Local Hobby Shops... a few questions and such

Yeah a dead nothing happening store is likely just waiting to die at the very first decent chance.

The local store here has a guy that manages the Warhammer table top scene. They have a day that they play in store, set up some tables and have at it. They pick a slow day of course.

I have pondered running a role game in the store, but I just have not gotten around to it.

Having card games in store is cool if you can find the space for 10-20 kids.

Having someone do a variety of crafts and or kits might make all the difference and would make the place more approachable.

Our current store is the reborn previous place that was bought out and renamed and expanded. The previous owner was an older woman, managing it for a husband that had tired of running it. When she reached retirement age she ditched it as she was just no longer interested.

I bet the moment the owner of that uninterested store gets to a point where they are likely in a similar spot, they will likely ditch it too. And if no one buys it, you can kiss it good bye too.

The difference though, between 'making kits' and what I was suggesting is that one is building a kit, the other is using all products sold in the store as an active demonstration of the products for people to see how its done and how they are used.

Yea that can be construed as still 'just making a kit' but I feel it would draw people in.  Remember how toy stores in the mall used to be?  all the toys that moved on their own would be out front in a pen running to make the kids run over to see?  Its the same principal.

I do find it rude that there watching TV but I also understand that NOTHING HAPPENS in that store, which is a problem.  I would rather have something going on, make and takes, or something.  Heck, even have demonstrations scheduled for the clerks working at certain times.  Like, at 4 oclock on Wednsday there is a demonstration on how to do a wash using oils, or how to dry brush.

Interesting comment re used articles. Our local store here simply doesn't want used in the store at all. Guess 'used' sends a message some retailers don't wish to touch. Flea market = used junk. Some stores simply don't want to be mistaken as a haven for junk.

Regarding making models in the store. Only when it is not your shift. Sure have fun making them IN the store, but when you are working, you are working. If I were to walk into a store to see that TV scene, I'd say something rude. That crap wouldn't fly with this customer. Especially if they don't wish to acknowledge me till I interrupt them.

I worked graveyard at a convenience store. My only reason to be there was restock and clean up, something you couldn't do in the middle of the day. My tasks took me an hour if I felt like it. But no one at all came in most nights AT ALL between 2 and 5. Nature of the region.

I liked standing behind the counter working on figures. Easy work, if anyone actually DID come in, it was nothing to put down the part and the Xacto knife. Killed time like that for 4 years. Sure got a lot of figures made :) Was better standing there listening to the drone of the ventilation.

My retailer generally listens to me, whic makes sense. When a person spends a LOT of money in your store on a regular basis, what makes the retailer happy is anything that makes the customer happy.

You do bring up some good points there. 

First I would never go up and say 'your doing it wrong' it would all be suggestion.  I know the owner wants to make changed, she is always adding something to the stock or removing something else to see if things sell, so she is open to that kind of thing.  I dont care if I get credit, just need to get in the door.

I'm pretty sure the current staff are not family, I cant be positive about it, but I would put down money on it in Atlantic City.

With the TV, the people dont look up from it untill you either ask a question or step up to the counter, its right in the middle of the paint and I feel like im blocking their view when im trying to shop for paints...  When it comes down to it, personally, the customer comes first.  I did it before, worked in a job with customer service, had a computer with games to pass the time, when someone came in I droped it all INSTANTLY and went to help.

If I have to re-glue the strut, or remix the paint so be it.  I'm being paid to help the customer, not build the kit.

Now, I did not think about the distributors and reselling the used product.  The old book thing that is an odd subject because I spend alot of time in antique stores and such and old books sell.  I wouldn't buy any that look ratty and junky, just ones that looked in good condition.  Even with the distributor, I cant imagine them having an issue with me re-selling an issue of Rail road modeler magazine from 1964

I've been following this since last night.

Here are my thoughts. (They are worth what you're paying for them.)

"It is a poor example of a hobby shop but everyone in the Philly/Nj area knows it because its one of the few left." Sounds like Yogi Berra commenting on Coney Island, "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." If it's surviving, it's doing something right.

