Whats is killing the local hobby stores?

[zoomer260]

I wish someone would come over and cover my cap like that one. Ummm, for a 6-pack or two ?

I reckon if I thought I could pull it off that is the one I'd go with. I like the original Cap 21 Scheme too.

[flying skunks]

	Quote: Originally Posted by zoomer260
	I wish someone would come over and cover my cap like that one. Ummm, for a 6-pack or two ? I reckon if I thought I could pull it off that is the one I'd go with. I like the original Cap 21 Scheme too.

no kidding .....................................

[Al Lewis]

Let's remember that Chief's main business is selling real airplane parts and avionics.

[lill will]

hay what planes do cheif have that is plug and play and giant scale

[flying skunks]

	Quote: Originally Posted by lill will
	hay what planes do cheif have that is plug and play and giant scale

they had a H9 Ulti , Pilot Yak 37.5% , Pilot Sbach 36% , Pilot Extra 260 30% , and were working on others ......................... oh yeah , a big 40% Cap232 , and a 3W Wagstaff Extra

[juicesqueezer]

	Quote: Originally Posted by flying skunks
	I have never been there , but the one in Deland is about 10 miles away from the house , and 1/2 mile from one of the flying fields that I fly at .....................

Donnie, I'm jealous! Let's see, Okeechobee to Deland........................

[flying skunks]

	Quote: Originally Posted by juicesqueezer
	Donnie, I'm jealous! Let's see, Okeechobee to Deland........................

let me know when you are coming down , I will meet you and we can do some flying also .....

[juicesqueezer]

	Quote: Originally Posted by flying skunks
	let me know when you are coming down , I will meet you and we can do some flying also .....

One of these days......................

[flyinryon]

I know that Dave Sullivan aka PLANEBENDER builds the bind-n-fly planes for Chief and I can say from personal exp he does a top notch job and is very reliable and you can usually have them done in less than 2 weeks if he's not too backed up.

[fsone]

I can't speak for you guys south of the border.But i think most of the hobby shops up here are doing well.I know personally i used to use mail order quite often and still do only when i need to.But i found out through experience i would rather deal with my local shop.First off you can examine the product.
- If the order comes in and its wrong they look after it,for example i ordered 3" tru -turn spinner with 120 size slots.When it came in i said to the owner it does not look like slots were large enough for 18X8 prop we checked it and it wasn't.The hobby shop owner ordered the right # When called tru-turn they had the wrong order # on product.If i had purchased from mail order i would of had to send back postage and insurance.
-Another situation ordered a kit from mail order company It came was an arf kit was plastered with bubbles you would never be able to remove them.I was lucky the one fellow that worked there at the time was on vacation.So this one fellow let me return the item.The fellow on vacation came back and called me he was not happy the kit was sent back ,even though i purchased another kit for 100.00 $$ more.Now i shop as much as possible with my local shop.

Reasons

Great service
Can see most products hands on
IF ordered only takes 1 week
if problems they look after it
Just to mention a few of the great things by buying from your local hobby shop and most of them support your local activities and are into the hobby themselves!
They also match other hobby shops and mail order prices
SUPPORT YOU'RE LOCAL HOBBY SHOP!!!

[OverTemp]

You are

Seriously... here are some more prudent reasons:

1) Lack of modeler denstiy. If there were more modelers per square mile, then the stores could stock more. Online stores can stock stuff for the entire world.

2) Tax. No way around that unless online stores are forced to increase their prices so buying locally feels the same. How you gonna do that?

3) Willingness to order. Most hobby shops I'm in are like, "Sigh.... OK... I suppose I could order, but it's gonna take a week." That's no way to endear customers. You have to be a yes man. "Sure... I can get that. It'll be here this day and will cost this much." There's a huge difference between the two approaches.

The more important question... how to we SAVE local hobby shops!??!?!?!?

1) Better attitude... they have to fix that.
2) Eliminate tax... we can fix that. How? Form a network of local shops that are willing to take phone orders for things and ship them out of state. Lets say Washington does most of its sales to Oregon and vice-versa... it's the only way to take 10% off the top of the major purchase items.

This assumes they are making profit on big ticket items, which I hear conflicting stories on. I know for a fact the initial US distrubtors if items are making a KILLING... like 30-50%.

Cheers

[juicesqueezer]

	Quote: Originally Posted by fsone
	I can't speak for you guys south of the border.But i think most of the hobby shops up here are doing well.I know personally i used to use mail order quite often and still do only when i need to.But i found out through experience i would rather deal with my local shop.First off you can examine the product. - If the order comes in and its wrong they look after it,for example i ordered 3" tru -turn spinner with 120 size slots.When it came in i said to the owner it does not look like slots were large enough for 18X8 prop we checked it and it wasn't.The hobby shop owner ordered the right # When called tru-turn they had the wrong order # on product.If i had purchased from mail order i would of had to send back postage and insurance. -Another situation ordered a kit from mail order company It came was an arf kit was plastered with bubbles you would never be able to remove them.I was lucky the one fellow that worked there at the time was on vacation.So this one fellow let me return the item.The fellow on vacation came back and called me he was not happy the kit was sent back ,even though i purchased another kit for 100.00 $$ more.Now i shop as much as possible with my local shop. Reasons Great service Can see most products hands on IF ordered only takes 1 week if problems they look after it Just to mention a few of the great things by buying from your local hobby shop and most of them support your local activities and are into the hobby themselves! They also match other hobby shops and mail order prices SUPPORT YOU'RE LOCAL HOBBY SHOP!!!

Sounds like you have some great shops to purchase from. However, we don't in our area. They act like they don't want to order and seem to have that "I don't care if you purchase something or not" attitude! Not a good way to get my business. Oh, and no Giant Scale planes or Gas engines, let alone servos, etc. To bad! Feel like I am being beat up every time I go to one.

[xtraflyr]

Right now my LHS ia beating everybody's price on Hitec 7955 T servos.Even cheaper then Hobby King @$95.00 plus tax of course. I get that price because I use my LHS for (ALMOST) everything I need. Plus I like to hang out with the guys and shoot the bull..

Frank

[GMoney]

	Quote: Originally Posted by flyinryon
	I know that Dave Sullivan aka PLANEBENDER builds the bind-n-fly planes for Chief and I can say from personal exp he does a top notch job and is very reliable and you can usually have them done in less than 2 weeks if he's not too backed up.

Bender is a truly amazing builder.. Best part he can rip the sticks. So he talks the talk but seriously can walk the walk..He knows what it takes to make a plane perfect. One day I will have the $$$ to get one of his pieces of art..

G$

[flyinryon]

Sorry to hear that your local shops frown on ordering for you. At my shop I have no problemordering for anyone and i'll even ship it to them if they live out of the local area. We beleive that our customer service is what sets us apart from our competitors. We even recently helped in the capture of a person that robbed and assulted the owner of our cometitor. WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER......