Why SOME Local Hobby Stores are dying

[edkowal]

My nearest shop is going strong, and business doesn't seem to be slowing, especially with the holidays approaching.

While I don't know whether his business is slowing, the owner of the nearest hobby shop to me is 86 years old.  Seems to me his business is good enough when I go there.  He'll order whatever you need from Walthers catalogs (not just the HO scale catalog), carries a number of specialty magazines including "48/ft, O  Scale News"
http://users.foxvalley.net/~osn/
and offers discounts under certain stated circumstances.

-Ed

[CAZEPHYR]

I was on business recently in Clinton Iowa and decided to stop by their only hobby store which includes trains, R/C, models and rockets. I won't say the name, but is a brightly colored PURPLE building.

The store has black rod iron bars gracing the front window.(This is Clinton not New York).

As I walked in, the lighting was poor and the floor dusty. Along the left wall as I entered was a huge glass case from floor to ceiling about 16' long that housed a nice selection of atlas, athearn,accurail and other assortments of boxcars. There were also about 10 to 20 locomotives in boxes as well. The store owner turned on the display lights as I strained to peer inside the glass wall of HO train cars and loco's.

1) All loco's and boxcars were LIST price. Wow, $135.00 for a proto 2000 SW9?

2) All of the boxes were stacked on their ends. You could not see the merchandise AT ALL.

I asked the store owner if he offered a discount if I ordered through Walthers. His reply; Walthers doesn't give him much of a discount, and mostly are out of regularly stocked items. He said his customers can get a better deal going to Walthers train store themselves online. He doesn't prefer to order through Walthers, but he'd give me 20% off if I ordered $25 or more.

He also had the usual woodland scenic stuff and various odds and ends of buildings and regular assortment of building materials. Most of all I noticed DUST on almost everything that was hanging, a clear indication no one was willing to buy FULL RETAIL PRICE.

His RC selection was better, but not by much.

Our local hobby stores incomparison in the Quad Cities offer 20% discount right away, with daily in store specials. Their stock is regularly moved, so they can get new stuff in.

Needless to say I walked out of there with nothing in hand. I really wanted to tell the store owner how I really felt, but didn't. I guess he'll find out soon enough when he closes his doors in a few years.

Hints for LHS owners to go out of of business:

 

Keep all prices at full list without exception even if the Manufacturer lowers prices.

Raise prices over list on Hot items?

Be sure to stock the complete lowest cost products lines and avoid great selling products like Atlas, Athearn Genesis, BLI, Proto and ETC. 

Be sure to run down all products that you do not have in stock.

Be sure to run down any other LHS that is doing well.

Be sure to run down customers that stopped coming to your LHS.

Try to sell demo products as new.

Never special order products that are requested by customers.

Treat all of the remaining customers like it is their fault you are going out out of business.  

 

 

 

 

 

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[Shilshole]

I miss Engine House Hobbies in Wichita, KS...

You can still do business with them.  Their on-line presence is http://www.rrtrains.com/

[Chuck Geiger]

In Fresno there is Roy's Trains and Things, Tom's Trains, Hobbytown USA amd now a new store in a UPS/Mail store called Dave's Trains. I have become freinds with Bill Randolph who use ran the big shop here and closed a few years ago. He got out of the business because of the cost of doing business. On-line ordering is killing "moms and pops". BTW Charles did vacuum the floor at Tom's Trains and cleaned the cat boxes. I miss Engine House Hobbies in Wichita, KS - (PS Hobbytown USA here has an entire HO department, much like the old Long's Drugs or Woolworths once did.) Lots of product. Watch going to hobby shops like the gentleman did in Arizona that advertise in Model Train magazines. Sometimes they carry just enough product so they can order at a discount for friends, clubs and themselves. I lived in PA and went to Fisher's in Effort, PA and it's a TV repair shop. Just because someone works in a LHS doesn't mean they are versed on the hobby either like the "snap track" posting above. Tom's Trains (Jeff and Charles there) told me N scale Atlas Code 55 track is not flange friendly. I will use Code 80 main and Code 55 sidings. I told them (on this site I ask that question) and told them it was with some old N scale components, not with today's much improved products.

[BRAKIE]

I like the old dumpy mom & pops, find some good stuff in them. I agree though there aren't many discounts to be had. I usually only buy few odd pieces at a time

 

Some of my best deals and finds comes from those types of hobby shops.Some of these nice folk go out of their way to help you and will swing a fair deal in most cases...I am always on the lookout for these off the beaten path Mom & Pops.Thats why I love using the old highways going through small towns instead of the boring Interstates.

[Driline]

It wasn't Clinton Iowa, but "Been there, done that... "  If you think your expeience was bad, try modeling in S-gauge.

  On the other hand, when I lived in Des Moines, one of the local shops, were glad to order s-gauge items from Walthers for me, and always gave me a discount .  Both of the two larger LHS in Des Moines were well lit, clean, and had good inventory of all hobby types.

We can only hope store owners take notice, both as recognizing need to improve, and as an expression of appreciation.  Thank you GHA & HH in Des Moines, and to all the other LHS that put forth the effort to do things right! 

I've been to Hobby Haven and it is really a great store. They are in a brand new building and have really increased their quantity of stock.

What really irked me at the Clinton store was that I could not see the train stuff clearly because it was all locked up in a glass case. I can understand locking the engines up, but geesh, all the boxcars too? I can't imagine anyone starting out in the hobby knowing what boxcar to purchase by just reading the label and not being acutally able to see the car itself or handle it.

[Anonymous]

There is a hobby shop in central Pa (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) that has a LOT of stuff, trains, all scales, RC stuff, model cars, diecast, dollhouse things, yada, yada....Anyway the prices are unbelievable (or is that beyond belief?)....AND then he offers to give you a "special" discount! (which will actually bring it down to about MSRP).

