# Modeler's Depot Orders



## Ray (Jan 11, 2021)

Has anyone had any luck with ordering from Modeler's Depot? I made an order Mar 25th and it is still pending. I have emailed them 3 times with no response. They don't have a phone number on their site (unusual for a company) Looked them up on BBB and their address is in a different town. There was a phone number there. I called numerous times and got the same message that they were assisting another customer and to leave my name and number and they would get back to me. No such luck there either.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

https://www.modeltrainforum.com/threads/even-fedex.194209/#post-2573524



I did eventually get the order.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Sometimes these places really are Mom and Pop businesses, and they do things at their own speed. Some of them are even in way over their heads, but they won't or can't hire extra help. Sometimes, they're offering something for sale that isn't in stock and they're having trouble getting it, but don't want to admit this to the customer for fear of losing a sale.

If you haven't left a message, do so. Very small businesses may not answer the phone every time it rings, but will return your call eventually. If you don't hear back in 2-3 days, leave another one. If several messages go unanswered, threaten to cancel the order. That usually gets their attention. And if they still don't respond, follow through and cancel it.


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## Ray (Jan 11, 2021)

As of today, after many attempts to contact Modeler's Depot I cancelled my order. Today when I called on my house phone and cell phone, it rings 8 times or so then there is a loud squeal instead of the message they had on there before.


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## Krieglok (Sep 7, 2013)

Is that the dealer in Illinois? Likely Covid19 related issues. Sorry it didn’t work out.

Tom


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## Ray (Jan 11, 2021)

Just got my Pay Pal bill. Modeler Depot took the money on 3/25/2021 as Model Train Model. I tried to cancel the order but that didn't work. I went to their site a few minutes ago and shipping details are the same as they were, pending on 3/30/2021. Most places don't take the money until they ship your goods.28 days since I made the order. I will try to go through Pay Pal and see if they can help.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

I have a credit card linked to my PayPal account. That is the sole purpose for that card. Two times I have disputed/contested charges via PayPal. Both times the card and the PayPal account were immediately frozen. After "resolution" I was issued a new card.

Not saying that's a bad thing. Just be advised.


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## Ray (Jan 11, 2021)

I have the same setup. I won one dispute with another company last year. I think this one will go through.


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## Ray (Jan 11, 2021)

Got an email from PayPal. They decided in my favor and refunded my funds. Case closed.


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## Yoppeh7J-UPmp954 (Nov 23, 2014)

I ordered two different BLI Christmas engines last summer and the second one came in good time but the first was marked as shipped. They had a picture of the back of a truck van filled with packages and stating they shipped this daily and the post office was to blame for shipments not coming. They had sent me a tracking number which I had text tracking on but nothing had come from the post office. Also there was a large number of complains on their site about them not shipping items and not answering emails about the shipments plus run around BS on phone calls.. 

After about 2 months I sent an email explaining I as an Owner Operator trucker had delivered and picked up loads all over the state of Illinois and had been through Farmer City many times and knew exactly where they were at. Later that afternoon I get the text from USPS stating they received the shipment. Did someone have a vision of a truck driver coming in the door with a United Pacific Tire Checker Bat in his hand???
I didn't tell them I gave my truck to my daughter and son in law in 2007.


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## blueknight (May 28, 2021)

Hi everyone, while I don't do model trains, I do have an rc buggy. I ordered a part for it through Modeler Depot’s, while it's only been a week, I don't appreciate being lied to. The lie being their site not showing out of stock and allowed me to add to cart and pay for it. If and when I ever get the part, I will never do business with that sorry excuse for a company again and will warn other's to never do business with Modeler Depot’s.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

I hope they make it right. Their business is going to go in the crapper when word like this makes it's rounds on the internet forums.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

blueknight said:


> Hi everyone, while I don't do model trains, I do have an rc buggy. I ordered a part for it through Modeler Depot’s, while it's only been a week, I don't appreciate being lied to. The lie being their site not showing out of stock and allowed me to add to cart and pay for it. If and when I ever get the part, I will never do business with that sorry excuse for a company again and will warn other's to never do business with Modeler Depot’s.


So, now do you know that the part was not in stock?


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## blueknight (May 28, 2021)

Old_Hobo said:


> So, now do you know that the part was not in stock?


If it was in stock, it should have been mailed by now. Either way, I will never do business with them again. Every review I've read has been a 1 star review, I didn't see any good reviews at all.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Just a thought.....every delivery has been delayed lately.....

Did you look at the one star reviews before you proceeded to order?


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

blueknight said:


> If it was in stock, it should have been mailed by now. Either way, I will never do business with them again. Every review I've read has been a 1 star review, I didn't see any good reviews at all.


 Non sequitur: your conclusion does not follow from the facts in evidence. Different companies have different timeframes for when they ship. Just because they took longer than you wanted them to doesn't mean you were lied to or that the item was not in stock.

There are also subtle distinctions: the place I order my paints and construction materials from has 3 different statuses: In Stock -- meaning they have it on the shelf; Available, meaning they can get it from their supplier in 2-3 days; and Backordered -- which they won't let you order, although you can request to be notified when it is restocked.

Also, while the merchant will put a hold on your funds right away (to protect themselves), the actual charge doesn't post until your order is shipped. That's why charges can stay in a "pending" status for several days.


