I second those who have dealt with Discount Trains Online. They are now part of Go Hobbies and you can get to their page from www.gohobbies.com. The downside for me as a Californian is the sales tax they charge. I am finding in most cases that I can beat their prices on Ebay.
I also recommend www.traintrack.net. He also has a store on Ebay. He often has some out of production Walthers offerings. He is also good about preorders of locomotives. He has the best preorder prices I've seen and he's good about answering emails.
Reno N Scaler wrote:WOW !!!!I Just received a call from Steve at Internet Trains and he was VERY nice and apologised for all the problems I have had with my order.He stated to me that he would be shipping my order out tomorow COMPLETE! He also stated that the last three months have been extra hevy and they are doing there very best to address every problem with most if not all of the complants and posting.He is doing everything in his power to try and make things right with all of his customers.I hope nothing but the best for Internet Trains and I look foward to doing alot of buisness with them.Thank You Steve for all of your help. and Thank You to Internet Trains.
Be sure to let us know when you get the order. At least, we may have helped someone get their order.
Thanks for letting us know.
This same topic about Internet Trains has started on at least one other forum.
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with problems.
Here's my story: Ordered an item on 11/24/06. Never shipped. About 12/15 e-mailed to see what was going on, found out item would ship following week. Item never ships, finally got through on the phone before christmas and was told item was out of stock. After christmas e-mailed to cancel order. A few days later I get my credit card statement and they charged me for the item even though they did not ship it. I've been trying to get them to respond to e-mails ever since (can't ever get anyone to answer phone). Contacted credit card company and was advised to cancel card and file fraud complaint! Thinking this is a bit harsh I've sent one final e-mail and if they don't respond I guess this is what I'll do. Anybody have any idea if they are sitll in business or what??? This was a $200 item, I've probably spent close to $2000 with them the last few years, never had any problems before. I'm a little disappointed, very PO'd about the charge without shipment, and not sure what to make of the whole thing.
Any help would be appreciated!
I to am having the same issues with internettrains.com...
Anyone able to get through to them? I have emailed, and no one answers the phone... My status says still processing order...
How do I get a response from these guys? I'm not even able to cancel some of my order, because I can't get through to anyone...
Any ideas?
interfx wrote: I to am having the same issues with internettrains.com...Anyone able to get through to them? I have emailed, and no one answers the phone... My status says still processing order...How do I get a response from these guys? I'm not even able to cancel some of my order, because I can't get through to anyone...Any ideas?
If you read all of this Post, you will see that Steve of Internet Trains has responded with some general statesments, but most of the customers on this Post are still waiting.
You can email Steve directly from his response on this Post and copy your letter and his response back to this forum if you want.
We are all trying to help by keeping this on the front page.
Aaron wrote: I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with problems.Here's my story: Ordered an item on 11/24/06. Never shipped. About 12/15 e-mailed to see what was going on, found out item would ship following week. Item never ships, finally got through on the phone before christmas and was told item was out of stock. After christmas e-mailed to cancel order. A few days later I get my credit card statement and they charged me for the item even though they did not ship it. I've been trying to get them to respond to e-mails ever since (can't ever get anyone to answer phone). Contacted credit card company and was advised to cancel card and file fraud complaint! Thinking this is a bit harsh I've sent one final e-mail and if they don't respond I guess this is what I'll do. Anybody have any idea if they are sitll in business or what??? This was a $200 item, I've probably spent close to $2000 with them the last few years, never had any problems before. I'm a little disappointed, very PO'd about the charge without shipment, and not sure what to make of the whole thing. Any help would be appreciated!
Find the Post that Steve from Internet Trains responded back to us and email him via the forum and copy back the response to us so we can all work on this together.
Thanks
At least one member so far has said his order is shipping now.
INTERFX - I was unable to get through by phone and email,
so out of desperation I sent a registered letter demanding
the order cancelled, and my money credited back to my
credit card. I also sent a letter to my credit card company
telling them that I wished to dispute the charge,as
Internettrains.com hadn't even sent any merchandise.
I had to pay $4.64 for the registered letter (from the
post office),and this unfortunately came out of MR budget.
But it didn't take long for them to credit the money back
after the letter. I don't think they were very happy about
having to give it back. I certainly am not happy with them,
and neither is my wife.
I hope you get your money or the items you ordered.
Good grief ! This hobby is supposed to be FUN.
Cascade Green Forever ! GET RICH QUICK !! Count your Blessings.
Fortunately I read this forum after i ordered from internettrains. You guys had me scared there. I placed my order for a Spectrum HO F40 Ph on 1-23-07 and received it by UPS on 2-1-07. I have no complaints and will probably use them again. Oh, the Spectrum piece is sweet!
