heard many comments about being treated rudely and poorly from folks who actually go into the shop - so go figure.

[MartyE]

Granted we are only hearing one side of the story and not that I don't believe any of the parties involved but my question is...if all the above is true, how is that any way to run a business? What happened to good old fashioned "Whoops, Sorry we messed up and will try to make it better." Rather than blaming it on a computer, telling you it just went out the door, or any other excuse you can think of.

Like the airlines, just tell me what's really happening. I'm a big boy and I can take it. If you're missing an item because of inventory messups tell me. I may not like it but at least I can make other arrangements.

Honesty is still the best policy.

[Anonymous]

Sorry I forgot to add that you can contact me via email about Island Trains at

[e-mail]

Thanks

[Anonymous]

I have purchaced 1000's of dollars worth of "O" scale items from Island Trains.
I talked to Henry several times and on one of these conversations he offered me a Lionel shay. The shay was supposed to be in mint condition but there was no box.
The prices was $550.00. Well what came was a shay that was sent back to their store or one that he got from Lionel's warrenty shop. There was only 2 out of 3 trucks. The IC boards were all burntout. The engine casting was even broken. He promised to make amends and send all of the parts to repair it but he never has even sent the missing truck. I phoned several times and in the end they told me that I knew what I was buying and that was the original deal, $550.00 for a proken Lionel shay.
I ahve had several other problems with partial shipments with the rest to follow but they never did. I have bought from other stores and still do but I have never had such a bad experiance as dealing with Island Trains. The only truth to the deal that Henry made himself with me was there was no box. The rest was all BS. You make up your own minds. I will have pics posted of the Lionel shay soon.

[Anonymous]

I ordered from Grzyboski trains once and had no problems. They just didnt have what I wanted this time or I would have bought from them. I think from now on I will stick with my local train shop where I can go in person and shop in Burbank, The Train Shack.

[Buckeye Riveter]

I have used Train Express from Indianapolis and they didn't miss a beat. Believe it or not there is another train shop just a few miles north of Train Express, WATTs Train Shop that handles G Scale and they do a great job too.

Maybe its in the water.

[Anonymous]

The best mail order experience I have had is from Train Express in Indianna. I tried Island trains once and had nothing in stock I wanted to order.

[Anonymous]

Well I got my order yesterday and opened it up and found out 1 scrooge mcduck mint car was missing and didnt have anything in the box saying it was backordered or anything. So I emailed them and they told me lionel only sent them 35 percent of their order and they have had to buy some 2nd hand. So i wont recieve my 2nd mint car under because they raised the price and dont have anymore for the price i bought mine for even thought they do have more in stock.

I had called them and they told me all of my stuff was in stock except for the finding nemo car. So after me told one thing and finding out another didnt make me too happy.

So i for one will never buy anything from this outfit again and how they are a Lionel top 10 dealer is beyond me.

Thats my two cents take it for what its worth.

[Anonymous]

I have ordered several items from Island Trains and have no major complaints with them. Their prices are very competitive.

Most of the merchandise I order is pre-order and does take a l-o-n-g time to get to me (I'm talking months here....literally). For example, it took 11 months before I received the Lionel Swing amusement ride. It's a good thing I'm NOT in a hurry. But I tolerate it because of the value they offer in their pricing.

Another on-line retailer that offers pretty good value is Trains Express (in Indianapolis, IN). And they are pretty responsive too!

[Anonymous]

They just seem very disorganized to me. If you dont have the item in stock or it is an advance order it should be stated as that. To give them or any store the benefit of doubt, it is the big christmas season and they may be out of stock, of the item or items, by the time my order is filled they should at least inform you by sending an e-mail and ask you if you want to wait for the items or send the ones they do have in stock to you.

[ChiefEagles]

lkrz1, check and see when they charged the items to your CC. They may have charged you the order date. If so, they need to correct as they have been using your money and you do not have your cars. I ordered one item from them and had no trouble. actually they had to research and find the item [Lionel from several years back] and then called me back. Got it within a few days. I will be a little more causious with them from now on.

[Anonymous]

I ordered from Island Trains one time. The shipped the order. Some months later UPS had been to the house again but I had not ordered anything. They had sent me a second shipment of the first order plus billed my credit card again. I finally got the issue settled. They were not sure how this had happended. I also have another train buddy who has had numerous problems with them, also.

[Chris F]

I purchase my train stuff almost exclusively from Island Trains. Almost all items are advance orders. The prices are very competitive and they have done a good job at holding items until there are enough to ship without incurring a shipping charge. They have never charged more than the price that existed when I placed my order. In fact, they reduced the price on a couple of items after they went on sale after I ordered them. There was no charge to my card until the item(s) shipped.

OTOH, I called about two weeks ago to order a caboose and to update credit card information. I was told that the items I had ordered earlier were all in stock and would be shipped out right away. Nothing yet. Yours is not the first I have heard of bad information due to "computer problems".

The reason why these "bad information" problems are not a big deal to me is that I am in no hurry to get my items. I have two items on order that had an estimated ship date of 8/04, but I knew they would be consolidated with three other items scheduled for 10/04 to meet the "no shipping charge" minimum ($195).

Hmmm...I noticed that the Disney cars in the Island Trains ad in CTT show nothing higher than $42.00. If your order was for less than $195, did you let them know you wanted immediate shipment regardless of shipping charges? The mindset that helps me continue as an Island Trains customer may be working against you.

[Anonymous]

All of mine were supposedly in stock so if they try to raise the price I will return them and tell my credit card company not to pay them if they dont return everything plus shipping with a full refund. Thats the benefit of using a credit card.

[dougdagrump]

I've ordered from them in the past and had no problem. However the items that I had ordered were items that were in stock, no backorder or advance orders.
The biggest complaint that I have heard, not involving this retailer, was a dramatic increase between preorder price and delivery price. By dramatic I mean a 35/40% difference.

[Buckeye Riveter]

Never ordered from them and now doubt if I ever will. Your post documenting your phone calls is good. Keep us updated as to your phone calls and conversation A factual and fair posting lends credibility to your cause.

I had a similiar problem with a G Gauge supplier, and I kept track of day and the conversations. I posted a similiar post as yours asking if anybody else had the same experience. Needless to say, three or four people responded and had more money tied up than I did and was getting a worse response. One poor guy had sent the supplier a check in excess of $1,000 and had seen nothing.

[Anonymous]

Bad experience ordering through them. I ordered 4 disney cars and I check my order status on their site and it always says its pending. I then call them to ask them if they have the cars I ordered in stock and they said yes and it that they will be shipped on Monday, Dec. 6th. I called them again on the 10th to make sure they have been sent out and to get a tracking number. They told me they were sent out but that the computer is down so they cannot look up my tracking number. So i call back the next day the 11th and ask for my tracking number and they now tell me they are waiting on one car and now it will be shipped on monday.

I am not an avid collector of trains i just buy the disney cars. I dont know if a lot of stores are like this but being that the store is supposedly a top 10 lionel dealer you would think they would have the best service around.

So I was wondering if anyone else has had any bad experiences ordering from them.