Local hobby shop is closing.. another victim of the economy :(
 

Sucks. Went by today (to buy glow plugs ironically) and the owner told me he's closing up. Sales just died lately and he can't risk burning his remaining savings trying to weather the storm.

It was a nice shop too and he just moved and expanded last year. Literally across the street from work, so very convenient too. That's about the last LHS in my area. There is another by my house, but its small, expensive, poorly stocked, and open strange hours. Stopped there recently and it looked on its last legs too.

The economy is a murder right now, and its depressing about the RC hobby shops. They seem to be on a decline for a while now. I've talked to him about how he basically has to compete against his own suppliers online (horizon hobby, great planes (tower), etc.) and they don't charge tax. The margins suck and you get to deal w/ some real idiots in the store. However, if all the LHS shut down, how is that good for the hobby? I love some of the online places like RCM, but you have to have the locals as well. Out bashing and break or lose one little part, do you really want to have to go online and roder it and then wait for days? The LHS has saved me tons of times.

Really sucks for nitro as its very expensive to order online. That will kill nitro and move people to BL faster than anything else.

Oh well, sad day. Know quite a few people who have been laid off out of the blue, and now stuff like this. :(

Glad my LHS is alive and thriving! They still did their yearly special sale and give aways. Yes that's right, give away! In November they do a secret santa sale, that's just their name for an early Christmas sale. Everything in the store was 20% off and they gave away at least $7500 worth of merchandise! Granted they got most of it donated by their suppliers but they wouldn't be able to do that if they didn't do enough business with them. On top of that Great Planes gave the owner a fully built and equipped plane, a HUGE one. It has 2 nitro motors, 14 digital servos, about an 8' wing span, and weighs about 40Lbs. It was a surprise to him that I got to have a "small" hand in! When they carried it over to the demonstration area I got to help hand it over the barrier ( Like I said "small" hand). They also did a sale from the week before Christmas until New years that was 15% off everything. I do plenty of business with them and everyone knows my name. I called one day to see if they had something in stock and asked them to hold it, he said "ok, we'll see you later Joe" and I had never said who I was. If it wasn't for having a lhs I prolly wouldn't be into the hobby. It's also really nice that they are 10 minutes from me. It's really nice to be able to go pick up an axle carrier, arm, hinge pin, or whatever the same day I break it and be up running again as soon as I put it back together.

Two of the four hobby shops relatively local to me are closing as well. It's pretty depressing.

My LHS recently changed hands... That sucked as I had a sweet deal with the previous owner. If only she could have balanced her books correctly the IRS may not have audited her... Nice lady but a crappy business woman. I had all of her dealer logins, and kept a close eye on her business. It made good money, just needed some more dedication. Her husband opened it and they have 2 younfger kids, so it was just too much on her plate. I almost bought the place, but glad I did not as it would have stretched me a bit thin...

I would have made some serious money though, and my buddy would be the perfect guy to manage it, as he is very knowledgeable about rc... I am still thinking about opening a hobby shop... Not sure if i want to drop 50k on inventory and build another building...

Come on up here to Dallas and buy the only outdoor 1/8th track. It's for sale, maybe you could make it what it could be. :neutral:

Glad to hear some shops are still doing well. There was actually another LHS/indoor track that was close that closed last Feb or so.

Out of curiosity, how do the prices in the thriving stores compare to what you can get online? At this lhs, parts tended to be maybe 10% higher than online, but it was hard to ever buy vehs there as they were quite a bit more, and creative searching online could find deals better than what he could nearly buy it at. Its really hard to match the prices of ebay chopshops on large sets of parts. Admittedly I get some things online, and some at the lhs. Its hard to support everybody. I do what I can but i'm not a charity.

