Another HobbyTownUSA Bites The Dust

Ah ; 

   Kind of a late reply here . I used the service station " Analogy " to indicate both Hobby Towns and Mom and Pop hobby outlets . If you give service and have a selection that appeals to MODELERS then you might survive .

     My friend Gary at Hill Country Hobbys here in San Antonio , feels that way .No R.C. No Trains and No children's chotschkes .Just a store full of great models and supplies .Gary is having a problem with the M.M. wholesalers that has dragged on for six months now .

 I believe that R.C. has it's place and big dollars are spent there .But , on the other hand ,do they also have to carry the same R.C. Wal-mart does ?

  there are plenty of vendors for specifically model Train Stuff Such as Cedar Creek and That's who I do business with . If I want LEGO I go to the LEGO store , Wal - Mart or my favorite aftermarket Lego outlet ,  "San Antonio Plastic Bricks " .Ron Luvisi and Family always make my visit enough fun, I don't really want to leave without spending more !

     See, the main thing in all the small stores comes down to customer service . Gosh, even the Hobby Town staff greets me by name as soon as I step in and I don't go there but about once every two months ! . So that's my total input here !  T.B.

! 

I am certainly not wanting to see people's livelihoods harmed, but if I could shop online and have my groceries delivered to my house at the same or lower cost I would tell them to do it and I wouldn't miss going to the grocery store.  Now, I am a huge touch guy and love to pick up those boxes in the store and dream about building it, but I can see the boxes at the on-line store(s), compare prices, and have it shipped to the house and never get out of my sweat pants so-to-speak.  Sometimes I can go to Amazon and as a Prime member get it with two-day shipping for no extra cost.  If I need some paint or a tool, seems much better than driving all over the place for it. 

I think getting the lowest price is the biggest thing for me.  If the big On-Line retailers end up selling lots of kits then the manufacturers are incented to keep making them.  I don't think the hobby will suffer because the sales vehicle is changing its shape.  Local stores just can't compete with the inventory selection and I rarely need something the same day.  I think the disappearance of the LHS is as inevitable as Wal-Mart closing a lot of mom-and-pop hardware and clothing stores.

Just some thoughts, not trying to be rude to anyone.

John

Lucky you. We have only one mom & pop store left in my area. I go there every now and then. He rarely has anything new every week. Decent but small. He did just added Tamiya paint line though.

I can't wait to head out to Webster, NY next weekend since I have a party to go to in that area anyways. I discovered there is a LHS not too far from my sis-in-law's home called Performance Hobbies. I checked out his website and I started drooling at the stock he has. It'll be a true Christmas in July for me come next weekend. LOL!!!

Devil Dawg

 tankerbuilder

Hey Mitsdude !

 You mean Service Stations don't you ? That was what we sold at mine . Service . Check all fluids , tires , wash all windows and clean head and tail lights too ! Then of course the gas and oil 1 Service first , the rest comes next .    Tanker - Builder

No offense intended, Tanker Builder, but are you on the correct thread? These posts don't seem to go with this thread.

I thought they were talking about gas stations that sold model kits, in which case, it fits the general topic.  We didn't have any gas stations around here that sold model kits, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were some, somewhere.  The old Atlantic Oil Co (later, Atlantic-Richfield, then ARCO) sold plastic toys at some of its gas stations.  I believe the company had a plastics division and that it made those toys.

I guess I'm one of the luckier ones.  Three mom and pop stores within 45 miles, all have prety decent prices and people that know what they are talking about.  The local IPMS meets at one of them weekly after closing.  I have to fly at about .98 mach to get to that one after work if I need something, but am getting to know the owners after a few times in, and the last time I was referred to as a regular customer.  Kind of made me feel good.

We have a new Hobby Town opening up here in Boise at the end of July. I will be going in there more often to help keep it around.

It's a double edged sword. The local HobbyTown does have higher than average prices for Alot of things, but I still want to try to support them if I can, because if they go out of business, I lose my only local hobby shop (the next closest one is 45 minutes away, and after that I have to travel almost 2 hours to get to the next one.) I find, for the most part, their kit prices to be borderline outrageous, and their selection in 1/48 is abysmal. I do try to use them when I need something like a jar of paint, some more Tamiya extra thin, or some sanding sticks though.

