# Question for people running oo in the states



## Darrenmb (Nov 13, 2018)

Where is everyone getting their stuff from? Not much on ebay over here, and shipping from uk gets a bit outrageous...


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## Krieglok (Sep 7, 2013)

Here....on eBay too, but the website works great. Excellent prices and cheap shipping...

https://www.ajmrailways.com

Tom


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## Chops124 (Dec 23, 2015)

Many thanks for the tip. My internet searches only turned up some widely scattered OO retailers who basically kept a few odd pieces around as a curiousity to sell to the curious. 

I've been paying a King's ransom to import stuff, and very occasionally I stumble over something in a junk shop on a lucky day. I will have to take a hard look at these AJN guys.


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

Checkout Britannia Mdels in British Columbia...


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## Krieglok (Sep 7, 2013)

Yes, I used to buy from a fellow on EBay. He was from BC, but I have not seen him on the web lately. His shipping costs were cheap. The trains are Toys, so no duty or customs fees.

AJM Railways is expert at packing stuff for great protection while being lightweight to keep shipping costs down. 

EHattons is a big shop in England I buy from too. I buy mostly N gauge from them.

I guess I tend to take the shipping costs in stride as they are shipping from overseas. I really cannot complain.

One thing that throws people off is the VAT tax. On some British websites, they add the vat tax to the total for check out but then deduct the VAT when the website recognizes that you are from a country other than the U.K. It is a huge amount of money that buyers from outside the U.K. do not pay.

Tom


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## Darrenmb (Nov 13, 2018)

Thanks for everyone's input, already had Hattons and brittania in my bookmarks, Britannia isnt really internet friendly, everything is listed nicely, but there no add to cart feature, you have to print a different page, write parts numbers etc.. but ebay does indeed turn up a treasure once in a while... just scored a stephensons rocket for a 100 bucks..


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

Darrenmb said:


> ?..... Britannia isnt really internet friendly, everything is listed nicely, but there no add to cart feature, you have to print a different page, write parts numbers etc......


Really! Britannia I used to just send an email with the part #s I wanted....and livery if required and it was that simple.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

I have bought from Britannia, and although they don't have a shopping cart system on their site, the system they do use is great.....I usually receive my order within a week....although I am only one province over.....😄


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## Darrenmb (Nov 13, 2018)

I stand corrected... I just purchased from Britannia and although no able to do so on website, I went old school and made a phone call.... they had the Christmas 2018 hornby wagon that is sold out everywhere else. They took my info, called back after packing and weighing said wagon and gave me a total price, paid by cc over phone, couldnt have been easier! I'm very pleased and can recommend them highly.


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## Chops (Dec 6, 2018)

I have, and while I am grateful we have anyone in NA with a decent array, the customs fees for 
Canadian goods makes my hair fall out. The Canadian tax system is such that I wonder how anyone 
manages.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Don’t worry, the custom fees coming this way are just as bad, plus we have to buy in US dollars, and at the current exchange rate, well, we get hosed.....


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## Chops (Dec 6, 2018)

Hosed indeed! Positively keel hauled! 😱


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## Firewood (Nov 5, 2015)

I used to be a member of British Railway Modellers of North America many moons ago - there used to be a few American suppliers, but only two Canadian sites listed now:


The British Railway Modellers of North America (BRMNA) General information


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## Firewood (Nov 5, 2015)

Firewood said:


> I used to be a member of British Railway Modellers of North America many moons ago - there used to be a few American suppliers, but only two Canadian sites listed now, including Britannia:
> 
> 
> The British Railway Modellers of North America (BRMNA) General information


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Hatten's is very popular all over Europe, but you might have a look at Modellbahn Shopp-Lippe too. Flat rate shipping to the States is $30 via UPS.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

I just ordered a Hornby Higwarts Express passenger car from AJM, which is my third order from them....I suspect all will go well, as the first 2 orders were flawless, but I will need to be patient on the shipping, as AJM is based in the UK, and I am in Canada.....and the Christmas shipping rush will definitely play into it, of that I am absolutely certain.....

