Has anyone delet with Perry's Hobbies in Minnisota? He has some items I am interested in,but have never delt with him. Reviews pleawes/
Answer: yes and I was a satisfied customer (bought brass locomotives at a fair price and they arrived promptly, well packed). But .. that was years and years ago. Before Al Gore invented the internet!
What I recall was that when I called the phone number it was answered as "so-and so's Hardware." I said, sorry I must have a wrong number I wanted Perry's Hobbies. They said "no you were right, Perry's here." I could hear them yell "Hey Perry, phone call for you." So I guess at that time the hobby aspect was an offshoot of a hardware store. Whether it still is or not I do not know.
Talk about two endangered LHS species: the Local Hobby Shop and the Local Hardware Store.*
I changed eras after that and no longer needed steam so I have not dealt with Perry's again. I would have if I had the need however.
Take this for what it's worth.
Dave Nelson
* I see from other posts that it was not a hardware store but a grocery store that answered the phone. Perhaps I heard Super Valu and assumed they said True Value.
Perry Becker - As in Becker's Grocery. The brass used to be in the back of the store. Perry's now is Internet and they attend regional train shows. Still good prices and service!
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
I bought a Divion Point FT AB set from them in January 2015 that I could not find anywhere else. It took them a couple of days to respond to my initial email (away to a train show), but then everything went smoothly. Highly recommended.
JW
P.S. According to their web site, they are actually located inside "Becker's SUPERVALU Grocery Store".
I have bought several things from them in the last two years. They are old school and fantastic to deal with. You actually talk to a friendly person each and every time you call, and the service is very personal. Although their website is not comprehensive, they will if you are on the mailing list send you a periodical email list of what they have in stock, what is on sale and consignment. They even mail you a hardcopy.
Great guy's that I highly recommend.
SB
I bought an engine from them a year or so ago. Nice, straight forward local neighborhood type folks.
What I don't understand is his in stock inventory..
I seen couple of Atlas cars I want and one was added(say) 4/15 and the other(say) 7/16.
Do I need to send a e-mail or call to see if these cars are still in stock?
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
They do most of the train shows in the Minnesota area. I have only purchased from them at train shows. The entire family is at the show selling trains.
Lee
If you haven't bought from them, I'd suggest contacting them to get their 'flyer' with all the stuff they sell. It usually comes out now about twice a year, 6-8 double sided legal-size sheets filled with some brass, lots of plastic (Atlas, MTH, BLI, Stewart etc.), many books, and many DVDs...actually books and DVDs are the main things I've bought from them over the years. Usually have very good prices and occassionally 'close outs' that are even better.
IIRC it notes on the flyer that the phone will be answered "Super Valu" if you call, as they apparently run the grocery in tiny Morgan MN (about two miles west of the Twin Cities). There is no hobby shop per se.
I've been buying from them, primarily at shows, for 20 years or so. I'll probably see them tomorrow at "Railroad Days" in Randolph if the snow isn't too bad overnight. Overall very reliable, very easy to work with.
bought several books from him. The binding on one was bad, called him he said send it back. Sent me a replacement and covered the shipping on the one I returned. Just good old fashioned excellent customer service!!
In my previous job work would often take me to Morgan, MN, where Perry's is located. I used to stop at the grocery store and ask if Perry was around, if not, they would call him and he would come down and let me in the train stockroom. Bought a fair amount of stuff on site, as well as some at shows over the years. Great vendor and nothing but good experiences for me.
Jim
Visit look4trains.com
At least at the shows, Jim and Paul do most of the selling from what I've seen. Perry seems to be the "communications director" (i.e., chief schmoozer)
p.s. they didn't make it Randolph, apparently had 10" of snow overnight in their area. None here in eastern Minnesota a few hours away.
After following this thread a bit, I visited the web site and saw a set of 4 Athearn long out of production open top hoppers I wanted. Emailed them to check current stock on Saturday and Jim emailed me from a funeral he was attending that he'd check Sunday. He did, they had two different sets and by Sunday pm I had talked with him and had a UPS tracking #. These are great folks to deal with. The "old fashion" personal types.
wjstix I IIRC it notes on the flyer that the phone will be answered "Super Valu" if you call, as they apparently run the grocery in tiny Morgan MN (about two miles west of the Twin Cities). There is no hobby shop per se.
I
Do you mean "two hours west of the Twin Cities"? No Morgan around here...
Gary
I agree with all of the previous posts. I live about 30 minutes from Morgan and stop by from time to time to pick stuff up. If you do happen to be in the neighborhood, it's best to call first to make sure that someone will be in the backroom of the Super Value store.
Good bunch of folks to do business with. And yes, Morgan is about two hours west-southwest of Minneapolis.
Tom Edwards
wjstix At least at the shows, Jim and Paul do most of the selling from what I've seen. Perry seems to be the "communications director" (i.e., chief schmoozer) p.s. they didn't make it Randolph, apparently had 10" of snow overnight in their area. None here in eastern Minnesota a few hours away.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Randolph show. It was nice to see some different sellers than at Woodbury or Century College.
On that note, I'll be placing an order with Perry's to pick up at the Century show in a few weeks. I've been buying from them at every show I've gone to in the last few years. When I got into the hobby about 15 years ago, they were a go to, too. I especially like purchasing books and DVDs from them. Some of the other items are a bit pricey for me, but I'll still support the "LHS" as often as possible. They are great about taking an order and delivering at the shows to help with shipping and also allow pre-payments for items. Overall, I really like Perry's, great customer service, great supply, and always willing to work with the purchaser.
garya wjstix IIRC it notes on the flyer that the phone will be answered "Super Valu" if you call, as they apparently run the grocery in tiny Morgan MN (about two miles west of the Twin Cities). There is no hobby shop per se. Do you mean "two hours west of the Twin Cities"? No Morgan around here...
Oops...Yes, I meant "about two hours" west.
jk10 I was pleasantly surprised by the Randolph show. It was nice to see some different sellers than at Woodbury or Century College.
Yup, that's one reason I like to go to Randolph, it's just far enough from the Twin Cities that there some sellers there that you don't normally see around here. Plus there's usually a pretty good representation of operating model railroad displays (including this year a "G gauge" layout set on the floor taking up about 1/4 of the school gym.) Also, Progressive Rail brings an engine and ex-MNS bay window caboose you can look at and go inside of.
Perry’s is great to deal with. Good prices, good service, never fail to get limited editions you reserve. They even discount the prices in Walthers monthly sales flyer! Very courteous too and always greet you at train shows. A friend and I first dealt with them around 1970 when we drove out there to buy some brass.
I usually pick up my orders at local swap meets, or flea markets as they’re known around here and have never been disappointed. Good old Midwestern work ethic still going on.