NCIS

Hello Fello RCer's,

I am planning on starting a hobby shop in a city of about 150,000 people. I am going to specialize in Aircraft only. My question to you is what would you like to see available at your fingertips? I am speaking of Kit's, Arf's, Engines, Props, Balsa stock, Misc. Building Supplies and Tools? In addition to the actual Hobby shop, I will have an online store that will be available 24/7. There is a very small shop in the City now but the owner runs airplane people off with his rude behavior and lack of having any inventory. I am going to have to start out small because I have another Business that requires more time and money to operate. This Hobby Shop was my wife's idea and she said she would take over the other business except for maint. that I would still have to do. I am going to try and take over this market completely. I don't want to mess with Boats, Trucks or Trains. There are just to many parts to keep on hand for them. Do you think a well run shop that specializes in just planes can make it work? In addition to just selling the products I would offer building and repairing services to the customers.

Let me know what you think and would like to see,

Gibbs

bigchap

don't know what the hobby market is like in the u.s. but if a hobby store in the u.k. stocked only aircraft stuff they would go down the pan double quick!i have managed 2 shops and if we hadn't stocked railway stuff we would have been in big trouble.

speed lover

What I would say is lots of close up photos showing as much detail as possible
A detailed description of the flying characteristics and what it is specificly designed for
The same with engines give the running characteristics ie smooth punchy high state of tune for standard sport engine. And most of all fast reply to emails and speedy delivery
As I hate not getting replies and not receiving something quick. As for your shop if you could find a good range of the small stuff ie from cheap to more expensive stuff for example hinges control horns fuel lines spinners props as many times Ive walked in to a model shop and they simply only have 1 make and price of the thing you want then I go home and find it on the internet for a good price.

NCIS

bigchap,

If I added railroad what would you think I would need to stock? Also do you and everyone else think I should have trucks in the shop. There really isn't much of a boat demand but I do think maybe just a small selection of good trucks and railroad items might be something I could handle and your right it probably is a good idea. That is why I ran this thread, to pick the brain of the consumer. My biggest problem is that I don't know much about either railroad or truck equipment.

Gibbs

Don41

Unless you can operate with virtually no overhead (such as rent and utilities) I doubt you'll have much success. For my two cents I'd concentrate on your online store but even there the competition seems pretty fierce.

Back to the store though: A very large supply of the every day needs of hobbyists (flyers and builders). Stocking kits and radio gear might be a problem because you would have to stock so many different items (and they are high priced stock). Anyone that knows his way around the internet can usually find big ticket items available for discounted prices, no shipping and no sales tax so that would be hard to compete with. Smaller items are another matter because these are rarely discounted and shipping is almost always added on.

I wish you luck though. I was successfully self employed for the last twenty years of my working life but I had little stock to keep on hand and I worked out of a shop located on my own property.

NCIS

Thanks Don,

I think I'm going to have to see what others think, but you knowing first hand sure helps me decide what to do.

Barry

TLH101

My Feedback: (90)

One thing that you never want to do is tell the customer, "I don't have a market for that". That's the local shops excuse for what he never has in stock. I guess he can't see the "market" standing in front of him.
15-20 years ago, everyone flew trainers & Ugly Sticks with .40s or .60s in them. Easy for the shops to keep everything needed in stock. Today, there is just too many different ways to "R/C". Giant scale, electric, helis, pattern, 3-D etc. It's hard to stock what everyone needs, or even almost what everyone needs.
If I had the cash and wherewhithall to open a hobby shop, I definately "WOULD NOT!"
Quickest way to make few thousand $, is to open a hobby shop with tens of thousands of $.

bigchap

with railway stuff we had to be prepared for every customer so we kept every item that hornby,peco,graham farish and bachmann made in oo and n gauge,this added up to an awful lot of money.i've found that railway people are very enthusiastic and have a large disposable income,don't know if it's the same your side of the pond but i would keep some railway sets and extra track as a minimum.
by the way,good luck and don't let it spoil your hobby!

