# How many of you use mail-order?



## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

With the nearest train-oriented hobby shop a 60 miles drive each way, it just doesn't pay to drive all the way down there and all the way back and pay more than what I can buy it for on the internet with shipping included.

I would love to have money to burn where I could throw it away on prices sometimes 20% or more than what I can buy it for on-line.

Last time I was there he was selling the NCE Power Cab system at full MSRP of $199.99. A piece of concrete tie flex track was $6.79.

I realize he has to make a living too, but I can't afford those prices when my dollar buys so much more on the internet.

So do you shop on-line out of necessity, price, or distance from a hobby shop? Mine is a bit of all three. Mostly distance and the price of gas.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

Price. I'm ten miles from what's probably one of the best, well stocked, train-only hobby shops for hundreds of miles in any direction. Prices are full retail. 

When I get to the point that I'm ready to plunk down that chunk of change for track, turnouts, turnout motors, power supplies, and other electronics I'll see what he can do on a "bulk" order.

The other thing is, I'm buying all my rolling stock used with the intent of upgrading the running gear and weathering it, since that's part of the adventure... for me.


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## J.C. (Dec 24, 2016)

I use mail order because I have no choice the closest hobby shop is over 150 miles away , on occasions that I have to go to Tucson VA 215 miles . I always stop in the ace hardware there great hobby shop and pick up a few things , but mainly use mail order.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Very few on-line train purchases. I am fortunate enough to have the best train hobby shop in the country right here....and I volunteer and work with the owner at train shows, etc.....

My train life couldn't be better.....


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Reading the thread title, I thought you meant how many use the US mail to send an order slip and a check. I actually did that in the distant past, but not for many years.

I suspect almost everyone here buys items on the internet. Shopping (from finding the best price to finding the exact item you are looking for) is just too easy not to take advantage of.

Most of my train purchases are on line, but I try to make some buys at local hobby shops. Even though prices are usually higher at the brick and mortar stores, if we don't patronize them, they will be gone.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Bingo!


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

I understand that all too well. Maybe the B&M stores should think about branching out to the internet to try and keep their in-store prices more reasonable. ???

I don't have all of the answers, but I also don't have all of the money or I would not have posed the question.


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## GansettII (Dec 2, 2016)

I go to the local ACE and Lowes, other than that the rest of my shopping I do on-line.


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

On line shopping only. Nearest hobby shop 2 hours away.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

The local hobby shops in my area all have an on-line presence. They also will generally offer a discount of 5% to 10%. I guess that’s why they are still there.


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## fcwilt (Sep 27, 2013)

Hi,

No local stores here. Online for most everything.

Frederick


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

Lehigh74 said:


> Even though prices are usually higher at the brick and mortar stores, if we don't patronize them, they will be gone.


I totally agree! I'm at the point where my 'high dollar' buying is pretty well done, at least for the foreseeable future. Randy's Roundhouse (shameless plug there) is just a few miles away, and I get nearly all my supplies there. He had an NCE Powercab system for sale once, and even though I have one in the train room, I bought it so I could have one in the workshop where the test track is. He told me someone else had been eyeing it, too. I told him an adage I had heard during my Tae Kwon Do days: "He who hesitates, meditates... from the floor." :laugh:
If I absolutely have to have something on a Sunday, I'll drive over to Hobbytown, but that's on the other side of town, so I don't make that trip too often. They do get most of my RC plane addiction business, though. 
The only time I buy online is when I need something Randy can't get for me, but for 95% of my purchases, I go there.
As I've often said, if you don't support your local hobby shop for the big purchases, someday they won't be there for the small ones.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

We've got a couple local train shops within 25 miles and my favorite about 50 miles away. 

I get over near to the 50 mile one quite a bit so it's not a problem.

English's Model Railroad/Bowser Manufacturing. My fav because if anybody makes it English's have it. I like to put my hands on stuff before I buy it.

I'll buy online, but not unless I've had it, have it, or already used it.


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## Dieseler (Jan 29, 2014)

Now a days mostly online .


