Buying online or brick and morter stores

[gtx6970]

Ok,

Been thinking about this for weeks . And am curious what the masses do . For me I tend to buy local or at shows.

I realized a few years back and the older Ive become,,,  that if I have to buy online I usually just do without. The one except to this is are vintage kits / annuals I need ( ok WANT)  to add to my want list and said list has gotten quite small the past few years.   Plus 99% of the time I build box stock anyway so the majority of  the items i do  buy are simply decals.

Plus add to the fact  my stash is well beyond my capable build plans to get them all done before I'm sniffing dirt so my buying has become extremely selective.

That said I did purchase a couple vintage builder kits this week .( both eBay buys )  So Im not quite ready to quit buying just yet.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I do both, depending greatly on urgency & availability.

If I need something yesterday, & I can get it locally, I will.

But I lean towards buying on line.

There are many items that I either can't get locally, or I would have to run to several different places to get what I need.

I refuse to spend an entire afternoon running from place to place only to find that they are out of the important Item that I needed most!

I can place an order on line & know that it will be on my doorstep in a few days.

But, I'm like you Bill.

Outside of a few supplies like foil & some paint, I don't buy a lot of new kits, or PE and resin parts, etc.

95% of what I buy on line is either vintage parts & kits on ebay & paint from MCW.

 

Steve

[Snake45]

I prefer to buy locally, for cash. This is especially true of paints and other common supplies. These are a PITA to have to buy online. 

For new kits, I buy what I can at HL or Michaels (sometimes AC Moore) with 40% (or more) off coupons. I also buy a few complete kits at the local monthly toy show, in addition to cool, rescue-able glue bombs. There is no LHS in my town anymore. The closest is about 40 minutes away (each way).

I'll buy kits online only as a last resort. When I do, I go to Model Roundup. Always had great service from them. 

[High octane]

I do my  best to support my local hobby shop as it would be a SAD day if they ever closed their doors for good.

[gtx6970]

4 minutes ago, High octane said:

I do my  best to support my local hobby shop as it would be a SAD day if they ever closed their doors for good.

Same here. I'm lucky enough I have 2 mom-pop places within a 15 / 20 minute drive. And will do my best to support them when the need arises . But even the its usually just  paint or the rare occasion some new kit I cant live without. its rare I even go in the local Hobby Lobby anymore.

Edited March 10, 2018 by gtx6970

[iamsuperdan]

I do both. I'd rather buy in person, but Edmonton has one hobby store, and it's a PITA to get to, as it's on the opposite side of the city from where I work.

When there was a hobby store a few minutes from work, I did most of my buying there, with very little online shopping. 

[Rob Hall]

Pretty much online only...don't seem to have any good hobby shops close by.   

[Ace-Garageguy]

55 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I do both, depending greatly on urgency & availability.

If I need something yesterday, & I can get it locally, I will.

But I lean towards buying on line.

There are many items that I either can't get locally, or I would have to run to several different places to get what I need.

I refuse to spend an entire afternoon running from place to place only to find that they are out of the important Item that I needed most!

I can place an order on line & know that it will be on my doorstep in a few days.

...

95% of what I buy on line is either vintage parts & kits on ebay & paint from MCW.

Ditto. Most kits I buy are old vintage, unavailable except online.

When I DO infrequently buy a current or recent kit, I'll usually go to HobbyTown nearby, as it's the closest thing we've got to a real hobby shop. Their prices are competitive with what I'd pay online plus shipping, and they're always WELL STOCKED with tools, styrene, brass, paint, and most every other supply or material...so buying newer kits there helps to keep them going for what I actually need.

[Richard Bartrop]

Unless it's something I just can't get around here, I prefer to shop locally.  Fortunately there are several good hobby shops here, one of which is within a longish hike from me.

[Day 2 Muscle]

I haven't bought a kit in almost 10 years!! I get my supplies at the local shop. In my case its Free Time Hobbies in Blue Ridge, an hour away but a nice drive.

 

Robert

[LDO]

Local hobby shop unless they can't get it. I also want to see them stick around. 

