Supporting your LHS..... not always possible!

[Model-Junkie]

I have not seen this topic come up on ARC, I see it more on other sci-fi modelling forums and how everyone stresses it is important to support a local brick and mortar store.

I make 99% of my modelling purchases online, mostly because there are/were no local hobby stores. BUT, today I found one and decided to check them out. I was in heaven, they had more than just the commonly available Revell / Monogram kits - they had products from Tamiya, Hasegawa, Zvezda and even some unidentifiable kits from Eastern Europe. Then I saw the prices:

• $90.00 for a Hasegawa 1/48 F-22 Raptor
  
• $86.99 for a Hasegawa 1/72 He-111H-8 w/Balloon Cable Cutter
  
• $15 for a pack of milliput
  
• $60 for a Fujimi 1/72 F-35B.
  

Prices for more commonly available kits were still heavily marked up. I understand the need for profit and markups are nothing new to me, I work in contracting. I really wish I can support this local hobby store but if I did I would never be able to progress far in this hobby. I would probably go back just to buy tools and paints

Just wondering if other people see the same thing with their local hobby stores or if they are more reasonable. Maybe it is just me being spoiled for choice online?

[phantom]

Oh yes, my local store won't get Hasegawa anymore. They have a F-18C in 1/48 MARKED DOWN!!!!!!! to $96.00 PLUS 15% tax. It was at $120 plus tax.

Had a Tamiya Storch in 1/48 at $89.00.

Revell stuff is more resonable but its little surprise my stash has not increased this year. So far I have bought one kit at a store for the year.

[82Whitey51]

No, I'm with ya. Prices like that are what a LHS have to run with to keep the lights on...or eventually they go out of biz.

I'd like nothing more than to open a hobby store (I'm not far from you and there a NONE down this way. If I run out of paint, glue or some supply and I gotta drive an hour plus or mail order)but I know in order to profit I'd have to look into selling other items to bring in customers (R/C, games, crafts and the like) which I have no knowledge or interest in...I want a store with model kits (old and new), decal binders to sift through, resin aftermarket and p/e sets and all the different paints you can stock. On top of that, I'd have an area to come in and work on models, a lounge area for the local model club to hang out, etc.

But, the only way for that to make money, would be if I owned the building/land and wasn't paying a rent...in short, once I win the lottery, buy a F4U Corsair or F6F Hellcat, I'll open up my hobby store. :D/>

[Emvar]

Depends on how quick I need it..... Sometimes online stores are cheaper but shipping kills the savings. So you have to be aware of the total cost. For example the Kinetic 1/48 scale F-5A sells for about $40 + taxes CAD at the LHS. Buying it from Lucky Model with shipping will cost me $32USD + factor in the Currency conversion I am ahead. Now lets compare the Kitty Hawk F-35A same Lucky model would cost me $69 CAD for delivery and about the same if I get it at the LHS with taxes. So sometimes it is not always better online.

I support the LHS when it suits me and my wallet.... or when I need it immediately.

Emil

[Mark M.]

I'm torn also... Sometimes the prices are so high it's just insane. I'll only look at reasonably priced kits. I WANT to support my LHS, and will go in there to browse and see what they have, etc. I'll get paint (also costs an arm and a leg these days -- $3.60 for a single bottle of green paint!), general supplies, but due to the dwindling selection of actual styrene kits (in favor of RC, etc, as with Hobbytown USA) I won't buy a kit "just to buy" -- I'll look for what I'm specifically wanting to build and if I can't find it I'll go online. Like, say I have a hankering for a 1/72 Su-22... I don't think many LHS have that.

There's also travel time. Colpar Hobbies is a great store and they have 2 locations in Denver (where I am), but one's about an hour away and the other even further! Not to mention the slack-jawed browsing time (drooling, ogling kits, etc), that becomes an all-day trip. Okay, not really, but it eats up a lot of time and gas and prices are still high in some cases.

So I'll TRY to support the LHS, but more and more I seem to be doing stuff online out of necessity.

Edited May 2, 2013 by Mark M.

[CorsairMan]

I support mine a lot. Pretty much every supply I get there and the very occasional kit. Most of my stash has come about through trading with other builders or shows and I only build about 5-6 per year.

I have not ordered a kit online in years.

My LHS's prices are actually very good when you consider how much it is to ship things from Japan, etc. I don't bother from the US as that shipping is rediculous.

[nerdling]

For me I basically have to buy online. The closest shop is 130 miles away. Now when I drive that way I will stop and buy paint. But their kit selection is just terrible and expensive.

