Well, living in a state that has now closed ALL non-life-essential businesses, that means all train stores, including those who do internet/mail order in a big way, are going to feel considerable pain. It is against the law to be open at midnight, and the police in our state will be enforcing that.
Some of the store owners are older, and I do not necessarily expect some of them to come back after a couple months off. We are already looking at worse loss of business than after 9/11, which even then was hard on the model train business.
John Glaab was fond of saying "do you wanna know how to make a small fortune in model trains? Start with a large fortune". I miss his fine store too.
About 15 years ago, my wife saw their billboard in B'more. That store looked like something from Harry Potter with boxes lined up floor to ceiling. Fast forward and I can get why they went online.
rrinker One of the reasons MB Klein is still around in this day of failing hobby shops is their early embrace of online sales. The real time inventory is how EVERY online business should be run. Even more with things as they are, they are being proven right.
One of the reasons MB Klein is still around in this day of failing hobby shops is their early embrace of online sales.
The real time inventory is how EVERY online business should be run.
Even more with things as they are, they are being proven right.
Rich
Alton Junction
I'm sure there are B*M hobby shops that do fail, but it seems the vast majority of shops closing and we found out on forums, the reason isn't due to lack of business or failure, it's due to owner retireing (for a number of reasons).
But it does seem to go without saying that anyone who is B&M only is at a disadvantage - Amazon is proof of that.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
One of the reasons MB Klein is still around in this day of failing hobby shops is their early embrace of online sales. Smart thinking on their part. The real time inventory is how EVERY online business should be run.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
The decision was correct before the Corona virus. But now more than ever, those who embraced online vending should do better during this time than B&M stores.
Let´s face it, the retail store business is heading the way of the horse & buggy! MB. Klein is making the best of it by providing better inventory for their internet business.
In times of this virus threat going on, internet shopping remains the only way to go, which will speed up the process of store closures. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing I leave to your own judgement.
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Well, now that we are in an era of social distancing and ordering our stuff online, I would think that this decision by MB Klein has turned out to be the correct one.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
That is their stated policy; there are vendors who know how to skirt that policy.
rrinker I do recall a story about someone who bought an old school - that could be something, use the gym as the train room, live in the rest of it.
Out here, over the past 40 years, our population has dropped in our rural areas. That means schools are consolidated, and that means lots of empty school buildings.
I know of three school buildings in my area that are being used as a residence. We also have one large school building that was converted to high-end apartments.
One of the buildings is an old high school. It had two gyms, a large kitchen, and dozens of rooms. The family lives in what was the school's front lobby, with the rest of the building unheated or cooled. They have had family reunions and use the gym to keep the families entertained.
York1 John
gmpullmanA couple of the malls here in NE Ohio have been converted to Amazon warehouses.
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A large mall in Tampa was converted into offices. The conversion was amazing, and it is well layed out and very functional.
A mall sized layout would be a disaster.
#12 in the yards, #20 minimum on the main.
Bigger problem would be finding the ~200 people you'd need to fund and run and build such a monster, who could all agree on what and when to model, and continue to maintain membership over the years so it doesn't all fall apart when the first oldest guys pass away. Even if some billionaire benefactor made sure the building, land, taxes, and maintenance were covered in perpetuity - getting 200+ modelers to agree on ANYTHING long term would be the real challenge - I think you're more likely to actually find this mysterious billionaire than you are to get the 200+ agreeable club members.
And that's just using the main open spaces, the stores you can use a storage, workshops, lounges, etc.
I do recall a story about someone who bought an old school - that could be something, use the gym as the train room, live in the rest of it.
BNSF UP and others modeler rrinker a mall sized model railroad club would be amazing. --Randy Now don't start giving me ideas...
rrinker a mall sized model railroad club would be amazing. --Randy
a mall sized model railroad club would be amazing.
Now don't start giving me ideas...
Did someone say 8' radius curves and #12 turnouts?
Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRAL It must be generational, because while I like buying from home, I hate web sites with poor search engines that require some "wading thru" stuff to find what I want. Sheldon
Agreed, Sheldon. When shopping online, I hit the website to look for a specific item or items. Browsing to see pictures of what else might be there is time taken away from other things I could do on the internet or around the house.
OTOH, when I'm at the LHS, browsing is part of the fun. I have little else to do in the immediate area, and I'm likely to buy something I didn't intend to buy before I appeared on the scene.
