Its part of a franchise, I will not mention its name.
Their in-store prices are not only higher than their online prices, which are already higher than most other places, but they want $25 more than what anyone else charges for Fastrack switches..., and $15 for 3' straights...thats $4 more than what I can get it for from anyone else.
Also, $4.95 for any straight Fastrack between 10" and 1"....
I will not be going back there for anything.
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I'm fairly pleased with my LHS's pricing.
FasTrack:
O48 Command Control switches - $111.99
O36 Command Control switches - $89.99
small straights - $3.99
My local hobby shop seams to want to close his doors, he has no new inventory for almost a year!
I may have to drive to Miami FL to purchase model trains that I don't buy on-line, that can be a slight expense for me as I live about 65 miles north of Miami.
I prefer to buy in person, but when they don't have anything new on their shelf it gets very frustrating.
Train shows are probally going to be where I buy my stuff if not on-line.
Some info for the average person, hobby shops have to buy a certain dollar amount or most companies won't deal with them. One shop owner told me that Lionel wanted him to buy $5000.00 worth of merchandise and they sent basically what they wanted to send him to sell, he had very little say as to what he got sent. This guy went out of business over two years ago.
Another hobby shop owner told me that Gargraves wanted a $500.00 order before they would fill his order, or he would have to wait for them to ship it when they wanted to.
Lee F.
Philly,
Guy was BSing you all he had to do was order from Emery or another distributor Lionel wasn't selling him direct!
Gunny
Sounds like Hobbytown. My "local" one is not so good for trains but pretty good for airplanes, helos and cars. Prices high, though.
Pete
My longtime LHS will be closing after Christmas, enjoy what you have.
The good news is that there are still people willing to take the risk and open a shop. Some are really small like the one that opened in Chelsea (Michigan) recently and others are bigger like Mercer Junction. All is not lost.
When it comes to FasTrack, it pays to shop around.
Their in-store prices are not only higher than their online prices......
Nothing at all unusual there - all kinds of retailers do that. I buy things all the time at stores (recent example - Best Buy) and have them match their lower online prices.
The local franchise of the national hobby chain raised their prices immediately when a Hungate's closed its doors. 
We still have the grest luxury of 3 train shops in the area, though.
There was and I hope its still there a train shop where I lived in TX.
The owner, if he didnt know you was very stand offish, but once he knew you he was a great guy. The funny thing is, most of the stuff on his shelves seemed to be frozen in time, as it was rare to see things move off the shelves or even put on the shelves.
However, he had a ton of regular customers who hated the internet; as did he, but were regulars who would have him order tons of stuff for them to buy that he didnt stock.
Tons of stuff would also pile up in and around his sales counter as they arrived, and awaited pick up. This "Tons of stuff" that was in a constant flux of arriving and being picked up by customers and began to spread like the "Blob"...from inside the square formed by the sales counter, to a pile on one corner, to all four corners, then to one corner of the store and spread out from there.
LOL! The place looked like ****, but his regular customers loved the place.
Hello guys an gals.........
I have been supporting them- the train stop, the whistle stop, allied models, and western depot for years and years (starting 1974 to 2011). They NEVER given me a break (price break) for supporting them for so long so i STOPPED doing that in 2011. I have stayed with mail orders for tracks,cars, transformers since then (better pricing and customer service too). The BEST customer service and pricing i have ever had is Scott Mann from Sunset 3rd rail as he CARES for his customers and i was very surprised too.
the woman who loves the S.F.#5021
Tiffany
Talk about being penny wise and dollar foolish. How many people buy just one piece of track? You don't need to beat up the buyer on Fastrack, or any other track product. You WILL make a decent profit off most track sales. Just last week I extended a few shelves to hold more trains, and I purchased $50 in tubular track product, at a good price. I'm pretty sure they were happy about the sale, even though the profit margin per piece is smaller than other items.
Well, It looks like I'm lucky again.
MY LHS (an hour+ drive each way) Has a decent website and even the in store prices are well below MSRP.
Come in with a big order for track and he will make up a quote at excellent prices.
Gotta Love it.
My LHS always gives me at least a 10 percent "discount" at the register. I often by sale items at 35 to 50 percent off. Some list prices are retail. No higher - !
The fact that my LHS puts up with me is priceless.
Rusty
"You can never really criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their moccasins."
--Alleged Native American Wisdom--
Of course, you will be a mile away and you'll have his shoes!
I'm a 100% MTH supporter and buyer and I'm lucky not only to live within an hours drive of MTH but have two WONDERFUL hobby shops that are primarily O gauge and stock and support, as well as service, MTH & Lionel products. Catoctin Mountain Trains and Engine House Hobbies both have MSRP prices, but I always get discounts ranging from 5 - 10%. I don't ask for them nor are they required to give them to me. I'd be more than happy to pay MSRP as well.
In addition, they stand behind all products they sell. While I prefer Catoctin Mountain but regardless, try getting personalized service, from folks that know the product, your name, and what you like from a mail order place or with the robot answering the telephone and some big box store.
I consider myself, when I read these posts, very lucky to have two of the best stores in the country within an hours drive from home and will continue to support them as a token of that appreciation. I hope other posters will do the same.
I just supported my LHS, Legacy Station, today by picking up a Legacy Seaboard C-420 and a 7-car set of RK Seaboard stremalined cars. Anyone near or going through Atlanta needs to stop by and see their new store, as it is 150% better than the previous one! When you stop by, thell them Ryan sent you!
The local hobby shop that used to be here were I live, had the same prices in the store as on their website. Their prices were always discounted. There were times when they couldn't pay their light bill or feed the dog.
We always welcome a newface and will match or beat anyone's price. Plus we carry new and used items. Which gives us a nice selectifor of items for everyone..
