ACY I hope I won't be lambasted for resurrecting an old thread, but I just thought I'd add this:
I hope I won't be lambasted for resurrecting an old thread, but I just thought I'd add this:
Rich
Alton Junction
Yeah. The thread had gray whiskers.
I'm off to the South Mountain Div. meet.
Tom
NittanyLion Be open til 9 on weekdays and open on Sunday. If you're open 10-5 weekedays and open 9-3 on Saturday, you're only giving me (and a lot of people like me) a six hour window a week that I can go to your store.
Be open til 9 on weekdays and open on Sunday. If you're open 10-5 weekedays and open 9-3 on Saturday, you're only giving me (and a lot of people like me) a six hour window a week that I can go to your store.
There is a "local" shop about 1 hour away in a sleepy little tourist town. His is fairly well stocked, but he is a retiree, so everytime I stop, there is always a sign in the window that askes customers to call him, and he come down and open up.
I never have called, as I prefer to drop in while he is there. I would also feel obligated to make purchase if he opened for me (right or wrong)
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
I'm joining this discussion fairly late but I'll offer my two cents anyway. I am fortunate in that there are three successful LHSes in north Columbus, OH within walking distance of each other. It was even better when I lived in Columbus and was no more than a 10 minute drive from the farthest one. One has been in business since the 1960s and another since the 1970s. The one I frequent most often is The Train Station and I think the fact they do only trains has been a big reason for their success. Everyone who works there seems very knowledgeable about the hobby and the business. If there's something one person doesn't know chances are somebody else will. There are always at least two people working there. There are two rail lines right behind it but I don't know if that has contributed to it's success. It is in the middle of a strip mall and you cant' see the rail line from the parking lot. You could frequent it for years and not even know there was a rail line there. They do have a website although I'm not sure how much that contributes to their success. Until recently I would order through Walthers and have it delivered to The Train Station but Walthers changed the way that works so now I just e-mail them with my order.
The oldest of the three is a general purpose hobby shop and if they have a specialty it is in military modeling. That takes up the front half of their store. They have a decent selection of MR stuff and sometimes I find a bargain there.
The third and newest of the three is a combination hobby shop and print shop under one roof. They handle a lot of second hand merchandise and have a little bit of everything as far as MR stuff. There again I sometimes find a bargain there or something that has been out of production and hard to find. I usually drop in there two or three times a year just in case I get lucky.
Part of it is the old real estate cliche, Location. Location. Location.
Example - a small general hobby shop on a side street in a mostly-residential neighborhood. Seemingly a next to disastrous location, especially in those pre-internet days. BUT!!! Immediately across the street was an old building with a couple of thousand geeks and nerds in attendance, many of whom were either model railroaders or builders/collectors of other kinds of models. Business was good (including a fair amount of mine.)
Several years after I graduated the New York City Board of Education moved the Bronx High School of Science to a nice new campus several miles away. The first day of the month after the big move the empty show window sported a FOR RENT sign. Without the Science trade the neighborhood would have hardly supported the shop's electric bill.
If I was siting a hobby shop I would love a location across the street from a school full of techies. If the school is better known for its sports teams...
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Chuck
How about a sale every now and then if you are at full retail all the time? One shop in Chicago is always at full retail, never has sales, and I know for a fact he owns the building and it's paid off.
Other shop is in Des Plaines and he runs a sale every now and then -I'd say at least 4 times a year. Moved to a bigger store in the same mall a couple years ago, and I doubt he owns the building in the mall. Throw the customers a bone every once in a while. Don't want to start a war on how to run a business, but presumably one would have less overhead with a smaller store that's paid off and might generate more business. He's been there forever though, so his business model must work for him.
tommymr How about a sale every now and then if you are at full retail all the time? One shop in Chicago is always at full retail, never has sales, and I know for a fact he owns the building and it's paid off. Other shop is in Des Plaines and he runs a sale every now and then -I'd say at least 4 times a year. Moved to a bigger store in the same mall a couple years ago, and I doubt he owns the building in the mall. Throw the customers a bone every once in a while. Don't want to start a war on how to run a business, but presumably one would have less overhead with a smaller store that's paid off and might generate more business. He's been there forever though, so his business model must work for him.
If he's been there that long, he probably has a pretty good handle on what his customer base is willing to pay and if business is good at full retail, why discount?
My LHS has an annual sale that lasts about two weeks. I've never asked but I think the reason is to sell of inventory to reduce taxes. Never having been in business myself, I'm not sure how all that works.