Is one Hobby shop in town enough?

As a hobby we need Mom and Pop Hobby shops But I kinda realize that the bigger shops have their place. Today I passed by the local hobby shop ( The only 1 in town) to pick up a few pieces of hard wood for finish up a plane. Well on the door was a sign

(CLOSED UNTIL OCT 11)

You have to admit that we all need a lil time off and the local hobby shop has always been great to me. But I guess there is always a need for more than one hobby shop in town also.

Hummm

I guess it might be nice for clubs to own hobby shops that way members could get items at a better price and have the benefit of always being open.

I know how that is, our hobby shop is only open on friday and saturday, and the shop is extreamly small, having very little airplane accessories, and everything is old, some of the fuel tubing is dried and cracked, and everything else covered with dust. The closest hobby shop worth going to is about 40-50 miles from where I live.

What's the problem? Here in Texas that's just up the block,should be so lucky to have a place that close.
Have a goodun,John.

The only problem there is that there may not be enough revenue in the town to support two hobby shops. Something most people don't consider is that retailers get discounts depending on the amount they buy from the wholesaler.

For example, Let's say your LHS is going to put in an order to "XYZ Models". If they buy 1 of each kit they make, and 10 of each accessory, they will pay 50% of the retail price. This means that the kit that retails for $100, they pay $50 for, so they can sell it to you for $80. They give you a discount and they make $30. But, if they buy 2 of each kit, and 20 of each accessory, they get a better deal, like maybe 40%. Now that kit that retails for $100 only cost them $40, so they can either still charge $80, or lower it to $70 and pass the savings on to you. Now remember, they are competing with the big boys like Tower, Hobby Lobby, etc. These guys buy in HUGE quantities at tremendous discounts. That's one reason why their prices are so low.

Now, if you open another hobby shop in town, they will split the amount of business they do, so they will only order half of the stuff they would order otherwise, which means they will pay more, which means YOU will pay more, which means you will probably go through the big mail order companies to get your big ticket items, which means the LHS will buy even less and pay even more until they get to the point where they close their doors and you have NO hobby shop in town.

Aren't economics fun?

We only have one mom & pop hobby shop in my town and if that one is closed I would have to drive 110 miles to San Diego. Ordering on the internet with next day air delivery is the way to go.

When I was in Indy, we all use to hang out at Hobby R/C (Barb's place) and buy stuff and chat. The field was 2 blocks away and it was good to be able to fly and if you needed something to just go over and get it or if you were a regular and had a cell phone, just call Barb, buy the item, and have someone who was also a regular, drop it by the field. While the field is no longer there, we still drop around and chat from time to time. Without the shop, my RC experience would be missing something special

I have seen many threads on local hobby shops and their woes.

I have had less than stellar success with my LHS, mostly that they flat out lie about when something on backorder is going to come in. Obviously, their ploy is to keep stringing me along so I don't go buy the thing over the web. At the same time they are trying to put together a bigger order.

Simple economics, poor customer service.

In any case, if we assume they can not compete on price, do they have anything else of value.

I say, maybe. I would suggest the LHS work much more closely with the local flying club to support training nights, fun flys, etc. Have a joint "newbie night" in the dead of winter. Offer up "technical support" more directly.

This might lead to more sales to newbies and maybe, just maybe, some customer loyalty.

And STOP LYING TO ME...

GB

There was a time (A long time ago in a galaxy far far away... Wait thats been used ) when LHS were focal points of club activity the owner was active in the club(s) members were always hanging around trading "lies", and swapping info. Club members met there before going out to the field. In most instances the person behind counter was very knowledgeable and would recommend items to help out "beginners" and "experts" alike.

What Happened????

Mail order
Internet Shopping

to name a few

Times change. As savvy consumers with high tech toys in the information age why should we pay 2.00 when with a couple of mouse clicks and a good search engine we can find it for 1.25.


lets face it.. We as group are responsible for the demise of the mom and pop Hobby Shop. (Why stop there wal-marts, Home depot etc are killing mom and pop Hardware stores)


The lack of mom and pop Hobby stores left near me was one of the most depressing things I noticed when I got back into the hobby. Gone are the comments gone see Joe at Such and such he'll do right by you. Now its who's got the best price on blah blah and is it stock what's the price break for free shipping etc.. etc..

