There have been numerous topics over the years lamenting/praising the role of the Local Hobby Store (LHS). But I’d like to throw a question out there: If you had the necessary starting capitol, would you open a (stand alone) LHS?
My inclination would be NO. I think the overhead would be too costly to compete with on-line/mail order stores. Besides rent & utilities, I think the current distribution model would kill my store pretty quickly. There are just way too much “middle-man” costs that come with all sorts of complex terms and conditions attached.
Add to this that even with a good local market I would be competing against on-line stores that reach into a far bigger market – the world! They can even do this 24x7 while my store would be open only during retail hours.
So what do you think? Am I wrong? Could you make a new LHS work?
I have heard it said that making a business out of your hobby takes all the fun out of the hobby. If I was independently wealthy, I would consider opening up a store and hiring some staff. We have no LHS where I live. That would keep it fun because my lively hood would not be dependent on sales. Consider this, most hobby shops are open on the weekends. Would you want to give up your weekends just to manage the store - NO WAY!!!
No. I can divorce my attachment to the hobby from the business end of it. I’d be entering a market that is on the decline right now and no real indication that it is turning any time soon. It does not sound like a winning business model to me.
If somebody told me I had to, here are a few ideas:
Work to develop a name in a specialty (DCC, general locomotive repairs or improvements, layout design, etc).
Price some things as leaders that will draw people into the store.
Keep an urn of coffee handy, a pitcher of water full and maybe some tea or lemonade to make people feel comfortable.
Get the online business running immediately.
Get rid of aging inventory through sales and finally listing the dead inventory on ebay. Turn the inventory instead of throwing it birthday parties.
Have an operating layout or two, space permitting, to draw interest. Moving things draw attention. I even know of one store that has operating sessions on their layout (after hours) almost like their own club. She’s been in business a while and seems to be doing okay.
If I won the lottery and had time and money to burn, it might be an interesting thing to do, but then I would not have to worry about turning a buck. Promoting the hobby could be a hobby in itself. But as a business, I think you pretty much summed up the challenges.
I have done a lot of research on opening a hobby store here in Pittsburgh including visiting about 20+ of them in the area. I have been on the fence because there are people that do make money at it. SO my answer is maybe.
I have two questions that I still am working on getting answered so maybe people can post answers to these in this thread.
I would have to agree with those who said no. I’ve worked in a couple of hobby stores, and was never envious of the owners.
MA mentioned overhead in his original post. Has anyone ever noticed that some of the best hobby stores are in some of the worst neighborhoods or buildings?
I think it is a better dream than reality. My LHS may be an exception and I hope he hangs tight. I really like going in there. I hope he is making a good living. I like retirement at the moment.
Why does it have to be an either/or proposition? There is no reason you can’t have a bricks and mortar store and have an online/mail order presence as well. My favorite LHS is The Train Shop in Santa Clara, CA and they’ve been in business in one location or another since at least the 70’s (when I discovered them). They also do a brisk mail order business despite the fact that they have no web presence. Apparently word of mouth advertising still works. They also sell at about a 20% discount to MSRP. Perhaps not as good as some online retailers, but certainly nothing to sneeze at. It’s also in a good location relative to drop-in traffic. I have no idea what the lease payments are, but the store is has been in the same location since the late 80’s, so they can’t be too out of line.
TTS is well stocked, well lit and the natives are friendly. My impression of the “employees” (even though I’ve never asked) is that TTS is a second job (part-time) for them and that the second job is a way of earning some additional income for t
If I won the lottery, absolutely, but otherwise no. I would want cash in hand of at least a half million (and likely a million) before doing such a thing. Further, as others have said, I would start an internet site and run it out of the back to supplement the income. Mark had some very good ideas for promoting yourself. I would take it one step further and have a portable layout you can take to local trade shows and other exhibitions, and even further out into festivals and the like in rural areas. This hobby requires promotion and once you have people hooked, as we all know, they can’t let go.
Andre, hobby store failure has little to do with business savvy, and everything to do with customer base erosion. Society today doesn’t have the time, disposable income, or desire to do hobbies, like they did 50 years ago.
In general the wealthy don’t do “traditional” hobbies, they are too busy yachting, playing golf, sitting in suites at sporting events, or simply working.
