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Forums - News / General |
For General modelling or hobby-related topics that are not covered by any other specific forum. Please keep to topics concerning the hobby. |
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| Messages | 22336 |
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| Subject: | Re: Support Your Local Dealer! |  |
| Date: | Sep 9, 2006 |
| From: | Tim Streeter | |
Well, I used to support my local dealer until the vice squad busted him and confiscated all his...oh, wait, you're talking about a different kind of dealer!
I am sympathetic to the local hobby shops. Here in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, several of the shops that I supported with my hard earned money closed their doors in the mid- to late-1990s. The ones that have survived have been strongly diversified into model railroads. The two-store chain that has actually EXPANDED floor space during that time (Hub Hobby Center, which periodically annexed space from failed businesses in both malls where their stores are located) has maybe 20-30% of its space dedicated to model kits and supplies. The rest includes trains, RC cars and planes, die casts, doll houses, puzzles, coin collecting, games....HOBBY stuff in the largest sense of the word. These stores are always crowded on weekends, and I often have to wait in line when I stop in on my lunch breaks or on the way home from work. Diversification has served them well as a successful business model (pun intended).
On the other hand, I have diversified my purchases based on a similarly successful business model: pay less so I can buy more. That means using mail order most of the time.
We're often reminded, when the subject of Axis vs. Allied products comes up, that the business model for manufacturers is to make money, thus the predominence of one subject over others. Fair enough. Of course, they are not going to make much money from me if they don't give me what I want.
Likewise, if the LHS is not carrying what I want, I have no choice but to seek it out online, and if I can find it at a discount, all the better.
I once looked into buying one of the local stores that closed. When I saw the finance statements and it became evident that I'd have to learn more about the Soo Line and rock polishers than Shermans and Panthers, I walked away from it.
I also knew there were too many penny-pinching hobbyists out there like myself (married, kids, mortgage, car and college payments, etc.), and the model industry---including retail---has done absolutely nothing to develop a new generation of modelers.
This Golden Age of Modeling has another 10-20 years before the economically viable subjects have been done to death and the current demographic that is carrying this hobby---guys like myself in their 40s and 50s---begins downsizing their homes and living on downsized retirement savings. As the herd starts to thin more rapidly on one side of the age spectrum, there aren't going to be reciprocating numbers bulding it up on the other, younger side.
But hey, like they say, "it's only a hobby." Unless, of course, it's your business.
Tim |
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 | Support Your Local Dealer! - Hans - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Mark Austen - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Sometimes money isn't everything. - MIke Tittel - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: Sometimes money isn't everything. - Mark Austen - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . Support Your Internet Dealer! - Paul A. Owen - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Support Your Internet Dealer! - Thomas J. Deimling - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Art Store - Ken Hartlen - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: Art Store - Brian Bocchino - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Good point - Mike Tittel - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Support Your Internet Dealer! - Bill Naessens - Sep 15, 2006 |
| . . . Uh oh, 2 in the Hans crowd now. - Hans Haase - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Uh oh, 2 in the Hans crowd now. - Paul A. Owen - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Me too for a moment.... - Hans Haase - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: Uh oh, 2 in the Hans crowd now. - Hans - Sep 11, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Uh oh, 2 in the Hans crowd now. - John Harris - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . Okay, I'll take the bait - Ken Hartlen - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Okay, I'll take the bait - Dwayne Williams - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Strangely enough, never been there - Hans Haase - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Strangely enough, never been there - Dwayne Williams - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Borgfeldt: what a joke - Roy Chow - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . I'm lost...Will someone explain Borgfeldt? - Mark Austen - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: I'm lost...Will someone explain Borgfeldt? - Alan Tong - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Borgfeldt == Canadian Exclusive Distributor - Ken Hartlen - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - David Manning - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Michael Wawrow - Sep 12, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Joe M - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Tim Streeter - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Addendum - Tim Streeter - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . Support Your Local Dealer! Why? - Steve Campbell - Sep 9, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! Why? - Philippe Blumenthal - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! Why? - Joe M - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Mark Magoo - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Joe M - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Go figure... we're very lucky here in the Detroit area - Roy Chow - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Fred A. Robinson - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Jonathan Bowe - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Ordering Through LHS - Tim Streeter - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Ordering Through LHS - Jesse Spute - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - "panzers" koenig - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Alan Leong - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Gary Cooper - Sep 10, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Johannes Allert - Sep 11, 2006 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Oyvind Henriksen - Sep 11, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Pawel Kowalski - Sep 11, 2006 |
| . . . . . . Also... - Pawel Kowalski - Sep 11, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Mike Johnson - Sep 11, 2006 |
| . . . It depends on the Hobby Shop - Charles Harrison - Sep 12, 2006 |
| . . . Re: Support Your Local Dealer! - Philippe Blumenthal - Sep 12, 2006 |
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