Also, the store was much more heli/plane oriented. The owner said that was most of his base, else RTR truck guys. So mostly TRX, HPI and Losi parts. Never OFNA or mugen or higher end stuff like that ( do love my savvy XL, don't get me wrong.)
I was the only BL guy ever there. My trucks were the only BL they've really ever seen. It started changing a bit lately, but he never really had any good BL deals, and what was there was 1/10 scale. Batts were always high, and the only lipos he ever had were small thunderpower packs for helis. He said he did sell a ton of emaxxes, but always suprized he didn't catch the BL earlier. I tried to educate him, but they were more nitro heads or only into small BLs for helis.
Tires were always way expensive, and almost never bought them there. I can't see paying an extra $20-30 for a set of tires. I'm sure being in Jersey where taxes, rents etc were high does not help either. He tried to make up service for higher prices, but I'm not so sure how well it worked out.

So what makes a good & successful LHS that people have seen?

To get a good car/truck client base, I think a store should have some type of race events, perferably physically at the track. It would bring people to the store and sales are bound to go up. Not to mention the sales it would get from the broken parts practicing before a race, parts broken during a race, and broken parts on non-race days when people are just there playing around. This assumes that there are enough people in the area to make it worthwhile.

I too buy online mostly unless the part I need happens to be in stock at the store, which is kinda rare. Gotta face it, the parts/supplies most of the people need here are specialty, especially with all the custom stuff we do. I don't know how many times I ask the LHS if they have something (aluminum, plastic, etc) just to get a blank look.

The LHSs on the southshore are good to. There was 3 here one closed, but he had recently opened and was doing mostly boats. The other two are banging. Just more of that magic New Orleans economy that is at least for now bucking the national trends.

I have not been to hobby hut recently, but those guys seem to know how to run a hobby shop. Is blackhawk still open, who is the other shop? I may have to take a ride over there one saturday with my rc buds. I have been to springfield (near hammond) a few times. His track is ok, and his tiny store is stuffed with parts. He does sell alot of buggies and truggies, I am sure the track helps with that.

:( my lhs is closing in 3 months. Killer deals (got $270 worth of stuff for $150) but it's the only one near me, the next is like a hour away... maybe I'll get to have a tower supersavers account tho

I have not been to hobby hut recently, but those guys seem to know how to run a hobby shop. They are rolling. The kids are running Metairie and Mike opend another one in Hammond near the track.

Is blackhawk still open, who is the other shop?Blackhawk is closed. The new one is on West Esplande just west of Causeway.

I may have to take a ride over there one saturday with my rc buds. I have been to springfield (near hammond) a few times. His track is ok, and his tiny store is stuffed with parts. He does sell alot of buggies and truggies, I am sure the track helps with that.[/QUOTE]

I buy every single thing I need online, either from ebay, or the UK version of towerhobbies (modelsport.co.uk) pretty much. The nearest lhs to me is 30 minutes or so away, but since I dont drive, it might as well be on the other side of the planet. Who needs an lhs, I asks yee...

My LHS used to have a sweet indoor 1/10 track years ago...he now sold that part of the building to a mattress discount store....:neutral: His prices are sometimes at least 10% higher. The only time I order from them is for a part here or there...by the time I pay shipping for 2 items it is equal to what my LHS chargers so it is a wash. Although lately, when ordering from my LHs, the parts can take a least a week to arrive and seeing that it is 25 min away....

The bigger stores in this economy have a huge advantage over the little guy. I just hope that the little guy doesn't disappear completely.

Simple economics.
 

It is really simple economics. The Wal-Mart type stores will eventually run all of the mom & pop stores out of business. They have the huge advantage of buying bulk at lower prices and that turns into lower prices over all. Due to our situation of traveling from one country to another 99%of my hobby stuff comes from on line purchases, either directly from the major suppliers, or from second hand buys on sites like this one. I have only been in an LHS like two times in teh last three years. I guess it is a pain in the rear to have to order everything on line and wait for it to come in, but that is what I am used to.

