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Post by Baikal on Sept 28, 2022 8:38:18 GMT -8
In general, who offers the lowest shipping costs- TrainWorld, MBK/Model Train Stuff, or Factory Direct Hobbies?
I'm looking at a Broadway Centipede, they all have them for the same price, $264. I don't want to sign up for more accounts just to calculate tax & shipping. (FDH won't accept my login & pw from about two years ago tho I still get email notices...)
Is there a clear benefit for being a repeat customer at one of these?
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Post by gmpullman on Sept 28, 2022 9:06:15 GMT -8
Is there a clear benefit for being a repeat customer at one of these?
personal go-to is MB Klein, ModelTrainStuff. I don't know the exact particulars but anytime I order over $100 I'm given the option of free shipping. Then through the "rewards" program I score points from purchases and, if you choose, you can earn points for making reviews and posting photos. Train Stuff RewardsI just bought one of the BLI E6s and used a $25 off reward. They seem to have stepped up their game in the shipping room as sometimes in the past it would take 5-6 days to even get your order filled. Lately they fill the orders and ship in a day or two. [edit] Out of curiosity I just checked my "status" and found I'm in the Yardmaster category. I've claimed $550 in rewards YTD. I wasn't aware of the "birthday" reward (1000 points) but just activated that. Regards, Ed |
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Post by Christian on Sept 28, 2022 9:28:01 GMT -8
Lombard has some single units at about $244. Shipping to me in Virginia would be about $13. SAL and Pennsy
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Post by riogrande on Sept 28, 2022 9:31:18 GMT -8
Lombard is about $14 ($13.99) standard shipping so I only order from Lombards if I can make a large enough order to justify the higher shipping costs.
Like Ed, I go with MBK most of the time because I am a reward member and for order $99 and above I get free shipping and I also build up points for money off coupon codes. I haven't kept track of my reward but it's easily in the hundreds of dollars.
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Post by atsf_4 on Sept 28, 2022 9:38:30 GMT -8
My issue with MBK is that they never have what I'm looking for in stock. Either they did not get it at all, or they got it and it is gone, so I don't even bother to check their website anymore.
Lombard Hobby tends to ship UPS ground, which has been pretty safe for the models delivered to me, so I have no qualms ordering whatever I want from them. They are quite often the best price, but sometimes Hiawatha Hobbies may actually be slightly lower. I also order from Spring Creek Model Trains in Nebraska. Any of these 3 is likely to have stock remaining after MBK has sold all of theirs. Any of these 3 has been reasonable with their shipping charges to where I live.
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Post by rockfan on Sept 28, 2022 9:51:26 GMT -8
Lombard hobby, $14, with the price of gas I save two hours or so on a round trip. And my car doesn't get great mileage so I come out ahead here.
Always packed great, and the one time I had a problem, they were fantastic. Rapido mislabeled the SW1200, I wanted maroon/block lettering, that's what it said on the box but it was red/speed lettering.
I must have been the first one to point this out to them, they sent me a SW1200 with the paint, lettering I wanted and a return label for the wrong loco.
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Post by riogrande on Sept 28, 2022 10:05:17 GMT -8
My issue with MBK is that they never have what I'm looking for in stock. Either they did not get it at all, or they got it and it is gone, so I don't even bother to check their website anymore. It is an issue, but not so much for me because I watch them and I get email updates when items I am interested in come in stock. I like to save money, especially with the prices going up. But that's me. It takes extra effort to save money. I do order from Lombard occasionally and for the first time go free shipping for an Athearn Genesis FP7AB set that qualified for it. I order from Spring Creek more often than Lombards because they have had items instock I need and the shipping is a little cheaper than Lombards. But I order from MBK more the the rest because I get free shipping and can apply discount coupon codes. MBK also has frequent 10% off specials too so I can get that discount plus free shipping. It sure seems like a no brainer. |
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Post by lvrr325 on Sept 28, 2022 11:17:08 GMT -8
Tough to compete with these guys when I have to pay the shipping to me and cut the price to nothing, it's just impossible to do free shipping here and I usually do whatever I get charged.