I have also ordered from Britannia here in Canada in the past....they too are great, but they didn’t have the car in stock that I wanted.....

Edit:my Hogwarts Express coach arrived today, perfect shape, less than a month of England....


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## Krieglok (Sep 7, 2013)

Amanda at AJM is great! She pretty much runs the business by herself, along with a B&B on their property. A busy lady!

Tom


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## Chops (Dec 6, 2018)

Hornby, I just found out, ships free internationally for orders over $75, but double check that. Here is a stateside eBay seller who says he has many British items that he hasn’t posted yet. Mak48red is his eBay handle. So far, my experience with him has been fine.


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## Mithril_Maiden (Nov 28, 2020)

It seems Britannia Models is the best selection, but I haven't seen their shipping costs, yet. I just ordered two OO steam engines and two books from them, I'm waiting to see how much shipping is going to be, since I'm in California, not Canada. I'm also trying to see what's going on with the 1960s London Underground cars that are listed for pre-order expected December 2020, because I'd love to add those to my order.

I also have a Hornby Flying Scotsman kit and a Mallard, both purchased off Amazon.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Both my Flying Scotsman and Mallard came from Britannia Models.....Flying Scotsman was bought at our local annual train show a few years back (Britannia came with a fully stocked booth), and my Mallard was ordered on-line......Britannia Models made both experiences painless, and I will buy from them again, guaranteed.......


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## Chops (Dec 6, 2018)

Sold off some North American overage and spent it on this:






I don't know how I missed this before, but Hornby has FREE international shipping to the USA for orders over $70, PLUS they deduct VAT. This makes Hornby in the USA positively AFFORDABLE. 

My degree of satisfaction is atmospheric. I carefully reviewed these items on Sam's Trains Review and am very happy, again.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Unfortunately, AJM is shutting down, according to this letter posted on their web-site.....



> An Important Announcement from AJMRailways.com
> I will begin with 2 apologies, the first and most important being to my Customers in respect of the way recent events have and will affect my future ability to supply in the manner you have become used to and the second apology is for the time it has taken to convey this to you.
> 
> As some of you already know, Hornby decided to "Band" retailers back in January. Now 4 months later they have finally given further clarity as to why and how each account is banded. In this announcement, they describe Band 3 retailers as for example online retailers without a Bricks and Mortar shop. Since we are not in a position to open a physical shop here in the UK at such short notice we are now a Band 3 Customer
> ...


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## The Southern Railroad (May 22, 2021)

Good Morning Chops
I have officially gone off the rails with the OO Brit thing 
You noticed my other posts 
I also have been selling off extra stuff on eBay [ to make room ] and turning around buying where I can to save money to buy more stuff I do not need - Set a side I'm up to my caboose in plasticville and just keep buying it - it lead to me Kleeware and playtown and playcraft and finding after the war and Rebuilding of Germany that some of the items were made in Germany under Brit companies and so on [ Writing a book this coming year - like; I don't have enough to do ] Anyways after a long drawn out search for things I need - the chase for cool rare items starts in the morning and [ have to work in between] ends at 10:00 at night I found the following dirt cheap and unused on eBay here in the states - the cost for things I want are out of hand still - a guy has a simple stupid plastic post I need for my vintage Hornby Level Crossing gate - just one *** post and he wants $5.00 and $33.50 for shipping - and the Drama Plays on . [ Chops I think we are both out of control - Casey Jones would be proud ]


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

$5 for the post is reasonable, but the $33.50 for shipping is scandalous…..


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## The Southern Railroad (May 22, 2021)

Old_Hobo said:


> $5 for the post is reasonable, but the $33.50 for shipping is scandalous…..