Approach the owner with the attiftude you're going to tell her how to run her business and the two most likely responses are: A. "Why aren't you runing your own business?" and B. "There's the door. Don't let it hit you on the way out." or C: refer to A and B. Owners, even part owners, are very slow to take any advice. I worked in a chain hobby store in the mid 70's. the manager owned a small % of the company. He would not even accept placing models of the same type together, armor with armor, planes with planes, etc. because that how he did it.

Alternatively, present these ideas and she might like them. However, the response would likely be the same as above. When she puts your ideas into effect, she be so glad SHE thought of them.

The store sounds pretty well, if not over, staffed already. Adding another employee will only cut profits. Do you know the current employees are not family, being provid with a little extra cash and a reason to not be getting into trouble on the street?

Don't expect to get a job and get paid to work on your models. Even is a TV's on for the curent staff, that can be dropped in a second when a customer enters. You can't do that when you've just put together a delicate assembly. How long do you think you'd last if you told a customer he/she had to wait while adjusted the landing gear just so or you had to get the eyes just right on your figure because the mix of paint was going to to dry?

It's fine and good to buy stuff at flea markets and hope to resell it at a profit, but you need to get the right stuff and resell quickly. You think old kits are going to look bad in a store? How do you think old, used books and magazines are going to look? You might even have issues with distributors by reselling used product they sell new.

I could tell you one thing I would absolutely do.

I very often find model kits at the flea markets for a fairly good prices.  They are often not stuff I would build but if there cheap enough its a good place to buy older or odd kits that are oop now a days or just hard to find in general.  Also, I cant tell you how many back issues of Rail Road Modeler magazines I see at the flea markets, as well as A LOT of really cheap reference books, would be a great idea to have a discount reference shelf with that kind of material.  not all reference books have to be Osprey

As they say, to make a small fortune (in some enterprise), start with a large one.

Doogs, if I could start up a store, I'd likely do price cuts for special order as it means the item comes in and goes out immediately, no wasted time on the shelf. I'd also make signage make this very plain too, so that everyone knew a pre ordered kit was cheaper.

I'd do volume discount ie 1 kit normal price, 2 kits both reduced a percentage, and the percentage of reduction gets better as the count goes up. I think I would also do loyalty coupons as well.

I'd do online store as I would use it to move old stock off the shelf, as nothing makes a store look worse than stock you can remember as being their from last year and further. The online option is mandatory in this age.

But the single biggest truth is you can't live off just models. Your store needs to appeal to almost anyone. That means you can't expect to survive if you can't handle products you simply don't like. Puzzles, might not be yer thing, but if they sell, they put money in the till. The slurs I see heaped on 'crafts', well I say deal with it :)

The business of business is to do business. You can always have fun gossiping about the latest kits with a couple of regulars, just so long as the cash flows.

The perfect store has a section for collectible cards, a spot for comics and manga, a section of model reference and magazines, the usual section for the Warhammer demons, the RC crowd, the model railroaders, supplies that are cross hobby capable, the gaming crowd, and the craft crowd. The only thing I'd likely omit is video games. If I could do it, I'd have a 4 machine cyber cafe and a spot for smokes and cliche pop and chips and candies.

Nothing says happy like reliable revenue stream keeping your model shelf healthy eh.

RBAER,

I have worked in the industry for years and I use this site for fun not work. I know some try to sell their items here but thats not something  care to do besides rules are rules.

Shoot me a pm I have a few shops I like maybe you will to.

Thad

Honestly, I dig my LHS and the guys that work there, but yeah, it seems a overstaffed as well. Three regulars and one guy who's there every so often. 

If the financial situation ever works out, I think it'd be really awesome to start up a modest LHS, maybe along the scale of Hill Country Hobby in San Antonio. The three things I'd do if I could do that right now...

1 - Discounts and rewards for customers. My LHS gives out 20% off coupons when you spend more than $50. Awesome, but I know how my stashing mind works, and bumping that up to, I don't know, 30 or 40% off at a certain purchasing frequency (i.e. you buy three kits in a month, or spend $150 or whatever, the next one is 40% off). I know that'd get me in and spending more.

2 - Focus on paint and supply stock. Maybe not a deep inventory - order more as needed and such - but a broad inventory. Model Master acrylic and enamel, Tamiya, Vallejo Model Color and Model Air, Gunze. 99% of the time I go to the LHS, it's because I need a bottle of paint. If they have it, I usually end up buying other stuff. If not, which is sadly often these days, I walk out without spending a dime.