I just got in some Woodland Scenics foam risers from Internet Trains at a great price! The order was placed on 1/19 and got here yesterday. (It was complete) .
Keith
OK, my situation has been resolved and I am publicly apologising for any slanderous statements that I may have infered against Steve Guccione and Internet Trains, here is a copy of the email I have personally sent to Steve, I think everyone should realise that it is no more difficult to give credit where credit is due than to complain bitterly about something that may have a hidden resolve.
YES - I will deal with Internet Trains again as implied in the acompanying letter.
Steve,
The Internet KKK has been having a ball with you lately, I was a concerned customer, but my parcel just arrived, intact and complete.
The main concern that you have already apologised for and had no explanation was the delay in shipping from the time of the order being placed. But – from the time the parcel had left your shores until now was a mystery, in this modern day and age anything can happen, I feared that somewhere along the way the parcel was lost, after all, planes crash, people steal. I never intended in any comments that you were fraudulent in your activities, but, as already stated, the delay in shipping and lack of communication was a concern.
Today – 6th February 2007 – the parcel arrived, what a relief, investigation has come up with the following.
Australian Customs took possession of the parcel on the 2nd January 2007 due to X-Ray inspection revealing a possible dangerous substance (I guess Amtrak P42’s must look like miniature scud missiles in an x-ray). The parcel apparently stayed in customs possession until being released on the 2nd February, the post office staff I dealt with could not understand the customs delay, but from the time of being released from customs, the parcel made it to my PO Box in four days (this included a weekend), so the Postal service here was at no fault.
Contents in the parcel are unscathed and in good condition, there was a card in the package from customs advising that it had been opened for inspection and found to be OK. It was a great relief to get this, as the items are for special projects that I can now complete.
The problem of the delay from the time of the order being placed until actually being shipped is still a concern, (you did personally apologise and made no excuses for this!), one that I am sure you will be keeping an eye on.
Your price, supply, quality and packing deserve no criticism. Once departed from your hands, you have no control over the eventual result, people need to understand that. You took the time to answer me personally, and for that I hold you in high regard.
Now the situation is resolved and the answers have surfaced, would I purchase from you again – in short –YES! People are quick to jump to conclusions and make statements that sometimes can be regretful; I am probably guilty of that to some degree (I do like your truck though, even though I drive FORDS).
Some of the other inferences as to pirating other net names etc are things people should also be careful about accusing of, I had a modeller here in Queensland that took offence because I use the reference to pre-loved model trains for our exhibition, he trades under a name that includes these words, thing is, everyone of those words is in individual daily use.
As I said, I will purchase from you again, but my primary objective is items that are undecorated or easily (and financially feasible) to redo, if you go to our club website – ddmrc.com – and take a look in the Gallery, you will see photos of a couple of Amtrak AMD 103’s in N scale, that is what these HO ones are destined for, trouble is, unless I can get them at a good price, its too easy to lose out on them.
The last three AMD 103’s I purchased in Australia cost me a dollar less than I sold them for on eBay after all the work.
Sorry to have raved on, but I just wanted to let you know that the problem is now resolved and I will post on the forum as such, in fact I am considering placing this letter on there as a whole (which I have done other than the order details) as an indication of the direct contact made.
Yours in model railroading
Ted (Teditor) Freeman
From sunny Queensland, Australia.
Teditor
The Internet KKK ???!!!
I ,for one, am very grateful to all of the people
who posted sharing their negative experience
with this company.It is regrettable that this
is the only way to get Internettrains.com to
wake up and take notice that customers are
very concerned about Internettrains business
practices and ethics.This is not slander,nor is
it a Klan rally to burn a cross in Steve Guccione's
yard. It is about building a fire beneath his
backside, so that he will stop making excuses
and start running his company.It is about
fellow model railroaders pulling together to
protect their interests. Most,if not all the people
who posted, have tried to gain a solution from
Internettrains.com,but couldn't even get a
response. We are the ones who have been
victimized,not Mr. Guccione !!!
I still don't know what to do? Still having issues, Steve has replied back to me a few times, but always he'll get back to me in a few days.... Last email was form Monday (2/5), but nothing since...
Any ideas? It would be so simple if they actually just answered their phone.
UPDATE: Steve just emailed me and said my order will ship on Monday. Will post follow up when I do actually receive.
