ORIGINAL: pmerritt
We just lost an awesome family owned hobbyshop in Plano that has catered to this hobby for decades. A new owner came in and bought the remains and I noticed close to an $8.00 per gallon price increase on fuel alone. As mad as that made me, our current economy requires a specific profit margin in order to pay the cost of doing business. I was really hoping for ''business as usual'' but the new owners won't replace the hospitality, love, friendship, dedication and customer support that once fueled that store. I've been self employed for 33 years. You can't pay the electricity bill with any of those attributes listed above but they all fall into the equation of making sales.
I always liked going to Lou's shop. Lou (and some of the part time guys) are builders and I think that's the only reason he stocked some of the stuff. While some have written that catering to the builders increases sales I am not so sure. Some of the kits Lou had were on the shelf for 5 years or more and many were popular models like SIG Four Stars.