A sad, sad day

[Wildrice]

It is a sad time for our area. The LHS where our club meets is calling it quits. They are losing the building the shop is in on Jan 3rd. The couple that runs it are the nicest people you could ever meet. Alan and Rose have gone out of thier way to do anything for our club. They offer us discounts and stay late so we can have our meetings. With the closing of the shop I feel that a piece of all the members in the NCWVSM will be gone too. If you still have a LHS please do all you can to support it.

Whitehall Book & Craft will surely be missed. Thanks for all you did for us and the hobby we love.

[LDO]

Austin will likely lose its last "real" hobby shop on December 31st. They are calling it quits due to slow sales over the last 2 years. It is up for sale, but I have to wonder if they will find a buyer in this slow economy.

[Joe Nunes]

Hey, Bobby, my wife and I were down to Clarksburg, WV (she's from Lost Creek and we lived in the C'burg area for a number of years)) a couple of times this Fall and I stopped in at the LHS in Bridgeport to say hello each time. Very slow business and not a real good outlook on the future of that shop either as people just aren't shopping locally for hobby items anymore. I bought some plastic car kits and R/C items while in the shop each time but only saw one or two others in the shop at any one visit. It's the same way locally. Over the years I have witnessed many hobby shops closing the front door for any number of reasons. I know what you feel when you lose a great place to purchase hobby items. When you lose a good one it's like losing family. Check out the Bridgeport shop as he has kits and detail items in house; at least it's an option for you.

Joe

[Mike]

Yeah, that really sucks Bobby. I remember when McGiffin's called it quits here in town. I wanted to go, but couldn't/missed the auction when they sold everything off. GREAT people. The old man that ran the place was a builder and would talk to you no matter your age. I remember many a summer day pedaling my bike to that place to get paint/supplies/kits when I was a teen using my hard-earned lawn mowing or other money. When I got back in to it again 5 years ago, McGiffins was the first place I went and the man was still the same. I feel your pain. The internet offers a wide selection, but WILL NEVER offer the immediate need filled when you need glue, paint, or that "OH ######! I forgot I was out of..." time. Support your local hobby shop!!!

[HotRodaSaurus]

It's the same in the UK, in my county Essex, we only have a chain store called Model Zone,.

Sure they have a handfull of kits and a wall full of diecasts but none of the assistants are real modelers, just kids left school etc. The managers are more the same, more buisnessmen than hobbyists, though some do seem to be into R/C if anything.

No time to talk unless you are ordering something and only stock what kits they are sent.

I think it is just the state of the market today, when I was a boy every kid had the latest diecast car or wanted a kit for Christmas. Now the modeling scene is held together by the adult maket, children are not interested in toy cars, planes, ships tanks etc in the same way we were.

Adults think with their wallets as well, if it can be bought cheaper on the net they will buy it from the net. Personally like most of us here i like to walk into a store and look at the models etc, but thats life now.

John

[mademan]

Our only hobby shop here is up for sale too...... I try to support the guy but why should I pay 28.00 for a cadillac "lowrider" kit that I can get online for 8.00, or get 4 from a buddy who has a big lots near him, shipped to me for under 28.00.

I understand the "lets all support our local guys" to a certain extent, but when they are clearly out to scam you.... such as ours (and I understand that all shops arent like that)

The guy here has basic 1:18 die casts for $95-$150 for the same ones you see at walmart for 18.00, testors paint is over 3.00 a glass jar (where as most places are $1.19. the new testors "one shot" laquer that is 5.00 everywhere.... he wants $13.00 a can for, flocking is 6.00 for a tube. I could go on and on..... but you get my point.

Sorry to hear about your local shop, sounds like you had one of the good ones!

[george 53]

Man, that's really a drag to hear Bob. Our LHS is part of a chain, called Riders. They hae a pretty good thing goin here in S.E. Michigan.I visit alot , even if I don't buy anything, but I usually do, even if it's just somethin small, like paint.Most, if not ALL the mom & pop stores are gone, Because of places like Wally Mart an K-Mart, and now that they don't sell models anymore, all thats left are places like Riders and the 'Net. One of the clubmembers, Steve Perry, is makin a list of local buisnesses that still sell models for members to use, It'll sure beat usein up gas lookin for places to visit. Guess it's just a sign of the times. Still, I am sorry to hear your favorite shop is closing.