There are a lot of companies out there ranging from small LHS's to massive Internet based operations. Everyone of these business' no doubt have an accurate fulfillment rate and satisfaction rate in the high 90% range. What sets one company apart from another is how they handle the few percentage points that don't go to plan. This business seems overwhelmed. How many folks on this forum have detailed a problem? 15, 20? How sensible it would have been to focus on the folks on this list and give them satisfaction, or at the very least information on what is going on. The positive vibe and PR would have be huge. I suspect that this small group here represents just the tip of the iceberg.
Let's say that the "hundreds and hundreds of orders per week" are actually 1000. Since this thread started with a 98% accurate fulfillment rate there would still be 140 recently irritated customers. Since is seems to be taking weeks, not days to provide folks with answers then the list of not happy campers is growing rather quickly. I hope for Internettrains sake and for all those waiting that they get their "back-end-operation" sorted out soon.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
Seems to me that some people don't want to hear or read the "Good Stuff", the response to my last post on this subject was in VERY LARGE LETTERS but still only focussed on the negatives, as I stated, Steve has communicated with me on several occasions without delay, there was an initial problem with a delay in shipment, Steve addressed this situation with an apology, once leaving Internet Trains store, which was confirmed as the 26th November 2006, there is no control by the sender, I feel comfortable in placing another order with Internet Trains.
I would suggest that maybe there are many others who have had their problems sorted out, but do not find it as easy to apologise, give credit where its due, or say thanks, negatives seem to be much easier to type on a forum post.
It would have been easy for Steve to brush me aside, after all, it wasn't a real large order, and what was I going to do about it on the other side of the world, Steve has remained pleasant in his replies and has not been vindictive in any way, more than I can say about some of the posts that have come on here.
We have a name for friends down under, "MATE!", my problem was solved, was not directly the fault of Internet Trains and for this I say to Steve Gucionne - THANKS MATE!
There is an old adage in the customer service industry that goes; A satisfied customer will tell one or two others about their expeirence, a dissatisfied customer will tell ten or twenty. This thread seems to be proving that statement to be accurate.
I was one of the early complainers in this thread, and for the record I did eventually receive my shipment. Ordered in November, received in January. I don't think anyone has accused this dealer of being dishonest, only deceptive. If it's going to take 6 weeks to receive a item listed as "In stock", then they should say so. Instead of saying "most items ship in 2-3 days". I'm glad to hear that their order fufillment process has improved. Though that's not really surprising now that we are out of the holiday season, and one would assume the volume of orders will have fallen off considerably. For now I am taking my business elsewhere. I wish Mr. Gucionne luck, and it will be interesting to see if this thread reoccures next holiday season.
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
I've had the same problem with Internettains.com. Ordered a Kato AC4400 on January 22. My credit card was charged the same day and I still haven't received it. Since I couldn't get through I called my credit card company to dispute the charges, better safe than sorry! Then the next day I finally got an e-mail from internettrains telling me that it would ship in 7 days. I'm not going to hold my breath. I did get a 5% coupon for the next time I order from them, YEAH RIGHT! It's too bad because I've ordered from them in the past and never had any problems. They've had some great deals that I've never seen anywhere else. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if 1. they didn't charge me until it was shipped and 2. I could speak with someone from the company! Good luck Steve, you've got an uphill battle from the looks of this forum and several others!
Glad I caught this post. I was about to place a large order with Internettrains, but don't need that hassle. I have used Blue Ridge Hobbies in the past, and while the order wasn't filled right, they were quick to correct the disorder. They just don't have the stock tracking quite right yet. Trying firstplacehobbies next.
It's always the trade-off you get..cheap prices online and unpleasant surprises vs. steep prices at LHS.
Got my order today!!!! (ordered 1/14/07)
Thanks Steve for getting it to me...
It is now over three months since I placed my order with Internet Trains. Part of the order was shipped (3 items). After multiple emails and failed attempts at reach someone by phone, I finally received a few emails from one of their customer service reps as well as a phone call and I felt that things had been resolved. That was over two months ago. During my phone conversation I told the customer service rep that I was alright with items being delayed in shipping but asked for updated shipping status on the outstanding items. Needless to say, I haven't heard anything from this company since that phone call. The latest status of my order was updated on 1/16/07.
I recently sent four emails to them via their webpage "Order Status" link. Three emails have gone unanswered and I'm not optimistic about the fourth being answered either. I just don't understand how hard it is to answer an email and provide customers with BASIC services like updated shipping status. For example, one of the items I ordered was a Kalmbach book.. They could've ordered one from Amazon and shipped it to me within a week of my order being placed. Following my conversation a few months ago I was willing to give Internet Trains the benefit of the doubt. Their recent inability to communicate to a customer (one who paid for items over three months ago) is simply unacceptable and I have no confidence in this company at all.
