I bought plenty of stuff from them in the mid 2000's and was really pleased with the service the gave but about a year or so ago I was hunting high and low for an Athearn CP 7021 non DCC and they were showing "in stock and available". Sensing it may be too good to be true I sent them an email asking if they had any and if they had what shipping to the UK would be. They responded in a very off-handed way rambling on about my best way to operate within the hobby was to place a pre-order and that I would have no chance getting one blah blah. I couldn't be bothered getting in to whole thing about the fact it was them whose site was saying stock was on hand. I had the feeling that there had been a big change there in terms of their customer focus, so they are off my Christmas card list if you get me.
Well I got my Kato M1 and Intermountain NS locomotive today. Runs well. I got an email from Anthony in shipping and spoke with Kathleen. The $43 shipping charge was rough but they explained it after a week. It would have been nice to get that explanation last week. Paying MSRP is hard even though there is a point system. Their site is a good reference for everything that might be out there. I want to use this sight but can't see why I would pay MSRP. I hope I was helpful to someone. Thanks!
So I googled them and their website did pop up. At the bottom it shows an active year of 2023. I clicked on who they are and they do have some statements and I think one was where you call them and they will call you.
https://www.pwrs.ca/main.php
Now, every company operates differently, so please don't try to compare them to others. If their business model works for them in Canada, so be it.
If you're going to buy from them, as you would from any seller, to check their terms of shipping, funds, etc. especially since they are Canadian based.
Neal
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with them at all. I have purchased from them in the past, but that was when they were selling at the Amherst train show a good 15 years ago from what I can remember.
I googled this place. It being so weird. This came up. I realize it's old but if you search PWRS model rr Is it any good this thread pops up. I read it in the middle of all this. If this pops up then people are still reading it so I posted. Btw I still have no explanation for the $43 charge and my package has a label but has not been shipped. Thanks
richhotrainHey , it's only a 17 year old thread. Rich
Ya, 2006. I think that was the year I first bought anything there. I have spent well over $10,000.00 there since and have never had an issue. It is the closest MRR supplier to where I live so I drop in to pick stuff up. It is not a place to go and chit-chat as the staff always seems to be going full out when I am there. I have often been there at the end of the day when the Post Office and other courier companies are picking up and judging by the amount of stuff going out the door at the end of the day, business is not suffering.
They would not give me the usual price break on the Rapido D-10s I wanted, so I ordered them elsewhere. I have no loyalty when it comes to business transactions, that said it is their right to sell things for whatever price they want to, I am not obligated to shop there, however, not having to pay to ship often makes paying full retail the better option for me.
My experience has been they are not warm and fuzzy but they are straight shooters.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
SeeYou190 The above post all sounds quite unusual, especially for a first-time user's debut contribution. -Kevin
The above post all sounds quite unusual, especially for a first-time user's debut contribution.
-Kevin
Rich
Alton Junction
Living the dream.
I bumped into the PWRS website and decided to sign up. This would have been last Wednesday March 29, 2023.The next day I discovered I needed a referral number to order anything. I then got my first phone call welcoming me to Porters/PWRS. It seemed nice enough but a bit weird. I was informed I needed a tour of their website to understand everything. We decided I would call the next day for that and it would be with the CEO? This is weirder now. It's like being in a secret club or something. Ok, I call the next day and it's the same lady I spoke with the day before. She goes ahead and gives me the tour. The website feels huge. The whole thing hinges on these statuses. In stock, available, coming soon, back ordered, and out of stock I believe. She did her best to explain these things but after one distills it down let's be honest either they have it or they don't. What it does is make it seem like they have a lot more than they have. I was left overwhelmed thinking that they can get anything and I don't need to look anywhere else. She explained that they charge MSRP and their business stays healthy because of it. At the time I was enamoured with the secret club feel of all this. I was special. lol! So I bought Kato M1 at MSRP $120 and a locomotive. I priced the M1 on ebay somewhere in Nebraska for $96 plus like $15 in shipping. So I paid $11 extra to feel special. I got no email or anything saying I bought this stuff that was in stock. I call Sunday and Dan answers. He was gruff told me he was busy and he would call me back when it's my turn or something. I was actually hurt but I waited. This is feeling cultish now. Dan calls me back like an hour later. He talks over you. He told me all about how the place works and his opinions on everything. I don't get an invoice until he approves it. He has to make sure that's what someone really wants to order? He