beginning to not like my local hobby shop anymore

I hope this would go here.

On thursday the 13th, my girlfriend and I went up to our local hobby shop to see if they had any kato unitrack switches for my layout. Well they didnt.

anywho, with time to kill, I had a look around (as she did the same), I saw a scratched up 1/32 scale mack tanker truck that was on sale (save 10%). I thought what the heck, they didnt have switches so I bought the tanker.

Well having a last look around, I found an atlas signal tower. I picked it up cause I need a new one for my layout. Got rung up and when I was told the total i just about shi*. For 2 things that total was like $26.and some change.

When asked about the signal tower, I was told 12.27 plus tax. The tanker was 12.50.

I was like "say what" thinking they rung upp the tower twice (they didnt), well needless to say I was more of an unhappy camper when I left.

sorry for cap locking this but:
13.00 FOR A TENNY TINY SIGNAL TOWER IS OUTRAGEOUS". Last time i went there everything was 40% less than the regular price from the manufacturer.......now it seems its 40% MORE than the manufacturer retail price.

looked up the same item on atlas website (knew it would be cheaper.......wrong it was 19.00)

now I know I wanna sell my train stuff and stick to my model builds

 

Be thankful you have a hobby shop. I live in Northern Virginia. Suburbs in the capital of the free world. All the hobby shops that specialize in trains, especially scale trains, have closed.

It is hard to get used to. If I want ANYTHING of significance I have to order it online, or from Walthers. I can deal w/ kits, engines, etc getting them by mail order etc. But what really hurts is when I NEED say extra #79 drill bits... TODAY. Or say some KD #5's or 58's. I have to wait.

The upside is Baltimore is only a 75 minute drive from my house. I used to go to the "Great Scale Model Train Show" once a year in February. NOW, I have an excuse (and reason) to go every three months that it is held. Its THE ONLY place I can go "browse" real, scale train stock, tools, etc.

I don't know about the rest of the country, but local train stores are really drying up in Virginia.

 

Try paying 8 dollars for a set of two tiny plastic porta-poddies. That's what I did. But most of this stuff just looks so cool, how can you resist?!

 

I regularly ask how much something is at the LHS when it's not clearly labeled. They expect it from me, now, and often the guys who work there just tell me as they fish something out of a back shelf for me to look at.

Oh, boy, I would hate to not have my LHS. I love being able to pick something up, look at it, turn it over, feel its weight in my hand, and check out little details such as whether it has couplers that look good or whether it appears in good shape. To me that is worth it, and most of my runs are low budget enough that to pay shipping on top of that would erase all possible "savings" I might get online.

My local hobby shop will order things they don't have for me and then I can piggy back on their order to Walthers or whatever and not pay shipping. I have been having problems lately with mail order, so this is nice. One order I placed in mid-July was ignored until the end of July (when I brought it up) and then the order either was not sent or got lost. I called them up again two weeks later and they sent me a "duplicate" of the order, though I am not sure the first really went out.

Then I ordered a book recently off Alibris, an out of print book I have been looking for, and nothing happened nothing happened nothing happened, so I contacted them and the guy offered to send me my money minus the shipping and I called bull-dirt on that and wrote back and said full amount or nothing, or dig up one of your other copies. He found another copy, and he turned out to be in my same town so I went to his shop and picked it up and he apologized and we actually got along pretty well after that, but still.

Also, we don't have sales tax in Oregon so that is a non-issue.

Adam

 

I couldn't imagine not having a local hobby shop. I'll admit most of the time I just go there to look around and end up staring at the high end locos in the glass case wishing I could take them all home with me. But it's also the source for model railroading necessaties like track, couplings, scenery supplies, etc. It's also nice to walk out of the store with a freight car that you didn't plan on buying, but did buy because it looked so cool in the box.

I guess I am pretty lucky. There are about 5 hobby stores around me, probaly more, but only two of them have sufficient HO products. Plus there are on average at least one train show a month, usually more during the winter.

 

I guess I'm REAL lucky, I've got THREE good hobby shops in the area. One is an "all-round" hobby shop with trains, planes, and automobiles. The other two are just trains, one is a classic trains repair shop that also buys estates and collections, and the other started out as a O & G gauge shop, but lately has been finding out that N-Scale will sell also(YES!).
Have found out that SCALE REPRODUCTIONS, In LOUISVILLE KY will beat or at least meet most online train stores in price. Plus you can look at the items, pick 'em up and get special orders also.
If you are in or going through LOUISVILLE stop by SCALE REPRODUCTIONS. You won't be disappointed with service and price.

 

I tryed to look for that scale repoductions one time but I cant find it.

 

I like having the local hobby shop especially being new to the hobby... the guys that work there are a wealth of information. One shop just deals with trains and they are willing to order anything train related. The other two big shops are overall hobby shops but both have a good selection for the model railroad. I just wish there were more train shows in the area... if memory serves me correct I think we only have one show... I don't know whether to call it big or small cuz I have nothing to compare it too.

 

I only go to a LHS (there are several in my county, and I went to the one that discounts. It is also a huge place) when there is a "must have right now" item and I am willing to spend the spread without shipping costs. It happened this Saturday. I needed a few packages of Code 55 sectional track. I did not have the Atlas catalogue prices and asked what the discount percentage was off the Atlas MSRP. Response- I don't know, the price is in the machine already. I asked for the price and for them to show me an Atlas catalogue. I can do the math myself. Astoundingly, there was not one available. I limited my purchase to one package of six pieces of sectional curved track. When I returned home and looked on line, the "discount" was a shade over 5%.
Now, for the general cost of items. It is what it is. A lot of discretionary income needs to be available to get everything you want. Otherwise, we need to do without or purchase items slowly, as we have enough money to do so. Personally, I want a large, unobtrusive, heated and air conditioned shed in a backyard with running water and electricity. It should be ideally 40x100. I would need a new home on a larger piece of land (and a new wife) for that to happen.

 

I have two good hobby shops within 3 miles of my apartment, so I consider myself fortunate. I try to shop there and get what I need, but I also scout as many internet stores and ebay as much as possible in search of that special bargain.

If I find somethign at the store I like, I'll usually look it up online before I buy to besure Im getting a good deal.

 

No LHS

Since the hobby shop in Longview closed down there is nothing local. A trip to the model RR shop is 75 miles one way. With gas at almost $3 per gallon and using about 6 gallons for the round trip just the drive is about $20. I usually dial the phone to one of the three shops I patronize and have them mail the order to me. The shipping is less than the cost of driving to get something. I have a good relationship with the shops and they send the order with a bill enclosed. When the order arrives I mail a check to the shop.
As always shopping in Oregon is tax free.

 

Fotheringill,

I'm with you, except that it is my wife who wants me & my trains out in the shed. I told her I'd love to go but all that heat & humidity down here in Miami would destroy everything. I don't have AC in my shed or I would seriously consider it. Even at 8x10 I could put together a fairly nice layout I think. Perhaps double decked who knows but then I'd have to put all the lawn tools & junk in the Florida room. Itsa trade off ya know. I guess she's looking at my trains as the lesser of 2 evils.

 

I am not quite sure what the exact beef with the LHS is, then. Thirteen dollars is 32% off nineteen dollars MSRP.

Now, if you want to talk about how EXPEN$IVE some of these things are in this hobby I think that is a topic worthy of tackling. That's something larger than your LHS and gets into several issues larger than the hobby itself, such as the fact that the US dollar has been falling against the Euro and the Pound for years.

Just a thought.