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 Posted - March 14 2008 : 12:17:23 AM
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Hi All,
Just wanted to get it out there that BILL'S ENGLEWOOD STATION in Orland Park Illinois is closing on 3/20/08. It's a shame as I found this LHS after one of our members posted about his shop a while back. I had managed to pick up a few Tyco items there in his used bin. I did pick up a red box Chesapeake & Ohio caboose #T327C:349 there today for $5 it's in the original box with the plastic window still in great shape. They also had for $5 each a red box Reading open hopper and a red box orange color reefer but I'm not sure of the road name. The last item of note was a SHOPRITE F unit for $30. I don't know the mfr. of this unit. I wanted to pick them all up but the Great One has a large order of trains coming for me so I had to keep it cheap today LOL!
I know most of you are not from here but for those who are maybe you could find some good deals on sets track and the like as everything is on sale.
Mike
Edited by - mytyco on March 14 2008 12:22:50 AM
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 Posted - March 14 2008 : 12:42:12 AM
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It's a shame to hear that. But it seems to be quite common these days! Over the course of the last 2 years, we had 3 hobby shops close and merge into a fourth. That fourth shop ran for about a year and then closed down. So in a very short time we lost 4 shops. We have only 2 hobby shops left in the area now. One changed owners about 6 months ago. So we'll see how long it lasts!
Seems the internet is doing a better job of killing LHS then did mail order several years ago. Ebay probably doesn't help either!
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Posted - March 14 2008 : 12:52:49 AM
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Good topic... How should hobby shops operate to compete with Ebay and mail order?
I would think customer service, repair service, and knowledgible advise.
A good supply of new stuff and a "used section" for the collectors or those to kitbash.
I would much rather go to a local enthusiastic "hobby shop" and interact with them than "go fish'n" on Ebay!
Just my 2 cents...
Mike
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Posted - March 14 2008 : 9:28:36 PM
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Im sorry guys...I know its a shame that the better hobby shops are closing
but for me it comes down to price.
Two weeks ago I ordered a $299.99 locomotive from a place in Delaware.
and it only cost me $242.00 and the shipping was free .
I also tripped on the box the next day when I came home from work.
(how it got to my home here in NJ in less than 24 hours is beyond me)
The closest shop to me that carried that loco was 16 miles away
(32 miles round trip)
If I purchased it there it would have cost me as follows...
$299.99 retail
$21.00 in tax (7% here in Jersey)
$8.00 to $10.00 in diesel fuel ($4.04 a gallon)
Plus the aggravation of parking in a downtown area.
I saved close to $90.00 and did not have to move from my chair.
I also got a receipt from the Delaware store...so if the thing was a dud
I could get in touch with the mfg and get it fixed.
Im sorry but can you blame me for saving time money and aggravation.
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midmo1
Little Six
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Posted - March 14 2008 : 11:41:28 PM
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Evenin'
What about that drivers time?
Wear and tear on the truck/trailer?
The insurance on the vehicle?
Highway tolls....fuel taxes....
That costs' money too
Doesn't it ?????
midmo
Edited by - midmo1 on March 14 2008 11:41:51 PM
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Posted - March 15 2008 : 12:03:17 AM
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Hi All:
Mike: I'm the one who first posted about Bill's.
It's a shame that he's closing - he's the closest LHS for me. The next closest will be either Hands to Work Railroading in Alsip, or Larsen's Hobbies in New Lenox. Hands to Work is a great shop that has excellent deals and a great selection. Orders seem to come in quickly there. But no New-Old-Stock.
I remember when Bill's first opened - it was very crowded every time I went in there. Stock seemed to move quickly. There were good sales. He advertised alot locally. Then things tapered off. His pricing and stock got stagnant. His ads disappeared. He used to have a decent in-store selection but I think pricing could have been a lot better as the shop progressed. Discounts on engines and rolling stock practically disappeared. Books? Forget it. Bill has a website and an EBay store - the problem with both was that neither was updated that often. Even in closing, engines weren't discounted and everything else was only 20-30% off. No discount on the New-Old-Stock that I reported on earlier.
Pricing could be one reason sales were down.
There was also a guy that Bill had working for him for a while that, as a customer, wasn't pleasant to deal with. This guy's take was that if you weren't into Lionel, then you weren't worth his time. I think that this might have coincided with Bill entirely dropping his RC selection and almost doubling his Lionel stock. Perhaps an investment that didn't pay off?
When I was last in Bill's a few weeks ago, Bill's daughter was telling everyone to go to Pat's Hobbies in Oak Lawn - IMHO, they have a terrible railroad selection. Pat's focus is more the RC cars and plastic models. She said that she didn't want to send anyone to their biggest competitor - Hands to Work. Pat's will really need to step up then.
