Another LHS Closes its Doors Forever

[Jim B]

We're losing a major LHS here in the Syracuse, NY, area at the end of the Summer:

Family-owned Syracuse area hobby store is saying goodbye after a 50-year run

It's sad to see, but I guess it was inevitable.  Merchandise wasn't moving well, inventory wasn't all that great as of late (now I know why), increased competition, and kids generally more interested in videogames.

[meechum68]

Dang, hate to see it, and I am worried that my local shop won't find another owner. But I am gonna try and slip in this weekend and get the scuttle butt. 

[Jim B]

Sign of the times, I guess. 😢

[Mark]

Radio control is a tough row to hoe for a local shop.  There is one in my area that is still strong, but another one closed about twenty years ago.  Guys go to the store to buy magazines, order the big stuff online, only going to the local store for supplies needed right now.  And the bigger stuff always carries a risk of becoming outdated "dead" stock.

[Jim B]

Walt's even had an indoor track. Generally a good thing in Central New York. The photo of Walt in the beginning of the article is of him at his track. The used to have meets & all sorts of stuff there. They got rid of the railroad stuff about 15 years ago, and automotive model inventory was shrinking for Gundam. Armor & aircraft was small, and ships were basically nonexistent. 

[bobss396]

We are down to just a handful of shops. They used to be all over, even up through 2010. 

Sone of us would do a hobby store crawl on a Saturday, hit 4 to 6 shops in an afternoon.

We have a close by shop that has been completely done over, no more clutter like the old store. They got kits and paint, zero aftermarket stuff.

[Volzfan59]

That’s terrible news. I hate it for you. My closest true hobby shop is three hours away in Little Rock.

[iamsuperdan]

We had a hobby store here called Hobby Alley.

Their main focus was RC. But they had an awesome selection of kits and supplies. I shopped there a lot.

I went in during their closing out sale and was speaking with the owner. 

His problem was that people would go in and ask all kinds of questions about RC. What's good, what's bad, what should I modify, etc. 

Then they would go and purchase online.

Then those same people would come in with their online purchases and ask for tech support. He started charging diagnostic and repair fees for those people. They complained of course.

 

Ugh. We still have a couple of stores that don't appear to be going anywhere. Literally two stores. In a city of around 1.3 million. And I'll keep doing my part to support them.

 

[bobss396]

20 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

We had a hobby store here called Hobby Alley.

Their main focus was RC. But they had an awesome selection of kits and supplies. I shopped there a lot.

I went in during their closing out sale and was speaking with the owner. 

His problem was that people would go in and ask all kinds of questions about RC. What's good, what's bad, what should I modify, etc. 

Then they would go and purchase online.

Then those same people would come in with their online purchases and ask for tech support. He started charging diagnostic and repair fees for those people. They complained of course.

 

Ugh. We still have a couple of stores that don't appear to be going anywhere. Literally two stores. In a city of around 1.3 million. And I'll keep doing my part to support them.

 

There's the answer. They use the local shop to pick the owner's brain and buy on Amazon. I like to buy local so I CAN pick the owner's brain.

Kit prices, outside of Hobby Lobby with the 40% off, are $30 to $40. Online you may save a couple of bucks if there is free shipping. 

Just about any shop has ditched aftermarket parts completely. I guess they sit around too long. Most local builders don't get that deep into builds. Just my theory.

[Bugatti Fan]

Too easy to buy stuff cheaper on line. 

Sad to hear that many individuals use LHS owners expertise, pick their brains for information and go on line to get a better deal.  Is it any wonder why so many local hobby stores either go under or decide to close ?

Worse still, I have seen people using their mobile phones in a hobby shop to check if they can buy cheaper elsewhere!

And what with younger generations more interested in on line gaming than model making unfortunately the LHS  will be going the way of the dinosaur to mass extinction, and well on the way already.

[bobss396]

3 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Too easy to buy stuff cheaper on line. 

Sad to hear that many individuals use LHS owners expertise, pick their brains for information and go on line to get a better deal.  Is it any wonder why so many local hobby stores either go under or decide to close ?

Worse still, I have seen people using their mobile phones in a hobby shop to check if they can buy cheaper elsewhere!

And what with younger generations more interested in on line gaming than model making unfortunately the LHS  will be going the way of the dinosaur to mass extinction, and well on the way already.

I'm not like that. I try to buy local before I go online. Locally you get free shipping and no waiting. 

In later years I've seen dwindling after market parts in hobby shops. I pick up most of mine at big shows and online.

One shop does offer to order me anything I may want, but that eats up 5 days and is a 25 mile hike each way.

Edited 10 hours ago by bobss396

[John M.]

When I got back into the hobby before the turn of the new century, there were 6 hobby stores that were within driving distance of my house. Today only one is left in Wakefield Mass. but thankfully.it still sees plenty of business. 

It's called Hobby Bunker. 

 

https://www.hobbybunker.com/

Edited 9 hours ago by John M.

[peteski]

4 hours ago, John M. said:

When I got back into the hobby before the turn of the new century, there were 6 hobby stores that were within driving distance of my house. Today only one is left in Wakefield Mass. but thankfully.it still sees plenty of business. 

It's called Hobby Bunker.

https://www.hobbybunker.com/

I remember those days too.  Hobby Bunker used to be in Malden, but moved to Wakefield several years ago. It is an ok hobby shop but it doesn't really have much for model car/truck crowd. It is more gear to military/sci-fi/fantasy modelers.  Hobby Emporium in Tyngsborough is a much larger shop catering to all genres of modelers. They also have very large selection of paints and adhesives.  That one is too far of a drive for you?  There is also Charles Ro in Malden, but that one is basically for model trains (although they started stocking limited selection of model car kits, and at rather good prices). Worth a visit.

I miss Erich Fuchs stores in multiple locations, Adventure Hobby in Arlington, Modeler's Junction in Methuen, and few others I don't  recall now.  Of course back in the day department stores like Woolworth, Bradlees, Zayres, toy stores like Child World, Toys R Us and even KB Toys used to carry decent amount of model kits and supplies. All gone now.