Who are they?
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I have used CharlesRo.com, and I recommend you give them a try, I have no local dealer so I must shop online.
I would guess that the order would be:
Charles Ro
Nicholas Smith
Trainz
Just Trains
Train Land/Train World
You forgot Sommerfelds in Butler Wi. For sure at the top of the list!
OP: Top 5 for what?
list fails without Grzyboski's.
Carl,
I assumed that the OP was referencing sales volume.
If he meant service or reliability my list would have been in a different order.
Have had great luck with Trainworld.
POTRZBE posted:list fails without Grzyboski's.
Hear Hear to the Big G!
-The Other Guy
2018 Largest Dealer Overall
2019 Largest Dealer for shipped items
Running and gunning for 2020!
Is this really important? Isn't the quality of dealer service what really matters?
Yes I believe service plays a part. Seems that Some big internet dealers are absent. I have dealt with Mr. Muffin's and report excellent sales and service. Also was thinking Patricks.
The question is ambiguous. If "top 5" Lionel dealers refers to annual sales volume, you would have to check with Lionel. I'm not sure whether Lionel would disclose those numbers, but if they did, those numbers would be facts, not opinions. If the question involves the "top 5" Lionel dealers when it comes to total customer experience, that would be a matter of opinion, and the answers from the OGF members would be all over the train yard.
Pat
POTRZBE posted:list fails without Grzyboski's.
Agreed! Trainz is a "Johnny come lately" in the dealer biz and very doubtful if in the "top 5".
Fred's Trains in Overland Park ks is great, online a little tough to navigate.
Lots of new and preowned . O, S, HO scale
I’m a big Sommerfelds supporter. Great store, great people.
CurtisH posted:Yes I believe service plays a part. Seems that Some big internet dealers are absent. I have dealt with Mr. Muffin's and report excellent sales and service.
Another vote of confidence in Steve and Liz at Mr. Muffins. Terrific experiences with equally terrific people.
Lionelski posted:I would guess that the order would be:
Charles Ro
Nicholas Smith
Trainz
Just Trains
Train Land/Train World
Given how relatively little Lionel Just Trains carries, I seriously doubt they'd be on any such list.
JDFonz posted:I’m a big Sommerfelds supporter. Great store, great people.
Unfortunately, their website is lousy. A number of years ago they stopping listing inventory on line, so you have to call them to find out what they have - a tedious process. They may be great if you live nearby, but I quit using them years ago when they stopped making the effort to facilitate on-line buying.
What about Nassau Hobbies? Therefore, I would say
Charles Ro
Nicholas Smith
Grybowski's
Train Land/Train World
Nassau Hobbies
breezinup posted:JDFonz posted:I’m a big Sommerfelds supporter. Great store, great people.
Unfortunately, their website is lousy. A number of years ago they stopping listing inventory on line, so you have to call them to find out what they have - a tedious process. They may be great if you live nearby, but I quit using them years ago when they stopped making the effort to facilitate on-line buying.
Never heard of them, so how can they be a top five? You can't survive and be a top dealer if you don't have a good website these days with online ordering.
Any "top five" list is obviously going to be seen and viewed from a purely personal perspective. I have my own informal "top five" list of dealers I have been buying from for many years--lists for Lionel and MTH in O gauge, and similar lists for the other scales I enjoy--but I would not, of course, and for obvious reasons, ever elect to post those lists here. The respective dealers already know who they are, and I also often enough purchase from dealers who are not even on one of those lists, depending on who has a particular item I may be looking for.
And if you are looking for a list comprised of the top five volume sales dealers of a particular brand or overall. . . well, good luck, because that information is generally not available, nor should it be. Besides, volume is only one small criterion, in my view, of making and defining a "top five" dealership.
Allan Miller posted:Any "top five" list is obviously going to be seen and viewed from a purely personal perspective. I have my own informal "top five" list of dealers I have been buying from for many years--lists for Lionel and MTH in O gauge, and similar lists for the other scales I enjoy--but I would not, of course, and for obvious reasons, ever elect to post those lists here. The respective dealers already know who they are, and I also often enough purchase from dealers who are not even on one of those lists, depending on who has a particular item I may be looking for.
And if you are looking for a list comprised of the top five volume sales dealers of a particular brand or overall. . . well, good luck, because that information is generally not available, nor should it be. Besides, volume is only one small criterion, in my view, of making and defining a "top five" dealership.
Exactly, Allan. I think the real question should be “which are the Top Five Dealers (or two or three) for YOU” in terms of the selection, service and price. IOW, “value.” That is all the really counts in the end, right?
Thread started two days ago and TrainHead, the OP, has yet to answer the question:
Top 5 of what?
Carry on.
My top dealer is Nassau Hobbies. Never had a problem with anything. They have always taken care of any unforeseen issues and I always get what I order.
Grybowski's and Charles Ro are also reliable dealers.