Don't get me wrong I am part of the problem also.. I HATE paying more for something then I have to..

Just pointing out that in a lot a ways (RCU) the way we pursue this hobby has changed..

Hi Ghostbear,we are very lucky in the Dallas Tex. area,we have three nice hobby shops a some smaller ones,Mickey's A-1 and Mike's{I'll use there names} match and or meet the net prices,they sponsor nearly every thing that comes along and both, esp. June at Mickey's,have help many times on solving problems,even when the product was bought elseware sometimes I'll shop on the net,but only after trying my local hobby shop first.
Have a goodun,John.

A lot of the LHS's I've seen usually match the price for Tower or Horizon.

Most LHS's know, most people are familiar with at least these two mail order houses and will attempt to meet their prices.

Having said that, I wish we had a full LHS closer than 100 miles.

We do have a guy who "stocks" some wood, some glue, some fuel, and can order some items. I'm grateful he does this. It really helps those of us in this area.

I miss my Saturday morning trips to the LHS. Even just to shoot the breeze or to get some advice on a building project.

We are seeing in this area a lot of the LHS's are having to stock other things than RC to make ends meet. I'm not saying science projects, crafts, collectables, and pinecars are not improtant, but they do take up shelf space which could be used for airplanes/RC. It also shows what the LHS's are having to do to stay in buisness.

I've never gotten bad service at a LHS. Even with being 100 miles and 125 miles respectively from the two closest LHS's, I'm known as a "regular".

I try to support the LHS as much as possible.

Just my 2 cents.

Yes we need them and some times we have to pay a higher price too keep them in business. But what happens when mom and pop get too old to run the hobby shop. Locally one of the hobby shops was sold when pop died and soon after it went out of business and now a lot of guy that were into racing RC trucks are out of luck. The other shop does no sell any of those items.

To me it seems like a lot of the mom and pop hobby stores are gone due to the fact that when they pass on the kids sell or just let the business go. It seem to me that Mom and Pop were in the business to make money but more so in because they enjoyed the hobby.

I guess We have too be mad when they closed but keep supporting them when they are open or some day they will be closed for ever. And then where will be be that piece of Balsa that we need.

It's very true. The only reason to go into business is to make money. If you want to make money, why stock your shelves with something that is only going to appeal to 2% of the population? And then find out that most of that 2% is buying their big ticket items through mail order/internet.
As it was said earlier, if we don't support them, they will be gone.

My nearest hobby shop is 300 miles away in the next town and even thats only fairly small with a limited range. The next closest is in Perth which is 1200 miles away. I brought my plane through the local Toyworld store (An ARF 40 trainer). Whilst building the plane I noticed that it didnt come with any fuel tubing so I went back toToyworld to buy some. He didnt have any in stock but said that he could get it in. Im still waiting and that was around 6 weeks ago. I understand that its only a small amount of fuel tubing and to just order that would cost a lot in freight but thats why I end up buying through mail order because I can get it quicker than trying to buy local.
On the other hand though when I did buy my plane through the local Toyworld store I wanted to layby it and pay it off. The owner of the store gave me the plane and said just come in every now and again and give me some money for it until its paid off. You certainly wouldnt get that from a mail order company.

Regards,

Troy.

I think a big factor in the demise of hobby shops is the fact that there are fewer total modelers. I know, I know some of you guys will tell me that AMA membership is up but........

I remember in the late 60's early 70's, modelers were flying control line at nearly every vacant lot. Most of these gusy at the time never heard of AMA and had no use for it anyway. I remember if it was a large field you could find a couple of guys flying free flight.

When I was a kid we used to spend all day at the school yard flying 1/2 a planes. We were not alone either! I saw my first RC model YEARS after flying control line.

Modeling was so popular then that the local stores like Walgreens or Kmart carried fuel, glow plugs and paint!!! Must have been popular for the regular stores to carry the stuff. At that time there were a couple of hobby shops in town.

So WHAT HAPPENED?

I think that in addition to the above mentioned reasons: RC happened. More RC means GREATLY reduced visibility for our hobby. The guy driving down the street doesn't see folks flying like he used to with control line. Kids can't get to the RC field that is outside of town and can't afford the stuff anyway.

CONTROL LINE was the modeling entry point for the masses. it was cheap, easy to fly, easy to build and you could fly the planes almost anywhere. Plus they were highly visible because folks DID fly them anywhere.

