Menard's product question

All depends on the store. Some have a larger train section then others.

I don't think after the holiday season the stores keep ordering product since they don't have it out all year......Paul 2

No, as has been discussed here many times before, Menards does not stock its shelves year round with trains. So any new releases are online only, usually until around mid-October.

Trains are part of Menards seasonal toy department. The only thing that varies from store to store is where the leftover trains are kept and how much is left after the holiday season.

As Mark the Menards Train Guy has distinctly stated, the company directive is that the trains sideline should not get in the way of Menards normal business operations. That was a polite way of saying don’t think of Menards as a year-round brick-and-mortar hobby shop catering nationwide to a few thousand people. Menards is a mass-market home improvement chain which sells the brick and the mortar.

The best thing to do would be contact your local Menards store and ask them. You may want to ask them if they could call you or e-mail you when something comes in. Also, you can sign up for e-mails direct from Menards on new products. Menards will post something on this forum about any new train related product they produce.

@jim sutter posted:

The best thing to do would be contact your local Menards store and ask them. You may want to ask them if they could call you or e-mail you when something comes in. Also, you can sign up for e-mails direct from Menards on new products. Menards will post something on this forum about any new train related product they produce.

Jim, Mark has explained it as clearly as he could. There simply is no new store-shelf stock outside of the October-December window, so there is no point in calling your local store to see if any new stock has arrived the ret of the year.

Mark has also stated that the best way to obtain new products year round is by getting the Menards emails, ordering product on its website and having it shipped to your store.

There’s no gray area here. Menards manager don’t order train stock for the shelves, and even during the seasonal months not all of Menards available train stock is made available in stores.

Am just happy these days when my Lionel or Menards stuff arrive intact without quality control problems.

Jim R,

Thank you, for that information. Since I no longer have any trains or plan on buying any I didn't really pay attention. Thanks again for setting me straight. I no longer will respond to any question pertaining to something made by Menards. I do hope they continue to make items for "O" Gauge trains.