went to the local hobby store today $$$$$$

and his prices were obscene. the guy has stuff literally stacked from the floor to the ceiling and he has 1 or 2 or 3 of everything. I was looking for a 1:48 shooting star to PMC but at the price of $35.00 I couldnt touch it. Plus it was from a manufacturer I had never heard of. I am too used to Hobbly Lobby price of $19.00 minus 40%. :eyepop:

I had seen something I wanted that was a silly purchase at what I thought was $30.00 but when I went to buy it I had mistaken $30.00 for the ACTUAL price of $40.00 !!! So it was a no purchase, DANG IT !!!!! :y:

So I told him that his prices were making my eyes bleed blood and if he would make a deal but that was met with a cold stare, he said he couldnt stay in business with any lower price points and I stated he might sell something if he were to come down say 25% off his prices. Its not like there was anyone else in the shop except for me. :handshake:


SO at the end of the day I came home without something I wanted, and he kept something he has had for years still on the shelf. I used to buy a lot of stuff from him like 6 years ago when I was racing boats and had forgotten how high he was, actually he is so high I think he was smoking something.

WHY should I buy from him when he is DOUBLE the price of EBAY stuff, I want to support him but it just comes down to the fact that I feel he is ripping people off.

I feel your pain.

I rarely buy from the true hobby stores near me because the prices are much higher than I can get the same stuff elsewhere... Hobby Lobby, Micheals (though I don't shop there as much since they don't have bagged kits here), or online.

For the RC crowd the staff experience and local-availability might be a plus, but for the rest of us the business model has changed, and the B&M hobby stores are unfortunately (more for them than for us) are fading into the sunset.

I wish they could come up with a better business model to allow them to stay in business, as I would like to have a local store to shop with reasonable prices.

I shop around alot. Vote with your wallet.

I hear ya... the quandary of the brick-n-mortar local hobby shops (LHS). About all I buy from the one closest to me is Evergreen styrene and little minor building supplies like that. Everything else I get online, except a few things at Hobby Lobby with the 40% off coupon.

I understand these guys have to make a profit to keep their doors open. Most of them have teeny-tiny aisles stacked floor to ceiling with stuff crammed into a shop half the size it should be just to try to keep the rent down by renting a smaller place. But, like you, I'm NOT going to pay double the price for something I can get online cheaper just because HE needs to make a sale and isn't moving anything due to high prices.

There's an old saying-- "the cure for high prices IS high prices." Only thing is, the overheads and limited markets of hobby shops makes the statement a bit of a non-sequitur. But it's also the reason stuff like Ebay and online suppliers are mopping the floor with the LHS's.

Well, they keep telling us farmers we're in a WORLD economy now-- that we're supposed to "out-compete" places like Africa that can grow cotton for 6 cents a pound and STILL make a profit (because they carry the stuff in baskets on their heads!). That sword cuts both ways-- so I buy whatever I need wherever it's cheapest, and if the other guy can't compete... OH WELL! Tough luck!

Just how the game is played...

Later! OL JR

I try to reap the best of both worlds. I happen to be a "got to have it now" kinda guy and tend to go to the LHS for the Saturday morning craving. For the most part I compare prices and check to see if I can get it cheaper online. For the most part if I am buying a single item I tend to buy locally because the shipping seems to be a pretty good equalizer, but if I am blowing some cash, I tend to try to get the best bang for my buck online.

Well this particular shop has been open for a LONG time, and it has never been stocked so full as my last visit. He truely is a full fledged hobby shop with EVERYTHING. Just in trains he has all the stuff for the large Lionel, HO, and that small scale. Maybe he is at heart a collector and has the money so he is in a position where it doesnt matter if he sells anything or not. I came away from it thinking the guy is a SUPER hoarder, not really wanting to part with anything. And like I said, his prices were so high my eyes bleed! :y:

His shop is where I found the ESTES TRANSROC ROCKET LOCATOR for $40.00.

He is ripping no one off. Its called retail sales. If he wants to charge full retail, thats his right. I agree retail prices are outrageous sometimes, but the guy has to make a living. In this instance, I agree any sale is better than no sale. Thats why his shop is so overstocked, he aint selling anything.

I know we've discussed this many times, but I'm in agreement - if the b&m LHS can't change their business models quickly, they'll be closing at an even faster rate than they already are.

