Yep, that's the place. Between the huge dog running around and the chainsmoking owner, it was quite the shopping experience. -Mark
Seems to me that the dog brought a gooey ball for you to throw when you walked in. It was about 120 degrees in the house when I went. Didn't stay long. Love to find places like that.
I wish they were polite at SMS, I can't count how many times I have heard them say in the snotty voice "We don't do that here." when someone new asks about a price deduction. It is a pretty standard line for them and a couple of the employees seem to find joy in belittling those who ask.
Some folks interpret literally the term Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. Others consider it as etched in stone. Negotiation is simply the means of finding an intermediate value point at which the shop owner would rather have your money more than he would rather hold onto his merchandise - and vice versa.
Sometimes it takes a while, eventually such behavior will come full circle and kick them in the posterior.
It's possible requests for a discount are perceived as insults and that's why they're met with curt responses. It's also possible they're trying to weed out customers they don't really want. A shop I worked at years ago stopped doing coupon oil changes because our first hand market results indicated the only thing coupons got us was coupon customers. We wanted full service customers who were interested in having their cars repaired correctly by professionals, and were willing to pay for it. As soon as we stopped catering to the bottom of the market, we started building our reputation as being serious about our work. "Yea I've heard of that place. They're the most expensive shop in town, but they fix it right and that's worth something" Sound familiar? Like earlier in this thread when SMS was recommended as "Yea, it's expensive, but they have all kinds of unusual stuff there and that's worth something"? Then again it's possible they're just jerks. I imagine since this is a message board, jerk is probably the position most are going to imply.
Has anyone been to Becker's? They have a presence at the swap meets with a decent variety of N stuff with a bit of a discount, apparently they also have a retail location in the North Metro. HobbyTown USA in Oakdale had a handful of mostly entry-level N scale items, but was having a firesale on Kato Unitrack when I was there a few months ago - not sure if they were getting rid of the product line or what, but the prices were lower than what I had seen anywhere, including the big websites. Had a few aisles of train stuff in other scales. Hub in Richfield is a pretty pleasant experience for the whole family; it's a nice, bright store, lots of toys and other hobby lines too; not as thrilled by their location in Little Canada. Got a discount at Scale Model Supplies after discovering they had printed one of my photos and hung it above the urinals without permission or credit, but, suspect that's fairly difficult to repeat... they have an amazing selection of stuff though, including a 1:400 die-cast aircraft that I couldn't find anywhere online. The light rail line there won't be open until Summer of 2014. There's also a guy somewhere in the South Metro (Burnsville/Savage/Shakopee, I think?) that was working on getting a retail store for his N scale stuff - spoke to him at the Eagan show a while ago but don't recall specifics.
I used to stop by Becker's every once in a while to pick up a decoder, but it's been a few years since I last visited. IIRC, the store was about 99% HO. -Mark
I've never been to Becker's. The guy on the south side is Mac Loco Works. He will order darn near anything for you, and he carries some lesser know decoder lines. He was working out of his house, but he may have a store by now. He was thinning down his N Scale inventory. Great guy to work with, here's his web site: http://www.maclocoworks.com/
Requests for discounts shouldn’t be perceived as personal insults – it’s just business.If they’re in a financial position that lets them pick and choose their customers, that’s great – not many businesses can afford that luxury. Maybe that business model suits them. However, you wonder whether they’ve ever given any thought to the possibility that, by offering discounts, they might significantly increases sales volume and thus make more money. Perhaps they should discount only mainstream merchandise but still sell the “unusual stuff” they know no one else stocks at full price. Thus they could potentially capture all the business of those customers who shop there just for the “unusual stuff” and elsewhere for the more readily available items that other retailers sell for less. Regarding the auto repair business, discount oil change coupons are one means of attracting new customers. Not everyone is willing to come into your shop the very first time for a major repair. Although some will always seek the lowest price, failure to convert new customers to regulars speaks to an inability to educate those customers about the particular strengths of that shop. If the shop was truly confident in their ability to fix it right the first time, did they offer a longer warranty on their work than other shops? That’s one way to distinguish yourself from the competition at virtually no added cost.