Before this year, I hadn't bought a kit there since 2009, but a few months ago I got the 1/48 Airfix Dogfight Double 109E/Spit Mk. V for about $36, which I thought was a competitive price. And just last week I went in there and found a 1/48 Airfix Bedford MWD for $14 and change, which I thought was a steal. So maybe there is hope.

Hey Folkks:

 I don't remember where this was supposed to be .Sorry ! T.B.

Hmmm.

   Our Hobby Town-USA moved from where they were to a new location some years back and they seem to be doing alright .They lost the race-track for R.C. but they do have a better selection and a larger store .The R.C. is a large part of one side of the store .So yeah , if that is below slow ,so goes the rest of it .We're talking some large bucks there .

    I do have a small LHS in San Antonio that I've mentioned before .Sometimes, I wish I had hundreds to spend just to make sure Gary stayed around ! Ah , such is the economic state .Either you have it to spend or you don't .On S.S. it's usually the second .

 Of course a stash of coin gathered over time helps. Can you say Piggy - Bank ? T.B.

I wish any entrepreneur luck, whatever business he's chosen, including a HobbyTown franchisee.  But, I will also look to my own finances, and if he doesn't carry what I need or want, I'm going to buy it elsewhere.  I'll throw him my business, when it makes sense--usually that's for paints and basic supplies.  But the hobby chains just don't carry everything we need, and generally, they cater to many different hobbies, not just to scale modelers.  I'm not going to beat my b*r*e*a*s*t in anguish because a shop goes out of business.  There are plenty of other things in our daily lives, to give us agita.

scapilot

 

 

See, this is misleading.  No one truly complains about paying five percent more for something in person.  If it were only five percent mark ups at my local hobby  town here in Fort Worth, I'd be in there all the time.  But its more like 30 percent.  They try to justify it by saying it's what  they have to charge to be competitive.  But that's just so backwards in thinking to me, if you want to be competitive, Mark your stuff to move.  I swear, I've not seen any new kits in my local store in probably four months.  Even when they occasionally  mark them down to sell, they're still ridiculously priced.  There's never any good sales strategies going on to boost business or move old stock to circulate new stuff, and more often than not, the minor things that I do go there for are out of stock.... For weeks.  Sorry, but if that's all the motivation you've got to succeed, then expect to be out of business quickly.  I do understand  the idea of getting behind a business, but I have a hard time trying to support a business who isn't even trying to help it's own cause.  As far as the whole "show rooming" debate, the fat old dude who runs the main counter at our hobby town seems clueless. I can count four occasions where a customer asked a question and he gave them terrible recommendations.  I helped every single one of them make a better purchase for  their buck by being able to personally tell them the pros and cons of each.  Add to that the fact that they crapped on me about the rewards points program (which is pretty much intrinsically worthless as far as savings go anyways) by telling me that somewhere along the way they'd opened two accounts for me, but wouldn't merge the points between the two.  These days they don't even ask customers anymore for their hobby town points card, which is sad because they've either done away with the system or are so damn scared of losing a few cents on their already ridiculously priced stuff that they won't mention it.  I saw a Hasegawa F-22 recently that was still priced for 90 bucks, which is what Hasegawa thought they were going to get for it initially until everyone saw  the ram patterns.  These days I could cover the cost of two of them, plus shipping online for less than that same cost.  Again... When are they adjusting costs? Just because it was 39 dollars three years ago when you put  it on your shelf doesn't mean it still is. In fact, it's probably now selling everywhere else for 14 bucks, which is why it'll sit on the shelf for another six years.  They just come across as extremely lazy.  They want our money, but they don't want to work for it. As a consumer, that's extremely insulting.  I'd rather plan ahead, place an order for a fair prices on the stuff I need in advance, pay ten bucks to ship any and everything I can throw in the cart and be headache  free.  Probably not the popular answer, as I really do enjoy a good brick and mortar store.  But I also absolutely refuse to spend stupidly, simply to say I've patronized a failing business whos not doing anything themselves to stop the train from coming at  them.  

