HobbyTown USA

[johnbuzzed]

John,

I have stopped at Hobby Stop and picked up some Tamiya paint and Evergreen, but their prices (kits and supplies) are higher than the HTU in Pineville. I bought there only so I didn't have to drive out of my way to Pineville.

Will have to remember the Monroe location next time I am out that way.

I did stop in the HTU in Richmond today and was disappointed. Walked in and the clerk at the register was more engaged with some sea story with two customers, didn't even acknowledge my presence. Spent 10-15 minutes looking over the kits and paint/supplies aisles and still no acknowledgement!

After walking both aisles 2-3 times, I left without buying anything and even on my way out I stopped at the magazines by the register and I was ignored as the clerk was now talking to a young mother who was there with her son playing with the wooden train table.

I was taught years ago to always acknowledge the customer when they enter your business, and help them as soon as you can. I just might have bought something tonight but not if they can't even say hello.

And before anyone says anything, the clerk looked to be in his late 50's/early 60's!

Mike, I honestly didn't notice the prices to be able to compare them; I was just happy to find a place that still has the LHS "feel", which I think Hobby Town lacks.

There was a hobby shop back in Bay Shore on LI some years back, it's no longer there. I wrote about it once for our club newsletter. The proprietor basically had the same attitude- no acknowledgment of customers on entering the store, and I had gone there on several occasions- never really finding anything to buy as the prices were higher than all of the local competition, both big-box stores and the few LHSs. But he did notice me enough to be able to claim (in a later newsletter article, in answer to mine) that I "didn't look like a shoplifter"... Hmm. How nice of him to notice. Never once did I hear anything like "Can I help you?" or the old NY standard, "How ya doin'?" This place was selling the then-new Hot Wheels flamed Deuce coupe for $10.00 while K-Mart had them for less than a buck. Needless to say, the store didn't last long. That's life.

[Tom Geiger]

Mike, I honestly didn't notice the prices to be able to compare them; I was just happy to find a place that still has the LHS "feel", which I think Hobby Town lacks.

There was a hobby shop back in Bay Shore on LI some years back, it's no longer there. I wrote about it once for our club newsletter. The proprietor basically had the same attitude- no acknowledgment of customers on entering the store, and I had gone there on several occasions- never really finding anything to buy as the prices were higher than all of the local competition, both big-box stores and the few LHSs. But he did notice me enough to be able to claim (in a later newsletter article, in answer to mine) that I "didn't look like a shoplifter"... Hmm. How nice of him to notice.

I believe that the success or failure of hobby shops comes down to the personality and skills of the owner. Things that come easy to some of us (greeting customers, being friendly and interested etc) just aren't in the set of talents some folks have. We've all known store owners and workers who just tick people off or don't know the very basics of business. And we know when we've been subject to this, we don't go back. And that's why they fail.

I've been stalking my local Hobbytown USA and have learned that when the owners (an older couple) are there, they're pretty decent. The woman always greets people and approaches you in the store to see if she can help you. The man is more the counter guy, but always has a brief conversation with me when I check out. He thanks me for my business. That's most important. When they're not there, the youngsters running the store exhibit all the bad behaviors of ignoring customers, being totally engrossed in conversations between themselves in front of customers etc.

And John, I think you look like a shop lifter! And having worked my share of retail I know that many shoplifters don't look like shoplifters at all!

[Danno]

SPILL IT Dan whats going on?
Ahhhhhhh. Scuttlebutt has it there may be some news down the road for our town! Sounds like it's gonna be g~o~o~d!

Okay. It's pretty solid, so 'spilling the beans' shouldn't hurt.

New hobby facility opening in 3 - 4 months in NW Phoenix!!

It will include 7,000 sq ft retail store with emphasis on both R/C and plastic car & truck modeling, some military; large paint & supplies section.

In addition, another 82,500 sq ft indoor will include build session & Make-N-Take benches, meeting rooms available to clubs, and space for special events such as swap meets and contests, plus indoor R/C racing stadium, go-kart track, and concession/restaurant. And, acres of parking.

Dreamville!

Coming soon to a Phoenix near you!

