The BIG purchase!

[Anonymous]

Ok, a few of you saw my post on joining the nuttyness, heavily addictive and not so cheap hobby of model railroading....

 

Well, I made my first purchase, ok, now before anyone gets excited I bought my first $500 loco, slow down... All I bought was a few small items that will be used sometime down the line. I visited my semi local hobby shop, the one on the way to and from my work. All be it a very small shop, it had most of the basics. Anyways, I picked up 3 sections of flex track, 3 sections of road bed(cork), a pack of 18 degree curves, a pack of cuplers and 2 Model Railroader magazines... yup, thats it. I shot the bull with the owner for a bit to get the feel of the guy, you know, trying to find out if the guy is going to just sell me stuff to make a profit and feed his own hobby or if he is really going to make my experience a good one. I must say, he was a bit more helpful then expected, not pushy at all, but answering my questions without skipping details. One thing that I was looking forward to was picking up a Walthers catalog... he said he did not deal with them due to them never having what his customers wanted in stock and having to wait a good while to have them come in. He also said he didnt like having to meet their minumum order ammount... I can see he issue there, paying for shipping since he didnt reach a certain ammount to apply for free shipping, but hey, thats his issue... One thing I didn't like, the customer standing inline in front of me was paying credit for an item that was not over his $20 limit on all charges... I wanted to say in the worst way that that practice is illegal and also could get his card service pulled if Visa/MC found out he was doing it. (side note to all, there is no such thing as a min. purchase ammount for credit cards. They just get less profit on smaller purchases)... anyways, the guy left and I was able to make my purchase. I'm going to visit a few more shops this weekend and next weekend around my area to get a feel on who I'm going to want to do business with.

Ok, I bought the items above not to have my trains running by the weekend, but to give me an idea what the limits are to the track and to get an understanding of the turning radius and so forth, in the next few weeks it will also help me in designing my layout. I'm going to buy a sheet of the pink foam from Home Depot this weekend so I can also have a better understanding on how it is used in the landscaping portion of this whole mess I'm getting into :)

 

[tomikawaTT]

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  Kung Fu-Tse.

 to the wonderful world of scale modeling.

I like your approach, and the feeling that you have an understanding of the realities of a hobby shop as a business.  As you said, he's a small operator - not in a position to meet the discounters' prices.  Still, if he's knowledgeable and helpful, that's a big plus.

If there are several other shops in your area, count your blessings.  Once you get away from the bigger settlements, there are plenty of places out this-a-way where you would have to mount a safari (and book a motel) to get to a hobby shop.

If you want to deal with Walthers, just give them a call and get on the mailing list for their monthly sale flier.  You don't have to buy every month, just occasionally - when they have something you want on sale.

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

[lvanhen]

Your observations seem astute - not everyone is good or bad - in life as well as hobby shops.  That said, my first suggestion would be to open the plastic sleeves & look inside the MR's!!  You have a good handle on how to get started - keep reading the forum & the mags!

[Soo Line fan]

Hello,

Welcome to the forum. I am surprised that the shop does not do business with Walthers. He is correct about the minimum order but can wait until he has enough. Sounds like a red flag with that and the charge minimum?

Maybe you can just purchase the basics from him, like paint, track, etc.

At my LHS they place an order once a week in the winter, less frequent in the summer. If you ever come down here this is a great place to shop:   http://www.pdhobbyshop.com/

You can order direct from Walthers, and the catalog is a good idea. No need to get a new one every year.

Jim

[MisterBeasley]

Welcome aboard.  You're doing the right thing by scouting out the local shops, and starting small.  There's a big temptation to over-buy at the start, and most of us have stuff sitting around from when we did that, years ago.

My LHS deals with Walthers all the time.  If I find something in the monthly sale flier that I want, or even just something online, I send him an e-mail and ask him to order it for me.  Usually, stuff shows up the following Thursday afternoon, but I usually wait until Friday so they have a chance to unpack it.  My experience has been that if the web site says it's in stock at Walthers, then it's in stock at Walthers, and it will be shipped.

