and they had all the new AW slots. The girl even told me that there was a big box on the floor with more little boxes in it if I wanted to look through them because she didn't have enough room for them in the case. Cars don't look as bad as I thought they would with the rear fronts. They were asking $16.99 per car. I didn't buy any but the purple Cuda is really sweet. I'm going to store my collection at the store from now on.

Nice....
Seems a bit pricey...
But hobby shop people have to eat too...

You know what though. I've had it with hobby shops. They are only open when I am working except for Saturdays.

I went to a hobby / educational toy store that I can get to during my lunch Friday. There are some new 1/43rd F&F cars that came out a couple weeks ago and I needed some landscaping supplies. The hobby section was almost barren. I asked them when they will be getting more stuff in. They told me that stuff doesn't sell during the summer, so I said so that's why its empty. They said no we just don't replenish it in the summer months. To that I said maybe that's why you don't sell anything during the summer. I asked if they are going to get the Carrera Go!!! F&F cars that just came out. They said they don't sell now. I said how about the Carrera Go!!! NASCAR stuff that's coming out soon. They said that they will begin stocking that stuff for X-mas. I then asked if they were going to get the Auto World Dukes Mopar and Chevy stuff thats coming out and they said they would consider it for X-mas.

Thae store I went to today must have cleaned out their basement or something. They had a box of with AFX chassis, bodies, all kinds of parts, but the prices were high. AFX white taxi body $19.99, red Baja Bronco body $15.99, bare chassis $8.99, AFX chassis $24.99. At least they are stocking hobby stuff.

But still just the fact that they won't open so people who work can shop really ticks me off. I needed 1/8" styrene tube for mounting posts and three stores were out of 1/8th"

I'm losing direction so I'm stopping now.

Hobby Lobby is the same as you described they dont like to order cars they just stock what comes in which is maybe six cars at a time. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

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They also said they wont be getting any AW cars :rolleyes:

I used to make an effort to buy from hobby stores. I am very happy with the store that had all the new stuff, that I went to on Saturday, except that they are not open when I can easily get there. I did buy some modeling supplies that I needed and two Carrera Go!! 1/43rd slots that I already had so they would sell something. I'm just really beginning to wonder if it is worth buying from them anymore for me. I did like being able to see the AW cars and the Go!!! cars and it is nice to have a place to do that, but Saturdays are hard for me to get there and the rest of the week its impossible. Not to mention the 25 mile drive for me to get to the nearest hobby store from here.

70 + miles to my nearest hobby shop and they are open saturday but not sunday.
Still, its not cost effective to make a special trip just to the hobby shop at near 150 mile round trip.
8 - 10 gallons of gas ( depending on which vehicle we use) is 22.00 to 28.00

Makes postage for that Twin Pack seems rather trivial doesnt it :)

I do however try to support them when I am in the area.
I tried the phone ordering / mail thing with them on 3 seperate occassions.
The item needed was never ordered.
After 4 months I bought it on ebay.

IMHO Many hobby shops go out of business not because the business isnt there, its simply poor business practices and customer service.

One shop I know is run so poorly that if there were any competition to speak of they would be out of business.
Since however they are the only game in town they can be lazy and irresponsible.
They are great so long as you are buying what they want to sell you!!!

Business Ethics certainly seem to have changed in the last 30-40 years.
We have gone from:
The customer is always right...............................to
I'll tell the customer when he's right!!!

We have gone from knowledgable staffs to checkout clerks\
Hobby Shops cant compete with Wal Marts/K marts on pricing and they never could.
But, in the 70's you could get help and support at the hobby shops.........this is rare anymore but then again, the hobby shops are getting rare.
The ones that do well are the ones that run a shop like it was run by thier fathers and grandfathers and they train thier help!!
They also Adapt to the changing market like all business's must.

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I would be happy to pay a little more to a shop that was helpful, knowledgable, and genuinely interested in my projects and having me as a customer.
After walking through the door 3-6 times a year for 20 + years it would be nice if someone in the shop greeted me using my first name!!!

Rant over............all other opinions on these matters will be given serious consideration.........your experiences count too!!!

I have to agree with Tycopro.
The service industry has gone massively down hill the past 10-15 years. But I can relate to a few good points. My Local Hobby Lobby know me as slot car guy., but I seldom have to ask they just lead me too the new location of the slots or resins. I have to drive 40 miles to get to Neils wheels. But Neil and his Mom know me as Dave and my Daughter as Carol and I only stop in once every few months! ( I do but mail order a bit, ok a lot)..And Good Eats a local resturant I freguent ( and have helped turn into a fortune 500 company) The Staff fight to serve us. ( I tip 20% you should too!!!! they make like $2.25 a hour). So all is not lost...But then you have JC pennys where getting service is a ordeal you have to grab one of those lazy slobs beat them into submission and ring up your own order. and no I NEVER shop at Penny's anymore.

One Person said the customer is always right.. I worked my way through University as a Bartender.. the customer is never right he ussually full of.. hmm rancid thunderoil..


Dave

I hate to say it but Slot Cars aren't that popular. If they were you can bet Wal-Mart, K Mart, and Target would have a large inventory on hand.
Hobby Stores carry stuff the previous mentioned stores don't carry because of the cost. Sure, they sell RC Cars. The lower quality and cheaper less reliable stuff. Serious RC guys and gals will pay more at a hobby shop for high performance and quality.
Train stuff, Wal-Mart and the like only sell it around Christmas, they're just sets and serious Railroad enthusiast know they're geared for the children. So they go to a hobby store and pay $100.00 to $300.00 for a locomotive with DCC decoder and sound, and can pull 35 to 60 cars of rolling stock. And they pay $10.00 to $50.00 for one piece of rolling stock.
Maple City Hobbies will help all they can. They also do mailorder and can be reached by email. They are a good hobby store and care about the customer.
Sure, the hobby shops can't compete with Wal-Mart and the like on prices. But Wal-Mart doesn't sell T-Max RC Cars, or Athearn Genesis Locomotives.
I did buy a slot car at Wal-Mart in Goshen, Indiana in 1996. $19.95 for a TYCO 440X2 Dodge Stealth. The last one they had. There isn't enough folks in the hobby for Wal-Mart and the like to make money stocking and selling them.
Those of us that like these little gems are few and far between. Slot cars popularity peaked a long time ago. And it will never reach that level again. I don't want to offend anyone but I'm just stating a fact. There is enough interest in them that some folks can make a profit in making new cars.
Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see the level of interest in slot cars that they once had in the 60's and 70's. It would be great for the hobby.
Hobby Shops have been slot cars best support. And continue to be that. Randy.

16.99 is the price in every store, although one store I found is 15.99, and for that 15.99 I got a white thunder clean Dukes car in a clamshell package.

I haven't checked what the web site price is yet (I go right to his shop), but Lucky Bob's is not far from my home (25 min.). That is where I get my cars and I know he sells a lot through his web site. Store pice is $13 a car... Not sure what his web site addy is but google Lucky Bob's and you'll find it...