Another LHS demise

Heard that.

Its been a topic on these forums for awhile.

Rob Gronovius wrote:

Rarely do I exit a local hobby shop without spending at least $20 to $50 on the latest "gotta have" kit and other sundry modeling supplies. I use the internet to find the great deals, but no one can ever accuse me of not supporting the local shops.

You know you've got it bad (or is that good?) when they call your name out when you walk in...

There's a lot to be said for being on a first name basis at your LHS 

My LHS (High Sierra Models) is a big supporter of our IPMS model club (Reno High Rollers), one of the many reasons why I will continue to shop there, in addition to the fact that it's a great store! 

espins1 wrote:

There's a lot to be said for being on a first name basis at your LHS  My LHS (High Sierra Models) is a big supporter of our IPMS model club (Reno High Rollers), one of the many reasons why I will continue to shop there, in addition to the fact that it's a great store!

Bgrigg wrote:

Rob Gronovius wrote: Rarely do I exit a local hobby shop without spending at least $20 to $50 on the latest "gotta have" kit and other sundry modeling supplies. I use the internet to find the great deals, but no one can ever accuse me of not supporting the local shops.   You know you've got it bad (or is that good?) when they call your name out when you walk in...

Maybe that is why my LHS guys call me Mr. Grant?

Don 

I stopped supporting my LHS simply because A: Change of management B:Lack of armor kits (and they refuse to add anymore kits) and C: they are more focused on R/C stuff.  When I spoke to the owner, he simply said "I don't know much about plastic kits, but if you give me the name and the kit you want, I'll try to get it to you."  If that is the case, I'd rather just go on-line myself and order them directly. 

I now drive good 20 to 30 minutes to support other remaining hobby shops.  I have 3 shops that I deal with and every time I go there, I get great service and they usually have stuff that I want.  I'll continue to support hobby shops that supports my need. 

The nearest LHS to me is at least 30 minutes away.  We've never had one in our town, or even one or two towns over - the best we could muster in the past was a toy store that had a surprisingly good selection of kits.  It was run by a friend of my mother's, so I got somewhat preferential treatment as well. 

The nearest shop, and the only one I've ever been to before, is only open Fri-Sun now.  And none of the ones I can get to without taking a vacation day are open on a Monday, as i found out this past Monday when I had the day off and drove to Maplewood Hobbies only to find that the hours listed on the IPMS website are outdated and they're closed only on Monday. d'Oh!  I know, I should've checked their own website.  Brain fart, there.

I don't mind getting a bargain online, but being old-school, you really can't beat holding the real deal in your hands and seeing exactly what you're getting.  And while money isn't exactly abundant in my house, I'm not averse to spending a little more to support the underdog.  I'm actually quite a decent guy, once I get to know me.

Two of my greatest finds came from one local hobby shop that I visted twice in as many weeks:

The first trip, I found the Monogram 1/48 EA-6B Prowler for 27 bucks. (Ebay price that day? $50 plus shipping)

The second trip, I found the AMT 1/48 ES-3A Shadow.

Two kits that I have never found at an online hobby shop -- and refuse to pay a mint for on ebay.

I guess you could say I kind of "re-discovered" my LHS.

Andy

what is it that has been said  forever about business

Adapt or Die

many of the online shops have brickand mortar stores too

I said Many not all

one lhs ( i love) about 16-18 min away is huge, it is almost as big as a walgreens or a cvs.

the owner is about 60 and has 6-7 guys working for him.

the guys are very knowledgable, each an expert on individual types of modeling(1 does ships 2 do planes etc) they have hounded the owner to do some on-line stuff to increase profits two of them said they would even create the web site and so forth, but the owner is typical of many(not all) people over the 1/2 century mark in the old saying 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks'