Sidetrack Hobbies Sale!

Huge selection of "new old stock", many of their everyday prices are better than most. I bought some  brand newscale Lionel steelside reefers there a few months ago, $17 a piece! No special advertised sale, put that in your "ebay pipe and smoke it"!

The sale is for mth and lionel product from 2009 catalogs and below.. Not newer items

 

 

Actually not a bad deal at all when you consider the quality issues that have been on the rise after 2009 anyway.    I swear a monkey could have packed the BNSF Ice Cold Express reefer set better than the assembly line crew that worked on those items last year.  Let's see... the reefers needed to be "re-worked" so they wouldn't short out when their (un)couplers were activated; the locomotive boxes were shipped with no label/product number on them; and the caboose(s) were stuffed into foam/liners so badly that many had bent/broken ladders and missing exterior add-on details.    I have the LCCA's matching reefer produced in 2009, and the quality is definitely a step up from what was produced in 2011.

 

So yeah... if you find a great deal on stuff produced 3+ years ago, you might find the quality is better even if the warranty has expired. 

 

 

By the way... speaking of York, I think Sidetrack Hobbies has an excellent strategy.  They offer these special deals on-line, through mail-order or in the store directly.  Then at York, they primarily bring their tinplate line of products so they don't have the exact same stuff on display as every other dealer!  They've been doing that for the past few years now, so it must be working for them. 

 

David

 I swear a monkey could have packed the BNSF Ice Cold Express reefer set better than the assembly line crew that worked on those items last year.  Let's see... the reefers needed to be "re-worked" so they wouldn't short out when their (un)couplers were activated; the locomotive boxes were shipped with no label/product number on them; and the caboose(s) were stuffed into foam/liners so badly that many had bent/broken ladders and missing exterior add-on details.    Maybe someday, MTH and Lionel will move back to the U.S.A. 

Did they offer an additional discount off of the price posted on the website?

When I click on their sale items link it takes me to 9 items.  Can you post a link to the sale you found?

 

Yes... but as mentioned earlier, the sale that's running right now through 9/29 applies to Lionel & MTH stuff that was manufactured 2009 or earlier.

 

Once again, it's really an example of dealers trying to move inventory that they've been sitting on for awhile.  Really... aside from some hot items here and there, a TREMENDOUS amount of inventory is sitting on dealer shelves (or in their warehouses)... and there's lots more coming down the pike.  Not sure how much more the market can really absorb.  But at some point, somebody who's got lots of cash to spend is gonna go on a huge shopping spree one of these days.

 

David

I went down to Sidetrack last Saturday and picked up, uh, a few items.   

 

Among the rest of their loaded inventory, they have one of the best selections of Lionel Corporation Tinplate around. A real mecca for us tinplaters.

Al Rudman, Sidetrack's owner, is one of the nicest guys you ever want to meet (& good prices).  Much of my MTH stuff was bought from him.  Unfortunately, they have a lousy website (very hard to find anything), and they don't answer e-mails.

So, what was the additional discount offered on MTH items mfgered prior to 2009?

Very nice people to deal with

 

Alex

Their web store is horrible

The sale is 20 percent of rolling stock and 10 off engines

Copy that.  They need to put it under construction.

Thanks Joe....

Checked their site...definitely not the e-commerce system I recommend for my clients.
Where does the discount get applied?
I tried to buy an item, and even at checkout, there was no indication of a discount.
If I have to call to place an order, why go thru the effort to put up a e-comm site?
??
Respectfully...

I looked at the site, it's unimpressive.  I can't imagine how they do much selling through that lousy portal!  There was no pictures, and you had to scroll through the text listings a couple at a time.  Clearly, they don't need the business...

Since I only buy tinplate, it's not that difficult for me to look through their listings. You can search by keyword or item number if you are looking for a specific item. I open a second window with the MTH product locator and switch back and forth between windows to look at the items that interest me.

I always call the store and they physically check to make sure the item is in stock and fill my order.

Not the greatest website but IMO a great store with a huge inventory and excellent prices.