my LHS closed down...

[MrNatural]

Well I just returned from my usual Sunday outing to my local hobby shop and come to find out they closed down.. :'( it had been a few months since my last visit.

It was just a hobbytown USA, but it was the shop i bought all my paint and supplies at for the last three years, I have definitely been more into buying my "model stuff" online lately just because I can find exactly what im looking for. But as far as paint, glue, knife blades, putty, the occasional "oh that looks like a cool kit, i'll pick that up", etc., etc...all gone now. I guess i'll be buying everything online from now on which doesn't bother me too much except for the paint. buying paint online just seems like a huge hassle
to me. I liked being able to run up to the store if I needed a particular color, just felt like venting this info out cause i was rather disappointed that I couldn't get my supplies today. All I have now is a Micheal's and all they sell are the old school testors enamels which I udderly despise......oh well.....

Anyone else live in a town with no hobby store?

 

[whiskee]

Sorry to hear that.. Here in The Dallas/Ft worth area, I still have a few choices. I have seen many go though. We lost two or three hobbytown Usa's (we have one left)in the past couple years. I have had a love/hate with them for as long as i can remember. They usually have a good selection, but I have dealt with to many rude and/or un-Knowledgeable people. The one(hobbytown) that is left is luckily only a few miles away from my house and has a friendly and helpful staff, a full selection of kits, Vallejo, mig productoins, and a bunch of good good stuff. However i fear they are going out of business too because every time i am in there the manager is trying to up sell me like crazy and i can hear the desperation in his voice. My other option is a 100 year old(over exaggeration) hobby shack/racetrack called Wild Bills...Its AWESOME! they have kits there that are old, OOP, and impossible to find the models are stacked up to the ceiling and they have literally thousands of kits..its dusty, smoky, smells like burnt nitro fuel and balsa..my kind of place. and they have everything from r/c, trains, to die cast and plastix. They are a little expensive though and kind of out of the way so hobbytown and hobby lobby still get most of my money.

 

[spud]

oh that realy sucks man, my lhs only stock humbrol and i hate ennamel paints i have a few and that was bought on a need it now basis.

 

[Jelly]

Don´t worry, Mr Natural, fortunately today we have "Internet".

95% of my modelling kits & supplies shopping is based on internet e-shops. Where I live (well, at 15 miles) there are two specially good (there are a dozen or so, but more focused on railway modelling, RC cars, RC airplanes, etc) shops, but I prefer to see the on-line catalogues.

Just get 5 or 6 good & trustable modelling e-shops, and you´ll go on as if nothing had happened. You´ll see.

Cheers,
RG

 

[the Baron]

We're fortunate here in the Lehigh Valley, in that we have a couple of old-time LHS that have survived into the Internet Age, as well as a couple of the newer chain stores.

One of the old-time stores is over outside of Nazareth, called Trains & Lanes. They carry kits, model railroading and R/C supplies. They also have a slot car track, an indoor batting cage, and a go-cart track outside.

Representing the newer stores, we have a HobbyTown store, a Hobby Lobby, and also Michael's and AC Moore. The latter two are arts & crafts stores, but both stock basic supplies that modelers can use.

I won't say that times are better or worse, than when I was a kid. It's different. When I was a kid, I'd hop on my bike and pedal the 8 miles or so over to Lansdale, to Penn Valley Hobbies. Fast forward to today, and PVH has an online store, an eBay store, and they still maintain the old bricks-and-mortar shop. They were able to see the advantages of the Internet and adapt.

I like to throw my business to the local stores, but the downside is that I can order things directly from the manufacturers, that it takes the store a couple of weeks to order from distributors. So, I have to decide and balance it out. Sometimes I buy from the stores, sometimes online.

 

[ShutterAce]

I used to manage a big chain auto parts store near here. There were then, and still are, franchise stores around here. One of these stores, that was perhaps 15 miles from my store, did close it's doors. We'll one day a gentleman walks in and starts reading me the right act of how I had closed down his local parts store and that he now had to drive clear down the mountain to get what he needed. Funny thing is he never had a problem making that drive to save some money.

I live in the sticks but am blessed with a Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and an awesome LHS called Hobby Hut 50 miles from home. I shop all three and even though Hobby Hut can be a bit pricey I understand why. I understand that the convenience of walking into a well stocked hobby shop has a price. And, as you have probably guessed, it's a price I'm willing to pay. Do I order online? Yes a little, mostly aftermarket resin or decals when I need them. It's hard for an LHS to carry all that little stuff.

My Dad always was a big proponent of "spending your money in your neighborhood". If you don't support local business it won't be there when you need it. That's just the bottom line. Getting a good deal isn't always synonymous with getting the lowest price.