andyh Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 ceasing trading 8th Sept: **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul devereux Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 I used to love visiting model shops. Like Channel 4 Models in Charminster, Bournemouth. Everything is going online.I miss them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Cooper Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 This is very sad . . . the end of an era. B.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 What a shame , I have only shopped there recently and always found what I needed including covering materials, fuel and radio gear, and of course advice that is not available on-line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 It's a shame to see it go. It seems to be the way of the world these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 It is a crying shame for all of us and all of them. Speaking to one such owner chap he stated that 9 out of 10 visitors had a good look round, admiring the goods with just one conservative buyer taking the stock. It is heartbreaking, but the industry is reinventing itself to survive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel R Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 What David said. The net changed everything for traders, and some good few years ago now. Some have adapted, some have died. C'est la vie. Other niche industries appear to have traders polarise; warehouse style box shifters who offer pile high sell cheap, or specialist boutiques who offer high quality with appropriate pricing. Physical shopfronts are expensive. They won't be kept alive by a few chaps reminiscing about the good old days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROSS MANSELL 1 Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Afraid the UK is not the only place to suffer the closure of local model shops.....and there are a few in the US AND well knoiwn manufacturers (50 yrs o more in business) also in the US have packed in, in the last year or so. A lot of it I am sure us due to the owners retiring..some keep going well past retirement age..but eventally..one has to give in. and there are few takers for the business........... On the other hand. young people seem to be more enthusiastic about putting something together in an hour or two rather than scratch building or building from plans.. Easier to buy a box from the INT. Sign of the times I suppose...and council business rates have a lot to answer for! So then chaps.....keep buying the balsa, (where you can) scalpels & Elastoplasters..the hobby aint doomed to extinction yet!! Edited By ROSS MANSELL 1 on 24/07/2018 13:49:14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROSS MANSELL 1 Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Posted by David Mellor on 24/07/2018 13:47:59: That is a good point, Supertigrefan, but personally I wouldn't attach very much weight to it for the following reason. Before the internet, I imagine Mick Charles faced only modest competition as most customers would rarely visit many other model shops (the idea of a Local Model Shop is that it is..... local). As internet buying accelerated, competition between otherwise isolated LMSs also accelerated. Ergo, each model shop was faced with the same decision on a daily basis - do I compete head to head and sell on the internet, or do I continue to be a footfall-dependant local trading business? Who helps each LMS to decide that daily conundrum? We do. We engage in discussion - literally on the shop floor - and ask why they don't sell more products on the internet. Also, we tell them of the strong reasons why we buy cheap Chinese products from HK - they know already, of course, but we support them anyway. In the end, it is true that each LMS is under harsh competitive pressure via the internet. But it is still us (customers) who decide whose "buy" button we press.....and who we talk to. Edited By David Mellor on 24/07/2018 13:49:20 Well said. Edited By ROSS MANSELL 1 on 24/07/2018 13:50:48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Collinson Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Can't resist this. We have the model shops we deserve and if a majority of us buy kit online to save money then they will continue to disappear, in exactly the same way as milkmen, private filling stations and village pubs. Put your money where your mouths are. In my club there's a growing group who get an email from me every time I'm within a mile of East Leeds which because of my profession I usually am weekly and I collect anything within reason. It saves delivery, eases returns and makes e.g. fuel a realistic proposition. I enjoy the regular opprobrium heaped on me by the proprietor and his acolytes, the erroneous inclusions of Savox servos on my bill (but not in my bag), the very un-PC humour and the gossip. Fine, it doesn't add up to a massive amount, although it does add up. Moreover, the two big-ish planes I've bought latterly have both come from there, one matched to the lowest UK online price, the other within £5, in stock, no haggling that time and they set up a plane for me which they'd never handled. Exactly the same with fishing tackle, shooting kit and I imagine most hobbies. Use it or lose it. Its NLMFC pseudonym, the Precious Shop, is not entirely down to the League of Gentlemen. Although some of the staff......... Bruce T. Collinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 Posted by Percy Verance on 24/07/2018 14:15:11: Another one in the back of the net for Hobbyking etc. Trouble is, what happens when Hobbyking goes??????? Where will the bargain hunters go then???? Save a few quid now, but eventually be left with nothing....... I'd urge anyone who doesn't at present build models from plans to learn to do so, because in just a few years time it may be the only way you get to fly a model aeroplane.......... Hobbyking's crown seems to have been slipping of late & the likes of Banggood have been picking up some of their market share. Whilst there's money to be made from model planes, there will be someone selling. If we're left with nothing, where will you buy balsa to build from plans Percy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marsh Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 That's sad, popped into the shop several times, Dave was the son of Mick, who used to do competitions and of course, they built the models for the 1968 Battle Of Britain film. Yeah, we have only ourselves to blame - seen it all at the shows, some people don't want to buy from a model shop as its's "too expensive", so they go to the model shop, then go on-line and order it there. No wonder... Still, there is Leeds Model Shop, Webbies, Whitchurch Models and Slough(even though it is really internet sales only, with a small shop front). Keep supporting or lose it. Simple as that! QED Edited By Paul Marsh on 24/07/2018 15:15:35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 It is sad, but with a website in the stone ages, it's not surprising. I very much support my local shops. I go to a local timber merchant/building supplier and pay more than I would elsewhere. However, that being said my LMS wouldn't know customer service if it slapped them in the face, so they don't get any of my hard earned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 ps and HK is not my first port of call Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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