Where to buy Gargraves Cheap?

Try Charles Ro.

 

Bill

I did, was hoping to do better than $8.50 per section.  Would like to get into the $7 range.  Not trying to be tight with money, but I need a lot of this track and a dollar a section makes a big difference to me.

 

What about the Ross Switches?  Any ideas?

 

Thanks!

Ross is about $5.10 a piece in case lot.  $260.00 a case of 51

Where?

 

I am in for that price!

 

Thank you so much!

Ross has the best price on Gargraves track as Mike said above

 

 

 

So, directly from Ross?

yes go to there website and order it from them.

Yes. When you look on their website HERE, click on The Price List button. Look down the pdf until you see GarGraves Products. There you'll see the first entry is for a "Full case of tinplate phantom flex track (51) 3’ sections" for $260 plus S/H.

I use wholesaletrains.com.  Instead of a case you can buy individual pieces of 37" phantom flextrack for $5.71 each.  I have bought all of my switches from them and saved better then $20.00 per remote control switch.  It is actually Lantz Hobbies out of Horseheads, NY.  They have been very reliable.

 

 

This is one of the reasons I joined this site...people are so helpful!  Thank you all.

 

Learned a lot since becoming a member a week ago.  And, I've been around Lionel trains for 30+ yrs!  This is a great resource!

 

The other (main) reason is the smoking deals on trains in the sale section!  

Can anyone hazard a guess why the rigid straights are so much more expensive than the flex track?

 

Al

I wondered the same thing.  Don't have an answer.

 

I am going to call gargraves friday and ask them some questions. I'll try to get an answer.

Oh my gosh, I've actually been to Horseheads NY. Stayed in a motel there a few years ago when they were having some plumbing issues. Seemed like someone was intentionally turning the hot water off and on as we were taking a shower.

 

And thanks for the suggestion. I see they even carry ScaleTrax, though some is out of stock.

Because they have to lock it in position, even the ties and install stringers to keep the track straight. More material and production steps.

Charles Ro has the best price and the cheapest shipping...you won't find a better deal anywhere else. If you find the track cheaper, you will pay much more for shipping.

I don't know what specific pieces the OP wants to buy, so I used GarGraves flex tinplate w/plastic ties:

Ross - $6.50 * 12 = $78.00 plus $12.40 s/h

Wholesale - $7.91 * 12 = $94.92 + ??? s/h

Charles Ro - $8.50 * 12 = $102.00 + ??? s/h

Note: Ross requires a minimum order of 10 pieces, Charles Ro 12 pieces.

 

Unfortunately, only Ross would provide s/h without creating an account. However, it appears to me that Ross is cheapest, at least for flex. And, if you want or need 51 pieces, I don't think anyone beats Ross at $5.10 per plus $14.00 s/h unless they offer quantity discounts not shown on their sites.

 

I guess the point is that you have to research the specific items you want and try all the usual suspects. Chances are that depending on which specific items you want, you'll have to order from different dealers to get the absolute minimum price. But, if you do the research and call, you might be able to work out a satisfactory price from a single dealer.

 

Note: Inadvertently used price for plastic ties for Charles Ro and wood ties for Ross, so the price comparison for individual pieces is not accurate.

I just did the same comparison and if you could handle the initial cost buying a case from Ross is the cheapest. $5.41 per section including shipping.

 

After you are done you can sell the remaining sections here or on the bay and reduce your cost even further!

 

Dave

I didn't think of eBay. At that price, I can see why so many choose GarGraves. Once I get my design done, I guess I'll need to do some serious price shopping before I settle on a particular brand of track.

GarGraves frequently sells on eBay for more than it can be purchased for at Lantz or Ross, even used or beat up a little bit.  It's like bidders are ignoring the shipping cost or something(like not being aware there are other places to buy it).

