LHS Proponets

[Anonymous]

I'm a big fan of web-based purchases- price and selection are primary factors that drive me to the internet. However, I recently found a LHS with a good selection and decent prices- I was surprised at how much I liked being able to pick up the boxes and actually look at the merchandise. Even though this shop was well-stocked, probably 10% or less of the inventory was pertinent to me.

My question is, how succesful can a highly-specialized hobby store expect to be? What if the store choose an era to stock, rather than a series of mfgs or a scale? What would you like to see in your LHS?

Maybe my problem is that I'm modelling steam instead of diesel...

[KenK]

See if the store will order stuff for you. At least if something is damaged in shipping,
the shop gets to handle it instead of you.

[KenK]

You also may get advice about what to buy, what's good, what isn't.

[simon1966]

QUOTE: Originally posted by devandavis



My question is, how succesful can a highly-specialized hobby store expect to be? What if the store choose an era to stock, rather than a series of mfgs or a scale?

I would think that a very specialized LHS would have a really hard time. Frankly, it is rare to find an LHS just specialized in just model trains let alone a subset of model trains. Sometimes you will find an O scale shop ususally making a living trading old Lionel stuff, often via mail order and the Internet. I doubt that there are many population centers with enough specialized modellers to support too narrow a focus.

Different story if you introduce the internet into the equation. Look all over the web and you will find specialization. DCC dealers, N scale only dealers etc.

When I travel on business I always look for MRR stores and so often what I find is a small section of MRR in the corner of a RC, rocket and fantasy figure store. It really is a delight to find a tru MRR shop with good converstaion and lots of interesting things to handle and buy.

[tstage]

Derek,

I would encourage you to give that LHS some of your business. Yeah, you can probably find a better deal out there on the Internet somewhere but, like you said, there's nothing that replaces being able to either pick up and/or run a locomotive that you want to purchase or look inside a kit to see whether or not the BLT date fits your particular era or not.

The expertise and know-how of the staff is also another factor. I frequent one LHS, NOT for the prices (they are usually MSRP or a little less), but for the one-on-one questions that I can ask one of the guys about railroading or kit building. That's worth payin' an extra a couple of bucks in my book. On the other hand, picking up a $110 ALCO S1 switcher from Trainworld.com for $29.99 is a no brainer.

I would have to say that 80% of my purchases are done through my two "not-so-local" LHS's in my area. To me, it's money well worth spent to keep them afloat and viable.

Tom

[Anonymous]

I enjoy going to a LHS that has employees that actually are into model RR.
Unfortunately thats not always the case.My LHS has young adults (kids) stocking,and working behind the counter that only know how to ring up the merchandise. The only info I get is if I'm lucky enough to be in there when another fellow modeler is also there. We can ocasionally compare notes, and perhaps what we read somewhere. The owner is there on ocasion, but he is usually bitching about the internet pricing being so low that he can't make a living. He quit stocking the expensive Rolling stock, and Loco's.Oh he will special order it for you, but no chance to see it run. His test track is 3 feet long to show off the new sounds in some diesels to the NewBe customer.
The "good ol fashion" hobby shop is dead here. Thank god for this Forum and the Kato forum. I get 90% of my help & info here, and 8 of my last 10 Loco's from the net.
The pricing is just too good. Tony's was discounting the Lionel Challenger by $100 to
$599. I paid $279. How can you pass that up to buy from the LHS. BTW..I couldn't have tested it there anyway. Not on a 3e foot track.