Hey Linc I would love to see you open up your own R/C shop. From my observation the only way to make it work would be to have a track area connected to the store for sure. Like BrianG stated you would have a lot of business during track events that would keep things active on a regular basis. Not to mention the diehard R/C'rs who just have to run throughout the week testing their builds in preperation for weekend events. Plus I would either build or buy something cheap (building wise) that would not cost an arm or a leg to open and pay rent on. Keeping your overhead down would be a real deal breaker if you have to pay others just to keep your doors open. Install a wind generator, and somesolar panels to keep your electric bill reasonable orhave them paying you for power. These are all doable things that would make owning your own shop a profitable business, and that would make it pleasurable to. Low stress is the key to owning any business, and having good people working for you. Life is good.

i would also love to open a HOBBY SHOP!...every time i see a great building in a great location i think to myself..."That would be a great spot for a hobby town"!....my wife and kids always get a good laugh!....just what i need is another business:landscaping and mosonry,firewood sales,custom emaxx chassis,ebay sales,craigslist sales of 4wheelers and motorcycles!!!GOOD TIMES!!!

I think Jerry has the right idea. I am going to retire with my hobbies. Either a hobby shop, Bonsai sales over the internet or something to keep active and fun....

Ha ha ha ha ha.
 

Yea thats me alright. My wife calls it temporary retirement. I have worked every single day of my life since I was 14, starting off as a golf caddy. I quit school to persue full time caddy work in order to bring home the bacon for the family, and I have been doing just that ever since.

Anyway when we got married in 2004 I had to travel with her to Korea and could not work that year, because we were going to be shipped off to Belgium within ten months. Then I had to wait for a security clearnace and that took over a year to acquire, even though I had a top secret clearance in the military that did not matter to the State Department. I worked for two years there at USNATO, and then took custody of my 3 youngest kids, so the wife and I decided that I needed to stay home and become Mr. Mom for them for at least 6 to 12 months. Well I have done that for 6 months now and I am over it. We whipped the kids into shape and now I am ready to become a working man again. Within reason of course. I do not have to work, but we have plans for our retirement and I want to speed things up a bit finanacially.

So the good news is that I just received word from DC that I am going to become a Goverment contractor doing background investigations. I decide what cases I want to do and I control my own hours working out of our home. So that will be a first for me, and I am loving the idea of that. So all of my hard work is finally paying off big time. The kicker is that I can easily earn $100K+ a year just gathering data. So now I am set. I have almost everything that a man could ask for after putting up with a lot of Crapp for so many years. I am loving life right now, and my hobby room is not only my sanctuary of peace, but my wife is always looking for ways to help me improve the atmosphere and asking if I need anything to make things easier in the shop. She got me a 19" flat panel TV for Xmas just for the shop. So yes I do think I have the right idea. Finally. Thanks for saying so MK.

I would love to open up an R/C shop/track with a partner, but we still have 6 more years of international travel to get out of the way first. Trust me I am enjoying that as well. Owning a shop and running a race track would be a great way to spend my retirement years. I have some pretty good ideas that I have seen and learned along the way. Location, location, location is the key.

As one who works at a "successful" hobby shop, I thought I would chime in on a few things that I think makes a hobby shop work. Think of these as suggestions for those of you who want to open a LHS.

1. Stock as many parts as physically possible. It doesn't matter how many kits you sell, (cars/trucks, planes, helis, boats, or whatever), if you don't keep stock parts, and hop-ups in stock.

2. This kind of works with 1. Diversify as much as possible. We sell, planes, helis, boats, cars/trucks, models, diecasts, rockets, trains, pinecars, slot cars. There are employees who are knowledgeable in all of them too. I'm mostly into cars, but we have a "plane/heli guy," and a "train/slot car guy," and a "model guy."

3. Cater to what your customer base is. In our case, there are not a lot of racers, mostly bashers, so stock what they want. Therefore we do not stock a lot of Mugen, Kyosho, etc. because we sit on inventory and that costs money.

4. You do not need a track to be successful. We do not have a track and it works out very well for us. Unless you have a well known track that can bring in big races, the owner is probably losing money on the track part, more than likely they have it because they really support the hobby.

5. You have to be competitive with online pricing, whether that means really low margins on kits/RTRs, or buying in major bulk and storing kits. If you look at all our kits, they are priced within $5 of Tower/Horizon, or any other major online seller. As you all know, replacement parts are where there is any margin anyways, Electronics and kits do not make a shop money.

