Randy,
Their isnāt as much interest in model railroading anymore compared to the past. Here in Phoenix, Arizona many LHSās have been swallowed up by larger hobby chains, yet when I try to obtain model railroad stuff, the counter help wonāt voluntarily walk over, theyāre busy revving up those RC cars!! And, if you have a question regarding MR products, they have no clue. Of course this is their nitch in the market, yet why bother carrying trains. Again we have a few train shops here, but again like othersā said, costumer service is lacking. I can live with higher prices and would be more than happy to support the LHS but donāt treat me like a third world trainman. I mentioned before in another post, I had great success with a LHS which was runned by younger more energetic and not afraid to experiment w/ new methods type of businessmen, unfortunately they went out of biz due to family illness. Lastly, as other posts mention, advertising is significant. Yet none of the LHSās (even the chains) have a webpage or any type of ads offering anything, like sales or listings of their products. It always appears that some of the old time LHSs want to keep MR hiddenā¦only for their own. I get that feeling walking into some of the LHSsā¦no help, the store proprietor and chatters giving you that stare kinda like a stranger walking into a one horse town. As I continue to get older and gather more experience at MRing (everyday is a school day) I just hope that I donāt become too smart for the hobby and become one of those chatters at the LHS who stares down the newbie. [;)]
Great points allā¦and points which all the modelers in my area have understood for a while. Maybe itās because we come from a big town/little city and have seen a LOT of small businesses come and go over the years. Of the dozen or so local modelers I know, not a one of them has bought a thing at the Hobby Lobby since it openedā¦instead we do price scouting for our LHS owner, another modeler who runs the shop himself with his mom doing the bookkeeping. Heās been in business since before I can remember, and itās only because we make a special effort to buy at his store. Yes, I can (and often do) get larger items cheaper on the internetā¦I feel I do my part. If each of us is spending $50-$100 a week at the LHS, this guy will stay in business for a good while. No, itās not a kingās ransom, but considering his layout is right in his store, itās a decent enough living. Granted I might get more bang for my buck spending that same money on the netā¦but then where would I hang out every few days? Who would be there to take a look at our gear for us when it goes bad? Who would be around on weekends to sell us parts before an operating session a lot faster than we could get the same stuff mail order? We apprecaite having him, and he appreciates our businessā¦last time I went in there I walked out having paid about 30% less than the sticker prices on most of what I bought. Why? Because he appreciates that I take time every week to go in there and spend money. Nobody is pulling punches hereā¦itās a good system and as long as it works, weāll be happy for years.
I should mention too that he recently started running some local TV ads. Iām stoked about thisā¦I donāt know that heāll get that much more business, considering he is the only LHS for at least 50 miles in any direction, but at least heās standing up and not allowing franchises like Hobby Lobby to put him out of business.
One exception. Joeās Hobby Shop (the one in Dearborn was my LHS, long closed as well as the two others) just before Christmas. But no other time. If you went to the fridge for an eggnog, you missed it.
My new LHS, and favorite, is Daves Hobby & TV in Westland (Garden City boarder) on Warren Road between Inkster Rd and Middlebelt RD. The only sign thatās on the building is letters on the door that say " Hobby Shop". Dave and his wife Lucy specialize in trains and are a Marklin dealer. Itās a worn out little place and kind of looks abandoned, but they have a lot of new old stock, especially some out of production detail parts I have been trying to find for years.
For what it is worth (probably not much) H & R Trains here in St. Pete, Fl advertises in MR and other national publications. She has a web site and does a āland oficeā mail order business. They host two fairly big train shows each Fall and Spring and outdoor operating day (G gauge) is every Sunday (weather permitting). There is a P.C. in the Shopās Library available for customers to search on-line. Several āhands onā classes are taught in private rooms on the premesis and a periodic ānewsletterā is mailed out maybe four times a year. They do honor Waltherās dicount prices but everything else is MSRP. They have a repairman available and āturn aroundā time is quicker than any mail-in service. Yes, it is expensive! Bearing in mind that St. Pete is a big retirement area and is āhomeā for many Senior Model Railroaders; still the owner stocks a large inventory and leaves āno stone unturnedā to promote the Hobby. Another popular shop is Frankās Trains and Hobbies in nearby Oldsmar, Fl, even larger than H&R. Frankās discounts most items in all gauges anywhere from 10% and up to 25% on over-stocks (great Repairman, by the way). If you are ever in the Tampa Bay Area, both of these shops are worth a visit. I donāt intend this to be an advertisement. This is strictly a F.Y.I. sort of message if your tarvels bring you nearby. Letās hear it for the LHS when you really need them.
Ted,
Way cool. Seems like both places have the right idea on surviving as a LHS even though both have taken different approaches. Hopefully both will remain in business for year to come!
enduringexp - you mentioned that you have never seen a newspaper ad for a LHS in Detroit. The Detroit News and Free Press frequently have ads for Wild Bills trains (specializing in Lionel) over on Groesbeck near Metro Parkway. Wild Bills typically does more advertising in the paper around the holidays.
Another shop in the northern Detroit suburbs is P&D, also on Groesbeck near Utica Rd, in Fraser. P&D is a regular advertiser in MR and I believe Iāve seen their ads in the News and Free Press, too, although they are very infrequent.
We dont stare down newbies here Hazmat9, in fact it makes a new sense of purpose teaching a newly interested person about the hobby. They are greeted and introductions made and go from there.
