Hopefully this is the right area for this posting. I just wanted to relate my experiences with wholesaletrains.com. To make a long story short, it was one of the worst online purchases I have ever made. They routinely mislead customers about the availability of merchandise. Listings on their website will promise that a particular item will ship within days. In truth, it can (and usually does) take weeks or months before an item will be shipped. They are totally unresponsive to emails. They will also attempt to charge a restocking fee, even when they don’t actually have the item in stock . All in all, I can only say that I wish I had done more research about them before I spent any money. Don’t fall for their promises and don’t be misled by prices that seem so reasonable. It was a miserable experience and I will NEVER do business with them again.
Jay,
sadly, many online discounters have the same policy and many will attest to a somewhat casual attitude towards a customer’s money. Although not convenient, it is well worth while phoning ahead, prior to placing an order, to confirm that items are in stock.
I will only deal with Ridge Road Station. Their stocking policy and website are usually up to date. In my case they automatically know not to 'backorder' items. Their shipping staff are the most friendly that I have encountered and will apologise if the number of a particular item that I order are not in stock. Their prices are generally very competitive and if occasionally slightly higher than an occasional 'cheaper' deal from another discounter, are well worth patronising. Good prices and good old friendly service are their hallmark.The Brave New World of internet ordering often requires a little resposibility on the buyers part as well. I’ve bought alot of stuff from them and never had any real issues with them, whenever I had a problem, a direct PHONE call always resolved it.
It is important to check the shipping avalability before ordering, if its something needed fast or if you dont trust the online shipping status bar when ordering, CALL them and order it, you can verify stock status at the same time, they’ll tell you whether they have it there in the warehouse.
I agree with Tim about never ordering back ordered items, becuase the seller is totally at the mercy of the manufacturer as to when new stock will be shipped. If its one of those “ships within 3-5 day” items, CALL them to have them verify if there distributor has the items and can ship in the time as described.
Every time I’ve bought a “ships next day” item, its arrived within the normal mailing time.
Jay,
I echo Tim.
I only deal with RRS.
I will not deal with dealers who list every item ever made for large scale, when in truth they only have a very small fraction in stock.
Also RRS lists whether or not an item is in stock.
And they call you if there is a problem, even if it is a $1.00 item.
I am amazed that none of the other dealers, except Nicholas Smith, (Which sometimes is incorrect)
have installed software to inventory sales. It sure would make for far better customer relationships.
TOG
I think any on-line retailer has good and bad dealings. I’ve not had any bad experiences with Wholesale, but I’m hardly a frequent customer of any on-line business. Most of my money is spent at the local shops. (Doesn’t hurt that my local shop is Caboose Hobbies, and before that was Ridge Road Station.) I have had been subject to “shady” business dealings in other arenas, and it definitely leaves a bitter aftertaste. But each time we get burnt, we (hopefully) get smarter, so if we run into the same circumstances, we can achieve a better outcome.
Later,
K
John Bouck said:
Jay, I echo Tim. I only deal with RRS. I will not deal with dealers who list every item ever made for large scale, when in truth they only have a very small fraction in stock. Also RRS lists whether or not an item is in stock. And they call you if there is a problem, even if it is a $1.00 item.I am amazed that none of the other dealers, except Nicholas Smith, (Which sometimes is incorrect)
have installed software to inventory sales. It sure would make for far better customer relationships.TOG
TOG,
Add me to the list of very happy RRS customers. So far not one problem!!
I do Ridge Road, Caboose, and St Aubins…(Kevin I’m ENVIOUS!!!)
I haven’t done a lot of business with wholesaletrains, but the few times I’ve bought from them I’ve only had a problem when it was a “ships in 2-3 days” item. In that case I waited a few weeks (didn’t really need it right away), then sent and email and got a reply that the item had to be back ordered and I could continue waiting or cancel the order.
I do most of my business with St. Aubin and sometimes RRS. Both have given me exemplary service. The main thing I like about wholesaletrains is that they will sell individual pieces of track, which is great when I need a section of a specific radius and not the whole circle.
Being in Australia, on-line shopping is the way to go, and I must endorse the comments on RRS and St Aubins, both have given me great service, with top marks going to RRS.
Several years ago I used to do a lot of business with Wholesaletrains.com. They can still be a good source of items at a fair price but you need to remember to do a couple of things first. Number one: check out what you want to buy and see if it is available from the manufacturer RIGHT NOW reguardless of weather Wholesaletrain’s web site says that they have it. Second: call Wholesaletrains and check to see if they have it in stock or when they expect it. Third: if they have it in stock pay for it right then over the phone. Fourth: if it is in stock at the manufacturer have them order it and have it drop shipped directly from the manufacturer to you if possible. Wholesaletrains is a small hobby shop trying to compete with the big guys on a small budget. Really if they want to do a good job they need to expand but don’t seam to want to. Good luck.
Caboose Hobbies, Ridge Road Station, St. Aubins, San Val, Trainworld and Watts (shops listed in alphabetical order, not order of preference) have received most of my online business with (I hope) much happiness for both parties. I know I have always been satisfied.
