I just got an email from Peach tree shops stating that they will be closing as of June 1. Many reasons stated, but most have to do with the finances. Many products have or are going up as much as 25% & people, with this economy, can’t pay the additional cost, Price of shipping, insurance, taxes, medical rent, etc.
I am very fortunate that I live 20 min. from a well stocked train shop. He is holding his own by charging mostly list & picking up customers from other shops that are closing, which just about keeps pace with the modelers that are dying off. He is technically retired & who knows how long he will keep the shop open. No one could afford to buy it & his stock & hope to make a profit so he will probably have a big sale & sell the empty building for a Nail Salon.
Off of Peach Creek’s site: Their willingness to sell directly to the customer was the catalyst
If all the other stuff was 100% true, then places like M Ry Post Office and Trainworld would be in the same boat, sending out the same emails. The bottom line is …" the competition killed me and I didn’t do a thing about it"
There are hardly any shops left in Florida and the ones who are still here cater more to the RC crowd.
The shops who do survive, and nicely, have learned to adapt to the unfortunate “new way” of doing business…those who are stuck in the 60’s including the curmudgeon behind the counter …well, I’m truly sorry for them because I’d much rather go to a store - touch and feel - and visit with friendly, service oriented personnel.
Even if it costs a few more bux. If you have a shop like this near you…keep supporting them.
I totally agree. I am blessed with 3 very good LHSes in my area, each within a 1/2 hour drive of me. Each of them has their strengths and I try to support them as much as possible.
Although I do buy a few hard-to-find items and deep-discount locomotives online, I still spend ~80-90% of my MRRing budget at my LHS.
Tom - I take it you’re referring to Wings in Lakewood and the shop on W. 130 as #1 & 2. After that, I’m guessing the store on Pearl in Old Brooklyn? If I’m off target on any of these, please advise. Thanks.
I visited PCS a few years ago when they moved into their present location in Laurel. Myself and a co-worker were TDY in the DC area and decided to visit. We enter the store, i say “hi” to guy behind counter, he ignores me and continues talking to his buddy there. We must have walked around looking for 10 minutes, no assistance whatsoever from the two guys shooting the breeze up front, no “can I help you?” I finally just bought a couple old MRs and left, commenting to my friend about poor customer service and is it any wonder how LHSs go out of business. Sad thing is, both of us are active modelers and have money to spend that day, but why bother?
Yes, it is a shame when a LHS goes out of business, but some of these owners/managers need to look in the mirror to see where their business problems lie.
Interesting story, especially since I know the owner of PCS personally. Having worked in the model train retail business years ago, managing a train department in a full line hobby shop, I can understand your frustration and don’t doubt your story, but will say that is not “typical” of service at PCS.
BUT, it is often hard for retail workers to ALWAYS be enthusiastic and/or it can be hard to “read” customers. I know that myself personally, I hate to be hovered over or pestered while browsing in ANY retail store, model trains or otherwise. So much more than one “can I help you” is actually offensive to me. And I really hate attempts to “sell” stuff rather than just letting me “buy” stuff.
That’s not to say I don’t or won’t chew the fat with a store owner/worker, but that depends on my time and mood.
Without getting personal, or speaking for him, the owner of PCS is, I suspect, at a point where he does not need to overcome the challenges that are now facing this industry and hobby, and likely he simply does not want to. At least that is
I don’t want shop owners pestering me either, but it’d be nice to be acknowledged when you enter the store.
I had a similar event happen to me many years ago when I bought my first personal computer. I walked into a computer store, knowing what I wanted, and ready to spend ~$3,000. There were a couple of salesmen standing at the corner talking, and neither acknowledged me when I entered, or came to ask if they could help me while I stood in the aisle for a few minutes. I intentionally waited around 10 minutes to see if they would ever make a move in my direction, and when they didn’t, I left and spent my money at another store.
I’ve been in many hobby shops, some that had good customer service, and some that made me feel like I was priviledged to be in their shop. Of course, that’s not limited to hobby shops only.