Hobbies are the domain of the middle class, which is slowly being squeezed out of existance. Look at your neighbors, and think about how they spend their spare time. How many of them fly RC planes, collect sports cards, coins or stamps, or build plastic models?
Craftsmanship is nearly dead, replaced by highly detailed plastic injection molding, which now comes out of China. Instant gratification is the name of the game, and all of the technology we have created delivers it.
Even we as model railroaders have fallen victim to some of these outside pressures. We are constantly seeing topics here in the forum bemoaning the lack of craftsman kits, and criticizing MR for it’s shift in editorial content. The problem is this is the direction the entire hobby market is heading, down hill fast.
I’ve not noticed the “worst” part but over here they’re frequently in out of the way areas - it’s rare to find them in the main shopping streets. I’ve yet to visit one where I didn’t feel comfortable about parking nearby but one has come close - wouldn’t have liked to be there after dark!
Hi Guys,
I personally wouln’t open a hobby shop because I too am retired and wouldn’t want to tie my self down.
Now, for those who might consider opening one, some thoghts above from Mark would certainly help. I especially like his idea about having a coffee pot and a pitcher of cold water to keep me in the shop.
I’ve always said that if things are done correctly, one can succeed at almost anything. If someone took all the positive attributes I’ve seen in the various hobby shops I’ve frequented and “rolled them into one”, they would be successful. However, most guys don’t seem to be capable of making that determination.
I remember one shop that lasted about 1 year. The guys had some of the right ideas…they even started clinics on Saturdays to help newbies get started. I went to one and was totally disgusted. They had a guy come in to show newbies how to build a 4x8 layout. The guy was a master carpenter and insisted that the benchwork be made of ASH lumber and then he proceded to use a radial arm saw to build what looked to be precision cabinet-like grids to set on top of his legs. The newbies that were there were completely turned off and most left after 10 minutes because as I’m sure you would agree, not everyone has a radial arm saw and the skill to built cabinet-quality benchwork. Heck, I built my benchwork using a hand saw and only used a circular saw to cut the plywood and Homosote for the top.
One shop I’ve gone to is absolutely sloppy and unorganized. Items out of stock never, never get reordered.
Another shop has a guy running it that wouldn’t be able to tell you what to use to fasten track in place, let alone how to wire your layout.
Another one has stuff that’s been sitting on the shelves, taking up space for over 10 years, yet the current releases are no where to be found.
One guy is running his store as if it were a mail-order business…you sign up for a new release and he orders it. When
Magazines, rail joiners, small stuff like that. And to look around killing some time.
Truthfully, Anything I can get cheaper without leaving my house. Sorry but it’s a matter of cash for me. It looks better to me in my pocket than in yours. Couple that with the fact that having it delivered is hard for anyone to compete with.
I hit the LHS maybe three or four times a year so I’m probably not a good example. WHen I first Really got started and had money to spend, I was in the hobby shops every other few days. There were enough of them around that I could visit a couple in a day and a few days later visit a couple other ones. Depending on what side of town I was on determined which ones I visited. Now, on one side, one that was my favorite, is gone. Another that I use to visit a lot moved 10 miles further north making it over a 2 hour round trip, usually in traffic, to get to… I’m not driving 2+ hours to get a magazine and Maybe something else. None of these places has closed for lack of My support, I’ve supported them plenty over the years. These days however, I just don’t need what they are offering.
So if you are intending to open a business that carries the Same stuff the other 20 shops do, come up with a hook to draw people in. Otherwise, you are going to have a hard time attracting customers… Regardless of wha
Opening a hobby shop was my dream at one time…But,after working part time in hobby shops and being a part time Train Show dealer I can assure you there is NO WAY I would open a hobby shop not even a on line shop even if I was a multi millionaire and needed something to do to past the day away…
OK Matt, maybe worst was a bit strong, but the after dark part sums it up pretty well. It’s all about the rent, and how low can you go, and still expect people to visit.[;)]
I think the store Art was refering to is the one I visit most often. It is located in a former bowling alley in the basement of a building on the corner of 2 very busy streets. The surrounding neighborhood isn’t terrible, but a mile or two east is about as rough as it gets. Diagonally across the intersection, there used to be a gas station. A little girl was killed in a drive by, about 8 years ago. The scary part is I used to live 3/4 mile west of the store. We moved to the burbs before the drive by.