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bRIBEGuy

A Trip to the LHS...

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I had a little over an hour to kill last night as I had dropped my daughter off at the Military Museum for a Brownies event, and decided to head over to one of the LHS's in the area.  It's a great old school place with stuff piled everywhere, and almost endless potential for treasure (they have been open for 37 years, and have the NOS to prove it).  While it was fun poking around, I was pretty surprised by a lot of the pricing... Yes, I know that stuff is going up across the board, but this was really my first "in person" experience with exactly what this looks like on the ground level.

A few examples (Canadian dollar):

Tamiya Pin Vise $49.95
Tamiya "King Yellow" GS01:$349 
Tamiya TD2 Astute: $429
Kyosho Beetle: $449
Losi LMT: $899

On top of that, the store had signs everywhere warning that actual price would likely be higher than sticker price, as they were in the process of raising prices in the computer system.  :huh:  I only picked up a few small items (set of JC Concepts "Hazard 1.9/1.7 wheels, and some Tamiya Paint Retarder), and they rang in about +10% over sticker.  :wacko:

Honestly, I'm not really sure where I'm going with this... just sharing and talking it out in my brain, I guess.  I'm conflicted... I want more people to get into the hobby, and I want local businesses to survive.  I also understand that we're in a rough place as far as cost of goods and services right now.  But still... it just kinda sucked.  I went in excited and full of childish glee, and left honestly feeling pretty bummed out (both about my personal financial position in relation to new pricing, and in fearful dismay for the future of brick and mortar stores). 

Also kinda bummed that they sold the Lowrider Pumpkin kit they had in stock the last time I was there, as I was reasonably sure it was gonna come home with me... so maybe that's the real issue here and I'm just projecting as a result of that self inflicted dismay.  :lol:

Anyway, just a Friday afternoon story (rant?) of sorts...

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Yes, I started a thread about inflation a while back.

 

Also, my "Tamiya index" of a Neo Fighter on Amazon had showed a 13% increase over its lowest price at Christmas 2021, as of today 

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1 hour ago, bRIBEGuy said:

I had a little over an hour to kill last night as I had dropped my daughter off at the Military Museum for a Brownies event, and decided to head over to one of the LHS's in the area.  It's a great old school place with stuff piled everywhere, and almost endless potential for treasure (they have been open for 37 years, and have the NOS to prove it).  While it was fun poking around, I was pretty surprised by a lot of the pricing... Yes, I know that stuff is going up across the board, but this was really my first "in person" experience with exactly what this looks like on the ground level.

A few examples (Canadian dollar):

Tamiya Pin Vise $49.95
Tamiya "King Yellow" GS01:$349 
Tamiya TD2 Astute: $429
Kyosho Beetle: $449
Losi LMT: $899

On top of that, the store had signs everywhere warning that actual price would likely be higher than sticker price, as they were in the process of raising prices in the computer system.  :huh:  I only picked up a few small items (set of JC Concepts "Hazard 1.9/1.7 wheels, and some Tamiya Paint Retarder), and they rang in about +10% over sticker.  :wacko:

Honestly, I'm not really sure where I'm going with this... just sharing and talking it out in my brain, I guess.  I'm conflicted... I want more people to get into the hobby, and I want local businesses to survive.  I also understand that we're in a rough place as far as cost of goods and services right now.  But still... it just kinda sucked.  I went in excited and full of childish glee, and left honestly feeling pretty bummed out (both about my personal financial position in relation to new pricing, and in fearful dismay for the future of brick and mortar stores). 

Also kinda bummed that they sold the Lowrider Pumpkin kit they had in stock the last time I was there, as I was reasonably sure it was gonna come home with me... so maybe that's the real issue here and I'm just projecting as a result of that self inflicted dismay.  :lol:

Anyway, just a Friday afternoon story (rant?) of sorts...

I'm also in Canada and noticed the same thing. I was about to purchase a Futaba 3PV from my LHS. Instead, I ordered it from RCmart, with a few other items, and the total was over $40 less, with shipping, than if I bought it at the shop. 

