The killer is in the name - Local. These days there probably isn't the density of railroad modellers to support an MR specialist "LHS" (meaning one in every town). Obviously those that live near the Caboose or other 'big' store have an LHS, but they are the exception. It's the same in the UK. However, it doesn't concern me unduly. I can get my major stuff by mail order or from the traders that come to my local NMRA meets. I can get glue, paint, plastic and most other basic materials from the hobby stores (planes, cars, boats) that are near me. I get the other specialist stuff, like scenic materials from train shows or mail order. Times have changed. As others have said, the LHS, like so many small businesses, will either disappear or change into something that can survive.
I've never done this. Effort expended in that fashion, trying to save a few bucks, is too often unrewarded. Also, businesses depend upon this aspect of sales. See it, buy it. It's known as an impulse purchase. I'll continue to check with my LHS first. Especially as human interaction is a valuable part of the hobby. But must buy where I can get my requirements, as they are needed. And stretch the dollars. Boxcab E50
Joe,With all due respect I must disagree don't mean to offend or seem argumentative but,would like to continue this discussion...A shop can survive if the owner is savvy enough to be competitive in prices.The majority of today's modelers will not pay full MRSP thanks to mail order,Internet shops and E-bay.The hobby shop owner must realize he is facing stiff competition and must adjust accordingly. One of the hard lesions I leaned from being a part time Train Show dealer was to be price competitive with the other dealers..The first show I attended as a dealer I barely broke even with the table rent and lost money as far as gas to get there and lunch.It was a eye opener..The next show I drop my prices another 10% and made a tidy profit at 30% off.. Now what killed my adventure as a Train Show dealer was the lack of a store front after Horizon bought Athearn..You see Athearn accounted for 60% of my sales then Atlas,P2K and then Kato..To be fair my P2K sales wasn't the best because of the crack gear issues but they sold well for awhile then I ended up dumping the last 15 at or in some cases below wholesale. Wholesalers plays money games as well..The more you buy with cash the more they smile and give you a larger cash discount.The bigger fish with mega bucks get prime choice while smaller cash starved hobby shops get the left overs or less then their pre orders for their customers! Sound unreal? Its not. The hobby shop where I worked part time for 6 years would order CASES of locomotives and cars ,get the bigger fish cash discount and my boss would sell them for 15% mark up and would be sold out in one or two months. On the other hand I know shops where you can still find a lot of limited run locomotives and cars at full price..These engines and cars sit there covered with dust..Yet modelers complain about hard to find limited run engines and cars..Why? I think we all know that answer. Indeed how can these shops stay open? After all who really wants to pay $99.00 for a engine when they know they can buy at it $64.00? Or a $139.00 engine for $99.00? So it may be mathematical after all and woe to the full price hobby shop owner that stays the course of the old ways. I agree we need local hobby shops BUT the owner must realize he needs us more then we need him. As a comparision..I went to a shop to get some odds and ends..I walked out with less then 70% of the items I needed..All to sadly my on line orders for items I need such as figures,vehicles,structures,paint and other like items I get a 100% order fill rate at 30 or more percent discount..Sad isn't it? Joe,I just don't know how the hobby shops of tomorrow is going to survive if they continue to do business the old way..Unless of course 2 famous wholesalers buy out the manufacturers..Heaven forbid!
