I'm now a confirmed customer of on-line stores. The last LHS in Cedar Rapids (once there were three) is letting its N stock dwindle to next to nothing. There's more HO, O. Gone or nearly gone are DPM and other kits, almost all N supplies and anything else that's N. I wasn't a major customer because the LHS didn't carry much of the N stuff that I needed. HO and O have long been kings of the model rails here and have finally shoved N almost out of sight. There's no model RR clubs of any kind in the metro area, and I've met only four N-scalers (they don't get together). In a metro area of 200,000, one should expect more than one LHS that caters to N as well as other scales, but that's not the case. The LHS makes most of its money from Lionel and model aircraft, cars, war models and ships. These modelers have clubs; rail modelers don't. There used to be N and HO clubs years ago but they're gone.I favored supporting the local LHS but not anymore. Now I'm looking for good on-line sellers whose prices are lower and stock much larger.
Check out some of the advertisements on the top of the pages here. A few I can personally speak well of... BLW, Fifer Hobby, woo woo woo, N Scale Supply
Market forces in a weak economy, I suspect. If there are few N-scalers in your area, then the shop won't make much. Inventory is expensive. The sales must justify the inventory cost, or the shop loses money. My own LHS has a bit of N, a bit of O and mostly HO. Since I'm in HO, that's fine. Another shop a bit further away is mostly N, and a third (even further) is exclusively N. In an ideal world, there would be many more modelers, and any shop could survive anywhere in any scale. It's not an ideal world. Be grateful for what you have. See if the shop will order N stuff for you. My LHS will order anything for me from Walthers. I get the Walthers sale price, or the "standard discount" of 10 or 15%, whichever is better. I pay sales tax, but no shipping. Works for me, and I support my LHS.
Local Hobby shops are really in a world of hurt these days. With the pressure all the online options and the lousy economy it's difficult. Plus the fact that model trains is an elective buying decision the LHS with the big overhead are starting to pack it in. Sad.
I understand the frustration with your LHS - but the above comment about your LHS possibly ordering what you want is worth checking into. My LHS will order anything from the Walthers catalog - no shipping - and 10% off. Granted you may have to wait a few days but not a bad deal - you'll have to wait a few days if you order online anyway, plus add the cost of shipping.
I feel your pain, my local shop has cut WAY back on N-scale stock. The owner claims it's the bad economy and that N-scale sales are dropping everywhere. Funny, the shelves are full of HO stuff that been there for more than a year and no mention of how that stuff isn't selling. Go figure!
The so called LHS is a few miles away. He has very limited stock of N scale and charges full retail. 99.9% of my purchases have been through the online dealers or ebay. The one shop gave up trains completely just sells models and war games.
sorry to hear that. To bad you are 3 hours away from monroe WI, the local hobby shop(The hobby depot) has alot of n scale stuff. The owner use to exhibit a large n scale layout at shows years ago. He has more n scale stuff than i have ever seen at any of the hobby shops i have visited.
War games? Wow, that's pretty 80's right there (I thought). Some weird a$$ people playing those games. I once went into a war game store and there were a bunch of guys dressed in Nazi unis playing. I snuck out without saying a word.
I remember a number of those hobby shops over the years. The current situation is almost certainly driven by sales. And I think that it is probably a good thing that the last hobby shop moved from downtown before the floods of 2008. Otherwise we would probably have no hobby shops at all here.
I feel your pain. I had a retail hobby shop and it is very hard to stay open even in a good economy. Being into hobbies since the age of four , I also miss the days of roaming through a hobby shop and the local contests and all those beautiful aircraft hanging from the ceilings and maybe even the slot car track. Oh the memories! The Net has all but done away with the LHS. Times have changed and not always for the better. Whatever became of the Service Station? Oh the memories!! :tb-sad:
Hmm. And you've never seen a railway modeller dressed like an engineer or conductor? ... A couple of years ago my then boss and I went on a business trip. With time to kill we were chatting and my railroad interests came up. Eventually he admitted to me that he did wargaming most weeks - but I had to promise not to tell anyone in the office that. I don't think he did the dressing the part bit, but he didn't actually say, so who knows
We had a large LHS here and it was wonderful. Any type of trains or kits he had and if not would order. He was left enough money that he could have a train shop as a hobby. I think the inventory was his hobby. LOL Due to health he was forced to close. The family finely got him to have an auction after a few years of selling on ebay etc... What a two day auction. That was several years ago and his daughter said he is not doing well at all. For those in N. That was his favorite and his daughter told me he could not put any N or his two large layouts in N on that sale. She said, when he passes they will have another auction. Sad end to a LHS and hobbiest.
All these posts make me realize how lucky we are inthe Charleston area to have a great LHS. They have two stores located about 15 minutes apart - I don't know how they do it but they do. I model HO but I have always thought their N scale inventory to be pretty substantial. Both stores also have about 50% of their floorspace dedicated to craft/art supplies, so that probably helps out with their ability to maintain. On the other hand, there is a LHS in downtown Charleston that was - in my childhood - an absolute mecca for model railroading. When I returned to the hobby a year ago, I returned to that store, only to be shocked at its downfall. Turns out the owner had passed away and although his family was trying, they just could not keep it going like he did. They also have a roughly 50% split between hobby and crafts, but the hobby side is neglected now. Very sad. I undersatnd the lure of online stores - they flourish for many of the reasons that WalMart is - but there is nothing to compare to walking into a LHS that is well-maintained and browsing in the "candy store". One of my happy places.
I guess I'm lucky in that I live about 50 miles away from Challenger N Scale in Tulsa. All N scale, all the time. The other hobby shop in town pushes r/c cars & planes much more than model trains.
Always makes me laugh when people with one geeky hobby make fun of another geeky hobby. Pot, meet kettle. To anybody outside the hobby, "operating" is "playing choo choos," and trying to explain your elaborate car-order system and staging tracks isn't going to convince them otherwise. For what it's worth, I'm guilty of both pleasures, but I don't dress up for either of them. But I have a closet* full of unbuilt train kits and Avalon Hill / SPI games.
About a mile or two past my LHS is a gaming shop called Three Trolls. I've gone in occasionally to look for "gift games," little toy things like those twisty metal puzzles. They also have a rack of Woodland Scenics stuff, which I guess is for guys who like to build green, verdant battlefields. In the front of the store is a "layout." It's a square table, about 8 feet on a side. When I saw it, it was configured for naval battles, so it was mostly flat blue with a few islands. Not very exciting, but you know, some guys are just into operations and they're not too concerned about scenery.