I will miss Peach Hobby Shop as well. I have been a customer for at least 10 years. I purchased many of my Kadee RTR frieght cars there and several Atlas engines. They were always willing to order something for me and provide sound advise on various model train topics.
It’s all our fault. We’re not supporting the LHS. We’re too cost-conscious and buy too much stuff from discount-mailorder businesses. It’s like shopping at Walmart but bemoaning the disappearance of small businesses.
I’m sure some folks won’t agree with you, but I find myself doing exactly that with almost everything I purchase, not just hobby supplies. I’ve discovered that it’s very easy to get obsessed about getting the lowest price possible without thinking about customer service or who you’re buying it from. I often find myself in a mindset where there are certain items I won’t buy unless they’re on sale.
At the same time, I don’t remember it being that way as much when I was younger. I don’t know if that’s due to the growth of big box retailers, the internet, or folks just being more price conscious because of the economy. There are times when I feel like a chump if I buy something that’s being sold for full price. Then I have to remind myself that it wasn’t always this way and there’s nothing wrong with it, especially if you’re dealing with a small independent businessperson and the price is reasonable. So I end up feeling torn between being a smart shopper and feeling uncomfortable with our current culture of mass merchandising and discounting when it’s forcing so many little guys out of business.
Keep in mind, the idea of “mass merchandising” is not something newly created because of the internet. How may readers here remember AHC (America’s Hobby Center) in New York who took out page after page of mass discounted model items in not only MR but other publications back 40 years ago…THEN…you have all the “basement” vendors from the Classifieds. The internet has basically just replaced the SSAE with click and buy.
If the mass merchandisers were totally responsible for killing off the local shops, then places like Allied, Caboose, The Whistle Stop, Des Plaines and other large shops would have gone away a long, long time ago, but…they are still with us.
I think you would have to agree that the attrition in model shops is also due to the owners getting old, their neighborhoods deteriorating, the cost of their business location going up (such as maintenance and repairs). Remember the mass merchandisers also have to have a place to stash everything they sell, pay rent , pay the light bill, and pay folks to ship you the stuff you order, etc. etc.
And most of all, their refusal to adapt…as I said before.
AB, you hit the nail on the head, maybe without even knowing it.
The KEY to all the shops you mentioned is their LARGE size and COMPLETE and COMPREHENSIVE inventory and service.
Some 30 years ago I managed a train department in a full line hobby shop. You know the kind, we sold RC planes, RC cars, boat models, trains, plastic models of every interest, art supplies, crafts, and more.
We couldsee then that our business model was becoming out moded and that only BIG stores with complete inventories AND more competitive prices (not necessarily the lowest price) would be able to be successful.
It is easy to sit on the sidelines and say that those who “refuse” to adapt… BUT a
While it would be difficult to deny that a very large train store is likely to do better than a much smaller one, I’d have to say that location and the magnitude of the area’s clientele has just as much to do with success. I wouldn’t underestimate the effects of the hobby’s decline, either.
A very large store will draw hobbyists from far greater distances simply because the longer transit time is made worthwhile due to the likely diversity in their stock. However, I honestly don’t believe that there are any more actual products available today than back in the 1970’s and 80’s, only that items have become far too expensive to maintain the diversity shops carried in the past.
From what I have seen via Internet posts, there is clearly a far greater interest in model railroading in what I would regard as the Midwest currently than on either coast. The east coast may have several very large annual train shows, but broad interest in the hobby in the region seems to have grown progressively more spotty than at any time in the past. By example, I’m aware of a distinct pocket of interest around the Boston area today. However, in much of western-most New England and New York’s Hudson Valley, once true hotbeds of model railroading, interest has declined to a low ebb and with it, the number of train hobby shops. My area once boasted half a dozen all train shops within 30 minutes drive, including the largest in the United States! Currently, there are none whatever! Over the years I witnessed those hobbyists frequenting the shops steady age, until we started counting more that had passed away than were currently living. The last shop in the area, a fine moderate-sized, helpful and well stocked one closed its door last year when customer traffic decline below subsistence level.
