Just a quick comment ,,,, With the state of the economy you can't blame
any distributor for changing their business plan.

Unless your in their shoes , no one can judge them on how they choose to
survive.

One of my favorite suppliers has made some waves in the industry by some
business changes and I'll back him up 100% to do whatever it takes to stay
in business.

Yes , I'll miss some staff ,,, but thats business , not personal .

The major reason most people buy on line is because they get poor service
locally, read a business book and stop complaining .

Just a quick comment ,,,, With the state of the economy you can't blame
any distributor for changing their business plan.

Unless your in their shoes , no one can judge them on how they choose to
survive.

One of my favorite suppliers has made some waves in the industry by some
business changes and I'll back him up 100% to do whatever it takes to stay
in business.

Yes , I'll miss some staff ,,, but thats business , not personal .

The major reason most people buy on line is because they get poor service
locally, read a business book and stop complaining .


Well said, too many LHS need to step it up, nothing is automatic when it comes to keeping customers happy except good current policies

also on the same topic, i dont think my spending habbits have changed at all from past years to now! if anything, ive prolly spent more :woohoo:

Online prices are so much cheaper because of the lack of overhead. If anything they use their basement or rent a storage unit 90 bucks a month instead of having rent and utilities for a hobby shop. I love going to the local shop and actually looking at something before I buy it, but I always think in the back of my mind "I can get this cheaper even with freight online".

NCFRC "read a business book and stop complaining"

You know, I really wanted to try and let this go, but I just can't. NCFRC, why are you always so combative. Your opinion about what your supplier is doing is your opinion and that's fine. Others will have their own opinion and that's also fine. If you would like to continue to support your supplier by all means go ahead, however some of the rest of us have chosen to not to support your supplier but our local hobby shop instead. Are we paying more? yes, why? to help insure we have a nice place to race. The owner of the local hobby shop is a nice guy and our hobby is how he covers his overhead and puts food on the table for his family. As a new business owner I'm here to tell you covering your overhead isn't as easy as everyone thinks.

Tim Barnes

I have been racing r/c for 20 years, I have seen several hobby shops with race tracks close and at times I had no place to race. I try to help the track owner and hobby store by buying most of the items I need there. what good is a r/c car without a race track, carpet or black top. I run both.

just my 2 cents, maybe 1 cent...

Chuck #3, HAMMER DOWN before the apex of the turn

We have the ideal set up. A hobby shop (separate owner/operator) and track with a different race director in the same building. It works great. I do try to shop locally and buy a few things on line. I was in a different hobby shop today and asked a clerk (actually two) for some 3/8 x 1/4 flanged bearings, he looked at me and said "huh".

I finally had to tell him what manufactures made them, what they were for, what they looked like, and where in the shop he might find them. They were directly behind him on the wall. I can see where some would not appreciate this "service". I bought them and laughed it off.

We have the ideal set up. A hobby shop (separate owner/operator) and track with a different race director in the same building. It works great. I do try to shop locally and buy a few things on line. I was in a different hobby shop today and asked a clerk (actually two) for some 3/8 x 1/4 flanged bearings, he looked at me and said "huh".

I finally had to tell him what manufactures made them, what they were for, what they looked like, and where in the shop he might find them. They were directly behind him on the wall. I can see where some would not appreciate this "service". I bought them and laughed it off.

This reminds me of a specialized "fastener" business I used to frequent often. You're supposed to be able to walk into these stores to find eager, informed people working behind a counter that should be able to pinpoint what you need (I'm talking 16mm nuts) and send you about your way, instead of being absolutely clueless. DOH!!! Frustrating!!!!!!!!!!

At least you found the bearings....

