Hobby Shops Closing ?

[Jon Haigwood]

On todays news there was a story about local Hobby/Toys shops closing due to higher cost that included upcoming (?) tariffs. 

Just wondering about how this will effect our hobby in the near future ?

Thoughts ?

[Mark]

The one story I saw was about a fantasy game oriented store in Quebec closing (or possibly relocating) due to more restrictive French-language regulations coming in.  Pretty much everything he sells would have to have it on the packaging, and a lot of those items come from smaller companies that can't/won't devote much effort to that, as they can sell everything they make now.

Hobby shops aren't closing because of pricing, they're closing because it's not the greatest business to be in.  Lots of "dead stock" on the shelves, and lots of people buying kits a few bucks cheaper elsewhere.  The local shop can't keep the doors open selling bottles of paint and other small stuff.

[Mike 1017]

My local Hobby Lobby has been shrinking the space that model kits and supplies once occupied. There are a lot of empty spots where model kits, bottles, and aerosol cans once occupied.

Mike

[Mike 1017]

On 6/22/2025 at 1:11 PM, Mark said:

The one story I saw was about a fantasy game oriented store in Quebec closing (or possibly relocating) due to more restrictive French-language regulations coming in.  Pretty much everything he sells would have to have it on the packaging, and a lot of those items come from smaller companies that can't/won't devote much effort to that, as they can sell everything they make now.

Hobby shops aren't closing because of pricing, they're closing because it's not the greatest business to be in.  Lots of "dead stock" on the shelves, and lots of people buying kits a few bucks cheaper elsewhere.  The local shop can't keep the doors open selling bottles of paint and other small stuff.

Once model kits reached $30.00. I have stopped buying them. The 40% Hobby Lobby does not do much good when they only have the same old stuff.

[PappyD340]

They're pretty much a thing of the past!

[gasman]

I feel extremely lucky to have an extremely well stocked, and always busy Hobby Shop near me. They doubled their space about 3 years ago. The money maker is obviously RC, as half the store is that. 
 

20 years ago there where about 6 LHS. Most closed because of mismanagement, or family troubles, 

[Justin Porter]

There are several things that can and will kill a hobby shop in the current climate. Here's the five biggest pitfalls that I see entirely too often. 

5 - Narrow Focus

Even the shops that are primarily RC or primarily railroad are taking a beating right now with escalating costs of merchandise, growing overhead, and reduced discretionary/leisure spending. It's a bad time to "stay in your lane."

4 - Aging Inventory

This is slightly different from narrow focus in that shops that aren't turning shelves are shops that are letting rot sink in. I've gone so far as to start date tagging inventory on my shelves so that I know when it's time to give long-time residents the boot in favor of something fresh. 

3 - Presentation Matters

While there's a lot of charm to the classic hobby shop vibe that feels one part hardware store, one part best friend's basement, it's DEVASTATING to actual retail sales. Shops that are neat, orderly, departmented, artworked, planogrammed, and otherwise INVITING to first-time shoppers create second-time shoppers. 

2 - Going Quiet 

You absolutely cannot afford to shut up about your business. Social media in particular offers multiple avenues to promote products, sales, and services. Don't have something to talk about? Share someone else's news as many manufacturers in the hobby space have highly effective social media channels creating weekly or even daily content. If you aren't in front of potential customers' eyes, then you're not even at the back of their mind. 

1 - Every Dollar Counts

It's a very easy trap to fall into to start to disregard smaller items and smaller sales, but you HAVE to treat customers who just need a bottle of paint or a roll of tape or pack of #11 blades with the same encouragement, enthusiasm, and dignity as you do your high rollers. Treating every customer with value and decency, remembering that their positive experience will keep them coming through your door and ringing your register, will ultimately keep the lights on, the shelves stocked, and the hobby thriving. 

 At least, that's one Hobby Shop owner's take on the business. 

[Calb56]

2 hours ago, Justin Porter said:

There are several things that can and will kill a hobby shop in the current climate. Here's the five biggest pitfalls that I see entirely too often. 