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## rdcfellow (Jan 10, 2014)

*Distance too far*

Nothing here in Yuma so it's either go to San Diego or Phoenix. Seven hour drive round trip plus pay sales tax in Arid-Zona Californy makes the choice real plain. The old fardt ..


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Mail order? Technically no. That means ordered by mail. Haven't done that in decade or more. 

I have not set foot inside a real, bricks and mortar model-train store in about five years.

So I think I know what you mean. All my locos, rolling stock, buildings, figures, vehicles - ALL, I buy on-line or by telephone. 

I buy locos and rolling stock from one particular brick-and-mortar company (Pats Trains, in WV). For bit purchases, over about $300, I usually telephone and talk directly to Pat. Smaller purchases I do on-line. I buy all my diecast vehciles, most rolling stock, buildings, etc., on-line.

Absolutely love it!


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I buy styrene, strip wood, and scenery supplies from my local shops, but only Tom's Trains, about 45min away, has anything else worth buying.

I order most things on line these days.


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## Bill Webb (Sep 14, 2015)

On-line at Charles Ro and Mr Muffins for new Lionel/MTH/Ross. Several other places for other supplies. Nothing decent near-by that we have found. Don Jones has also been a big help on N and W pre-owned.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Maybe the question should have been...

How many of you _don't_ use mail-order? 

It would have been a much shorter thread.


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## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

I order online mostly from Trainworld. There are no model train stores anywhere near me.


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

I have a hobby shop 7-8 minutes away by car...so I’ll go there first but if they don’t have what I want then it’s online for me. There is the mothership of hobby shops about a 40 minute drive away which I go to a couple of times a year but he is totally MSRP and no deals...but his inventory is mind-boggling.


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## Patrick1544 (Apr 27, 2013)

Online Hobby Stores for me. Convenient. Take your time looking at inventory.


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## MatroxD (Jan 19, 2018)

I actually do both. If my local shops (and I try to call and bug every last one of them that I know of before ordering) has, or can get something for me in an effective timetable, cost effectively, I go to them first.. We need local shops, and there are so few now.. 

Radio Control is a prime example. When I first began flying, there were tons of hobby shops locally. All had some form of helicopter section in them. Whether they were up to date and knowledgeable or not is another story.. But there were at least 20 hobby shops 20 years ago in my local. Now, and it isn't even one of the 20 that were there before, there is only 1. So I do all I can to support them.

But there are some things that you have to order, for various reasons. And for those, I do, do internet.. 

Sent from my Note8 using Tapatalk


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## jackpresley (Dec 19, 2017)

*Both*

I do both, too. Closest major town is San Antonio and there are three hobby stores there. Dibbles, HobbyTown, and ??? (can't remember). The last one is HO only, so I don't shop there.

Dibbles doesn't have Broadway Limited or Scale Trains, so they miss my business in the expensive loco category. 

I reward the guys that give me help. I just bought some stuff from Mike Fifer's place in Las Cruces because his videos have helped me out a lot since he does Kato N scale. Mike and Robin are just plain nice so I enjoy doing business with them when I can.

If the price difference isn't dramatic, I buy locally. I just picked up a Broadway Limited locomotive at HobbyTown for $220. Same thing was $205 online, but not with free shipping so I went for the instant gratification. Plus he put it on the test track for me.

FiferHobby, Trainworld, ModelTrainStuff, HobbyLinc, Lombard and if I need Kato stuff not released here yet, then eBay (last resort).


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## Colorado1445 (Nov 11, 2017)

The Closest hobby shop to me is a 2 hour drive. It kills me, because that hobby shop is Caboose Hobbies. I tend to order online due to the fact I look for oddly specific equipment.


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## Ko Improbable (Mar 15, 2017)

I buy online far more often than not, because the two shops that are in the metro area are not *just* model railroading shops, and as such the model railroading section isn't all that diversely stocked. One of them has better selection than the other, but it still has to divide what space it has between G, O, HO, and N.
I do still go to each of them, for different reasons. I can order Evergreen or Plastruct styrene bits online, but the prices aren't that much better, and I have to pay shipping, then. One of the shops has tiny screws and drill bits.
Ultimately, though, I only make small purchases from them, when I have money for big purchases, because if I want something, the online retailers are likely to have it and the local shops aren't.


