Stormin': I agree to a certin extent with what you are saying, but here is the rub. Let's assume a LSH is run by a hobbyist becasue of thier interest, and they aren't in it for the money. The end up eeking a meager income, or worse, lose money, and then we get another thread on yet another LHS is closed. A LHS that is making good money will NOT close. A LHS that is losing money or breaking even WILL eventually close. What you are suggesting is that any nonrequired goods/services related store must have a owner that has personal interest in the good/services they sell. This thinking is why many LHS are closing. There is no significant business diff between owning a hobby store, an IT firm, or Wallmart. Beyond the theoritical and to the emperical. I know the "non-hobbist as a owner, but must be a busines person" works in the hobby industry becasue the US's largest and most successful Hobby franchise is run this way. They couldn't be large or successful if they were wrong. I know this is hard for some to swallow because this is OUR hobby, but to many, this is how they put food on the table. It is still a business.