ModelTrainPlus

[katoftw]

Dont think the shop is open mondays and tuesday from memory.

[serotta1972]

I received my pre-order item a couple of weeks ago.  But yes, communication with him lately has been spotty.

 

[ianlaw]

Please be aware that the stock levels on the website are not accurate. Better to email first to enquire about availability. Also the contact form doesn't seem to work. Contact via email worked fine and fast and I managed to order some items I was looking for which were dispatched next day.

[Yavianice]

@ianlaw

Yeah, it always has been like that. He is a one man store and the domestic sales is larger than the international sales, so stuff like this happens often.

Facebook is also a good way to get in touch with Nariichi-San FYI.

[ianlaw]

Somehow MTP has managed to get great rates for Fedex delivery. My last order arrived with days and for the payment of tax / import duty they very conveniently send a bill afterwards. 

[Rod.H]

In my recent order from here, Fedex was the only courier offered to me and as its now in route Fedex workers are striking or doing go slows

[Tony Galiani]

Just received an e-mail newsletter from MTP.  It starts with We Are Still In Business but it looks like he has had a rough couple of years.

He also mentions upcoming shipping cost increases from EMS and FedEx as of July 1.  I have a few things I have been procrastinating about ordering so need to get my act together and put an order in.  I always prefer to support small businesses whenever I can.

Ciao,

Tony

[bill937ca]

Model Train Plus has been heard from again.  Japan Post service to Australia has resumed.

 

ModelTrainPlus Newsletter #85

Hope everyone is fine.
I would like to share some information regarding ModelTrainPlus.

 

Shipment Status

Japan Post's service to Australia is now resumed.  We could only use DHL/Fedex to Australia for quite long time but now we can use ePacket and EMS as well.  Shipping table updated and you can choose those shipping option when you checkout.

Please contact us for shipment availability for other countries.

 

New Shipping Rate

I have announced Fedex rate change from July but it didn't happen actually.  However, Fedex rate to be changed from September.

 

Pre-order

KATO announced some of popular item.  Pre-order still available for following products.
KATO 10-1727 - Steam Locomotive 58654 + Series 50 coach "SL HITOYOSHI"
KATO 10-1766 - Shinkansen Series 300-0 "NOZOMI"
It is first time for KATO to release Shinkansen series 300.
Other pre-order is also listed.

[Tony Galiani]

Just received a February 2023 newsletter from MTP.  Very brief but he does mention carrying the Kunter Chinese High Speed Trains and that he has added items to his sale page.

Ciao,

Tony

[bc6]

I just placed an order with your store I hope you have in stock unlike other stores who say they have item in stock but don't. 

[disturbman]

You know, the suppliers rarely come to the forum, there is not really any reason to leave them a message here.

[bc6]

They may get alerts that someone posted here that was the purpose besides subscribing to this post which I could have followed instead. 

[disturbman]

If he set it up to receive notifications, Nariichi-san wouldn't see it as it hasn't come here since 2020. You can check poster's last visit on their profile. These threads are not intended for you to have a private exchange with a supplier, but to share news and experiences. You can always leave him a PM.

Edited April 28, 2023 by disturbman

[bc6]

Great ideal thanks I will send him a pm. 

[Wolf]

I just ordered something with ModelTrainPlus yesterday. Also ModelTrainPlus usually keeps good tabs on their online stock and writes the numbers down pretty accurate. I would believe if they say they have an item, you do not need to worry too much.

[bc6]

Thanks calming my nervousness about ordering from overseas, If they don't have it in stock maybe I can pre-order per bills link.

[Tony Galiani]

I purchase from MTP regularly and find the service is good though I think this is a small operation and occasionally items are not in stock even if shown on the web site.  The last time I ordered (a month or so ago) Nariichi reached out to me as one item was not available but he suggested an alternate which was actually something I had been looking for so that worked out.  He also adjusted the shipping cost down to reflect the change and I appreciated that as well.  And delivery was quick - I had the items less than a week after I ordered them and that included the time for our e-mail exchange.

 

I have also used his buying service and have been pleased with that.  He does respond to queries but sometimes not as fast as a larger business might.

 

Cheers,

Tony

[bc6]

Hi Tony thanks for chiming in on this, I was hoping you would reply as I see that you have posted often in this thread.

[inobu]

3 hours ago, bc6 said:

Thanks calming my nervousness about ordering from overseas, If they don't have it in stock maybe I can pre-order per bills link.

You don't have to worry about them, its normally a 2 day process. I have never has an issue.....

 

Inobu

[bc6]

Thans inobu.

[cteno4]

Bc6,

 

Please take the time to read this whole topic on mtp and also some of the other go to vendors and you will get a much better picture of them. This topic contains a lot of posts from successful purchases from MTP and they are one of the most trusted sources in Japan for Japanese model trains. Folks have pretty much commented on all aspects of these stores with their positive experiences, a few hiccups here and there, and little idiosyncrasies. All of the usually places have good cs, pretty quick service, good inventory control, and prices. Yes some have their little idiosyncrasies and all at time to time have small problems, but the vast majority of orders come trough fine.

 

smaller the shop the more personal the attention, but they may have a bad week here or there (some like mtp are just 1 person) and orders and responses delayed, but you can’t expect more from a small shop. Bigger shops may have slightly better prices and inventory, but many not be very responsive and at times if a bigger system is disrupted by something it may take longer to fix and work through any backlogs called.

 

best thing is to have lots of patience, that way you don’t end up upsetting yourself over basically nothing as I’ve had many hundreds of orders with the usual suspects and only a handful of issues and all were resolved to good outcomes with some time.

 

jeff

[cteno4]

8 hours ago, bc6 said:

They may get alerts that someone posted here that was the purpose besides subscribing to this post which I could have followed instead. 

the forum notification system does not always work even if a user turns it on. Many email providers end up blocking the notices sent via email as spam stream. I gave up many years ago trying to keep the forum notification system whitelisted on my hosting company’s spam systems.

 

please do not try to use the forum as a conduit to communicate with suppliers, contact them directly. Most suppliers’ presence on the forum is spotty at best, so trying to use the forum for a communication route will be prone to delays or no response from them at no fault of their own.

 

it’s best with vendors to contact them directly through their systems. Also do check your own spam folders as many vendors from japan do get tossed into spam folders now and then. Nariichi had this problem a few years back with several customers email systems putting all his emails into their spam folders. Little that can be done to fix this with the disparate ways email companies are going at spam and now AI, you just have to search through your spam folders to look for lost emails. I spend about 15min a week scanning the spam folders trying to untrain some of the spam filters and find lost emails like this. Just something we have to live and deal with, it’s not the shop’s fault.

 

jeff

[Takahama Trainwatcher]

14 hours ago, bc6 said:

I just placed an order with your store I hope you have in stock unlike other stores who say they have item in stock but don't. 

Hi bc6. Be aware that Japan is moving into Golden Week, so responses and shipments may be delayed.
BTW, I've dealt with Model Train Plus (Nariichi-san) for many years, and it is a fine service.

[bc6]

Cool thanks for that information Takahama.

[Guest]

I’ve purchased from Model Trains Plus several times, both mail order and in-person on trips.  Once he mistakenly sent me the wrong part, but sent the correct one immediately once notified. This was right at the start of covid, so I held onto incorrect item for 3 years until I went back Oct 2022, and returned to him.  I think he was actually surprised,

as he never even asked for the item back originally.