This is about shops that advertise in MRR & this advertising is revenue for MRR & it’s this revenue that keeps the price of the magazine at an affordable price.
We don’t need to get anyone upset.
I think constructive critizism will be allowed unless someone complains.
No need to get mean about it.
I’m only curious as I recently did this in Orlando & went to “The Train Depot” in Winter Park.
Decent shop, almost every scale covered, prices reasonable.
Gordon
If the negative thoughts get out of hand Erik will probably close this poll unless I do so first.
Local hobby shops for me are in Tucson, 70 miles away; Arizona City, 150 miles away; or Phoenix, over 250 miles away, so my trips to them are nearly always specifically for that purpose and no other. And yes, I have found out about them from MR advertisements more than any other way. On my first foray into Phoenix, I copied down the name, address, and phone number of every hobby shop advertised in MR, downloaded maps of their locations, and planned my itinerary ahead of time so I didn’t waste a lot of the day fighting the traffic. Rush hour traffic in Phoenix is 24 hours per day and never lets up.
Had to go to Daytona Beach re-time share.After meeting went to Ormand Beach to a Hobby Stores. Unimpressed. Their selection was limited and small. I have more trains than they do. From what they have I think they are looking for first time buyers. Many of the El Cheapo rolling stock. Way below BB standards.
Flip.
I’ve done this many times. I used to travel extensively for business, so I had lots of opportunities to visit different shops. The Little Choo Choo Shop in Spenser, NC is one of the best I found. Good, knowledgeable people, great inventory, and it’s right across the street from the Southern’s old Spenser Shops, now the North Carolina Transportation Museum. I now live about 2 hrs. from any model railroad store, so I used the ads to help plan my search for a “Local Hobby Shop”. Kennesaw Trains in Kennesaw Ga. wasn’t the first one I checked out, but I’m glad I kept looking until I found them. Once again, good people, good selection, very knowledgeable and friendly. I found a few I didn’t care for so I just kept looking.
I travel frequently and always plan my trip around what ever LHS are listed in the latest MR index. I stop at several along the way on every trip. If they don’t advertise in MR, I don’t know they exist! (Free plug for Model Railroader! [:D] )
I’ve alway enjoyed stopping in different cities to stretch my legs, see a new shop and meet new folks. Sometimes I stumble on great bargains this way, too. [tup]
I stopped at the Little Choo-Choo Shop in Spencer,NC. It was awesome.Then last year I planned my trip to Virginia to go through Wilson,NC and stop at the Antique Barn and Train Store. That was worth the the 75 mile detour. And I spent money in both places.But after thinking about this question, I would like to add a comment about MY buying habits.At my local LHS,I buy what I need, at out of town LHS’s,I buy what I want but don’t need.Hope that makes sense.
When I first got back into the hobby my wife and I were vacationing in New England, and I brought along a copy of MR to find area shops. Most of them were a dissapointment to me, and I found the same later on in different areas.
They often listed in their MR ad “complete scratchbuilding supplies” and other such descriptions which usually proved to be quite an exaggeration. Most of the time I had more supplies at home than they did. Whenever I’d ask if they had something in particular, the reponse was usually " No we don’t have it, but we can order it for you.". Thanks but no thanks, I could order it for myself.
Being from Canada I expected really great prices in U.S. shops, but usually found full list price items only. Some items were even more expensive than what I could get back home, and our dollar was worth a lot less than the American dollar.
The only shop that I found that had a decent selection was Bay State Models in Groveland, MA. The shop was in a garage in the first level of his home in a small town, and he had lots of goodies for me.
I found the same lack of selection in shops in Montreal too. I guess the best way to find the good shops is to ask other people with experience.
Since those days, I don’t beleive much what the shops say in their ads, as most of it is just fluff. [B)]
I’ve done this - is usually one of the first things I do when visiting an area, pick up a copy of the Yellow Pages and look up model shops! I’ve found some good and some great ones using this technique, though I agree about the adverts sometimes being slightly wrong - one of my LHS is currently advertising the new Walthers Heavyweights (which to the best of my knowledge aren’t due until next year!).
I go. I’m looking for detail stuff, odd-ball cars or some locomotive stock to fill holes in my fleet. Often seeing in fact vs. catalog makes it easier to make some orders with my LHS. Each owner trys to understand and serve their local. It’s this that makes it possible to locate stuff that is back-ordered, production interrupted, and all those other problems of trying to get what you want when you want it.
When ever I’m on a trip soemwhere I’ll try to find LHS in that town. But for me my realy good local hobby shop is about 50 miles away, and I only get there every few weeks.
I travel all over the place. There is always time in my schedule for at least a brief visit to the LHS, so I avail myself. MR’s index is very helpful, thought not exclusive, for my planning efforts.
I always try to search out the local hobby shop if I will be in the town a few days. I haven’t necessarily looked for / found it in MRR advertising. My intent is to have something familiar to do, and to buy something to remind me of my visit to that city. I always try to buy at least a small car kit representing a local industry or the local railroad.
Yes, in fact, I’ve visited LHS that had towns around them!
During my recent rideaboot, I visited MR listed shops in NYC, Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Colorado, Arkansas, and probably a couple other states. In about half, I made purchases. What I found most annoying was when a place would advertise that they specialize in this, that, the otherthing, and everything under the sun, and then they turn out to be smaller than your average 7-11, and don’t specialize in ANYTHING. grrrrrr. I found some fantastic shops though. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the names of most, but must give a HUGE thumbs up to
Tommy Gilbert’s - Gettysburg, PA
Train Cellar - Lincoln, NE
Silver Spike Hobbies - Denton, TX
Schuykill Flyer - Schuykill, PA
Tractive Effort Hobbies - Fayetville, AR