Edited October 3, 2013 by Danno

[Erik Smith]

Okay. It's pretty solid, so 'spilling the beans' shouldn't hurt.

New hobby facility opening in 3 - 4 months in NW Phoenix!!

It will include 7,000 sq ft retail store with emphasis on both R/C and plastic car & truck modeling, some military; large paint & supplies section.

In addition, another 81,900 sq ft indoor will include build session & Make-N-Take benches, meeting rooms available to clubs, and space for special events such as swap meets and contests, plus indoor R/C racing stadium, go-kart track, and concession/restaurant. And, acres of parking.

Dreamville!

Coming soon to a Phoenix near you!

Maybe I'll move to AZ.

How much does it cost to cool an 82K sq ft space?

[crazyjim]

Sounds like HL worked out their issue with the federal government about abortions.

[2000-cvpi]

Sounds like HL worked out their issue with the federal government about abortions.

Huh? What is going on?

[Eshaver]

Hummmmmmmmmm, I'd say about ten "Swamp Coolers oughtta cool the new Phoenix store ............

[sjordan2]

Huh? What is going on?

I made a brief post here to explain the background, but have decided to take it to PM instead.

Edited October 2, 2013 by sjordan2

[crazyjim]

The owner of HL is a fairly religious person. For example, HL is closed on Sunday so the employees can spend time with family. The new health care law provides for medication that will cause an abortion and abortion goes against HL religious beliefs so HL said he'll close down the company before accepting the law. The last I heard was that HL was taking the issue to court and I haven't heard any updates.

By the way, I'm just trying to relate the facts as I know them and I'm not attempting to make a statement of any sort about religion or abortions.

[my80malibu]

Hummmmmmmmmm, I'd say about ten "Swamp Coolers oughtta cool the new Phoenix store ............

Yeah until the Monsoons settle in. Then there is a whole new meaning to the phrase "Sticky Buns"

Edited October 2, 2013 by my80malibu

[lordairgtar]

In store = kit + sales tax + gas you burned to get there and back.

Online = kit + S&H.

Unless you live in Wisconsin where sales tax must be paid on items bought online. Not that we tell the Department of Revenue

[2000-cvpi]

The owner of HL is a fairly religious person. For example, HL is closed on Sunday so the employees can spend time with family. The new health care law provides for medication that will cause an abortion and abortion goes against HL religious beliefs so HL said he'll close down the company before accepting the law. The last I heard was that HL was taking the issue to court and I haven't heard any updates.

By the way, I'm just trying to relate the facts as I know them and I'm not attempting to make a statement of any sort about religion or abortions.

Okely dokely, I'm staying away from that issue on here. I just hope that Hobby Lobby does not close. I like the 40% coupons too much.

[Bigjeff]

I usually buy my models from a friend who owns a online store ran out of his basement, he's usually 10-30% cheaper than the LHS here...but shipping to the states would eat that up pretty fast! I also stock up at shows, i here these guys are pretty descent too...http://www.scalehobbyist.com/

[Edsel-Dan]

All states state that Mail Order & Internet sale WITH-In a State Should (Must) collect/include Sales tax.

However, they are trying to get ALL mail order/Internet sales to be taxed.

But How??

The state the Seller in Headquartered in?

The Sales office/Warehouse that packages/processes the order?

The Buyers state??

Any state the order Travels through to get from seller/warehouse, to Buyer??

See where I am going here??!!

I have already Refused delivery of orders, and even canceled them in=progress due to

sales tax being added and Not being given an address to send payment that is IN my state of residence

I see a LOT od on-line & mail order sales Falling drastically when That Interstate sales tax becomes Manditory

[sjordan2]

In almost all states including mine, Tennessee, the law is that if you have a physical bricks-and-mortar presence in the state, including a distribution center, you have to charge sales tax.

[Erik Smith]

In almost all states including mine, Tennessee, the law is that if you have a physical bricks-and-mortar presence in the state, including a distribution center, you have to charge sales tax.

Ditto for WA. We are supposed to pay it on internet sales regardless of origin, but nobody does.

