I moved back to Dallas from 2 years in small town Oklahoma. One of the things I hated about Oklahoma was being unable to get simple things. At one time I purchased Woodland Scenics colorant here in the DFW area with no problem from Hobby Lobby. Now they are out and do not carry supplies like that once did. So I went to my local hobby shop and neither do they. The local hobby shop said to use tempra paint. Ok no where in the suburb I live in carries tempra paints. Back to Hobby Lobby(20 mile trip)! They carry brown, red, yellow, blue and green. It is really sad when you live in an area with over 3.5 million people and you have to drive 60 miles round trip to get simple things or mail order!
yes, that is a growing problem everywhere. that is one reason why we have the internet.
i remember one time years ago when i needed a dozen caboose industries ground throws. i drove over 120 miles that day and visited 3 hobby shops. one had 2 pieces, one had 3 and the other had none. i should have called first.
i came home and spent 5 minutes on the phone and got everything i needed in a couple of days from a mail order house in new jersey.
lack of stocking an inverntory in dept is a self perpetuating problem for most small businesses and i hate to see them fail but i can understand why they do. you can’t sell anything off an empty wagon.
As we progress into the future we go backward. This is like the old west when you bought something from Chicago or New York and the train or stage coach brought it to you in Colorado. I’ll have to place an order with MB Klein and just have it delivered without the hassles.
Where i live,i only have Hobbytown MSRP which is a 20 mile drive. I guess 20% of the store is tains.I usually only buy paints,glues or styrene items there,the rest is online.
I guess I’m pretty lucky. I have 2 decent hobby shops within about a 23 mile drive that are reasonably well stocked, especially in HO and N, and if I were into larger scale stuff, two or three somewhat closer that specialize in the larger sizes.
I have had 2 LHS…one just a few minutes down the Parkway {expensive, limited supplies, and now closing} and one 45 mins drive {at highway speeds} away with very reasonable wholesale pricing.
The Local one was OK for going to get a “little thing” like an extra section of track or a can of dullcote.
It Matters not whether I drive there, or mail order from the wholesaler and have delivered, the cost above the price of the products at the wholesaler to get it here is about the same.
If I drive there to the wholesaler, unfortunately it is not good for my wallet, as I always find more to buy than I intended {boy do they make out when I go}!!!
Not turning it into a firestorm, just pointing out…The one a few mins away is going all web based and they are closing the store… BUT they will charge $78.40 on the net for the same Bachmann DCC onboard Diesel loco that a regular internet supplier charges $65.99 for and the wholesale place charges $53.95 for! Why would I pay about 50% more for the same loco when I will pay shipping anyway? You know who I will order from!
More and more will go internet, I fear. I have to admit I find it nice to search for things in my comfy computer chair than going out to the store where they MAY or MAY NOT have what I am looking for.
The flip side of that is that I like to see, smell, touch, taste and hear a product before I buy it.
I have friends who moved out to the country…way out in the country. They have almost everything except groceries deliverd to their door off the internet! How Convenient!
Hobby shops can’t afford to carry the inventory they used to following the business plan they usually chose. I do probably 90% of my purchases on the internet nowdays. The other 10% is split between train shows and hobby shops. There are only two hobby shops I know of that carry a lot of stuff up here in Canada, at FAIR prices. Credit Valley and Canadian Model Trains with Otter Valley catching up quickly. You can basically get everything you need and actually get to see new releases when they are released. How can these guys carry so much stuff? Because most of their sales are internet sales. The mom and pop shops can’t do it. Why? Because they are stuck in the 60’s. The internet is huge and has a huge client base. If the mom and pop hobby shops can’t get with the times then they will disappear for sure. Most can’t afford to carry million plus dollar inventory’s, the ones that can will thrive.
To be honest I prefer to shop on the internet. It is obviously convenient and I get my items in a day or two. Not a big deal to me. All of the Internet stores I deal with also do shows and carry paint, screws etc so I usually make up an order and pick up my items at a train show.
