What should your LHS have to support you?
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What should your LHS have to support you?
With the vast amount of products on the market, no hobby shop can maintain a selection of everything available. But, what basic inventory should a LHS maintain to support R/C aircraft customers? I am not looking at starting a LHS bashing thread. I am looking for serious responses so that LHS owners can read this, and understand what the customers want to see (and need) when they walk into the store. There is some inventory that a LHS should never be out of for more than a day or so. I have a few items to get started:
1) 10 and 15% castor blend and synthetic fuel
2) White, red and yellow covering.
3) A well stocked supply of balsa.
4) A fair selection of props
5) A well stocked line of Du-bro and Sullivan hardware and fixtures.
6) .46 size two stroke engines.
7) .61 size two stroke engines
8) CA and epoxy glue (variety)
9) ARF stick airplanes
10) Entry level trainer that is recommended by the local club.
11) RX batteries.
12) #8 O.S. Max glow plugs.
These are some things I believe a LHS should never be out of. What inventory should the ideal LHS have on hand to support the customers?
1) 10 and 15% castor blend and synthetic fuel
2) White, red and yellow covering.
3) A well stocked supply of balsa.
4) A fair selection of props
5) A well stocked line of Du-bro and Sullivan hardware and fixtures.
6) .46 size two stroke engines.
7) .61 size two stroke engines
8) CA and epoxy glue (variety)
9) ARF stick airplanes
10) Entry level trainer that is recommended by the local club.
11) RX batteries.
12) #8 O.S. Max glow plugs.
These are some things I believe a LHS should never be out of. What inventory should the ideal LHS have on hand to support the customers?
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
A better selection of fuel. I prefer Powermaster but all he has out front is Omega as heli boys like it. A better selection of fuel tanks, here my LHS falls flat on his face!
#5
RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
Good selection of props
Wide variety of hardware
Selection of batteries and servo's
Selection of glues
Selection of glo plugs
Lots of others but these are the main ones
Wide variety of hardware
Selection of batteries and servo's
Selection of glues
Selection of glo plugs
Lots of others but these are the main ones
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
Well our "LHS" is a damn Hobby Town, they do not cater to Air R/C. They did but the idiots quit carring anything. Can't hardly find fuel there any longer. Just carry trainer combos.
R/C Cars & Trucks, Trains & Plastic models.
But we do have one of the best Hobby Shops in the south less than an hours drive from us and there is nothing he does not carry.
R/C Cars & Trucks, Trains & Plastic models.
But we do have one of the best Hobby Shops in the south less than an hours drive from us and there is nothing he does not carry.
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
A shop better have good inventory or they can hang it up. One of my LHS's folded last year. I knew it would because of the lack of a good inventory. Too bad cuz the owner was a really nice guy and friendly to everyone that came in whether he made a sale or not.
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
[sm=thumbdown.gif]Hobby Town[sm=thumbdown.gif] Nuff said.
[sm=thumbup.gif]Hodges Hobbies[sm=thumbup.gif] Can't say enough good things.
He has a flying field right outside the shop. Anything you want, he probably has it, and if he dosen't, he'll have it within a day or two.
It's about 45 minutes from my place, but well worth the drive. If any of ya'll are ever around Americus, Ga., ya gotta check him out. The owner (Mac) is a very knowlegable R.C.'er who is an excellent flier who hosts several fly-in's throughout the year. The next fly-in promises to be a doosy for the electric crowd. In fact it's advertised here in the RCU as a header page.
[sm=thumbup.gif]Hodges Hobbies[sm=thumbup.gif] Can't say enough good things.
He has a flying field right outside the shop. Anything you want, he probably has it, and if he dosen't, he'll have it within a day or two.
It's about 45 minutes from my place, but well worth the drive. If any of ya'll are ever around Americus, Ga., ya gotta check him out. The owner (Mac) is a very knowlegable R.C.'er who is an excellent flier who hosts several fly-in's throughout the year. The next fly-in promises to be a doosy for the electric crowd. In fact it's advertised here in the RCU as a header page.
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
How about keeping it to generic items that have a wide appeal. It's unreasonable to expect a hobby shop to stock specialty items like $40-$50-$60+ giant scale props, or a specific brand/blend of fuel that you and maybe one other customer prefers over any other.
You've also got to have a little sympathy and understanding for the hobby shop's position. Distributors make it difficult to restock items with minimum orders. Takes a lot of those little hardware packs to make up $500. If you're out of 4-40x1" socket head bolts, you're going to be out of 'em for a while.
You've also got to have a little sympathy and understanding for the hobby shop's position. Distributors make it difficult to restock items with minimum orders. Takes a lot of those little hardware packs to make up $500. If you're out of 4-40x1" socket head bolts, you're going to be out of 'em for a while.
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
Guys, I am not asking you to evaluate your LHS. My original question was "what inventory should the ideal hobby shop have to support its customers". I know that most of you want a hobby shop the size of a Walmart, but we all know that a LHS that size couldn't generate enough sales to stay in operation. Just saying "inventory" doesn't answer the question. We all know the store needs "stuff", I am asking what stuff? LHS owners don't have a crystal ball in the back room to look into to tell them what their customer need.
