ARE YOU CONSISTENT ???

75 percent of what I order and buy is from my LHS, the other twenty five percent is at York or from folks doing custom work for me or club cars. Its been that way for me forever, I have been fortunate that my local shop is two miles from me and was operated by one gentleman for 30 years and then taken over by a great couple two years ago.

Nobody carrying O gauge around here, so I buy online apart from some small items like balsa and craft paint.

I have a thought about these threads so it is interesting to read what different posters have submitted. It is nice to read what different shopping habits and opinions people have so I am going to interject my thoughts also:

1. This is a hobby for fun so while everyone can post their opinions about where to shop, where others should shop, and why.....well....it is not my problem. I am a consumer with a disposable income amount to spend on my personal fun and being a free willed citizen I will make the choices that best suit me.

2. I am consistent in that I buy what pleases me for the amount that meets my desires versus budget.

Can we please not just move on from these threads? No? Rats.....I did not think so.....oops, I added to the issue....sorry

I am consistant in that I refuse to travel 100+ miles in each direction to go to the nearest show to save a few $'s, which is much less than what I spent on gas to get to and from the show.

I am consistent in that 99% of my purchases are through an online venue.

I don't live in the boonies, but I can see them in the distance from my back porch. So, if they won't ship USPS, i take my business elsewhere.  UPS/FEDEX etc, believe I live in the boonies since I live west of the Mississippi River and over charge for shipping  & a fuel surcharge.

There is no LHS to go to, so that's not a consideration.

 

Dave

To answer Gerry's original question, I do not complain if a LHS closes regardless of where I buy train items.  Whether a store stays open or closes is sometimes attributed to: Service, how they treat their customers and pricing.  Those and other factors we have little or no control over.  Yes, we can and do get emotionally attached to a favorite store and it's disappointing when they go.  Like any business, they will come and go and we all adapt.  

 

I myself have a multi-tiered buying approach.  I'm fortunate enough to have several shops within an hour drive, so I don't have to go very far to find items I'm looking for.  And what I can't find locally I usually find at York or Allentown Meets or even the OGR Buy/Sell forum.  And I'm either lucky, or just because of my good looks, but at all the venues and vendors and shops I deal with I've always received great and courteous service and fair pricing. 

 

The closest shop gets 99% of my pre-orders and most of my off-the-shelf purchases.  What I can't find or get there I check out the other local shops or search the York Meet.  Exhausting those choices if I still haven't located what I'm looking for I'll search other shops websites.  At that point, availability is more important than price if I finally locate something I want.

 

My buying methods may not be for everyone, but it's not like we can just go to a local big box store or big chain department store to buy our trains anymore.

I think I am consistent. There are no LHS within an hour drive of my house. All my purchases are from our forum sponsors, who I know are someone's LHS. I am about to jump into a Pre-order set and I will go to one of them for it. I do miss going into a store and browsing the shelves for a car I don't have. But I also miss going to Blockbuster to find a movie for a Saturday night with my wife!

"Times they are a changin"

My LHS purchases are usually cars, accessories, and buildings.  Usually I buy Diesel Engines on line.  The LHS is 30 miles away and he has a very good selection of cars, accessories and buildings.  He will also order anything I request.  His knowledge of trains is way more than mine and I like to chat with him as well.  He usually has a nice selection of train sets also.

 

My LHS does have a nice selection of conventional engines from the 1990s and earlier.  None of these have Legacy or DCS.  He does not carry any Legacy items either.  He does carry Atlas, Mth, Lionel and Cargrave track and switches. Like I said, he will order anything.  He will give discounts on occasion to regulars like me. Discounts are usually on older items he wants to replace with newer purchases or boxes that have been damaged by sunlight.  He also gives away catalogs.

 

Many times he will call me when he receives new items in and to let me know my orders are in.  He likes steam engines and passenger trains, I like diesel and freight cars. His business is good but he also runs a Ford Parts store specializing in parts before the 1990s which is his main money maker.  These may not seem a good combination, however, it reflects what he likes.

 

Most of the engines I buy online thru anybody who has what I want at a good price. That said, I have 5 diesel engines so my LHS probably gets the majority of my business.  If an item can not be ordered, I will buy that online also.  For instance, I recently bought a Lionel Log Loader online.  It came from a forum sponsor.

 

I hope he stays in business a long time.  

 

David56

Seems to me that if one doesn't have an LHS, you might as well just find the best price online.

I am consistently inconsistent. 

 

But when it comes to my trains, I don't have a local LHS for my trains, so I am forced to buy by mail-order. But I do only buy my trains from OGR forum sponsors as much as I possibly can. 

Sadly, there are no local hobby shops in my area that mainly offer "O" gauge products, mostly "HO".  Therefore, I shop around and purchase from some of the big shops.  Plus, I'm not comfortable plunking down monthly-mortgage type of cash on a toy locomotive without price-comping first.  The last time I checked, money didn't grow on a tree in my backyard.

Though I still go to my "local" hobby shop first for an item, the term "local" is somewhat looser than ever.  My closest regular shop is over an hour away and my other one is almost 90 minutes.  That makes it really hard to "run out to get a couple pieces of track" or some other small item.  That being said, I am willing to pay a little more to help keep them in business.  I try not to nickel and dime them and I can usually work out a deal where I get a price somewhere between list and bargain basement mail order.  I'm good with that.

 

I'd like to say that having a friend or two "in the business" has given me a somewhat different perspective on the pricing.  I have had the model explained to me and the margins that your average LHS has are pretty thin.  So what some sneer at because the price is way higher than Joe Blow Computer Site does not mean that they are making all that in profit.  In fact, Joe Blow may be selling the item for significantly *LESS* than your LHS's cost.  Food for thought.

 

I also patronize some of the larger national dealers.  Sometimes my LHS does't have the item and can't order it.  Sometimes the best deal they can give me is a few hundred dollars higher than elsewhere.  For me, two hundred bucks is a lot of money and a significant part of my train budget.  Sometimes a dealer has something on sale.'

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I do hate to see an LHS close.  Especially when I try to give them first crack at my business and the owner(s) really try to be friendly and give good service.  So I am pretty consistent lamenting their passing.

 

So, I think I am pretty consistent.  I have a process and I'd say I stick to it 95-99% of the time.  I do some moaning and groaning but I'd say less so over the last year.

 

Life is way too short to be bitter and angry all the time.  That isn't how I want to be remembered after I catch my final run on the Polar Express.

 

I believe that I  am extremely consistent with my train purchases and I support several local train stores throughout the USA
Bill L

I'm also extremely consistent with my train purchases and I support whichever train store gives me the best price.  I'm not overly concerned with service since service doesn't pay the bills.  Just sayin'.