Valley Rail Trains and Hobbies
Merchants Square Mall
1901 S 12th st
Allentown P 18103
610-440-0487
Our walk-in prices are the best in our area and we will try to match any online price. Just ask and show us..Remember if you have a problem we are there. No return shipping hassles..
To Chipset,
That hobby shop you are talking about in Texas wasn't called Woodies Train Shop in El Paso, Texas was it. What you described matched his shop to a "T" and I could picture it exactly as I was reading your post.
Gryzboski trains is my LHS. They are very good to me and the prices are excellent. Service is also done on site. Great on line site and they are at many train shows. They put a ton of time and energy into it all. First class operation.
I live in Maryland and with a couple hours driving distance to several train stores. M B Kline is 45 minutes away as is JustTrains of Delaware. I purchased a lot of Fastrack and went where I got the best price.
My local hobby shop is a long par six.
Driver, three wood, three wood, three wood, three iron, putt. If I need a wedge, I'm going one over.
I'm also counting on a lot of bounce and roll on the asphalt.
3iron.........
The local hobby shop that used to be here were I live, had the same prices in the store as on their website. Their prices were always discounted. There were times when they couldn't pay their light bill or feed the dog.
Ah, yes, I remember those days quite well! Prices were so good that I understand the fellow who ran the place had to go fishing often just to keep food on the table.
Sheesh!! The guy that ran that joint could sell ice water to eskimos. Whenever I called to order something, I never got away with just ordering the item I had in mind when I picked up the phone.
There were times when they couldn't pay their light bill or feed the dog.
Imagine that. And they never said a word about it.
How the heck does Trainworld make money?
They seem to have the best prices on most stuff I order.
BTW, Nassau Hobby is up and running, they sent me an email telling me my stuff shipped.
Anyone know if Trainworld/Trainland is ok after the storm?
"The local hobby shop that used to be here were I live, had the same prices in the store as on their website. Their prices were always discounted. There were times when they couldn't pay their light bill or feed the dog."
There used to be a hobby shop near Homer City, PA, I think the owner's name was Jim. He told me if I didn't buy an engine and some cars, there'd be no Thanksgiving turkey on the table that year, so I bought a bunch of stuff. Wonder what ever happen to that ol' cuss?
Stack
Jim retired on December 31st 2010. Another train store opened in the area. I think Jason's Train Shop took over his customer base. The notice on the web site. jasonstrainshop.com Jason's Train Shop is Moving!!! Beginning Saturday, September 8th, 2012 we will be operating out of our new location at 100 Clinton Street, Johnstown, PA 15901
I purchased a few things from Jason before he moved his shop to Johnstown, PA. His prices were good, the location was out of the way driving to WVU.
The local hobby shop that used to be here were I live, had the same prices in the store as on their website. Their prices were always discounted. There were times when they couldn't pay their light bill or feed the dog.
I agree with Jim completely and have to say the same about my LHS and their web site. What would suprise some in this hobby is we are not kidding either!
How the heck does Trainworld make money?
They seem to have the best prices on most stuff I order.
BTW, Nassau Hobby is up and running, they sent me an email telling me my stuff shipped.
Anyone know if Trainworld/Trainland is ok after the storm?
Good question! My guess is huge volume as its not cheap to do business in the New York metro area. I bought a Williams by Bachmann GG1 for $ 160 dollars from them. WBB msrp price is an easy 2x that Price. I also bought a Lionel Legacey U30 Diesel for $100 less than their competitors a "loss leader" to get you in, they gotta do huge volume. Less profit per engine but when you sell 50-100 of them it helps. I would be interested in learning about toy train shop margins.
No local hobby shops here anymore. There is a reason. Forced to travel at least an hour or buy on the Forum or online.
I don't know about model train sales and mark-up, but automotive parts sure has a huge mark-up. Everytime a person or middleman touches an item about 7 to 10% is added to the price and passed along to the next buyer or processer.
So Trainworld may buy direct from the manufacturer or the guy who sells the product after it leaves the place it was made, before it gets on its way to be shipped, thereby cutting out one or two people who have price control and giving you a lower price.
Buying something from one of the big guys like brand L or M is not buying direct like from a discount house such as trainland or trainworld.
There is another type of place that buys up close-out deals, when a company sells off remaining stock to try to recover some of their loss, usually at bankruptcy or mergers. Usually you end up with a great bargain because the original company just wanted to move inventory.
Lee F.
"The local hobby shop that used to be here were I live, had the same prices in the store as on their website. Their prices were always discounted. There were times when they couldn't pay their light bill or feed the dog."
There used to be a hobby shop near Homer City, PA, I think the owner's name was Jim. He told me if I didn't buy an engine and some cars, there'd be no Thanksgiving turkey on the table that year, so I bought a bunch of stuff. Wonder what ever happen to that ol' cuss?
Stack
That's the store I was trying to remember the name of in another post.
He was a very very very nice person to talk to, I hope he is well.
Gee whiz Jimmy - this is the very FIRST time I have heard abut keeping the lights on. That is just about the saddest story I have ever heard. Had I known I would have gladly sent a box of candles !! 
PS - You are missed. I hope you are enjoying retirement.
I live in Maryland and with a couple hours driving distance to several train stores. M B Kline is 45 minutes away as is JustTrains of Delaware. I purchased a lot of Fastrack and went where I got the best price.
Hi Jim,
I'm in Maryland too, just over the Bay Bridge but commute to work in Millersville. I've been to Kleins since a kid (grew up in Baltimore), just started with JustTrains in Delaware. Star Hobby is on my commute and I've purchased a few items there but don't have enough O-experience to rate them. Seem high though, but convenient and friendly and can order anything I want. Any experience with Star?
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