BlackSheepTwoOneFour

I came across too rough.  Apologies for that.  If they can remain competitive with good friendly service, I am all for it and would gladly patronize.

 

VA Spartan

As an aside, I don’t mind seeing the local hobby shops disappear.  Those remaining usually have poor inventory, high prices, and from what I have seen, bitter jerks for staff.  If they can’t survive in the e-commerce age, well that’s the free market.  If someone can figure out how to make money selling artisanal cupcakes, I am sure a model exists to bring the local hobby shop back from the brink.

 

 

 

 

Wow... you’d rather see LHS disappear altogether.  Sad but true, many are disappearing everyday not because of high prices or bitter attitudes. 90% of it the owners are getting older and retiring and/or family members don’t want to take over the business to keep the legacy alive.

I don’t know about your area but in my area there used to be at least 4 locally owned hobby shops - 3 of them I used to frequent to. Two owners retired and closed. One I frequented at least 2 times a week until the owner retired and sold his entire stock valued a million dollars worth of RR stock, models and supplies. I’ve gotten great deals on many purchases there - including them ordering a certain kit I’ve been wanting at a great price.

Now there’s only one I frequented every other week or so; not because of stock selection - he has plenty to choose from but distance to head out to from my place of employment during my lunch hour.

I’ve stopped going there a year and a half ago because the owner‘s paranoid daughter accused me of shoplifting when I proved I had nothing on me. I told her she lost a loyal customer for good. I feel bad for the old guy but I refuse to shop there as long as his crazy daughter is there. 

So, don’t knock LHS so harshly. Everybody still wishes they‘re still around.

 

VA Spartan

As an aside, I don’t mind seeing the local hobby shops disappear.  Those remaining usually have poor inventory, high prices, and from what I have seen, bitter jerks for staff.  If they can’t survive in the e-commerce age, well that’s the free market.  If someone can figure out how to make money selling artisanal cupcakes, I am sure a model exists to bring the local hobby shop back from the brink.

 

Wow... you’d rather see LHS disappear altogether.  Sad but true, many are disappearing everyday not because of high prices or bitter attitudes. 90% of it the owners are getting older and retiring and/or family members don’t want to take over the business to keep the legacy alive.

I don’t know about your area but in my area there used to be at least 4 locally owned hobby shops - 3 of them I used to frequent to. Two owners retired and closed. One I frequented at least 2 times a week until the owner retired and sold his entire stock valued a million dollars worth of RR stock, models and supplies. I’ve gotten great deals on many purchases there - including them ordering a certain kit I’ve been wanting at a great price.

Now there’s only one I frequented every other week or so; not because of stock selection - he has plenty to choose from but distance to head out to from my place of employment during my lunch hour.

I’ve stopped going there a year and a half ago because the owner‘s paranoid daughter accused me of shoplifting when I proved I had nothing on me. I told her she lost a loyal customer for good. I feel bad for the old guy but I refuse to shop there as long as his crazy daughter is there. 

So, don’t knock LHS so harshly. Everybody still wishes they‘re still around.

I have been a loyal Squadron shopper for years but like others have noted, their inventory is not the best as of late.  Not sure why.  Their customer service is first rate though and that reinforces my loyalty.  I have been happy with SprueBrothers The times I have ordered from them.  If you don’t mind shipping fees, Hannants over in the UK always has EVERYTHING.  My Dad has had good luck with Hobby Linc. Finally, sometimes for Japanese stuff, I have ordered from from a Japanes firm called Hobby Search.  Orders take time to arrive but their customer service is excellent, even with the language barrier.  Their website also is a good source for instructions as they often post those with the kit description - makes planning out your required paints easier.

As an aside, I don’t mind seeing the local hobby shops disappear.  Those remaining usually have poor inventory, high prices, and from what I have seen, bitter jerks for staff.  If they can’t survive in the e-commerce age, well that’s the free market.  If someone can figure out how to make money selling artisanal cupcakes, I am sure a model exists to bring the local hobby shop back from the brink.

Thanks so much Nino!  Thats an awesome list 

Many months ago I ordered Revell's pirate ship from scalehobbyist.com. In late May I realized I was missing one of the sail/yard combos so I reached out to them asking for help. With Revell involved in their bankruptcy proceedings I didn't expect much but scalehobbyiest promised to do their best. A few minutes ago I gt an email from them that they had the missing part and it's being sent to me. That's why I previously said not only were their prices the best but so is customer service. Lastly they always ship orders within 2 business days.  

TankerEasy

Sadly I dont have any legitimate Hobby Stores near (the nearest Hobby Towns are 2+ hours), so for me I have to do my purchasing online.  The one website ive used so far has been MegaHobby, which while they have a pretty good selection, in know they have a lot they dont offer.  What are some other good web sites that have good pricing and good selctions of paints, tools, and kits? 

 

TankerEasy,

  I did a rather long post awhile back. Here's a copy .  Things in ITALICs are updates

I’m afraid my list is pretty large. I started research on Model kits back in 2012. Lottsa Fun shopping.  Good experiences with all of the following sites.

