We have a very small Hobby Town in our small town - but I don’t think the manager knows anything about mechandising. They have a ton of plastic kits but don’t seem to sell many, and it’s obvious why. They are out of sight in the last, darkest, dead-end aisle in the back of the store, in an unsorted jumble on shelves on both sides of the aisle. Scales mixed, aircraft, armour, ships, all mixed in together in just a big mess. I asked the manger why they didn’t sort it and display it properly, he said if they did, the kids would mess it all up again in a day or two.
Sometimes I’ll take a stroll back there and look for sale stickers, of which there are very few. If I’m looking for something specific, forget it, I’m not taking the time to sort through thousands of mixed up kits.
The selection of tools and supplies is adequate for me, usually, but certainly minimal.
They seem to be more geared to selling big R/C stuff and toys- although they also have some good educational science kits for kids.
And they also sell $5000 pool tables! Seems to be a lack of focus there.
Depends who the distributor is and how deep their ties go.
A few weeks ago, I ordered two kits through King’s Hobby Shop here in Austin. Dragon’s new Panzer IV J Last Production and Tasca’s Sherman Jumbo.
The Dragon was in within days. I’m still waiting on the Jumbo. But the thing is…Dragon is its own distributor over here, and they also distribute Bronco, Zvezda, and a few others.
Tasca, I believe, gets distributed by Pacific Coast Models, which doesn’t seem to be anywhere near the same scale of operation. There’s also limits on who can get them. For example, Great Models stocks Tasca and PCM kits, but last time I searched Sprue Brothers I didn’t see either.
I’d just say screw it and order it online, but you never see Tascas discounted really, and I have a ton of 20% things from King’s. That and I like the guys and like giving them business.
Doog - I see your point, Dragon used to be distributed by Stevens Int’l here I believe. They ended that relationship due to many diffilculties, for one bad customer service to which the distributor was responsible to. It did get me to wonder why Bronco kits were almost double the price here as from online dealers outside the US (not just Japan, and Hong Kong, but Europe as well).
I have had good direct dealings with Pacific Coast Models over the years, as they are a very good source of Italian related models. In the last few years they have expanded to be distributors for other companies. If they are showing some expansion set backs with their distribution of TASCA, I am not sure. But Sprue Brothers carries other products that they are distributors for, like Fruil tracks, etc. Sprue Brothers may not want to carry the PCM line of aircraft, another LHS I go to, usually has them in stock if I need them. Stormo in Canada also carried the PCM line.
For every new LHS that opens two close their doors. Since April of 2011 one hundred stores have closed their doors for good. Do the math, LHS are quickly becoming extinct.
You can say that about many types of small businesses that require a special love of the product or skill in making it. Many LHS’s that I have seen closed are for health reasons (the medical bills shut them down) or retirement with nobody able to take over the business. In one case, the family refused the buyout offer by the employees.
Like many, I make the LHS my primary source of supplies. Ocassionally, I like to order a kit through them to give them more business, as well. If the distribution is being limited for more than supply and demand functions, then it is a sad state of affairs which will grind down the LHS’s even faster.
Saw that here too. Owner was good at managing his store, wife had health issues and he wanted to retire from being a store owner and his day job. Wife ran the store during the day. Had way too much dead inventory because he didn’t believe in discounting it to sell it off. Found a sucker, some UPS driver who wanted to own his own LHS.
Again the guy had a day job, wife who knew little if anything about the items they sold coupled with buying a store packed full of dead inventory…DEATH. So much for his retirement dream and their life’s savings.
I see the shift in interests not only in the hobby industry but also as my duties as a Park Commissioner. We see neighborhood parks who once were filled with kids playing ball seeing no traffic at all. As the kids grew the neighborhood’s demographics changed. Where a ball diamond exists now, the residents are looking for walking trails instead. Eventually the neighborhood will change again and the diamond will be once again in use.
However with a LHS, once gone they are likely gone forever. The location where they were located will be used for something else or even torn down and redeveloped unlike a park which remains where it is for the life of the community itself or the community decides that property is not serving the taxpayers needs as a park.
Of all the people who should have known better: a UPS driver, who delivered packages from Squadron and Great Models all day—guess he just figured modeling was a big hobby and didn’t tie in that most $ in the hobby is going online…
In the 1920’s there were a blizzard of “grass roots” movements across the country to fight the growing strength of the early supermarket like Piggly Wiggly because they were putting “mom and pop” shops out of business. It all failed. But it certainly set a trend. The kind of small business where a person could stay in the middle class is shrinking dramatically. It doesn’t matter if you make a profit - that’s a given or you’re broke - but what’s the margin? Look what’s happened to a real staple of Americana - the local hardware store. They’re getting steamrolled by the Home Depots of America. This hurts because someone that knows the world of tools can be absolutely invaluable when it comes to buying them. To keep costs down, it’s no longer needed to know anything about what you sell.
I have very mixed feelings about this. I know perfectly well that my “stash” would never have grown to anything like its present size if I had paid LHS prices. (There is one LHS in Berkeley with enough kits to keep me busy, although they’re irregular on supplies. Their heart is in railroads. Another one services St. Paul and is better if you can get by the Jeckel/Hyde nature of the staff.) If I buy a kit from Sprue on sale or ScaleHobbyist at any time, I can expect to pay half what I would at the LHS with the lack of sales tax compensating for shipping. And I like my stash: there’s a simple Scrooge-like joy that comes from gazing at the stash and wondering how you’re going to attack the various kits whether you do or not. But will I ever finish it? That’s up to Divine Providence, but overall I’d guess I’ve lost money by saving money. And, I’d guess that I could have gotten along just fine with Tamiya and MM paints, especially as so much of my painting energy is being drawn to the art store with those lovely colors, low cost and no solvents baring airbrush cleaner.
But, let’s face it, all of the woes of the LHS have been made much greater by the 21st century’s “Idiot Box” - the PC. Consumption has become so easy and selection so great that two factors that might slow spending are elminated. (The economic impact of this dynamic should be obvious - and it’s not good when you consider that personal debt dwarfs national debts.) The various social networking faciliites (mine started with Listserv in the 1990s has continued on to the modeling boards now) have had the perverse effect of killing magazines, newspapers and sending book sales into a downward spiral. Odd that high technology would work to make an entire culture stupid. But models are cheap. And where would we get WingNut?
Within a 15 mi radius, we have two really good hardware stores. One is a Ace franchise, the other is a family owned independent. Both are full of friendly and knowledgeable people and all the offbeat hard to find items you won’t find in the big box stores. I shop at these local stores whenever possible.
Most of the time, you can shoot a cannon down any aisle of the big box stores without hitting any employees…
I told GARY that if he enlarged the shop I would supply the coffeemakers for a share of the coffee profits , OH and don,t forgetthe hot tub and the babes ! he declined .Well ,I tried .REALLY, GARY is tops in my book and he is very responsive to his customers wants and needs Yes ,he does need more room .Other than that , when I am going south its HILL COUNTRY HOBBIES and when I go north it,s KINGS . two of the greatest hobby shops in TEXAS !!! tankerbuilder
