#21
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You do have a penchant for not understanding the difference between manufacturing and distribution. They are two very different disciplines and capitalism is rife with examples of companies that do one well and the other poorly. There are, in fact, very few manufacturers of any product who are good at distribution. It's as specialized as manufacturing skills. Probably the most blatant example of the failure inherent in linking the two is one of the root causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Manufacturer controlled distribution is indistinguishable from a command controlled economy.
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Peter Olivola (polivola@gmail.com) |
#22
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I love hobby shops, but the simple truth is the average hobby shop owner is very lazy. Most purchase their product from one or two large distributors. The best hobby shops buy from many small and large distributors plus the home cottage type suppliers of products. Having owned and operated my own hobby shop some 25 years ago and being part of a hobby shop owner organization I have some insight into what I am saying. I just came back from my vacation. I was fortunate enough to visit four Hobby Shops. From and Estes view of product only I offer the following. The first shop is one of the best shops I know of. They stocked many of the newer Estes kits that were release about nine months or longer ago. They have no newer product then that even though Estes has released quite a few items since them. They had very little if any knowledge of anything new in the Estes Catalog which has been out for a couple months now. The second shop is an above average shop in my view. The only new Estes product they had was release about two years ago. Most of his New Stock of kits were all discontinued product that their supplier of rockets kits is still pushing them buy because they must have old inventory they want to get rid of. The owner had NO knowledge of the newer Estes product that has been offered even though they carry the Estes Catalog to pass out to customers. The third shop has only been around for a couple of years, was big in size, carried a wide verity of product and was clean and organized. They carried many of the Newer Estes products so they appear to be well organized and NOT lazy about the product in their stores. The forth shop was the smallest of the three, had the least amount of Estes product yet their inventory was current stuff being offered. They even had one product on their store shelf that I didn't even know had been released yet so they too appear to be well organized and NOT lazy about the product in their stores. John Boren |
#23
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I agree most Hobby Shop owners are very lazy. They think they can sell retail (exhorbitantly high) priced goods and just sit back on their laurels. With the advent of the internet and ease of discount shipping, that is exactly why most quickly shut their doors. Instead of adopting a lower-margin high volume sales model, they stick with their antiquated model of high-margin low volume sales, claiming superior customer advice/service. What a load of hogwash. That works for first-purchase beginners, but stinks for longtime model builders that do not need the service. Those should be the customers hobby shops focus on for repeat sales.
The local Hobby Shop nearest my work (Prop Shop Hobbies, Warren, Mi) has not only great service, but also very close and sometimes lower than online pricing. That is a great example of how to stay in business for several decades. The Hobby Shop closest to my home is in Flint, Mi. and they continue with the same antiquated high-margin, low sales volume business plan. This was a chain of 6 statewide stores ten years ago, and is barely existing with 2 stores now. I shop local for my Rocket and R/C stuff where pricing is competitive, if not it is through ebay, horizon, tower, semroc, etc. I flat out refuse to pay 25 to 50% more to a brick and mortar store that offers me virtually nothing other than getting goods in an hour instead of 2 days.
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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!! Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't ! Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY. ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC ! |
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