It is sad to see the LHS die off - I've personally been to the last day at Trost in Chicago and Right Track in Palos. I'll probably be at Bill's last day next week - 3/20...
stan
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Posted - March 15 2008 : 12:33:42 AM
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midmo1 wrote
What about that drivers time?
Wear and tear on the truck/trailer?
The insurance on the vehicle?
Highway tolls....fuel taxes....
That costs' money too
Doesn't it ?????
Yes it does but I do not see what that has to do with anything...
The shop I bought the item from used UPS to deliver it to me and the retailer paid them for the shipping ...not me.
and NDW5332 wrote
There was also a guy that Bill had working for him for a while that, as a customer, wasn't pleasant to deal with. This guy's take was that if you weren't into Lionel, then you weren't worth his time.
EXCELLENT POINT !!!
One that I did not want to bring up in my earlier post...but now will.
The "local" shop that I mentioned that charges full retail has a repairman that "raves" on and on about MTH products .
and feels that all other products and gauges are inferior.
I find this to be a "turn off" and I just buy MTH O gauge products so he
is just preaching to the choir with me.
Im sure he would find my latest ambition of collecting older Tyco and
newer IHC and Bachmann HO stuff "unappealing" ...but I have not been in that store for over a year so I wont be making him "wretch with disgust" anytime soon.
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Posted - March 18 2008 : 6:56:20 PM
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NDW5332: have you ever been to the Golden Spike? It's on 79th near Central.
Thanks for posting this! GIC and I stopped by while in the area this weekend. He found a good fixer upper case. Of course we had to stop at the Golden Spike and we ran by Hands to Work on our way out of town.
~anna
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Edited by - mix3d3m0ti0n5 on March 18 2008 6:58:17 PM
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 Posted - March 18 2008 : 8:24:23 PM
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Hi Mix,
Any chance you could give us an actual street address for the Golden Spike and Hands to Work LHS?
Thanks
Mike
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Posted - March 19 2008 : 08:47:04 AM
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Here are the addresses:
Hands To Work
4002 W. 127th Street, Alsip, IL 60803
Golden Spike
6357 W 79th St. Burbank, IL 60459
I stopped by Golden Spike a few weeks ago. It's much different than when I remembered it as a kid. He really cleaned up the place and added some lighting.
I was in Bill's this past Saturday, too. Not too much left. No engines in HO. All I did was pick up some track and a few misc. parts. He's still there until tomorrow...
stan
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Posted - March 20 2008 : 01:48:53 AM
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| We've had the same phenomenon here in the Dallas area. There's a mega-shop called Discount Model Trains. It's kind of had the "Wal-Mart" efffect, and several smaller shops have closed in the last few years. The folks there are friendly, but they seem to be much friendlier if you are buying a DCC system or something expensive. They don't have much use for the 'past' or how to work on them. In fact, if there's a problem with a new item, you are generally referrred to the manufacturer for help.
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Posted - March 20 2008 : 10:32:43 PM
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| Hey guys, I just witnessed a local shop go under/retire. He could not find a buyer so all the merchandise was sold to different hobby shops/toy stores. Kind of frustrating to get comfortable with good people who have a genuine love for the hobby only to have them be forced out by so-called superstores that have a little bit of everything but offer no service whatsoever and zero expertise in anything they sell.
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 Posted - March 21 2008 : 12:10:30 AM
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HI All,
We have two hobby shops here in Rockford. One is Royal Hobby. They are family owened I believe. They have a decent amount of HO stuff and very little O stuff. They do a lot of plastic car, boat and plane models as well as a ton of roll playing figures. They seem to get a lot of old stuff in on consignment. I have managed to pick up a few Tyco pieces there. They have no service dept.
The other is Hobby town USA. Now I have to say for being a HTUSA they have a very large train dept. about 80% HO 10% O and 10% N scale. Mostly Athearn kit and RTR and a few Bachmann and Lifelike pieces to add spice. No old stuff or service dept.
Thanks NDW5332 for the addresses, I will try to get out that way and stop in.
Mike
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Posted - March 22 2008 : 7:39:59 PM
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A follow up on Bill's:
Thursday was their last day. The reason there were no engines left - according to Bill's daughter - they were all going to be sold on EBay. "We can get full MSRP and then some." They seemed very bitter about the fact "no one wants to pay full MSRP anymore." I don't know, but don't most people go to EBay avoid paying MSRP?
The main reasons for the closing - rent increase and a major tax problem. With all of Cook County's new taxes, I can't blame them there...
stan
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Posted - March 22 2008 : 8:29:12 PM
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| hi guys what you are now experencing happened here in uk in 80s,we have very few train shops left.with any real attitude to the hobby,ken
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