So it has been just over a week and half since launching the new website for Westside Trains, and we haven’t even started on all the work that needs to be done…..

So after months it was finally nice to have the site up live, but with that comes troubleshooting bugs that can’t always be tested in the backroom. Yeah, so many different devices, different browsers and they all don’t play nice together. So as comments come in, my job is to investigate, troubleshoot and fix them on top of still adding new products and trying organize the main brick and mortar store. Yet, through it all, I love it!

The one thing that is disturbing is some complaints of products being out of stock….well folks it happens on everyone’s website, but even more here and let me explain why!

It is unfair to compare this website to other train websites that have a full blown staff, plus have had an active and working website for years. They, just like us, at some point learned to crawl, then walk and finally run. They have had years to add product to the point they just have to manage any new products which is a fraction of having to build an entire store from the ground up. As the months get along and we are able to continue to add product from our store, plus the goal is to expand the store, our “out of stock” items will slowly go down. You can never remove all out of stock items, it is just the nature of online sales.

I’m still working out a bug on the filters for our store. They work fine through computers but on some mobile devices they aren’t working properly or not showing up all together. Frustrating, but expected as building a site this large you have bugs that need to be addressed. That said if you are in our store page to the left you have the ability to filter not just by category but by in stock, price, road name, brand and such. Again, I’m trying like crazy to update new products daily but as this is a side project of passion for me, at least right now, I do still have a regular day job.

I also want to mention to don’t forget to sign up for our Club Car Rewards points. It cost nothing!!! Just go to the login area and create an account. Why? Well you get points just for visiting the site daily. So even if we don’t have a product you want now, we might in the future, so why not earn points daily while you wait. Think of it as us giving you something for being patient with us as we expand the online store. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is an online store with 10,000 plus products.

I do want to say thank you to all that have taken the time to visit the store and leave comments, even if was of a negative kind. That is how we grow and proceed into the future. I’m looking forward to meeting some of your if you make your way to Vegas, as well as serving those of you who choose to buy from us in the future. I love this hobby, and can’t wait to see what the future holds for Westside Trains.

Tina Marie Caouette – Webmaster