Seemingly good deals at 'offline' hobby stores

[GooneyBird 938]

We all know our 'usual suspects' online when we're looking for a good deal on our next item to be obsessed about, but what about hobby stores, local or otherwise, who might have a good deal on rare Tamiya items they themselves don't know what might actually be worth? 

For my job I travel quite a bit throughout our (granted, tiny) country, and as a pastime I try to visit as many hobby stores as I can cram into my lunch breaks. Most are slowly being taken over by the Traxxas RTR sets screaming at you from the shelves, while some can be gold mines. I don't buy every good deal I come across, but I'm more than willing to share some of the goodness I've found. 

Today I was at a store in the south of our country, and while it was technically a static model and train-type store, it had a few Tamiyas. From what I quickly jotted down these seemed interesting enough to mention here, all NIB obviously:
- 57602 Voltec Fighter €40 (It was on the aisle with static models. They had no idea what it was apparently)
- 84071 CC01 Jeep Wrangler €259
- 58496 Fast Attack Vehicle €199
- 57782 XB CC01 Mitsubishi Pajero RTR €289 (I've never seen a RTR CC01!)
- 58427 M03M Fiat 500 €149

The rest of the Tamiya lineup there consisted of a few XB sets, and a handful of TTs and a few M-chassis. 

Different side of the same coin, a few days ago I visited a very sad hobby shop clearly on its decline. He had one or two Tamiyas, the only thing interesting was a 58217 FF01 VW New Beetle (unfortunately not the Milka-edition) for €149, and when I struck up a chat with the (noticably bored) shopkeeper he mentioned throwing out "A bunch of old Tamiya go-faster crap for old stuff nobody has anymore." 
I had no proper response to that, other than me quickly eyeing the dumpster out back. I'm just hoping all he threw out were ball bearings and such; I hate to think of anything rare that might have been in there!  

Anyway, I'll try to keep this updated with other shops my trips bring me past, and maybe we can help each other out if one is looking for something rare and old. 

[richb77 78]

Great post! 

I used to frequent a few local hobby shops in the east of England (my old stomping grounds) but many closed in the 90s due to lack of sales, blaming the computer age etc. The few that where left where either living in cloud cuckoo land with pricing, stocked literally nothing other than hundreds of the same thing or where swallowed up by a franchise or chain.

in Germany (North a Hessen is my new home) there are quite a few hobby shops dotted about many in strange places (tiny villages or what looks like a converted house) it's only strange to me being English....but I often think "I must pop in there one day" but a little part of me doesn't want to be the only customer in what I assume is the past month or so!  lame excuse but I could say I don't have time XD

[GooneyBird 938]

It sounds horrible, but my excuse is usually to ask for something I'm almost positive they don't have. At first I asked for a diff gasket for a TRF419, nowadays it's 0.4 mod spurs and pinions. The 'good' ones look at me and ask me what it's for, as they don't get that request daily, at which point I strike up a conversation. The others look at their stock of Traxxas and Chinese landfill spares, glance over the Protech '90s nitro stuff, and tell me they don't have it and to go look elsewhere. 

Try asking for something old and/or rare. They probably won't have it, but it's a good ice breaker. 

[Prescient 671]

Picked up a Blackfoot III from my local hobby shop last week for £135 new in box kit. No concept of how rare it was or that it was out of production. 

[briscaF1 71]

I find it surprising that someone whose livelihood is models doesn't know much about....models.

You can understand it for some types of shop but I always imagine the proprietor/employees of a model shop to have more than a passing interest in the subject.

Maybe I'm just out of date...

[Prescient 671]

Most independent shops where I am, are hobbyists who are of the older generation and have poor websites, no seo, no eBay presence and no understanding of  modern business practices and supply chains or the opportunities that are rapidly appearing now the £ is weakening against the dollar/euro so it is cheaper buying kits from the uk rather than EU or HK. They tend to rely on an established and historic customer base. 

I have spent the last two months touring the south of the UK's model shops and it ranges from ones selling current tamiya kits at 30%+ over rrp  and wondering why they don't sell many to a fair few having closed down or in a sorry dusty state. Worst offenders. A new Blackfoot III RTR at £295 in a slightly battered, pre opened box. Another was a 2016 Blackfoot at £229. 

[ChrisRx718 4470]

I can't see what country you're from using the mobile version of the forum!

I also travel for work and try to visit hobby shops. I last found Pegasus models in Norwich - had a small selection of Tamiya but zero spares - not even paint.

[Hibernaculum 933]

Funny to see you guys mention "old" in the context of stuff that was around only 10 or so years ago.

But I guess I am old. To me, nothing that was around, even in 1995, is "old" yet. And that includes Jennifer Aniston.

[richb77 78]

11 hours ago, briscaF1 said:

I find it surprising that someone whose livelihood is models doesn't know much about....models.

You can understand it for some types of shop but I always imagine the proprietor/employees of a model shop to have more than a passing interest in the subject.

Maybe I'm just out of date...

One of the difficulties many face is that times have moved on and they haven't. Back in the heyday 1980s they would only have to worry about knowing about 3 maybe 4 Tamiya chassis and 2 or 3 from another brand (Probably Kyosho) and that was it. Now look at the flood of chassis options just Tamiya produce plus ALL the hop-ups not to mention the aftermarket availability.

I am not making excuses as i think generally your correct. But most as we have said are or have been struggling to keep up to date and either now just dont care or are waiting to close the door/sell up.

[richb77 78]

11 hours ago, Prescient said:

A new Blackfoot III RTR at £295 in a slightly battered, pre opened box. Another was a 2016 Blackfoot at £229. 

Thats just Bonkers. And i bet they have the cheek to moan why sales are slow/non existent. 

I would NEVER expect a local private shop to compete with Tamico.de RCMart e.t.c on price but within reason for the convenience is acceptable. but 229 for a blackfoot! 295 for a tatty open box RTR!!!!!!! Who are they trying to kid? Most people have access to the internet for research now (most on their phones) allowing instant access to price checking. 

[briscaF1 71]

On 30/09/2016 at 10:03 AM, richb77 said:

One of the difficulties many face is that times have moved on and they haven't. Back in the heyday 1980s they would only have to worry about knowing about 3 maybe 4 Tamiya chassis and 2 or 3 from another brand (Probably Kyosho) and that was it. Now look at the flood of chassis options just Tamiya produce plus ALL the hop-ups not to mention the aftermarket availability.

I am not making excuses as i think generally your correct. But most as we have said are or have been struggling to keep up to date and either now just dont care or are waiting to close the door/sell up.

I know where you are coming from. I was only saying on this forum not so long ago that there is almost too much choice - for Tamiya alone - so your point is entirely valid.

I guess it doesn't take that long to pick up the basics, though, especially if you're making a living from it.

I think it's a shame, like for a lot of other types of shop, that it's getting increasingly difficult to just walk in to somewhere and have a chat with a knowledgeable person.