TN. LHS closing

Those are exactly the types of items that make the LHS such a convenient place to shop as a modeler.  Sad when they decide to call it quits.

 

David

That's too bad Steve. It was a lot of fun having a hobby shop near New Orleans back in the late 1980s but a difficult business to keep going. Most of my wholesalers were themselves mail order houses which created a low profit situation for us plus we had to charge sales tax where the mail order stores didn't...

Steve,

 

Is Puckett's near there?

 

Dave

Unfortunately, too many people rely on the LHS only for those small items that are inconvenient to order elsewhere, but opt to save some $$$ by going online for larger purchases.

 

Perhaps, an occasional large purchase could be made as a thank you to the owner just for being there, and as insurance that he might be there in the future.

 

Those higher prices that he must charge reflect the extremely small profit margins that distributors force the little guys in the hobby business to endure.

 

After working for over a year now at my LHS, it was disheartening to learn that sometimes the largest sale of the day might be a few cans of spray paint....and that the occasional, big $200 item sale netted an actual profit of only $30 or so. 

 

To twist a proverb, hobby shop man cannot live by glue and Testors alone.

 

Jim

True. 

 

There's be what, 3-4 Amazon sale posts alone popping up during the last week...

 

Rusty

I hear you Jim, but in this case R/C items seemed to be the main business. Helicopters, planes, race cars vs. a few MRR related items.

With a few established internet companies and eBay having lower prices at times than anyone else, it’s hard to compete on big ticket items in this day and age.

Main reason for the closing was too many people attempting to basically sell all the same products.

On the other hand MRR has been affected by dwindling serious buyers, poor economy and product prices that have escalated vs. just 4 years ago.

The same 27 - 33 dollar O Scale OEM freight cars then can be as much as 45 - 68 dollars on average today.

Prices were stable and affordable for many years until about the last 3 or 4.

Customers are still buying specialty cars or custom painted items but sales for new common OEM items appear to be in trouble.

 

 

Sad to hear as I often frequented this location when making trips between Chattanooga and Indianapolis to visit my son and his family.

Hi Steve,

 

Sorry to hear this, I went to that hobby shop a few times when I was in Murfreesboro

visiting my daughter in college. It was a very large hobby shop, what a shame.

 

Alex

Unfortunately its a low volume, low margin business. pretty soon there wont be a LHS left standing unless they want to departmentalize with other product lines. on the other hand It would be nice to see some of the products SIRT mentioned start to be carried by the the new big box stores like Michaels and AC Moore. They already carry Bass and Balsa wood

The local Tn. Hobby Lobby discontinued 98% of their MRR items last year just down the street.

Jim,

 

You're explanation above was very good!

 

When I got back into trains again a couple years ago, I visited my LHS and thought the prices were kind of high. My wife's brother lives in another city a few hours away and he is good friends with the owner of a larger train store that also does a lot of online sales. I purchased my first few train items there as he gave me an excellent discount!

 

Then one day I went back to my LHS and got to talking to the owner. During the conversation he told me just about the same things you just said. He's a small shop and can't buy directly from most manufacturers, has to buy from suppliers and they mark everything up for their profits first, leaving him a lot less room for discounts.

Because of that he also has to buy some items in quantity, whether he wants that many or not, just to have them in the store.

 

Now that I'm a regular customer, he sometimes gives me small discounts on some stuff, or if I pre-order engines or rolling stock. Probably because of the amount of stuff I purchase there. Some items are offered at a small discount to all as well. He does what he can. I know most here are against pre-paying, but I do that on big ticket items sometimes as well, like diesels or multi-car and train sets.

 

My LHS has only been open for a few years and they have just about everything they own invested in the store. It's also basically the only one in town with a large supply of O gauge (or any trains at all). It's really a nice store! There are no O gauge clubs that I have found around here either, everything is HO or N.

 

I like going there to look at (and purchase) stuff and I want them to remain there so I can continue to do that! I visit just about weekly and try to purchase something on each visit, even if it's only a small item.

 

I like saving money as much as anyone, I am retired on a fixed income, but I also like to go to my LHS and talk about toy/model trains with the owner and/or other customers. If they have to close because everyone is going for the cheaper stuff online, I won't be able to continue doing that! So, I will continue to purchase everything hobby related from them while they are here!

Unlike many or most here, I would estimate that about 90% of my O gauge train buying goes to my not-quite-local, local train shops that are all within an hour commute from my home.  Most here know that the bulk of my buying is with our forum's own Dave Minarik and his Mercer Junction shop.  In large part that is because Dave is a good friend and his store is a place that is always a delight to visit.  OGR advertisers Aaron's City Trains and C.T. McCormick are also on my list of places to purchase from.

