ModelRailroader.com Reader Poll – January 29, 2004

[Bergie]

Where do you purchase the majority of your model railroading supplies? Please vote then share your comments below.

Polls on Trains.com are not scientific and reflect only the opinions of the users who have chosen to participate. The results cannot be assumed to represent the opinions of Internet users in general, the readers of our magazines, nor the public as a whole. Bottom line, our polls are meant for fun and to stimulate conversation amongst our forum users.

[CP5415]

Most of my supplies come from my LHS.
I like to get touchy feely with locomotives, rolling stock etc... when I purchase things.
Not being able to see what I buy before I buy it un-nerves me.
I guess you could say is lack of trust.
The only model RR stuff I've bought through the internet, I went & met the person before I handed the money over.
The person is now a good friend & I've continued to buy stuff off of him when I had money to do so.
I don't even check to see if the locomotive run when I buy off of him as I trust him & the stuff he sells me.

Just my 2 cents

Gordon

[ShaunCN]

Most of my stuff come sfrom my LHS or train shows.

ShaunCN

[Anonymous]

I head for the LHS first! Even if they don't have what I'm looking for, it's never a wasted trip, as I inevitably find myself checking out new arrivals of locomotives, rolling stock and other goodies.[:D]

[BRAKIE]

Actually its all of the above..I use my lhs for many things,internet shops and e bay for locos and some high dollar or rare and hard to find cars...

[nfmisso]

Trainworld
Tony's

[cacole]

I patronize my local hobby shop as much as possible, and travel to other areas or train shows to look for items that cannot be acquired locally. I also order from on-line sellers if the price is right and shipping and handling charges don't make the item cost more than what the LHS can offer.

[PistolPete]

Mostly shows to this point due to the lack of a quality LHS. But I did pick up some at a LHS in Colorado on vacation. Trying to get it home in my carry luggage on at the airport may have been a mistake. It did get attention from more then one airport screener. I am just about ready to make my biggest purchase to date through Trainworld/Trainland advertised in MR. [8D]

[IRONROOSTER]

Mostly shows because my LHS stocks very little S scale and the Great Scale Model Train Show has more and more dealers carrying S. In fact this past weekend at the GSMTS I bought a locomotive kit and some cars in S.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

The local hobby shop 5min from my house gets my nickle and dime business like a piece of styrene or glue. They sell many things above the list prices in Walthers catalog. Special orders get no discounts. Convinient but expensive.
A local shop 20min away gets my mid level buys and special orders from Walthers, etc. they discount and are very customer focused. (The Station, New Cumberland PA)
Large orders like track, switches, Digitrax, etc. get mail ordered. No one can touch their prices on bulk items or DCC.
GS-- Mechanicsburg PA

[skerber]

I have bought most of my items from Model Railway Post Office in West Milford, NJ. He has great prices and selection for HO scale. He knows his stuff and has been running his shop since 1981. He does both mail order and has a store. His website is http://www.modelrailwaypo.com.

[Anonymous]

My nearest "stocked" LHS is 100 miles away. I use to purchase mostly from shows and/or mail order. But a move a few years back put me near my local dealer/modeler who orders just about anything I want, offers a nice discount, and will even sign up with a manufacture who is not available from his usual distributor, just so I can get what I want. I get just about everything through him. I do visit hobby shops when traveling, and spend. And I still purchase at shows, but not as much. I often find myself going back home, sending a quick email with stock numbers and pick up the stuff the next week.

Doug

[Hawks05]

mostly shows as the LHS doesn't really have much in the way of affordable locomotives. i'm on a limited income as i'm in high school so i have other things to pay for and shows are where its at. most of the locomotives are in my price range and i can usually buy a lot of stuff for under $100.

[Anonymous]

Greetings,

I do go to my LHS as much as I can, but EBAY makes it so easy and it is delivered to your front door.

My job has a lot of down time so I can shop for a good eight hours a day.

Bad thing with shopping online is you cant hold it in your hands before purchase.

Oh well so is life.

Mark in Texas

[Anonymous]

I usually split between the choices.

The LHS gets my smaller quantity, low to middle range purchases. They have most things at a reasonable, discounted price. They also carry a large, on-hand selection of smaller detailing parts.

Online retailers get my large quantity, high dollar purchases. They typically stock larger quantities and offer significant discounts in volume or by price. The shipping charges in large quanitities or high costs are typically less than local taxes which makes the purchase more attractive. I use the same five or so online retailers consistently due to excellent service and trust. I will usually try an online retailer with a small purchase to determine how reputable they are in my experience.

I also use specialized retailers, local (other than LHS), online, train show and/or eBay, for DCC equipment, brass pieces, or hard-to-find items. We have a GATS show nearby each month which offers a lot of support for these items with some very good dealers. Many of these dealers are regionally local but do not support a full range of products similar to the LHS and do specialize in only one area, like DCC or brass.

Needed to be able to select more than one choice in some cases! <smile>

SO - Illinois

[Anonymous]

I have used online retailers slightly more than my local hobby shop.
I have moved many times and cannot always find a worthy hobby store in my neighborhood. I have never had a problem with online purchases.
I do prefer the browsing experience and talking to fellow modelers at the local store.
Unless the store has a large Rail stock, they don't have the same atmosphere.