 

I totally agree.  I have been to a couple of different HobbyTowns in Oklahoma, and the people that work there did not seem to know what they were talking about.  They seem to hire people that just need a job, not people who are actually interested in hobbies.  And other hobby stores that I have been in (RC stores) have people that are jerks when you ask them questions.  People complain that mom-and-pop shops are closing all the time.  Well, these shops certainly aren't helping themselves when they are rude to customers.  Someone mentioned earlier that this is a people problem, not a store problem.  I beg to differ.  I have worked in retail my entire life and the sales people and management are important.  In my opinion, Walmart has horrible service but they succeed because their prices are so low.  If you have a hobby shop where your service is horrible and your prices are high, well then expect for your store to go under.  If your store has what I need, sells it for a decent (doesn't have to be internet priced) and if your people are nice, then I will buy from your store.  All of this being said...I sadly don't have much option where I live in Oklahoma.  Most of the hobby stores are an hour drive away in OKC and they are RC shops (with the exception of HobbyTowns.)  Hobby Lobby is the closest store to me and they have some stuff but not enough.  I have to shop online for most of my stuff.  And honestly, I have had little problems with Amazon or Ebay. 

I believe that a LHS could do very well, but they are going to have to work in modern times.  Advertise, have good workers, have decent prices, have good inventory, and have an online presence. 

Thanks Devil Dog! I enjoyed building the Nautlis.  It was a resin model from Blue Ridge Models.

tankerbuilder

Hey Mitsdude !

 You mean Service Stations don't you ? That was what we sold at mine . Service . Check all fluids , tires , wash all windows and clean head and tail lights too ! Then of course the gas and oil 1 Service first , the rest comes next .    Tanker - Builder

 

No offense intended, Tanker Builder, but are you on the correct thread? These posts don't seem to go with this thread.

Hey Mitsdude !

 You mean Service Stations don't you ? That was what we sold at mine . Service . Check all fluids , tires , wash all windows and clean head and tail lights too ! Then of course the gas and oil 1 Service first , the rest comes next .    Tanker - Builder

modelcrazy

Wow, OK, we just lost ours here in Boise ID. 

Here is a quote for their Facebook page.

"Friends both old and new,
I have sad news for you. With all the trials and tribulations that HobbyTown USA, Boise has faced lately I have not been able to save her from the giant iceberg impact of the recession. Everyone here has been trying hard to bring things back to normal for the last several years and it seems that each time we patch a hole we find a new leak in the hull. In about 2008-9 folks in the valley began to have a lot less to spend on their hobbies. Obviously mortgages and car payments had to come first. After that there were things like the power bill or repairs of the air conditioner and that didn't leave much left over for the fun stuff. 
Its not all on the recession though. We should probably not have tried to increase convenience by opening our Nampa location, at least during the recession anyway. We also got forced to move to the other building by our landlord in 2012. Although our new space looked very nice we ended up having conflict with our landlord regarding a couple of points in the lease and as a result had to do without about $40,000 for six months after that move. That seriously hampered both our moving advertising, our holiday advertising and our ability to keep bringing in cool product for our customers to consider for purchase. The new side of the parking lot also happens to be a lot less visible from the street and not near any other normal retail location that we could share customers with. Do you remember the good old days of Moxie Java being next door? How about Ace Hardware or even Coast to Coast Hardware? They and our other wonderful neighbors helped make business better for all of us over the years. 
That brings us to where we are now, behind on rent, not earning enough to bring in all of the great new product out there and continually being faced with "showrooming" that practice where people spend hours questioning our staff about various products and then still go and purchase it online because it is 5% less on a website. We still pay our people for that time, well not anymore I guess. Please don't worry about your friends here at the store.