- Douglas
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
It's not just big malls. The mall here is pretty small. ANd just about dead. Two of the three anchors are out of business, and the third has maybe one more generation to hang on to - they started locally and are well known locally and the founder was well known for his philanthropic efforts in the local area. But as soon as that's forgotten, the loyalty to the store will be out the window and they will be gone like the rest. There's an empty pad area at the corner of the mall parking lot on the two main roads that run past is, used to be a gas station way back, been sitting there 20 or 25 years now empty, there was a proposal to bring in a popular restaurant a couple of years agoo but since they would serve alcohol and need a liquor license, people across the street protested and it nevere happened. Never mind that there already is a restaurant with liquor license in the mall and both a liquor store and beer distributor adjacent to these same properties. And the place in question does not stay open bar hours, they close at 11 even on weekends. But never underestimate the ability of peoople to do themselves harm.
There's now talk of converting the mall into soome 'destination' type of thing, or even make an integrated community, with aprtments and shops all in one palce. Yeah. More likely to get bulldozed and turned into a ginat warehouse. Wonder how the people will like living across the street from that.
Too bad these palces can't be sold for reasonable prices, but the parties involved are so underwater (another mall not far from here was sold at sheriff's sale, the owners went bankrupt, they had no anchors left, half the stores were vacant, maybe more - the biggest draw was the movie theater) they have to get top dollar for the property - a mall sized model railroad club would be amazing.
gmpullman riogrande5761 Now they have an even bigger mall that probably is going to go the way of the do do. Cheers, Ed
riogrande5761 Now they have an even bigger mall that probably is going to go the way of the do do.
Cheers, Ed
You could say that, or simply call it "progress". The world, she is a changing.
riogrande5761Now they have an even bigger mall that probably is going to go the way of the do do.
A couple of the malls here in NE Ohio have been converted to Amazon warehouses. How's that for irony?
BigDaddy I know Howard likes Gilbert's in Gettysburg. They have a lot of stock, but I had a weird experience when I went there, where the guy behind the counter was having a very loud phone conversation about family matters that were none of my business.
I know Howard likes Gilbert's in Gettysburg. They have a lot of stock, but I had a weird experience when I went there, where the guy behind the counter was having a very loud phone conversation about family matters that were none of my business.
Huh. I had the exact same experience.
maxmanWas that their Baltimore city location, or their current location? I don't remember ever seeing "to the ceiling" items where they are currently.
They moved in 2007. BTW owner Ted was 71 then. I was not involved in MR then, but was in the late 80's to late 90's and Ted was in their store daily, near City Hall and what used to be a busy shopping district nearby. By then it a destination stop, not somewhere that attracted people off the street, but one still felt safe parking in the neighborhood.
Little Italy was with within walking distance as was Delicatessen Row. You could buy a chicken that was still alive when you picked it out in the 1960's. Now there are only a couple deli's and no live chickens. Little Italy is still thriving.
I don't go to malls much but I decided to go to the Annapolis mall to look at the new Iphone last week. The Apple store had at least 40 people. The other stores...jewlery, clothing, specialty had 0-1 customers. I'm sure Nordy's and JC Penny's had more. The last time I was in Sears, it was a ghost town, but they are still there. The restaurant stores seem to be doing OK.
Mainline Hobbies in PA is like what I remember MB Klein used to be. I know Howard likes Gilbert's in Gettysburg. They have a lot of stock, but I had a weird experience when I went there, where the guy behind the counter was having a very loud phone conversation about family matters that were none of my business.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Sheldon, Actually I have not been to a major mall in years.....bores the heck out of me seeing the same shops everywhere. I confess, I do most of my shopping on line these days. I'm just too lazy to fight parking and sometimes crowds. My wife still complains though that our shopping areas in Columbia are mobbed.
The horse not only left the bard but it's hard to even find the horse.
joe323Malls that do not keep up with the times are failing.
Keeping up with the times may help a little but the real mall killer is online shopping - especially with the younger generation.
I lived in Sorryexcuse NY for a number of years and the economy has been pretty terrible there for a long long time. They were banking on building the biggest mall in America to save their butts, bigger than the Mall of America.
Well, they dawdled and dawdled trying to get the best tax deal etc that they could, and by the time they actually started building on "Destiny USA" the recession hit. They built a major expansion but the grand plans for the really big mall fell flat.
