Brick and Mortar-Are there any?

General Discussion FSM Ready Room
1

Hi Ya’ll!

On the subject of Brick and Mortar Hobby Shops. They are out there. You just have to look. In,My foray to the closest one to me, I had a thought. In the city I live in here in the State of TEXAS there is actually NO hobby shop in New Braunfels. There is Hobby Lobby and Joanns. Such as it is. So the forty five mile drive to Hill Country Hobbies,on Bandera road in San Antonio!

Now there is a newer Brick and Mortar in San Marcos, Texas which is, for me a twenty five mile drive in the other direction. they do have an awesome selection, But, their main clientel seems to be those who build realistic scenes for Games such as Warhammer etc… What I have found is friendly folks ,but not many who do floaty thingies either. That’s alright because most of what I do now is paper or “Card” models and scratchbuild what I want.

The consensus about Brick and Mortar just for us, is it is too expensive when you consider getting the location right, then the store itself, is there enough parking? and do I have enough Back money if I have a bad month or two. Plus insurance and an assured line of credit for my wholesale purchases.Banks want to make sure you can meet the bills.There isn’t a lot of foot traffic downtown at night now and that is mostly to the Bars and such. There are in New Braunfels and San Marco,s Two what I call "Open Air Malls’ They don’t have a lot of what the banks like to consider as “Foot Traffic” for a Hobby shop.

There are some other things to consider too. What do you want to carry? I have on one hand the names of two shop within thirty miles that cater to nothing but R.C…Not to much in vessels there either. There is another small shop. dedicated to gaming in town. If I had the time and money to do it again I would carry R.C.(Full selection) plastics in all categories and some Trains and Train related subject. Along with this a good selection of tools, paints and materials for the scratch builders and the model railroader I would NOT get to train involved because that can get bogged down in expensive stock and not necessarily a good turnover. Scratch, Paint and that standard range of Armor, Plane and Car kits with a good turnover is always best. There is One very train oriented shop in San Antonio and here in N.B. there are TWO train shows a year, in the spring and the fall. Always a good turnout too.

One of the things I noticed was this. Once I did actually have a hobby shop and didn’t know it .Five Large storage buildings(Built onsight) a connecting deck and a window in the kitchen that doubled as the cash counter. Big canvas umbrella like covers over it, a Coffee Maker and Slushie machine as well as a Confection area. lots of tables and chairs and plenty of room to inspect your purchase and folks hanging around to discuss your model or what you could or might build it into. Definitely a weird setting in that I was’t even in a town. This was my side-yard. There was also a large scratch building clientel, because of the engineering, architectural and civil engineering firms that still hadn’t gotten into Computer Drafting, Drawing or Modeling yet. In Little Rock, I was in Lindsey Ar… Between L.R.and Benton. I had one 20’x20’ shed that was nothing but scratch building supplies and paint. because i built for three law Firms myself I bought in bulk. I had too.

I jokingly say that all it was was me selling off my “Stash” LOL! LOL! I had a business licence, but it was for various business all under one roof technically. But many branches thereof. The “Shop” fell under the Tow and Recovery Vehicle Division! If I could roll back the clock say forty or fifty years I would have the “Hobby Shop” only. That turned out, because of the unorthodox way it was set up, to be a fun part of my life. The thing is by doing it that way I really got into my customers minds and could see what they needed, wanted, and would like to have. Trains were Not part of it. That was a side hobby that I did Not get involved in the retail side of! My layout was water related. Old South, River and Rail and Modern Harbor, in Any coastalcity, U.S.A. My interest being the floaty thingies anyway!

Here’s an aside before I go.We have here in New Braunfels ,Texas,a few parks with nice lakes and lakeshores. YET, because of the wildlife restrictions, ( We Cannot run, sail or power in any of these lakes and the river) the local rivers flow to fast for model boats as well. The feeling is it would “Disturb the Wildlife in The Flyways going through here, and the Deer population who come to drink thereof!” so you see except fo static there isn’t a real care for the action part of modeling here. There is a strong I.P.M.S. grouping in the “Hill Country” It’s just that the local one is based in San Antonio-Meets to far away for me and Has had to make show venues “Catch as catch can”

For the first time in my many years here, 2006, til now! they are doing a one day Show and Contest in the New Braunfels Civic Center on Feb. 10th of this year. You can bet I am going to go to that. Finally! I don’t have to drive forty or fifty miles and pay for parking too! It’s just sad it’s only one day! Oh Well! Bye-Ya’ll-T.B. being long winded agin!

