Where Do You Buy From Internet Or Local Shop ???.

[DonnyRailMan]

I must admit if it was not for the internet i would not have the anmout of  Locomotives  & coahes as i do have.

I only have 30 Locomotives all 4-6-2s apart from my P2. I would say 95% of them off the Internet and 90% of them

from T M C  . 

[GreenGiraffe22]

Online, usually considerably cheaper and there isn't really a local model shop in Brighton anymore, I occasionally go out to Lancing or Ford but it means paying full whack for things if I do... 

[TheQ]

Second hand stuff mostly from shows, new from the internet, It's a 50 mile round trip to each one of the two nearest model shops and they are in different directions, about 75miles if I wanted to visit both on the same day..

 

That reminds me, more modelling tokens required for the 13th..

[Legend]

No local shops . My last , Pastimes in Georges Cross Glasgow is closing in April as proprietor retires .  So Glasgow no longer has a well stocked model shop selling trains .

 

No choice but to use Internet , which is typically Rails, Hattons, Arcadia and Hereford .

[The Johnster]

Back in the days when there was no internet and we all used to wash our clothes with stones in the river, I used my local model shops for anything they stocked and relied on show trader's stands for the rest; a visit to a show would see me coming home with a bag full of bits and pieces that I couldn't get anywhere else.  There was already a healthy mail order element to the trade, but i did not indulge in it.

 

Nowadays, the trader's stands at shows have been to a very large extent replaced by online ordering and cashless payment.  I still use my local shops, Lord and Butler for models and Antics for tools and materials. but have had to source a good bit of stuff from the internet.  There's also 'Bay of course, but I think I have worked that particular seam out for the time being.  I don't like it; it sucks time with the auctions which I avoid as much as I can, and I've had a bad experience.  'Buy it now' is better, but still feels a bit chancy.  I am conscious of being lucky to have a very good model railway shop close by, even if it is a 2 bus ride to the very opposite side of the city.  I'll still buy stuff at shows if I see it but this is a much lesser part of my sourcing than it was, and I don't go to the big shows any more as I don't like the crowds and won't be able to get most of what I want.

 

So, the answer in my case is and has always been that I source stuff from where it is available, and hope to be able to continue to do so.  That a city the size of Glasgow has no proper model railway shop is an indication of how lucky I am to have one.  A shop where items (especially second hand ones) can can be physically examined and test run before you part with your cash is a very valuable asset, and can be surprisingly competitive on pricing.  It is also sometime a bit of a social hub.  

 

As this is a Hornby thread, I can say that I've bought all of my Hornby items from Lord and Butler, some secondhand and none at full manufacturer's rrp.  Brilliant shop, no connection, satisfied customer!

Edited April 3, 2019 by The Johnster

[Oldddudders]

We expats have little choice but to use the Internet quite a lot. Having a pied a terre in SW England, though, I do tend to visit Paignton Model Shop and/or Kernow if I get the chance. You invariably see things you need and it’s the chance to pick ‘em up, as well as that new loco at a good price (both shops are helpful with price) and avoiding postage. 

[Nearholmer]

I'm very fortunate in that there are two good general model railway shops fairly nearby - one I can cycle to in an hour, the other is about forty minutes by car, there being no non-death-defying cycle route.

 

But, since I go in for strange old type of toy trains that neither stocks, I have to buy most things other than tools, paint, and other general bits over the internet, or at specialist shows/meetings.

[Hroth]

I've no "local" model shops now and even the local show has given up, so if I want something I have to use the Internet.

 

In the past year, I've bought from Derails, Hattons, Hereford, Kernow and Rails (Alphabetical, not preference!) and I don't see any change soon.  Ebay for bits and bobs, and sometimes real bargains where the vendor has mislabelled their item and no-one else has spotted it.

Edited April 3, 2019 by Hroth
added info

[Steamport Southport]

What's a local model shop? I haven't seen one around here for years.

 

Most major cities don't have them due to sky high rents/rates. Those that do are usually on the outskirts which rules out many casual visitors to those cities. A prime example is Hatton's, now actually closer to me but impossible to get to without a car. No pedestrian access.

 

So it's the internet I'm afraid. Also shows and heritage railways.

 

 

Jason

[Dave John]

I shall be sad to see Pastimes close Legend, it has been my local model shop for years. Very useful for all the modelling sundries and I have bought a bit of secondhand stuff for kitbashing too. 

 

However modelling pre group Caledonian means that most of the things I have needed have only ever been available by mail order. Letter and cheque has given way to the internet but I can't see that changing, the sheer number of specialist parts would be beyond any shop to stock. 

