Whats Your local Hobby Shop Lacking

[ozzy01]

My LHS are 60 miles away and lack all of the above. You can order stuff from both, one may take a week or two to get what you ordered, the other, a week , month or longer, depends on if he has a big enough order. With gas prices, can't drive 140 miles to Louisville,Ky. or Cincinnati,Oh. Need a good LHS in the Lexington,Ky. area.

[Anonymous]

IMHO:
[}:)]
I live in the Scranton Area, of Steamtown National Park fame, in Pennsylvania.
The two "hobby" shops downtown are not HO friendly. One calls the scale junk, the other seems to want to make money and not care for individuals at all.
Sure the one sponsor's "shows" but only because it puts money in his pocket.[:(!]

There is one small shop on the other side of town that caters to European models, but he's always willing to take the time to try and help you get stuff either from his supplier or where he can. Due to his size he can't inventory things other than European, but still he does work with you even if you only want a $6 item! Because of this I try to get stuff through him and won't set foot across the doorstep of the other two.[:)]

Too bad the other two are a little too proud or dense to realize what this means if word of this would get back to them.[V]

The poll "What’s Your L.H.S Lacking?" maybe should have had more selections and a "ALL OF THE ABOVE" instead of "None of the above." and maybe a checkbox for a proprietor without the "Scarecrow Syndrome".

Thanks for reading my two cents worth.

[Anonymous]

Free trains,,,,,free beer,,,, dancing girls,,,,,,,,,,[:P][;)][swg][swg][:-^] and not enough On30!!

[ac4400fan]

the info is a great ,communication.2 what the loce Hobby shop ,owner ,would want to keep in mind ,as it is a common all year hobby ,not just a winter one,as were all used too,but its not .

carl

[Roadtrp]

My LHS is a Hobby Town USA store in Minnetonka MN, and they really aren't too bad. In fact their inventory has improved considerably over the past year or so. They have an excellent selection of scenicing materials and a very good selection of built-up and kit structures. Their selection of N scale rolling stock is not extensive, but is not too bad either. They usually have 6 to 10 N scale locomotives in stock... a nice assortment ranging from standard Bachmann and Life Like stuff to P2K, Atlas, Spectrum and Kato. Another thing that really surprises me is that they ALWAYS discount the locos. Perhaps not as discounted as you find on the net, but close enough to be competitive when you factor in shipping and convenience.

My only complaint is that they don't carry any weathering pastels or powders. They have an excellent selection of paints including the Poly Scale line, but as a beginner I'm just not ready to start weathering with paint.

[Anonymous]

The nearest (LHS?!??!!?). Heck, it's a 40 mile round trip to the nearest Hardware, and a 130 mile round trip to the nearest Hobby Shop, in Traverse City, MI. I've read where some of the modelers crack on us for using the on line shops, but without them, some of us would starve. I agree that you should support your local LHS. (If you have one.) The one thing I miss about living down state, is the number of good shops.

HEY, while I'm here, Where is a good web sight to get a brass bell for my "Big Boy." Mine crawled off, to who knows where.
Thanks, Bill

[rexhea]

A red check for all the boxes. My one and only LHS has very little to offer to Model Railroaders. It's not his fault, but the customer base is with the R/C boys. I do get outstanding customer service for orders and prices competitive to the internet.

I just have to learn PATIENCE!

[:D][:D]

REX

[Anonymous]

The only really good LHS in my vicinity closed their doors about 3 years ago. They had everything all the time. It was neat to go in and look at the new offerings, talk to knowledgeable folks and the like. We have several other so-called hobby shops in the area, but they only carry a smattering of stuff. It seems the shops left in my area are more into plastic models, RC airplanes and RC cars. One shop is into marine stuff (boats and like that). Business often takes me into Denver, and every time I get there I head for Caboose Hobbies. I do not like to purchase on E-bay. I want hobbyshops to remain in business. I just do not care about paying a little, even a lot, more for my hobby supplies. I want a place near me that will be there when I need spikes, paint supplies, couplers, investment cast brass detail parts as well as the bigger items that go on the layout. I cut the local guys throat by making the bulk of my pruchases on the net, then I wonder why he has no inventory, or why he closes the doors forever. There are simply not enough modelers to keep both the internet and the local hobbyshop flourishing. You simply can not have it both ways. The hobbyshop operators have my trade.

