February 2014 marked our 40th year serving the model railroading community. Over the last 40 years we have seen remarkable changes in the hobby. Some have been amazing and some real head scratchers! As a store we have worked with model railroad enthusiasts to help improve the hobby and make it more enjoyable for all.
I personally have been dealing in model trains since I was 14 years old. I met my wife (Janice) at the store and over the past 30 years we have raised 3 children and now have 6 grandchildren. All of my children have worked in the store over the years and all have fond memories and some pretty funny stories of the people they worked with. Roy, my father, has not been active in the store for 15 years. His passing in January has me contemplating the future in a much different way. I believe that doing something for forty years like Roy’s Train World is a major accomplishment in today’s world. I also feel this is a good time for me to try something new while I still have plenty of energy. I would like to see what it is like to punch a time clock and just go home at the end of the day.
I know of one in Columbus sooo,there must be thousands of others through out the country.
How long these shops will last depends on the owners age,health,retirement date and if they embrace the Internet…
I read that all businesses is suffering sales lost from the internet giants. You can order on line from any big box department store too.
We had a grocery store you could order on line and they would deliver.That didn’t last long…Folks here in Bucyrus still like shopping for groceries the old fashion way.
There is the TrainStop, which is exclusive to trains, and then 2 blocks away is Robbies Hobbies, which caters to trains, RC, models, and signs. I know Robbies does the internet thing, but The TrainStop does not, and since they are a straight MSRP store, I question their future… There is another shop in Lancaster that has a fair bit of train items, most noteably ModelMaster paints (that haven’t been there 10yrs).
About Bucyrus…I’m sure there are plenty of people who still use outhouses there too.
We should be numb to this announcements. First, hobby shops, or model train stores have always “opened for business” and later “closed up”. They are, almost without exception small family run businesses that typically only last through the lifetimes of one or two people.
And all that was true long before all the changes in the hobby and in business economics that have happened in the last decade or so.
And as I have explained it is very difficult if not impossible for such businesses to operate on the “old distributor fed” business model.
So now it is go big, buy direct, have a big inventory and low prices - or go home - some will go home…having worked a few and been the assistant manager of one, I can understand why many are choosing to go home.
My offer still stands to run the perfect train store if I can just find the investors for the 10 million.
Substitute “record store” or “book store” or “movie rental” for “hobby shop” and the tale is the same, as is the internet angst about it. One difference is that there are still model trains while there aren’t many records (ahem, “compact discs”) being made.
As soon as government really figures out how to tax internet sales – and it will – some of the advantages over brick and mortar will look less obvious. How many of us declare and pay the “use tax” payment for our internet purchases that were not subjected to a sales tax?
Just goes to show how people are different. First I have no use for olives…
Second, 10 million is not enough to just sit back and do nothing, at least not for me.
Third, that was sort of the point. The model train business has always been a tough business, and is tougher now - not directly or solely because of the internet like some think, but because business in general is different now.
Dave, first off not every State even has a provision for paying such a use tax…
Second, sales taxes, or the lack of them, are not why the Internet is successfull. It is about reaching the largest number of customers at the lowest cost per sale, and maximizing inventory efficiency and increasing sales volume to cover ever shrinking profit margins.
Internet businesses pay taxes on their profits just like any other businesses, and shipping costs more than offset saving in sales taxes so on the consumer end that is a wash.
The biggest problem for small shops is discounting - period. It does not matter if that discounter is on the Internet, on the pages of MR with an 800 number, or a brick and mortar store like Kleins, Train World, Star Hobby and others. Small shops buying ones and twos of items from distributors have to pay nearly what is now the common street price for many items in this hobby - because the big boys buy direct and cut out the distributors - giving that profit to the customer in discounts.
Don’t bet on it. With the current means of production in China, and typical batch sizes on those product runs, a well stocked train store would need to commit to some serious inventory.
That is the problem with this business now, there is no inventory. What little there is bought up in advance by Kleins, Train World, Caboose, Star Hobby and list of similar players willing to commit to lots of product.
Sure, lots of it is presold - but that is actually not good for a true “retail” store. The idea of a store is INVENTORY on hand when you want it, not just a local location to place an order for something that will be made 6 moths from now. I can do that online better and faster than at a store.
So with the current manufacturing model, a really good store - like Kleins, Trainworld or Star Hobby - buys big volumes of product so they have stuff to sell “in between” shipments of new releases.
The really good store would have tons of stuff. It would be that place where you can find the item made three years ago currently not in production. It would be that place where a “builder” type of modeler could walk in and get 90% of the detail parts and supplies for his project right off the shelf.
I think some of you are significant underestimating how much a retail store costs to lease, stock, staff, and operate.
Let’s suppose I wanted to open a hobby shop within walking distance of my apartment (I’ll say up front that I’m stacking the deck against myself because I’m picking an expensive area (Old Town Alexandria) of an expensive city (DC)). I looked into a storefront I know to be available for leasing, as I walk past the place all the time, and saw that it’s 3400 sq ft and going for about $30/sf/yr. So rent is $102,000 a year. I’ll want to be open seven days a week. Let’s go with modest hours of 11-7 Monday to Thursday 11-9 Friday, 9-9 Saturday, and Sunday 10-6. I’d need to have at least two and probably three people in the store at all times (so someone can handle customer service, one for internet/phone sales, and someone able to handle the register while others are occupied) and four on the weekend. I think I’d need to have a staff of seven to cover all those times and staff levels. So seven people working 40 hours a week and making…hrm its retail so not very high but I’d like to attract some semi-decent people in a high cost of living area so I’d have to go at least $12/hr if not higher. Payroll puts me at $175k a year. So I’ve spent over a quarter of a million dollars and I haven’t even turned on the lights, bought a shelf to put anything on, put a sign out front, or even a single bag of Woodland Scenics ballast.
Speaking of, how much do you figure it’s going to cost me to get the full size spinner displays of Evergreen, Plastruct, and Woodland Scenics products? And my K&S metal rack, the rack of Midwest basswood, the required aisle worth of Model Master, Scalecoat, and whoever else paints, brushes, and finishing materials.
Oh, and given that there’s zero way I’m going to cover the lease and payroll in my first year and probably operate at