While I’ve no knowledge or Wholesale Trains business policies, I’ve had no problems with the shops listed in several of the posts.
I did just order a bachmann 3 truck shay after calling 2 shops in California, one in Colorado, one in Illinois/Nevada, 2 in New York 1 in Florida, and 2 or three from internet land scattered around the states. Not in stock …no sale… in stock … how much… not the best price but have 1 or two more items I need …sale … cheaper shipping in the long run…oh yeah … NYC store wins the business.
If you want it make sure they’ve got it!! (hope it wasn’t a fib…)
Now if it just gets here when they say it will… and undamaged…
mark
I like Danny Sheehan living in Queensland do most of my shopping on line but I deal with RLH Hobbies. He is great and always lets me know by email any questions I have.
Bob Hayes
Think you meant RLD Hobbies, Bob - and I second your comments.
I have dealt with Wholesale online, over the phone, and in person. I have dealt with RRS on the phone and in person. I have dealt with Trainland/Trainworld in the mail, online, on the phone and in person (both stores). I have dealt with St. Aubin’s over the phone.
Add in a few other major players (advertisers) and a few miner ones (local places) and I’ve got praise and horror stories for just about all of them. I’ve gotten deals and I’ve had to struggle for what I wanted. I’ve been treated well and I’ve been treated shabby at some of them. I’ve also worked at two separate hobby shops, neither of which were mentioned here directly. It ain’t easy. Even face to face transactions can go bad fast.
I take my purchases much more seriously now and in the case this past May when I was trying to buy track locally and could not from RRS, Trainworld, or Wholesale for various reasons but mostly because they simply did not have any in stock! All of these were in person visits so that I did NOT have to pay shipping. Can’t win any way you look at it.
I’ve always had good results when dealing with Wholesale Trains. They have always been fair in their pricing, and have always been upfront with stocking issues. Gary runs a small shop and is trying to compete with the bigboys. As with any online retailer, I don’t necessarily believe what is on the website (got burned lo these many years ago on my first purchase… the guy said never to believe what is online, so I don’t. btw, different site) so I call and order that way.
SteveF
Steve Featherkile said:My only issue with Wholesale Trains is that they insist on shipping UPS. They have, from their point of view, good reason (trouble with US Postal Service refusing to pay on insurance claims). Unfortunately, as mentioned elsewhere, UPS sees a border as an opportunity to stick it to the customer, big time. So, alas, I will no longer order from WT or St Aubin -- by the time UPS has added its charges, it's just too expensive. I'm not blaming these stores in particular; they're just the ones of which I have experience. Their service was good, but UPS fouled the well. So far (touch wood), I have never had problems with postal shipments.
I've always had good results when dealing with Wholesale Trains. SteveF
I really don’t purchase much LS train stuff, and I do spread the business around based on availability and pricing. Opposite to the bashing going on above, I’ve had perfect service from Wholesale Trains. They were the only ones who would order Aristocraft’s arch bar trucks when I needed to equip some of my kit and scratch built stock. Sometimes it takes a little time, but I have always gotten exactly what I ordered, including partial shipments when something was back ordered, with the costs and shipping exactly as agreed.
I do use the phone rather than on-line ordering, but that applies to all my LS train transactions. On occasion I have spoken to Wholesale Trains owner Gary Lantz. I believe he really goes out of his way to make certain things are right. He is also a strong supporter of the LS hobby in general. Many times he also has the lowest price available anywhere. His pre-release pricing on the new Bachmann K-27 is just one example.
Everyone has a right to their opinions, but I believe joining a public forum specifically to trash one vendor is at best low class. Doubly so when the defamation (as in “They are dishonest”) starts.
Happy RRing,
Jerry Bowers
I too have had nothing but good dealings with Wholesaletrains in fact my largest every LS purchase came from them, a pair of USA PA A-B lash ups that I preordered at what was way below what anyone else was selling them for at the time. Because of the long time between placing the order and the time the product became available they called me to verify that a. I still wanted them and b. if I still wanted to use the same card I used to order them with. They also agreed to ship them to my work address because I had concerns at the time that they would be delivered when no one was home. They also nailed the date I was told they would arrive. Beyond that I have ordered a number of items over the years, Shay replacement trucks, Aristo SD45 power blocks (for projects not repairs) Aristo trucks and a number of other items that I felt I got good pricing on. I have spoken with Gary at the ECLSTS and he certainly doesn’t strike me as a rip off artist. If you have issues, pick up the phone and call them, better yet do that in the first place and forget the internet, even the large dealers rarely have totally up to date info on their sites.
Ric Golding said:I would go with the above.
Caboose Hobbies, Ridge Road Station, St. Aubins, San Val, Trainworld and Watts (shops listed in alphabetical order, not order of preference) have received most of my online business with (I hope) much happiness for both parties. I know I have always been satisfied.
Caboose is my local, or was and I go past Denver quite often.
But their stock of LS seems to have diminished.