5 - Narrow Focus

Even the shops that are primarily RC or primarily railroad are taking a beating right now with escalating costs of merchandise, growing overhead, and reduced discretionary/leisure spending. It's a bad time to "stay in your lane."

4 - Aging Inventory

This is slightly different from narrow focus in that shops that aren't turning shelves are shops that are letting rot sink in. I've gone so far as to start date tagging inventory on my shelves so that I know when it's time to give long-time residents the boot in favor of something fresh. 

3 - Presentation Matters

While there's a lot of charm to the classic hobby shop vibe that feels one part hardware store, one part best friend's basement, it's DEVASTATING to actual retail sales. Shops that are neat, orderly, departmented, artworked, planogrammed, and otherwise INVITING to first-time shoppers create second-time shoppers. 

2 - Going Quiet 

You absolutely cannot afford to shut up about your business. Social media in particular offers multiple avenues to promote products, sales, and services. Don't have something to talk about? Share someone else's news as many manufacturers in the hobby space have highly effective social media channels creating weekly or even daily content. If you aren't in front of potential customers' eyes, then you're not even at the back of their mind. 

1 - Every Dollar Counts

It's a very easy trap to fall into to start to disregard smaller items and smaller sales, but you HAVE to treat customers who just need a bottle of paint or a roll of tape or pack of #11 blades with the same encouragement, enthusiasm, and dignity as you do your high rollers. Treating every customer with value and decency, remembering that their positive experience will keep them coming through your door and ringing your register, will ultimately keep the lights on, the shelves stocked, and the hobby thriving. 

 At least, that's one Hobby Shop owner's take on the business. 

I'd spend hours and way too much here.. 

 

[stavanzer]

Too Bad you are 2350 miles away.....

I could spend as Much Money in your shop as I spent on Fuel to drive there.

[bobss396]

I have 3 shops within 25 miles. One just expanded greatly. Another has an owner who just turned 80. The last is a hike at 25 miles.

All 3 have zero aftermarket parts. Going back 20 years there were other shops that closed up, one guy died of cancer from agent orange exposure in Vietnam. 

[mikemodeler]

I have lived in Charlotte NC for 20 years. When I first moved here there were several Hobby Town USA stores as well as LHS in the area. Hobby Lobby as just starting to show up here and Michael's had a variety of kits. In the surrounding area (75 mile radius) there were several really nice LHS, some with R/C, that had supplies and kits to choose from. Today? Michael's has virtually no kits, Hobby Lobby has more stores and the closest LHS is 40 miles away and that is a Hobby Town USA that is focused on R/C. I get my stuff at shows or online because otherwise there's nothing to choose from. Can't remember the last kit I bought at HL as they seem to have all the same stuff I already had in my stash. Of the LHS that have closed over the last 20 years, most have been due to owner's health or lack of interest in continuing the business. 

[Aaron Ingles]

With online ordering that has anything you want and quick shipping I could see why most hobby stores are hurting.  There's a decently stocked, but very expensive hobby store 60 miles from here.  With the cost of gas here to go back and forth it's just cheaper to order it online and pay shipping unless I really need it now.  I'd love to support the local guy, but it doesn't really exist.

[DJMar]

I've moved to buying online, since all of the local shops that catered to plastic models have slowly disappeared over the last 20 years. 

I will pick up a kit at Hobby Lobby or Michael's once in a blue moon, but only if the price is really good. I did score the R2 reissue of the MPC Daytona Shelby Z at HL for $19 last time around. The kit selection at these locations is often limited, so I don't shop them often.

I am pickier about buying kits in general. I'm buying fewer models, and I'm much more selective about subject matter. The "price to enjoyment" ratio is simply not there anymore with a lot of new releases (or re-releases), and long gone are the days when I could walk out of the LHS on a crisp Saturday morning with 3 new kits for $30 and a chat with the owner.

 

[1930fordpickup]

The general cost of owning a business is also a big road block.

