Where do you buy your MRR stuff?

[Hawks05]

i've heard of that Historic Rail. i think my friend gave me a issue of that. not sure. does it have like books and calenders from different railroads, with some MRR stuff? if so i think i have one issue. i signed up for the Terminal Hobby mailing list. i think in a week or 2 i should be getting something. i may have to order buildings from there as i can't find squat here at any shows or the LHS.

[AntonioFP45]

I get 95% of my supplies and equipment from Happy Hobo Trains in Tampa. These guys are great, knowledgeable and service oriented! When you leave, you look forward to visiting again. It's good business to support a good dealer. I don't mind at all paying for good service. The other 5% I get at model railroad flea market meets (Happy Hobo hosts one or two a year).

[eastcoast]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AntonioFP45

I get 95% of my supplies and equipment from Happy Hobo Trains in Tampa. These guys are great, knowledgeable and service oriented! When you leave, you look forward to visiting again. It's good business to support a good dealer. I don't mind at all paying for good service. The other 5% I get at model railroad flea market meets (Happy Hobo hosts one or two a year).

[:p]
Hey , I grew up near you in Pinellas County. I went to all of the H&R Trains
shows , and worked for Uptons at one time. Do they still exist ???

[on30francisco]

Since I'm in a minority scale and gauge, I buy most of my supplies online. The LHS in this area has a fair HO section but not too many scratchbuilding supplies. They also charge list prices. There is one hobby shop in Santa Clara called The Train Shop that I patronize when I'm in that area. They are very well-stocked with supplies for all scales ang gauges and the clerks are very helpful and courteous. They also charge 10% to 20% below list prices for their merchandise. I buy a lot of scratchbuilding supplies at arts & crafts stores. These places are very well-stocked and much cheaper than the LHS.

[darth9x9]

Well since you didn't have combinations, I had to vote other. I think I am pretty well distributed between LHS, eBay, and shows. It is all about being a smart shopper and getting the best deal/product/service for my hard earned dollar.

[fec153]

Should have had - Combination as a choice. Shows- LHS- Online. IN that order. Just picked up a few items from a local show. I do not like duplicate car numbers so on-line shopping is a bit of a hazard.
Fla.Phil

[Anonymous]

I buy everything I can from Standard Hobby Supply and what they don't have I shop around for the best price.

[Anonymous]

Unless there's a great deal on eBay, I have stopped buying from there, though sometimes I go there to look for out-of-production/old models.I buy from online stores if I can save more than the shipping cost, which generally means big orders. Otherwise I go to the local Hungates for more general hobby stuff (scenery, cork, little bags of ballast, plaster, etc.). When I want real train specific items, I head on down to the actual train hobby shop (1 hour and 45 minutes there and back driving alone. Speaking of going to Hungates, I am thinking of going this weekend and getting some plaster and a rock mold so I can work on my mountain. I will also take some much-needed photos of the layout.
Reed

[PennsyHoosier]

One has to be VERY selective on ebay. But if one puts the time into it, it can pay very nice rewards.

For me, I have several competing LHSs in my city, and the competion makes things fairly reasonalbe.

So....

Ebay, internet, and LHSs. It takes some work, but the payoff is worth it.

[Hawks05]

i bought the ADM elevators off ebay 2 weeks ago. although i could have probably went to the hobby shop and bought them on the weekend. i sprung for the ebay purchase. at the LHS i would have paid list price plus tax, ebay i saved something like $.33 rather than buying from Walthers and probably $4-$5 instead of the hobby shop.

if i need track i'll go to the hobby store or if i need kits and there aren't many shows going on i'll go there. hopefully i'll be able to make it to the hobby shop this weekend. i need to get a couple issues of Model Railroader, a book or two, the Red Wing flour mill, and then a couple kits and a RTR piece. hopefully another double stack car or some odd car that i can't get in kit form.

[aloco]

I absolutely refuse to pay full-blown retail price for locomotives, so my local hobby shop gets no business from me when it comes to the big ticket items. If I want locomotives or the more expensive freight cars, vehicles, buildings, etc. I'll look to ebay auctions or online dealers of model railroad equipment. There are some great deals out there, but you have to take the time to look for them.

Furthermore, I model CN and CP, and being a Canadian modeler I'm quite displeased with my local hobby shop relying on an American supplier and getting stuff in roadnames I have no use for. So I'm left with little choice but to surf the Internet and look for the stuff I want.

[Anonymous]

I don't have a LHS, or rather the closest is a 2.5 hr drive. So i shop online.. Firsthobby is my fav.. fast shipping, good service, decent prices. I also use internettrains, internethobbies and walthers direct as needed and a few others on occasion. oh and of course.. EBAY!