# frustrating on-line purchase



## blumule (Jan 2, 2010)

i decided to make a purchase at wholesaletrains.com.It has been nothing but a run around from day one.I cant gat my train or cancel the order without being charged a restocking fee of about 20 bucks. I cant block the debit card either for some crazy reasoning on my banks part.This company doesnt call me back or tell me upfront whats going on. All i want is my train.Anybody else had an experience with them?I could end up waiting months for this train.


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

You really need to read this forum before you start buying, RLD Hobbies is the best hands down. Price, Service And Quality...............And the owner is alrite as well, he's a advertiser on this forum..........


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

You say that you are getting "the run around" from WholesaleTrains.com but you also state that you can get no response from them! Which is it? I assume that you have sent them an e-mail regarding the status of your purchase. Have they responded? If so, what did they say? If there has been no communication and they are not answering their phone, perhaps they didn't receive your initial email? Where did you find out about a $20 restocking fee?_ Have_ you been in contact with them? Your post is somewhat vague. I'm not trying to be argumentative but you start out a thread blasting a company by name for a purchase which hasn't gone as you would have hoped. Is it possible that your train is out of stock (i.e. on backorder) and it will be shipped as soon as possible? If so, I can understand your frustration but getting angry about it doesn't really help matters! Wholesale Trains has been a sponsor here so yes, we have had dealings with them and they have been good ones. If you would like our input, it would really be helpful if you could provide some more specifics.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

I have to agree with both Steve and Nick here. You seem to be vague about your problem with Wholesale Train. Not good to come out blasting a company before you have exhausted all your options.


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## armorsmith (Jun 1, 2008)

I have purchased a number of items from wholesaletrains.com with great results. My process however may be different from yours. Primarily due to my shipping address being different from the credit card, I always have to make the order on the phone. This affords me the opportunity to verify if the item is in stock, and when the item will ship. With the downturn in the economy, many vendors are reducing the on hand stock and relying more on their suppliers for product. I recently noticed that wholesaletrains is now showing various shipping 'conditions' with each item. Those items marked with 'Next Day' are most likely on the shelf at wholesaletrains. 'Available' I interpret to mean their supplier has it on the shelf and it will ship in a couple of days either from the supplier or wholesaletrains. 'Advance Reservations' I think is self explanatory, and 'AFTER date' means that is when wholesaletrains 'expects' to have the product in their possession. 
I have always had the phone answered, and emails returned. Emails may have taken a day or so, but always answered. 

Just my experience and opinion. 

Bob C.


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## NavyTech (Aug 2, 2008)

You should not have to exhaust all you means to receive a product that you ordered. I feel for you Blumule


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I clearly don't know all the details of this transaction. Wholesale trains is often the lowest price on the Internet. I don't expect the same level of customer service as I get when I go to my Mercedes dealer. 

All things being equal, a major discounter has to run a lower overhead operation. 

So, emails might take longer, it might be more difficult to cancel and order, and yes, there might be restocking fees. 

That's why I don't always search out the absolute cheapest supplier. That said, only once have I had a problem, and the owner of the company took care of it for me, actually several years later after I had given up. 

So, don't give up on them, just persist, if you really have been wronged. If there is a restocking fee, it should have been published somewhere. 

Regards, Greg


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## blumule (Jan 2, 2010)

Thanks nick. Ill keep rld hobbies in mind for future purposes. To steve didnt mean to come off blasting them .was just wondering if anybody else had dealt with them in the past. As far as the runaround goes , if you tell me you will call me and let me know whats going on and then dont call me i consider that the runaround. Its been 2 weeks since the order was placed . The 20 dollar restocking fee is a 7 percent fee they charge you on cancelled orders regardless of whether they actually handled the item or not.To me thats not good bussiness. Everybody has theyre own preferences and loyalties but this one wont be mine. In the future ill try to refrain from " BLASTING " someone without knowing all the details .


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

In their policies, they do state the 7% cancellation fee, if they can cancel it. They don't really obligate themselves to cancel any order.