I enjoy walking the isles tremendously; wishing here, hoping there. I'm into R/C airplanes and really enjoy seeing the boxes, along with all of the other things they carry (i.e. paints, magazines, rocketry items, plastic kits, parts, adhesives, etc.).

The problem is their prices are listed at full retail. AND, there's a H.L. about two miles away.

Now for R/C stuff I can't get that at H.L. but, rocketry stuff yes.

For r/c, there's often items they don't have - so I ask if they can direct order them. They do and I get them within a few days - at full retail of course.

I've brought up the business model to the owner and told him that H.L. undercuts him on everything they carry with their 40% off coupons. He stated that was an interesting point. However, in the 4 years since that conversation he hasn't reduced any prices.

But, he has initiated a monthly discount coupon - typically between 10-15%.

Soooooo . . . I like the owner, I like the people that work there, I like walking up and down the isles. But most everything I desire I can get cheaper from somewhere else.

This is my money I've had to work for, sometimes in conditions I don't like.

As for their advice, yes it would be valuable, however I'm not a novice in my hobbies and I don't typically need their advice - as I can get it from my local club members - without being charged for hands on time. Btw, none of the people in my LHS fly at my local r/c field, nor do they launch rockets.

Even this week, I've been eyeing some things for plastic modeling, at my LHS for a while now. Low and behold, when I walked into my H.L. if they didn't have the same things, at the same price, BUT I had a 40% off coupon.

It's just the way it goes . . .

While running erands today my wife and I spotted a Hobby Town USA in West Allis that we had never been to. We stopped in for a quick look-see.

They had a wide selections of kits and BP motors priced at or near MSRP.

They were also having a "Big September Sale". On the sale table at the back of the store we grabbed an Estes Rock-It kit for $8.99 and a Flis Kits Corona for $6.99 :surprised:

This will be my first Flis Kits.

Never hurts to check out your LHS every once and a while.

That corona is a great find. I have one next up in my build queue. Jim sells a booster for it too.

Yep Right here.

I gotta a Hobbytown USA just about right down the street from me that's pretty nice, with decent prices, but they can be that way as they are a franchise operation. But Hobby lobby still beats them on price for the rocket stuff.. something like everything is at least $2 less at the Hobby Lobby. but the selesction is pretty thin for my tastes, and seems to be mostly entry level stuff, no spare parts for scratch building,

engine prices are nice though. I think the same pack of engines the HTUSA sells for $10.95, HL, sells for $7.95, and I havent seen anything other than Estes merchandise in there. it's all entry level stuff all over the place, and my personal annoyance with Hobby lobby is that the place seems more geared to selling stuff with middle, middle class middle aged women who wish to decorate their mcmansions in the late century Applebees motife.
I only really go there when I happen to be in that part of town, becasue the selection and the price does not outway the location and selection of the HTUSA.

but of course, they gotta keep up with thier particular demographic. There really aren't any kits there. almost all the planes, copters and a lot of the boats are of the Almost Ready variety.

call me funny if you will, but I just cant get any emotional attachment to a model that's entire set up and assembly takes less than two hours. , or, I just gotta pull it out of the carton to use, something like that is just a toy to me.
but I'm rambling... the guys at the HTUSA are pretty knoweldgable about what they are knowledgable about, and the management tends to only hire folks from the hobbiest community who have a grasp of what they are doing or talking about. I'll run down to the place, they all know me, and wanna chat up, so for some little pieces part I wanna pick up that should only take me five minutes to grab up, I'm usually stuck there for an hour, talking, and discusiing with the staff and civilians alike about the various wierdness we are all working on.

pretty much all the independant Hobby stores in town are gone now though.. the last general purpose store, was Bob's hobby, he got sick and liquidated about... hell.. going on ten years now. then there were two strores left that focused on train stuff, they got general stuff,. but trains are thier buisness, and they've come in handy a couple of times with my scale boats becasue a lot of that stuff can be translatable. but it takes me an hour to go through cross town traffic to get to either of them, and the last time I made that hour long trip for a piece of 1/8" I.D copper tubing, (not for general plumbing stuff) had what I was looking for at a tenth of the price, and about five miles away. so it would take something REALLY special for me to make that trip now.

