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What to stock for toy shop

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Hi all, I run a little toy shop and am just opening an account with UK distributor for TAMIYA, all been well (YIPPEE!!) we deal with retro toys mainly and sell a few used RC's mostly on ebay but have had some sell in the shop too, (I'm not going to compete with online dealers).

I'm wanting to get some Tamiya stuff in, as I can recommend it, I would love to buy everything to have on display but we don't have the space or available funds, just wanting a few models to start with and accessories, just wanting to know what you would expect to see, choice of radio gear, tools, paint etc)

So anyone got any advice on what to get on top of a few models (I'm thinking hornet, grass hopper, CC01, lunchbox)

Also would like to do a TC discount, not sure where I stand on that but will look into it more once I have some stock.

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Well if your local I can always order some stuff in for you. :D Spares will be added once I have a car or two and maybe some hop ups, Its mainly the extra's that I'm trying to gauge I wouldn't want to buy a kit then have to go elsewhere for the servo, paint and radio gear ( but I would probably do so anyway as the LHS's never have what you want), but I only have so much shelf space in the shop area and the rear is for the on-line business which is probably 75% of my income.

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Perhaps you could tell us a bit more about the customers who currently visit your shop? Old or young, rich or poor, married or single, etc? Different models are likely to appeal to different demographics.

As far as extras go, certainly bearing kits, paint, batteries, chargers and radio gear would be good to have in stock - as you say, it would be frustrating to have to go elsewhere to get the bits required to build a kit - customers may decide to get then kit elsewhere too.

Maybe stock a basic 2.4GHz radio set per model you have in stock, as well as a single mid-range one with multiple model memories in case your customer foresees buying more models further down the line?

Not sure about NiMH or LiPo - if you stock retro toys, and will be selling retro RC models, perhaps NiMH would be the way to go. Safer and more era-appropriate. You could always stock multi-chemistry chargers, and explain to customers that LiPo is something they may wish to consider further down the line.

As for tools, plastic side cutters and JIS screwdrivers would be good, along with the obvious craft knives. Depending on what models you stock, threadlock might also be an idea.

It may be worth considering getting a small stock of spares at the outset - just the stuff that commonly breaks on whichever models you choose to stock. A bigger spares inventory could be added further down the line, but it would be nice to be able to help those customers who crash their cars on the first outing.

I shall think on this further... :)

Good luck with your enterprise!

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Thanks, I live in an affluent tourist town in the Yorkshire Dales so our customers change all the time, most of what we sell is aimed at the older children, new and old LEGO, Star Wars, Transformers, Comic book stuff etc, most people on Holiday are happy to spend as they are trying to enjoy them selves. Ni-Mhs would be the best bet, couple of charger's I think and a choice of stick or pistol transmitters, 2.4 is the way to go and most of the time less expensive, the area is great for scale driving and rock crawling might be worth stocking some scale accessories too?

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I have worked in a small model shop so feel qualified to respond.

In terms of walk-in custom for rc the sales were probably less than 10% of the nett rc sales - that is with everything being available through the Web shop. This was in a busy, affluent area in a high street shop.

Common models to sell to passing customers were the XB RTR range - Joe public is generally completely baffled by the kit concept. If kits did sell they were frequently simple models like the Mad Bull (of which we had a demonstration model) or the WT01 / wheelie range. Parts and hop-ups? Forget holding ANY stock, it's simply not worth it without be online. The Hobby Co typically deliver once a week, not a long time to wait if you do need to order spares for someone.

The problem you have (or will have) will be sustainability and maintaining a customer base. If you stock any kits you subsequently have to stock a wide range of sundries - tools, paints, batteries and radios - by no means a compact scenario, nor a cost-effective one, since you will have a lot of money tied up in stock.

If you don't service the kit-buying public with the sundry items they need they will be forced to go elsewhere - or look online - which is potentially lost custom - what incentive do they have to return?

If I were you I would start with your minimum order quantity of XB models and perhaps stock some Carson / similar spare battery packs. Without an online presence it's not going to be able to support much else in the current economy.

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...if you stock retro toys, and will be selling retro RC models, perhaps NiMH would be the way to go. Safer and more era-appropriate. You could always stock multi-chemistry chargers, and explain to customers that LiPo is something they may wish to consider further down the line.

+1 on stocking the retro choices since that fits with the theme of your store. You might consider one modern on road and one modern off road model to give yourself an up-sell path.

If I were you I would start with your minimum order quantity of XB models and perhaps stock some Carson / similar spare battery packs. Without an online presence it's not going to be able to support much else in the current economy.

