Greg Pugh Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 My favorite (and only in my opinion) local hobby shop is closing their doors so I guess I'm to the point of "I'll take what I can get". I usually was one to support my local hobby shop but seems how that didn't seem to help, I guess I'll go check out Walmart. I'll take what I can get.
Rob McKee Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 Rob- I miss the old days of our LHS and they way that they were, when you walked in you felt welcome, you just didnt feel like a customer, I can not speak for everyone, but for me those days are long gone. I still do shop at my LHS, and I need to check out the one Danno has kept telling me about , but its not for kits really anymore. I have some great memories of going into the hobby shop excited about all of the kits they had. I also have some fond memories of going into K-Mart with my Grandfather and brother. He would buy us each a couple of kits and we couldn't wait to get home to get building. I am lucky with the hobby shops in my area. One of them is owned by a good friend of mine. I often go in and have a couple of beers with a small group of regulars who all share the modelling bug. We have some great laughs.
Rob Hall Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 Really good independent hobby shops seem to be getting harder to find in many areas unfortunately. The years I lived in Colorado I was fortunate to have several, same with when I lived in SE Michigan and NE Ohio in the '90s.
highway Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 Great post Art! many do not realize that there are vast differences in what WalMart sells and what other stores sell, and I'm talking supposedly like items! Go to an Ace and buy a Black and Decker cordless. Then buy the same one from Walmart. See which one lasts longer. I'll give you one guess! Take something mechanical apart that comes from WalMart and one from another store and compare the parts used and you will be surprised at the difference! Just like leaving all the extras out of a model kit to get it down to WalMarts price others use cheaper parts in their merchandise made specifically for Walmart! it's just a big conspiracy by Walmart to screw you as a consumer posts like this from members like you make for some ###### good entertainment You know what I find funny with Johnny's statement Fredrick, especially the last sentence?? I have multiple issues of AMT kits, some that were bought through a hobby shop and some that were bought at Walmart easily distinguished by the unique checkerboard boxs, and they have the same amount of parts!! No missing "goodies", no difference at all but the boxes. I guess that just blew your theory out of the water, doesn't it Johnny!?!?
Rob McKee Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 I have some great memories of going into the hobby shop excited about all of the kits they had. I also have some fond memories of going into K-Mart with my Grandfather and brother. He would buy us each a couple of kits and we couldn't wait to get home to get building. I am lucky with the hobby shops in my area. One of them is owned by a good friend of mine. I often go in and have a couple of beers with a small group of regulars who all share the modelling bug. We have some great laughs. I just thought of something. At the same hobby shop I mentioned above, he stocks about a hundred kits (both Revell and AMT) that he sells for $9.95. He told me his distributor cleans house every so often and he buys all he can allowing him to mark them at this price. This makes it a little easier for kids or those on a very tight budget to get into the hobby. So, is Walmart really the best deal? Are our LHS owners pricing clearouts like this fairly? This shop has been open for 32 years now. He has a very loyal group of regulars who frequent his store (sometimes for the beer) other times to buy. I usually do both because I like beer, and I love models. It is a perfect world.
martinfan5 Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 I bought my flat screen tv from walmart two years ago and its still working great
Evil Appetite Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 Me too, but my local hobby shop didn't sell Polar Light's Nascar kits for $4.50 a pop. I walked in that day and filled my cart up. The checkout girl say's "Sir...they're all the same thing" She looked at me like I was a dumbass when I said yes. I know. lol I might be a dumbass..but I had just bought close to 2k worth of kits for less than $200. That was a good day!
highway Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 but wait a second Matt, you sure the kits you bought in Walmart werent cheaper in price? that right there would be the ONLY difference other that what each store stocks. the selection you will find in most well stocked hobby shops should kill what you'd find on a Walmart shelf. that too would be the real difference between a hobbyshop and Walmart, at least in the past and especially now. did Walmarts model kit selection and sales "kill" the LHS? if the LHS was worth anything, no. Ok, that was the only difference Fredrick! Also, yes the three hobby shops in my area all had much better selections than Walmart, and guess what, even though I bought quite a bit of kits from Walmart, I bought quite a bit from the LHS too! That's another reason why I have doubles of many kits, I liked the first ones I bought at Walmart I wanted more, and went to the LHS to buy them!
kenb Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 My local hobby shop is 50 miles away, at least the one that sells plastic kits. There are 2 close but cater to R/C. I drive 50 miles to buy paint there, and cruise the clearance bench that's all. Only because they have a good selection, not a good price. The kits there are full retail or more. They'll rip your eyes out there. If I can get a good deal at Walmart I'm buying it. It's the same kit with the same parts. Some things are substandard at Walmart, like the lawnmowers. But not the model kits. The Budweiser there isn't 2%. All this here is quite entertaining, like the one a while back about someone saying they'll never use ebay because some of the sellers price the stuff too high. If I can get a good deal I'm going for it. Ken
martinfan5 Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 (edited) So is the oil , oil filter and air filter I bought tonight from wally world sub standard as well? Edited December 4, 2011 by martinfan5
Rob Hall Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 Just a question, not trying to be a smart ass, but is the oil , oil filter and air filter I bought tonight from wally world sub standard as well? Don't know about the product they sell, but the one time I had an oil change at W-M they ruined my drain plug.