 

See, this is misleading.  No one truly complains about paying five percent more for something in person.  If it were only five percent mark ups at my local hobby  town here in Fort Worth, I'd be in there all the time.  But its more like 30 percent.  They try to justify it by saying it's what  they have to charge to be competitive.  But that's just so backwards in thinking to me, if you want to be competitive, Mark your stuff to move.  I swear, I've not seen any new kits in my local store in probably four months.  Even when they occasionally  mark them down to sell, they're still ridiculously priced.  There's never any good sales strategies going on to boost business or move old stock to circulate new stuff, and more often than not, the minor things that I do go there for are out of stock.... For weeks.  Sorry, but if that's all the motivation you've got to succeed, then expect to be out of business quickly.  I do understand  the idea of getting behind a business, but I have a hard time trying to support a business who isn't even trying to help it's own cause.  As far as the whole "show rooming" debate, the fat old dude who runs the main counter at our hobby town seems clueless. I can count four occasions where a customer asked a question and he gave them terrible recommendations.  I helped every single one of them make a better purchase for  their buck by being able to personally tell them the pros and cons of each.  Add to that the fact that they crapped on me about the rewards points program (which is pretty much intrinsically worthless as far as savings go anyways) by telling me that somewhere along the way they'd opened two accounts for me, but wouldn't merge the points between the two.  These days they don't even ask customers anymore for their hobby town points card, which is sad because they've either done away with the system or are so damn scared of losing a few cents on their already ridiculously priced stuff that they won't mention it.  I saw a Hasegawa F-22 recently that was still priced for 90 bucks, which is what Hasegawa thought they were going to get for it initially until everyone saw  the ram patterns.  These days I could cover the cost of two of them, plus shipping online for less than that same cost.  Again... When are they adjusting costs? Just because it was 39 dollars three years ago when you put  it on your shelf doesn't mean it still is. In fact, it's probably now selling everywhere else for 14 bucks, which is why it'll sit on the shelf for another six years.  They just come across as extremely lazy.  They want our money, but they don't want to work for it. As a consumer, that's extremely insulting.  I'd rather plan ahead, place an order for a fair prices on the stuff I need in advance, pay ten bucks to ship any and everything I can throw in the cart and be headache  free.  Probably not the popular answer, as I really do enjoy a good brick and mortar store.  But I also absolutely refuse to spend stupidly, simply to say I've patronized a failing business whos not doing anything themselves to stop the train from coming at  them.  

Jeff Head

 

 

Devil Dawg

Too bad I live in North Carolina now, or I'd be visiting that one, plus Free Time, a lot. And, until this thread, I had never heard of Free Time Hobbies. Where are they located in Georgia?

 

 

 

They are in Blue Ridge, Georgia.

 

They have their own model line too, called Blue Ridge Models.  They make resin kits with very good photo etch and brass details. 1/350., 1/720, and 1/72 scale.

They sent me  a 1/350 scale USS NAutlis from them to build for them for promotional purposes.

See: http://www.jeffhead.com/modelbuilds/US-SSN571.htm

 

Great job on that sub, Jeff!

tankerbuilder

Hey ! Nice Boat !  T.B.

 

Hey ! Nice Boat !  T.B.

Hi B.D.

     I am late getting back to you -Sorry .That price was for a rarely used " Little Square Bottle " of Testors Rubber . T.B.

     Same paints ,  different colors were ten Cents at my Local Hobby Shop when I was ten .You mean sixty years changed the price that much ?

Well , Hello D.D. !

    Listen , I know what you mean .There was a small LHS in SanMarcos , TX. Just about thirty miles from my home .He's gone only after two years ! Low sales and high costs . Hobby town in San Antonio is going apparently Gangbusters .They even sustained a move to a harder to get to location .

      They are still going strong and are the go - to for stuff for the train Museum here in New Braunfels and also personal stuff for yours truly .

     There is another small shop called Hill Country Hobbies south of them ( Hobby - Town ) Gary is still the main place for anything . If he ain't got it he'll get it .  Plus , when going there I meet fellow modelers and enjoy the friendly insults and camaradery .

    I wish Gary was here in town . It's a real bear to drive I-35 and then Loop1604 and back again . I'll do it just to say hi and B.S. with Gary though . Catch Ya Later  T.B.

      P.S. I wonder if a Coffee House type arrangement would work .That way you could sit and quaff your Beans and talk models with the other folks ?

That's right Jeff, I had forgotten about Blue Ridge Models line! Nice work on that Nautilus!