But I LIKE the local stores, I LIKE shopping at a place where I Know who the owner of the store is, I can converse with the owner and have a good repore. and I really DONT MIND, spending a little bit more knowing that $20 or whatever I drop on a purchase at that establishment will very most likely be buying that persons family dinner that night. or helping pay his mortgage or what have you.
I'm cool with the hobbytownusa folks, because, I know it's an indipently owned franchise, having the franchise gives the owner buying and selling power an idnependent might not have.And he knows to stock what his custimers want and what they buy. he's in buisness, doing a good buisness, and is not hoarding rare items, and over pricing them to make that rare big score, if he could be persuaded to part with it.

now.. if we could only get his staff to properly stock the balsa and bass wood bin, we would all be happy
sorry, that's more than my two cents, here's a dime to make up the differnce.

Beergnome said:

I gotta a Hobbytown USA just about right down the street from me that's pretty nice, with decent prices...

... my personal annoyance with Hobby lobby is that the place seems more geared to selling stuff with middle, middle class middle aged women who wish to decorate their mcmansions in the late century Applebees motife...

Click to expand...

:roll: :rofl: :lol:

Thanks Beergnome, this was my favorite post of the day!

I don't quite understand the evolution of HL from a place that had a fair amount of "hobby stuff" (trains, rockets, science kits, as well as sewing and other crafting stuff), to a place where there are a couple hobby aisles and the rest is that awful decorating crapola. I mean, seriously... even if I were religious, would I really display that pink Komen Cure faux-wicker cross on a wall in my house? (full disclosure: I support the Komen foundation with donations through the year, but some of the products they attach to make me scratch my head)

We know most prior cultures from archaeological digs and such... I wonder what those who pick through our remains will think of us.

Marc

Yep... I miss our Hobby Town USA. It was a really nice store and had a LOT of stuff, and their prices were reasonable. I bought quite a bit of rocket stuff there when I was just getting back into it, among other things. They even carried "Sport Rocketry" in the mag aisle along with "Fine Scale Modeler", a fistful of train mags, RC mags for cars, boats, planes, helis, and park flyers, and I think they even carried "Extreme Rocketry" back then too IIRC. The owners were SUPER nice folks, older folks who'd retired from their "careers" and wanted to run a hobby shop in their retirement.

Unfortunately, they just couldn't make a go of it... I think the overhead killed them. Part of it was the company policies on what they had to carry-- they had items that corporate "demanded" they carry regardless of sales, and other stuff that they couldn't get because "corporate said so". Basically made NO accounting for regional differences in hobby predilections and sales. (Had a buddy of mine telling me when he worked for Sears Hardware about how corporate sent them a couple pallets of SNOWBLOWERS-- IN HOUSTON!!!! LOL Couldn't give them away!) Part of their problem was they located in a BRAND SPANKING NEW strip-center with a Kroger in the center, and the rent was astronomical. The last time I'd been in there, they had compressed the entire store's contents into HALF the space (making it a little "shotgun" store to lower the rent) and their stock was rather spotty-- tons of some stuff that didn't move, not reordering stuff that had sold out... Went back a couple months or so later and they were gone.

It's a shame... it was a nice store and I tried to support it as best I could. They were in a pretty good location and looked to be doing a pretty brisk business, as hobby shops go. Certainly better than the independents that still seem to be hanging on. Course if it weren't on their single-minded focus on all things RC, they'd probably be gone too...

Later! OL JR

jimzcatz said:

If he wants to charge full retail, thats his right. I agree retail prices are outrageous sometimes,

Click to expand...

And when you consider his wholesale cost is only about 40% off retail, if he would like to pay his bills there's not a whole lot he can take off.

That kit wouldn't have been this one would it?
https://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ACY2185
1/48 T33A Shooting Star by Academy/Model Rectifier Corp. $27.00
Academy/Model Rectifier Corp are well known in the plastic model field. Academy is a plastic model mfr out of Korea. Model Rectifier Corp, MRC, were an original importer of Tamiya. MRC also make some very good model railroad power packs, the kind which easily last for 30 and 40 years.

There is a rather cheaper 1/48 F-80, the fighter the T-33 is trainer version of. It's from 50 year old molds, but hey, it might fly.
https://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=LND70552
1/48 F-80C Shooting Star by J Lloyd International - Lindberg $14.99

Imagine what model prices would be if made here instead of China and Korea and factory workers were paid on USA union scales.

Rocket_Man said:

.......I feel he is ripping people off.

Click to expand...