*http://www.wholesaletrains.com/ReturnPolicy.asp* 


Unfortunate for you, but it's there on their site.

Sorry,

Greg


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

they do state the 7% cancellation fee 

_Greg, they state a lot more than that. I wouldn't do business with someone who has this policy. A "paperwork fee" !! No cancellation via email ?? Who do they think they are - the only sellers in town? Not customer friendly, imho._ 
_From their website:_


Order Cancellation 
If we receive a cancellation request after your order has been accepted into our order processing system and we are able to physically accommodate your request, we will charge you additional paperwork processing fees of 7% (seven percent) or $5 minimum, which ever is more. 
Orders will not not be cancelled via E-mail correspondence. 
Cancellations will not be processed within 72 hours prior to the scheduled shipment day. 
If approved a cancellation verification number will be issued to all cancellations. Cancellations are not 
valid without the cancellation verification number. A seperate cancellation number must be obtained 
for each cancelled order and your processing fee invoices will be mailed to you.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Blu, 
I had the same experience and refuse to do business with them.

It was about 8 months for a Aristo sloped back tender, not a rare beast.

John


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## Dave F (Jan 2, 2008)

I have only ordered form Wholesale Trains once , and that order went fine. Much like Bob, I did call to verify the items were in stock and available to ship prior to placing the order. As has been stated though, RLD demonstrates exemplary customer service. I'll be going through them from now on.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Seeign as they are somewhat local to me (less thana 3 hour drive one way) I've shopped there in person. I've had better luck in person or on the phone with ANY supplier and it is still how I prefer to do business. Unfortuantely with many shops or internet stores going to more drop shipped merchandise it means less stock on hand at the stores. I too got caught up in the online run around once or twice from various online stores. Re-stocking fees are a product I believe of the drop shipping process as the product ends up at the vendors and NOT at the manufacturers or wholesalers warehouse. Thus, you get pay the penalty. Every vendor deals with this slightly differently though and it pays to watch the fine print or learn the hard way as a lot of us have done. 

Good luck with WT..I'm sure it will get straightened out. Be patient, although I admit it's difficult. 

Chas


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Pete, "caveat emptor" applies here... My advice is before you buy something from someone, check the policies of the vendor. If you are ok with them, then go ahead, if they state that you have no recourse if there is a problem, then you can make the personal decision to gamble. 

Yes, the "rules" in this particular case don't sound great, so you have to factor this in. Wholesale trains has some incredible deals, and I have ordered from them on occasion. I'm careful to check that the product is actually in stock by phone and get the name of the person who I am talking to. 

Following this procedure has resulted in no problems, but of course I cannot speak for everyone. 

Regards, Greg


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Guess that is why I only do business with folks that have a phone number to call in. This way i can verify right away that the item is there to be shipped. If not I do not order. Plain and easy way to buy. To many folks rely on the internet. I may be old fashioned but I don't have near the problems. Later RJD


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## tmtrainz (Feb 9, 2010)

I have placed two on-line orders with wholesaletrains.com within the past month. Living in Northeastern, PA, only several hours drive from their location, both orders have arrived the next day, no problems. 

I would do business with them anytime as my experience with them has been very favorable. 

I hope that you get your dealings straightened out in a timely fashion with a favorable outcome for both parties. 

Tom


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## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

First of all, let me say, you have my sincere sympathy in your frustrating experience with Wholesale Trains. I have had similar experiences with a major dealer in Illinois, and it is no fun! Personally, like RJ, I generally place my orders over the phone, even when I do the "shopping" on the internet. This is just my preference. I like to be able to talk with the vendor and get my questions all answered. My personal experience with Wholesale Trains has been very favorable. They have always delivered what they promised when they promised. If I have any questions, I just call them, and they have always been up front with me. Likewise I have had excellent results with RLD Hobbies. I can only say I do hope you get your trains SOON!

