What,s happening to all the hobby shops-FSM-JAN 2011

There's still a couple of good LHS in the DFW, TX area.  Roys in Hurst... good selection of kits and Tamiya paint, plus an awesome selection of things like glues and putties.  Hobbytown in Colleyville also has a strong kit selection, and Tamiya and MM paints.  Hobby Lobby is everywhere here, but they carry next to nothing in models.  Good, cheap selections of things like thin brass rod and such, though.  And Model Aircraft Laboratories in Irving... lots of rarer kits, Vallejo paint, Gunze & Allclad on the shelf, etc.

They're all much, much more expensive for kits than online, though.  Paint is pretty much a wash as is most tools.  I only build in 1/32, so the kits tend to be more expensive to begin with, and that price differential gets magnified a LOT more at the LHS than cheaper, smaller kits.  Hobbytown has the Trumpeter bubbletop P-47 (the 'nose art' box) for $95.  Picked it up for $55 on eBay.  MAL has the awesome Tamiya Spit for $129... ebay rarely gets above $90.  

Paint selection can get me in the store, and it's frustrating when they're out of stuff, but OTOH Sprue Brothers has been just as bad.  If I have a particular shopping list for an aircraft paint scheme, SB will almost certainly be out of 1 in 3 paints I'm interested in.

If they can get their kit prices down while maintaining good stock of the other essential items, they'll keep folks coming in the door.

Thanks PWB, well explained...

I guess the idea is to 'incentivize' efficiency by encouraging businesses to only stock the products they can sell within a given time frame.

Still, and I hope this doesn't look like a political statement, it does not seem 'right' to me to repeatedly tax stock. It certainly discourages retailers from holding onto less popular stock. And, in this economic time, it seems to me that if we are looking to help small business, specifically the 'mom and pop' stores, that this would be more helpful (moratorium on inventory tax) than income tax relief. After all, if you have little income, you pay little tax, but if you hold inventory, you get hammered regardless of income.

I don't know how it is in other places but around here you pay tax on any inventory asset for a period of 5 years after which you are able to declare it obsolete and remove it from the inventory role. thus eliminating it as a tax liability,

This is why it is so critical to have an understanding of your local market, so you don't saddle yourself with such a burden and also why you see so many stores selling an item at cost (or perhaps just enough over to cover a previous tax payment) to relieve themselves of the prospect of paying the tax on it.

This is one of the reasons you are seeing more and more motorcycle shops (my area of expertise) moving away from stocking items and ordering them in when needed. Why take the chance of having to pay for an item you didn't sell when you can put the burden of stocking it on the distributor?

The closer it gets to the end of the year, the more most shops enforce their "pay before order" policies as well as demanding deposits on repair work.

Thanks PWB, that cleared up one of my misunderstandings. Do you pay the tax on the same inventory if you hold it for another year?

You don't pay taxes on the items when you purchase them, only at the end of the year on what is left in your inventory because it is an asset that you hold.

I am not an anti-tax person per se, but I have never really understood inventory/personal property tax rationale-and further, why this is not a huge issue in the tax debate. Why are people/businesses repeatedly taxed on assets for which they have already paid tax on purchasing?I am genuinely interested to know, not trying to start trouble

Sparrowhyperion

I can't find that seller name on eBay.  Could you send me a link to your store?

I don't have a store... I just put stuff up for sale now and then...  When I do, it's actually buzz_flightline... No spaces, all lower case..

That's how the business world works. You pay taxes on your assets. inventory is an asset. That's why you watch it closely and and keep track of what sells and what collects dust.

Trying to "stock everything" is the surest path to oblivion.

I can't find that seller name on eBay.  Could you send me a link to your store?

Because of ALMOST being burned but good I will NOT shop E-BAY.

If you want, buy from a guy called "Buzz Flightline"... He's a great seller...

Oh yeah.. He's me...