Which, the place that is physically closest to you will be the cheapest if they don't just charge a fixed price.
Toy Train Heaven was a fixed $10 the last time I ordered there (sometimes it's cheaper to buy their sale price stuff than to buy it wholesale). I wouldn't be shocked if it went up given everything has gone up.
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Post by Colin 't Hart on Sept 28, 2022 11:58:44 GMT -8
Tough to compete with these guys when I have to pay the shipping to me and cut the price to nothing, it's just impossible to do free shipping here and I usually do whatever I get charged. Which, the place that is physically closest to you will be the cheapest if they don't just charge a fixed price. Toy Train Heaven was a fixed $10 the last time I ordered there (sometimes it's cheaper to buy their sale price stuff than to buy it wholesale). I wouldn't be shocked if it went up given everything has gone up. What's the name of your store? How do we do business with you? |
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Post by theengineshed on Sept 28, 2022 13:12:40 GMT -8
A couple of loc orders in the past month, MBK was $13 shipping, TW was $17. As stated above, MBK tends to run out of stock quickly, TW not so much. MBK offers the rewards, which do add up. MBK charges me tax even though I'm out of state. TW charges no tax...
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Post by crblue on Sept 28, 2022 13:38:52 GMT -8
TrainWorld is the most expensive, but usually has what I want in stock. MBK is free on orders over $99, for me, and usually doesn't have what I am looking for unless it's a new release.
Unless I'm looking for a specialty item, those are my two go-to stores. And local, I still have 2 local stores I try to check first, too. With shipping and taxes being equal, they're usually not much more expensive and occasionally even cheaper.
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Post by el3625 on Sept 28, 2022 14:46:56 GMT -8
I do MB Klien about 95% of the time. I have gotten at least $800.00 to $1,000.00 off on coupons, MANY 10% sales, and all of it FREE shipping since they started the rewards program. I always get what I need from them because I know when it may be coming, and I get a notice when it is in stock also. If you sleep at the wheel, you will miss out, and with the internet I usually always get want I want from them. No problem here.
Bruce
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Post by riogrande on Sept 28, 2022 15:05:14 GMT -8
What Bruce said.
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Post by Frank on Sept 28, 2022 16:08:49 GMT -8
A couple of loc orders in the past month, MBK was $13 shipping, TW was $17. As stated above, MBK tends to run out of stock quickly, TW not so much. MBK offers the rewards, which do add up. MBK charges me tax even though I'm out of state. TW charges no tax... I don’t like to bring it up and draw attention to the issue, but sales tax is make or break for me.. With the big retailers online (Amazon and such) there is no avoiding the 10.5% sales tax. My state charges the full sales tax on food/groceries too, which I find absolutely criminal. Thus, if I can get one over on them in exchange through online retailers who omit sales tax, I will. Every time. The cost of shipping is irrelevant to me when sales tax can quickly eclipse $100 on the purchase of a couple new DCC/sound locos.. |
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Post by lvrr325 on Sept 28, 2022 16:18:59 GMT -8
Two DCC locomotives at full price is like $600-$700. Is the sales tax like 16%?
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Post by Frank on Sept 28, 2022 17:08:52 GMT -8
Two DCC locomotives at full price is like $600-$700. Is the sales tax like 16%? I, admittedly, bought 9 U36B’s at $189 each, which would have run about $170 in sales tax. It gets up beyond 11% in some locales nearby. Now imagine grocery store pains at those rates when buying for a family of 6. And a city openly bragging about record sales tax revenue without much to show for it. |
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Post by atsf_4 on Sept 28, 2022 17:28:04 GMT -8
I hate the fact that at Timonium and other train shows a number of dealers charge "sales tax" but never report it. I have literally heard them bragging that "sales tax" is just extra profit for them. They thought nobody was listening, but I was.
For this reason some of my friends will vocally refuse to pay sales tax, and with cash they get away with it.
Given the way some states waste money, I cannot blame them for refusing to pay sales tax.