Being the only hobby shop around (for about 5 0 miles) he actually still gets business doing this....(location, location)

[Javern]

I like the old dumpy mom & pops, find some good stuff in them. I agree though there aren't many discounts to be had. I usually only buy few odd pieces at a time

[cowman]

Went to a LHS in my son's hometown a couple of months ago.  A man came in, son in tow, ready to buy track and and some other things a friend had said would give him a good start.  I would say the list was a little much for starters, as it had quite a few switches.  It did sound like it would have made a nice layout on a 4x8.  The store has a good selection of rr items from O to N.  The customer said his friend told him to get snap track, well the owner began telling him the disadvantages of preballasted track and calling that snap track.  I stuck my nose in and reminded him that Atlas track is called Snap Track, "Oh yea, I forgot that"  (He had a good selection of it.)  He did make a good point that all the switches the fellow had on his list would cost a small fortune.  The one thing he didn't have was a good book with basic layouts, whether by a manufacturer or generic, had he had one he could have made that sale and possibly the items for a basic setup which could be added to.  I think I could have done a better sales job, but then I'm into model rr, the store is quite diversified.  Had the owner taken my lead that I was interested in helping the customer into the hobby I think he might have had a good new customer.  Hope the guy did get interested and started in the hobby.  I was just surprised at the use of wrong terminology by the owner who purchased the stuff and the lack of some of the real basic needs to get new people into the hobby.

I like to yak with folks and would be glad to help an owner who is not into the hobby as deep as others.  I realize that in a store with several lines R/C cars and planes, plastic models and other hobby items, that they may have their favorite hobby which isn't rr, but if one interested customer seems willing to talk to another, give them a chance, they might be able to help you out. 

[csmith9474]

My nearest shop is going strong, and business doesn't seem to be slowing, especially with the holidays approaching.

[cacole]

I drove 60 miles to a hobby shop in Willcox, Arizona, that advertised in the back of Model Railroader, only to discover that the only trains he had were two cheap Bachmann Christmas train sets that appeared to be 10 years old and were priced well above retail -- nothing more.  The rest of the store was dolls and fabrics.

When I asked the owner where all the trains were, he responded that he didn't carry trains any more because no one in Willcox had any interest in them.  With the stuff he stocked, I could understand why they didn't shop there.

And this place is right on the Union Pacific Sunset Route.  Willcox used to be a division point in the days of steam.  If there are modelers in Willcox, I assume they all shop the Internet or drive to Tucson.

[Agamemnon]

I think brick-and-mortar stores for specialist hobbies are a dying breed. Which sucks because they provide support for entry-level hobbyists, but there you have it.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

The nearest hobby shop to my location is Hare's Art and Hobby in Alexandria, La. Even then it's 60 miles one way. The store is located in an old Car Care Auto Parts building on Lee street. It's well lit, the stock is clean, it's where the customer can handle it and inspect it and it's fairly priced. The clerk is more than happy to work with you on pricing and will order anything you want from Walther's at the same price that you would pay through Walther's minus shipping. They have a very good selection on hand and deal in N, HO, O and G scales. Any S or Z scale items you want they can order for you. I stop there any time I'm in Alexandria, which is at least once a month. I highly recommend them.

[daschilling]

It wasn't Clinton Iowa, but "Been there, done that... "  If you think your expeience was bad, try modeling in S-gauge.

  On the other hand, when I lived in Des Moines, one of the local shops, were glad to order s-gauge items from Walthers for me, and always gave me a discount .  Both of the two larger LHS in Des Moines were well lit, clean, and had good inventory of all hobby types.

We can only hope store owners take notice, both as recognizing need to improve, and as an expression of appreciation.  Thank you GHA & HH in Des Moines, and to all the other LHS that put forth the effort to do things right! 

[ouengr]

I have experienced that same thing at other hobby shops.  To many of them don't relaize that in the modenr world competition is everywhere.  I hope his pricing models works but sadly he will probably fail in the new future and blame the mail order houses.  Compete or go out of business. 

[Driline]

I was on business recently in Clinton Iowa and decided to stop by their only hobby store which includes trains, R/C, models and rockets. I won't say the name, but is a brightly colored PURPLE building.

The store has black rod iron bars gracing the front window.(This is Clinton not New York).

As I walked in, the lighting was poor and the floor dusty. Along the left wall as I entered was a huge glass case from floor to ceiling about 16' long that housed a nice selection of atlas, athearn,accurail and other assortments of boxcars. There were also about 10 to 20 locomotives in boxes as well. The store owner turned on the display lights as I strained to peer inside the glass wall of HO train cars and loco's.

1) All loco's and boxcars were LIST price. Wow, $135.00 for a proto 2000 SW9?

2) All of the boxes were stacked on their ends. You could not see the merchandise AT ALL.

I asked the store owner if he offered a discount if I ordered through Walthers. His reply; Walthers doesn't give him much of a discount, and mostly are out of regularly stocked items. He said his customers can get a better deal going to Walthers train store themselves online. He doesn't prefer to order through Walthers, but he'd give me 20% off if I ordered $25 or more.

He also had the usual woodland scenic stuff and various odds and ends of buildings and regular assortment of building materials. Most of all I noticed DUST on almost everything that was hanging, a clear indication no one was willing to buy FULL RETAIL PRICE.

His RC selection was better, but not by much.

Our local hobby stores incomparison in the Quad Cities offer 20% discount right away, with daily in store specials. Their stock is regularly moved, so they can get new stuff in.

Needless to say I walked out of there with nothing in hand. I really wanted to tell the store owner how I really felt, but didn't. I guess he'll find out soon enough when he closes his doors in a few years.