NCIS

Keep the posts coming. I'm kinda getting an ill feeling so far![&o]

Barry

saramos

I agree that you need to carry more than just airplane stuff.
My lhs seems to be doing quite well. It's pretty small, but carries trains, trucks/cars, electrics, arfs, parts, wood, some composites, epoxies, hardners and fillers, radios, fuel, engines, accessories, paints, tools, magazines and books. This is all in a fairly small space, perhaps 1000 sqft. He does have a second store in another town that I have not seen. He has several employees. One is a train modeler, another is an electrics expert, another is into planes, and so forth. Customers will quickly learn when which specialist is working for when they need more help than "where's the gizmos?".
A couple of things have made me a loyal customer. The owner will order anything I need for the same price I could order it online. I may need to wait a couple of days longer than if I orderd online, but I don't have to pay for shipping. If there's something that I need now, and will need in the future, like a specific prop, if I ask, he'll stock an extra one.
I am in a large metropolitan area, so it may be a bit different, but 150,000 is a fair sized community and should be able to support a multifaceted hobby shop.

Scott

red head

The best way to make a million in the hobby bussiness is to start with " 2 " million unless you just have planes then start with "4 " million. ENJOY !!! RED

Tennwalker41-delete

My Feedback: (15)

NCIS if its something u really want to do then do it. None of these people are goin to buy from u anyway so dont sweat them. Airplane arfs are easy to stock just b sure to keep a trainer system like the Nexstar everyone that wants to learn will neeed one especially in a city of 150k. Gotta keep fuel for them. A few trucks like the Traxxas Tmax, Revo, Jato will b big sellers they r just too much fun. I can tell u from experience that Traxxas is a top notch company as is Horizon HObby and Great Planes. The main thing locals want to seee is a good attitude, great customer service and willingness to help. That will take u further than all the stock in the airplane world. A few different basic servos with specials available on order will help a lot as would a basic 6 channel radio system, control horns, fuel tubing and basics like that. I drive by 3 hobby shops on the way to my favorite because of the service. Everyone is not lookin for the lowest price all the time sometimes they just need a kind word and some freindly airplane conversation. U may even cause a new club to b started. DOnt let anyone talk u out of ur dream.

speed lover

I think the other guys are right you do need to stock other things aswell
But when I went to my local shop we got to talking about the market
And he said doing local rc events were extremely good for business not
Just to get the name out there but to understand the other markets he didn’t
Know about. and to understand what the customers want out of the model shop
He also said it is a good way to show people we can do this we can do that but this is what we are really good at meaning his trains and scale cars but as for stocking goods
Sure you do need to be clever about what you stock. For instance Im an rc aeroplane man
But when I go to my local shop its for props glow plugs fuel and wood small stuff
And not very often ill go and buy a plane but if I wanted something that wasn’t there its important that it can be brought in on there next delivery from there distributer. Which is regular so it isn’t that bad. But I think at Christmas you need it there and then and that’s
When you need to know whats selling and whats not. To stock wisely that’s when what your really good at comes into play hope this helps

ehroof

you would need to carry all aspects of rc, i live in nyc and all the hobby shops here pretty much dabble in it all, planes alone wont cut it. i was thinking of opening a shop but after much research, i saw you would need an all around shop, not so much trains as you would need cars/trucks/planes/boats, the trains would just bring more people in, seems large scale trains bring the money, lionel etc. whatever you do, good luck

Live Wire

NCIS
Unless you have connections to get your parts direct you are going to have a very hard time being as close to mail order houses as you are Even on line it gets tuff. Don't ask how I know[:@][:@] Over head will eat your lunch and what it does'nt some one off the street will.