[SSNJim]

I prefer and really try to buy at my LHS, but they make it difficult. Limited stock, slow reordering of out-of-stock items and receipt of new items, and limited aftermarket items. I was looking for a sheet of chrome Bare Metal foil, and not one of the 4 or 5 within an hour's drive had it.

In general for retail, I do shop locally. I like going in and browsing, picking things up and looking at them, and the chances of finding something else, which may be related or not. For example, when I go in to the LHS, if there's a new issue of MCM, I'll buy it. If I ask for something and the sales clerk says they can order it, I'll tell them so can I - quicker, cheaper and delivered to my door. I don't know if the clerks have ever heard of the internet, but if I do buy the item I'm looking for, it won't be from the store's website.

[HomerS]

1) Hobby store or model show

2) On Line  (had a couple things damaged as I the carrier plays pop-a-shot putting it on the front porch)

3) Chain store   (as I hate the upselling of rewards card, their credit card, push other products, sign up for the frequent seller e-mails, etc)

[Ace-Garageguy]

24 minutes ago, Richard Bartrop said:

...Fortunately there are several good hobby shops here, one of which is within a longish hike from me.

Man. If I could HIKE to the hobby shop, I'd fer sure be in better shape.  

[High octane]

1 hour ago, gtx6970 said:

Same here. I'm lucky enough I have 2 mom-pop places within a 15 / 20 minute drive. And will do my best to support them when the need arises . But even the its usually just  paint or the rare occasion some new kit I cant live without. its rare I even go in the local Hobby Lobby anymore.

I have a Hobby Lobby 1/2 miles from home and it is rare that I go in there unless I need a can of Testors paint, as they don't carry Tamiya paints except  their primers.

[KWT]

There's not a hobby shop of any kind that I'm aware of, within an hour and a half drive of me. I do hit them up when possible. But it's only when I'm headed out of town anyway. I head out to hit up Home Depot, Sam Ash, Hobby Lobby all in one trip.. gotta make a trip that far count... 

But most, like 95%, of my modeling items come from tower hobbies, hobbylinc, & model roundup.

[Richard Bartrop]

32 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Man. If I could HIKE to the hobby shop, I'd fer sure be in better shape.  

And that's precisely why I do it.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Man. If I could HIKE to the hobby shop, I'd fer sure be in better shape.  

But probably poorer. 

[SfanGoch]

All kits, accessories, tools and other supplies are ordered online. There is only one actual hobby shop here in the city, that being Jan's Hobby Shop on the Upper East Side. Aside from picking up Floquil , Polly Scale and Humbrol paints (racks full of them because nobody buys them, Better for me.  ), I don't bother buying kits there. The prices for all kits are almost twice the manufacturers' suggested price. Yeah, I know the spiel about supporting LHS's; but, I'm not going to get fleeced doing it. Even when shipping is factored in with online purchases (and from overseas sites too), I'm saving heaps of mazuma. 

[martinfan5]

Both.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I do get what I can from the only LHS that I know of around me, but it's a very small store & they don't carry a lot.

I will also get some items from Hobby Lobby.

But they are both about a half hour drive for me, so I don't frequent them often.

I also buy items such as Super Clean, primers & some spray paints from some local auto parts stores, so if I can manage to get things well coordinated as to what I need, I can check out all three places in the same trip.

Otherwise, it doesn't really pay if I just need a sheet of BMF.

In a situation like that, I'll just order on line.

 

Steve

[crazyjim]

I prefer to buy at the LHS but he caters to the RC airplane crowd and has little offer model car guys.  I try to get Testors and/or Tamiya bottled paint but he's always out of the colors I want to buy.  He's willing to order but then I have to wait at least a month for them to come in.

[mikemodeler]

I can hear our old Harry's comments coming from above on this topic!

I am like most, buy it locally if I can , either the one remaining hobby shop or HL. Otherwise, it is online or hobby show for me. As I have been reducing the stash, there isn't much buying going on these days!

[JollySipper]

Buying from Model Roundup is kinda like buying from a Mom-n-Pop store...... I wish they had reward points and coupon codes like HobbyLinc, which is the only other site I buy from......

No local shop here, the closest one to me is probably Hayes' Hobby in Fayetteville..... an hour one way.

[niteowl7710]

I buy domestic kits and supplies at one of two LHS and import kits from the country of origin.