foampervert

iTrader: (5)

hiya chaps!
well, when you walk into a LHS and see a rack full of parts and hop ups... it might impress you with the variety or amount on display? however would you by everything?
its unlikely, the LHS owner , on the other hand, has to stock everything he imagines would be a good sale and this could be cash he could well use else where(if you dunt believe me, ask wut a wall rack full of parts cost to a LHS owner, its usually like $5-10,000 easily. this is a liability LHS owners have to live with becos manufacturers are constantly updating their product line adn to continually stock the latest parts will be just insane. the LHS will never be able to move the old parts and this becomes a unrecoverable lost. all the parts you see hanging and kits sitting on the shelves..... they are not a happy sight to a LHS owner!
i can only imagine the fear and resentment LHS owners feel everytime they see a new product being previewed in a magazine.
i think an easier way around this is a consolidated distribution system where the LHSs do not have to keep much stock. they only order wut they need from a regional distributer who will send them items on a weekly basis or immediately if urgent.
this way, they are in a position to provide a wider range of products to their customers at the expense of a slight wait time.
i think well worth the trouble and hassle.
anyways, good luck you guys!
if you need help, let me know!
-alexander

brianhackett

Listening to you guys 1)makes me feel spoiled and 2) makes me feel sorry for you! My LHS is great! The only parts I order on-line are because CRC doesn't distribute all of their parts. My LHS is run by a guy who enjoys racing as a hobby and stocks for the race. Consider his shop the JEGS of RC. He doesn't stock the backyard basher kits (TMAXX for exp.) Mostly bc he doesn't want to deal w/ kids and mad parents or them wanting to work on his vehicles. This alos keeps his inventory costs down. He is also maticulous in his inventory. HE stocks only what he needs to. When something sells he documents it instanly and orders the replacements daily. So it is very rare that he doesn't have the part. When it comes to a new part that he doesn't have yet or a wierd part, he'll order it for us and have it w/in 3 or 4 days! By the way his prices are very rarelly beat, someone catches a good deal once in a while but he is usuaslly consistantly competitve!
So, hopefully everyone can find a shop like this but I'm so glad to be spoiled here in columbus!

GundamWZero

iTrader: (4)

You are right Brian.

I lived in three states( oops four) , Maryland (raised there), Georgia (stationed there) Alabama (lived there) and Washington (stationed there). Each LHS had their inventory customed to what the customers wanted . It was like this:

Maryland: Many touring cars and F1 cars, off-road cars was scarce, but present.

Georgia: Off-road buggies and trucks were popular, touring cars were making their way into the mainstream at the time i was there, but they were few. But the Oval cars was the King.

Alabama: Touring cars were dominating the oval scene, though oval cars were pouplar, off-road was taking a back set......F1 non-existant.

Washington: Touring cars there are king, followed by F1 then off-road cars.


It is all about the consumers and what they like. The hobby store supplies to the demands that the customers want. If a certain car or truck is pouplar, they will build their inventories based on the need of the customers. If you have a X-Ray in the land of HPI, you gonna have problems getting what parts you want from your LHS as quick as you would hope it would be.

That was what made Fantasy World Hobbies in Washington great to me, they had parts for every TC car that was out when I was there, and they carried parts for Monster Truck too, but only parts that the customers broke the most. Now if they build an online store for r/c car parts as big as their slot cars online store, we would still be in business with each other.

oops.....long post. Sorry

cooliomojo-CEBU

buy from your lhs and from the net. whichever is convenient. it would be good to support the lhs but if its cheaper somewhere why the sacrifice. the hobby is expensive as it is and we should save up where we can. sometimes to save on expenses, we have a local machine shop fabricaste some parts. tires and batts are soooo expensive...maybe, we racers should form a company that makes rc tires. im sure we could save a lot of money.hehehehe

Poppa Ray

I buy based on price. And I know all the arguments for supporting the lhs mostly "Just take it in the wallet if you don't they'll go out of business". Too whih I can only reply when is the last time you heard the lhs say "he works at a golf course take 25% of that speedo or he won't race anymore". Competition forces change and change is good especially when the $change is going back in my pocket. So i buy from the guy that sells out of his pit trailer at the lhs track, or online. Or even better I'll let Mr. Moneybags pay retail for something new then wait six months and buy it used from him on Ebay for 50% off retail. Even in an extravagant hobby such as this the world economy has gotten tight and people everywhere operate on the "don't work harder spend smarter" philosophy. So to the lhs and its operators I can only say "compete or die, 'cause second place is just the first loser".