Tom

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by leighant


After a 5 year drought, we have one train store, Lone Star Trains, a branch of a San Antonio store. It is great to have a train store at all after so many years without in our "little town."

Have you been to the lone star trains in san antonio. Its not my normal shop, but that place is loco heaven. The whole thing is full of locos at discounted prices!

[Anonymous]

There has been a boom in the hobby lately here in san antonio ( i like to think its because of our modules in the mall, but who knows). Anyway. The LHS is doing plenty of buissiness, which is good. But keeps running out of decoders, which is bad. They get in plenty of them every week but by the time I get there on saturday its slim pickings. Also bad news since I will be installing decoders in club members engines. I may have to look for an internet source for decoders. I would have before but they just sell right near retail and the shipping just makes it easier to go to the LHS. Other than that its a great little shop. Well stocked with rolling stock and structures and there is lots of knowledge fllying around in there.

[donny2001]

Well I have several LHS near my house! I as well live in Milwaukee. I sometimes go to Model Empire in downtown West Allis, which is stopped in time for anything trains (IE: Athearn, and Roundhouse kits, afew Tyco bulding kits, and some really old Lifelike lighting kits and signs). I also go to a place called Happy Hobby (LARGE ASSORTMENT OF ATHEARN BLUEBOXES AND ROUNDHOuSE, along with tons of bulding kits of various manufacturers).

The main 2 hobby stores I go to around here are Greenfield News and Hobby (For odds and Ends, and for cars and people), and Walthers (Like mentioned before anything I need minus Athearn kits).

I wish Greenfield would carry more Athearn Ready to Run kits in stock, cause once you see it there, its gone! Other than that though they are pretty knowledgeable when it comes something you need.

DON

[dinwitty]

The area hobbyshops don't really stock way up, if your interested in an item, mostly you order, instock attracts eyes of the visitor, if your not the super savvy like me, the average hobbyist buys anything.

A few others I sometimes have frewuented had pretty good stockage, that was years ago, now stock numbers are down. One hobbyshop I liked to frequented I cannot find anymore or changed....dunno.

I need to run around and visit near hobbyshops like grand rapids and chicago,
but for now Ebay has become my prime hobbyshop research but I have to hit the local shops because sometimes they pick up cool stuff you have to grab on the spot.

[Anonymous]

my LHS hardly has any Locomotives in stock ever.... only about 6 or 7 cheapies and about 10 to 15 higher end models.... Normal scale.... for ho they cary alot more.

[Train 284]

Just not enough stuff

[on30francisco]

The LHS in this area suffers from skimpy stock. They cater to all scales but sell everything at MSRP which is very expensive. I buy a lot of my stripwood, glue, paint and other building supplies at the many arts & craft stores in the area. They are always well-stocked and MUCH cheaper than the LHS. Other supplies I buy online.

[Anonymous]

My LHS has a little bit of everything but not alot of anything (except track). Also the majority of their products are low quailty Model Power. No walthers at all.

[Anonymous]

Don't even get me started...
I've got about six shops in my area, and the one closest to me is the worst!.
The guy that runs the place is a brain, but he has no personality or sense of humor at all. His store is a pig sty to say the least. I put a couple of items on lay-away there a while back and when I went to pay for them it took him an hour of digging through piles of other people's stuff to find them. He's one of those people that's always right and you're always wrong. The only reason I continue to do business with him is because he is the closest to me, has a good variety in stock and will always order things I want that I can't find any where else (he's got connections...).

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I feel much better now.

trainluver1

[leighant]

I live in a small city (?) 300,000 population. When we had the first real snow in a century or so on Christmas Eve, our locality was referred to nationally as "a small Texas town" in the news.
After a 5 year drought, we have one train store, Lone Star Trains, a branch of a San Antonio store. It is great to have a train store at all after so many years without in our "little town."
(by the way, I have no financial interest.....)