Always support your LHS!!! If not then don’t complain when you pay $7.99 shipping for $1.99 pack of #11 blades. Wait until the govt. puts restrictions on shipping those little paint bottles via USPS. All it takes is one idiot moonbat in congress to file a bill eliminating the transfer of small amounts of paint and or solvents via mail. Then UPS and Fed Ex will also have to comply or raise the rates. I have absolutely no problem paying a couple bucks more for the convenience of picking up those little things locally.
The one I frequent when I’m in town has the typical WS carousel, and it’s always full.
Personally I go to the LHS for model train items more than scenery items, scenery items can be had anywhere with some imagination. You have one of the better hobby shops around, I wish I had it closer to me.
I normally shop MAL as it is close. The owner is normally good to deal with but it takes time to get somethings from him. Discount carries everything but it is a pain to get there. LBJ is under construction and I hate Beltline Addison traffic. Hobby Lobby is useless anymore. People tell me to go to Wild Bill’s but past experience with them has been bad.
So here is what I did. Went to Home Depot and bought 3 pints of different color brown flat paints. I am going to experiment with the paints and work on highlights and shadows. Only thing I can say is we’ll see what happens.
How about craft stores like Michaels and A.C. Moore? They don’t have “train” stuff, but they have art stuff like paints, brushes, balsa wood, glue and so on coming out their ears. And, since they cater to the ladies, they have coupons and discounts, too.
For trains, though, I support my LHS whenever possible. It’s a small shop, so i don’t expect everything I want in inventory. On the other hand, he will order anything from any of his suppliers, and I don’t end up paying for shipping. He gives me a discount, too. Add to that a wealth of knowledge and advice, plus the friendship that comes from being greeted by name, and it takes me back to the Transition Era and the old ideas of going down to the hobby shop and getting lost in the aisles of trains.
We have Michaels and Hobby Lobby both are carrying for fake flowers nic nac’s than anything else. Even the home craft person is hard pressed to get anything.
Near my last home the closest (decent) hobby shop was a half hour drive away, but a hobby lobby in town that I used for RR supplies, when they still carried RR supplies.
Now in my new home I have 3 really good hobby shops within a 3-10 mile radius but they don’t have some things that the Hobby Lobby had (and the closest one to me is now a 1/2 hr drive away.)
As far as the internet goes, there is a turnout I’m looking at- it’s cheaper online than my LHS BUT with shipping it comes out the same, plus buying it at my LHS I can return it easier if it is manufactured with an issue.
I always support my local hobby shop but over the years things are getting a little thin. Service is still good but with the economy who can blame them. I usually buy online from MB Klein and have been very pleased. I still like to be able to get a few things quickly and that is becoming a problem. Tempra paint was not available close by so I used Home Depot flat paint as soon as I get to a stopping point I post the pictures. It is coming out a lot better than I thought.
I would LOVE to support my LHS, which is about 5 miles away, if the ‘train guy’ wasn’t so downright rude and occasionally they had something different on their shelves. I still remember the time I walked in there asking about Shinohara and he proceeded to tell me that ‘old man Shinohara’ wasn’t making anything anymore. I went to MB Klein and ordered everything I needed - and they still have stock. There is another LHS about 25 miles away that is just a hole in wall place, no frills, but they aways seem to have what I need at discounted prices. I don’t want to turn this whole discussion into a rant about the LHS, because we do need to support them. But if they choose to sacrifice customer service then I have a hard time. Okay - I promise I won’t say another word
Man, I would love to have a hobby store near where I live. 175 miles away is the closest one. When I go to NY to visit family I go to all of the Train shops…It is such a great feeling to walk into a store devoted(or partially devoted) to my hobby. An aisle of rolling stock, an aisle of scenery supplies, an aisle of structures…oh, and the locomotive showcase…what a pleasure it is to look at those new locos, with the actual ‘price tag’ tied onto them…you can ask to see one, and you get to hold it, maybe listen to the sound on the test track…
Needless to say I save my pennies for those trips…but, I am an online shopper, and I get all excited when the package arrives.
I hear you on that one loud and clear. It is two hour drive to the nearest one for me and its ok but not great. It is the internet for me too although it is a 20 mile round trip to the post office.