I could not agree more.  It definitely has not changed for the better.  I see it in just about every kind of retailer nowadays...  I really miss the small LHS.  Our last one went out a few years back thanks to Hobbytown undercutting them.  Then as soon as they were gone, Boom, up went the prices...  They are the Walmart of the hobby world.

tankerbuilder

HAWKEYE , you sadly to say ,are very correct.Those of us that have climbed the aging ladder have seen it in every walk of life and business. To me it,s still more fun and relaxing to go to the LHS,S that I mentioned and talk face to face with someone .OLD FASHIONED I guess. Still , you are dead on about SQUADRON and yes I am a regular customer of theirs.They do have one distinguishing feature I have to look for very hard in on line shopping and that is CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! Because of ALMOST being burned but good I will NOT shop E-BAY. I do buy online at many places we all do. I still prefer the PERSONAL touch.I know that the business world has changed, but, I have to ask you this. OVERALL , has it really changed for the better?? I think NOT.    TANKERBUILDER

HAWKEYE , you sadly to say ,are very correct.Those of us that have climbed the aging ladder have seen it in every walk of life and business. To me it,s still more fun and relaxing to go to the LHS,S that I mentioned and talk face to face with someone .OLD FASHIONED I guess. Still , you are dead on about SQUADRON and yes I am a regular customer of theirs.They do have one distinguishing feature I have to look for very hard in on line shopping and that is CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! Because of ALMOST being burned but good I will NOT shop E-BAY. I do buy online at many places we all do. I still prefer the PERSONAL touch.I know that the business world has changed, but, I have to ask you this. OVERALL , has it really changed for the better?? I think NOT.    TANKERBUILDER

They are all online....

DOOGS ATX hey guy ,guess what.I was at a flea market just down the road from NEW BRAUNFELS on I-35 it,s called BUSSEYS. The same plane was there and it,s twin the later model BF-109. both were priced at $45.00! The hobby shop called HILL COUNTRY HOBBIES is a smallis newish place,NEW owner already!GARY will order anything you want and no type of surcharge.Next time you are around SAN ANTONIO go out to BANDERA rd.turn left and go to FORD PLAZA , check him out.I still drive to KINGS in AUSTIN too.    tankerbuilder

DoogsATX

The Great Hobby Lobby Turkey Shoot?

Indeed...

Our Hobby Lobby doesn't even have Testors Model Master Glue, let alone kits..

DoogsATX

The Great Hobby Lobby Turkey Shoot?

No inventory tax?

Are you serious? I know several internet base retailers who have to pay taxes...including myself!  Internet retailers (those who actually stock, have employees, pay rent and other associated overhead) are no different than any other business including the LHS!

Everyone is blaming the internet for the failure of the small business, which is what LHS are. But there are those who embraced it and adapted to it to remain viable. If you watch the news, one of the topics of discussion is about how much internet retailing is taking in during this Christmas season...they go on to add that those who have a brick and mortar presence as well are NOT seeing any reduction in sale in their stores!

I'd like for some of you out there to actually sit down and compare the finances each business model has...conventional LHS and internet.

Think way back...Squadron got its start as a LHS which expanded into catalog then into becoming the largest catalog and internet retailer...they took a path that led to success. Every retailer has the same opportunities!!! Whether they make the right decisions isn't the fault of the internet, but their own basic business decisions.

It doesn't matter if you sell hamburgers or plastic models, its business decisions and planning as well as capitalization that determines where and how far you go. If you ain't got the dough, you can't make bread.

The local hobby shop is no different than other main street retailers which are now mostly but a memory...clothiers, dry goods, five and dime, bakery, or a butcher shop the market changed and they were absorbed by bigger retailers or disappeared completely.

A local hobby shop here was once for sale. Its owner had a huge inventory and wanted a pretty penny for it too. Problem was it was all dead inventory that he'd been holding on for far too long. Items that should have been marked down to cost or less to move them out the door to make room for things that would sell. But they didn't understand how to run a retail business well...even though they had been in business for decades. Had they, the store would have been more profitable for them and it would have been a quick sale to a perspective buyer.

It took years to sell and the suckers that bought it were not business type people. It was to be an after retirement opportunity for the husband. While he finished off his last years at his day job the wife ran it...it didn't survive long enough for him to make retirement. Their whole savings down the toilet. All that dead inventory killed them and the business. The original owner sugar coated to make the deal sound so sweet...but once the sugar melted away...it true sour flavor was exposed.