Yep , I'd pay $20 total just to finish my one section of my layout, a train guy in Canada is looking for what I need I'll throw a photo up tomorrow or maybe in couple days - I'm spring cleaning - The Leveling crossing is common other then the one I have is Brown, the middle section that lays in the track is also missing, I can buy the set in Gray, but, I'm just one of those guys who has crested / crossed over into the old guy club and I get a bit flicked when I like something and I'm right in the middle of designing a build and I can't find it, oh, yes, I can paint and weather the gray one, push comes to should I'll just modify the crossing and make the gates operational - being a purest then giving into a restoration is a bummer 😌
The set it came in was made in 1976 - have a good day all - back to my Train Lab to create 🎡


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## Chops124 (Dec 23, 2015)

Now and then I've been stung from eBay sales, and some brand new pieces of major manufacturers, and the cost of returning them hasn't made a lot of sense, although it is my understanding has some strict lemon laws. 

What has been a great help is "Sam's Model Train Forum," on YouTube. His analysis is free from manufacturer influence, so he is often quite pointed with his analysis. 

He is not without his critics, however, who recently were in an uproar about a rather foolish episode in which he immersed a locomotive underwater and ran it with a live transformer to demonstrate the conductability of water, leaving the skeptics to wonder when some young person would electrocute themselves trying to duplicate his results. Those concerns are not without merit.

None the less, all the pieces that I have purchased, after studying his remarks, have all been excellent, in line with his remarks.


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## The Southern Railroad (May 22, 2021)

Chops124 said:


> Now and then I've been stung from eBay sales, and some brand new pieces of major manufacturers, and the cost of returning them hasn't made a lot of sense, although it is my understanding has some strict lemon laws.
> 
> What has been a great help is "Sam's Model Train Forum," on YouTube. His analysis is free from manufacturer influence, so he is often quite pointed with his analysis.
> 
> ...


The wonders of youtube : It is not surprising to here about this - you have some interesting people doing - well- dangerous retarded things just to get attention - well it worked - you just gave out his youtube thing. Youtube pays people who have a large following - I have personally avoided it for sometime opening an account I did but have not used it

Stung on eBay- you don't say 😎😎😎 - it happens - I buy and sell on eBay and have gotten my share of wonderful items - from buying a train set that was packed in old baby cloths - the one that takes the cake was old cat food wrappers used for packing [ that one I bit my lip on and never said anything to the seller ] you can fix stupid - and reason I never said crap is two fold I got a deal on said item - 2nd if someone has the nerve to send my package that way - it is simple - you will never make them understand why your t-ed off. Lost cause.

Lemon laws pertain to car's - what you have is buyer beware law - it is under the section listed
as ::: Section 1: Murphy's Law - Subsection 2 : What will go wrong - will go wrong.

Most sellers don't take returns and most sellers pick up trains in Estate sales and have no clue about trains in general - I have gotten more deals then the couple bad ones - I ask buyers to ask question - ask for more photos before buying and I give out my phone number : Now I check what the seller has in there store - I also ask a question - If the pee-ant does not answer a simple question in 24hrs they go on my poop list - I can fix anything so I'm always expecting to get a pile of poop to fix - 
Here are a couple photos of my eBay $12.00 Train set I had it torn part fixed and running same day I got it It was the Casey Jones Bachmann Set I got everything but the track and transformer [ Which I have zero shortage on those item - Engine Caboose Tender and couple rail cars shipping - the seller lost on that one as well - point to all this book writing - not sure what you were asking in the start of your tread ] So I thought I would just chat away while paint is drying on my clients project :

Here is the $12.00 set I only took photos of engine and tender


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## The Southern Railroad (May 22, 2021)

Chops124 said:


> Now and then I've been stung from eBay sales, and some brand new pieces of major manufacturers, and the cost of returning them hasn't made a lot of sense, although it is my understanding has some strict lemon laws.
> 
> What has been a great help is "Sam's Model Train Forum," on YouTube. His analysis is free from manufacturer influence, so he is often quite pointed with his analysis.
> 
> ...


Ok Chops Here is other one This was listed by seller as made in England - Ok Looks that way - Not - Made in Lima Italy - and other than the tabs on the tender had a clean break and you can't see them - the Engine runs like a bear

That rule mentioned in my last reply to you still applies

It is a bit dusty - it has just been sitting on my work desk for months


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