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Post by konapete on Sept 29, 2022 0:40:24 GMT -8
At the risk of hearing a chorus of tiny violins, don't get me started on shipping costs to Hawaii. I've had one of the dealers mentioned in this thread charge me over $70 to ship 3 HO locomotives, while others have told me that the USPS calculators don't work accurately and want a big deposit up front, with any excess to be refunded after shipping. Generally any promotions, like for free shipping, don't apply for Alaska or Hawaii but I have to give a shout out to Lombard and Trainlife for honoring free shipping offers.
And a few years ago after selling some excess items at Timonium, I was surprised to get a form from Maryland requesting I submit the sales tax I had collected. I researched the tax rules and found that it didn't apply to "incidental" sales, like yard sales, though I suspect you'd have a hard time convincing the state your sales were incidental if you did multiple shows.
But I'm not a tax lawyer nor do I play one on the TV sets on my layout...
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Post by The Ferro Kid on Sept 29, 2022 3:02:42 GMT -8
I do MB Klien about 95% of the time. I have gotten at least $800.00 to $1,000.00 off on coupons, MANY 10% sales, and all of it FREE shipping since they started the rewards program. I always get what I need from them because I know when it may be coming, and I get a notice when it is in stock also. If you sleep at the wheel, you will miss out, and with the internet I usually always get want I want from them. No problem here. Bruce Same here, and if I get an email notice something has arrived, I order within the hour. As I am fond of saying, "In model railroading these days, there are two types of buyers: the QUICK and the HAVE NOT." |
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Post by jonklein611 on Sept 29, 2022 4:25:19 GMT -8
I've had good experiences with TrainWorld. Two set of of Rapido Bilevels shipped USPS for $19.99.
Similar pricing through HogTrainz but they've had some supply issues recently.
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Post by riogrande on Sept 29, 2022 4:59:16 GMT -8
I tried HogTrainz for a few pre-orders. Apparently you have to pre-order by a certain date for guaranteed quantities but even that wasn't sure I'd get everything. He tends to be out of things I need so I have abandoned ordering from there. I've only ordered from Trainworld a couple 2 or 3 times when they happened to have an item I needed that I couldn't find elsewhere.
As for MBK, I mostly watch them for items that are coming into stock and almost always get what I need.
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Post by middledivision on Sept 29, 2022 7:39:36 GMT -8
^^^
Yep. I've had several items preordered by the cutoff date and still did not get them. He updated the website a year or so ago and that wiped out all of my preorders. I placed them again, like he said and still did not get them.
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ictom
Full Member
Posts: 103
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Post by ictom on Sept 29, 2022 11:37:03 GMT -8
Lombard hobby, $14, with the price of gas I save two hours or so on a round trip. And my car doesn't get great mileage so I come out ahead here. Always packed great, and the one time I had a problem, they were fantastic. Rapido mislabeled the SW1200, I wanted maroon/block lettering, that's what it said on the box but it was red/speed lettering. I must have been the first one to point this out to them, they sent me a SW1200 with the paint, lettering I wanted and a return label for the wrong loco. Ditto on this - most of my stuff is from Lombard because they are consistently cheaper on every locomotive compared to Trainworld/ModelTrainStuff/FactoryDirect/etc. I've ordered several Athearn locos from them. They seem to be the only ones who can price Athearn below the going rate the others use. They also do not charge sales tax, outside of Illinois. I recently ordered the Paragon 4 Big Boy and UPS tried to fold the long box in half. That's an exaggeration, but they did succeed in creasing the BLI box and inner clamshell. I never knew if it did significant damage to the loco, but there were definitely marks on the finish. Lombard was outstanding in their response. They immediately sent a shipping label for return and shipped me a replacement that arrived in immaculate condition.  |
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Post by valenciajim on Sept 29, 2022 15:45:46 GMT -8
Tough to compete with these guys when I have to pay the shipping to me and cut the price to nothing, it's just impossible to do free shipping here and I usually do whatever I get charged. Which, the place that is physically closest to you will be the cheapest if they don't just charge a fixed price. Toy Train Heaven was a fixed $10 the last time I ordered there (sometimes it's cheaper to buy their sale price stuff than to buy it wholesale). I wouldn't be shocked if it went up given everything has gone up. I just bought some stuff from Toy Train Heaven and the shipping charge was $10. I was pretty happy because I got some stuff I was looking for at a good price. |
