good vs bad shopkeepers

I feel like I live in a desert wasteland of modeling because I don't have a really *good* model store within a hundred miles. My local store is run by very nice people who actually build models BUT the store is extremely difficult to find and they only buy from one distributor. They only stock kits from AMT/Ertl, Revell USA, and Tamiya and a little Hasegawa. They can't get the things I really want like Revell-Germany, Fine Molds, Hasegawa's sci-fi stuff and they had never even heard of Trumpeter!!!

The only other store nearby worth visiting has an extensive selection of kits (still not all that I would want) but the customer service is terrible. If you can even get them to look at you you'll still come away satisfied only half of the time.

I would love to open a store of my own and do it "right" but I have serious doubts that my local economy and customer base could support it. Just a sign of the times.

Hi Everyone,

This topic is very relevent to me because as some of you know, my friend had to close what was the best model shop for miles around. It was the best because he was a modeller who really helped his customers get the most out of the hobby.
Now his shop is gone, I decided to check out the other shops in the area.
Shop 1. Called itself a model shop. However, it did not actually sell model kits! The staff said "oh you need the internet for model kits."

Shop 2. Very nice store, no aircraft of armour though, so not for me.

Shop 3. This was an eye-opener![:0] The owner intercepted me within 10 seconds of arrival and demanded to know what I was looking for I asked if he had any model kits that I could look at, Aircraft for instance. He asked if I build models and I said yes. His eyes lit up and he grabbed the most expensive kit he could find. A 1/24 airfix spitfire. I told him no-thanks as I was planning on buying the Trumpeter kit in the future. He had no idea to what I was talking about and when I mentioned Tamiya,Hasagawa and so on he kindly re-assured me that he would never stock "foreign" kits. Only Airfix and Revell for him!
When I told him Revell were a German company, He nearly exploded!!
Strange fella!

Shop 4. I had to travel a fair way to this place, but what a great store! model kits of all scales and sorts everywhere! I spent a good hour checking out the shelves. The staff were nice and friendly and tried to be as helpful as they could. No, they were not model builders but they said if they did'nt know something, one of their regulars would, and I should feel welcome to ask.
A very nice store, my only problem being that some of their kits were a little over-priced.

Since this store is so far away, I won't go there often, which is a shame because the old-fasioned customer focused retailers are a dying breed and I'd really like to support them. All I can say is to those of you with good local stores is that you are very lucky indeed.

It's interesting to see this thread because today I was just going to check out a couple of hobby shops. Most of the ones in my area specialize in R/C stuff. The Squadron shop use to be in my area a long time ago and they had everything you could want. They even had classes on airbrushing and weathering. That was when there was no internet. Talking with my local shop he said it really doesn't pay to stock things like PE sets when only 2 or 3 people inquire about them. "Just go on the internet" he saids.

Sorry if I went off the topic alittle, good vs bad, but I would be happy just to find a shop that had things I liked.

I have no idea how the folks at my LHS are, last time i was there they wanted $125.00 US for the 1/350 Bismark and over $200.00 US for the Enterprise. I don't go there anymore.

I can agree with you erush, I bought a kit there not to long ago and they are the most friendly I have encountered and I was even sent there by the shop a little ways down the road. And I must say I had no problem waiting to pay while the guy behind the counter finished up what he was painting at the time.

It's sad to here of experiences like that but I'm fortunate enough to have a great hobby shop that is exclusivly plastic (well they do have a few other odds and ends) and the owner is a modeler and the manager is also. They keep a great stock of kits, resin, p/e, metal barrels,decals you name it. And if they don't have it they'll try their best to find it. The manager spent 6 months looking for an oop Verlindin kit for me and found it finally and sold it for the regular cost to me and was glad to do it. They're good folks there.