Paul

[Anonymous]

I would have loved to have clicked the LHS option, and when I still lived in the U.S., I certainly would have done so, but modelings U.S. RRs in Germany gives me no choice but to order online.

[CBQ_Guy]

Originally, I purchased most of my supplies at train shows and a little by mail order. This was about 10 years ago.

Since, then it turns out I have a great LHS a couple miles down the road. In fact, I now have THREE in my area and they all handle primarily, if not exclusively, train stuff! The furthest is about 6 miles away. The owner is a retired school teacher but is a former RI employee and life long train nut. He has a double deck layout in the basement of his home, and is building a 20 by 40 foot layout in the basement of his store, both Rock Island.

He is extremely knowledgeable about the prototype AND has multiple distributors he works with so he can usually get anything you want. The store is overflowing with train stuff, 98 per cent HO scale, and there is stock piled up in the aisles he doesn't have room for on the shelves for. He gives a 20 percent discount off of everything and orders what he can get for you and also pays the shipping. Great guy!

I have only ordered off the net a couple times in certain, specific circumstances. I realize I am lucky but because I DO have a LHS, I try to support them almost exclusively.

[doralmcgee]

I purchase most of my HO items from the LHS, in Spokane, WA. But Sunset Junction is approx. 45 miles one way from my home in northern Idaho.

[jerdenberg]

For Maerklin H0 material related to Union Pacific and other American items, Germany is "next door" and I can get most of the things I want -- especially "older" models" from the huge ebay Germany reservoir, and for affordable prices.

[sparkingbolt]

LHS, followed by Train World, then eBay. Or the last two may be backwards.

[Anonymous]

I'm in S scale so a lot of my buying has to be mail order from the manufacturer as we only have one distributor andmost LHS don't carry anyhting in S. I'm lucky enough to have one LHS that will order what I ask for though.

I do a lot of buying on ebay. It's especially good for out-of-production stuff.

Roger

[Anonymous]

I voted Online retailer. When I'm in America, I try to support the LHS. I have also donated sever bunches of money to the USPS as well as several sellers at Ebay.
I tend ti buy where I think that I can get what I want for the price that I want.

[Nieuweboer]

I'm lucky that my LHS only 15 car-minutes away has a sizable stock of US locomotives, cars and scenery so that is where I buy most of my stuff.

[Anonymous]

I actually buy the most stuff on eBay. The closest LHS is 90+ miles away. There have been three shows near them this past year, and about half of my purchases were at the shows or the LHS on those weekends. I do like the LHS visits better than buying online due to the ability to handle the item before making a purchase and the interaction with the other folks in the shops. So far I've only made one bad online purchase, so I guess I'm kinda lucky in that way.

[Anonymous]

I use the LHS for the most part on high dollar engines. I like to fondle and stare at them in hand. Also if there's a problem. It can be corrected easier than mail order. However I will order rolling stock and other accessories from where ever if the price is right.

Geo. Zeeland,MI.

[Anonymous]

I shop the internet. The closest LHS is 90 miles (Buffalo, NY). I live in the country and it's easier to shop the internet. Brooklyn Loco Works and Rio Grande Hobbies get most of my money. 3 or 4 time a year I travel to a fine N Scale shop (LBC) in Williamville, NY (Buffalo). Jim & Belinda are really fine folks and very helpful.

[Anonymous]

I would love to have shown the lcs, but unfortunately the only hobby shop in my area is not interestd in trains [stock is minimal] and is quite expensive when you order something from him. I have no choice but to support an online shop. The owner is interested in model railroads and has several contacts, so I am fortunate to have found a good supplier and and at good competitive prices. In closing I feel it is very important to support the local hobby shop, but it is not always possible.

[lyctus]

I try the LHS first as I like, where ever possible, to support local retailers (I'm one of them- Retailers that is) but as I have a fairly narrow area of specialisation they often do not have what I want. I buy track,paints, consumables, etc from the local guys, but locos and rolling stock from mail order houses in the US (mainly Standard Hobby Supply) who I find very efficient. Unfortunately, even after air freight costs, it is still incredibly cheaper buying this stuff in the USA than LHS.

[Anonymous]

I would very much like to patronize my local hobby shop, but the closest thing we have to a full-line hobby shop in Nashville is pathetic.

In the first place, it's a dingy, dirty store. Both employees are chain smokers, so clouds of second-hand smoke hanging in the air create a cancer hazard.

Second, the store is stuck with a 1980s-era mentality of what to stock. There's lots of Athearn rolling stock and Atlas track. Looking for more recent products such as Spectrum and Proto 2000? Not there. It's like all of the product innovations of the last 20 years are missing.

Finally, they charge full suggested retail for everything. I don't expect a hobby shop to match discount mail order prices, but there's a huge margin at full retail prices. A hobby shop -- and I've visited them in other cities -- that will charge about 10 percent under full price can get me to pay the premium over full discount because I want to support local hobby shops.

Another factor beyond the owner's control is Tennessee's exorbitant sales tax, which we don't pay on mail order/Internet sales. Of course, the owner is probably opposed to tax reform. But that's getting into a political issue, so I won't go farther.

Bottom line: I want to support local hobby shops, but the triple whammy of grungy store, bad inventory and high prices is sending me to the Internet more frequently.

Someone want to open a good hobby shop in Nashville?