Forgive me if this topic has been done before, and I don’t want to be the soul that starts a god-forsaken poll[:)] but as a new forum member I would be interested, for those of you who have a LHS…how did you first hear about the store?
Whoops…tomikawaTT - Chuck - reminded me to add…when you are traveling, how do you search out train shops?
There are only two in our immediate area and probably less than 10 in the entire state of Alaska.
I believe I just stumbled upon them or the yellow pages.
Peter
Driving by. Then went there for about 17 years until they went out of bussiness.
The one I go to the most, I’ve known of since before I can remember. They’ve been open for over 50 years now.[:D]
The other one I heard of from a cousin who lived by it at one time. I think they’re going out of business now.[:(]
Driving by…
It’s so close to my house, it takes me 4 minutes to bike there!
Railfan Alex
I stumbled across mine while doing an internet search for LHS’s within 100 miles of my home. The nearest one was 60 miles away, so that’s where I go. The fact that it’s in the same area as the hospital I go to once a month for physical therapy makes it convenient. I just hit both stops in one trip.
MR’s index of advitisors. Unfortunitly its the only one within 60 miles of me, and it’s not that great of a store. The only reason I go in there is because they sell back issues of MR and RMC for a buck a piece. The good store that was just down the block from me closed down, they had great prices, and a lot of knowledge.
Dave
MR’s index of advitisors. Unfortunitly its the only one within 60 miles of me, and it’s not that great of a store. The only reason I go in there is because they sell back issues of MR and RMC for a buck a piece. The good store that was just down the block from me closed down, they had great prices, and a lot of knowledge.
Dave
When I was a teenager in the 1970’s, I heard about M.B. Klein thru members of my MRR club. Same story with Pro Custom, that once-great LHS that withered away after the death of its founder [Joe Luber].
Peach Creek appeared 2 blocks from my [former] Laurel, MD home in the spring of 1995. My wife was the first one to see their sign and when she told me about it, I thought she was playing some sort of trick on me…[:D] Visiting was believing though…
I heard about mine from members of my club.
I heard about mine through my son who was there buying stuff for his RC car.
I did work experience at mine two years ago, so I go there the other one I heard from word of mouth… In Townsville were i used to live, it was the ONLY hobby shop, so everyone knew where it was.
The 3 LHS in the area that have serious model railroad inventory are in the MR Directory of Leading Model Retailers. Others, found in the Yellow Pages or Google searches, have proven disappointing - but only after a personal, ‘eyeballs on’ visit.
For the most part, that is how I have checked out LHS in the various, numerous places I have lived. First the Model Railroader listings, then the Yellow Pages. For the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, substitute Tetsudo Mokei Shumi for MR - and I never got to the Yellow Pages.
Chuck
1 of them from a coworker, the other 2 I found in the phone book.
My grandpa. We have three within 40 miles of here.
Victor
Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]
I bought an issue of MRR before I subscribed, when I was getting back into the hobby, and checked the list in the back of the Mag for my home state and surrounding states that were easy driving distance. I also went on line to check those that had a web site.
As a store owner, I would strongly urge you to get a Web Site, and have a photo gallery that illustrates the stock that you carry as well as specials. Then, have directions to your store, hours of operation, brand names that you carry as well as Scales that you support. Also mention if you are DC, DCC or both and which DCC systems you carry as well as Decoders, and whether or not you install Decoders.
Also mention if you take orders for what you don’t carry, Charge Cards that you accept, and whetehr you give discounted prices for cash sales.
This should get you off to a good start!!
For me that is the same answer. The first thing I do, in any town, is grab the Yellow Pages and search out all the hobby stores. Now adays, if I am planning a trip ahead of time, I look at the back of MR for the shop listings, and search on-line as well.
The local shop I stumbled across, but it is an Internet slot car shop. The good one about 40 miles away I heard about through my club.
Solicit the clubs in your area. Offer them a slight discount with their membership card.
I found several “hobby shops” in my area by doing a search at yellowpages.ca . However, most were for card collectors or RC cars/planes. Only 3 had any trains. Only two were model train shops (LTS). Unfortunately, the owner of one LTS retired and closed his shop; but the other one is a great place to visit.
Phone book at first, then in the back of MRR. In fact, I consult that whenever I travel.