6. Your employees have to be excited and knowledgeable about their job. They have to want to work there. I've been to plenty of other hobby shops where the employee didn't know what they were talking about, or didn't want to help customers. Minimizing turnover will help with that as well. I've been working at this LHS for 4 years and I was the newest employee until just a few months ago.


Sorry for the long post, but as I think of more things I'll add it to the list. Right now I have to go to work at my LHS. :yipi:

Billy the LHS that James and I were talking about above, Hobby Hut does just what you posted. They have, trains, helis, cars, trucks, models, pine wood derby, etc. (except high end BL) They are knowledgable in almost all areas and even though they sometimes do not have a large parts inventory they will get any order witihn a week at no extra charge. Oh, and they do not have a track.

I hate to see any small business go under...heck, when I buy stuff from Mike, I don't use his cupon codes...because in the grand scheme of a $2K-$3K build, the $20 that I save in the parts that I buy from RCM Mike is minimal...and I want to see him in this business for a long time. However, with regards to the LHS situation there is another side to the story. Example: I am the market to buy a new Jammin X1 CR buggy. I have checked several LHS in the DFW area and the prices range from $519-$559 for just the buggy kit. I can get the same kit online for $374. I don't buy this crap that the LHS profit margins suck. I also recently converted all of my RCs over to Ofna (except my G3R) because I want some standardization of parts and so it would be easier to buy parts locally--no good there either because all they really stock is TRAXXAS. Its kind of irratating when I go into the LHS and they look at me like I am speaking in a foreign language when I politely ask if they have a 5mmX109mm turnbuckle. And forget about asking them for any info about hardcore brushless applications. I travel all over the country for work...and I have lived a lot of different places...and I am here to tell you that it is the same song and dance everywhere. A lot of...no scratch that...MOSTof the LHS that I have visited don't even know what a Neu motor is. They say "ya, all we sell is new motors." If you ask them about brushless conversions they say "ya, I heard something about Novak puttin some kits out but we dont sell them yet."

Now I understand that that we are in the "high performance" and somewhat exclusive side of the RC hobby...BUT, I also understand that owning a hobby shop IS NOT A HOBBY. It is a profession...which obviously some rely upon to put food on the table and a roof over their head. And like any profession, and in particular, retail businesses...it is in one's best interest to pursue higher levels of performance, knowledge, skill, and capability...and to do so with alacrity and a good sense of customer service. Maybe you all have the benefit of living close to better hobby shops than where I have found myself visiting and if that is the case then I apologize to those shop owners for offending them. But until I find such a place, I will continue to drive right on past and buy my RC stuff online. This is just my 2 cents.

:lol:So that means you paid what it would have cost had you bought it online:lol: Ahem...sorry that was a cheap shot. I am really sorry guys. I don't want to turn this into a political discussion or a discussion on work ethics...but I don't have a lot of sympathy in the era of laziness and government bail outs. Most often is the case (as Linc pointed out) businesses fail for a reason.

No offense taken.
 

No offense taken at all. I agree with you Sir. Businesses fail for a reason, and more likely than not it is because they are lacking in some way to do what we expect them to do as professionals just as you so elequently stated. Laziness is the key along with complacency that comes over time of just squeesing by, putting forth the minimum of effort into what you do for a living hoping that it will be enough. That is the problem with a lot of American thinking these days. I love our country, but there is just way too much of just that going on and we are letting things slip through our fingers to other countries like Mexico, Korea, and China.

If a hobby shop has to close its doors it is because it chose the wrong location up front, and because they failed to supply the local /economy with what they need due to not paying attention or asking enough questions of its customers. Look at MonsterMike here. He listens to the requests that pile up in here and he comes up with a solution for us with custom one off hybrid stuff. That is pure business sense of wanting to please your customer base and support whatever it is that they want &/or need. UE started out that way, but forgot the main reason they got into the business in the first place. Retail sales, customer service has to be number one or you are going to loose out, and your business is going to fail. Being nice is just not enough in todays society. Give the people what they want or pack up shop and go home.