 

 

[Shedman5]

I am fortunate to have a good local model shop to visit though I do buy via the internet.

 

Recently for scenery supplies I have used a couple of war gaming sites, when I was working which involved a lot of travel I visited many model shops some of which set the location for meetings! Sadly one by one they have disappeared over time.

[atom3624]

I think I would feel strange walking into a model shop nowadays - haven't been in one for years.

 

ALL of my gear has been from suppliers / shops but via the internet.

 

Al.

[truffy]

There's something more 'real' about a good B&M retailer. I used a couple of good ones while I still lived in the UK.

 

But, since my move to Switzerland, I've had to go the internet route. It's quick, cheaper(ish)...and resolutely less satisfying, but it's the way it is.

 

Unless I move to H0. :/

[Wickham Green]

Hobbytimes of West Wickham ! ........... barely a twenty minute walk away .............................................. been closed donkeys years unfortunately - as has every other physical emporium I remember using ...... Beatties, of course. W & H, Hamblings, Kings Cross, Hadley, Victors, Puffers ......................................

Edited April 4, 2019 by Wickham Green
puffin' addition

[mark axlecounter]

I am lucky there is 4 all within 30 minutes drive transport models (Preston) ,Arcadia (shaw) ,Loco shed (whitefeild) and standard 4 in bury (east lancs railway). I go to shows for bits what I can’t get from them. I do use eBay for stuff to but most of my purchases are from one of the local shops. 

 

[adb968008]

Where I live there used to be at least a dozen shops within a 30 minute drive.

 

Today there are two, one doesn’t do railways, the other has no parking, irregular hours, a poor website and involves changing trains, or 3 buses, even though it’s only 4 / 5 miles away.

 

Everything is purchased via the Internet or Railway Exhibitions, which there are still a healthy few around here.

Edited April 3, 2019 by adb968008

[Hilux5972]

I’m in New Zealand so it’s so much cheaper to buy online from the likes of Hattons and Rails etc. 

[tetsudofan]

Virtually all of my "off the shelf models" (Hornby, Bachmann, Dapol, Roco, Piko and LGB etc.) are pre-ordered and purchased in person at my local shop, the Hobby Shop, in Faversham. This involves a 52 mile round trip but together with a friend of mine (who I've got involved in model railways) we make a morning of it once a month starting with full English breakfast at The Leading Light (Wetherspoons) and then visiting The Hobby Shop for some retail therapy. We alternate cars so that the passenger pays for the breakfast!

 

Other stuff like Kernow, Accurascale, Cavalex etc. is purchased via the Internet. Very little is purchased at railway exhibitions.

 

Keith 

[Butler Henderson]

I have changed to internet ordering on the basis you are 99% percent of getting the goods you want in a couple of days whereas I once spent an entire afternoon trawling model shops without finding anything that I was after (big saving in time and petrol offset by postal charges but their are ways of minimising those through ordering a number of items at once or using post free offers)

[31A]

Local shop, except when I spot an irresistible bargain at an on line box shifter.  My local shop's prices are comparable with the big online retailers (when you take their postage etc. into account); the shop always opens the box for me to inspect, and give the loco a run on their test track.  In the unlikely event that after that anything is wrong, it's easy to return it to them.

[choo1choo]

Nearest model shops either an hour or nearly two hours by bus so it's EBay and Rails etc for me. We do have a couple of toy/train fairs a year but there isn't a lot for me as I model pre-grouping.

[Ouroborus]

My local shop doesn't sell track, but fortunately the next nearest does albeit that it's mainly a box shifter.  By the time petrol is paid, it's probably cheaper to order from them via the internet, but I always get service with a smile and I'll pay for that

[TravisM]

I used to buy of the internet all the time until I found a brilliant model shop close to me, so the internet got binned and beat a regular path to DB Models in Bourne.  Gather my dismay to find that Dan has closed down recently and I can’t be the only one to feel the loss of his shop.  

 

So, back to the internet and the box shifting companies.

[brenn]

For any one in London....This is a simple one to answer...there are no local shops....Internet and Ally pally or a trip to Kent is about the options available.

 

B

[eastglosmog]

Since Howes closed their Model Railway department, I usually go to Bourton on the Water for RTR and paint, about a 40 mile round trip.  Wish they were a bit more cheerful though, gets a bit wearing to hear moans about the internet all the time!

Kits and such like have to be bought over the internet as they do not stock them.