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## ebtnut (Mar 9, 2017)

Metro Washington DC once had a bunch of good model railroad shops in the region. One by one they all disappeared. Closest one today is Klein's in Hunt Valley north of Baltimore. The other is Mainline Hobbies in Blue Ridge Summit, PA. Klein's is about an hour drive, Mainline about an hour and a quarter. The default back-up is the Great Train Show at Timonium, MD. They have shows 3-4 times a year. I'll use mail order if there is no other option, but I've only done that once in the past ten years. It was e-bay for an out-of-production steam loco I needed for a kit bash.


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## RonthePirate (Sep 9, 2015)

I live in a smaller town in northern Arizona. No hobby shops here.
I have to go to Las Vegas, about 1 1/2 hours away if I want face contact.
If we want to combine a LHS trip with a small gaming trip, and a food pigout, we take a day and go.
Otherwise, it's usually Ebay for that needed switcher.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Like a couple of you, my nearest hobby shop is 2 hours away, and they don't carry much train stuff, especially N-scale. But I mostly have what I need, so don't buy much online either.


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## Chet (Aug 15, 2014)

I have no hobby shops at all near me here in Montana. There is Jim's Junction in Billings about 150 miles away, but where I am with my layout, they never have anything in stock that I need. 

I get the I can order it for you speech but then they expect me to pay full retail after another 300 mile round trip. 

I had been using MB Klein until they updated their web site. What a mess it is now. Really hard to find what you need compared to their old site. 

I also use bobthetrainguy, Internet Model trains and a few other.


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## Ko Improbable (Mar 15, 2017)

Chet said:


> I had been using MB Klein until they updated their web site. What a mess it is now. Really hard to find what you need compared to their old site.
> 
> I also use bobthetrainguy, Internet Model trains and a few other.


I don't know if you've checked MB Klein lately, but they restored things like being able to narrow your search to just GP7s for example.


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## Chet (Aug 15, 2014)

Ko Improbable said:


> I don't know if you've checked MB Klein lately, but they restored things like being able to narrow your search to just GP7s for example.


I have been on the site recently. In fact I managed to get an email through to them and they do admot that there are still problems. The old site was so much easier to uswe that having to go through filters. It still takes quite a long while to find what I need compared to other sites. I am disappointed becoae MB Klein was my first go to place for many years.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Backing up the potato truck a bit.....the title says "How many of you use mail-order?'

Is there any true "mail-order" places around? That is, you send a letter/form in the mail, and receive the product back, in the mail....

I don't consider on-line or internet ordering/buying as "mail order", but maybe that's just me.....


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Chet said:


> I have been on the site recently. In fact I managed to get an email through to them and they do admot that there are still problems. The old site was so much easier to uswe that having to go through filters. It still takes quite a long while to find what I need compared to other sites. I am disappointed becoae MB Klein was my first go to place for many years.


I agree completely. It was for me, too. But recently I had to go to another site for something I know they must have, but could never find.


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## Chet (Aug 15, 2014)

The site is really a mess. If I search for HO scale automobiles, there are 15 results, including box cars. If I search HO scale Vehicles I get 2 pages, with 57 items. Buses and containers. I know darn well that they do stock what I'm looking for, but this is really sad.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Yep - they screwed up. Survival of the fittest. Time will tell if they are smart enough to simply undo it for now and go back to their old site while they regroup.

Meanwhile I buy elsewhere.


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## Krieglok (Sep 7, 2013)

I bought almost all my 40+ locomotives and 30+ cars from EBay. I have about 5 locos from Trainland in NY, a few from various dealers in NY, PA and FL and one set of F7s I bought here on the MTF...all through the mail. 