[matrixone]

Ryan,

I am in the same situation you are in, there are no hobby shops where I live and the nearest one to me deals mostly with RC planes and has limited supplies for plastic scale models.

Where is your nearest hobby shop? There was (or still is) at least two hobby shops in the Bend/Redmond area and at one time there was a shop in Ontario I used to go to in the 1970's but it might not be there anymore.

Matrixone

[nerdling]

Les there is only one left in the Bend area. It used to be great when I went there as a kid. But they have since moved to a much smaller location and downgraded their stock. There is this one in Ontario http://www.oregontrailhobbies.com/ But the distance is still the same as going to Bend. Usually I just go to Tammies Hobbies up in Beaverton when I visit family up there.

[falcon20driver]

I try and purchase as much as possible from the LHS near my place. It's a 5 minute drive and a good location, Hobbytown, but they have a pretty decent selection and tons of tools and supplies. I really don't want them to go out of business because I love just piddling around in there and having quick access to supplies. I understand that I can't keep them open myself but ever little bit helps. More importantly, I like being able to have the human interaction at the store that internet shops can't provide.

Edited May 2, 2013 by falcon20driver

[Collin]

I have not seen this topic come up on ARC, I see it more on other sci-fi modelling forums and how everyone stresses it is important to support a local brick and mortar store.

I make 99% of my modelling purchases online, mostly because there are/were no local hobby stores. BUT, today I found one and decided to check them out. I was in heaven, they had more than just the commonly available Revell / Monogram kits - they had products from Tamiya, Hasegawa, Zvezda and even some unidentifiable kits from Eastern Europe. Then I saw the prices:

• $90.00 for a Hasegawa 1/48 F-22 Raptor
  
• $86.99 for a Hasegawa 1/72 He-111H-8 w/Balloon Cable Cutter
  
• $15 for a pack of milliput
  
• $60 for a Fujimi 1/72 F-35B.
  

Prices for more commonly available kits were still heavily marked up. I understand the need for profit and markups are nothing new to me, I work in contracting. I really wish I can support this local hobby store but if I did I would never be able to progress far in this hobby. I would probably go back just to buy tools and paints

Just wondering if other people see the same thing with their local hobby stores or if they are more reasonable. Maybe it is just me being spoiled for choice online?

I live in DC...and this sounds like a shop not to far from here. Nice to go there and maybe by some paints, ref books and materials...but I only look at the kits. Just can't see spending that kind of cash.

Cheers

Collin

[Adam Baker]

I rarely buy kits from my LHS's, but I always get all my paints & supplies from them.

[Bigasshammm]

I could walk to my LHS if I wanted. They're very nice and have a good amount of paints an supplies. Their kit prices are also on the high side and I think I've only ever bought 1 kit from them when it was a comparable price to what I could get elsewhere. Sadly they never have sales or anything at least that I know of so their prices seen firm. The real problem for me now is they don't have any racing car kits on hand. They've got the standard row of amt revell monogram muscle cars but nothing to my liking. But I do but all my supplies there so I've spent a good hunk of change.

[ALF18]

My LHS is really a toy store, with the closest real hobby store being 230 km away. At the toy store, they have one tiny 4-shelf rack with kits, and a big rack with Testors enamels (for cars - no interest for me) and Tamiya acrylics, plus some glue and putty. I only buy glue and paint there.

Example: Kinetic 1/32 Hawk 115

LHS - $67, plus 15% sales tax = $77.05

Lucky Model (shipped) - $50.

Other kits are similarly out of my price range. Too bad... but I don't see stores as charities.

ALF

[RiderFan]

Unfortunately, when it comes to some manufactures (like Hasegawa) it will always be cheaper to purchase from China than from an LHS. I recently saw a 1:48 F-18 kit from Has that, after taxes, would have been over $100. 100 bucks for a 1:48 scale kit is a little wacky. That should be a $40 at best. Maybe $50 if it's the special edition one with the fancy metal landing gear. But not $100. Especially given that I'm going to throw away the decal sheet and replace it (and for most people that's going to be an additional ~$20 on top of the kit price).

[billw]

My LHS (a Hobbytown in Wichita Kansas) is an hour drive away one-way. I make a point to go there once or twice a month, mostly for paint & supplies I might need. They are actually pretty well stocked, and have a fair selection of kits that are reasonably priced. I've bought 2 kits from them recently, one of which was an Eduard 1/48 FW190D-9 weekend for $25.95 IIRC. I could have saved a few dollars on it online, but went ahead and gave them the sale anyway. They also had a 1/32 Tamiya P-51 & don't recall the price exactly... but it was substantial.