approved it right then and there so while weird and cultish I still believe there is this vast inventory I'm privy to. A little pain for an advantage why not. Ok then there is this whatever. There are two stores one in Canada one in US. The US recieves stuff from China then ships to the United States and then stuff goes across the border to the store in Canada. I'm sure I have that wrong. lol It was explained to me twice. Why do I care as a customer? Well, the in stock items had to be fetched from the store in Canada clear the border then be shipped to me. So I could expect this to take 3-4 days? This is in stock on the website. So I got my invoice for the items minus shipping Sunday fine. Then on Tuesday my stuff shows up in this goodie basket of theirs. That is stuff you bought but of course don't want shipped to you yet to group it with other items and save on shipping. Not a bad idea but I think most folks just want the stuff they ordered quickly. I had to physically click on the the ship my items while in the goodie basket screen to actually get them shipped to me after I told Dan during his hour long rant Sunday at me that I just wanted them shipped now as cheap as possible within reason. He said he was shipping them via Post office. Well on 1-5 in the afternoon I recieve a $43 charge from them on my cc. I can only assume that's the postage. I get no email telling me what they charged me $43 for. I called and the same lady I spoke with twice didn't know why they charged me $43 either. Well I had some items in pre-order or their coming soon thing. I asked her to cancel them and I informed them I wanted my cc's deleted and nothing more to do with them. So I bought a DC only Norfolk Southern SD40-2 Intermountain locomotive probably from2017 for roughly $145 and a Kato M1 track set for $120 plus $43 in shipping? Still no email, invoice or anything about the $43. Hey, in reality if something isn't in stock and you don't know when it will be pre-ordered then it is back ordered or coming soon. Coming soon is this huge category that satisfies many people's fantasies. My advice is obvious. This thing is like a cult stay away from it. Thanks for your time, Josef
Hello everyone,
I discoverd this thread, and being 26 as of 2020 I would have been 12 years old when discussion thread was posted. I joined up with PWRS group as they have older goodies in stock at times. Have they changed for the better?
I've been dealing with PWRS for 10 years. Not one sales call of any kind. I have gotten calls like "We are going to ship a large number of back ordered items, is it OK to bill your card" which I find courteous. I appreciate that they keep track of all release announcements from all manufacturers so that I don't have to do that. Yes, they charge list price. Yes, they have sales.
They were at one point uber high pressure sales, and did NOT want you to deal with any other dealer whatsoever, which I found out when stupidly or accidentally mentioning I had worked for English's Model RR Supply/Bowser/Toy Train Heaven and that I continue to buy items from them. PWRS was crystal clear that they wanted me ONLY dealing with them and not my lifelong friends, who would NEVER pressure anybody to buy anything. When PWRS found out what railroads I was interested in they somehow just assumed that I wanted every single item for that railroad(s) and hounded me to buy them by repeatedly calling me. It was almost like they were telling me exactly what I needed to buy, without really listening to anything that I said...that somehow they knew what I needed more than I knew.
The PWRS model of retail sales is completely antithetical to anything I was ever taught by the English's, completely the opposite of how they do business, which is maybe to offer advice as to what might sometimes be more durable or longer lasting or more suitable, but it was our job to help the customer, to answer questions when needed, but the customer, of course, was always right.
It doesn't matter if it's over the internet, phone, in person, the customer is still always right and the sales person is only there to assist them with any needed information.
I don't have an issue per se with occasional mailings, but I don't need an email every day or even every week. I'm usually on top of what is being produced, so sending me emails is pointless for a retailer because if they have what I want, I will buy it.
I don't even care about lowest price. It's more valuable to me to occasionally be able to buy and inspect in person than to always get the best price. Sometimes the best price is not a deal at all when there is a problem.
Respectfully submitted--
John
richhotrainback in 2005. I never received any follow up calls or emails from them after completing the purchase. Apparently, things have changed since then. Rich
Maybe you bought before they started spamming customers and annoying the heck out of them. I've ready many complaints from a period from some years back, maybe 8-10 years ago give or take, but from all reports in recent years now there have been no issues or complaints, so it's all water under the bridge - a period of a couple years that lives in imfamy.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
This thread got me to thinking. I seemed to recall that I had done some business with Pacific Western Rail Systems some years ago. Sure enough, I checked my spreadsheet of locomotive purchases, and I was reminded that I bought a pair of GP9s from them back in 2005. I never received any follow up calls or emails from them after completing the purchase. Apparently, things have changed since then.