Devil Dawg

Too bad I live in North Carolina now, or I'd be visiting that one, plus Free Time, a lot. And, until this thread, I had never heard of Free Time Hobbies. Where are they located in Georgia?

They have their own model line too, called Blue Ridge Models.  They make resin kits with very good photo etch and brass details. 1/350., 1/720, and 1/72 scale.

They sent me  a 1/350 scale USS NAutlis from them to build for them for promotional purposes.

See: http://www.jeffhead.com/modelbuilds/US-SSN571.htm

Jester75

 

Jeff Head

I use squadron sometimes...but FreeTime Hobbies out of Georgia is my favorite. 

 

 

 

I have the privilege of living about 45 minutes away from Freetime and have visited both their old store and their very nice new one. Brandon and family and always set up at the local shows and are always great just to BS with or get a great deal from.

If I was in the area, I would drop by n principle alone to chew the fat.

They are very good fols to work with and I have found them more than willing to make a deal.

I'd love to visit their store some day...and I am sure I would spend some money there.

That would be the one in Chattanooga my friend. I have never been to the one in Kennesaw but as chance would have it, I have to be down there today getting my daughter registered at Kennesaw State so I may just have to stop by there.

Freetime is in beautiful Blue Ridge. You've probably been there. If you like the mountains, it's definitely a place to visit.  

Also a thing to add, if you see them at a show and they didn't bring something that you were looking for, you can order it from them online and they will waive the shipping.

Jester75

 

 

Jeff Head

I use squadron sometimes...but FreeTime Hobbies out of Georgia is my favorite. 

 

 

 

I have the privilege of living about 45 minutes away from Freetime and have visited both their old store and their very nice new one. Brandon and family and always set up at the local shows and are always great just to BS with or get a great deal from. We have a HobbyTown about 20 minutes from here but their prices are just so high it's hard to justify unless you're in a bind for something and you need it quick.

 

Would that be the one in Kennesaw? I've been to that one many times. If nothing else, it's gotta be the BIGGEST HobbytownUSA I've ever seen! Took over a dual-screen movie theater and made it into a hobby shop. Too bad I live in North Carolina now, or I'd be visiting that one, plus Free Time, a lot. And, until this thread, I had never heard of Free Time Hobbies. Where are they located in Georgia? I used to live in Carrollton, about 30 miles west of Atlanta just south of I-20.

Jeff Head

I use squadron sometimes...but FreeTime Hobbies out of Georgia is my favorite. 

 

I have the privilege of living about 45 minutes away from Freetime and have visited both their old store and their very nice new one. Brandon and family and always set up at the local shows and are always great just to BS with or get a great deal from. We have a HobbyTown about 20 minutes from here but their prices are just so high it's hard to justify unless you're in a bind for something and you need it quick.

Devil Dawg

 Same here, Jeff. Most of my modeling money is going to Squadron and a few other online retailers. I would definitely much rather go to a model shop and look around and spend my money there, but it's getting to where that isn't cost effective anymore.

 

They have a large brick and mortar store which is in Gerogia and I am in Idaho so I do not get to go to it...but they have one of the best online presences I have seen and I have purchased a lot of stuff from them.

But I miss HobbyTwon here locally.

I used to take my three grandsons over there and they all thought it was the "best stroe in Idaho!"

Jeff Head

We had two in the Boise, ID area that I used for years.

I could always get my supplies (pints, thinners, tools, etc.) at them, and now and againn they had great deals on the kits.

About 2-3 years ago the one in Namap closed.  It was the smaller of the two.

Then, last year, the one in Boise closed too.

I was really sad to see them go.  Sounds like it has been happening all over the country.  Wat shape are they in in general.  Of they filed fro bankruptcy as a corporation, or is it just particular franchises that are having issues?

Seems like if enough of them fail, the whole place will go down.

About the only place left in terms of bricks and mortar for that type of thing around here now is Hobby Lobby.  It has a few things, but the selctin is very limited.

Doing it all online now.

 

Same here, Jeff. Most of my modeling money is going to Squadron and a few other online retailers. I would definitely much rather go to a model shop and look around and spend my money there, but it's getting to where that isn't cost effective anymore.