Believe it or not modeling used to be as popular as computers are now!! And most never joined the AMA! Only RC folks and competition control line guys joined.

Finally, someone hit the nail right on the head. I've asked many, many veteran RC fliers if they tell there friends, relatives, or anyone how much fun, exciting and totally addictive flying model aircraft truly is. Literally none of those I asked said that they tell anyone at all about their fantastic hobby/sport.

About kids not being able to afford the hobby, I imagine there are those who can't, but on the other hand, there must be millions of kids in the US who can well afford to buy several complete RC outfits. But, keep in mind that whether they be kids or any age newcomer, that would just put more burden on the club flight instructors and flight line...there then lies the rub. Fear of overcrowded flight lines and having many more people to teach tends to be one of the main reasons members could wish to keep their hobby/sport a deeply guarded secret from the public.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...077&forumid=59

Take care,
CCR
http://www.kites.org/rc_instructors]

I don't think I have heard it mentioned either, you can't forget about how video games, cable tv, and the change in family has affected things, either. As a kid, I spent almost all my time (unfortunately) involved in sports, just pick up games with the kids in the neighborhood. Other than some household chores, the guys in the neighborhood were always together doing something, and we didn't have video games or cable tv to watch. Today parents have their kids in every crazy activity, from karate to ballet to hockey to soccer and on and on. Kids have no time to just hang out and be kids, and they certainly don't have to be creative, we used to make up games, today all the thinking has been done for them, there is every kind of video game, a tv show for any interest, kids just arent' going to ride their bikes to the local hobby shop and hang out and find a whole new interest that'll be with them for a lifetime like they did in the past. That, plus the internet, and intenet shopping, have completely changed the outlook.

My favorite LHS was really a laughing matter. The owner flew, most of his stuff he flew into ol Mother Earth shortly after setting it up at the field. HIs Sig Seniorita was about the only thing he kept for awhile. Anyway, his shop was about 15 min from the field. It was one of his buildings at his house. An old Farm house with about 20 years of newspapers blocking the front door. Going around to the back to get his attention, one needed a machette or a bull horn to call from a distance. He had no phone so you couldn't just call and tell him your outside. Prolly wouldn't hear the phone anyway, TV was always loud enough to hear outside.
Once you got him to come out, he'd unlock his Garage and you'd have to climb over more newspapers, vcr tapes and cases of soda. Stay close to him or you might get lost. Past the resemblance of a pickup truck (complete with model train set up in it's bed. last time I was there the train set was just visable, but now covered with assorted broken planes, newspapers and cans.) Past the large model rocket pile (yes pile). Under the 13 built crashed and repaired planes he had for sale (at original price many have been there since the early 80's) Up the steps lined with 8' stacks of kits, I would guess about 50 kits here. Many no loner in production. Once up the steps It almost looks like a hobby shop. Racks of stuff hanging, shelfs full of goodies. But make a left and up a couple more steps, you have his building room. Same 1/4 scale cub on the board as I saw the first time I dared venture this far. (1982 I think). Along the wall is around another 30 or 40 kits, still from the 80's.
Now I had not been there insometime and the last time I was there I was introduced to some new stuff. 1 pile of vcr tapes everybit 10' high. Piled like you would pile firewood. A new section of Kits and ARFs engines and radios, batteries and fuel. The old ones are still upstairs, this is just a new batch downstairs.
The place is a total mess, usually takes 15 - 20 mins to find the not so common Items. Things are somtimes old, but if you look long enough you can probably find a newer one. If you cant and the old one ends up not working then you bring it back. Good service and fair prices on everything but "His" old planes. I bet he has about 200 planes in one stage of completion or another. Last time I was there I asked if he had been doing much flying. "Naw, don't have anything ready to fly. Crashed my Seniorita beginin of the season and haven't built anything else."
This place is just a spectacle, planes, radio's, engines, starters, batteries, balsa, monokote, pushrods, arfs, kits, boats, cars, rockets, trains, 100 or so of each laying around in no aparent order. This is HIS stuff. He also has a nice selection of stuff he's selling.