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Well, TB, here’s my thoughts.

Yes, the brick and mortar shops are a heckuva lot fewer now than they used to be. But locally-owned shops have always been a hit or miss prospect. Here in the Greater Seattle area, we have two stand-alone shops, in addition to the three or four Hobbytowns that make me nuts. Those danged proprietors just want to retire at age 75, no matter how much we loved their stores.

But I think back a bunch of years to my time in the Navy. Every time I got relocated to a new station, I pored through the phone books under Hobbies. I left hometown Seattle with a dozen shops and a few towns were horrid, with nothing but a model railroad shop that had no interest in ordering plastic kits for me. Southern CA was wonderful, but the Memphis area drove me to buying stuff at home and shipping the kits to my Memphis barracks.

All that is to say that it has never been great everywhere, but this day of online shops means that where ever you are, you have the same access to good shops. I do wish it was easier to get a few bottles of paint when the spirit moves me, but those nation-wide places (Hobbytown, Hobby Lobby, Michael’s) take care of that, more or less.

And that’s what I think.

Best regards,
Rick

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I don’t know of many hobby shops that I buy from on-line that aren’t brick and mortar shops. They just don’t happen to be close to where I am, but I can still support them with my purchases. A place like Burbank’s House of Hobbies is 1000 miles away from me, but I still get good, old fashioned human-to-human service from them. I highly recommend them. I would love to actually visit them some time and see all the stuff they have.

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Well!

Interesting replies. There is a Brick and Mortar (More like Steel and Concrete panels) that I do business with. Where is it you ask? Well, I am in New Braunfels ,Texas, right? This store is in Spring Creek, Indiana! Dave and Debbie (The owners) come to our fine city twice a year for the Train Show. They always seem to have something I need!

I will say though, there Was a Hobby Town in San Antonio that I would go to once or twice a year. Mainly for supplies and building equipment and tools. occassionally a model or two. That last was rare as Floaty thingies got bigger(1/200 ) and more costly. I do wish though that someone would pick up the standard and open another in say Shertz at least. That’s only a twenty minute drive on side roads if I don’t want to do freeways.

Just wanted to add, Just this week a Micheal’s opened. Not that it helps much.

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I guess I am lucky to live in Twin Cities (Minneapolis area). Sure, we have lost a few good ones, but we have a few good ones left.

the best are Hobby Lobby, with two stores, an all genre stores with good plastic model coverage- kits, paints, and aftermarket. Next is Scale Model Supply, a very esoteric store in a store basement- colloquily known as the dungeon. Its features are model RR and scale non flying stuff- no RC. Excellent, with a section of very old kits at none-collector prices. They get new kits in fast

There are a few RC stores that carry mostly a fair selections of plastic paints, and numerous HLs and Michaels.

6

Washington DC area. Have 3 within 60 miles. Two Hobby Works Laurel and Rockville. We have Star Hobby in Annapolis. Always great going to the hobby shop.

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In Orlando, the only ones I know of woiuld be a couple craft stores and Colonial Photo and Hobby in town. We used to have more, once.

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Hi Rick:

You know, I seem to remember a great Hobby Venue not to far from the Seattle ferry terminal. At least it didn’t seem that far. I was there at the time the World’s fair opened. Got to ride the Monorail and dine in the newly Opened “Space needle” How about that!

9

Having grown up with many, and making friends with the owners- one constant issue is that a lot of guys just come in to chew the fat with the counter worker, thumb through a couple of magazines and leave after an hour with a bottle of paint or glue.

Expensive way to provide entertainment.

While I miss that, I really like the lower prices and wide range of available products online.

Bill

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None in the UK that I know of. Although there are some warehouses that are mainly postal that open perhaps once a month for mobile customers.

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I’m about 45 minutes from Andys Hobby Headquarters. I must confess I have ordered a couple things from his online site and pay the shipping to avoid the drive/gas. I’ve been in the shop a couple times and there really is nothing like staring at the stacks and stacks of brand new kits and supplies

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That’s a great place to be close to,would love that.I think Stikpusher is close to them too.