I have a few hobby shops that carry O scale with in a hour or two from my house but I have not visited them since I started in O. The only O scale stuff I have bought in person, in a shop, have been 6 Atlas and MTH freight cars, and that was when I was in WNY on a trip

I used MB Kline for much of my N scale scenery stuff and track. The N scale locos and cars pretty much all came from EHattons in England. That is due to the lack of availability of British prototype N scale in the US.

I am not really a shopper when it comes to buying. Mail order is just easier for me...

Tom

PS! To me, if it is delivered in the mail, it is mail order. I have not used a printed form or letter to buy any Train stuff in over 20+ years or since the interweb was invented...lol


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Krieglok said:


> To me, if it is delivered in the mail, it is mail order. I have not used a printed form or letter to buy any Train stuff in over 20+ years or since the interweb was invented...


Well, to me, that is on-line shopping/buying.....which all gets delivered to your house by either mail or courier company anyway....

Pure, traditional "mail order" is probably dead.....


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## Krieglok (Sep 7, 2013)

I agree. It does bring back fond memories of buying through the mail. I remember buying from an N scale only dealer back in the late 70's and early eighties. They had a catalog or you picked stuff out from their add in MR or RMC. 

The old days when we were all a bit more patient. You wrote a check, then it took a couple weeks to get something, but you appreciated it more, I think. 

It is too easy to click and buy with out thinking about spending. I think it gets many people in trouble, money wise...

Tom


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Agreed on that as well!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Krieglok said:


> It is too easy to click and buy with out thinking about spending. I think it gets many people in trouble, money wise...


That's what's happening to all my money! Thanks for the insight Tom, I figured there was a simple reason.


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

The Mothership...40 minutes from me.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Genetk44 said:


> The Mothership...40 minutes from me.


That place looks like it's worth the drive. He has a ton of capitalm tied up in inventory, though. I hope he has the turn to justify it.


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

CTValleyRR said:


> That place looks like it's worth the drive. He has a ton of capitalm tied up in inventory, though. I hope he has the turn to justify it.


He’s very old and very rich so doesn’t really care if he makes a profit. He sells at MSRP..no deals, no discounts. But his inventory is massive and goes back years, so he has stuff from 20-30-40 years ago...at the MSRP from the date he recieved it.


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## Krieglok (Sep 7, 2013)

c


gunrunnerjohn said:


> That's what's happening to all my money! Thanks for the insight Tom, I figured there was a simple reason.


Then again, some of us need not worry about money....


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Krieglok said:


> c
> 
> Then again, some of us need not worry about money....


Sadly, I'm not one of those people. hwell:


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## Krieglok (Sep 7, 2013)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Sadly, I'm not one of those people. hwell:


I never worry. If I run low, I just go down into the basement and print some more!

Tom


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

Krieglok said:


> I never worry. If I run low, I just go down into the basement and print some more!
> 
> Tom


You too?!!!


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

Ray Stevens has a video about running his household finances the way the government does. I'll let you find it for yourselves, though.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Krieglok said:


> I never worry. If I run low, I just go down into the basement and print some more!


Why should you be any different than the government....:laugh:


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

flyboy2610 said:


> Ray Stevens has a video about running his household finances the way the government does. I'll let you find it for yourselves, though.


Thanks for nothing...literally!! :laugh:


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## Colorado1445 (Nov 11, 2017)

I tend to make sure I always have at least 2000 saved up for rainy days.


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

flyboy2610 said:


> Ray Stevens has a video about running his household finances the way the government does. I'll let you find it for yourselves, though.





Fire21 said:


> Thanks for nothing...literally!! :laugh:


When you find it, you'll know why.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

flyboy2610 said:


> Ray Stevens has a video about running his household finances the way the government does. I'll let you find it for yourselves, though.


I've seen it, or something similar. The only thing really funny about it is how little he actually knows about how the federal budget works or why it works the way it does.

Same goes for anyone who claims we should run government like a business or a home budget.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

CTValleyRR said:


> Same goes for anyone who claims we should run government like a business


Now, who in their right mind would do that?


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