3 - Operate a web store. Specialize in stocking the AM stuff that's always so hard to find. Maybe over time, take the consignment concept online as well. I don't think there's a chance for a LHS to compete in a stand-up fight with Sprue Brothers or Squadron, but you look at, say, Mid-Tenn Hobbies, and they've managed to stand out by selling stuff you can't get from the bigger guys.

Not sure I would WANT to work in my local store. Not because I have an issue, but because the store has enough trouble just being viable. The internet is not nice to too many of the physical sort.

My store stocks an array of products, you need to though. Warhammer table top, trains, puzzles, board games, RC gear as well as my precious models.

The shelf with the models is modest, but also slim in quantity. I think the shelf only has one function, tells who walks in the door 'yes we sell models' and having a few Dragon means you alert the buyer you realize what good looks like, and Tamiya same reason. She has a small selection of planes, ships, tanks, civilian items just enough to make the customer confident the store knows the basics.

But I buy all my purchases from a catalogue, and my local store realized early on, good idea to find a way to get catalogues for free into my hands. Because I come in with orders regularly. None of my kits ever hit the shelf.

Not sure how much my local store KNOWS models, but, she is willing to listen to me talk about them. I tell her what I THINK she might wish to know, but I leave it in her hands to act on it.

I recently explained my recent disgust with 'brokerage fees' and how mail order might fizzle with me, and could she find a linkage to Gaso.line products even if it adds a few bucks to my price. Told her a lot of these items = additional base kit order as well, which means she sells me two items per vehicle in a lot of cases. Up to her to hunt down a method though eh.

But as much help as I might offer her, I can't see it being worth it to her to hire me to sit in the store trying to move plastic. I'm more inclined to get a hot chocolate from Tim Horton's and just hang out periodically in the store for free :) But not much of use if you are needing work.

She already has the one woman that works there, also making a great Lanc too. Plus she has her husband. And to be honest, she seems over staffed with more than one person and a husband.

All there really is to do there, is man the cash when not re arranging the shelfs almost daily to make it seem like there is something 'new'. Hobby stores don't strike me as work intensive.

KINGTHAD

I have a customer that did this very same thing. Last year he walked into a R/C store with no plastic. He presented his case and the owner hired him. That store today is moving some plastic and the owner has some extra green he did not have last year.....good luck.

Thad

Can you name the store w/o being specific enough to circumvent advertising rules on the forum? I'm in Dallas and always looking for new shops to explore........

PM me if necessary, thanks.

Oh, and smeogle, sell yourself first, and maybe as part of the "sale", let the owner know you have some ideas, without being too agressive about what you think of the place. Good performance on the job always paves the way for constructive ideas.

Thanks for the imput guys, I appreciate it.  I'm not sure when I am going to head down there but it will be soon, I can only hope to catch the owner though.

The thing with the online store is that they have one already... and very little in it do they have in their physical store and its confusing, the online store has some 88 pages (it says) or plastic car kits the shop might have one shelf for them.

The only thing must sell in that shop is those little war game figures and whatnot because the rest of their stock has been stagnant for ages. 

I personally think the best idea I have here, besides the experience part, is the make and takes, because makes and takes don't net you much loss, the people buy the kits there, unless I'm grossly mistaken.

One of the forum users, Hawkeye, is in the model retail business. I sugest you visit his site for the articles on operating an LHS. This can give you a good idea of the viewpoint of an LHS owner.

http://hawkeyes-squawkbox.com/category/business-related/

I have a customer that did this very same thing. Last year he walked into a R/C store with no plastic. He presented his case and the owner hired him. That store today is moving some plastic and the owner has some extra green he did not have last year.....good luck.

Thad

I certainly appreciate your enthusiasm for a good LHS, and encourage you to get into the business! Hobby shops are disappearing and many of us would enjoy a revival of interest in scale models that included a personal involvement with the folks at the store. There are some market forces that work against that, notably, the inventory overhead. Who can afford to stock the volume of kits and aftermarket stuff available today? Answer...online retailers/discounters, who offer huge inventory, fast shipping, volume pricing and for some of us, no sales tax burden. But when it comes to meeting other modelers to share experiences and knowledge, the net only goes so far.