Terror Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 Walmart,in N.Y. is dry,in my town.I buy online its my only real choice unless I want to drive an hour,and I don't
martinfan5 Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 Don't know about the product they sell, but the one time I had an oil change at W-M they ruined my drain plug. I wont let them touch my car
Rob Hall Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 (edited) I wont let them touch my car Yeah, that was a one-time only about 15 yrs ago...I stick to my dealer for the new car and a couple good local shops for maintenance on my older cars. Edited December 4, 2011 by Rob Hall
SuperStockAndy Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 All the Wal Marts around here got rid of them two years ago..
Roadkill2525 Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 My favorite (and only in my opinion) local hobby shop is closing their doors so I guess I'm to the point of "I'll take what I can get". I usually was one to support my local hobby shop but seems how that didn't seem to help, I guess I'll go check out Walmart. I'll take what I can get. Greg, I don't know how often you're in R/C Country but they've seem to be getting smarter about their model stock. Still not as good as Riverside was but pretty much the only game in town aside from Viking that's out of the way.
Greg Pugh Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 I'm (relunctantly) heading to R/C Country tomorrow to pick up some paints. I guess I'll give it a shot.
Skydime Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 (edited) Don't know about the product they sell, but the one time I had an oil change at W-M they ruined my drain plug. Ask anyone in the know about the "yellow plug" many Walmarts use an impact when possible to remove or install the oil plug. When they strip it, they use a yellow insert. If your oil change is done somewhere else the next time, you are in for a surprise. Either the oil plug or the oil pan will need replaced before the oil can be refilled and you can be on your way. And yes, I've seen this thing myself Edited December 4, 2011 by Skydime
Chuck Most Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 I don't know about Walmart, but some 'discount' retailers do sell watered down'versions of name brand products. Purple Power purchased from Dollar General seems to take just a little bit longer to strip paint than Purple Power bought from Advance Auto Parts. It's five bucks for the two-gallon jug at DG, and just over eight bucks at Advance. Could the Dollar General stuff be diluted? Or is my tinfoil hat not doing it's job? I'll let you decide. As far as any of Walmart's house brands, I've never cared much for any of them. Well, my dog did like the Ol' Roy foods, but then again he enjoyed eating a cat turd every now and then, so I guess that really isn't much of a reccomendation. The thing I really like about a smaller, dedicated hobby shop as opposed to a big-box retailer (and one that's been mentioned already) is the service. At my closest shop I regularly get discounts and maybe a freebie every so often, simply because the owner knows me personally and I've been buying from him for over a decade now. At Walmart, that just plain ain't gonna happen. (Poor grammar intentional.) And this shop listens to its customers and stocks what they want. He's the only place in a good 30 mile radius selling Moebius and Lindberg kits? Why? Because the customers wanted them in stock! And he carries MCM, because every other nearby shop carries the Kalmbach mags. Sure, Walmart looks at sales figures and stocks what they notice is selling, but it isn't as personal and to the point as you'd get at a mom-and-pop type establishment.
Greg Myers Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 My theory is Walmart is carrying models again to advance the conspiracy to drive Tom Carter out of business ...
Chuck Most Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 Yeah, that was a one-time only about 15 yrs ago...I stick to my dealer for the new car and a couple good local shops for maintenance on my older cars. A valuable lesson learned that day... never get your vehicle serviced at an establishment where you can also buy control top pantyhose, a ten pound frozen turkey, have your vision tested and your taxes done. The whole 'vehicle service' department at such a place might be a bit of an afterthought...
tabsscale1 Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 Great post Art! many do not realize that there are vast differences in what WalMart sells and what other stores sell, and I'm talking supposedly like items! Go to an Ace and buy a Black and Decker cordless. Then buy the same one from Walmart. See which one lasts longer. I'll give you one guess! Take something mechanical apart that comes from WalMart and one from another store and compare the parts used and you will be surprised at the difference! Just like leaving all the extras out of a model kit to get it down to WalMarts price others use cheaper parts in their merchandise made specifically for Walmart! I can tell you one thing that was made For Walmart was built the same way as any otherand that was car batteries. I know this as we used to make the Walmart batteries and we built them the same as any other one. I have had stuf from Lowes that was just ###### and they were name brands and the same stuff from Walmart I still have. So that isn't true on all accounts.
Tonioseven Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 I don't have much against Wal-Mart other than them having 1,837 checkout lines but only 2 of them open; or all of the non-minding children running around everywhere. I haven't been in one in a couple of weeks so I have no clue if they have kits in them or not. Luckily, I'm to that point where I have pretty much every kit I've ever wanted with the exception of a few grails (which I seem to have amazing luck finding these days!!). Oh yeah, thanks Chuck! I DIG the Volkswagen!!
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