It is very easy to feel that way. When I go to the only local B&M hobby shop and look at his posted prices for low-power motors, they are at least double what I can get the same motors for online. His model rocket kit prices are high too.

And he is stuck, under contractual agreement with his whole-sale supplier, buying from one place at whatever prices that outfit demands, and then my local guy must mark stuff up to make a small profit. And I can tell from looking at his inventory, during multiple visits, that he isn't selling much rocketry stuff at all. He is stuck in a corner, and can't get out.

The advantage lies with the internet sellers. They don't have to charge sales taxes, they don't have to pay rent on 5,000 sq ft of retail space, they don't have to waste time explaining everything to stupid customers who only come into the store to 'get educated' and then walk out without making a purchase. And the internet sellers get the HUGE benefit of pumping up the sales volume of one specialized product line where they can afford to invest in a little more inventory (in that one product area) and still expect to sell most of it quickly.

That poor guy in the B&M hobby shop is probably just barely hanging on by his fingernails. I'll bet he isn't going out for a big steak for lunch, or driving a new Mercedes. I am not saying I like paying high prices in a real-world store, I think it is just as crummy as you do, I just try to understand the economics of what is happening.

At this point, you need to decide for yourself what it is worth to you to have a hobby resource available down the street. This shop is a place where you can often find help, advice, special parts, related stuff from other hobbies, and who knows what else. If that is worth it to you, then support the guy once in a while and buy a few products from him, otherwise he'll be gone soon like all the other B&M hobby shops.

Marc_G said:

That corona is a great find. I have one next up in my build queue. Jim sells a booster for it too.

Click to expand...

And it makes a right pretty stack too

Everyone always complains about the LHS prices until they no longer have the option to go to the LHS for supplies.

I can't imagine having to order all my paints, glues, fillers, etc online. I have no qualms paying an extra buck per jar of paint at the LHS for the accessibility of having it right there when I need it. When I look at the instructions and it calls out "Dark Ghost Grey" and I find I am down to the last two drops of Dark Ghost Grey, I can jump in my car, drive to the LHS and pick up a couple jars and finish my model that day. The other alternative is what? Sitting in front of a computer, saving a buck (that I would later have to spend on shipping), and then waiting a week to be able to get my painting done. No thank you Sir. I will gladly pay a higher price for the convenience of being able to get what I need when I need it.


You also need to realize what you are looking for is something that is pretty rare these days. The F-80 Shooting Star was done in 1:48th scale from Monogram. That kit has been very hard to find for sometime now. Revell has just recently re-released it, but because of it's rarity it has sold out fairly quick. There are a fair amount of "collectors" in the scale aircraft hobby, just as there are in rocketry. These collectors unfortunately drive the price up when a kit becomes rare. It is very feasible that the owner of said shop is either a collector or influenced by collectors and the price of the kit is reflected as such. The newer release, if you can find it, has a retail price of 21 bucks

paul.nortness said:

snip........The F-80 Shooting Star was done in 1:48th scale from Monogram. .......... Revell has just recently re-released it, but because of it's rarity it has sold out fairly quick. ...........The newer release, if you can find it, has a retail price of 21 bucks

Click to expand...

Have you tried looking at Squadron-Signal? I don't know it they still do it but they used to back-order stuff for you, if they were temporarily sold out and were expecting to restock

Marc_G said:

:roll: :rofl: :lol:

Thanks Beergnome, this was my favorite post of the day!

I don't quite understand the evolution of HL from a place that had a fair amount of "hobby stuff" (trains, rockets, science kits, as well as sewing and other crafting stuff), to a place where there are a couple hobby aisles and the rest is that awful decorating crapola. I mean, seriously... even if I were religious, would I really display that pink Komen Cure faux-wicker cross on a wall in my house? (full disclosure: I support the Komen foundation with donations through the year, but some of the products they attach to make me scratch my head)

We know most prior cultures from archaeological digs and such... I wonder what those who pick through our remains will think of us.

Marc

Click to expand...