I grew up in Beaumont, riding my bike downtown to the Jefferson Theatre on Saturdays, dropping into Don Still's, etc. I now live in New Albany, Indiana. Anything and everything I can buy at my LHS (Local Hobby Shop) I buy there. If we don't supportr Mom and Pop shops, they're all gonna go under. However, with the internet and the gadzillion e-businesses specializing in RC, there are altogether enough retail options for us all. The club out off Major Drive has a bunch of really wise old dudes who are willing and eager to help. I had a chance to visit with them last summer as they were roofing the covered structure next to the strip.
My local guy has been sick and he very well may have to close his shop, a dark day for all of us here in the boonies...but the internet and UPS and FedEx can make up for it. It's just so nice to be able to ask questions of the old pros and actually put your hands on the stuff before you buy it.

If you're in a club there, you might get together with everyone and put together a list of stuff you guys want that Don doesn't carry and talk to him about it.

Just Trying not to Auger In
Bob Fulbright

I'd really like to support my LHS, but now they have competition.

I'll drive an extra twenty miles because:

They lied to my wife about stuff on backorder before XMas. Everything will be here tomorrow or the next day. Some of it never came in.

Not only do they not match prices, but they never have anything on sale (unless its damaged).

Anyway...

Just tonight,i emailed my local hobby shop and ordered a set of muffler screws for my OS 32sx,one of which I had stripped out and a set of mufflers for my Saitop 90 twin that will be flying soon.I bought both of these engines from sellers on ebay.The shop is about 25 miles from where I live and it would probally have been better to get the two things i wanted sent to my door.But in the long run,it's nice to be able to go that 25 miles,get my screws and mufflers,pick up a few gallons of fuel and whatever else i need at the time and go fly.I buy my radios from him as he is competitive with mail order.Three this last year.I won't buy most of my stuff from him but it is great to know that he is there,and like some rock group said a while back"long may you run"

My LHS is just like this. The owner is active in our club, and I think actually started it many years ago. He has his workshop in the back of the store, where we have our club meetings, he has a nice set up. I run into the problem, of him only being able to get brand X, when I want Z. I want to support him as much as I can as do others in the club, but most of the time his prices are so high and if we want lets say-Great Planes, Top-flight, Futaba,etc we have to go through mail order or a different part of the state. He only deals with Sig, and Horizon. He can't order enough for ,"great planes", and it's sad really. I would hate to see the shop go, so we do our best and try to buy from him. But where do you draw the line? I mean, I'll pay his prices most of the time, because I factor in shipping and handling, and it evens out. But if I want the "kit" I really want, he does not have it, so do I buy his old sig kit, or something else he has? Or do I buy what I want, and have him say, we are going to put him out of business?????
I love having a LHS, heck where I live, he's the only Hobby Shop around, unless I want to drive 150 miles, (isn't Montana great?). I also love to have the RC hangout spot, to shoot the S....t. It's hard when it comes to LHS 's like this.

All people look for in a m&p LHS is somthing that they need Know . They will not support their LHS only if it is some thing that they need now. They can buy cheeper at mail order ,or on line . Why support your local business. They only contribute to your community

Hell, I wish I had just one hobby shop in town. I wish I had one closer than 300 miles away. Couple of weeks ago I drove 5 hours to go to a hobby shop to buy fuel and a few items. The guy has decided to be closed on saturdays, so I wasted the trip.

If anyone realized just how tiny a markup a hobby shop owner has to work with (15-20%) especially when they are more or less forced to match mail-order prices, one would understand why there aren't many shops still around. If the public did understand, no one in his right mind would open up a hobby shop, that is unless he was a millionaire doing it for the benefit of the two clubs in the area. If someone does, they would do it as hobby and not expect to make enough money to pay his bills. The one or two 30 member flying clubs may be his only customers whose members expect him to carry everything they find in RCM, M.A.N., etc. If he doesn't then they complain and buy mail-order.

For example, the shop owner is expected to make a living, decent or otherwise, $6.00 on a $80 Sig LT-40 kit. He may only sell a couple a year. So, expect hobby shops to continue to disappear and everyone having to drive further and further to find one.
Then there is the fact that urban sprawl will eat up flying sites, thereby causing more hobby shops to either go out of business, or not carry any money losing RC aeromodeling products and opt exclusively for the money making RC car market.

Take care,
CCR
http://www.kites.org/rc_instructors

CHassen,if ever I am in Ohio,I will make it a point to go see this guy you're talking about.Sounds kinda like a museum.Sounds kinda like,and this is the scarey part,my modeling room.