Another LHS goes out of business

The little hobby shop down the street from me is closing its doors. The majority of their stock was HO and Lionel, however they did have some N scale items. Today was 50% off everything, so I was able to load up on paint and other goodies to include some instructional books, 6 cars, and other building supplies. I'd like to go back and get more, but I think my wife would kill me. Now I have to drive 40 minutes to go to a hobby shop that actually has trains and floquil paints.

 

so sad that is happening. soon we will all pay high shipping prices to support our own hobbies via online retailers.

 

Yes it's sad to see the local shops go under....but unfortunately it's a downhill spiral. For my local shop, as long as I wait till I have several items to order, even with the shipping, I save 20 to 30% over the LHS prices, so unless it's something I need NOW, I don't even go in....I think it's been over a year since I went into the local shop. Which of course means even less business for him, which means he can afford even less to discount items, which means I'm even less likely to go in, and around and around it goes. Another dealer that's a few towns over (150 miles) gives me a nice discount on items, so whenever I get over there I go in and buy things. But few local shops can afford to give the discounts to be competitive with the online stores.

 

Point taken on the discounts. But speaking as a locale that lost its local shop. I miss it. I miss the social aspects, positive and negative. I miss being able to drop in and pick up the odd bottle of paint or specialized glue or styrene. I miss exploring the "other hobby worlds" for items that might work in the "train world". I miss seeing that odd item come in, secretly saving for a few weeks to get it, and then finding it gone - saying "ah well, it was not meant to be." Or coversely, recalling that item in the shop that I never needed - but have now got a critical need for, knowing that I have one I can get to. I miss the stacks of old magazines, the stacks of train pictures and other railroadiana. I miss seeing what is new in the other scales. I miss being able to test run that loco, or examine that passenger/freight car out of the box.

Now, all thats left are "big box" craft/art/hobby stores. That do have SOME general things. But not much.

Thank goodness for the local train shows!

Yes, I buy a lot online. But there are things I will miss.

 

I hate to see any hobby shop close. Most do the result of something that went wrong internally. Here's my three cents...inflation. ???? And in a recession to boot.

Regarding my closest LHS. It takes me an hour one way to get to there, it's still cheaper to pay shipping then it is to pay for gas and meals for the day. The prices are friendlier in places like Albuquergue, Baltimore, Texas, Florida, New York State and etc.

I just got a interesting e-mail with a sale on a bunch of N scale equipment and scenery goodies.

All I can say is: Hobby Shops need to wise up and go on line. Don't expect sales from the local clientele. Be sure you are in a state where you can ship out of state without adding the local and state taxes. Keep the prices friendly. Watch the volume of sales go up. Let's hope they don't change the tax codes. Seems to me the spending at the Gov't level would more then pay for my hobby expenses. Grin!

Just something to think about.

 

Exactly why did the shop close? Was it retirement? Owner in fading health? Family health problems? Poor customer service? Lost of lease? Hard to deal with? Divorce settlement?

Feel free to fill in the blanks so we will have the whole story instead of another LHS closed without any reason given..

 

totally agree with rick, LHSs need to wise up indeed and go online which will also support operations in a physical store too. thats what featherrivertrains does (TB advertiser too!). his store is amazing also.

 

I live in northeast PA. The closest hobby store is 1 hour away. I had to go there today to buy something that I had to have today. I needed a new turnout to replace the that broke. One reason that I buy online is that this store has everything you could want but charges about 10% over list. I paid $17 for a #5 Atlas c55 turnout. I will continue to buy online.

 

The owner is an older gentleman and he is finally calling it quits. It is a mom and pop shop that was previously a TV repair shop (yes they could be repaired at one time). They had a good selection if you were a HO modeler, not so much for N. It is one of those cases where there was no one to pick up the torch.

 

List, according to Atlas is $17.35. If you also paid sales tax of, say 8%, then you actually paid $15.75 to the LHS and the rest to whatever the tax collecting entity is.

I use a mix of online shops and my LHS. I have a really good LHS that I use and I appreciate not having to pay $5 to get a turnout shipped to me.

 

Thanks for giving the reason for the shops closure.

The reason I ask is so many of the LHS closed topics kicks off a round of doom and gloom comments without anybody knowing the reason why the shop closed.

BTW..I recall the fixable TVs and the tube testers that could be found in drug stores.

 

If one does their homework, I think it would likely be found that hobby shops are rarely money makers. Even opening an on-line store would be a risky endeavor, as too many well established on-line stores already exist.

Opening a local hobby store these days, or even taking over one, is very risky. Unless one finds a special circumstance (like a local strong market), I can't see where it would make much business sense.

