Ztrack Manufactory is our latest line of Z scale rolling stock and accessories. This line is produced for Ztrack by master craftsman Bob Marrotta. Ztrack has been working with Bob for over 10 years to offer coupes, busses, pickups, seaplanes and other accessories. Ztrack is excited to announce are newest offerings, single dome tank cars, triple dome tank cars and coil shields! The single dome tank car is available in black and silver. It is cast resin. It comes equipped with AZL Bettendorf trucks and couplers. The triple dome tank car is available in black and silver. It is cast resin and comes equipped with AZL Bettendorf trucks and couplers. The coil shields are a long desired item. Design to protect coiled steel, these shields can be seen on cars around the country. The shields have been designed to snap into place on Micro-Trains gondolas (gondolas not included). Two shields come to a package. A variety of colors are available. Non listed colors are available upon request. For more information and to order, please visit: Ztrack Center: Ztrack Magazine Manufactory Rob
Now we need SHPX 42: http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/shpx42.jpg or UTLX: http://www.jeffstrainsite.com/railfan_pics/railroad_museums/stlouis/utlx_tankcar_3882.jpg Decals for the 3 dome. And UTLX for the single dome: http://www.azrymuseum.org/roster/UTLX%207682%20%20Dec%202004.JPG I'm just happy for something that fits my era.
Ummm... no, it's not. This has been a repeated complaint about ordering from Ztrack. It is the single reason I do not order from Ztrack. They have a lot of great things available, but I'm not willing to pay double or triple postage. As I mentioned, this subject has been discussed before. I have nothing personal against the Ztrack store or Rob.
Yes, we have been through this WAY too often. But we stand behind our rates and can prove they are accurate. All rates are based on the value of the item. It has nothing to do with weight or size. All orders up to $65 are $9 shipping. After that, it is tier based on value. If we can, we will drop to the lower tier. Alex, I can't help you. International orders are what they are. The post office has eliminated many of the low cost options for shipping we use to enjoy. If it is less than $50, I will send first class which is far more economical. Over $50, we must send International priority mail. Again, we will drop price tiers if we can. Rob
I have shipped many things that I have sold by both U.S. Postal Service and Japan Post. The first thing the postal employees do is WEIGHT the package... then measure the package, if needed. Postal rates are based on weight. Additional fees are added for large sizes. Yes... insurance is added based on the value of the item being sent. I buy mainly from two U.S. based sellers. Some times the packages are sent directly to my Japanese home address, and some times they are sent to my work address that uses the U.S. Postal Service. Both sellers charge for actual WEIGHT of the package. One seller refunds ANY unused portion of shipping charges that are automatically added during the on-line check-out process. My arguement is with your system, Rob... not with you personally. Four, special edition Micro-Trains cars do NOT cost more to ship than two cars. One pound or less is the same weight, no matter the value... unless, insurance is added. Alex
Alex, you said it... insurance. There is risk involved with shipping and we all know Z scale items are not inexpensive. As a business owner, I must do what is best for my business. I guarantee that the products arrive at your door. If they don't arrive, I will resend them to you. Insurance protects both the buyer and the seller and it an extra guarantee that items will arrive. You may not like this model, but it is what works for our business. We do not profit from it by time shipping costs, package costs, and our time to pack (note, we have a paid employee who handles shipping). Today, hobby shops are going out of business left and right. Companies are going under, but Ztrack is still here. Why? Because we stay true to our pricing and values. You may not believe this, but this policy actually benefits the customer. Yes, I can flat rate all shipping, but I am going to add the extra prices to all products. So you will pay more for the product with the perception that you save on shipping. I am good with doing this since I will profit more in the end. But doesn't this defeat the goal of trying to keep costs down? I am not going to be arrogant, I am going to be honest. We have to do what is best for our business. Period. Shipping costs moneys. Sorry folks, but it does. But I am not going to risk our business by trying to cut corners and bow to demand for cheap shipping. I ask you this, how many of you can afford to loose $100, $500, $1000 or more dollars? I can't. But that is what you are asking me to risk by not protecting our shipments. No folks, I will not risk my business. You can argue and debate all you want. But go figure it out for yourself. You will see our shipping rates are indeed fair and come very close to matching actual costs. And if they are out of line, we will adjust when we can. But again, we are working to make sure we are protected as are you the customer. Rob
$6 or $7 sounds reasonable and insurance should be an option not a requirement. I guess $12 is still better than the $15 it would cost me to drive there myself: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Dub....099201&1g=-83.114197&1v=CITY&2c=Warren&2s=OH
Rob, i dont like your high shipping cost, but I understand why. To save shipping cost, I accumulate enought things I want and my order is large enought so that shipping cost seem small.