I'm glad you enjoyed that bit, that was my big thought out snarky quote of the day for this and other forums where it might apply.

as for the religion and gewgaw thing? well, when pressed, I just tell them to look up Mathew 6:6, and leave me alone , I'm a militant agnostic and I wont further explain that matter in the public forums.

but yeah.. Michaels, Hobby lobby? in my opinion.. the same dang store, they all sell the same crap, in the same way, and as far as I'm concerned are late to the game versions of the local ben franklin store, and the later day everything for a dollar store, because a lot of the decorative crap Ive seen selling for $10 or more at the Michaels and hobby lobby, ive seen selling for a buck at the everything for a buck store.

the biggest thing Ive seen about HobbytownUSA? its more or less a un official retail store for Tower Hobbies. I dont mind that so much, Ive been salivating over that big yearly wish book since when I was just a wee little gnome.. and whenever I go into the hobby town, if they don't have it, I can tell the guy, the description and the part number and he'll tell me GOT IT!, it'll be here in three days, and it'll come in on the regular shipment so no S&H charges.

but also like I said.. I do lament the loss of the traditional B&M hobby store.. and the knowledge that went with them. the new franchise stores seem to be inhabited by the hobby store version of the Simpsons Comic book guy. if you know what yer talking about, the dude will give you the case because he's sure he has it, but he has no idea, but if and when you find it, he'll talk yer ear off about it, but if yer just a civilian he'll happily sell you a $500 RTF high powered stunt plane with radio because you think it looks "neat" even though you've never thumbed a controller in your life, and snicker behind your back as you walk out.

tell ya the truth? I think a lot of the old hobby shops were like that as well...

paul.nortness said:

E
I can't imagine having to order all my paints, glues, fillers, etc online. I have no qualms paying an extra buck per jar of paint at the LHS for the accessibility of having it right there when I need it. When I look at the instructions and it calls out "Dark Ghost Grey" and I find I am down to the last two drops of Dark Ghost Grey, I can jump in my car, drive to the LHS and pick up a couple jars and finish my model that day. The other alternative is what? Sitting in front of a computer, saving a buck (that I would later have to spend on shipping), and then waiting a week to be able to get my painting done. No thank you Sir. I will gladly pay a higher price for the convenience of being able to get what I need when I need it.

Click to expand...

Especially when it's getting harder and harder to get motors shipped to your door, the local's are invaluable for that.

Again. :bang:

This comes up every once in a while.

In many cases, the LHS is hurting because of their own fault. They don't know how to sell, what to stock, don't push back to their suppliers, and don't push back at all to their distributors. (One in particular)

The local store is another type of selling. Just like online, mail order, catalogue, etc.

I was talking to a store earlier this week and r/c cars came up. Store sells lots, but doesn't make enough money because the margins are too low. And the reason is many r/c manufacturers are selling direct below MSRP! Yet this store, and many others, still sell the line.

As for online, it is not all roses. You still need a warehouse, staff, and inventory. In many cases, you need lots in order to get profits. You also need to advertise.

And it does get messy there:
working conditions

Most store owners need to get a back bone and stand up to their suppliers and distributors. Then they need to find out how to run a retail store.

I own and opperate a non-hobby retail store. It ain't easy.

There is an ever shifting "sweet spot" for pricing where the customer will buy in the shop rather than looking on-line.

I try to support my LHS as much as possible, usually by buying general supplies, paint, glue, balsa, etc. I don't mind paying full retail for hobby stuff. The nearest Hobby Lobby, Micheals, etc are about 2 hours away. I do get annoyed and don't buy when I see an LHS pricing 10-20% above retail.

Well I have been going to this hobby shop for over 12 years and I had forgotten how much the guy wants for everything. I am glad he gets customers who can afford his prices because I simply cant. I would love to support him but like that NY politician says; "Its just to dang high!"

I agree with Rocket Man. There is a point where I simply can't afford to patronize a LHS that chargers full retail. My local shop has other issues as well: very disorganzied and messy( it takes the owner 5 minutes to find a package of rocket engines). When I can order an item online and pay shipping charges and it is still cheaper than buying locally, it's a no brainer for me.

Somehow the LHS is online for me...:tongue: Hobbylinc is the cheapest and only takes a little less than a week to ship. Even though my LHS is like 30 min. away and I almost never go there I LOVE to poke around at all the other hobby stuff!

I have been supporting my LHS when i can, but really the guy only carries 10 varieties of Model rockets (and lord knows i can't afford to launch the merv . Luckily he has an ok selection of motors and a good stack of random estes bits for quick fixes. Other than that it is all rc and airsoft. The airsoft is my least favorite part of the store, I hate having my 4 year old in there with all these realistic looking guns hanging on the wall, but that is where he makes his money.

At this point if I need a kit, i just order it.