Mr. Guccione, if you still read this forum (which I suspect you don't, much like the emails from your customers submitted directly to your company), fix your problems NOW and start providing BASIC customer services. TSS
I wish I had found this thread before ordering from internettrains.com.
Needless to say, my experiences of the past month parallel those of most of the other posters here. No merchandise, even though ordered a month ago; their "order status" page is useless ("information not found"), and they don't answer emails except for that stupid automated "promise" to reply within "1-2 days or sooner." Even that "promise" has yet to be met, after more than a dozen attempts on my part.
One reason I sent them an order was their promise of "free shipping," which turned out to be nothing more than an expensive rebate scam, no less shady than internettrains.com itself.
It amazes me that these guys have been able to stay in business since 1999.
well...
i too have had long delays with internettrains. i once ordered something from their old site and recieved half because the rest was backorderd. the rest of my order arrived around the time the new site was online. i had totally forgotten about it. from now on, i only order whats in stock to avoid backorders.
I stopped buying from Internet Trains. On two different occasions they charged my credit card immediately when I placed an order, and several months later I still didn't have my stuff. When I called about it, the guy said it would be shipped "next week". It wasn't. Then when I cancelled my order, they didn't credit my card back. When I called another month later about my credit, the guy said the accounting dept had "forgot" to credit my account. Yeah right. Twice. They did finally credit my account, but it took some doing on my part. Maybe they thought I would forget about it. I just checked the Internet Trains website, and they still list the Soundtraxx DSD LL110 Plug and Play Decoder as in stock. That was one of the items I ordered, and later found out it was discontinued. I suspect if you ordered it, they would charge your card, and it would be back ordered forever, or until you cancelled the order. The DSD LL110 was discontinued over a year ago.
I'm not sure if they are crooked, or just hopelessly inept, and overwhelmed. I may be mistaken, but I get the impression this is a one man business, operating out of someones basement, with little or no inventory in stock. It's always the same guy who answers the phone. It's always quiet in the background.
That said, I believe it is a violation of Federal Trade Commission rules to charge a credit card, before the merchandise is shipped.
A rant from someone disillusioned by unethical internet stores...
Just from a business and accounting perspective, there certainly seems to be a problem with internet stores like this one...financially and credibility-wise. That orders are eventually received doesn't mean as much as the business practices they apparenty use...which means your order, your expectation of receiving what you ordered, and on time, is a crap-shoot.
First, a common trait I see with Internet hobby stores is that they advertise a product like they have it in stock, but really Walthers or some original manufacturer has it in stock and they're just going and ordering from Walthers at wholesale vendor rates and passing on a marginal savings. So if they don't keep up with the stock lists of Walthers or the OEM, to see what they're out of stock of, these internet sites tend to be inaccurate in their claims, unless it's widely always-available stuff like WS risers. And most of these internet shops are mom-and-pop style operations, maybe a fancy looking web site but when you life the hood there are squirrels running around a tread mill...they don't the time or resources to keep up on in-stock lists. A fancy web site is just a facade. Some of the fanciest web sites have suspect practices, while some of the most sound web sites have dull web sites. Don't be fooled by cool search engines or graphics.
And financially, a lot of these shops ride a thin line...making their money off of the difference between wholesale price and the "deep" discounts they often provide...plus the margins off of the shipping and handling they charge. That often is not a lot to keep a business truly growing. Which means they have to bill in advance in order to maintain a cash flow that covers their expenses. Which also means they are prime for their business practices to catch up with them.
Finally, any business that charges a credit card for an item not shipped is operating on near-fraudent business practices. It just should not be done, according to accounting rules. It's a real fly-by-night business practice, and means they are really scrambling to keep their business alive. You don't charge for something you don't have or haven't shipped. It is, simply, unsound business. They're practicing a form of shell game. On a much larger scale, think Enron.
So just beware of these kind of internet stores. The internet has spawned tons of these types of business, for all of us who want to save ten bucks on an order. I cannot definitively state that Internettrains is one of them, but it sounds extremely suspicious, for all of the postings here!
It's one reason I like to order by phone, to confirm stock status, and shop at LHS to support that business sector, or shop at onlines businesses that have sound billing and shipping procedures....in many cases they're ones that actually have a "bricks and mortar store" too somewhere, and aren't afraid to publicize it ...a good indication that the business if not just vapor. Another safer bet are true "closeout" online stores, because at least you know where their stock comes from, and they don't make claims to have virtually everything in stock.
Buyer beware!!!