Now they have an even bigger mall that probably is going to go the way of the do do. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. They do get some N-S travelers and some Canadians but I don't think it's going to end well. Not in the paradigm shift to online ordering that doesn't show much signs of stopping.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Malls that do not keep up with the times are failing. I think the Staten Island Mall may be on to something by slowly jettisoning traditional stores in favor of entertainment venues like restaurants and a dinner movie theater. Howard Zane M.B.Klein is not in a well trafficed retail area, so walk-in prospective buyers were never much of an issue. It is, however these walk-in buyers or "newbies" that are important to keeping our hobby alive for years to come. Folks who buy on line usally are already in the hobby and know what they are ordering. Shops in well defined retail areas have a strong walk-in presence and has witnessed first hand in my own shop (1973-1975), many walk-ins got hooked and remained as customers. It is indeed tragic the demise of so many once fine shops as now newbies must attend train shows, visit clubs, or know of a model railroad to visit, or the love of trains is strong enough to guide them into our hobby. I understand business quite well, and if my business was 90% mail order, I'd make the same descision as Klein. It is a sign of the times. Howard, have you been to the mall lately? They are all like ghost towns. Traditional retail walking trade is dead already, regardless of location. Like you, I worked in the hobby business back in the 70's. It was way different then. I started lots of new people in the hobby with a blue box loco and cars, some track, an MRC power pack and a book or two. And they thanked me for saving them from some cheap train set. But I think that horse may have left the barn........ Sheldon
Malls that do not keep up with the times are failing. I think the Staten Island Mall may be on to something by slowly jettisoning traditional stores in favor of entertainment venues like restaurants and a dinner movie theater.
Howard Zane M.B.Klein is not in a well trafficed retail area, so walk-in prospective buyers were never much of an issue. It is, however these walk-in buyers or "newbies" that are important to keeping our hobby alive for years to come. Folks who buy on line usally are already in the hobby and know what they are ordering. Shops in well defined retail areas have a strong walk-in presence and has witnessed first hand in my own shop (1973-1975), many walk-ins got hooked and remained as customers. It is indeed tragic the demise of so many once fine shops as now newbies must attend train shows, visit clubs, or know of a model railroad to visit, or the love of trains is strong enough to guide them into our hobby. I understand business quite well, and if my business was 90% mail order, I'd make the same descision as Klein. It is a sign of the times.
M.B.Klein is not in a well trafficed retail area, so walk-in prospective buyers were never much of an issue. It is, however these walk-in buyers or "newbies" that are important to keeping our hobby alive for years to come. Folks who buy on line usally are already in the hobby and know what they are ordering. Shops in well defined retail areas have a strong walk-in presence and has witnessed first hand in my own shop (1973-1975), many walk-ins got hooked and remained as customers. It is indeed tragic the demise of so many once fine shops as now newbies must attend train shows, visit clubs, or know of a model railroad to visit, or the love of trains is strong enough to guide them into our hobby.
I understand business quite well, and if my business was 90% mail order, I'd make the same descision as Klein. It is a sign of the times.
Howard, have you been to the mall lately? They are all like ghost towns. Traditional retail walking trade is dead already, regardless of location.
Like you, I worked in the hobby business back in the 70's. It was way different then. I started lots of new people in the hobby with a blue box loco and cars, some track, an MRC power pack and a book or two. And they thanked me for saving them from some cheap train set.
But I think that horse may have left the barn........
Joe Staten Island West
kasskabooseMy wife and I were in B'more on vaca about 12 years ago, and made a bee-line to their store front. It was crowded with things to the ceiling and you couln't walk.
Was that their Baltimore city location, or their current location? I don't remember ever seeing "to the ceiling" items where they are currently.
My wife and I were in B'more on vaca about 12 years ago, and made a bee-line to their store front. It was crowded with things to the ceiling and you couln't walk. Good on them to go online soely. I don't blame them.
They are one of about three online places I use!
SeeYou190Once in a while I look on Amazon for model train supplies, but have never made a purchase from there.
Generally prices for niche or low volume items will be higher at Amazon. BUT you really should explore all your options, sometimes there are savings. For instance:
Tank_Wal by Edmund, on Flickr
and the very same item sold by Walthers at Amazon:
Tank_Amazon by Edmund, on Flickr
I was looking for a specific Broadway Limited HO Pacific. I found one for sale, buy-it-now, at eBay. Then I did a Google search just to explore more options. The very same seller had the same engine listed at Amazon for $15 less, plus I saved $15 using Prime shipping.
Shortly after I bought the Amazon model I saw that the eBay listing had ended saying "this item is no longer available" so it really pays off to explore your options.
Good luck, Ed
I just bought some Kadee wheelsets from Amazon and they are delayed in shiping.
Once in while I will hit up Trainworlds retail store in Brooklyn or Long Island just for fun. However I find their shipping time is very good so if I know what I want I just order it online.