This is the last I have to say on the matter of discount pricing, as it deviates tremendously from the OP's question and it's clear that most disagree with my view and won't be convinced otherwise. It is common for people to believe that a business must bend down and kiss the ass of their customers. The customer is not always right, and it's ok to say so. Your assessment of coupons is one that is common among shop owners who are struggling to identify their customers, and shop that uses warranty as a marketing tool is one lacks self confidence that competence will speak for itself. Spookshow.... That was classic!
This statement seems to say that a shop should not stand behind its work? Why would the public want to do business with a firm that does not have the confidence to warrant their work?
I don't have personal knowledge of LHS MSRP pricing in general - but it does seem like most hobby shops are right up there though. A few years ago, I was getting ready to build a layout for and through where I work. I asked the owner of my LHS if he could give a discount on supplies, figuring it was worth asking - I would have understood if he explained he wasn't able to do that. But, he offered me 20% off and was glad to do it - I bought I 'significant' amount of supplies from him that otherwise would have been sourced from online suppliers. I was also a happy camper too, and because of that, I continue to give him my business whenever I can - he already gives model railroad club members 10% off. To be fair it's not a coupon, just simple business negotiation. Perhaps more hobby shop owners should give that a try? Might save some bricks and mortar.
Ahh yes, the N Shop, purchased my first N scale equipment there, the owner was a chain smoker, but almost always had an interesting story to tell. I also remember Woodcraft Hobby store on Lake street, had that bell attached to the door that would ring whenever anyone came in or out, kind of a simple charm that tends to be lost today. Other lost hobby stores in Mpls/StPaul area - Hobby Depot in The Richfield area, University Hobbies in Spring Lake Park (the owner once told me he purchased what was left of Gager's Hobby store before starting his business), anyone remember Jolly's Hobbies and Toys located in Apache Plaza?
Growing up in Richfield, I spent lots of time over at Gager's / Southdale and Jolly's / Southtown (time being about all I could afford to spend). There also was a model train shop located relatively nearby where I bought some American Flyer stuff back in the early 70's. Can't remember the name, though. Maybe that was Hobby Depot? I also remember when Hub Hobby actually was located at The Hub shopping center. -Mark
I live by the mantra (and book of the same name) that Everything is Negotiable. Maybe all of life is a negotiation, including getting your kids to do what you think they should do, picking a restaurant with the wife (I don't care...you pick.....) So, in my original post I said I asked, they refused. I have never had anyone at SMS be impolite, though. I will agree with the poster who says that in general discounts don't buy customer loyalty. The discount customer just buys the next item from the on line or LHS dealer who has the special on the item they need to buy at that time. At the same time, it also seems to me that times in general force more discount shopping by all of us, especially in discretionary spending. Even large name brands are feeling the pinch to store line generic brands. Seems to make sense that hobbies would be similar. Although, we are hooked on quality of Atlas, Kato, etc., so the only way to lower price is on the retail side. I don't know too many of us buying Life Like or Bachman just to save a few $$ on locos, or even Trainman, etc. We seem to prefer better, and if cost is a problem, discounted or dare I say it.....fewer of any one item than we would really like! Short version, I don't know where the hobby market stands, but we all know we can get stuff on line at 20-30% off, and at least my perception is that this is the going market rate for even the good stuff. As always, I could be wrong. And, back on topic, I still recommend a stop at SMS. I nearly always buy something there, whether book, magazine, or hard to find item, for which I gladly pay full price. I rarely buy the generic stuff there at full price, although at least some of that is because I am traveling, need to consider suitcase room, airport security, and the like. Not to mention, if its an easily available item, I prefer to get home and support my own LHS. What to pay and where to buy are influenced by a lot of factors, I think, for all of us.
That's what I do in general while traveling-- look for stuff I don't usually see anywhere else. In the case of SMS a few trips ago, it was a few Roco cars based on the old Atlas First Generation bodies. (And do I have them on the A1G website yet? Don't ask!) Space available in the luggage is a key consideration, especially given bag fees and charges for overweight luggage.
And probably fewer questions asked by security about the trains in your suitcase. I recall two instances of buying stuff on the road, one from another shop in MSP. Luckily, it was a built up Miller sign, and since there was on metal, they let it through. At O'Hare one year, I bought some custom painted locos from the old shop in Bensenville and they went through the screener a couple of times, got taken out and the security guys yell loudly, "No problem here....they are just some model trains!"
