Originally Posted by
13Maschine
Hi Frank, it was nice to meet you last time I was at OCRC. You spent quite some time helping a local racer. Nice work. I was pitted across from him. I think you were there to shoot videos for the new SCT.
OCRC is my favorite local track. I drive up to 2 hours to practice here coming from Burbank. I'm also a paid up member if that means anything.
Unfortunately OCRC does not carry parts for my Durangos. So if I break and don't have a spare I go home anyway. I have owned Losi/TLR and Associated. Both great cars and companies.
Second, OCRC charges for practice and racing. I understand the hobby shop sells product to help keep the doors open but the margins on products are high enough to allow for competitive pricing. Its' my opinion that they should be able to make more if they were competitive with pricing. Volume always wins over margin. Having worked in several hobby shops over the years I know what typical margins are like and I've built a career doing business development in the pro audio and video world. I apologize but I just don't agree with your statements or ideas in regards to the pricing. Charging full MSRP is gouging.
I managed a hobby shop for almost 3 years, I am very familiar with the pricing. The hobby industry isn't like most, and not all prices have MSRP and Map/Street pricing built in - often, they are the same. I know OCRC doesn't charge MSRP for kits, servos, radios, motors and other higher priced items that normally don't sell at Retail, they sell at MAP or normal street price. Lower priced items like parts, accessories, tires, foams, wheels, and bodies are sold at retail price in a lot of hobby shops, especially those who are trying to support an attached indoor track and all of that square footage.
We all need to remember that A-Main Hobbies prices are not true "street prices". Their entire model is to be in middle of a small town, with no overhead and create revenue through the volume of undercutting the pricing of an brick and mortar local hobby shop. Don't get me wrong, they've done well with it, but support them and not your local track when possible could lead us not having a local track to enjoy. Just ask those who frequented West Coast, or Redlands R/C, or M&M, SoCal, etc...