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$899 for an LMT, that's insane.  There are a lot of local hobby shops in my area, and I shop at exactly zero of them.  A couple have decent slection and OK prices, but most are overpriced, understocked, and not really that nice to be around.  I may change my mind if they were a little more helpful or friendly, but the fact that they're not makes it an easy decision to shop exclusively online. 

I've actually been having issues with a lot of smaller online vendors recently and have lost a good amount of money through it.  So anymore if I cant get it from Tower or Amain I dont bother.   

 

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My local hobby shop last month sold me a 1252MG at the same price as online..($68 - 74 range) so maybe not too crazy (yet) in the USA..?   $45 for a pin vice.. wow Amazon sells them for like $20.. :blink:

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The thing I like about people talking prices in Canadian dollars is that they are pretty much the same as the Australian dollar most of the time.

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@bRIBEGuy I know what you mean, I too am in Canada and am feeling the same. Lately, it almost feels as if we're paying for the by-now-rare, premium experience of being inside a hands on brick and mortar hobby shop. It's really gotten out of hand.

Last year I decided to get my Optima Mid through my LHS, proud to support them by doing so. I kinda knew that I would have ended up waiting longer and paying a higher price than if I had ordered it online, but to what extent I had no idea...I was asked to pay almost 200 CAD for shipping. For shipping!! Since when doeas a customer have to pay that??...and this much? :huh::wacko: that was a bad experience that hurt deep, because I considered the LHS guy to be a friend. And such friens decides to take advantage of my trust so blaintally and to such extent. So saddening. At that point I bit the bullet and followed through with my purchase, but I feel it's going to be the last time he sees a cent from me. And that's too bad: I enjoyed going there and chatting with him very much, but I have a dignity and I have my limits. I'm sure that whoever owns a Hobby Shop in Canada is likely to be in a rough spot right now, but taking advantage of people that help you is not likely to yeld good results, specially in the long run.

Sadly, where to make my next purchase will be a no-brainer: online, from whoever has the best deal in terms of what works for me, with no other factors such as being ethically correct towards my LHS taken into consideration any further. And my conscience will be crystal clear.

That being said, I still think that discovering an old brick and mortar LHS and digging through it with childish excitement is one of the best parts of our hobby. It'd be cool to have a map of all the ones left in the whole or North America (or the entire world!).

I sometimes fantasise about finding the one someday... small remote town, an old hand made shop sign above a greasy window displaying obsolete boxes whitened by sunlight....yeah... It's got to be run by an odd, bit creepy old character, and upon entering it I'll spot that old NIB Marui Shogun that has been sitting on the top shelf, all but forgotten for the past 35 years... eheh one can dream :rolleyes: 😁

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On the face of it, it doesn't seem to be that bad over here.  IIRC, to be a Tamiya reseller in the UK, you must have a brick-and-mortar store, even if you have a huge online presence.  The best prices in the UK (without unofficial imports from Europe or Asia) are generally Modelsport, Wheelspin and Fusion Hobbies (especially with the TC discount!) - and I could walk through the door and rummage their stock if I wanted to.  Well, not really, the closest is Wheelspin, which is 2 hours away.  I went there back in early 2020, when it looked like that whole covid thing was going to cause a little bit of disruption, and their shop counter was at the front of a warehouse, and all the was behind a false wall.  I could have a rummage, but I had to ask for it to be brought to me.  And I did, and I had a great chat with the guys behind the counter, and I came away with a well-priced SMT-10, although it wasn't as magical as going to a proper store, but it's a nice option for when I'm travelling up that way (and almost makes it worth keeping some cash aside because I go past it every 2 or 3 months).

Luckily though, I do have proper stores nearby.  The best local one is in Bath, a 30 minute drive away, run by a good friend who has helped me a lot over the last few years with race advice and parts.  He runs the pit shop at Iconic events, stock loads of race parts and loads of kits.  He is marginally more expensive than the big ones but I'll generally go to him first because I'll get a friendly chat and a nice journey out of the house, and because I want him to succeed - both as a friend and as a really good supporter of the vintage race scene.

