Many people
are surprised to find that Model Railroading is still a very
active industry and that over 500,000 people in the US and Canada,
collect model trains, build model railroad layouts, and are
members of hundreds of model railroad clubs. There are many
ways to buy your model railroad supplies today:
Traditional
Hobby Shops
Years ago
it was common to find a "hobby shop" in the main street downtown
area, easy to find and easy to deal with, but with the high
prices that Shopping Malls charge today for rent, a typical
Hobby Shop finds it impossible to rent a high visiblity location,
so they are usually found in the older retail areas where rents
are not as high. Also often what calls itself a "Hobby Shop"
in a large Mall is really most a toy store with a few hobby
items tossed in, and not a "traditional" Hobby Shop which normally
carries model trains, model boats, model and radio control airplanes,
a large selection of plastic model kits and all the related
items to these hobbies...
So unless
you go and look for a hobby shop, you may easily miss one in
your area. You can find a link to a large list of active hobby
shops if you go back to the Main Concourse of Grand Central
Station, but even this list is not 100% complete...so we suggest
you check your local yellow pages, under hobby shops, and then
call before you visit to make sure they carry the type of products
you are looking for.
Also, since
Hobby Shops are all independent businesses run by their owners,
you will find a wide variety of service levels and helpfullness
at various hobby shops...unfortunately some may not be willing
to help you much if they think you bought your first load of
model railroad equipment at a Train Show, Mass merchant or via
mail order...don't be discouraged..just try another hobby
shop. Most are very friendly and will help you, expecting they
will get their fair share of your model train budget each month.
In addition
to the "traditional" hobby shops, other ways to buy your Model
Railroad supplies exist, each has some advantages, and some
dis-advantages...
Mass
Merchant such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart,Target, etc.
These are
all fine companies, but all lack the personalized service that
you may need when buying a train set or similar mechanical toy
item...you have questions that need answering, and need to know
a lot of "How To's?" when building a model railroad empire.
Self service mass merchants are not the place to find these
answers..they may be ok for the basic "Train Set" for Christmas
or a Birthday, but you really will need the staff at a good
local hobby shop to help you get past the "Train Set" stage.
Train
Shows
"Train
Shows" have become very popular in the last 7-8 years. A promoter
will rent a large hall at a local fairgrounds or convention
center and have some of the local train clubs have displays,
and a lot of out of town "dealers" come with truckloads of stuff
for sale. Often the selection of items you will find at a train
show will surpass what you can find at the local hobby shop,
but just a often the best deals may be on discontinued items,
or railroad roadnames that are not popular in your area. You
can also find a lot of "used" or "recyled" merchandise at a
Train Show. Some of these may be bargains, some may not, you
just have to educate yourself and be aware of what your buying,
for the "dealer" you buy from at the train show will be 250
miles down the road next week, and you have no opportunity to
take stuff back for exchanges or refunds as you can with a Hobby
Shop based in your town. You can find a list of Train Shows
back at the Main Concourse of Grand Central Station. Again our
list is not 100% complete, you more than likely will see ads
for trains shows from time to time that we have missed in our
listing. Some cities will only have one "train show" a year.
Major metropolitan areas such as Chicago may have a train show
every month (and not always at the same location, or sponsored
by the same people.)
Not withstanding
the above, there are many find "dealers" at train shows who
will stand behind their sales and will give you a phone number
to call if you have a problem with something you bought and
will work out an exchange via mail or whatever...as with any
other transaction, just try to get to know the person you are
dealing with.
And if
you like to tire kick, and talk trains with people, Train Shows
are a great place to go. The displays and running layouts put
on by the various clubs that participate are well worth the
entry fee to a train show, even if you buy nothing.
Mail
Order
As with
any industry today, you will find a lot of Mail Order vendors
competing for your orders. Most of these are very reputable
companies and have been around for years, but as with any other
transaction, try to get to know the people you are dealing with
by mail. Check them out with the Better Business Bureau or the
Customer Service desk at the magazine you see their ads in.
We are surprised by how many people would just send a check
for $100 or more to a company 1,000 miles away without checking
up on them lst..
Once again
getting a refund, or exchange with a mail order company may
be a hassle, whereas dealing with a local Hobby Shop may be
easier...yes, we know the prices the mail order guy may ofter
is a bit cheaper, but how much is the advise the Local Hobby
Shop staff can give you worth? If they solve problems for you,
is it not worth paying them a bit more for their time and expertise...
Cyberspace
Ordering
Our Con-Cor
brand model railroad products are all available through hobby
shops all over the USA, but not all hobby shops stock our full
line, or stock our line the year around..we prefer you work
with a local hobby shop in buying our products, but we realize
this is not always possible and therefore we do offer Mail Order
(or Cyberspace Order, if you prefer) through our Customer Service
Dept.
In line
with the comments we made above, our company has been in business
almost 35 years, and we have been with the same bank (Northern
Trust in Elmhurst,Illinois) for 20+ years. In addition to the
owners of the company, we have one employee who has been with
us for those full 35 years, and another almost 25 years, and
quite a few more around the 20 year mark. So it is safe to assume
our current customers trust us, and we would like you to join
our family of customers,if you don't have a good local Hobby
Shop to work with. Ordering Information
