I'm far from being an economic genius but I think that one of our problems in this day-and-age is our expectations and fears for our future; this screams at us daily in our current banking crisis and in the heat of this "political campaign." The banks ain't loaning money and the keywords with the politicians are "security" and "guarantee". People want the "security" and "guarantee" of a well-paying, secure job one bereft of "risk". Their are risk-takers out there but the majority of people, I venture, want the "security" and "guarantee" well-paying and risk-free employment. A sizable number of the posts here on the forum dealing with hobby-shop-closings attribute that shop closing to the retiring owner being unable to sell his business.
A substantial percentage of current hobby shop owners opened a new or bought an existing shop using borrowed funds; a great many used the loan guarantees of their veteran's benefits or qualified for a small business loans. Few, I would venture; did it with money from savings. My favorite local got started using funds from an already successful (small) business. This (hobby) business took a number of years before it became perpetuating; the hobby shop was bought by one of his sons and--assuming that his maintenance of inventory is an accurate indication--is doing well. I do not know whether it is maintaining itself with saved funds or whether it is maintaining itself with a line-or-credit from a banking institution but there was something on one of the local television stations earlier this week stating that one of our local banks has either suspended or severely curtailed lines-of-credit to small businesses.
My grandpappy was not a notably successful farmer but he did eke a hardscrabble existance from it; his two sons, however, never saw any return from his endeavors except hard work and a shakey future and elected to go other places for their future. "Security" was a strong motivating factor in this decision--the "security" of a regular paycheck; the "security" of health insurance; the "security" of whatever. My grandpappy would have said that "if you can be fired you ain't got any security!" Despite the anxieties of their future most entrepreneurs wouldn't change their forte in life; they'll endure those anxieties with the possibilities of future prosperity. Like so many others my grandpappy drew a paycheck from the WPA during the '30s but as soon he could he lay his shovel aside and grabbed his plow handles. To the best of my knowledge no one ever fired my grandpappy!
I will venture a prognostication at this moment; as hard-pressed as mortar-and-brick retailers might be the ones with real problems in the current "economic crisis" are going to be the internet retailers. Most of these people's business address and inventory can be found on three shelves in the corner of their garage; few of these internet retailers maintain a full-time business and most do not do a volume of business to sustain life-and-limb. Some, admittedly, do maintain an inventory of frequently ordered items but in almost every topic dealing with internet retailers the number of positive responents is balanced by an equal number of negative respondents. There was a post awhile back where one of the respondents said that he no longer did business with a particular internet retailer because, dispite the fact that this firm's prices were incredibly low, all he ever received from them in a timely manner was back-order slips and charges to his credit card; this guy had been waiting ten weeks, I believe, for something or another and could not cancel the order because the internet retailer had already placed his order with his supplier. If these guys' distributors--or their banks--buy the proverbial farm they are going to buy the farm also; I am going to predict that there are going to be a number of these internet retailers out of business in short order.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
Guess it depends on the area or region
Here in the Raleigh / Durham/ Chapel Hill and Triad areas of North Carolina we have 4 train shops that I know of that sell mostly model train related stuff. Then there are the crafts shops too in addition the hobby shops like Michaels and A.C. Moore, etc...
Now in the New Orleans area since post Katrina (where we lived until then) I know of three shops that still sell model trains, but they are actually in Jefferson Parish in the cities of Metairie and Kenner, which are just outside of New Orleans proper.
Ryan BoudreauxThe Piedmont Division Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger eraCajun Chef Ryan
In my opinion, hobby shops should focus on service as much as sales, and I don't mean just being friendly and helpful. I mean offering services you don't get elsewhere, like these:
I know this thread is about shops that close because the owner is retiring and can't find a buyer for the business. If the businesses were better, there would be buyers. I really think that hobby shops will fade away if they don't start looking for opportunities to do the things their internet competition cannot offer.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
Retail is changing. With the Internet and Big Box stores, shopping has changed. Sure I like the hobby shops, but the nearby one doesn't carry much in trains - and what he does have is mostly Lionel at list. Two others have closed in the last couple of years. So I shop at shows or on the Internet - it's cheaper and the selection is better.
But I do enjoy a well stocked hobby shop when I can find one while traveling.
Enjoy
Paul
Stuff happens and sometimes there is nothing you can do about it. Adapt.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
When I first moved to Arizona in 1983, there were 10 or so hobby shops in Tucson. Now there is only one. Owners retired and no one stepped in to take over, some went bankrupt or were evicted from the buildings they were in and couldn't afford another location, and on-line sales definitely had an effect on them. The owner's attitude put a couple of them out of business.
The one that is still in business is in an Ace Hardware store. They offer discounts that make them competitive with the Internet dealers, or they would probably have also folded by now. They're 80 miles from me and are the closest even at that distance, but having an opportunity to see the item up close and personal instead of relying on a manufacturer's glowing description sometimes makes the trip worth while.
Since I moved to South Jersey a little over a year ago, the only local (read, less than an hour away) hobby shop has closed because the owner retired and he could find no one interested in taking over the business.
Now I'm driving over an hour (one way) to a well-stocked shop with a very knowledgeable owner who is also considering retiring.
I know I can mail order almost anything, but there is something very special, comfortable and helpful about being able to hold and examine a potential purchase...even talk about it with the shop owner, before taking the plunge.
What's happening to our hobby shops. Anyone out there want to open one in South Jersey, near the shore? I'd be a regular customer and so would a number of other guys as well as a club in the area.