[IRONROOSTER]

My LHS quit carrying S scale. I still drop in occaisionally for the odd magazine or book, but most of my buying is at shows and mail order/internet. Not for prices, but because they have it.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

I can completely understand the 'support your LHS' side of the argument, and I totally agree with the idea that being able to see/feel/compare items up close and personal is a major plus, but my LHS in the last five years has significantly reduced it's inventory, quit selling ALL RC products (the store owners say it's because of undercut pricing from places like Tower Hobbies), and their MRR selection is slowly but surely dying as well. I remember 10 years ago I could find just about anything I wanted in that store but now their selection is very poor, and they have to sell everything at MSRP just to make ends meet. They've even stopped carrying all magazines (including MRR) because, to quote the store owner, "I would lose less money by giving you a quarter and telling you to go buy MRR from the grocery store next door than to keep Kalmbach's magazines on my shelf." I glanced at my LHS track prices the other day... an Atlas Mark III Custom Line turnout was $11.95, but from an online retailer, it goes for $8.78. I understand they are trying to make a living, and I want to help out if I can.... but spending $3 more PER turnout when I'm building a 15x20.5 layout with over 50 turnouts just doesn't make sense. I hate to say it, but sometimes you just gotta know when to quit. They're moving to a smaller store unit in the same shopping center complex next week because of the lack of business. I once heard a hobby shop owner say that the only way to make money in the LHS business is to invest your life savings and then immediately sell the business. Otherwise, you're just losing money. Due to the internet, LHS's are a dying breed. Just because my heart goes out to the LHS owner doesn't mean I can afford to keep a dying business afloat by paying full retail price on every item. Sometimes you just gotta draw the line. My $.02

[MisterBeasley]

My LHS is a Train Shop. When I first noticed them a few years ago, the store was half MR, half dog grooming supplies. (Yeah, something for your Bowser on either side.) It's now all MR, primarily HO with some N and O. Since I'm resurrecting an old train set, I don't plan on a lot of major purchases. One thing I've noticed is that a small Internet purchase isn't worth it. You may get a good price, but the shipping will eat that up quickly. So, if you want to have someplace you can get a single set of couplers or a package of figures, you need to keep those LHS's in business.

[Anonymous]

Thank you everyone for your responses. My wife and I are considering opening a business together and she mentioned a combo hobby shop/used books or something similar (trains & coffee maybe? I can see it and would like to go to a place like that myself, but I'm rather a geek). And we're fairly technology savvy, so we'd have a web presence.

Whether or not it's something that's pratical, it's something kinda nice to dream about- rather like layout planning.

What would you folks do? Given appropriate funds and time, would you jump in?

dd

[camarokid]

If the area you are living in has the potential to support your idea, I sure would. When I go to my LHS, my wife sits in the car and reads a book. Those awful romance novels and good murder mystery books. This means you should have a good combination with husbands looking at trains and wives looking at books. You can't lose. The next time you visit a hobby shop look in the parking lot to see if any wives or girlfriends are sitting in the car reading a book. Sounds sexist but I've seen it too many times at my store. Have fun deciding a future you and your wife can share for a long time to come.
Archie
P.S. Hope you find this somewhat useful in your idea book.

[CP5415]

QUOTE: Originally posted by devandavis

I'm a big fan of web-based purchases- price and selection are primary factors that drive me to the internet. However, I recently found a LHS with a good selection and decent prices- I was surprised at how much I liked being able to pick up the boxes and actually look at the merchandise. Even though this shop was well-stocked, probably 10% or less of the inventory was pertinent to me.

My question is, how succesful can a highly-specialized hobby store expect to be? What if the store choose an era to stock, rather than a series of mfgs or a scale? What would you like to see in your LHS?

Maybe my problem is that I'm modelling steam instead of diesel...

I doubt in the retail world you can have a hobby shop that specializes in a specific scale or era of train. It would be un-profitable from the start.
There are too many different "era's" to model.
To stock only diesels would be an insult to the "steam" crowd & vise-versa.
My LHS has mainly HO & N scale but he even stocks G scale as there is a demand for that scale.
My LHS also stocks both "eras". He has steam & diesel, which is good as he caters to almost everyone.

If he doesn't have it in stock, he'll order it in for me. Which is good otherwise I wouldn't have gotten my Proto PA & my Walthers D&H passenger cars.
As far as I can see, my LHS has an excellent balance of what he needs to stay in business. You can't ask for anything more than that.

Gordon