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Post by valenciajim on Sept 29, 2022 16:05:10 GMT -8
I tried HogTrainz for a few pre-orders. Apparently you have to pre-order by a certain date for guaranteed quantities but even that wasn't sure I'd get everything. He tends to be out of things I need so I have abandoned ordering from there. I've only ordered from Trainworld a couple 2 or 3 times when they happened to have an item I needed that I couldn't find elsewhere. As for MBK, I mostly watch them for items that are coming into stock and almost always get what I need. Don't get me started on Hogtrainz. Even if you pre-order by the date, that does not guarantee you will get the item if it is a hot item. I don't want to get into the details because that has been discussed in detail in other threads when the Rapido Ski Train passenger cars were on the market. I have literally spent over $15,000 at HogTrainz over the past 10 years, so you would think I am the type of customer that a hobby shop would want to take care of. The last couple of years I experienced numerous problems and was nickel and dimed to death. I thought I had taken delivery on everything I pre-ordered, but I recently got an email saying that my credit card was denied and I needed to supply replacement information on a special link. My credit card was charged a penny for that transaction. The funny part is that I use the denied credit card all the time. They recently shipped me the wrong item and said if I mailed it back, they would refund my postage. The problem was the box was destroyed in shipping and I had to purchase a new box. They refused to reimburse me for the box which cost me nearly $2. I think I may have a couple of items on backorder which I hopefully will get without problem. But I do not plan to order from Hogtrainz again. I get much better service at comparable prices elsewhere. |
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Post by Baikal on Sept 29, 2022 18:33:25 GMT -8
Tough to compete with these guys when I have to pay the shipping to me and cut the price to nothing, it's just impossible to do free shipping here and I usually do whatever I get charged. Which, the place that is physically closest to you will be the cheapest if they don't just charge a fixed price. Toy Train Heaven was a fixed $10 the last time I ordered there (sometimes it's cheaper to buy their sale price stuff than to buy it wholesale). I wouldn't be shocked if it went up given everything has gone up. I just bought some stuff from Toy Train Heaven and the shipping charge was $10. I was pretty happy because I got some stuff I was looking for at a good price.
I used Toy Train Heaven based on everyone's comments, thanks. NdeM Centepede $234 + 11 shipping.
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Post by lvrr325 on Sept 29, 2022 20:30:28 GMT -8
They recently shipped me the wrong item and said if I mailed it back, they would refund my postage. The problem was the box was destroyed in shipping and I had to purchase a new box. They refused to reimburse me for the box which cost me nearly $2. I ship all the time and I almost never pay for boxes. They probably expected you to find a free one also, either a USPS box or what have you. The only times I bought boxes were when I had oddball stuff to ship like an automotive tool kit that I could cut a mini-storage wardrobe box in half and it fit perfectly inside. It was worth the money to not have to hunt for something. |
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Post by lvrr325 on Sept 29, 2022 20:39:41 GMT -8
I hate the fact that at Timonium and other train shows a number of dealers charge "sales tax" but never report it. I have literally heard them bragging that "sales tax" is just extra profit for them. They thought nobody was listening, but I was. For this reason some of my friends will vocally refuse to pay sales tax, and with cash they get away with it. Given the way some states waste money, I cannot blame them for refusing to pay sales tax. Usually to get into the show in the first place you need a tax number. But what you report and actually pay is between you and the state. I did do single shows one in NC and one in SC where they didn't need me to have one. I would only collect sales tax as an additional amount if I had a way to take credit cards, because they nick you for running the card. Cash I just discount the 8%. I still report and pay based on what I sell. |
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Post by atsf_4 on Sept 30, 2022 11:06:37 GMT -8
Yes, I'm sure the majority of dealers are reputable, or certainly do not want to invite scrutiny of their finances, so they try to comply. Unfortunately there are some who know how to game the system.
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Post by marknycfan on Oct 2, 2022 4:58:46 GMT -8
If the selling price is the same shipping can't be that much different and if a $2 difference is too much, you're in the wrong hobby
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