You know I have a theory behind the whole online buying frenzy.Alot of you guys just hit the nail on the head. But collectively , not one single post.Yes i am sick of guys behind the counter that quite honestly need to go work at BK or mc donalds, Because they dont have a clue as to what 90% of the stuff in the store really is.But there is an explanation for it. When a "mom and pops" style hobby store is opened usually the guy behind the counter is the owner. He knows his stuff because he is in the hobby himself, So service is great, he knows what parts to keep in stock for his regulars,and has knowlege to help newcomers with problems.Well eventually as the store does better he hires some help for min. wage so he can run the store during the day and have a life at night.Thats where you get the" go there during these hours and ask to talk to Joe, He will set you up with what you need"" Well as Joe's store gets busier he has to hire more help so he can take care of things like inventory,payroll, running the track , things like that.Now the service is not so good, they never have the parts you need, but they can always " order it for you" At that point people get aggrivated and and start shopping online and ordering it themselves. So you say to hire some experienced store help, Right? Not as easy , or Cheap as it may sound.#1 this hobby is not for people that make min. wage.period. So cheap experienced help is a pipe dream. So joe has to hire his buddy dan the racer. Dan the racer needs a living wage to accomodate his hobby plus his bills,So Joe has to raise prices a little to make up for Dan's increased wage. PLUS Dan is an experienced racer that loves to race, so on the week end Dan is racing not at the shop where he is needed, so do you see the viscous cycle involved with maintaining a shop with experienced staff???

YOU are so right (correct)...
not much can be added....
the two places I race at run just about the way you said it.
most of the locals support the tracks and the store.
One place race on Saturday and the other on Sunday.
both has something going on for Friday night.

You know I have a theory behind the whole online buying frenzy.Alot of you guys just hit the nail on the head. But collectively , not one single post.Yes i am sick of guys behind the counter that quite honestly need to go work at BK or mc donalds, Because they dont have a clue as to what 90% of the stuff in the store really is.But there is an explanation for it. When a "mom and pops" style hobby store is opened usually the guy behind the counter is the owner. He knows his stuff because he is in the hobby himself, So service is great, he knows what parts to keep in stock for his regulars,and has knowlege to help newcomers with problems.Well eventually as the store does better he hires some help for min. wage so he can run the store during the day and have a life at night.Thats where you get the" go there during these hours and ask to talk to Joe, He will set you up with what you need"" Well as Joe's store gets busier he has to hire more help so he can take care of things like inventory,payroll, running the track , things like that.Now the service is not so good, they never have the parts you need, but they can always " order it for you" At that point people get aggrivated and and start shopping online and ordering it themselves. So you say to hire some experienced store help, Right? Not as easy , or Cheap as it may sound.#1 this hobby is not for people that make min. wage.period. So cheap experienced help is a pipe dream. So joe has to hire his buddy dan the racer. Dan the racer needs a living wage to accomodate his hobby plus his bills,So Joe has to raise prices a little to make up for Dan's increased wage. PLUS Dan is an experienced racer that loves to race, so on the week end Dan is racing not at the shop where he is needed, so do you see the viscous cycle involved with maintaining a shop with experienced staff???

I couldn't have said it better myself . I've done retail management for 25 +
years and this is a nightmare at it's best . Todays work force doesn't really
care about good customer service and Joe can't be there 24/7 so we as
consumers suffer.
It's a tough business because you can't pay your employee's enough to
get someone who cares ,, at least I've never been able to figure out how
to do it.
This threads getting off the subject but by the time you have a good hard working employee that you've trained , they're smart enough to go find a
much higher paying job.
With retail you have to except the constant battle of employee changes .

I was talking w/ the manager of our LHS (which is closing) about what WAS selling and making them MONEY...I can tell you R/C was NOT IT.

They were a HOBBY, RC, TOY, AIRSOFT and PAINTBALL shop.

To be competitive w/ RC (They did a LOT of airplane stuff) they had to match TOWER or HOBBYPEOPLE's pricing...or lose the sale. The RC Profit margin is already small at best on a lot of items.

He was talking about a lot of the TOYS that sell a lot. (Straight from CHINA) with between a 400 and a 500% markup. To get that deal, they drive to the L.A. and pick it up directly from a wholesaler ON THE DOCKS.

I will buy as much as possible from my LHS. IF they don't have what I need, then and only then do I buy inline. two reasons-----I want them to stay in business(that's where the track is) and if there is a problem I know it will be handled much easier than dealing with a problem throught the net or mail! Or, as I tell them, if I buy from them I have somebody to b*&%h at!