As you say, you're more of a tourist attraction shop than a local hobby shop. Kits take time to build, especially for first timers. I would want to run an R/C on vacation not build one. So I agree with Chris here that your best bet would be to keep the XB kits in stock. Better chargers than what comes in the XB box so they can have faster charge times would be an easy up-sell. Obviously extra batteries to keep the fun going while one battery is charging.

If you want to differentiate yourself form the herd, you could do some in-house XB kits that Tamiya doesn't package themselves. Like the Mad Fighter. You could have one already built, bundled with an appropriate level transmitter, battery and charger. Obviously these would have a bit of a price premium over the kit options but there's your up-sell. "Ah, I see you're eying that Mad Fighter. Tamiya only sells it as a kit but we have assembled one and it's ready to run. The good news is that it's only £40 more." You get the idea. I have no idea how much more an in-house built RTR kit should cost. And yes, I had to copy/paste the £ symbol from Wikipedia. :P

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XB kits would be the best. , if having a kit choose a cheap one like the grasshopper lunchbox as it's iconic, cheap and easy to build.

I would not stock a lot of things to start off with. I would not buy a load of nimh's maybe a couple of cheap ones to sell as extras with the XB kits and one quick multi charger (that can also charge lipo's) I will tell you that no-one buys old batteries anymore. A friend had a store set-up for Xmas sales and he sold a lot of XB kits ans some cheap (£20) 3300's but even the 12yo's were coming back asking for lipos.

If you have a screen in the shop, have it playing some Tamiya movies on loop from youtube. My mate did this (and he had a lunchbox demo car that he would race around the shopping centre) this helped his sales alot.

Do not bother with spares, just get them on order unless you sell a lot of a same model and there is a common part that people come back in for.

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I didn't realise you catered primarily for the tourist market. I withdraw my suggestions of paint, tools, etc.

I agree with previous posters re. RTR offroad models, and perhaps pre-built kits. Quick chargers and perhaps even a pre-charged battery on standby under the counter. Everything needed to get the customer driving their RC as soon as possible after leaving your shop.

I stand by my suggestion of a small stock of basic/common spares though. Having bought everything needed to enjoy a RC on holiday, it would be sad if a customer broke the car on its first outing, and was then told to wait a week for spares. The holiday may be over by then!

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From what you have said about the tourist trade, XB seems logical. If you like building you could also make a few kits to sell at a premium, as Effigy 3 suggested.

Retro would also seem to be obvious given your market.

Finally I would consider where your customers would run. Touring / on road areas are hard to find near me and seeing you are in Yorkshire I am guessing it may be good for trailing or off-road.

If I were you I would go for a big-wheel fun car like a Lunchbox or Wild Willy, a buggy like a Re-re Hornet and a capable crawler like a CC01 and maybe a CR01.

I think the LB, WW2, Hornet and CC01s are all available in XB and all very reasonably priced.

All perform well on silvercans and NIMHs or simple Lipos so you will not need to sell many hop-ups.

If you decide to stock Lipos I would recommend the Core RC versions which fit in all old-school Tamiya chassis. they also offer a very capable 2.4gz Transmitter / Receiver at a very good price.

Sounds like a lot of fun. Good luck with your business.

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I know Settle very well having being educated at Giggleswick . Personally i would stock a few crawlers - Maverick Scout RTR for example .

Kids want RTR these days . Maybe the odd few Tamiya kits but the lower end ones - Lunch box , Pumpkin ect

Most trade will be with the tourists and just maybe the odd rich kid from the Boarding School lol

Actually it might be worth talking to the school to see if you can get them interested in RC - might sell a few kits on the back of it ;)

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Thanks Guy's, I do sell online but its mainly bits I haven't used from kit's as I have purchased hop up's from the beginning, I'm not against online sales and may venture down that path in the future, I Just know its a competitive market and as yet don't have an online store of my own, only selling on ebay etc, The Shop-Built models are a great idea and I had thought of a pre-charged battery under the counter. I live above the shop and have my charger in the back room along with my own RC's so can happily keep a battery at peak, then whizz one around the local streets for attention (as I do anyway for fun). The main thing I wanted was radio gear, batteries and chargers to go with the older models I have in the shop, as I know I would have sold more if they had been RTR. There are some local's into RC's and model making (trains, airfix etc) so a few sundries and tools would be useful but I'm not wanting large volume, plus I'm sure I could always sell half of it to myself.

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