Ed


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## blumule (Jan 2, 2010)

Thank- you that someone can sympathize with me. I was beginning to feel like the bad guy. I was able to talk to someone today besides the person answering the phone. They were very nice and understanding but could only say they were waiting on the train to be shipped to them , 1-4 wks estimate. 7 % restocking fee to cancel.Guess ill wait. Next time ill spend the extra few dollars to get my item in a reasonable manner of time.


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

I had a funny feeling that it was probably something like that! Oh, and please don't think we were "ganging up" on you or anything! As a certain former President once said, "I feel your pain!" I, too, have had a frustrating experience much like yours! Remember, we have all (well, _probably_ all!) had good and bad experiences here and we just try to share what we have learned to help others out so they can hopefully avoid the same problems! You're not the bad guy! You are however the latest to find out that sh*t happens sometimes! (Sorry, it's true but I could have been more genteel about stating it!) It's a "live and learn" situation!


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## blumule (Jan 2, 2010)

well said!


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## rmcintir (Apr 24, 2009)

I've ordered twice from Wholesale trains. First order was for an inexpensive sound card. Delivered with reasonable speed at an excellent price. Second order was for a motor block and I threw in a set of Kadee couplers for a project I had since they wouldn't add to the postage. OOPS, motor block wasn't available and they shipped the Kadees at a premium shipping cost. My fault, didn't note that I wanted it all or nothing. I don't fault them in the least as they delivered product as quickly as possible. They can't read my mind! I suppose it was for the best, I fixed the motor block I had and was able to cancel the unshipped motor block with no penalty. All in all, both satisfactory outcomes!

I thought I would mention another vendor I have dealt with recently, and also recommended here in an earlier post, RLD Hobbies. Excellent service! I didn't find out how good until the second order. First order of a sound card came VERY quickly. Second order I noted that I wanted two items, turned out one was not available, recently ran out. I received excellent communication which was important as the order had a time frame to receive. RLD went out of their way to find a slightly different version, but equivalent, of the product and send it to me (today). I was kept informed throughout the process. I will definitely buy again and recommend them as an excellent vendor.


I always try to buy locally but the ways of the local hobby shop are changing. I'll still try but when I can't, or it doesn't make financial sense, I have found a very reliable vendor and another that I also trust.

russ


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## Tom Bray (Jan 20, 2009)

My personal opinion is that I really hate ordering things on the internet ... I have had good experiences and I have had some less than positive ones. I recently found out that something I purchased was a bootleg copy of some software - the original vendor was nowhere to be found once this was determined. 

The real problem is that there are very few stores that stock any large scale product. When I find one that does I do my best to purchase products from them even though it might be slightly cheaper to buy it over the internet. I do have limits on how much more I will pay. 

It seems that the biggest loss has been hobby shops and book stores ... both sell products that I would prefer to preview prior to buying. I haven't had very good luck buying books on line without being able to look at them - they have been OK but I probably would have purchased something else had been able to preview them. 

The shows and conventions are no longer attracting the vendors which makes it even harder to preview products prior to buying them. When I went to the SEGRS show back in May I was looking for some specific items, I didn't find any of them at the show though. 

Web pages don't seem to be a good replacement for seeing something live. I was looking at several engines that looked good in the pictures, when I actually got to look at them live, I wasn't impressed. 

Tom


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## Casey Jones (Jan 13, 2010)

I stay away from wholesale pains er' I mean trains as I to have called them to verify stock and the person I spoke with said yes they have it so I ordered online only to find out they didn't have it about 2 weeks later..so I canceled the order and I got rear-ended for the re-stocking fee of 7% for something that they didn't have in stock to begin with..no thank you as wholesale trains can go pound sand..and that's a fact jack!


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## dperrott (Aug 12, 2010)

On another idea for obtaining the best prices from online vendors. If you do your homework (picking up the phone) and verify the items are in stock at the multiple vendors, most vendors have been more than willing to match the prices. That being said, I order from my favorite vendor so that I get the best price and the best service. 

I did not mention the vendors on purpose because I do not know if this is common practice for all of their customers. I do want to say that all of the ones that I do deal with are sponsors on this site.

Hope this helps... 

Dan


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