Shop on Amazon and help the forum at the same time.


bob

bob

Administrator
Staff member
I recently mentioned the model railroad bookstore, and it is a great resource for your model railroad books.

However, did you know there's another way to help the forum? Most products you buy on Amazon will generate a small commission for the forum if you use one of our links to get there. So, how does that work? Well, the easy way is to click on one of the Amazon ads at the top and the bottom of the page, even if they don't have the item you want. That will take you to Amazon but it will also list the forum as "referrer". Then simply search Amazon like normal, and they'll send me a small percentage of what you spent for directing you there.

One thing that works really well is printer ink. Most folks buy it often, Amazon typically has a great price, and you can help the forum while also saving money. Just to be clear, the price you pay is the exact same either way. I just get a bit of ad revenue if the forum shows up as a referral link. It's essentially "results based" ads, they only pay me when somebody buys something. Just showing the ads doesn't create revenue.
 
Amazon sells almost everything! I bought a circuit board for my Furnace through Amazon and saved almost $100!

I spend thousands each year with Amazon, buying all sorts of things. From groceries, to furniture, to God knows what all. Had I been smart I could have been supporting the forum all along, sorry about that Bob.

I have bought Lionel, Athearn, Bachmann, you name it you can find it, almost anything is available through Amazon. Many large model railroad dealers are also Amazon 3rd party sellers, Trainworld, Trainz and many others.

Watch the prices, some are great, some are crazy and they can change in an instant.

If you don't see an add for Amazon on the page of the forum you are viewing or if you have the adds blocked (shame on you ;) just go to the bookstore and click on any book, Once you are at Amazon's web site the forum will be the referrer and the forum will get a small commission no matter what you buy.

If you live in the Baltimore - Washington metro area I might even be the one to deliver it to you. I am an Amazon independent delivery partner. Look for my black Chevy City Express cargo van, good luck with that. I am only one of thousands delivering for Amazon. I love my job!
 
Louis - Up here, we don't have thge variety of stores that larger cities have and Amazon is probably out first place to look. We have found what we want locally some times, but the Amazon price for the most part is lower. Amazon Prime also takes care of the shipping most of the time.
 
Chet, I have Walmart 5-10 minutes to the east of me, Target 5-10 minutes to the west and at least a half a dozen other stores as close if not closer. I still buy more at Amazon. I was an Amazon customer long before I worked with them. Most of the time the prices can't be beat and like you I am a Prime member so shipping is usually free. I also enjoy Amazon TV and music that is included as a Prime member. They have great customer service and most of the time the prices are great. Not to mention the convenience of having it delivered to my door.
 
We have a super Wal Mart in town, but I don't think I have been in there for at least 15 years. We also have a Target store in town, but ever since they would not allow the Salvation Army bell ringers in front of the store at Christmas, I have not gone in there either.

Amazon has been our place to shop for years. For instance, a few years back my Denon stereo receiver that we use for surround sound on the TV died. Tried to find a receiver locally and the few that I found were so over priced that I went on Amazon. Found a nice Yamaha unit. It was listed for $269. I book marked it to give myself some time to consider the purchase. A week later I check it and the price was dropped to $169, mainly because a new model was introduced. I jumped all that puppy. Costco carries dog treats that both of our dogs enjoy, but Costco has a habit o carrying a product and than it may be gone for a while. Found the same treats on Amazon, and less expensive.
 
"I went on Amazon. Found a nice Yamaha unit. It was listed for $269. I book marked it to give myself some time to consider the purchase. A week later I check it and the price was dropped to $169"

Chet, that is how you do it, well done! If you create a wish list it will show you the original price and how much an item has been discounted. If the prices goes up it only shows the current price.
 
And you all wonder why the brick and mortar shops are disappearing?? Amazon will be the death of us!
 
kbkchooch said:
And you all wonder why the brick and mortar shops are disappearing?? Amazon will be the death of us!
Click to expand...

Brick and mortar shops are changing, carrying the products that make sense, and not those that do not. There's a lot of stuff I won't buy from Amazon, most clothing, food, hardware items. But some things make more sense to buy online.

http://www.modelrailroadbookstore.com/shop/ is a good example. I currently have over 300 new and used model railroad books available. No brick and mortar bookstore is going to carry 300 model train books, not even a hobby shop.

http://www.railroadbookstore.com/shop/ has 450 books on full size trains and 100 books for kids. Again, you won't find that sort of selection at your local Barnes and Noble, if they even still exist. It's a very niche market, and one that can only really be served online.

Even then, there's no a lot of demand, I only sell a few titles a month. I'm hoping that traffic will improve, but it's no gold mine.

