I live in Winston-Salem, NC and we are fortunate to have an OUTSTANDING Hobbytown in Sherwood Plaza. We also have another large hobby shop in the Mall, which is by contrast a depressing place to visit. The difference couldn't be much greater.
Our IMPS chapter meets each month at Hobbytown, and a couple of the guys that work there are members. Understanding our need for specialized products, and our refusal to pay more than necessary, they stock multimedia kits, decals, a super selection of paints, and give us price breaks wherever they can. In return, we try to patronize them as much as possible. We feel that they are friends, not just a business, and share information on new products and techniques. And yes, when Squadron has a new release at half price, they don't act like we are dealing with the Devil for buying one on-line. They have earned our friendship and loyalty, and we both deal with reality.
In contrast the large Mall hobby shop has many mainstream kits, limited hobby supplies, sells ABOVE retail to make the rent, and the only time I think they see plastic is when they re-shrinkwrap defective returns for resale. I used to stop in while at the Mall, but rarely go in now, because its all been seen before.
Be thankful if you have a shop that welcomes you, and help them to get new customers by getting kids interested in the hobby, by word of mouth, by patronizing them even if you do buy some things on-line, by working with them. As much as I enjoy these Forums, nothing can take the place of having a friendly place to meet other modelers and see real plastic in person. If we lose too many shops, we may lose the opportunity to argue face to face over the trivial model techniques and products that we love to argue about! When I say there are too many P-51s built, and John Doe says who cares about my WWII German jet project models, we can both get passionate about our interests, see each others red, angry faces, and really enjoy a lively discussion about things that matter to us. Couldn't be better, and something we need to help preserve.
Build a model, just for the fun of it!
Gerald