Chris, Actually, I would love to have you drive down. I want to see your steam loco in person! Okay guys, here is a few points to consider and I think you will see that model train companies do not rip off customers. I compared a major online Z dealer, Ztrack, a large clothing retailer and a major online computer equipment company I do business with I looked at a order of approximately $250.00 with estimated equal weight. Z dealer's shipping rate - $11.25 (this does not include insurance. Add $35.00 for insurance) Ztrack shipping rate - $14.00 Online clothing retailer - $13.95 Online computer company - $36.88 Ztrack and the computer company both send USPS priority mail. Now I have to ask the question, are we really out of line? Again, it is our risk. For this reason we have made the decision to stay with insurance. Rob
John, This is good advice and one I agree with. Frankly, there is some frustration here. We have seen shipping costs rise for years. Plus our options decrease. We use to be able to send items first class, insured with was economical. But now it is all priority, even international. We have few options. We have found the USPS is still the most economical compared to UPS and Fedex. But, I have been burned by lost and damaged orders and corrupt customers. All retailers have. For this, it is imperative we protect our business. But, as you state, it is far more economical to ship large orders versus smaller one. For instance, we charge $12.00 for orders up to $100. But we only charge $45.00 for orders up to $3000! I don't think many will complain about $45.00 for a $3,000 order. I also suggest customers gang orders. If you have Z friends close by, combine your orders. This is a great way to save on shipping . Also note, Ztrack NEVER charges shipping and handling on magazines subscriptions or back issue orders going to a US address. That's right folks, this is one time we absorb all the cost. A single issue is $6.50... period. I always like to point this out. Many want to point out that we are the evil villain of shipping, but we don't even charge shipping for our primary products. Then again, we don't insure magazines... Rob
I just updated the price comparison. The rate for the dealer did not include insurance. This particular dealer charges a flat $35.00 charge for insurance on an order. Ours is built into the shipping cost. Rob
Not to really dwell on it, but... I mail order a lot of N scale stuff. One place charges $6.95 shipping up to two pounds or $200: http://www.nscalesupply.com/NScaleGeneral.html Zscale monster would charge $7.25 (2 cars =$66) http://www.zscalemonster.com/info.htm#international_cart I use many others with similar rates, but they don't have "shipping" pages on their websites for me to link to. Some sites will even ship flex track for the same price (N scale flex track is 3 feet long) I just think many people are turned off by the high shipping. I don't think you are ripping people off, but I don't think insurance is necessary. For 2 Z cars you could put that in a regular priority box for around $5.50 and if you upped that $3.00 for handling that would be reasonable as well and would put the costs in line with other online hobby shops I have used. All you need is a box about not being responsible for shipping problems, etc at check out. I understand Z is an expensive hobby, but that shipping put me over the line. I put my card away and closed the window. I just can't think it is good for business. Sorry for going on and no offense. Bob Marrotta's castings look great!
Chris, Take note of Z Scale Monster. For a $66.00 order, we charge $9.00 WITH insurance. Z Scale Monster charges $7.25, but NO insurance. Now if you want insurance from Z Scale Monster, add $35.00. You may not think insurance is necessary, but at this point, we are debating a $1.75 difference. Is this really worth it, especially when Ztrack is going to offer you more for the price? I am not sure how to illustrate this better, but we are really adding value at a low cost for our customers. So lets go apples to apples.... $9.00 versus $42.50 for the exact same service. Or do you just not place the order due to a $1.75 difference? I have nothing against Z Scale Monster. But since they were brought up, I think we need to be clear on their shipping rates. Rob
Chris, One more clarification. I see where you are going. Two cars is $67.00. But this pushes this to our $12.00 tier. We will drop this order to our $9.00 tier. We always do this when we are on the cusp between tiers. This is our standard policy. So two cars with shipping, handling and insurance sent domestically will be $76.00. Note, our online orders are not automatic. We hand process the orders so no charge will appear on your card until we are ready to ship. I hope this clears up the issue some. Rob
Rob, Yeah that is what I was talking about. $9 is reasonable, but $12.00 for 2 cars seemed high. Again weather or not it had insurance didn't matter to me unless it was a $1500 brass loco. So I just placed the order. Sorry to bring it all up here. Thanks
Sir, You are being disingenuous with your comments. NEVER has Zscale Monster EVER charged me that amount for insurance... or, for an entire order worth several hundreds of dollars, for shipping, handling and insurance. $35.00?!?! Get real! I never mentioned Zscale Monster in my original comments (someone else did), but I did write of being refuned any unused portion of my shipping payment. I was referring to Anthony of Zscale Monster. I have even placed multiple, separate orders over a two week period... paying for shipping each time. Anthony has ALWAYS been more than willing to combine the entire order and ALWAYS REFUNDS ANY AND ALL unused portions of the shipping. Whether the order is being shipped directly to my Japanese address or to my friend's APO address, I have never seen the charges come close to equaling what is charged through Ztrack Center. I am fully aware of what the old rates and new rates are from USPS. It is very easy to go to the USPS website, plug in sending and receiving zip codes, guess-timate the weight, and come up with a close approximate of what is being charged. You can even plug in the value of the items to find the cost of additional insurance. I do this not only for my Z orders, but almost all of anything I order on the internet. While I can understand the want (not the "need") of adding "handling" charges... if charged shippping is not within a reasonable amount of what is displayed from the USPS website... I DO NOT ORDER. I also make it a point to contact the company in question to let them know they lost my business. As a seller on feeBay (not any more), I have refunded as little as .10 cents of my quoted and charged shipping. The way I look at it... "handling" is the cost of doing business... and, a happy customer is a repeat customer. Of course... let's not mention all the free advertising that Ztrack Center and AZL receives through this forum, Z Central Station and the yahoo Z group. Alex P.S. It is obvious that we will not come to a mutal understanding of this issue.
not true. check your facts. anthony asks people to add an arbitrary $35 to their order to cover the extra fees. then he refunds the difference, so you only pay the _actual amount_ for priority with insurance, not a flat rate. this is much more fair than monkeying around with some tiered system.
That is a good point. Z Scale Monster does refund any difference is shipping. That is true. I was using their pricing page as a reference. But I have made my case very clear. Alex it is clear that you refuse to accept we have to charge what we have to charge. I am okay with you not ordering directly with me if you would have be compromise my business by allowing me to take all risk. So it is time to move on. I will work with customer who understand that companies must set pricing and tiers that work for them. I have proven my point that we don't profit from this policy, but still this is not good enough. At the end of the day, we have argued over a few dollars without even getting into other costs such as labels, shipping supplies, and time. This whole debate is no longer worth my time. We have a business to run and customers to work with. Rob