Insanemoondoggie

I can give you some first hand insight.
1 Have you checked into to what the vendors require you to stock in inventory, GreatPlane requires a min of $30.000 and also a store that meets their criteria .
2. If you sell just planes , your focusing on a very small part of the market. You will sell more truck and Heli stuff than you will airplane stuff. You can`t buy a chunk of cheap balsa and fix a Heli or a truck.
3. Your mark up on ARFs and kits is not what you think , you have to compete with the big boys and you have to price with them.
4. Your money is in selling parts , this is where the Heli and the Truck guys come into play. It`s nothing for a Heli pilot to spend $500.00 dollars for a repair . They are a handfull to fly and get smucked much more often than planes. The truck guys bash their trucks and bashing means , fixing.
5. Internet sales take sometime to take off. And unless you have some knowlege of e-commerce your going to have to pay to have your site set up .You have to get people to your site.
To be successful , you have to be honest with your customers . Never worry about making a sale, concentrate on good friendly service . And your store clean .
You`ll also need to be open hours that are good for the working man . He needs to get his parts thru the week so he can fly on his days off.
These are just some of the things you will need to concider.
A town of a 150.000 sould support a Hobbyshop , I would think ?

bla bla

Indeed... I'd just start selling cars and cars only. Keep your 'planes as a hobby for the mean time.
Once you've established a solid bottom end with the cars and car related, start introducing some planes.
If you can't float on the cars, you'll never manage it with aero stock. Sorry to sound so negative.
Oh, and prespare yourself a SUPER cut throat attitaude from the importers and distributors.
If you don't play by their rules... you're history.
Some believe your history even if you play by their rules... yet at least they get to sell you a load of stock before you throw in the towel.
It's UGLY out there.
On the positive side, the secret of success isn't that ellusive. Specialise.
Find a niche and stick with it. Stock for it, staff for it, advertise it and LIVE it.
Good Luck... live the dream.
And dig your heels in.

broke_n_bummin

I wish you would have thought about all this when I was living in Elkhorn. I, like others look to the internet for engines, ARFs, supplies and gear ... but what good is it on the internet if you need it right now? Xtals, rx, servos, aileron stock, light ply, props, wheels etc. I'd rather pay the extra dollar or 2 and not have to worry about order processing, shipping, and waiting. And I'd be willing to bet there are a lot of people that think the same way.

Scrape

The quickest way to ruin a hobby is to turn it into a job. Good luck.

rcdude7

My Feedback: (264)

This is an interesting thread. I am a plane guy at heart and my LHS used to packed with planes, ARF's and kits, engines, radios etc. O ver the years they have drifted to cars and buggys as sales went in that direction. They still stock a few ARF's and a good selection of hardware, but were it not for the car sales they might not be around from the looks of things. They have a dirt track in back and racing on the weekends. My hats off to those car drivers for keeping my LHS shop open, because pilots are'nt buying the volume needed to keep them in the black.

draftman1

I dont have a LHS in my town that has much of anything, just a hole in the wall with now airplane stuff. a town that is 30 min away, about the size your in, has a shop that has a widw varity of everything,, they seem to be doing pretty good. they can be out of stock of basics sometimes and a little over priced on things but they do a pretty good job. planes, cars, trains, rockets, plastic models and alot of other small catagorys. a small specialized shop with internet sales would probably do pretty good. lota stock and good prices will keep it going. and service is the big deal maker

KitBuilder

What is the modeling environment in your area.... how many clubs.. how many members in each... what are they flying, what is the average age of the clubs (old guys with lots of time to tinker or younger who usually mailorder due to time constraints - kids, activities, etc)... .where are they located in reference to your shop... how many other shops are there (you stated one) but in neighboring cities.. not just yours... answers to these questions will begin to give you an idea if you will succeed or not..

