[|(] It’s sad when you can’t walk through the doors of any LHS and not only investigate the selections offered but ask questions of the staff, too–and receive enthusiastic answers in turn. I agree with you about being a ‘lone wolf’ modeler; I thought I was the only one that felt that way. I like my LHS and generally they are pleasant to deal with, yet the owner could care less what you buy so long as you do. It’s all about the dollar to him. I rather dislike the staffers who take modeling much too seriously (“You ain’t got a real model railroad unless you have this…or that…”) and avoid them like the plague. Should there ever come a time when visiting the hobby shop proves more of a chore than a fun experience, I’ll stop going, opting instead to order via the Internet.[V]
There used to be around five hobby shops in this area. Three have closed several years ago. One of the shops mostly caters to Lionel and brass. The other has a separate train department with a lot of HO and some supplies for other scales. While the service is good, the shop is sort of cliquish, and they charge Walthers’ prices. Since I’m in a minority scale and gauge, I usually order a lot online.
Support your LHS… and save $$$ too!
Years back there was a lot of discussion about support your local hobby store as opposed to buying through the big mail order houses - generally a “lower price” vs. “support them so they’re there when you need 'em” argument.
I kept this in mind when I started building a fairly large (12’ x 20’) layout. Designed with Atlas Right Track freeware, I had a parts list of all track componets needed. I compiled the list, specifying the desired or acceptable brands and called local hobby shops asking if they were interested in submitting a bid. Several responded. The winning bid was about 20% lower than I would have paid by cherry-picking the best advertised prices from the various mail / internet order houses.
It was also a win for the LDS - while their percent profit margin was certainly more modest than usual, I’m sure it was a tidy sum considering 1) the amount of purchase, 2) that they didn’t have to carry any special inventory and 3) their effort was minimal.
Lesson learned - if your order is sufficentially large - the LHS can be the best deal anywhere!
Briefly, we’ve lost two hobby shops in the area in the past year. R-T-R is replacing kits a an inflated price and scratchbuilding supplies are getting much harder to come by. I tried to find some doors, windows, wall vents and roof vents (HO) for a project I’m working on with little success. I did come up with some doors that I could use and managed to make the rest out of things in my scrap box and household hardware.
When I operated a train shop in the 1980s, I stocked a large supply of pieces and parts and basic materials as well as paints. 'Tain’t so today. If you want everything already built for you and are willing to pay through the nose for it., you can find it. The hobby has changed and I’m not sure that it is for the better. Fortunately, I’m old and it won’t matter to me much longer…
My observation of the numerous hobby shops I shop at from time to time is this. Generally hobby shops are diversifying. This is logical from a business standpoint. Why focus on a small marked, 1 hobby, when you can carry supplies for many hobbies. The result, however, is that they tend to carry only the most popular items. That means HO scale and Lionel and only the most demanded items and the cheapest items. Even in many of the stricltly model railroad stores if you want something even the least bit different you have to order it. I know there are exceptions, but these seem to be the general rules. I would prefer to see what I am buying before I buy it, but I am resign to the fact that unless I am buying code 80 flextrack (I’m in N scale) or a very common loco or rollingstock or a DPM structure kit, I will have to order it. Thank goodness for the internet!!!
Ron
Discount Model Trains last time I went there was the worst I have ever seen it. They have an area that is a gondola with engines and it was less than half full. The gondola is big probably over 20 ft long. Racks and Racks of Athearn RTR and very little kits. The Proto 2000 loco selection was GP20’s and SD7’s with a couple odd ball PA’s and others. I left with out buying anything and I normally do not do that. It is a hassle for me to get to the place so usually I am in the big time buying mood. Prices were not as good as they once were either.
RMax
Actually, it’s not the LHS’s that are changing, they are just responding to consumer demand. You don’t expect LHS’s to carry products that don’t sell very well,… do you? If kits were good sellers, then dealers would be selling kits like hotcakes.
When a large percentage of consumers demand RTR’s and ignore “blue boxes”, then LHS’s will respond accordingly.
Further more, if consumers buy most, or all, of their high-end products over the Internet, then these products will slowly begin to disappear from the LHS’s shelves.
When Model Railroading enthusiasts take great pride in putting down LHS’s and brag about the great products and prices they receive over the Internet and that they would never buy from an LHS, they are sending a message to folks that might be interested in opening a new hobby shop. Why in the world would anyone try to sell something that can be purchased easier and cheaper over the Internet? IMHO model railroaders will get what they want, although they might not want what they get.
we’ve actually lost a couple hobby shops around my area. And to comment on personality issues, one shop has always been great, the other okay. Although I’ve overheard some experts going on and on, but I’ve managed to avoid the fray. Just go in, look for what small supply of Milwaukee Road stuff they have, and make my purchases.
I have shopped with DMT for a few years now. I have never had a bad experience there. RTR is the wave of the here and now, for better or worse. I, myself, often go there without making a purchase but enjoy being able to see products first hand rather than just a photo or description on a website.
Prices everywhere are going up, not just at hobby shops. I still find that their prices are competitive with internet dealers on most products, especially when shipping charges are considered.
Manufacturers are the ones who have gone the RTR route, not DMT or any other LHS. This is based on many factors, cost, profit margin, and the demand for RTR. RTR does provide the impetus for many who do not have the time to build a lot of kits to enter the hobby in a short period of time and get trains running. This is what will keep the model railroading hobby vibrant. It also allows more time for such things as trackwork and scenery.
As Billy Joel sang in “Keepin’ the Faith”, “The good ole days weren’t all that good, tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.”
RMax, please do not feel flamed by this, as this is not a personal attack on you in any way, just my opinion of how the hobby is changing.
SRVfan
Over the last ten years in my town, we’ve gained one train-focused shop a ways out of town, gained a national chain, and one of the formerly local shops began franchising, drastically reduced what they carry, and closed one of their two retail outlets in town.
The train-focused shop outside of town has been improving its inventory and has been consistently worth the 30 minute drive to get there.
The national chain shop has never really had a very good selection of trains for anyone beyond the beginner stage. For me, it’s useful mostly to pick up the odd pack of rail joiners on a Sunday afternoon.
After it began to franchise its name, the local shop remodeled its original location of 50 years, drastically cut down the depth and breadth of its train inventory, then a year later moved out to consolidate operations at its more suburban location. That wasn’t too bad until late last year, when they moved the train section to the other side of the store and shrunk it further. You can no longer count on them to get new releases in, unless you special-order them in advance- there doesn’t seem to be any interest in ordering much for stock. As a result, I find myself making the 30-minute drive out to the other guy for most of my stuff, or driving the 45 minutes the other way to a larger shop in a big city suburb.
I’m very disappointed with the local shop, as I’d bought from them regularly for nearly 20 years and know a couple of the guys on the staff very well. Unfortunately, the steps they’ve taken recently have driven away most of my business-- their turning themselves into a special-order outlet has pretty much eliminated any advantage they had, at least for my purposes.
[-Fritz Milhaupt