[BigGary]

Last summer another one of those struggling hobby shops bit the dust. It was sold to a new owner a few months before, but it didn't make it. Now we have 2 hobby shops, Hobbytown on the North side and Chesterfield Hobbies in the South. I live East so its a tossup.

I've found that for me, with shipping costs going up so high, I can go to a LHS and actually save money. I wanted the new '68 Charger. It was on a model website for 13.95. Then I got to the $10 shipping. That's $23.95. The LHS wanted $19, so spent $2 of gas and saved $3 over the internat place. Works for me. I support my local LHS!

Gary

[FloridaBoy]

Man, I feel your pain. A few years back, Orange Blossom Hobbies went out of business due to major stupid decisions. He was in a terrible neighborhood which deteriorated around him, then had to hire full time security guards to protect customers from the parking lot, wouldn't go in for online sales, but insisted his store was the attractive segment of his marketing strategy. Plus, he had legenday Augie Hiscano, unarguably the best modeler in the US back then, as floor manager, cruising the model car and train areas. Often he would display his Salt Lake City and Pactra Grand Champions cars.

But Augie remained hi visibility, but then the domino effect took place as in the past 3 years we lost 3 or more major hobby suppliers in the area. And recently we lost Craft House in West Palm which was a major model car hub when the owner died and it was sold to 2 RC guys. The latest report is that half the aisle formerly devoted to kits is now RC.

We need to do everything we can to support the hobby shops, as without them our hobby will wither. Considering that K Mart and Toys R Us are no longer selling kits like they used to, and now Wal Mart is following suit, our sources and connection to this hobby is witherning down to solely electronic. As much as I enjoy participating in this forum we all need the retail store to experience that connection.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

[Mike]

We have a Hobbytown USA left here which is fantastic for modeling supplies etc. and the manager will order anything for us and not charge extra shipping. He's also really good about asking us what he should stock, what we want to see in the store etc. He's an R/C person (which is most of his business anyway) but he's nice enough to ask for help.

[mademan]

We have a Hobbytown USA left here which is fantastic for modeling supplies etc. and the manager will order anything for us and not charge extra shipping. He's also really good about asking us what he should stock, what we want to see in the store etc. He's an R/C person (which is most of his business anyway) but he's nice enough to ask for help.

see, the hobby shop tha I am talking about a bit further up^ still has kits from the early 90s (not good ones either) reason being they are 25.00-38.00 for a basic kit. Heck the 1/43 snap kits (theres a camaro, vette, etc. with skull stickers and such) he wants almost 20.00 each for.

bringing in stuff that isnt in stock.... pegasus 1109 wire wheels for example. I pay 9.00 shipped from a buddy online. If I want the local guy to order me a set, if I pay the shipping, etc. my cost is 17.00. for one set, why not buy 2 sets from the guy online?

best price I got frpom him was on a Paasche vl airbrush set.... no comp... just the basic set...179.00, I paid 59.99 plus 10.00 shipping from coast airbrush, so 110.00 cheaper than my local.

its kind of a bummer to when you go in there, and the owner/operator (whom is the only employee) complains to you about how he hasnt made a sale all week, and how you should buy something.

Edited December 8, 2008 by mademan

[Zoom Zoom]

see, the hobby shop tha I am talking about a bit further up^ still has kits from the early 90s (not good ones either) reason being they are 25.00-38.00 for a basic kit. Heck the 1/43 snap kits (theres a camaro, vette, etc. with skull stickers and such) he wants almost 20.00 each for.

bringing in stuff that isnt in stock.... pegasus 1109 wire wheels for example. I pay 9.00 shipped from a buddy online. If I want the local guy to order me a set, if I pay the shipping, etc. my cost is 17.00. for one set, why not buy 2 sets from the guy online?

best price I got frpom him was on a Paasche vl airbrush set.... no comp... just the basic set...179.00, I paid 59.99 plus 10.00 shipping from coast airbrush, so 110.00 cheaper than my local.

its kind of a bummer to when you go in there, and the owner/operator (whom is the only employee) complains to you about how he hasnt made a sale all week, and how you should buy something.

I don't know why you even bother with a crook like that. He has no idea about "goodwill", except that he complains that you should buy something (overpriced) from him because nobody else that week agreed to be robbed. People like that give the whole industry a bad name. That's the kind of store I'd go into once, and never return.