NH is a long way from IN but I buy my Gargraves from New England Railroad in Nashua, NH, for 22.5% off list.  Excellent outfit to do business with.  The owner is Peter and the phone is 603-791-0080.  His hours are sorta weird but normally there after 2 pm every weekday.

 

Jim Lawson, a transplanted Hoosier.

Ross Custom Switches has the best price I can find on GarGraves.

 

Jack

Ross has great prices, but the minimum order killed it for me. I ended up going to wholesale trains

I've watched all your videos on YouTube before I became a member here.  I love your videos and have learned a lot by watching them.  As you said, shipping prices can make the difference in the final cost.  Thank you.

Wow, thank you for all the research/specifics!  Great job and I'll take this information to heart as I make my decisions.

That's the point I am finally at, I can start buying track. Been designing this layout for a long time.  

Agreed.  Saw this many times.  Guess they are doing it for convience(?)

I'll give them a shout and compare.  Thank you for the information.

 

My plan is to buy a couple cases and then see where I am at.  Seems the most cost effective to me and I have no problem with bending cutting the track myself.  I'll search for the RCS switches used and buy what I have to new from Ross.  Trying to keep within a budget I agreed upon with my wife to get layout built.  I was doing great until all those nice Legacy steam engines appeared on the 'for sale' forum that I had to have~!

 

In the future, I'll need to think of powering this new beast-a whole different topic!

 

Thanks again.

I’ve bought Gargraves track from Charles Ro and Ross switches from Ross over the years and have had great service from both of them.  But be careful with the price comparisons presented in this thread because it looks like some posters are mixing apples and oranges, or in this case wood and plastic. You and at least one other poster quoted a price of $8.50 per section from Charles Ro.  That is for the PLASTIC ties.  But based on the stock number on the Ross price list, their price of $6.50/section or $260 per case is for the WOOD ties.  The corresponding price for WOOD ties from Charles Ro is $6.50 per section, the same as Ross, but with NO minimum order indicated.  Lantz’s price of $5.71 is lower but I suspect that is also for wood ties. 

 

But if you are under a budget constraint, why would you want to pay the extra for plastic ties?  I have some unbent 30+ year old Gargraves flex track with wood ties that I’m still using on my current layout which I had used on several previous layouts.

 

HTH,

 

Bill

You're right, I did use the price for plastic ties and should have used the wood at $6.50. To be honest, I assumed wood would be more expensive, shows how much I know. 

 

Anyway, I just looked and Charles Ro says minimum of 10 for wood (PHANTOM REG/TIN STEEL**MIN 10) and 12 for plastic, so I'm not sure why you say NO minimum.

 

Also, the $260 still works out to $5.10 ($5.41 with s/h according to someone). I have no dog in the hunt, my only intent was to challenge the blanket statement that Charles Ro is the cheapest, when that is obviously not totally true. They may be the cheapest for track with plastic ties, but it still behooves everyone to do their own research to find out for themselves who has the cheapest total price when they're ready to buy.

That's why I dislike threads like this and wish now I hadn't posted, too easy to miss stuff. But, I usually read about a mail order place I hadn't heard about before, so I guess it's just one of those necessary evils.

I for one am glad you posted because you have been a huge help!  You did the basic research for me that takes a lot of time.  Something I don't have much of..and now I have time to focus on other parts of building my layout.

 

I should have specified in the OP what I was looking for..Gargraves flextrak, phantom line, tin plated with wood ties.  

 

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions from everyone!

Thanks for that, makes me feel better even though my post wasn't totally accurate.

Shipping will greatly effect your bottom line price, especially whether you buy 12 pieces or 3 cases. Everyone has a different policy for shipping charges so make sure you find out how they charge shipping for big and small orders.

There also are some work-arounds to get a good price if you have a large order and are fortunate to be located near the factory.  If your LHS or mail order fav shop is willing to take payment by phone/internet you can make arrangements to pick up the goods at the factory and save the shipping, and often the sales tax too(eg pay in MA or NH, pick up in NY).  They don't have to handle it at all.