There was a really good program on AFN TV last night that revealed a lot of information about why the automakers and oil companies conspired in keeping battery and electric car technology down in the USA, and it was all for the sale of oil, and keeping us dependant on both the oil, and the repair parts from the auto makers. It all mades perfect sense to me after seeing what they did an how they did it. Now we are trailing everyone else as a nation, because they got greedy and tried to keep it all for themselves thinking that they could hold inevibility back like a tsunami rolling through. I am a realist, and I believe that you get back what you put into it.

Had a couple of days to reflect on this...
 

So Ive been thinking more about this and what caused them to fail, and I've decided all is not lost for the hobby :mdr:

More than anything I think it was run just poorly enough that its such a competitive business that the store just wasn't good enough, and a slowing economy made wounds far worse. The guy had just moved and expanded to a much bigger and better location, in part to increase the offerings (rockets, "science" crap, etc) in the store and gain visibility, but...

The stuff they had and introduced was not all that unique nor well priced, nor in great variety. You get most of it online for less, and sometimes had to or special order it bc it wasn't in stock. I had to order lots of things special as he didn't carry them. Even stuff such as paints. Sold shells, but barely any paints. Forget about airbrush paints. I had some airbrush paints ordered, but eventually just went to Micheal's instead to buy createx paints for way less.
Bought one set of tires there in 3 yrs as they were too much over tower. Rims were ok, but hard to find the right size/style. Wrong hex or offset.
If it as a revo, savage or tmaxx part, it was in stock. Other stuff, IDK, hit and miss.

Now I know you don't want to tie a bunch of money up inventory that doesn't sell, but to a certain point, if people are just going to expect you don't have the parts, they are not going to bother going. Esp when they will have to special order or buy online anyway. Basically that is what I did when I no longer had any TRX, losi or hpi veh. And might as well just buy the stuff he did carry I needed as I could just up the amt on Tower/Amain and use a bigger coupon and save shipping.... (Another hobby shop that closed last year was like that, "would you like to special order it?" "Uh, no. NM". They did have a popular 1/10 scale track on site as well. Not enough to save them.)

Lastly, customer service. As said he claimed he would use great CS service to make up for the higher prices to drive people to the store. Too bad his CS wasn't that great. Little stuff added up I think. He could be a real d1ck to kids coming in the store, and talked to them like they didn't know what they were doing, or they were just there to steal stuff, or both. Plus he had a bit of that NJ smartass attitude. Kids may not have a lot of money to spend, but they do have parents, and often get hooked and become future customers.
Personally, I bought my Sav XL there. Now I paid more there than I would have online (by a bit too,) but A.) was promised and expected some help w/ the nitro motor as it was my first time using one. B.) felt weird always coming in to look at them, not buying one, stop looking, then show up looking for parts one day lol. Plus thought I'd throw him a bone.
Ok, so I had a spare motor from another model I got on ebay and later sold off as a roller. Motor was fine and used it a bit, but I'm a nitro n00b and let it get hot a few times, 300F, so didn't feel right selling it. Better to keep practicing tuning on that motor and sell the K5.9 as new and bring down the total cost of the kit some. Ok.

Now I've been running the Sav w/ the motor for about a liter and its doing alright, but working it out still. Go to run it one day, and it will not start. 45min and nothing. I was so pissed I was ready to quit nitro for good. But, notwanting to give up so easy (and knowing it was something prolly simple) and went to the LHS to cash in my "one free tune w/ veh purchase."

So I go in, explain the situation. He's giving me some advice. Try buying a new glow plug and try to start it myself out back. Nothing. Go back in. He tells me, "yeah, I can have the repair guy/nitro guru look at it, it'll be $35. "
-"$35?! What about the one free tune? I just bought this 2 weeks ago."
"Well its not the stock motor. You put in a diff motor."
-"Dude, its a stock losi 427. You sell those things too. This isn't some exotic motor."
"Sorry there is nothing I can do. I would still have to pay the repair guy."