I enjoy two family owned shops in my area that are struggling and succeeding week by week, but they are adapted to the market. Both offer RC sales and service, and one has an RC airport that's available for use during business hours, plus holiday meets. Yes, I pay retail prices when I buy from them, but they price includes one on one contact with the owners and customers who also support the stores, and who share hobby interests and advice.

So go for it. At the very least you will get a job doing something you like, and it sounds as if you won't be content to pick your nose to fill the hours. She may like your ideas, and not be able to implement them at once due to costs, but over time may appreciate the active involvement you propose, and find that it works. I am certainly in favor of the return of the LHS on a scale that reflects the amount of money that is devoted to RC, train,plane armor, etc. I would like to think that a "magnet" hobby shops in a major metro areas like Philly can show us the future.

BTW, I grew up near Norristown, PA, and have great memories of a mom and pop train shop about ten miles north with a 20' x 20' (give or take) layout that was always running, and showed me early on what a great scale modeling project could become.

Best of luck!

mike   

smeagol the vile

I meant it more as suggestions and not telling her how to run the store anyhow.  More like... these are a list of suggestions of how I would try to improve upon the store you have, as opposed to 'your wrong'

Have to echo everyone else. You've got some solid ideas, but even as suggestions, they could come across as criticism.

Better to get your foot in the door. Sell your passion for the hobby as an asset. You can help customers find the RIGHT kit, help them select glues and paints and whatnot. Then, as you get a sense of how the store runs, what's possible/not possible from a cost/benefit standpoint, you can start making suggestions. 

But...from personal experience...two pieces of advice.

First - unless you are specifically asked to, stick to one suggestion at a time. Throw too much at the owner at once and 1) she might feel threatened, 2) she might feel overwhelmed (see #1), 3) she might do some quick math about suggestion 1, conclude it's too expensive and then shut down the rest. One suggestion at a time could be more organic, less sales pitch-y. And small, easy-to-implement changes can build up over time. Make a few of those and you'll may become the golden child over there.

Second, if at all possible, present suggestions in a way that make the owner think it's her idea. Easiest way to get something done ever.

smeagol the vile

I meant it more as suggestions and not telling her how to run the store anyhow.  More like... these are a list of suggestions of how I would try to improve upon the store you have, as opposed to 'your wrong'

Whilst you have good intentions, the risk is she might not see it like that.  To which I reiterate ScorpionMikey.

I think you have a lot of great ideas, but the reality is, implementing them can be hard for some businesses - finding the cash to set up a new website that will integrate inventory, take online orders, generate receipts, details for shipping etc - is not a cheap task and, in reality, some people won't see that as a benefit, just a cost.

From reading your discussions online, you certainly are enthusiastic about the hobby and I'm sure you would be an asset to the store.  I think you should show the owner how great an asset you'll be (because of your knowledge and interest in the hobby).

Above everything else, I feel most people like good customer service from people who know what they're talking about.  Use that to get your foot in the door, then, once there, consider suggesting the other items in your list.

Chris.

Thanks guys.

Well first, im not a kid, nor do I qualify as a kid in your eyes.  Just the field I got my degree in... doesnt have jobs and I need an income.  I meant it more as suggestions and not telling her how to run the store anyhow.  More like... these are a list of suggestions of how I would try to improve upon the store you have, as opposed to 'your wrong'

I would agree with the above post, your first task is to get the job.

So you need to sell your self.  Your strong points would be your enthusiasm to work in a store related to your hobby, IE you would be working in a environment related to your hobby, not some one just looking for a check at the end of the pay period.

You mentioned the attitude of the staff (with out being disparaging of them) try to explain how your involvement with the hobby would help you provide good customer service.

Good luck.

Telling someone how to run the shop is the worst way imaginable to get a job. Sell yourself as a hobby enthusiast and once you have the job (assuming she can afford a retail assistant) then maybe start dropping ideas her way. If she doesnt give you a job start giving suggestions on how to improve things. Even if i was desperate, if some punk kid (no offence but everyone under the age of 20 is a punk kid to me lol) came in and started telling me im doing a terrible job and i need to do things this way id tell him where to shove it.

You have some good ideas, but throwing them at her to get a job is a REALLY bad idea. Shes gonna think your a smartass and nobody likes a smartass.