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## blueknight (May 28, 2021)

CTValleyRR said:


> Non sequitur: your conclusion does not follow from the facts in evidence. Different companies have different timeframes for when they ship. Just because they took longer than you wanted them to doesn't mean you were lied to or that the item was not in stock.
> 
> There are also subtle distinctions: the place I order my paints and construction materials from has 3 different statuses: In Stock -- meaning they have it on the shelf; Available, meaning they can get it from their supplier in 2-3 days; and Backordered -- which they won't let you order, although you can request to be notified when it is restocked.
> 
> Also, while the merchant will put a hold on your funds right away (to protect themselves), the actual charge doesn't post until your order is shipped. That's why charges can stay in a "pending" status for several days.





CTValleyRR said:


> Non sequitur: your conclusion does not follow from the facts in evidence. Different companies have different timeframes for when they ship. Just because they took longer than you wanted them to doesn't mean you were lied to or that the item was not in stock.
> 
> There are also subtle distinctions: the place I order my paints and construction materials from has 3 different statuses: In Stock -- meaning they have it on the shelf; Available, meaning they can get it from their supplier in 2-3 days; and Backordered -- which they won't let you order, although you can request to be notified when it is restocked.
> 
> Also, while the merchant will put a hold on your funds right away (to protect themselves), the actual charge doesn't post until your order is shipped. That's why charges can stay in a "pending" status for several days.



Unfortunately I did not read the reviews before I ordered, big mistake on my part. Yes they have already got their money, it was taken out of my account on May 24th, it is not pending. Every other site I've looked at for the parts I needed stated out of stock and would not allow me to add to the cart. This place did not state out of stock or back ordered, it allowed me to add to the cart, finish the transaction and they took my money and the item has not shipped. The tracking still says " Awaiting fulfillment" so no shipping label has been created. That tells me they don't have the part in stock and waiting on a shipment, but who knows how long that'll be. Just wondering, do you work or own part of this company? You seem to be defending them for some reason and my conclusions do match the facts. 
Facts---
1) Was able to add to cart Which means on every other web site I've been on the item is in stock (nothing about out of stock or back ordered).
2) Ordered on a Friday, they took their money the following Monday (not pending)
3) It's been 5 business days and nothing, no update since May 21,2021, which is the day I ordered.
4) I've sent an email, no reply and it's been 3 days, just enquiring about product status.
5) The reviews I've read have all had pretty much the same complaint--- parts not in stock, long shipping times, not able to communicate with company for a short list, there were many other complaints. 
So yea, the facts match my conclusions.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

blueknight said:


> Unfortunately I did not read the reviews before I ordered, big mistake on my part. Yes they have already got their money, it was taken out of my account on May 24th, it is not pending. Every other site I've looked at for the parts I needed stated out of stock and would not allow me to add to the cart. This place did not state out of stock or back ordered, it allowed me to add to the cart, finish the transaction and they took my money and the item has not shipped. The tracking still says " Awaiting fulfillment" so no shipping label has been created. That tells me they don't have the part in stock and waiting on a shipment, but who knows how long that'll be. Just wondering, do you work or own part of this company? You seem to be defending them for some reason and my conclusions do match the facts.
> Facts---
> 1) Was able to add to cart Which means on every other web site I've been on the item is in stock (nothing about out of stock or back ordered).
> 2) Ordered on a Friday, they took their money the following Monday (not pending)
> ...


No, they still don't, but I'm not going to argue with you since you've already made up your mind. Just look at your item number one above: "Was able to add to my cart" is a fact. The rest of that statement is speculation based on your experience elsewhere. And not necessarily true. Some businesses will let you add anything to your cart and only tell you much later that it is, in fact, backordered or unavailable. I've dealt with several of them. This sounds like another one. But that's not the ONLY possible explanation.

I'm not sticking up for these guys. Their business practices are terrible. Some small businesses get in over their heads, and then are so desperate for money that they do stuff like this because they lose sight of the fact that they need satisfied customers to survive.

There is also no shortage of unscrupulous people out there. These folks sound like one. However, they crossed a line. They are NOT permitted to actually bill your card until they ship the merchandise. I would willing to bet (although I DON'T know for certain) that they have actually created a shipping label to justify the billing of your card, thus fulfilling the letter of the law, but not the intent. Contact your credit card company and report it as a fraudulent payment based on the fact that no merchandise has shipped. Then you will get your money back, and they will be forced to do what they should have done, which was to split the order and bill you for what was in stock, and back order the rest, notifying you of the expected shipment date and giving you the opportunity to cancel.


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## RobertCS (Aug 4, 2021)

Ray said:


> Has anyone had any luck with ordering from Modeler's Depot? I made an order Mar 25th and it is still pending. I have emailed them 3 times with no response. They don't have a phone number on their site (unusual for a company) Looked them up on BBB and their address is in a different town. There was a phone number there. I called numerous times and got the same message that they were assisting another customer and to leave my name and number and they would get back to me. No such luck there either.


I have had the same bad experience wit Modeler's Depot since May 2021. which is why I just joined this forum when I found it. Modeler's Depot sales support eventually stopped replying to my web/email queries and their telephone answering device said the other day that it had insufficient memory for more messages. The Store Management email address I tried today immediately bounced back as a bad address. I just filed a BBB complaint but had to manually enter the business info because the Modeler's Depot in the BBB database has a different address than what the Modeler's Depot website says. It was good to find that I'm not alone in this sad experience, it makes the disappointment just a bit easier to swallow.


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