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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by MAbruce I have not seen any hobby shops in my area die. Once changed hands and got a little better as a result. Now in five years it can all be different. I know of one major N-scale shop that will likely close because the owner is getting up there in age. Another could be close on its heals for the same reason. I also agree that the internet has had some effect, and it will only continue to grow. So maybe we need to change our concept of the LHS? Are the internet shops the LHS's of the future? [/quote] I hope not because most of us like to look at different models to see how the state of the art is changing, even if that model is out of our era. I agree the LHS in many cases is not what it used to be and will probably go out of business when the present owner goes away or retires. That is sad in itself, but it does indicate where the hobby is going. If all of the LHS were out of business today, the distributers would also be gone in a short time and the manufacturers would not import anything to store in their own warehouses. This whole business depends on all concerned to give us the product that we buy. All of our hobby depends on most of the players, including us the buyers. This might be the reason, besides greed, that Horizon along with Walthers offers their models to storefronts only and not the bargain basement stores. You can't fault a shop for charging list price and not discounting the few hot items that they can make half a living on. I was truely shocked when I ordered my tinted glass sheet for my pasenger cars, and paid $15 dollars for one sheet. that would only outfit about six or seven cars.
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