FreetimeHobbies for kits no one in the US seems to carry (Selection is down this year) (2017)  Prices cheaper than Squadron

ScaleHobbist: Prices/selection really good! Easy to navigate. Great web site.

HobbyLink: Good deals on many occasions. Easy site to navigate. (70 sailing ship kits)

Sprue Bros: Fantastic specials!  (Selection is better this year-2018)

Tower Hobbies: Good when they have a Sale/Coupon.

Plaza Japan: Better prices then USA.. Bigger selection on Japanese OEM. S&H not bad;  price is still less than USA shops. Shipping time longer.                            

Hobby Easy: Same as Plaza.  (No wish list- bummer)

HobbyLink Japan: Same as Plaza, but more expensive) 

Martola: Great for certain Brands ie: Mirage.  Was great on price till EUR vs USD changed.

Models UA:  Same as Martola (plus has MicroMir brands)

Armory:  Same as Martola (no Mirage now) 

OKB shop.okbgrigorov:Where else could you get a Seawolf Special Projects 1/700 sub?  

VCS Hobbies:  Best prices I have seen on Gold Medal Models PE

Dragon Online store: Prices vary but their Moving Sale a few years ago was fantastic. (edit: poor selection currently-2020.)

Goodwill: Good prices but S&H are very high. Best to be 1^st bidder and hope.

  Note: Except for Ebay, most of the above “stores” are really poor for Sailing Ships. It seems that if it’s got sails, there’s no sales.

I use Megahobby.com

They always have a great selection of new products.

Thanks for the input guys!  Its weird because if I googled hobby sites, none of those sites would come up. 

kensar

Hobbylinc has the best prices on what they carry, but order processing is slow compared to others.

 

I ordered from them for the first time a few weeks back. Good price on the kit i was after, but i did notrice that it said it stock but it actually wasn't, have to watch out for that. They did have it with me in less than 2 weeks from ordering though, so couldn't complain at that.

jeffpez

Scale Hobbyiest has the best prices and customer service

 

Compared to Scalehobbyist? Far from it. Hobbylinc prices don’t even come close to scalehobbyist. I’ve looked in their site and wasn’t overly impressed with their selections and prices.

GMorrison

I also always check Amazon. 

 

 Amazon always has the lowest prices on Tamiya products. They come direct from Japan with free shipping. 2 weeks most of the time. I have bought at least 20 Tamiya kits and tools on Amazon from Japan without a problem.

SB gets my order to me in about 3 days. Scale Hobbyist has great prices but a bit slower. Free time is also good. There are some Chinese sellers overseas in ebay offering free shipping on some Meng and Ryefield tanks with huge discounts  so I don't mind waiting a month to get a $80  to $90 kit for $60 or less.

kensar

Hobbylinc has the best prices on what they carry, but order processing is slow compared to others.

They are the ones I have ordered from a couple of times. The only bad thing is that one time they took TWO WEEKS to ship my order from the warehouse. It only took half a week to get from the warehouse to my house, but TWO WEEKS to get it out of the warehouse... anyway, pick wisely.

Being on the right side of the pond, most of my ordering is done here, but i have used Sprue Brothers a few times and have always found them really great to use, nice selection, good price, compared to most UK stores at least, and always gets here pretty quick.

Hobbylinc has the best prices on what they carry, but order processing is slow compared to others.

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

Even more sadder is all these mom & pop LHS are closing everyday. In my area, only one remains open. I refuse to shop there again after the owner’s paranoid daughter accused me of shoplifting because I walked out of the store with my hands in my pocket. She stopped me and I showed proof I had done nothing wrong. Needless to say, she realized her error and I told her she has lost a loyal customer and I refuse step foot in this store again.

I feel bad for the owner though because he hardly gets any customers now. I won’t be surprised if he closes within a year. The owner is pushing at least in his late 70s.

 

years.

 

that sucks, I live in near a pretty large city and I wish we had atleast one legit hobby store.

I've always gotten very good service from Sprue Bros. Their prices are good too. Free Time Hobbies is also very good.

Tom

Even more sadder is all these mom & pop LHS are closing everyday. In my area, only one remains open. I refuse to shop there again after the owner’s paranoid daughter accused me of shoplifting because I walked out of the store with my hands in my pocket. She stopped me and I showed proof I had done nothing wrong. Needless to say, she realized her error and I told her she has lost a loyal customer and I refuse step foot in this store again.

I feel bad for the owner though because he hardly gets any customers now. I won’t be surprised if he closes within a year. The owner is pushing at least in his late 70s.

years.

Just got an order today from freetimehobbies.com Great prices and service. I also use scalehobbyest.com and lotsofmodels.com

Awesome, thanks everyone

Scale Hobbyiest has the best prices and customer service

Scalehobbyist

Spruebrothers

Sincerehobby

Ebay

I also always check Amazon. 

squadron.com and dragonusaonline.com which has some great daily deals https://www.dragonusaonline.com/Dragon-Daily-Deals.aspx