 

My only Internet buying is for Large Scale, Marklin HO, and items that are not stocked or no longer available at or through the local sources I mentioned.  

 

Recognizing that not all have a train shop within a reasonable commuting distance, I'm a firm believer in supporting small business--and especially local small business--if at all possible.  Price, to me, is a secondary consideration because having lived in places where there were no hobby shops, I fully appreciate what one has to deal with when they are not available.  All those Internet buyers out there will eventually realize what they are missing when they begin paying $12.50+ to get a $3 item, and much more than that for a larger and more costly item.

"TN. LHS closing ..."

 

And so goes the trend, and it's not only LHS/trains.

 

We have gone from an economy where "not made here anymore" has become "can't even buy it locally anymore," and I'm speaking of one of the densest region for retailing in this country (50 mi. radius of NYC). It's most often not even a matter of of price, convenience or local taxes. If there is no inventory on the shelves, there are no sales; if there are no sales then there is no B&M cash flow, profit margins, or reasons to keep locals employed or stores open for that matter. The latest ugliness of this trend is big box retailers setting up web sites competing w/their very own B&M stores & local sales staff.

 

Jobs, jobs, jobs indeed!

There's no question about that.  How many times have I stated that we are our own worst enemies?  Applies to what we demand of manufacturers and also how we treat retailers.

 

And the buying trend among consumers is by no means limited to toy trains.

Looking at it a different way –

I think the marketers were lacking a good business plan and did it to themselves.

 

Using Atlas as an example.

They market excellent replicas of models however, even with a slight overseas labor increase, how do they justify increasing cars let’s say, Master series from 55 to 70?

Cars 3 years ago at 55 were a hard sell. I see dealers and individuals trying to sell them on eBay month after month without a sale. Even buy it now cars at 55 are not selling.

So how do they expect to meet sales projections in the future without changing with the times?

 

How many on here are going to pay 70 bucks for a stock boxcar?

 

This is a tough one.  Independent retailers in every industry have been under extreme pressure for a few decades.  Malls and big box retailers started the trend.  The internet has been both a blessing and a curse to the little guys.

 

I'm lucky to have at least 10 LHSs within a 30 mile radius.  I've steered most of my direct buying to the one with a repair shop, and I've purposely bought more than just odds and ends from him.  I've purchased 1/3 of my engines from him, and today I bought a reconditioned post-war ZW.  I'd buy more from him if he had a website with his inventory online, but since he doesn't, I've found 2 online dealers that have brick-and-mortar stroes and great websites.  I've purchased most of my other items from them under the idea that I'm still supporting someone else's LHS.

 

I don't do much with auction sites.....only if I'm looking for something that's hard to find.

From the name I'd guess this was a franchise store of the Hobby Town chain. 

Back when I worked in a hobby shop we were approached by the Hobby Town folks to become a franchisee. And we looked over the package....and concluded that what they offered us was not worth the fees.

I'll bet Hobby Town is in trouble as many of the Hobby Town shops I visit in my travels have closed in the past two years. Yes....many hobby shops have closed in that time frame....but having to pay fees on top of rent, power, salary, taxes etc etc....can't help.  

Our Hobby Town in Johnson City TN appears to be doing well. In the past 6 years or so it's moved 3 times. Each location has been better and larger. I also understand the owner has opened another one just over the mountain in Ashville NC a year or so ago. It's mostly MSRP for my items with a small discount sometimes, but I do like doing business with them. I have pre-ordered a lot of trains and train related items from them. Him and his wife have been pleasant to deal with.

 

This year is the first year I have pre-ordered from one of the forum sponsors to see how it goes.

Talked to the owner, wasn’t a chain problem. “Too many sellers, not enough buyers”

My local Hobby Town was doing quite well the last time I was there, as was the one in Co.Springs last time I was there.

 

From my experience's, a lot of LHS's are pretty good about putting themselves out of business no matter what the price of the product.

 

1. Grumpy owner/employee.

 

2. The liar. Bring in a postwar engine to be repaired, owner say's it's not worth it, and tries to sell a new engine. Everyone is internet savvy, and can find that their engine is usually repairable.

 

3. Train shop "groupies". A couple guy's that are always at the LHS, one overweight guy with a shirt two sizes too small, with yesterday's lunch stains on it, the other eating popcorn. I have no idea where these guy's always seem to find the popcorn... They like to talk loudly, swear, and take up all the counter space, even though they aren't buying anything. They lear at any woman that happens to come into the store.