The social aspect of any quaint shop is a part of life many will never understand or experience. Society has changed.

There are more and more virtual retailers expanding in to BnM operations...why? Because it is still a viable option...if you understand your market and adapt to its needs and wants.

The Great Hobby Lobby Turkey Shoot?

Yeah, I snagged all three of  the Tamiya A6M2 Zekes at 12.00 and change last year around this time (40% off coup, ya know)... Thought that was the end of it.. The following Thursday, they had three more in stock at 21.00.. Like I'd never even been there... Erie...

Hans von Hammer

 

speaking of prices, the other day I saw Tamiya's 1/48 Bf-109E Trop going for $40 at HL. What the heck is that about?

 

About 25.00 more than I'm willing to pay for ANY single-engine, single-seat fighter..  I won't buy it even with the 40%-off coupon...  However, I DO stare at it intently every time I go in...

It'll wind up on the clearance rack for 16.00 in another year or so.. 

That's just it, though. I've seen that exact 109 at another HL in Austin for $19. I remember since there was that and an older Tamiya Zero for the same price. And it's not like it's a new kit. I built one growing up, so it's at minimum 15-16 years old.

Almost bought it at the time, but I decided to splurge on Eduard's 1/32 E-7 Trop instead.

I love going to my LHS if for nothing else they all have that old smell that I really like. I buy some stuff online but for the most part I am will/able to buy my kits from LHS. I travel quite a bit for business and I always search out and visit shops where ever I go. Seems to me that most of these places are in older parts of cities that I would not be driving around if not for the shop. I guess I am an impulse type of guy because if I am holding a cool looking kit in hand I am far more likely to buy it than looking at pictures online.

speaking of prices, the other day I saw Tamiya's 1/48 Bf-109E Trop going for $40 at HL. What the heck is that about?

About 25.00 more than I'm willing to pay for ANY single-engine, single-seat fighter..  I won't buy it even with the 40%-off coupon...  However, I DO stare at it intently every time I go in...

It'll wind up on the clearance rack for 16.00 in another year or so.. Just like the Tamiya He 219... That is, if Hobby Lobby doesn't quit selling plastic kits altogether... 

The Hobbycraft Me-109 series are more than enough to satisfy any "109 craving" I might get...  Dunno why a fret of p/e parts and a couple extra decal options run a kit-price up by 100%, but then again, I'm not easily impressed by a few marketing gimmicks...

Eh. The costs of setting up a brick-and-mortar store are extremely variable, based on state, county, municipality, specific location. Some areas are far more friendly to businesses than others. 

Personally, I think the physical hobby shop probably is a dying - or definitely a shrinking - breed.

Let's face it. Modeling as a whole isn't a very population-dense hobby. It's not gardening. It's not even golf. Most metro areas can support what, one, maybe two dedicated shops? The online shops can cater to a much larger potential customer base, stock greater inventory, and without storefront costs cutting into margins.

I visit my LHS frequently, and usually come out with a few paints, a new bottle of Tenax, maybe a kit or some AM if the price is right. But it's frustrating seeing half the paint rack empty, or the Tamiya kit I just scored online for $19 selling for $32*.

It's even more frustrating when you realize they're getting everything from the exact same online suppliers we are. I've special ordered stuff and watched the guys at my LHS just go to the Squadron site. At that point, why not just order it myself?

As for the shipping wiping out the savings of shopping online - personally I try to order in big batches. I keep lists of kits/AM/paints/decals. A while back I calculated that, through one site, the discount on Model Master paints was such that the shipping paid for itself at around 10 bottles. And that's before local sales tax. 

*speaking of prices, the other day I saw Tamiya's 1/48 Bf-109E Trop going for $40 at HL. What the heck is that about?

What would get me in there and spending more money would be a better stock of paint and supplies. Not just filling the paint racks they have, but adding Gunze or Lifecolor or White Ensign, adding pigments, a better selection of tools, and better selection/organization of aftermarket. 