I couldnāt agree with you more HighIron, ever since Iāve signed up here, Iāve felt very welcome. The imense amount of help that Iāve already gotten here from the group far exceeds what Iāve gotten in the past from LHSs or some of the smaller train meets. In fact, before coming back to MRing after years of carnival modeling, I was first reluctant, but after joining this group Iāve learned a lot, received much encouragement and enjoyed reading the posts. I hope to make many new friends here and share some of my experience as well. Steve [:D]
Holy cow, davekelly! Just for fun I checked the road atlas. Amarillo to Lubbock is 118 miles, not to mention the hefty hike to El Paso! Amarillo has a shop listed in the magazineās index, but outside of Dallas and Houston, you are truly out of luck. Iād bet thereās no lhs in Pacos or Fort Stockton, either! Youāre doinā great just to be in this awesome hobby. 50 miles looks like a conservative figure to me!
Geoeisele,
Actually living out here, one gets used to it. I travel to Amarillo for my Reserve drill weekends, it really isnāt that bad lol. Actually we do have a LHS here in town. Although the majority of the shop is RC Airplaces (and there are some real beauties there!), the owner, Robert, allows the local train club to use half of his building for their layout. He is the example of friendly, curteous and helpful to all!
davekelly,
Nothinā like a drill weekend in the summer in Texas, huh? [:)] Iām glad you have a good lhs there in Amarillo. That is Santa Fe territory, after all, as you know. Anyway, you Texans are the nicest folks Iāve met in my travels around the USA. (Donāt want to get another thread started on that subject.) Glad youāre havinā fun! George
There are a number of LHS in my area.Two of these have large discounts on locos and cars.These are the ones I buy from.Others sell everything at MSRP.These are the ones that have larger book selections.I will buy books and magazines at these shops, but not locos or rolling stock.I also buy at train shows, I can usually get bargains there.
Spent over an hour today (north of Toronto, Ontarioāyes, that is in Canada) searching for an address for a new local hobby shop advertised on websiteā¦and the map was sooo wrong! The street does not exist ā I will check tomorrow! ā and the only other shops are almost an hour away in Toronto.
I too wi***hat some of the LHS would risk a bit on local advertising.
I have had the same question on my mind since I returned to the hobby 2 mo. ago. We have just a few stores in town, 1 close, 1 medium, 3 40 miles or more, and then up in LA there are quite a few. While price concerns me, I have owned two businessā and sold for others. I understand profit, but with a higher price should come better service, a la Nordstroms. $200 shirts, but incredible service, no questions asked returns, and they treat you like a king. I canāt afford Nordys but my brother in law only shops there, and I inherit his twice worn ties and shirts. ($100 ties are nuts, but I have them thanks to him). Same goes for trains. If you are retail price, service should be there. If I had an owner like Roger in town, he would be booming. A caring, helpful teacher. I believe most LHS owners canāt stand kids in their stores, and there is the problem. NO KIDS, no future.
LGB has a motto on their brochures and they make you want to check out their trains. They even have cheap kid ātoy trainsā to get them going.
O scale has cool buildings and trains to get you excited. And the train operaters are the friendliest people I have met.
HO is a bunch of cranky old farts that dislike kids. Thats fine for you in your own layout, but not when you own a store. In San Diego, LA, and Las Vegas, kids are barely tolerated in the stores. We have had more fun a train shows with out of town dealers being friendly. Even the clubs are not very kid friendly, except for the 3 rail guys, and the lego guys.
I learn a lot from the old farts. Heck at 45 I am starting to look like one. I can still grow long hair, dress wild, and listen to Zepplin loud. [:D] I have met some great older folks on this forum, and they love life. They joke, tell stories, teach a little, tolerate silly questions from us newbies, but they include us in their circle. If I owned a store, these are the guys I would have in there, teaching kids how to love trains.
Maybe I will own that store, just depen
Commoncupbob, Toronto is such a neat big city. I was there for the āExpoā in the Sixties. Wow, what a subway system! Iām amazed there arenāt more LHS in the area.
TurboOne, Hey Tim, have you been in Las Vegas, say around August? When I walked out of the airport door, it was like hitting a āBurning Ring of Fire.ā It was so hot, I didnāt even check out the AmTrak Station (a āroadā ritual for me). I suppose AmTrak has regular runs between L.A. and Vegas (High-Rollerās Special)? What ever they say about ādry heat,ā is strictly a rumor! There was a reportedly great LHS in the area but too far out of town for me to check-it-out. A Local said the Shop had one of the best brass import stock in the West. Once upon a time San Diego had a fine LHS but Iām going back for āmany a moon.ā Soon I will be visiting family on the Coast (L.A.). Can you recommend any LHS in San Diego and/or L.A.? I still collect older kits (prefer meta & wood). If you know of a shop that might handle such Dinosaurs, I would appreciate some info. on same. Have a happy, Ted
Here in Northern Wisconsin, my nearest LHS is 15 miles, and is rarely open on a regular basis. His inventory is poor, and I am sure he is working on going out of business. His prices are full MSRP on items he does have and his knowlege of railroading models is very limited. The times that I have really tried to purchase from him, have left me dissatisfied because I never get what I went for.
My next nearest LHS is 75 miles away, so I now do nearly all of my purchasing on the internet. Unfortunately for the LHS, I get better prices, better service and get what I need when I need it online. Even considering shipping, I do better online since driving 150 miles costs plenty at todays gas prices.
I realize that my LHS canāt stock everything all the time, but it seems like they stock mostly the lower end items and will āspecial orderā anything else, again at full MSRP from Walthers or Horizon. I can do that online and know in advance if something is in stock or not.
Much as I would love to be able to support a ālocalā business, for me it just makes more sense to shop online. I get better selection, price, service and satisfaction.
Sorry, LHS, thatās just the way it is.
[#ditto]
That about sums it up for me.
Ted D. Kramer,
In and around the Greater Toronto area, there are actually quite a few really, really well-stocked model railroad stores. Thereās a population of several million people starting one hour east of the city and going west around Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls, so you donāt need to drive far to get the goods. However, you do have to drive through the snow!!
-Dave