JimMcClure

Support you local hobby shop number one. Our local hobby shop is a track and store in one place. I work there part time and see the dilema from both sides. I have more rc stuff than most people but I work my butt off at a full time job so I can have my toys. I hear people every day complain about the high price of the hobby and the deals they can get off the internet. Well buy all you want off the internet and go race your little cars on the internet too. How is a race facility going to stay open when nobody supports it? There are those few who are dedicated and buy all of their stuff at the lhs and those who dabble on the internet and then those who barter and online shop for every item they own. If you cant afford to buy a front arm for your car at the local hobby shop and you have to go to the internet to save that twenty cents then GO FIND A DIFFERENT HOBBY!!!! And dont ask the owner of your local hobby shop to help you with that car you just got off the internet too. He should charge you full shop rates to even look at it. I know the hobby is expensive and everyone wants to save here and there but dont complain when someday you wake up and find you have to drive several hours to find a place to race or find out ther is no place to race at all.

vtl1180ny

One of my LHS's w/a track is charging $54 for a Reedy 19 turn QM... Would you pay that???

JimMcClure

Well that is full retail for the motor. It is suppose to be 44.95. Maybe you should show them ads with the correct price. Blatent gouging like this is not what I was talking about.

vtl1180ny

But there is way too much of that going on, especially on the hot products....

I've bought cars from different LHS's only to find out they only carry the car, not spare parts.... I've gotten the "we can order it for and it'll be here in 2 weeks" speech way too many times.... I dont live that close to any decent shop and the price of gas is more than what shipping would cost me.....

We do need to support our LHS's, but they need to control their markup.... If they are going to carry a kit then it should be required to carry commonly breakable parts....

I've been researching opening up a store/track since i retired.... I've got the time, I can get the financial backing so maybe I should.... I'm also aware that I'm going to have to have a good business plan to afford the rent around here... The track and Rc's can not pay the bills.... But I also realize that not everyone wants to run an AE/Losi/Traxxas car.... We have no Tamiya here, no Yokomo... Very little Xray..... I'd be looking towards internet mail order to be what pays my bills..... Offer a good price and great service and your customers will come back...

wcoyote

As for hobby shops not being able to compete. That is complete bull. Do you know how many hobby shops are linked in with Ebay??? I know of at least two that I regularly look at. At least one is a shop/track. How do you think they survive? They also survive well.

It's simple. If a hobby shop is to survive they need to think of this. #1 The local customers are not the only customers. If they truly supported the hobby they would realize that and take advantage of it. Plus they are missing a HUGE opportunity for sales. (billions of $ in sales last I heard was ordered on line of all types) Nevermind the more they sell, the better dicscount they get when they order from the distributers.

Being in Idaho, there are a total of 3 tracks in the state. All run by clubs. The hobby shops here not only are out of touch (if you run anything but a T Maxx) but also are almost embarrassingly poorly knowlegeable that it is almost offensive..Tell me that they care about the hobby. And then ask them why they don't sell much. Answer they give is "it isn't popular." Put two and two together LHS owners. If you don't promote, run special events, advertise, or anything, your shop won't be popular.

What I wouldn't give for just one place that is caring enough to know about the stuff you sell and the new stuff coming. I asked them once about the XXX-S HD black belt kit and they thought I was joking. Guess what. I went to Ebay and bought it from the track/shop I have ordered several stuff from, the next day.
I'd like to see a decent reason for their obvious ignorance, other than they don't care.

hugh janus

I think in 10 years, computers will be the size of houses. And only the extremely wealthy will be able to afford them.

rcguy2477

iTrader: (4)

Personally, I will buy smaller stuff from my lhs if they have the stuff i need. But the larger items(car kits, motors, chargers) are all way too high in price. One of my lhs's puts price tags over the price on the packaging because they charge more than retail.

Poppa Ray

Look I worked retail for years and one of the mistakes they made was having the stocking price next available for me to look up. I KNOW that 90% of a stores inventory is retailed at 200% of their stocking price. So I'm in the market for offroad truck tires, the LHS has them for full retail 18.95 and an online has them for 12.50. I was quoted the cost for three sets plus shipping to be 38.00 so I go to the LHS and offer 14.50 ea knowing that they paid 9.50 ea. I'm offering 5.00 gross profit ea on these and I know that I'm still gonna have to pay tax! Then I'm told "we can't compete with that"! This IS a high end hobby and I have yet to run into too many "stupid racers". Consumers are getting smarter and tighter on their money EVERY DAY! Retailers will adjust to the market or GO OUT OF BUSINESS. And as far as not having a place to race the LHS could go completely out of business and we'll still be able to race since their only contribution is owning the track. The facilities are maintained and the races are run by the racers (not even a club).

howard hudson

WOW !!!! they already were the size of houses and ONLY the rich could afford them then!!! DUDE !! where have you been? ( dont take this seriuos just ball busting ya )

rustler753

I don't support my LHS because they get enough business as they do know and they over charge like crazy. Over $100 for a crappy 3300 battery that I could get on towerhobbies for 60. Plus the manager is just a mean middleaged bastered. Hobby Town USA in Westminister. Everyone hates him....even the workers.