Manny, Manny, Manny. I thought you loved to seek out and stalk the good stuff! I for one do still wander through the LHS units near me and always get surprised.Did you know for instance as an example that the train store I used to shop at in CA. had more stuff I could use for ships that HOBBYTOWN? I believe we should support the LHS units BECAUSE of the chance of solving problems by talking to other modelers who might be shopping at the same time.I have gained more info even from ARMOR and PLANE guys that has helped me in my endeavors which is to build better anti- submarine vessels! You will NOT find that on-line! I DO shop online too! But I also buy from the LHS units when I need PLASTRUCT/EVERGREEN and paint and glue. I even buy kits from them! I have bought kits on-line as well but plain and simple ,to an "OLD" seadog like me  I prefer the "personal" touch.I have to tell you though another thing ,I saw your snorkel wake the other day , better watch that fella !! LOL, LOL, LOL! It,s good to talk to you again! safe patrol---tankerbuilder

Wirraway

Konigwolf13:

I disagree, here in Australia at any rate IME staff at hobby shops know stuff all about modeling, know stuff all about the accessories (eg compressors they are selling as I had a very amusing time witnessing a few weeks back). RC and to a lesser extent are there bread and butter, its also where their knowledge is. Combine this with prices 2-3 times higher than ordering off the net and thats the situation in Australia from my experience.

 

Sorry to hear that you are not looked after in Van Diemans Land KW.  My local Toyworld up here has a very active hobby guy that runs the models/RC side of the store.  Very knowleagable, and has some of his own builds on display in the store.  If you buy replacement parts for your RC stuff from him, he fits them for free.   Just gave me a garbage bag full of 1/48 underwing stores that he had been accumulating over the years  SCORE !  He also runs the vendor stall when the Brisbane Hobby Expo rolls around each year.  I think he is more the exception than the norm though. 

The toyworld down here had a huge sellout of old warehouse models (some 20years+) and even managed to sell off much of their normal shelf stuff as well, only bummer is they replaced all that shelf room with cheap basic 1/72 airfix kits. So while the used to have a small (6'x8') shelf range of varied but nice models now its only hald that .To go along with that they have a good range paints and other stuff at the best prices round hobart, just not the plastic range to go along anymore.

The Tassie Hobby Expo? ROFLMAO, we have one every three or four years. The last one in march just gone there was more lego or flames of war (wwii war game) displays than models.

Andrew

I know what you mean,

My favorite LHS Small soldiers is going to close out for good this January. I ask the manager why he's closing down, and he said the payment is too much and he has family issues to settle. I don't blame him but I was really disappointed. Small soldiers was the best LHS I know, lots of aftermarket stuff that other LHS just didn't have, like PE parts and resin figure. The only good news is that  he has to empty his stock, so everything is 50% off in the store.

Fortunatly there are other LHS that are around, but I hope that they don't meet a similar fate soon.

There are two hobby shops within a one hour drive from me.  I support them as much as I can as I want them to survive. 

Konigwolf13

I disagree, here in Australia at any rate IME staff at hobby shops know stuff all about modeling, know stuff all about the accessories (eg compressors they are selling as I had a very amusing time witnessing a few weeks back). RC and to a lesser extent are there bread and butter, its also where their knowledge is. Combine this with prices 2-3 times higher than ordering off the net and thats the situation in Australia from my experience.

Sorry to hear that you are not looked after in Van Diemans Land KW.  My local Toyworld up here has a very active hobby guy that runs the models/RC side of the store.  Very knowleagable, and has some of his own builds on display in the store.  If you buy replacement parts for your RC stuff from him, he fits them for free.   Just gave me a garbage bag full of 1/48 underwing stores that he had been accumulating over the years  SCORE !  He also runs the vendor stall when the Brisbane Hobby Expo rolls around each year.  I think he is more the exception than the norm though. 

tankerbuilder

Yes , this is quick.I just got handed mine by the faithful postman. There was a question asked (see above) in the SCALE TALK column. Here,s an answer I never see , but , in these days of costlier models and supplies it,s a valid one. There is for all intents and purposes a TAX that is supposed to be fair? It is called by many names such as floorplan and stock tax. Plain and simple it,s an inventory tax!! 