Eric

I've been fortunate for the most part in having at least half-way decent stores to buy from all the way back to my pre-Kindergarten years. First store was Mom and Pop, and my parents knew the owners. They didn't know anything about models but stocked some of the cooler kits.
Second store was good but was hardly ever opened. Third store got me going on being a more "professional" modeler. The owner didn't know all that much about modeling, but he was willing to steer you in the right direction, and he had a good supply of books.
Then I moved, and I now shop from two hobby stores. One focuses primarily on model railroads, but he has a good stock of models and supplies. He's rather short with you at times, but he gets you what you need. The other store is family run, and focuses on RC and railroad. They stock few models, but have a nice selection of modeling supplies. They hire a clerk to tend store, and she doesn't know much about models, but she is willing to look things up for you.

I've never had a "perfect" hobby store, but then again never one where they will tell you to try something that is beyond a kid with no experience.

DJ

As I've said before, the "hobby" shops around here don't even know what vac-form is, much less the difference between a beginner and advanced kit. They do, fortunately, have a fairly decent selection of kits, but that's just because they are stuck with what their vendor sends. Alot of shops are just in it for the money, and have no experience with the actual hobby. My best advice is to look around and ask others in your community about good shops. Most will be able to point you in the right direction.

demono69

I've been fortunate, I've never run across any of that, but then the shop I visit is a good old Mom and Pop store. The guys that work there are old school and go out of their way to help you locate something that not might be in stock. They also hold mags or other things for you until you can claim them. I feel sorry for people that run into other hobby stores that aren't as friendly.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

Yeah, its always one extreme or the other, isn't it?

The B-36 kit takes some serious work and experience to get close to right even without the metalizers and airbrush. That shop keeper should have become a lawyer or a politician, he certainly has the lying and swindling down to an art.

I once saw a hobby shop employee suggest Italeri's 1/72 C-119 Flying Boxcar to a 7 or 8 year old kid as a good beginer kit. A fine kit , but it takes even more work to get it right than the B-36 does.

On the other hand, the mom and pop operations are great, they know what they're doing and will seldom lead you astray. I remember being about 8 or 9 when I saw a vac form kit for the first time on a hobby shop shelf, it was a 1/72 Avro Arrow and I had all sorts of questions for the shop keeper about how to get the parts free from the plastic sheet and so forth. He said, for all the questions that I had, that my experience probably wasn't up to vac form just yet and that Arrow kit wasn't a good kit for a vac form begginer anyway. He led me to the injection kits and showed me a Hobbycraft Arrow kit and said it shouldn't cause me any troubles to get together. I got my Arrow that day, didn't get ripped off and I had a blast building it when I got home.

I imagine my time in this hobby could well have been much shorter if I'd been given the vac form kit and told I could handle it by a sales person that just wanted to move it off the shelf.

I agree with shermanfreak. The mom and pop stores have dedicated staff who are out to please their customers, and who know the hobby and the needs the beginner will have for basic contruction and painting. They'll also have recommendations that the first young man needed for a beginner kit. The larger stores just don't care because they don't have to. They have other inventory in different areas that will show profit when the modelling portion doesn't. Customer no-service at it's finest.

You are going to get some interesting responses to this thread Thyamis There are as many horror stories as there are happy endings when it comes to the experiences of modellers and the stores they frequent. I can onlt think of one store within driving distance of my home where as a modeller I feel comfortable and at home with other modellers. Most seem to be "hobby stores with models", "department stores with models", "comic stores with models", and just about anything else with models instead of being just model stores.
My best experiences have been in stores ran by Ma & Pa for many years or a place that is run by a guy that builds models for his hobby too. They go out of their way to "look after" us plastic fanatics where the other type of store couldn't care one way or the other.

Shop 1 - Just out to make a fast $100. He failed to mention that in order to get that display cabinet finish the other thing the kid would have to have is years of experience. So he takes this big bird home and by the time he's finished with it, he's disappointed and turns away from the hobby. A good shop keeper would have steered him to a more realistic product and let him have fun !!!!

Shop 2 - This one could be a little more contentious as to which category it falls into. Obviously the owner has no faith in the product he's carrying, so why is it there? But at least he admits it is not up to snuff and steered you to a better product. This guy I'd probably go back to a couple of times and see just what transpires in the future.

Find a shop you're happy with ..... and support it to the best of your ability. Talk to other modellers in your area and see what they have to say. Good ones are out there, they are just few and far between.