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Reviving this subject.

I was wondering what the landscape is like for brick and mortar hobby shops now?

Many of the ones I used to go to in the Dallas/Fort Worth area are closed. I use some paint that has the price tag from the old shops and reminisce.

Besides Hobby Lobby and Michael’s, the only other hobby shop around me is HobbyTown.

How are the shops in your areas?

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I’m in NE North Dakota and to my knowledge the only dedicated hobby store options between Minneapolis and Winnipeg are a few Hobby Lobby’s. And I’m not even sure what, if anything, Winnipeg has.

The closest I’ve found in North Dakota are a couple RC stores that carry supplies that cross over for both hobbies and a few model kits.

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Here in NE Wisconsin, we have a B&M shop and a few Hobby Towns within a 1 hour drive from my home. Madison also has a few B&M shops. Sadly, they are getting rarer these days. Stores like Hobby Lobby,Ollies, & Michaels cater towards the automobile lines of kits and the Gundam shelves at H.L are increasing in size. Personally, I still like to hold the kit in my hands at the hobby shop while I decide whether or not to buy it rather than ordering it on-line.

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I noticed this upon my return to the hobby. They didn’t expand the model shelves, just took away some cars and planes and replaced it with Gundam.

If Gundam can get more people into modeling, I’m all for it. But if it’s replacing the kits I like…not so much.

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Michael’s around me has reduced their model selection to I think one shelf and they’re the standard Revell beginners models. Basically the ones to introduce the wee ones to the hobby.

Hobby Lobby here has reduced the aircraft selection to more cars and Gundam as others have seen. I still find a gem there on occasion.

The Hobbytown here has a good selection, but it’s not convenient for me to travel to.

We had a store Roy’s Toys for Big Boys, which had a great selection, but they closed during Covid. A few others closed before Covid.

I have a wish list, but when I go into a store, They never have what’s on my list and I come out with something completely different. LOL…

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Winnipeg has, https://hobbysense.ca/
Bought from them a few times.

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I had a decent Hobby Town in Asheville,they got swept away in Hurricane Helene,don’t know if and when they plan on coming back.

There is a great Hobby Town in Hickory NC,a 3hr round trip,but the owner is a model guy,used to hold a club meeting there,they have great amount of paint and supplies,lotsa kits but of course,pretty expensive.

So thats it for me

20

Brick and mortar stores are a hard business to get into and to stay in business. Online shops are just way less risky and much more profitable.

About 20 years ago I actually did a lot of research into what it would take to start a brick and mortar hobby shop. What I discovered is that 95% of these shops go out of business in the first year. And half of the ones that make it through that first year also tend to go under. It is not a good business to get into.

To get into this business and stay in business you need to offer something that your online and local competition doesn’t. And local inclueds shops 25-30 miles from you. People that want to shop in person will drive 25-30 miles or more without even blinking an eye.

Then there is selection. You have to carry it all, or specialize. And if you don’t have enough traffic and can’t get your name out there, you can’t specialize. But if you carry everything you need a huge store and you need to drop a ton of money into inventory. Two more factors that make a hobby shop a hard business to get into.

Then you also need to compete with craft stores. Hobby Lobby and Michael’s both sell paints, and tools, for scale model builders. And Hobby Lobby has the 40% off scale models every other week.

I’ll use a radius of 20 miles to define my metropolitain area (40 miles x 40 miles)

In my metropolitain area there are 27 craft stores. 11 Hobby Lobby’s, and 16 Michael’s.

There are 4 hobby shops that specifically cater to scale model builders, and model rail roaders.

There are 2 hobby shops that specifically cater to RC cars and airplanes, in addition to 2 of the hobby shops above that have pretty large RC sections.

Then we have 4 or 5 gamer shops that sell hobby paints, tools, and what not, but focus more on Gundam, and Warhammer.

So in addition to the hobby shop businss being very hard to get into already, my metropolitian are is already very saturated with stores.

I don’t know where I was going with all this. But in my area we still have quite a few stores to give our business to. But I still order online a lot because the local stores are all more expensive. I think most of my local business is spent on tools and supplies.

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