I try to pay with cash at my LHS.  The credit card companies generally charge a percentage of the sale, so that comes out of his profits.  Debit card purchases are a fixed transaction fee, so that also comes out of profits.  Cash costs me no more, and helps keep my LHS in business.  Besides, in case my wife looks at the credit card bill, she's not going to see anything!

[GAPPLEG]

Good start , going slow and feeling your way in. It's nice that he helped you, not all shops care. Keep reading thats the way to learn. But doing is important too , we have all made mistakes don't fret about screwing up if you do something wrong. It happens to all of us. And

[tatans]

Anyone that doesn't use cash is losing money, bank machines cost, tellers cost, any transaction at a bank costs, credit card use costs( you think it's free if you pay on time eh?) read the small print. Even now there is  federal investigation on credit cards, buy some gum on credit, people do it all the time, what could be faster than cash, just get behind some bozo trying to work his(her) cash card at the supermarket and wait 10 minutes while they and the clerk try to get the card to work and wait another 5 minutes for the approval and reciept, boy that sure speeds things up.

[colvinbackshop]

These guys have hit the nail on its head. Big and best advice: Research, Research, Research!

Go slow and think things out, determine what you want to model and stick to those lines. As Mr. Beasley said, most of us have "stuff" that we'll never use, because of impulse buying or the plan, the era or what ever...changed.

Dealing with a local hobby shop is a great idea too. Most often the knowledge you can gain is hard to beat. Unfortunately, mine is 85 miles away so I don't get there to often, but do make it a point stop when ever I'm in town.

Also some food for thought regarding MRRers and the "stuff" we have accumulated: A number of us have sold or purchased items through contacts found here at the forum. No we can't and don't advertise items for sale, but a question regarding an item or items that you are looking for can generate personal email.

Stick to the track you're on reading, asking questions (some very knowledgeable people right here on the MMR Forum) and experimenting with ideas and techniques....And you'll have a great Railroad

[MAbruce]

Anyone that doesn't use cash is losing money, bank machines cost, tellers cost, any transaction at a bank costs, credit card use costs( you think it's free if you pay on time eh?) read the small print.

HUH?  I think you need to qualify your statement.  In most cases (100% for me), paying on time does not generate any additional fees - or else I'd dump that credit card in a heartbeat.  There may be some cards that offer questionable terms and rates to people with lower credit scores.  These are the ones that Congress is currently trying to investigate. 

 

what could be faster than cash, just get behind some bozo trying to work his(her) cash card at the supermarket and wait 10 minutes while they and the clerk try to get the card to work and wait another 5 minutes for the approval and reciept, boy that sure speeds things up.

Wow, what store do you shop at?  I feel sorry for you.  As for me, I'm one of the MANY 'bozos' who always uses a credit card at my local supermarket(s).  Never a problem.  In fact, it likely takes the cashier more time to count out change than to process the sale on a credit/debit card.  That is if they know how to count out change anymore... 

 

[modelmaker51]

Anyone that doesn't use cash is losing money, bank machines cost, tellers cost, any transaction at a bank costs, credit card use costs( you think it's free if you pay on time eh?) read the small print.

HUH?  I think you need to qualify your statement.  In most cases (100% for me), paying on time does not generate any additional fees - or else I'd dump that credit card in a heartbeat.  There may be some cards that offer questionable terms and rates to people with lower credit scores.  These are the ones that Congress is currently trying to investigate. 

 

what could be faster than cash, just get behind some bozo trying to work his(her) cash card at the supermarket and wait 10 minutes while they and the clerk try to get the card to work and wait another 5 minutes for the approval and reciept, boy that sure speeds things up.

Wow, what store do you shop at?  I feel sorry for you.  As for me, I'm one of the MANY 'bozos' who always uses a credit card at my local supermarket(s).  Never a problem.  In fact, it likely takes the cashier more time to count out change than to process the sale on a credit/debit card.  That is if they know how to count out change anymore... 

 

 

Me too HUH? While I do not use credit cards that often, I do use my debit card all the time, it's almost always faster, except in some smaller stores that haven't upgraded they're equipment and even then it's still pretty quick.