BW

[Phantom ordie]

Our LHS is small and with a small inventory. It is the hub of our IPMS club meeting. Coy will order anything for us and at a good price for club members. I would hate to see him close up. It is good to meet with other modelers and have a place to go and have fellowship.

[White Wolf]

The nearest LHS from my place has prices like those. Even if I order the same kit online, the total price with shipping would still be around 20% cheaper, especially for the Hasegawa and sci-fi kits. Doesn't help that the attitude of the guy behind the counter is surly and mostly unfriendly. New kits hardly come in too, restocks only happen every few months.

I go there to get paints and supplies, I only buy kits from there if I can't find it online or the difference between the online and LHS prices is less than a few bucks.

Edited May 3, 2013 by White Wolf

[jfmajor60]

I try to whenever I can, sadly the locally owned independent stores more and more are closing their doors. I used to frequent one in Pawtucket, R.I. it was an old Mom an Pop shop wooden floors that creeked and they new you by name when you walked in, you could easily kill an hour or better in there searching the shelves.

[zerosystem]

Unfortunately, when it comes to some manufactures (like Hasegawa) it will always be cheaper to purchase from China than from an LHS. I recently saw a 1:48 F-18 kit from Has that, after taxes, would have been over $100. 100 bucks for a 1:48 scale kit is a little wacky. That should be a $40 at best. Maybe $50 if it's the special edition one with the fancy metal landing gear. But not $100. Especially given that I'm going to throw away the decal sheet and replace it (and for most people that's going to be an additional ~$20 on top of the kit price).

the damn thing is, that they used to only be that expensive. the inflation on kit msrp cost has gone through the roof.

[RKic]

I have not seen this topic come up on ARC, I see it more on other sci-fi modelling forums and how everyone stresses it is important to support a local brick and mortar store.

I make 99% of my modelling purchases online, mostly because there are/were no local hobby stores. BUT, today I found one and decided to check them out. I was in heaven, they had more than just the commonly available Revell / Monogram kits - they had products from Tamiya, Hasegawa, Zvezda and even some unidentifiable kits from Eastern Europe. Then I saw the prices:

• $90.00 for a Hasegawa 1/48 F-22 Raptor
  
• $86.99 for a Hasegawa 1/72 He-111H-8 w/Balloon Cable Cutter
  
• $15 for a pack of milliput
  
• $60 for a Fujimi 1/72 F-35B.
  

Prices for more commonly available kits were still heavily marked up. I understand the need for profit and markups are nothing new to me, I work in contracting. I really wish I can support this local hobby store but if I did I would never be able to progress far in this hobby. I would probably go back just to buy tools and paints

Just wondering if other people see the same thing with their local hobby stores or if they are more reasonable. Maybe it is just me being spoiled for choice online?

Let me guess, you either went to the GPA in Crofton or the Hobbyworks in Laurel?

Both absolutely suck in terms of prices and selection. When I first moved here I was shocked at how limited our options were for such a large metro area.

There is a shop in Chantilly VA that has much better selection, but their prices are marked up pretty high too.

I talk about this with my wife, who is big into knitting, and she says that knit stores stay open in the days of web shopping by offering community building events (knit nights, yarn crawls, etc.)

The net has the LMS beat in many ways, so its time the stores begin offering us something the net can not. It sure as hell can't be marked up prices, and sales staff who don't know their product, and crappy selection.

Edited May 3, 2013 by RKic

[Mark M.]

That's because Hasegawa are blatantly over-charging on even their old-mold kits to the tune of 5x or more what they really "need" to make a profit. They have learned in the past 10 years that there is a market to rip-off, and off-rip they will!

Sadly they're not alone, but IMO they are one of the worst.

[RKic]

That's because Hasegawa are blatantly over-charging on even their old-mold kits to the tune of 5x or more what they really "need" to make a profit. They have learned in the past 10 years that there is a market to rip-off, and off-rip they will!

Sadly they're not alone, but IMO they are one of the worst.

It isn't so much Hasegawa as it is their importer. Sadly, I think these people have gotten their claws onto Italeri, as they're quickly becoming the most overpriced mediocre models on the market.

Both Italeri and Hasegawa are much more fairly priced in their home markets.

[huntermountain]

It's very rare for me to buy a new kit. There's an ample supply of people who suddenly realise their stash is getting way out of hand. . There is a LHS nearby, and it has a nice range of kits, but the prices are not that great. I try to go there about once a month, to get my paint and other supplies.

[boom175]

We've been relative,y lucky in my area. Our club has been able to establish good ties with the LHS and they have been good with us as far as letting us put out flyers etc. and they give our club members a discount.