ChrisBcritter Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 (Mods, hope it's OK to post this - pull it if not) I was at AdVenture Hobbies in Wheeling, IL last weekend and found out they will be closing down for good in two weeks. I was told they will be selling the remaining inventory online after that. They do have some kits on sale ('70 Impala, some '70 Super Bees and a couple Fireball 500s for about $11.00 among them) but most of them will be at regular price; however the "perishables" (mainly paint & cement, etc.) will be discounted. They're in the shopping center at 23 Huntington Drive, off Dundee east of Buffalo Grove Rd.
Harry P. Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 Venture Hobbies has been slowly dying for about 25 years. They used to be a jumping place... Saturdays the place was packed. They had a huge selection of plastic kits, RC stuff, diecast models, model RR department, etc. It was about as perfect a hobby shop as you could imagine. You could easily spend an entire Saturday afternoon browsing the store. Then Don, the owner, decided to sell, and the new owners either had a really hard time, or they had no idea how to run a hobby shop. Shelves were half empty, the entire diecast department disappeared, no more model RR stuff... the place was a shadow of its former self... it was actually sad to go in there and see what it had become. Then Don suddenly reappeared. Don't know if he bought back the business, or was just there as some sort of an "advisor" or what... but things seemed to pick up a bit when he came back. But by then the writing was on the wall... even a "new" name (from Venture Hobbies to AdVenture Hobbies) couldn't stop the death spiral. So what was once one of the biggest and best (if not the best) hobby shop in the Chicago area is dead. But on the bright side... the variety of model car kits and related materials has never been better... on the internet, which is where the hobby will eventually completely migrate to. I've been shopping online for many years, not just for hobby stuff, but for all kinds of things. I even bought our dishwasher online! I'll miss Venture Hobbies... for a while. But I just received another new kit the other day that I bought online, and I'm busy working on it.
martinfan5 Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 (edited) But on the bright side... the variety of model car kits and related materials has never been better... on the internet, which is where the hobby will eventually completely migrate to. I've been shopping online for many years, not just for hobby stuff, but for all kinds of things. I even bought our dishwasher online! I'll miss Venture Hobbies... for a while. But I just received another new kit the other day that I bought online, and I'm busy working on it. Many people dont want to hear that, but its true, 99% of my kits I buy online, but I would say that only 2% of my supply's are bought online, and that is what I use the LHS for, to me , its not cost effective to buy say a jar of paint online, not when most online HS charge around $4 and up for shipping, it only makes sense to order a bunch of stuff, but its rare that I will buy more then two or three jars of paint at a time. So for me, I still have a need for a LHS, but its not for kits anymore really, and when I want to buy kits from Revell/AMT/Moebius, we have local plastic pusher to buy from Edited July 30, 2013 by martinfan5
Cato Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 But I just received another new kit the other day that I bought online, and I'm busy working on it. Like a great big LP-700??
Harry P. Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 Jonathan... if you have Hobby Lobby out there by you, I suggest you buy your paints there. They have a 40% off coupon every week. Like a great big LP-700?? Nope. 1905 RR.
martinfan5 Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 Jonathan... if you have Hobby Lobby out there by you, I suggest you buy your paints there. They have a 40% off coupon every week. Nope. 1905 RR. Yes I do, and of course I use the 40% coupon , for both kits and paints, but the problem with Hobby Lobby, is I have moved on from using Testor's/Model Master paints for the most part, and thats all they sell, it would be nice if they would stock the Metalizer paints from Model Master
Harry P. Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 How about Hobbytown USA? They carry a wider line of paint, including Tamiya paints.
Tom Geiger Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 99% of my kits I buy online, but I would say that only 2% of my supply's are bought online, and that is what I use the LHS for, , and when I want to buy kits from Revell/AMT/Moebius, we have local plastic pusher to buy from and that's the problem in a nutshell. A hobby shop cannot survive on 2% of your business, on the low profit margin on paint.
martinfan5 Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 How about Hobbytown USA? They carry a wider line of paint, including Tamiya paints. We have one, but its not even close to me, and I have heard that the one we have, is very over priced on everything. But its ok as I have three other LHS that I can go to that are closer to me, I have been going to one of them for I want to say 20 years now.
Tom Geiger Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 How about Hobbytown USA? They carry a wider line of paint, including Tamiya paints. The Hobbytown USA stores are franchises and the individual stores carry what they want. I asked the owner of the local one here in West Chester, PA about carrying Tamiya paints and his response was, "We get a lot of people asking about those." Well, duh then!
martinfan5 Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 (edited) and that's the problem in a nutshell. A hobby shop cannot survive on 2% of your business, on the low profit margin on paint. Well, good thing for those LHS, that other people shop there and they also cater to the RC folks , and other hobby folks, so me not buying my kits from them is not going to hurt them. Not sure why you had to point that out really, I think we all understand that , and I understand that a LHS can not survive on just selling paints and other supply's, I wasnt born yesterday Edited July 30, 2013 by martinfan5
Tom Geiger Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 Not sure why you had to point that out really, but, oh well Well, that's what we all do. I'm no different. And the RC people tend to buy their big ticket items online and hit the hobby shop for small parts and repairs too.
martinfan5 Posted July 30, 2013 Posted July 30, 2013 Well, that's what we all do. I'm no different. And the RC people tend to buy their big ticket items online and hit the hobby shop for small parts and repairs too. Ok then, all is good, I must of read it the wrong way We have to thank the RC folks then for keeping the LHS open for us that chose to get better deals on our kits from online ,and just use the LHS for supply's
slusher Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 If l had a hobby shop in my area l would buy kits and paint from them. Hobby lobby is limited in kits and paint. l buy kit from a hobby shop in east Tennesse everytime i am on vacation. l only buy online what l can't find at Hobby Lobby because thats all i have..