At this point now I'm really pissed. I've been a loyal customer for 3 yrs, (and he often reminds me of this) paid more than I need to for the truck to support the store, and the end of the day, it shouldn't matter if they are turning needles on a 5.9 or 427. Its all the same, and quite easy. (why he didn't offer to do it personally IDK.)

Fine then. Screw it, I'll figure it out myself. Took the truck home. Turned out to be the glow ignitor batt was low. Knew it was something dumb. That was in Sept, and I've barely bought anything from there since. Just a gallon of fuel, and one a-arm. Everything else online or the one other lhs (more fuel lol.)

So I guess the moral of this incredibly long story is that successful stores have to first have good prices and good inv, and secondly have good enough CS that you don't chase customers away. If that makes your margins tight, then wth do you want from me. I'm sure there is someone else out there who can do it cheaper and friendlier.

I know the feeling i hate going to my lhs - some of the guys are nice but the owner is in it for the cash...

A couple of time i have relied on them i.e. calling up to check they have the part in stock or ordering it in for me I drive down there 10 miles and guess what he didn't place the order and there inventory tracking was wrong! So I'm out of racing / bashing for the weekend...

Anyway - any closing down bargains :)

Right on target...successful LHS ingredients:

1. Fair prices
2. Inventory
3. Good CS
4. Activity base (i.e., indoor/outdoor race track)

Back when we lived in WV is when I built my first brushless monster truck. Nothing special...it was a FLM Maxx with a novak BL motor/ESC combo. Everything that I had built prior to that came from a kit and was pretty much easy to assemble. However, that FLM Maxx had some parts that required a little grinding/polishing to make eveything fit just right...and the drive train had to be strengthened to handle BL power. At that time, I was using 32P gears and had a RR steel sur with the stock junk traxxas pinion. That thing was eating those traxxas pinions left and right until I figured out the problem (steel and aluminum don't mesh well!). So I ordered a couple steel RR pinions online...and in the meantime I figured I'd drive up to a LHS that was about 35min away and buy a few more RR steel pinions so I'd be able to run my new BL monster truck over the weekend. Not only that, I was psyched to take my just finished Maxx up to this hobby shop that advertised a track, large inventory (to include RR gears), friendly service, etc. When I showed up with my truck and asked the owner if he had any RR 32p steel pinions, he indicated that they no longer carried them. BTW...he didn't know or understand what 32p meant. Well I hated to waste a trip...so I tried to strike up a conversation and see if there was anything else I needed or was interested in buying. Apparently this irritated the blob (and owner) behind the counter because he looked at me and said "whut do ya do with that pritty alum truck? Drive it around the living room?" Not the smartest thing to say to an adult customer that comes strolling into your establishment with a $2500 truck under his arm. With any amount of luck, that customer just might spend some serious loot if you are nice to him. I mean what a dumb ass...he had tons of 1/5 scale stuff (FG and MCD) and I was trying to talk to him about the pros/cons of those RCs versus the nitros. I was genuinely interested in buying one and I had brought proof into his store that I could indeed afford to buy one of his FG/MCDs! Freaky thing is that another customer in the store looked at me and looked at the owner behind the counter and said "I don't think he's interested in your FGs anymore..." LOL. I have had numerous similar experiences so I just stay away from the LHS scene unless I am in pinch for connectors, CA glue, diff fluid, etc. LHS CS awlays seems to be the same...some blob that knows it all or some kid that doesn't care and certainly isn't trying to figure it out.

lol

No, no good deals either. The guy says he needs money to pay the business loan, so can't afford to have a sale. He'll just take what doesn't sell home and put it up on ebay.

I asked him if he saw the prices on ebay, and they are pretty tight, not to mention all the fees for paypal and ebay. "Yeah"
As it is now, no good deals. We'll see as it gets closer to the closing date. There isn't really anything I need/want. There are no 40 series tires, all the maxx size are pin-type tires, and most of the shells are 1/10, crawler or Revo 2.5. Nothing to fit my savvy XL.

Maybe he's just being like circuit city and their liquidation sales. Everything is expensive at first, then drops the last few days. I'll see if I find anything, make a realistic offer to take it or leave it.