The other one is walking distance, and is a proper oldschool town centre treasure trove (although he's only been in that unit a few years).  His prices can be quite steep compared to the others, but he has a surprising stock of Tamiya kits, including some old stuff.  Last week I picked up a CC01 Pajero Low Rider, I probably paid over the odds for it but it was worth it to be able to rummage through two small, tightly-packed rooms of Tamiya, Airfix and miscellaneous other stuff.  He doesn't really know much about RC stuff (he doesn't stock bearing kits and didn't even know they were a thing) but he is a very useful guy to have around, as he keeps a great stock of Tamiya paints.  During the pandemic he was doing a local delivery service too - it was the highlight of my day once to see him leave a few tins of blue and silver on my doorstep when I wasn't allowed to leave the premises.  So although I can't afford to shop there often, I do make a point of buying stuff from time to time because it'll be a sad day when he's gone, and if I get up on a Saturday to start a paint run and realise I need some paint, and have to go all the way to Bath to get it, I'll realise how much I miss being able to cycle into town and grab some tins and a sandwich and get back in under 10 minutes.

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13 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

I do make a point of buying stuff from time to time because it'll be a sad day when he's gone

That is what my wife said, if I ever get to a physical shop, just buy something, even if it is just some paint. Just to keep them going. Also the amount of effort for us to get to an actual shop, it will be a shame if it is not there anymore and I have to go even further.

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My LHS is about 4 minutes from my house or 15 minute if I walk and I'm not just saying it because it my local but its brilliantly stocked, he opened it literally a month before we had the first lockdown in 2020 and he's just gone from strength to strength simply because he knows his stuff and looks after his local customers, before this LHS I used to mail order and constantly look for the cheapest deals but I'm now in a position where I'm going to support local businesses not just my LHS but the cafes the hardware shops local supermarket etc etc:D I've had over the last year the biggest kick in the teeth (Metiforicly speaking) from my place of work which I've been employed for the last 35 years which has made me rethink the way I approach these big multinational companies and I've been looking into the actual behaviour of them (mentioning no names) and it's just disgusting the way they operate and how local businesses and people for that matter actually mean nothing to them:angry: so if I can do my little insignificant bit to combat again these companies for my local community I'm definitely going to do it;)

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Went to a physical shop near to where I am staying for the holiday, nothing much that I really need, so just got a can of PS-55.

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In Australia im not really seeing significant inflation in tamiya, that being said typically there is 0 parts, but kits can be readily available, typically stores here are made to pre order a significant amount of stock at a time (potentially a 20ft container worth) which I believe keeps prices within the realms of reasonability. It’s typically not significantly cheaper to buy from HK, US or UK these days for kits when you consider freight.
 

If you’re looking at online prices and comparing them directly without factoring freight then you’re just ripping yourself off, more often than not the actual freight cost blows the total past local prices.  Don’t forget the store had to pay freight to them, you can’t get away from that. And there is likely local tax to pay as well. 

I have seen huge inflation in Traxxas/Arrma etc though. 
 

 

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On 1/20/2023 at 4:02 PM, bRIBEGuy said:

...On top of that, the store had signs everywhere warning that actual price would likely be higher than sticker price...

This part sounds like gouging to me.  If the product is physically in the store with a price tag, that price was applicable to what they paid when the item arrived at the store.  To later raise that price at the register even though technically their wholesale invoice price didn't change sounds unfair.   I get it that it's a free market and they have other costs to run the store that probably went up but that to me doesn't sound like a good business practice.

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That's normal practice if the RRP goes up on something they still have in stock.  What they should do is re-sticker ASAP not put signs up!

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2 hours ago, OnTheTrail said:

This part sounds like gouging to me.  If the product is physically in the store with a price tag, that price was applicable to what they paid when the item arrived at the store.  To later raise that price at the register even though technically their wholesale invoice price didn't change sounds unfair.   I get it that it's a free market and they have other costs to run the store that probably went up but that to me doesn't sound like a good business practice.

That may not may not be the case as it really depends on the contract. Now, I do not have a shop but worked in sales for a bit.