[Tom Geiger]

New Jersey calls it 'use tax' and expects you to self declare all sales due to them for anything you bought on-line from anywhere. There are probably a few Johnny Laws that actually declare something

Eventually we'll probably see sales tax on internet sales. Larger companies like Amazon and Walmart will have to do the collections etc themselves. eBay will probably charge and pay the sales tax as a function of Paypal, and probably will add 1-2% to the bill for the service!

There are great differences between the sales tax rates and programs between different states. It causes some interesting border town situations. For instance NJ sales tax is 7% but there is no tax on necessities like clothing and food. NY sales tax can be 8% or higher (NYC has it's own tax on top of state) and they charge tax on everything. So there are huge malls and food markets right over the NJ border where half the cars in the lot have NY plates on them.

I now live in PA (6% tax) about a 1/2 hour from the Delaware border where there is no sales tax. So people tend to take the drive to buy bigger ticket items like TVs and snow blowers.

Another fun one is the difference in fuel taxes between the states. NY has much higher tax than NJ. I used to work in Pearl River, NY which borders NJ. So one of the big lunchtime activities for NYers was 'driving to Jersey for gas'.

Edited October 7, 2013 by Tom Geiger

[martinfan5]

Tom, you are correct about Amazon, but only in states that they have a distribution center in, we have one here in Arizona, so ever since it opened, they have been charging state sales tax, but if you live in a state that does not have an Amazon center, you dont have to pay sales tax, unless that has changed

[Tom Geiger]

Tom, you are correct about Amazon, but only in states that they have a distribution center in, we have one here in Arizona, so ever since it opened, they have been charging state sales tax, but if you live in a state that does not have an Amazon center, you dont have to pay sales tax, unless that has changed

You are correct. In my comments I said in the future, large companies like Amazon would be on their own to collect sales tax for all states. It's coming! Anytime there is money to be had, they'll figure a way to tax us for it!

And a funny thing... I'm looking for a new job and Amazon called me today to talk about being their regional facilities manager for Delaware!

[martinfan5]

You are correct. In my comments I said in the future, large companies like Amazon would be on their own to collect sales tax for all states. It's coming! Anytime there is money to be had, they'll figure a way to tax us for it!

And a funny thing... I'm looking for a new job and Amazon called me today to talk about being their regional facilities manager for Delaware!

I must of missed the future part, I am good at that, are you taking the job?

Ever since Amazon opened up their center here, is when I stopped being a Amazon customer all the time, half the stuff I would buy at Amazon, I can buy on Ebay

But the one nice thing about having the Amazon center here is, I get overnight shipping for free, the last thing I ordered from Amazon, it shipped out on Monday, and was in my mail box on Tuesday

Edited October 7, 2013 by martinfan5

[Tom Geiger]

are you taking the job?

No where near that decision. They have a few positions open and asked for me to forward my resume to them. The next move is theirs! They found me on LinkedIn.

Operations like this are pretty interesting. A while back I toured the Fed Ex Ground facility in NJ. It was amazing to see the volume that was coming in. They were the receiving office for all the fulfillment companies in the area. They said they have drivers on the road that do hourly switch boxes 24/7 at places like Amazon and LL Bean. I watched as a 55 foot trailer from LL Bean was being emptied. Pictured this box loaded front to back to the roof with those tyvek packages, not in boxes or anything, just that kind of volume. And that was an hour's shipment!

The trucks were unloaded by a single worker who loaded the packages on a telescoping conveyor belt that had lights on it. This thing followed the worker into the trailer by electric eye so nobody brought packages to the back of the truck, the conveyor went into it. I was there evaluating the conveyor system for my then employer.

Edited October 7, 2013 by Tom Geiger

[martinfan5]

No where near that decision. They have a few positions open and asked for me to forward my resume to them. The next move is theirs! They found me on LinkedIn.

Operations like this are pretty interesting. A while back I toured the Fed Ex Ground facility in NJ. It was amazing to see the volume that was coming in. They were the receiving office for all the fulfillment companies in the area. They said they have drivers on the road that do hourly switch boxes 24/7 at places like Amazon and LL Bean. I watched as a 55 foot trailer from LL Bean was being emptied. Pictured this box loaded front to back to the roof with those tyvek packages, not in boxes or anything, just that kind of volume. And that was an hour's shipment!

Oh yeah, I can believe it