 

I am sorry ot say most retailers are small thinkers .. I recently took a trip out of state and visited 3 different train / lhs shops .. Not one offered a sale duringtheir slow periods of Summer .. I would guess 70 -80% of business is done the "winter months of Nov/Dec/ Jan .. They need to involve and invite purchases during their off season.. A second problem I find is that prices truly are ridiculous and forbidding for teenagers to get into the hobby ... Of course there are train sets for 4 50 -100 dollars and they are reasonable. But as an example a plastic building kit with two ounces of plastic retails for $ 20 -25 .00 . Plaster kits are also $ 30 or so... RR Cars run $5 / $10 / $ 20 or more - ridicuous ! Trus cost in CHina is probably $ 1.00 _ I know molds cost as well as liscense fee's ....

 

Hey guys, don't foget that yopu can do both. If your LHS doesn't have it, but Wal;thers does, you can order it through Walthers and ship it there. That should put money in both pockets, as I understand that system

 

hi acme_mktg, welcome to TrainBoard!

Please take a moment to post an introduction of yourself in the member introductions area.

 

You're right about a couple of things-many hobby retailers are small thinkers. As an example, I stopped into a hobby shop in mid MI while chasing the steam excursions from Trainfestival 2009. I suspect that the retailer could have sold several models each of PM1225, NKP 765, and SP 4449 and probably numerous passenger cars to the railfans who flocked into downtown during the layovers, but he did not have one of these items in stock. As for the items coming in from China, you're right about them, too. The greed of importers keeps consumers from reaping the benefit of truly low prices, destroying American jobs at the same time. As far as the plaster kits are concerned, I suspect they are all or nearly all made in the U.S. or Canada and are a low volume item, so the price is probably fair.

 

Risky business indeed. After many years of LHSs closing around here, a much-touted new place opened up a few months ago. I thought, "Great! I'll throw as much biz his way as I can, instead of ordering online." Walked in and saw an extremely limited inventory. And the prices were higher than other places farther away but still within not-too-bad driving time. It wasn't even worth the gas to drive over there aside from a good Italian restaurant just down the street.

Unless he's selling on the Net, I give the guy 6 months to a year before he folds. Just sayin'...

 

This situation is reflective of a major and highly valuable aspect of the hobby that is rapidly vanishing. As someone with decades in the hobby, I can tell you that the disappearance of model railroad hobbyshops throughout the nation increasingly results in large part for the diminishing of interest in our hobby overall, particularly among those who are just starting out, or who potentially might have become interested in it down the road.

Those of us well established in the hobby find it far cheaper and relative easy to make our purchases on-line. However, exposure is/was always the name of the game in generating new membership and it was the local hobby shop that usually was the source. Getting to talk with other hobbyists on-line may be fun for many of us, but it can never replace a face-to-face bull session with a group of hobbyist at the LHS on Saturday morning, in spite of what some today's Internet hobbyist may claim.

A basic reason for the LHS failing that I've witnessed is not poor managership, bad location, or the rise of the Internet directly. I live in a semi-suburban area that was once a hotbed of model railroading. We boasted up to 5 model railroad hobbyshops at one time within 30 minutes drive, including what was for a time the largest walk-in and mailorder establishment in the nation (back in the 70's). There are now zero shops and I have to drive almost 1 hour to get to the one and only remaining all model railroad hobbyshop within 50-60 miles! Many of the shops failed within just the past 10 years, as the pricing of items became increasingly ridiculous. When the last shop in my area closed, it was as a result of them being unable to maintain any extensive stock of the latest items. The investment would be truly enormous to keep this shop in business today and I cannot imagine how the smaller shop I deal with currently is staying in business. The owner does admit that when he reaches retirement age, quite soon, he too will close his doors because the walk-in trade is dying out because of prices.

The hobby of model railroading honestly hasn't been mainstream in decades and I don't see how it will continue much beyond 2025 with the trends I've witnessed evolving over the past dozen years, especially as regards to pricing, other than perhaps as a small, high-end, largely collectors group, as is the brass hobby currently. It is simply impossible to grow, or even maintain, a hobby among average Joe's when its costs escalate by 15%-20% per year and salaries remain level, or decline. In fact, with a favored elite demanding and purchasing more and more detailed, RTR, limited run models that the manufacturers willingly offer at increasingly astronomical prices, we have become the hobby's and our own worst enemy.

NYW&B

 

There is a shop here in the Seattle area that I go to from time to time as they have a wide selection. However, I need to watch the prices as most of the time they are full blown retail if not more. They have a Life Like NP GP 18 from the first run with the spring drive shaft that has a $85 price tag on it! YIKES! I asked why so much? Their repsonse.......well that is what a new GP 18 sells for these days. I remember when you could buy them new for $20 back in the mid 90s when they came out. I think you can pick these up now for $10-$15 at swap meets.

I know one sucker that wont pay $85 for it!