Lets try a little bit different approach. We have just purchased a hypothetical building and all the needed fixtures to open a hobby shop in Anytown, USA. Now specifically what inventory needs to be in the store to realistically support R/C aircraft customers.
Lets try a little bit different approach. We have just purchased a hypothetical building and all the needed fixtures to open a hobby shop in Anytown, USA. Now specifically what inventory needs to be in the store to realistically support R/C aircraft customers.
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
As was mentioned a well stocked supply of Dubro & Sullivan. One shop I frequent has everything out in the ailse where you can see it, all the others keep it behind a counter. They should keep catalogs on the counter so you can peruse to find stuff you can use.
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
If it was open until 9pm and also had Sunday hours for those of us who might have to work late, I'd be happy.
#17
RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
How about at least 1 each of a .20, .40,and.60 size sport kit? I know most people are into instant gratification now days and just want ARF's but there are those of us that still enjoy flying something we actually built.
#18
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
We have one now, you would be hard pressed to find anything you go in for. They cater to everything but planes, and the stuff they do stock, is seldom what you are looking for. For instance, 99% of the flyers here fly futaba, they only stock JR. Dumb. There was another, they went out of business. I bought a lot of their stock to re-sell. They had litterally 300 3 blade and pusher props. Noone here flys either. They would not stock stuff like glow plugs and props people requested. Talk about a way not to run a hobby store.
We used to have a great one years ago. Noone bought mail order. Unfortunately, when I left for flight school, it got sold to the people who sold off the inventory and bought all the 3 blade props and folded. Bummer!
We used to have a great one years ago. Noone bought mail order. Unfortunately, when I left for flight school, it got sold to the people who sold off the inventory and bought all the 3 blade props and folded. Bummer!
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
Props in the popular sport sizes (i.e. 4, 6, 8, 10 pitch) would be nice. Servo extensions in all the lengths would be nice too. Finally, if you are going to stock JR and Futaba radio gear, then stock the proper switches, extensions, recievers, crystals and etc. for both, not just one or the other.
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
Matt, why would you say it is unreasonable for a HS to have $40, $50, $60.00 Props? Hodges does, I went to a Hobby shop in Houston Tx. last week, they did. What we spose to do when we break one, Mail order the thing and waite a week for it? A Hobby shop should cater to it's customers. And I will bet you that an area where there is a well stocked hobby shop will have a greater diversity in the type of planes you see at that local field and the size of the clubs in that area. If there is a Small unstocked Hobby shop in an area you can bet there is a small club in the area. People buy what they see. People go with the flow, If there are 10 Giants at the field this year there will be 15 next year. FOL.
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
A good hobby shop should have all items listed above, IE..hardware items, selection of fuel, TOOLS, stuff like that. Above all though IMO would be staff that knows the market decently enough. I have one here in my area that's been mentioned here...initials are H.T.
Although they try to cater to a wide array of items, they just seem to fall short most of the time.
One example....if they carry Moki engines...CARRY THE PROP-REAMERS THAT ARE NEEDED TO MOUNT A PROP!!!!!!!!!, as well as a decent selection of props for those engines....If they had the reamers....wouldn't it make more sense? .....another example...if they have a certain kit or plane....chances of them having EVERYTHING needed to complete it are slim to none. I would have spent alot more money there if I knew I could get it all. I'm not talking about specialy items either, just mainstream planes, and alot of different options that might go with.
Right now the selection of junk is useless because nothing is compatible. I just wish I could go in and get EVERYThing I needed at once.
Although they try to cater to a wide array of items, they just seem to fall short most of the time.
One example....if they carry Moki engines...CARRY THE PROP-REAMERS THAT ARE NEEDED TO MOUNT A PROP!!!!!!!!!, as well as a decent selection of props for those engines....If they had the reamers....wouldn't it make more sense? .....another example...if they have a certain kit or plane....chances of them having EVERYTHING needed to complete it are slim to none. I would have spent alot more money there if I knew I could get it all. I'm not talking about specialy items either, just mainstream planes, and alot of different options that might go with.
Right now the selection of junk is useless because nothing is compatible. I just wish I could go in and get EVERYThing I needed at once.
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
I joined my flying club at the beginning of April, and I was told of a LHS about 20 minutes away that I'd never heard of. I went to check it out. Lots of selection.
So far, I have yet to go in there and ask for something, and have him tell me he doesn't have it. Just yesterday, I found some bent 4-40 rods on my UCD. Central Hobbies' carbon pushrod kits were the known answer, but I didn't feel like ordering them online and waiting. I KNEW that the two other closer LHS by me did NOT have these, so I went to Charlie's shop. Sure enough, right there were about 15 Central Hobbies carbon pushrod kits!! Saved my rear.
As far as things that every lhs should keep in stock:
Airplanes - At least a couple types of trainers, sport, and aerobatic kits. Mix it up with ARF and Build-it-yourself stuff. Get a dozen or two types of park flyers, they're cheap to keep on the shelf and encourage people to look around. Throw in a helicopter or two.