 

None of these issues have anything to do with the price of the product. It has everything to do with atmosphere. I've been in hobby shops throughout the midwest and these 3 things seem to be the norm, not the exception. I'll gladly pay MSRP for something I want. Friendly, honest service without the "groupies" goes a long way for me. Be professional.

 

This may seem negative, but it's what the public see's. It's why we're considered the way we are in the media. You want to help the LHS, stay out of it except to purchase and get service.

Steve, Richard(from Casey Jones in Memphis) said that only one train shop is leftin his town. I think the population is about 3/4 Mil but only support one train shop now.

I guess, I'm fortunate.

Besides, the great hobby shops on the inter-net, I have great hobby shops in the near and distant areas.

All are great in all aspects and fortunately non are closing.

Ralph,

Not implying that Hobby Town is in trouble. The franchisees (the local hobby shop owner) are having issues with not being able to make ends meet after paying all expenses and then a fee to Hobby Town chain owners.....So if your LHS closed for monetary reasons only (not health, location etc) then fees were some part of the issue.   

SIRT,

 

Yep, POPsrr is correct.

 

I feel your pain. We are down to one LHS in the Memphis area that has a large inventory of model trains. They are trying to bring in more new O gauge products, but for the most part only used trains make up most of the items offered for sale.

 

We have one of the Hobby Town franchise here also, but thay have a long way to go before they can be considered a "Train Shop."

 

Richard

It's too bad but that's just the way it is these day's most people are going to save money and not pay more than they have to. Paints and scenery aren't going to pay the rent and loyalty seems to be a thing of the past.

Here is a theory:

 

In order to keep HOBBYTOWN USA in Business in my area, I would have to be to go on their website and search for the Lionel Standard O Scale loco or car that they have in stock that I was considering, and order it as an item to be paid for and picked-up in the store.

 

Andrew

The Hobbytown in Murfreesboro was my "go to" shop as well, even though it's a 40 minute drive from where I live in West Nashville.   The Tennessee Central railroad museum has a small shop with some supplies (I bought some plastistruct and squadron putty there this week) but I guess it's mail order for almost everything now.   Oh well, since I had to mail order it anyway,  it gave me an excuse to try some of that new Tru-Color paint.

Dumb question folks.....are you talking about HobbyTownusa or Hobby Town as in a different chain? Just curious.... 

Sadly, that did it for me. My nearest LHS with a good 3R selection is about 90 minutes from me in bad traffic. I kicked off the hobby last year by purchasing $700 worth of stuff from them at full retail. I was ok with that though because I believe
in relationships and they were very nice people. That all changed when I called to get an MTH engine serviced under warranty that I had purchased on line. Haven't been back since and have spent several times the original $700 since making on-line purchases many from the on-line stores listed on the forum web page.

 

In the end it's a shame because I had plenty of business to give them and it was a fun place to go.

We were just in Murfreesboro this weekend and visited Thor's.  it's not a huge place but is packed full of train stuff. 

       
       


Thors has trains, but no modeling supplies.

Lots of interesting observations and comments here. I wish I had been computer/internet savvy back when we had our store but all that was very new then (1987).

We learned as we went and made a lot of mistakes. Being there and open 6 days plus having two very young sons just about killed my hobby. I flew RC competitively before becoming interested in trains and practice time for flying became non-existant!

 

As mentioned by rtr12 above about the shop owner "having almost everything he had invested in the store" this is something most don't consider. My friends would say "You got that for wholesale" when wanting a deep discount but they don't realize that I may have had to buy several of the item plus thousands of dollars worth of other inventory that might not sell quickly or at all.  When we finally closed due to wife's poor health and the fact that we were not making much return on our 'investment' we lost about $50K in the deal. I used to cringe when I thought about how much my collection REALLY cost back then...

There are many factors that can contribute to a failure or closing. It is not easy and you compete with everyone including, Manufactures,Wholesalers,excess inventory and large collections being redistributed. Plus the internet. I hate to say but the next few years it seems that there will be more. I think consumers are still stugling, a lack of interest in the hobby, plus commerical real estate is expensive to rent/own. So this will be a topic for some time unfortunitly..

c.sam,

 

The store has a small website, mostly just business hours, address & phone number of store. I have talked to him about updating his website and apparently it would be very costly for them to set up and maintain an online sales site. They hope to be able to do that someday but can't afford it at this time. Another factor to consider.