Many dealers are too marginal to offer fancy websites. However, MTH has found the solution by providing the opposite - dealer inventory on specific items. Yes, I have called small outfits to attempt a purchase and have been told that the item, vouched for by MTH, is out of stock. But 98% of the time MTH is right on the money.
Where MTH is weak and Lionel is strong is in the parts diagram and parts department area.