Sometimes, a shop take in the goods and pay for them, then sell it on. Any unsold is the shop's problem.

Sometimes, the shop is given the goods and only need to pay the supplier when the items is sold. In this case, unsold goods just get returned to the supplier if necessary. Also price increases apply.

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3 hours ago, Twinfan said:

That's normal practice if the RRP goes up on something they still have in stock.  What they should do is re-sticker ASAP not put signs up!

That was my thought.   Costs to run the business go up.   I get that but go out and put new price labels on the stuff.   Could you imagine if a large retailer charged a higher price at the register than what was tagged on the item?  

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7 hours ago, OnTheTrail said:

This part sounds like gouging to me.  If the product is physically in the store with a price tag, that price was applicable to what they paid when the item arrived at the store.  To later raise that price at the register even though technically their wholesale invoice price didn't change sounds unfair.   I get it that it's a free market and they have other costs to run the store that probably went up but that to me doesn't sound like a good business practice.

Based on the amount of stock they have, it's likely just a lot easier to raise the prices in the system and deal with re-stickering over time.  Where I hope it doesn't come back to bite them, is that in Canada, it's technically illegal to not honor the sticker price if it is lower.

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7 hours ago, bRIBEGuy said:

just a lot easier to raise the prices in the system and deal with re-stickering over time.

Suppliers been raising prices every new shipment since lockdown = price tag stickers gone the way of the dodo. Stickers lately been rejigger to just SKU barcode, no more prices. 

Good LHS these days have price check stations to scan the barcode or I just have their webshop open on my phone :P

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15 hours ago, OnTheTrail said:

If the product is physically in the store with a price tag, that price was applicable to what they paid when the item arrived at the store.

err yeah right... blatantly ignoring the FACT that mass produced items all carry the same SKU/barcode (no unique serial #s) - so just HOW would you differentiate between units in a pile of the same stock item that’s been restocked at different times/price?

 

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On 1/21/2023 at 9:54 AM, Rally! said:

Tamiya Pin Vise

always been wanting a Tamiya pin vice many years now ... decided to finally commit just few wks ago

Found stock in LHS. But when looking at actual item... casting looks rough, nothing too special imho... reminds me of yumcha generic cheap tool. 

Ended going upmarket to GodHand instead B) oooh err now that GH brand sure is crazy premium priced but somehow for their quality feels worth it. 
images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ2bmbtXVOFF0_Sdlcvd3j

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23 hours ago, WillyChang said:

Found stock in LHS. But when looking at actual item... casting looks rough, nothing too special imho... reminds me of yumcha generic cheap tool. 

Ended going upmarket to GodHand instead B) oooh err now that GH brand sure is crazy premium priced but somehow for their quality feels worth it. 
images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ2bmbtXVOFF0_Sdlcvd3j

Had a few Tamiya tools (mainly from my static builds) and had to say that I am not impressed by them much. One example is the 74093 side cutter, hardly cuts close to the side. I had since gotten an Army Painter side cutter which costs less but cuts tighter. Of course GH is top tier, with a price to match!

Another alternative (if you can get it) brand is GSI/Gunze or Bandai tools, they are better than Tamiya's most of the time. Not as premium as GH of course.

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On 1/25/2023 at 9:18 PM, WillyChang said:

err yeah right... blatantly ignoring the FACT that mass produced items all carry the same SKU/barcode (no unique serial #s) - so just HOW would you differentiate between units in a pile of the same stock item that’s been restocked at different times/price?

 

Sorry, I'm not following.   I was referring to the OP where an item had a price tag put on a product physically in the store by the store staff.   But if you took that product to the cash register, they may not have honored that price and may have charged you more than the price on the price tag.  The OP never mentioned a bar code but rather a price sticker on the item.  

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Here in the states it considered fraud if you charge different than the posted price. (ie, the OPs sticker)  If they are using a computerized system, the stock would need to be removed from the shelf until the new price is affixed.  I got a full refund for a meal at a restaurant because what was on the register receipt was not what was on the menu, and i brought that fact to the attention of the restaurant owner.

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