Hardware - as much as you have space for. A modeler will be more likely to come back when he just found that little doo-dad that he really needed to finish his plane. This would ential clevis, nuts bolts, flying wire kits, wheels, pushrod kits, threaded and unthreaded rod, wheel collars, and the list goes on and on.
Engines - A good selection of 2 strokes from the .15 to .60 size range, and a few 4 strokes in the .73-1.20 range.
Fuel - as said above, 10 and 15% castor and castor/synthetic blends. Mix up the brands a little as some people are particular about the brand of fuel they use. Don't forget some 30% for the heli guys.
Radios - Stock at least a few good 4-channel systems, just the basic types. 2 or 3 middle-ground 6 or 7 channel systems, and a couple high end systems like a 9c or 10x. Keep a fairly large inventory of servos and stock replacement gear sets for them. Again, brand preference comes into play, so try and mix it up. Keep as large a selection as you can of extensions, y-harnesses, etc. Offer a few different battery packs for recievers, 4.8 and 6v in various Mah ratings. Keep a couple micro recievers on hand.
Electrics - have a fair amount of electric motors on hand, and a small selection of brushless stuff. Offer a wide variety of battery packs, with a few Li-poly choices. Put a couple quality chargers on the shelf.
Miscellaneous - Different color coverings should always be in stock, along with paint, brushes, CA, epoxy, wood filler, a selection of balsa wood, fiberglass cloth etc. Building materials like x-acto knives, building mats, dremel tools and accessories.
Field equipment - a few field boxes, some electric starters, a good selection of glow-drivers, electric and hand crank fuel pumps, a couple power panels, and some 12v batteries to run everything.
Get as many props on the shelf as you can afford. Carry a bunch of different glow plugs.
That may sound like a big list, but nearly every LHS I go to around here, I expect all these things to be on the shelf, and they always are.
So far, I have yet to go in there and ask for something, and have him tell me he doesn't have it. Just yesterday, I found some bent 4-40 rods on my UCD. Central Hobbies' carbon pushrod kits were the known answer, but I didn't feel like ordering them online and waiting. I KNEW that the two other closer LHS by me did NOT have these, so I went to Charlie's shop. Sure enough, right there were about 15 Central Hobbies carbon pushrod kits!! Saved my rear.
As far as things that every lhs should keep in stock:
Airplanes - At least a couple types of trainers, sport, and aerobatic kits. Mix it up with ARF and Build-it-yourself stuff. Get a dozen or two types of park flyers, they're cheap to keep on the shelf and encourage people to look around. Throw in a helicopter or two.
Hardware - as much as you have space for. A modeler will be more likely to come back when he just found that little doo-dad that he really needed to finish his plane. This would ential clevis, nuts bolts, flying wire kits, wheels, pushrod kits, threaded and unthreaded rod, wheel collars, and the list goes on and on.
Engines - A good selection of 2 strokes from the .15 to .60 size range, and a few 4 strokes in the .73-1.20 range.
Fuel - as said above, 10 and 15% castor and castor/synthetic blends. Mix up the brands a little as some people are particular about the brand of fuel they use. Don't forget some 30% for the heli guys.
Radios - Stock at least a few good 4-channel systems, just the basic types. 2 or 3 middle-ground 6 or 7 channel systems, and a couple high end systems like a 9c or 10x. Keep a fairly large inventory of servos and stock replacement gear sets for them. Again, brand preference comes into play, so try and mix it up. Keep as large a selection as you can of extensions, y-harnesses, etc. Offer a few different battery packs for recievers, 4.8 and 6v in various Mah ratings. Keep a couple micro recievers on hand.
Electrics - have a fair amount of electric motors on hand, and a small selection of brushless stuff. Offer a wide variety of battery packs, with a few Li-poly choices. Put a couple quality chargers on the shelf.
Miscellaneous - Different color coverings should always be in stock, along with paint, brushes, CA, epoxy, wood filler, a selection of balsa wood, fiberglass cloth etc. Building materials like x-acto knives, building mats, dremel tools and accessories.
Field equipment - a few field boxes, some electric starters, a good selection of glow-drivers, electric and hand crank fuel pumps, a couple power panels, and some 12v batteries to run everything.
Get as many props on the shelf as you can afford. Carry a bunch of different glow plugs.
That may sound like a big list, but nearly every LHS I go to around here, I expect all these things to be on the shelf, and they always are.
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RE: What should your LHS have to support you?
ORIGINAL: dgrant
.....another example...if they have a certain kit or plane....chances of them having EVERYTHING needed to complete it are slim to none. I would have spent alot more money there if I knew I could get it all.
.....another example...if they have a certain kit or plane....chances of them having EVERYTHING needed to complete it are slim to none. I would have spent alot more money there if I knew I could get it all.
Having the equipment ON HAND to complete a kit on your shelf is very important. Some people don't like to order stuff and others don't like making a second trip back, they'd rather get flying ASAP.