Am I being cheap???

[darianj]

Went to my local hobby shop today and after spending about $400, they still wanted to charge me $3.50 for the latest MTH catalog.  Usually, they'll just throw one in even if I only spend about $40.  When I asked about that; all I got was "I have to change you for it".

Anyone else ever charged for catalogs...I know they sometimes have prices on them; but this is a first for me.

[Frank53]

A free catalog for a customer that makes purchases at a shop is a courtesy that should be freely extended. You're not being cheap.

[laz 57]

LIKE FRANK said you are not being cheap they should give you one.  I always get mine when I go.  Just another way to make a buck?  I'd find another local hobby shop.

laz57

[Buckeye Riveter]

If you spent $400, then your hobby shop was not only cheap, but stupid.  Can you say mail order or internet?

On the other hand, for those that expect a free catalog from a store, when they have purchased little or nothing at all, is also unrealistic.  I don't know the cost of producing a catalog of such quality as seen with MTH or Lionel, but I would guess it is over $1 M when you consider graphics, layout, printing and distribution.   Anyone have a better idea to the cost?  Don't they use the same graphics layout for some products multiple times? 

 

[Anonymous]

I agree 100% with Buckeye Riveter. 

That guy may be a dealer, but he's obviously not a terribly astute businessman.

At the same time, any first-time (especially) customer who walks into a hobby shop expecting a free catalog in this day and age is expecting too much.  The days of plentiful freebies are over, although if you try to sell some of your trains these days, you often run across some hobbyists who seem to think that trains themselves should also be practically free.

I get more train catalogs in the mail than I possibly need every time the new ones appear, but those come from mail order dealers who regularly see purchases from me.  And those are the dealers I regularly go back to with my orders.

[Anonymous]

I haven't seen a free catalog from a dealer in quite a while. I do agree it would get people to come back for more but I don't think the dealers are going to see it that way. Anybody remember LGB charging $30 for their catalogs?   

[Reading T-1]

If you payed list price on your items and still had to pay for a catalog I would find another dealer. I haven't had to pay for a catalog in a long time. That said I also know my dealer on a first name bases and he knows I am a good customer. If you deal with a Mom and Pop operation and are a regular customer it should be free. But if you deal with a larger store that may have part time help they may not have the authority to just give away catalogs. You need to consider all these things before you stop giving them your business.

[MartyE]

No you are not being cheap.  If you spend $10 or $400 the catalog should be free when you frequent that shop.

[EIS2]

Since the manufacturers give the catalogs away, I doubt that they charge the LHS for them.  So it sounds to me like the LHS is just ripping you off.

Earl

[jimhaleyscomet]

I believe that Lionel or MTH (or perhaps both) charge the dealer shipping cost on the catalog at about $2 each.  One of our local hobby shops charges that same cost sometimes.   Another one always sells its Lionel catalog (and everything in the store) at full retail price. 

Jim H

[Frank53]

My local shop dropped MTH, although they will order for a customer, but they don't stock anything. When I was there Friday they had just received a case of catalogs - probably about 30 catalogs in total from MTH. They give them to customers who make purchases in the store. The guy who runs the shop told me when they were stocking MTH, they used to get eight cartons - now they get one. I doubt they pay the shipping,

People whoare not customers who stop in for a catalog - lot of that happening now - get charged, I think $5.00. People who stop in and buy a Lionel set - lot of that happening now too, get a catalog (basic, but smart move) and a 10% discount on the set and on any future purchases over $20.00.

[MartyE]

Franks

That is a smart Hobby Shop!  Encourage the return business with a free catalog on purchasing a set is IMO good practice.

[jonadel]

No, you are not being cheap.  Poor customer service will do that dealer in.

I buy primarily from two shops in Iowa and the one shop gets about 80% of my business, he's the one that gave me 3 free catalogs the first time I shopped there when I spent about $150.00.  A good investment on his part to be sure.  I know now that they track all purchases and anyone spending over $100.00 get's the MTH & Lionel catalog in the mail, free.  I also know that I have paid for his front door

I think you should make a hard copy of these replies and hand it to him, I would.

Like Buckeye said, take a hard look at the internet for your purchases.  Sadly, I have made many purchases on the internet in the past when the local guys were way off base.  If it's within $50.00 the locals will get my $$$.

Jon

[Buckeye Riveter]

I think you should make a hard copy of these replies and hand it to him, I would.
Jon

That is a great idea!

[webenda]

darianj,

I do not think you are being cheap. If "no free catalogs" is a store policy, the store is being cheap.

Your experience may have been caused by an employee who did not feel authorized to give his boss's merchandise away for free. If that is the case, you might ask the owner or manager about getting a free catalog.

My experience has been that the hobby shops try to give me a catalog everytime I make a three rail train purchase. These are not train hobby shops. One caters to RC Race Cars and the other is a general purpose hobby store. Neither has much three rail stock on hand, but they claim that they can order anything out of the catalog for me. I believe their free catalog policy is an effort to sell model trains without having to have them in stock.

Tucson once had a model train store. At first catalogs were free. Toward the end of times they wanted to charged me for catalogs. (They sold them for 40% off when they went out of business.) I did not buy any because; one, the online catalog is free and two, Lionel mails new catalogs to me because I am a member of  the LRRC.

[gvdobler]

I was in the local Lionel store and Dave gave me a 2006 catalog and I had not made a purchase.  I since have spent money in their store.  Funny how that works.

[Brutus]

gvdobler wrote the following post at 10-29-2006 9:00 PM:

I was in the local Lionel store and Dave gave me a 2006 catalog and I had not made a purchase.  I since have spent money in their store.  Funny how that works.

You're not cheap.  Even if it cost them $2, that's cheap advertising for their store.  If I was the store owner, I would have a little price list of some popular starter sets etc with our phone number, hours of business and a 10 percent off first time customer coupon, good on highest priced item, glued to the front of the catalog!  Like that guy from Lionel said in a recent interview -- if you get them to buy the starter set, then they will want the expansion pack, more track, a better (sic) transformer, etc!  I'd also include a Refer a Friend Discount offer or something like that.

[4kitties]

Oh heck, I'll jump in even though I'm slightly off-topic.  I recently bought a Lionel Pennsy work train set, the one powered by a single BB-1.  I saw it on the dealer's shelf, along with a sign that read "Sold but still taking orders."  I put my name in and went to browse around the shop.  The dealer came to me a few minutes later and said that if I took it home that day I could have the display set, as the person who had bought it worked there and was willing to wait.  As if that weren't a pleasant enough surprise, as a regular customer I got a 10% discount to boot.  It's this kind of customer service that reaffirms my commitment to support my local hobby shops.

By the way, this dealer offers catalogs free to their repeat customers.  No surprise there.  Several other dealers I've bought from regularly give away the remaining previous edition catalogs but charge for the current one.

Joel