At least in my region, beyond the aging factor, a major cause of the decline in interest has been the spiraling prices. Throughout my many d
John,In all this gloom and doom of the demise of the LHS there are many factors that never gets mention…Death,lost of lease,divorce settlement,illness,family illness,retirement,high business taxes, new fire codes,poor stock,lack of new stock,full MSRP,poor help,hard to get along with etc…Behind every closing there is a true reason.
Also most on line shops are brick and mortar shops and some was once mail order shops from years ago and they have overhead as well but,the owner was savvy enough to change with the times instead of “business as usual”. based on outdated practices.
While it would be difficult to deny that a very large train store is likely to do better than a much smaller one, I’d have to say that location and the magnitude of the area’s clientele has just as much to do with success. I wouldn’t underestimate the effects of the hobby’s decline, either.
A very large store will draw hobbyists from far greater distances simply because the longer transit time is made worthwhile due to the likely diversity in their stock. However, I honestly don’t believe that there are any more actual products available today than back in the 1970’s and 80’s, only that items have become far too expensive to maintain the diversity shops carried in the past.
From what I have seen via Internet posts, there is clearly a far greater interest in model railroading in what I would regard as the Midwest currently than on either coast. The east coast may have several very large annual train shows, but broad interest in the hobby in the region seems to have grown progressively more spotty than at any time in the past. By example, I’m aware of a distinct pocket of interest around the Boston area today. However, in much of western-most New England and New York’s Hudson Valley, once true hotbeds of model railroading, interest has declined to a low ebb and with it, the number of train hobby shops. My area once boasted half a dozen all train shops within 30 minutes drive, including the largest in the United States! Currently, there are none whatever! Over the years I witnessed those hobbyists frequenting the shops steady age, until we started counting more that had passed away than were currently living. The last shop in the area, a fine moderate-sized, helpful and well stocked one closed its door last year when customer traffic decline below subsistence level.
At least in my region, beyond the aging factor, a major cause of the decline in interest has been the spiralin
I’m 28 years old and new to model railroading (1 year and counting) and I must admit I shop online but give my LHS business when I can afford to. I even try to get them to price match with online just so I can support them. However, it becomes hard to buy from my LHS when their prices are right at MSRP and places like trainworld and modeltrainstuff are way cheaper. For example, I went to purchase an item from my local hobby shop that was marked at MSRP of $239.96 for two items. Trainworld online had the price at $128.98 which included shipping. I can’t pass that up, that’s basically a free ready to roll engine in savings. I did try to price match with my LHS but they stated they paid more for the item than what trainworld was selling it for. So I go to my LHS to purchase rolling stock here and other small items that I don’t mind paying a bit more for. But when it comes to big orders like my recent purchase of 9 SD70ACe’s I saved about $450 by purchasing them online instead of at my LHS. If that makes me a bad person, oh well…I’m a bad person with more $ in my pocket.
Maybe the LHS should have started using Trainworld as a supplier if their prices were better retail that what he was getting wholesale. He could have bought a few and added in a little profit and still been ahead of the game.
Your’s is a commonly held misconception, Sheldon. The situation of availability in the past was drastically different from that of today. Years ago you could walk into most any hobby shop (I’m sure like the one you worked for) and either find any given item in production over the last five or more years, or the store could probably get one for you from their distributor within 72 hours. Larger shops stocked in depth and if they didn’t, at least the area distributors did. Items often remained available as a part of the manufacturers’ line for long intervals and were periodically re-run. But that was yesterday.
You cite the wide selection of items produced during the past 3 years and, yes, there were many. But the question is just how many are still commonly available? In many instances a given item becomes unobtainable within 3-4 months of first issue nowadays, unless you can find it secondhand on eBay. Similarly, shops no longer stock in depth because of the spiraling prices. At the same time, the concept of regional distributors, who might otherwise have been able to supply the shop with an item, has passed, or
