dominic c It is a shame. But if hobbyshops continue to go along with the msrp, and they will, it will be hard to compete with online retailers. I have a fine LHS near me, I like the owner and a few of his employees. But I'll be honest with you, when I pay retail when I know I could of gotten it cheaper, I walk out with a bad feeling in my gut. I want to support him but I have a family that I want to support more. Joe C
It is a shame. But if hobbyshops continue to go along with the msrp, and they will, it will be hard to compete with online retailers. I have a fine LHS near me, I like the owner and a few of his employees. But I'll be honest with you, when I pay retail when I know I could of gotten it cheaper, I walk out with a bad feeling in my gut. I want to support him but I have a family that I want to support more.
Joe C
Joe, unless they are big enough to buy direct, local shops have no choice but to charge higher prices, even if those prices are discounted a small amount. Much of what you can buy online is priced only a few percentage points above what a LHS must pay from a distributor.
Just to make a modest living in retail, you need to be able to make a 35% margin.
They simply can't pay the overhead on 10%.
That is why small local shops are dieing off - only those willing to "go big" and get on the web as well can make it.
Sheldon
hobo9941 I would like to be more supportive of the LHSs. But most sell for MSRP, and the online discounts on locos are significant, and in most cases, there is no sales tax. If I can save $50 or more on a loco, it's a no brainer.
I would like to be more supportive of the LHSs. But most sell for MSRP, and the online discounts on locos are significant, and in most cases, there is no sales tax. If I can save $50 or more on a loco, it's a no brainer.
True and that $50.00 saved can be used for other things.
The majority of those shops are regular hobby shops that uses on line presence to increase their sales by offering their old stock to a wider customer base and of course those customers that are seeking long oop models..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Its always sad to see a fine hobby shop to close.
We see the same disaster here in europe and especialy here in Belgium.
I live in Brussels, Belgium the center of Europe and....no more good train shop in Brussels and no more hobby shop to find the hardware.
I need to order nearly everything to my needs now.
And it seems none of the young people want to open a hobby shop so a clouded future for modelist here in Belgium
I suppose after a life time of standing behind a counter one looks forward in retiring.
All to sadly the majority of the time the owner's kids doesn't want to operate the shop.
It may not be news anymore these days but it's still sad. Not to kick a dead iron horse, but I actually enjoy going to an LHS, buying something and not having to wait for it.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
Hardly news anymore is it? This time it is Greenfield News and Hobby formerly Cudahy News and Hobby, both in the Milwaukee suburbs. What set them apart was that they were not just complete hobby shops, not just trains (which meant they had all manner of materials, supplies, paints, including art supplies, that were of great use of a modeler) but also an unequaled magazine selection, with titles and topics from all over the world. The Gordons are retiring after efforts to sell the business fell through.
http://www.jsonline.com/business/greenfield-news-and-hobby-closing-after-50-years-b99422457z1-288145821.html
February should see some sale prices on trains and other stuff at Greenfield News & Hobby so if you should find yourself in the Milwaukee area you may want to check it out.
Dave Nelson