My personal experience with LHShops

I had 4 shops (Now 3) in my area (25 mile radius)...
One catered to electric and closed - good inventory but expensive
Other 3
- One has a little of everything and a lot of nothing - wide product line but not deep.. need wheels.. he has two sizes... you get the idea - not sure how he stays in business, never has what you need and a huge store
- One has a somewhat wide selection and somewhat deep... covering, fuel, parts, props, etc etc.. caters to heli's planes and to a limited extent cars. He does ok.
- Lastly - my favorite is farthest. First day I walked in, he made me feel like I knew him for years... The quintessential hobby shop. I'ts like a mini tower hobbies.. and a smaller store than those above... you can't even see the cieling for the planes hanging... parts parts and more parts... tons of kits and arfs, you name it they got it. I see folks walking out iwth kits and arfs all the time though you know they are cheaper at one of the mailorder houses...(i've seen the prices) what makes this shop different.. Service service service and knowledge... guy knows his stuff b/c he flies planes, helicopters, boats, etc. Very knowledgable... The other day.. i went and asked for a wheel pant mount i saw from sig/dubro etc.. asked if he had it.. behind his main desk are 4 large 4x8 perf panels side by side that slide revealing another and another aka sliding shower door type system... ... he slide two doors over revealing a third and there it is.. the wheel pant mount i was talking about about 50 cents more than tower... he has a realflight setup free to use... what a blast.. i learned to fly inverted on it.... service!

If your the only guy in town.. stock well, and know your hobby... you've made it when you walk in and your saying excuse me again and again to get down the aisle

It's sort of like books on CD.. you will find those that like that... but I think most enjoy the feeling of the book.. the turning of the pages.... the somewhat interaction with it... the same way most will prefer the local hobby shop.. the comraderie.. the browsing in person... etc etc

Sorry I rambled but I dislike seeing the demise of the local hobby shop... due to the big mailorder shops
Good luck... Mike

NCIS

My Plan,

I'm going to by a house with a large garage and that way I won't have much overhead. I just have to get a permit from the City to sell from my garage. I am going to stock a little of everything and try to stick with the best sellers as I see it from where I live. I don't have a problem with a website. I have a relative that does it and he said he would set up my online store for free. I want to carry the popular ARF's, Trucks and parts, Heli's and parts, a couple boats, trains, and rockets. I have a large business and can use the equity in my Apartment Complexes to stock a good amount. My main business is buying and selling Apartment Complexes. I buy them when they are almost empty for a song and do a cheap face lift, fill them up with good tenants and sell them for at least $100,000.00 more than I paid for them. I live off the sales and also buy the next Apartments. Anyway enough of that. I love to build and I don't think having a Hobby Shop will ruin the hobby for me. I can be open from 8am to 8pm Monday thru Sunday and then when it's slow I can take care of ordering and whatever. If I am caught up on that I can build. I have been in business since I was 2 years old. My father had a Marina and I learned at a very young age how to treat customers. That is why I want to open this shop. I have had many people ask me to because the owner of the other shop runs off customers. I have actually been kicked out of his store because I wanted something he didn't have and ordered it online. I was going to order it from him but he acted as if I was putting him out to do it. The next time I came in he was very rude and I told him that I didn't like the way I was being treated so he said you need me more than I need you so just don't bother coming back in my store again. Now tell me how does that sound? I think if I opened a shop with a smile and have two of his employee's that have already agreed to work part time for me that specialize in trucks and trains to work one or two days or evenings a week I should have a specialist that people can come to for their every need. I can handle the boats, rockets, and planes. I am going to stock a trainer RTF and a trainer kit, a couple radios, servos, misc. hardware, glue, epoxy, covering, parts, fuel, and paint. The rest I will figure out as I get ready to open the store. Right now I'm looking for vendors that will sell to me wholesale. I am going to have a stand-up simulator for people to try out and fresh coffee for customers. If it doesn't work then I'll just sell everything at a discount and use the big garage as a building room and paint booth.

Gibbs

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

NCIS,
One problem with your plan is the major hobby suppliers, meaning Hobbico and Horizon. They require that you have a retail storefront before they will allow you to become a distributor. You will have to provide them with a floorplan of your storefront as well as pictures of the storefront including your signage. I know that they also dictate things such as the amount you must stock as well as such petty things like the number of hours a week you must be open. They both have a pretty good majority on the market and they're pretty good at dictating to small shops like you want to start.

Ken

TLH101

My Feedback: (90)

OK, Ken beat me to it. Just too slow on the keys.[]