[HomerS]

Being in commercial real estate, I seriously question why anyone would open a brick and mortar store as too many people want a cut of the dollar you earn:

My last mom used to own a beauty shop.  The local bank said on a business account, it would charge her account $0.08 per check deposited because it was a commercial account.  She could be deposit them in her personal account for free.  The bank offered nothing in return for calling the account a commercial account.  Same was true for the phone company wanting more for a commercial line.

My employer has hundreds of nationwide and I see it more here:

1) Some cities have an annual alarm permit fee (usually a couple hundred bucks).  If its not current, the police wont respond to a burglar alarm.  (This actually happened at one of our stores!)

2) Florida and Arizona charge sales tax not only on rent, but on the common area maintenance!  Even thought the cost of the owner taking care of the parking lot, trash, landscaping is a reimbursement, they slap a tax on it.  One AZ site has a sales tax down to a thousandths of a percent (0.00x%).  

3) Post Covid, states raised property taxes...and not based on value. Ohio went up 20% across the board statewide.  A city near Area 51 landlord apologized profusely as the property tax on the complex my company has a store jumped 50% due to the lost tourism money.

4) License to do business in their city.  I know of at least one we pay $5k to operate in that town.  

[meechum68]

I have a mom and pop shop 9 miles from me, I buy 1-2 kits each time and a few bottles of paint, some aftermarket parts when I go there. I have another shop... one of the chains 25miles from me and I have yet to step in the door ..Word is rude customer service. 

I have a mom and pop shop in TN I buy from, which I am due for some buys, and I buy from 3 when I visit Las Vegas, spending 40-250 per shop.  

 

I am a huge fan of supporting my mom and pop shops.  

[CapSat 6]

Justin’s comments above are certainly on point. 

Good business people take their business, and their customers seriously. They don’t take them for granted. It’s certainly a tough business. Treat your customers with basic common courtesy, and it does wonders. 

There is a LHS near me that I won’t visit any more because the owner has such a sour attitude. I tried to give him a chance quite a few times, and spent some money there, but I just can’t find it in me to go there any more. They actually stock things I’m interested in, but I just really don’t enjoy going there. Even if he is talking to another customer, I can’t stand listening to it. I can only take so much of “life’s tough, and so am I”, and “customers suck”. Right. You run a hobby shop. Try police work, or working at a McDonald’s, then I might sympathize…

This year, I did a lot of traveling in my region. Several times, I made it a point to get away and visit a local hobby shop if I had a few hours to kill, if they were somewhat easily accessible, and if they were open when I could get there. 

The shops I found were really great. It was nice to see. I got to shops in Rochester NY, Cranberry Township PA, Nashua NH, Magnolia NJ and Rockville MD, and I enjoyed the visits to every one of them. The staff were great at all stops. Maybe I need to get away from my big city. ;( I definitely want to go back to all of them. 

i made it a point to buy something at each store, even if I wasn’t looking for something - even if it was paint or Evergreen plastic. I wanted to show my support. 

There is another store local to me that I try to get to once in awhile. He doesn’t do much by way of modeling (it’s mostly trains), but they are friendly, and they seem to have the right attitude. I do try to grab any supplies I can use there to help him out. 

[TarheelRick]

On 6/25/2025 at 7:48 AM, mikemodeler said:

the closest LHS is 40 miles away and that is a Hobby Town USA that is focused on R/C.

 

On 6/24/2025 at 7:57 PM, Justin Porter said:

1 - Every Dollar Counts

It's a very easy trap to fall into to start to disregard smaller items and smaller sales, but you HAVE to treat customers who just need a bottle of paint or a roll of tape or pack of #11 blades with the same encouragement, enthusiasm, and dignity as you do your high rollers.

Stopped by that Hobby Town a couple of months ago, I was on my way home from the Simpsonville, SC show.  Didn't really want anything, mainly just shopping. I did finally pick up three bottles of paint. Had to wait at the checkout counter until one of the two people working there decided to quit talking with another person about R/C cars. It seemed to really bother them to wait on me. I also live about 40 miles away in the other direction and will stop by there occasionally on my way to or from the Charlotte area. I stop primarily to check on Evergreen/Plastruct, but they seldom have what I am looking for.