Danno Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 We have one, but its not even close to me, and I have heard that the one we have, is very over priced on everything. But its ok as I have three other LHS that I can go to that are closer to me, I have been going to one of them for I want to say 20 years now. There are two HobbyTown USA stores in the Valley. One is over-priced on everything, but the newer one tries to be (and succeeds at being) more reasonable in pricing. I suggest locals shop at the Scottsdale HTU. There are four other hobby shops in the Valley, not counting the crafty stores (JoAnn's, Michael's, and HobbyLobby). They all carry full lines of car/truck plastic kits, paints, and supplies, but they, too, are all religiously at MSRP. There are just no bargains any more. The R/C folks keep most traditional hobby shops open. The days of a plastic-only shop pretty much left on the last stage out of town a long time ago. Besides, Jonathan doesn't buy any kits locally because there aren't any Japanese hobby stores around here.
martinfan5 Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 I always forget that there is the HT in the east valley somewhere
Greg Myers Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 I think Andy's has monthly sales Danno. 59th and Greenway road.
mikemodeler Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 I remember discovering Venture Hobbies years ago and sad to hear they are closing. They had a pretty large store in a strip mall so I would surmise that the rent wasn't cheap. The selection at one time was among the largest I recall ever seeing in a hobby shop. Their selection of Japanese kits was pretty vast, they had all of the new releases and a ton of supplies and paints. I never went out the door without spending at least $20, and many times it was closer to $100! Here in Charlotte I am limited to a couple of Hobby Lobby's and Michael's, 2 Hobbytown USAs and down the road in SC there is a LHS. The selection is not that great but the one HTU closest to me has their kits reasonably priced ( Revell 69 ZL-1 is $21.99) and the staff is always nice. Yes they are RC specialists but they also have new releases and a decent amount of supplies. I signed up for the HTU HobbyCard at another location and they honor the coupons and scan my card at every purchase. While not the huge store that Venture was, they are my LHS and I try to support them whenever I can. Yes, I buy on the internet too, mostly those kits that I can't find locally or when Tower Hobbies has their free shipping promo, but I also like to see the kits in person. I try to make as many shows as possible to get those OOP kits too.
High octane Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 Venture Hobbies has been slowly dying for about 25 years. They used to be a jumping place... Saturdays the place was packed. They had a huge selection of plastic kits, RC stuff, diecast models, model RR department, etc. It was about as perfect a hobby shop as you could imagine. You could easily spend an entire Saturday afternoon browsing the store. Then Don, the owner, decided to sell, and the new owners either had a really hard time, or they had no idea how to run a hobby shop. Shelves were half empty, the entire diecast department disappeared, no more model RR stuff... the place was a shadow of its former self... it was actually sad to go in there and see what it had become. Then Don suddenly reappeared. Don't know if he bought back the business, or was just there as some sort of an "advisor" or what... but things seemed to pick up a bit when he came back. But by then the writing was on the wall... even a "new" name (from Venture Hobbies to AdVenture Hobbies) couldn't stop the death spiral. So what was once one of the biggest and best (if not the best) hobby shop in the Chicago area is dead. But on the bright side... the variety of model car kits and related materials has never been better... on the internet, which is where the hobby will eventually completely migrate to. I've been shopping online for many years, not just for hobby stuff, but for all kinds of things. I even bought our dishwasher online! I'll miss Venture Hobbies... for a while. But I just received another new kit the other day that I bought online, and I'm busy working on it. Next thing ya know Harry, you'll be "dining out" online too.
Sixx Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 That sucks, I used to go there quite often when I lived in New Lenox, Il. I also used to hit Al's Hobby Shop too, but they are on the outs also. Bummer! But Harry's right, I get/find AWESOME deals on the net
bill w Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 I will miss Venture Hobbies! I started buying models at Venture Hobbies back in the seventies, back then they were located on Dundee east of Rt. 83. Don is one of the nicest people I know. He would always give you a deal, and help with any questions you had. After he sold the shop he came in 3 or 4 days a month to help out. I spoke with him about 4 months ago at the shop, he told me he misses the people and the conversations, but not the hours. I don't buy kits any more, just supplies. It was a great Hobby Shop for a long time. All good things come to an end.
Danno Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) I always forget that there is the HT in the east valley somewhere NE Corner of Scottsdale Road and Thomas Road. They are very supportive of the local clubs, Desert Scale Classic, and they host a monthly build session. Their pricing is below the HTU normal. The "other one" is in Gilbert. Edited July 31, 2013 by Danno
Danno Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) I think Andy's has monthly sales Danno. 59th and Greenway road. He does not support either local club, either of the Good Guys Model Car Contests, or the Desert Scale Classic. I do not support him. Edited July 31, 2013 by Danno
Greg Myers Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 He does not support either local club, either of the Good Guys Model Car Contests, or the Desert Scale Classic. I do not support him.
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