Granted Amazon does have an impact in the grand scheme of things. But so does Walmart and other chain stores. When I was a young boy, "corner stores" were still a thing, and every neighborhood had one or two. You'd walk down there for bread or milk or whatever. These days people are trying to figure out how to deliver them by drone. What they're selling hasn't changed in some cases, just how they sell it.
 
I buy all sorts of things on Amazon. I'm a capitalist, I buy what is best for me, from wherever I get the best deal. Not to mention time and energy are in short supply for me.

If Sears and Roebuck had been smart they could have made Amazon irrelavent.
 
kbkchooch said:
And you all wonder why the brick and mortar shops are disappearing?? Amazon will be the death of us!
Click to expand...

Karl - I will have to agree with you on this. Unfortunately, there are those of us who do not have access to many of the stores that larger cities have and Amazon gives us access to many products not available locally.
 
Do not forgot that Sears & Roebuck once had a large catalog business which could of been the forerunner of Amazon. As car fans know, how about J. C . Whitney for car parts via mail since 1915.
 
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I tried three times - unsuccessfully - to log in to the bookstore's website (which has only a log-in link, but none to register) with the same data I use to access this forum. I got an "invalid" message all three times. Since the bookstore site is on WordPress, does accessing it then require a separate WP account? Or, is the site malfunctioning?
 
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GNMT76 said:
I tried three times - unsuccessfully - to log in to the bookstore's website (which has only a log-in link, but none to register) with the same data I use to access this forum. I got an "invalid" message all three times. Since the bookstore site is on WordPress, does accessing it then require a separate WP account? Or, is the site malfunctioning?
Click to expand...

There is no log in or registration for the bookstore. You browse the books using the categories on the website, and when you find one you like, you click the "buy product" link. That will take you directly to Amazon.com and the entire transaction is done there, using their secure servers. If you have an Amazon account, as most folks do, you're all set, it works just like normal.

We intentionally do not collect any user information, especially credit card info. That ensures that there's no chance of a data breach etc. They can't steal your personal info if we don't collect it in the first place.

What page were you accessing that it prompted you to log in?
 
montanan said:
Karl - I will have to agree with you on this. Unfortunately, there are those of us who do not have access to many of the stores that larger cities have and Amazon gives us access to many products not available locally.
Click to expand...

Even if you do have a local bookstore, they're not carrying the stuff we carry. We currently have over 300 new and used model railroad books available. Over 300. If you have a bookstore that has 30 model railroad books, I'd be impressed. Maybe a good hobby shop might have that many. That is if you can even find a good hobby shop!

Speaking of hobby shops, why don't we sell model trains? The market for those on Amazon is just too messy to try and set up a store for it. Many are 3rd party sellers, and inventory changes minute by minute. Also, there are simply too many items, I'd be spending all day adding and editing products to the store, only to have to delete them when they sell out. You can buy them From Amazon, and if you use our link, I get a small commission, but I won't be putting direct links to them.
 
bob said:
There is no log in or registration for the bookstore. You browse the books using the categories on the website, and when you find one you like, you click the "buy product" link. That will take you directly to Amazon.com and the entire transaction is done there, using their secure servers. If you have an Amazon account, as most folks do, you're all set, it works just like normal.

We intentionally do not collect any user information, especially credit card info. That ensures that there's no chance of a data breach etc. They can't steal your personal info if we don't collect it in the first place.

What page were you accessing that it prompted you to log in?
Click to expand...

Bob,

Ah, but there is a log-in link on the bookstore site.

Click on "About," scroll down a midgen and check the right-hand side, where you'll find these - all dead - links: recent comments; archives; categories; even one that says "no categories;" and meta. The four links below them - starting with log in are all live. Clicking on the log-in link takes you to what appears to be a WordPress page, presumably for logging in there. What use that is is a mystery.

There's also no link to Amazon anywhere, only a mention of the forum's participation in its affiliate advertising program.

Looks like the bookstore site could use some tidying up.
 
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The log in link is there for my use. I have to log in to edit the website.

The “buy product” link under each item is the link that directs you to Amazon, it will take you to that particular item’s page.
 
bob said:
The log in link is there for my use. I have to log in to edit the website.

The “buy product” link under each item is the link that directs you to Amazon, it will take you to that particular item’s page.
Click to expand...

Bob,

Well OK then. It'd be less confusing to label it as such: e.g., "For Administrator Use Only."

And how about this from your original post above: "Most products you buy on Amazon will generate a small commission for the forum if you use one of our links to get there. So, how does that work? Well, the easy way is to click on one of the Amazon ads at the top and the bottom of the page, even if they don't have the item you want."

The italics are mine. Well and good that the forum earns a commission. But ads at the top and bottom of which page? There's no sign of Amazon anywhere until one clicks on the "buy product" link and is taken directly to the Amazon website.
 
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