If you have say, this many dollars in inventory at tax time you are taxed for it!  This means you pay a tax on stuff that you will collect a sales tax on too!. I attempted to buy a FULLY STOCKED and EQUIPPED shop here in the MIDWEST. The Taxes I would,ve paid to open my doors equaled the net worth of the shop BEFORE an inventory was taken!! Now , I have to ask , How many folks can afford that anymore?? Not to many.

I am therefore grateful for those who have bought shops that otherwise would,ve closed. There is a heavy cost to doing business today in person! That,s why so many are mail order or internet .There is no inventory tax!! SUPPORT THE SHOPS THAT ARE OUT THERE!! they are a dying breed!! We MUST show that we appreciate their efforts to be there for us.After all the secondary option is as close as this keyboard!!

I personally prefer to drive the thirty five or forty five miles to my locals.There are so many fascinating modelers to meet and exchange info with face to face. No keyboard gives you that!!!   tankerbuilder

Sorry about editing your post but it was kinda hard t' read...

I still hit my "Mom & Pop" LHS ('Cept it's just "pop" runnin' it) for paint and other supplies, but I can't buy his kits at retail when the same kits are up at Hobby Lobby and there's a 40% Coupon on the HL website... Granted, he doesn't charge more than HL does, they're pretty comparable as far as prices go, not much variation between 'em, maybe a buck, never more than two...  However, I buy all my "Hobby-brand" paint from him, except for Testor's MM (the only brand of model paint that HL carries), Testor's "Classic", and he's got all the Tamiya, Polly S (yeah, really), and Floquil (I don't use it) plus all the "railroad" colors one could ask for...  His main focus is model railroad stuff anyway..

He has six shelf-runs in three aisles, and four are all model RR and associated lighting and equipment/structures/landscaping materials, with the remaining shelving holding cars, ships, planes, armor, and sci-fi, with a sprinkling of balsa flying models on one side and paint, glue, and tools on the other..

Cars make up the majority of plastic kits, then aircraft, armor, Sci-fi, and ships, in that order of descent.. At any given time, there's only a couple dozen armor kits, maybe twice that in aircraft, with various scale, 1/72 being the predominant A/C scale, for some silly reason... The Hobby Lobby here has about the same set-up of kit quantities, only nowhere near the paint,  and about the same in armor, and aircraft selection Doug has.  However, most, and mean a LOT, of my paints are Craft Paints from Hobby Lobby since the acrylics, even with their goofy "chick-name" colors are far and away cheaper than any "Hobby-brand" paints...  A 3oz. bottle of craft paint, depending on brand, runs .99 cents to a 1.50, vs 2.50 for a 3/4 oz. jar of Tamiya... 

The biggest "hobby shop" near here is one that absolutely infuriated me... They opened about a year and a half ago, called themselves ( ) CD & Hobbies, and there ain't ONE scale model kit in the whole joint!  But they're floor to roof with RC planes, cars, helicopters, and video games,  yet they don't stock paint or Plastruct/Evergreen materials, no brass or aluminum, no casting materials, landscaping, nothing a diorama-builder like me needs... "Hobbies", my ***... 

I'll continue to buy from Doug and HL... There's other hobby shops around, but all are outside my "perimeter", so I seldom go to any of them.. Maybe once a year, if I happen to be in the neighborhood and remember something I need.. Besides, Doug's sho is a genuine "Floyd's Barber Shop" as hobby shops go.. I can kill an afternoon there, just shootin' the breeze with him and the few guys that still do scale stuff..

At any rate, I don't do a lot of mail-order buying (except for Ebay, which is my main source for kits and Mattel Vac-U-Form sheets) because any savings I might realize from them is lost in shipping charges.  However, Doug WILL order any kit I ask him for if he can get it, and he doesn't take advantage of anyone for a special order by tacking on a 10-20% "special order charge".... Try THAT on-line...

Sadly, I can see Doug's Hobby Shop going away in next couple years... He makes his money selling his commision RR rolling stock and engines, and from the apartments he has upstairs, not us little ol' scale modelers, and The Villages, Florida is calling him, lol... Gonna miss him.. He's the only hobby shop owner that'll let me behind the counter to look at stuff like tools and such up close, and dig through his "junk boxes"... Just one of several reasons why I still "subsidize" his place...