Rail Tales Discount Programs
Rail Tales is in the business of serving the plastic model, model railroad, and gaming communities and in order to encourage these communities, Rail Tales has various discount programs. These programs may apply differently to different products. This is due to the different discounts that Rail Tales itself receives for the products in order to put them in the store. Rail Tales staff will be able to tell you how each program applies to each item.
General Rules for Discounts
1) Rail Tales will never knowingly mark or sell any item at a price above MSRP. If we do by mistake and you spot it, we’ll give you twice the difference. What we use for MSRP is the MSRP given to us by our distributor when we purchase the item. This may be different from distributor to distributor and prices may change over time. The MSRP is shown for where we purchased the product from and the specific time we purchased it.
2) Rail Tales often marks and sells items below MSRP as a standard policy. For instance, most Bachmann locomotives are marked below MSPR. Our standard price on the price sticker is what we call the Rail Tales Price or RTP. All discount programs are based on the RTP, so you might get a double discount!
3) Rail Tales does not guarantee that any RTP shown is repeatable. If an item is sold and our cost goes up, the RTP might go up.
4) “Discount programs” are special situational discounts that Rail Tales has created to encourage certain purchases. The discount percentages shown are for cash transactions and for check transactions with known customers. For most discount programs, credit card discounts are smaller than cash and check discounts by 5% due to the processing fees charged by the credit card companies and the various risks taken by the seller when credit cards are used. In most cases, our discount program is 20% for cash and 15% for credit cards and will be referred to as our “20 and 15” program.
5) Discount programs may not apply equally to all products. Certain items sold by Rail Tales have a very low profit margin and the discount programs may be reduced on these items. In general, O scale locomotives and scale rolling stock equipment have half the maximum discount for all programs (10 and 5 instead of 20 and 15).
6) Rail Tales will have some items marked with a “% off” sticker such as “20% off”. This is presumed to indicate the maximum discount for cash.
7) Discount programs applied to advance and special orders (things we don’t have in the store) are always from the MSRP for that item. Sometimes, Rail Tales may elect to sell these items in the store at a later date at a price below MSRP (at RTP). Your discount price will still be less than the RTP. If we make a mistake and it is not, we will refund you twice the difference.
8) As a Walthers dealer, we will sell at the Walthers sale price but reserve the option to order that item rather than take it off the shelf (Walthers often sells sale price items below our normal wholesale).
Store In-Stock (off the shelf) Discount Programs (only ONE may apply to any given item!): (note that these were changed in January of 2016!)
1) ALL new (purchased directly from a distributor) HO, HOn3, and N scale locomotives and rolling stock are discounted using the 20 and 15 program. This will apply to most train sets unless the set is already discounted but this does not necessarily apply to Marklin products (Marklin HO). Marklin products which are discounted will be individually marked.
2) Rail Tales currently recognizes four local hobby clubs. Rail Tales provides a 10% discount to all members in good standing of these clubs on the day of the club meeting OR on a designated subsequent day or days as a means of encouraging attendance. This discount applies to in stock merchandise only that is related to particular club activities to be determined on a case by case basis. Contact information and proof of membership may be required. Rail Tales will consider other clubs for this discount program. To qualify, a club must have regular meetings, be open to new membership, provide a membership list upon request, and have a contact person to whom Rail Tales can refer new potential members.
3) Rail Tales will construct various package deals from in-stock store merchandise. a) Custom Train Sets are available in HO, HOn3, or N scale, either new or vintage. So long as the package includes at least the following: a locomotive, a loop of track, and a power supply system, the client is entitled to the 20 and 15 program on all railroad products purchased at that time.
4) Rail Tales sells all Soundtraxx products using the 20/15 discount.
5) Rail Tales will sell starter NCE DCC systems using the 20/15 discount. If the customer purchased the starter NCE system from us, all additional NCE DCC components will receive the same discount.
6) Any customer who purchases a train set (single package or custom built) will receive 10% off all additional TRACK products of the same type.
7) For some particularly expensive items (typically $500+), management may extend a 5% discount for cash transactions. This typically applies to Ross Custom Switch track purchases for instance.
8) Persons who purchase an airbrush from us will receive the 20/15 discount on all parts and accessories for the airbrush.
Special Order, Advance Order, Restock Order, and Package Order Programs (only ONE may apply to any given item):
1) Customers who order any item that is not normally carried by the store are entitled to use the 20 and 15 program for most items. Rail Tales reserves the right to ask for a deposit or prepayment for new customers, especially for items that are of a type the store does not ordinarily carry (such as Z or S scale). This discount is 10% and 5% respectively on items which are ‘low margin’ for Rail Tales (primarily O scale and Marklin). Placement of a Special Order is a contract agreement by the customer to purchase the item.
2) Customers who place an advance order for product not yet available are entitled to use the 20 and 15 program. Rail Tales reserves the right to ask for a deposit or prepayment for new customers. This discount is 10% and 5% respectively on items which are ‘low margin’ for Rail Tales. Placement of an Advance Order is a contract agreement by the customer to purchase the item.
3) Customers who order any custom layout package or DCC/locomotive combo are entitled to use the 20 and 15 program. Rail Tales reserves the right to ask for a deposit or prepayment for new customers. This discount is 10% and 5% respectively on items which are ‘low margin’ for Rail Tales. Placement of a Layout Package Order is a contract agreement by the customer to purchase the items. For cash prepayment an additional 5% discount may be available with certain brands.
4) Customers who have contracted for Rail Tales to construct any portion of a project are entitled to use the 20 and 15 discount on all standard stock products used by us for the project. This discount is 10% and 5% respectively on items which are ‘low margin’ for Rail Tales.
5) From time to time, Rail Tales may have insufficient amounts of a particular Stock Item. The customer is entitled to use the program discounts on any stock item which Rail Tales does not have on hand in sufficient amounts. The customer is not required to purchase the product unless he or she requests that the product be held upon arrival and/or requests an extraordinary amount of the product.
From the Owner:
Rail Tales does not price match or price bargain with our in-stock inventory. We have product on hand for the convenience of the customer and we have expert advice available for the education and assistance of the customer. That costs money. We try to sell our product at a reasonable price sufficient for us to remain in business and support the local plastic model, model railroading, and gaming communities. We will not charge above retail and we can often charge well below retail but we can’t compete purely on price with Internet and hobby show source. Please don’t ask us to and please don’t use us for advice and then buy your product elsewhere; you are stealing our time from paying customers…
We appreciate your support of a local business.