I only wi***hey would get me at least some of the decals I special-ordered 8 weeks ago. I word-processed a list in table format with columns for quantity, manufacturer, item catalog number, description, etc. to avoid confusion. (I decided I needed a few more and rather than confusing them by adding to the order, I went to internet, and got them in 8 days....) My reefer looks odd with all the Santa Fe markings on it except the map.

[Anonymous]

Mine doesn't carry any code 83 track or any of the 'upscale' brand locos (P2K, Kato, Atlas, Spectrum). They are mostly a military models shop, MRR is only an afterthought.

That being said, they are truly great people though. Always enjoy dropping in for a chat while picking up some generic supplies (CA, couplers, Dremel bits etc.)

[palallin]

Although the LHS is owned by a good friend of mine, he stocks little but some paint and scratchbuilding supplies that I can use (I model in O: 3-rail, 2-rail, and On30). He does carry a few pieces of On30. He has one G loco on the shelf and a smattering of HO stuff. A little N, mostly track and accessories. He carries plastic model kits, RPG suppiles, and some die cast cars. The other half of the shop is craft and wedding supplies. It's a small, old storfront, a family-owned operation. He'll order just about anything available (I've bought cast detail parts through him for over 20 years), but he can't afford to maintain any kind of extensive inventory.

Ironically, he's a dang good model RRer, with a nice HO display layout and a drop-dead gorgeous On30 mini-layout (3' x 3' Bryce Canyon mining scene).

[Anonymous]

Mine are variable. All are lacking in HO though - the nearest one that stocks Athearn, etc is usually very variable, prices can be crazily high and they often have very incoherent inventory (for example, a shelf full of Superliners and only two F40PHs, no other Amtrak locos, or a shelf full of C&NW gallery/bilevel cars and no suitable power). Apart from that I've no complaints - if I want specific items I go to different stores (for example, in G scale I have a choice of three stockists, one of which can order anything currently made and get it delivered within a couple of weeks). I've found one excellent one that's a bit too far away to be "local" though I get down there sometimes (Cardiff) - they have a great stock of used items including loads of equipment that's been unavailable for years.

[steveblackledge]

mine is lacking in product knowledge, they only want your money[}:)][}:)][}:)]

[Anonymous]

What my LHS is lacking is a local location.

Ebay, Walthers & & the online discounters are my local LHS. Not by my choice.

Wayne

[Anonymous]

I consider both of my Arkansas LHS's very close to being fully equippted. If I dont see it I can order it. If it is OOP and no where in the distribution system then it's ebay.

Whenever I go the ebay route I bring alot of money because there are others also looking for it.

[twhite]

My hobby shops (Sacramento and Roseville) tend to get a little light around the middle of June, but that's Retail Inventory Time, so they have to keep their stock a little low in order to have wholesale buying power for the Fall releases (any private retail store has to do this, not just hobby shops). I usually try and stock up in May for what I think I'll be using in June and July (track, scenery, etc.). Usually if one is out of stock, the other will have it. I do a great deal of my scenery modeling during the summer, so when I raid the shops, it's usually for Hydrocal, Sculptamold, rock molds--things like that. But out here in Calif., if you talk to ANY retail owner (not just hobby shops) you'll find out that late June, early July is State Inventory Tax time, and the lower the inventory, the less you have to pay to support the vacations and Power Lunches of our somewhat less than sterling State Legislature.
Tom [}:)][}:)]

[GerFust]

Mine is lacking books and magazines. A wide selection of train and model railroad magazines can be bought four store fronts down at the magazine/newsstand.

I would say they are lacking low-end motive power, like Athearn.

However, the folks there are great, and stock selection might improve now that the other hobby shop in town recently went out of business. This town was too small to really support two shops anyway, in my opinion.

[cacole]

I clicked on "None of the Above" because you don't have an appropriate answer for me, which is, "What's a Local Hobby Shop?"

The nearest one to me is 70 miles away in Tucson, Arizona. The second closest is 150 miles away -- and with gasoline prices like they are I never venture to these unless I'm there for another purpose.

[chrismay]

My LHS is missing alot of everything in stock. You can order anything you want through them but sometimes it is nice to see something before you buy. Besides it leads to impulse buying which is good for the average LHS.

[Cox 47]

What LHS ? Cox 47