Water under the bridge years ago.
I am interested in a a couple of the new boxcars but am not pleased at having to order from them; they will be a bit spendy and postage may be as well.
PRR8259 I would be interested in the new 50' box car, but I absolutely do not want to buy it from them.
Russell
I have purchased from them each of the last 3 years. Absolutely no issue. I pretty much get a daily email from them but that is it. They do have things in stock others do not which was my reason for buying from them.
TomO
Back in 2007 or 2008, I bought a couple of series of cars from them. One of the series is the green Saskatchewan grain car. It has a hyper-realistic paint scheme and numbering... I have 2 boxes plus the secret car that only people who ordered the full set get. It's... ok. The wheels didn't like code 82 track, but other than that they were fine. A bit spendy and I had to wait for like 3 months for them to be made... oh, and there was an optional email service that would let you know when the 1:1 cars were going to be in your area. I did finally see one when I was up in BC a few years ago. Pretty cool. Every so often I am tempted to put them on ebay or take them to a swap meet as I don't currently have a layout and I wouldn't run them if I did.
Yeah, PWRS could be a bit pushy on the phone and they would call whenever they were going to come out with something in the future or to let me know when anything Northern Pacific came across their radar. Which was often, as previously stated. But as with anything else, if you don't have a good experience at a brick and mortar store, you don't generally go back.
I buy from them because they are close to where I live and so I don't have to pay to ship. I get a lot of gift certificates for them as well, as people know, l would rather have that than a case of beer for favours done. That being said I am loyal to the best price and while I give them the chance to match a price I see elsewhere, sometimes they do sometimes they don't.
They are just another online shop as far as I am concerned, I shop for price and it doesn't matter where it comes from. I bet there is not an online retailer that hasn't pissed someone off at some point, so if they rub you the wrong way don't give them your business.
They do a huge volume of business so I guess they are doing something right.
I often make offers to retailers on an item and they accept 90% of the time if it is reasonable. It is in my nature to barter and I never have to have anything, so that makes walking away easy.
It is not unusual for me to have a $1000.00 or more credit at PWRS and I won't use that as an excuse to pay full retail. I shop their sales and it eventually gets used up.
I haven't dealt with them in years. They were very pushy and very expensive, and would call me far too often. I would be interested in the new 50' box car, but I absolutely do not want to buy it from them.
Thanks for the update. There is a member in here that worships them. I've never bought from them.
Maybe others will come out and give their experiences.
Mike.
My You Tube
I know this is an old post, but I had to let others know about the disturbingly bad customer service. I decided to join their "Porter's Club" quite a while ago. They kept bugging me about the need for them to familiarize me with how the Porters club worked online. I finally gave in. The salesman that trained me via phone was nice, but I didn't realize that during the training, I must have accidentally left something on the list of things that I wanted. Several months later, they billed me for the item. When I called them to say that the item ended up on my wish list accidentally, the lady that I talked to acted as if I were a criminal. The item sold out almost immediately, so they only managed to drive me away for a very long time. Fast forward a few years. I recently saw a kit on their website that I really wanted and could not find anywhere else. The kit has been discontinued for years. When I called and asked about the kit, they said that they could get anything from this manufacturer. When I explained that this kit was no longer in production, the salesman repeated that they could get anything from this manufacturer. I tried to explain that the kit was discontinued and wanted to know if it was in stock. The salesman responded by saying "Well maybe I should just kill myself if I can't get your kit". Those were his exact words. All I was asking was if they had it in stock because I knew the manufacturer doesn't produce this kit any longer. It appears that the sales staff might need some training in working with customers. They have heard from me for the last time. Never again.
QUOTE: Originally posted by DrummingTrainfan Well my dad got a rather large shipment of stuff that he ordered from them in *drumroll please* 2003! I think that's enough said...
QUOTE: Originally posted by dimastep Holy cow! And I thought HobbyCircle was bad....