Adventure at the LHS

[Bormac]

Hobby Shops....hmmmmm.
Growing up i used to work in ABC hobbies here in Australia when i was in my mid teens. It was great, got full access to all the parts of the shop the customer rarely got to search through and life was grand. Even got sponsored (to a certain point) and enjoyed it for what it was at the time.
Somehow found my way from one shop to another in my locality as one shut down and another opened. Just part time at that point. Then years later walked into a shop 900kms up north and knew the guy from my old racing days at B.O.R.M.A.C. he told there was a job going as manager and i couldn't accept it any faster. It was a hoot! All the kits we had in stock back then were all the kits people pay stupid money for now days on tha' bay.
What struck me as funny was the mark up that these these were selling for. Tyres that were no longer used on the track were selling for $40 a pair when they should have been in the sale bin for $5. Go figure? I knew what the deal was and it didnt sit well with me. Sure there were overheads but the shop owner was living very comfortably back then.
Fast forward to today and i rarely buy anything from a hobby shop anymore. Tyres are sometimes twice the price you pay for over the net and just the other day I paid $15 for a small tube of glue when they usualy retail for under $10. Here in Australia Ive found some shops to be useful while others are useless. Im sure we all need to pick our battles though but with the internet comes change for these guys. Im sure that there are a heap of LHS that have websites etc.. but for those who dont i think they are missing the boat. Websites run 24/7 and if i were to run a shop the actual shop front would be used more so as a place to service models and sell the odd thing to the public rather than rely so heavily on each sale that walks through the door. That way the pressure to make the months rent is not so high and yet can keep the stuff on the shelves available to the general public at a more reasonable cost. I dont believe any shop has the right to rip buyers off, we've all seen it. My local shop is a joke realy, the prices keep my money in paypal and not my wallet.

[purpletimbo]

I am pleased to say modelsport ebay web and shop, all the same price, even free post on ebay and over an amount, ie any kit on shop site, not always the cheapest, but competitive enough to put off a 40 mile drive, I know that doesn't sound far to you guys, but 40 miles each way here is 3 hours on a bad day
In passing, I have 3 Flying Point Zircon trucks, known as Trinity Monster Spyders over there, I rang the importer about a pull start I needed, no part Nos, as the manual shows engine complete. was told parts were stored elsewhere, would get a ringback, that was 2PM yesterday, 3PM phone goes, one found £14.99, arrived today, what more could I ask?