Say it aint so- another brick and mortar bites the dust (1 Viewer)

[Warrior]

Dealers who know nothing about business charging rediculouly low prices.........................Dealers who just need to raise funds to buy the next new release, and start price cutting in a panic. You can't stay in business long if your just turning inventory.

Maybe they're trying to make it up in volume...............:rolleyes2:

This must be the new course being taught at the Harvard Business School; you know, the "Hey, I've got a great idea; I buy so much of this stuff, I'll just get an account, get my stuff at a discount and sell the rest" school of thought.

That's a brilliant plan, the problem starts with the "sell the rest" aspect of it, also known as ham and egger selling 101.

 

[Jack]

You very fortunate having a store so close. I would love to have toy soldier store so close to my house. Unfortunately they just don't exist. The closest store to me is Dutkins in Cherry Hill. Over an hour away, and even they are only open part of the week. The store is also in need of a serious makeover. "Hobby Masters" in Redbank is about 30 miles from me. This is a giant two story hobby store that has been there for years. They use to be packed with everything you would ever need. They also carried some Britains figures. I bought my first matte figures from him in the 90's. Now every time I go in there they have less and less merchandise. Now they basically carry fantasy war gamers supplies, a few O gauge trains, RC cars, and plastic model kits. No more LGB trains, figure kits, or toy soldiers. One of the employees I know said the reason they're still open is that the owner owns the building so no rent. They have a website but it doesn't seem to be helping. For me no internet means no toy soldier collecting.

The shop close by is a double edged sword. Had I bought only on the internet my collection would be much, much smaller. The "social" drop in, the "I have had a hard day at work" drop in, the "I have had a great day at work" drop in, the "I am bored" drop in, the "I was just passing" drop in ... they all add up!

 

[Andanna]

Servus, Andreas!

Gray Creager also runs the Timelines-Historica forum. His posts there can give a little insight into his decision to wind his online store down:

http://www.timelinesforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15345&highlight=colorado+miniatures

http://www.timelinesforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15999&highlight=colorado+miniatures

Prost!
Brad

Thank you, Brad. I think it is quite easy to blame the recession. But then, maybe it is.

 

[marco55]

It's not just the toy soldier business but in all areas the internet is cutting into businesses.
Mark

 

[lancer]

It's not just the toy soldier business but in all areas the internet is cutting into businesses.
Mark

The only business I have first hand experience with is the book business and the internet TOTALLY changed that. The brick/mortar used book stores we all knew and loved are virtually extinct, along with most new book stores. There used to be some 3 dozen used and new bookstores within easy driving distance for me some 20 years ago, now all but 2 or 3 are long gone. There are hundreds of on-line sellers, all undercutting each other with the result that actual storefronts are no longer viable. You can't get enough money through the doors to pay rent when places like Amazon can afford to sell many items at a loss because volume allows them to sell at minimal profit margins. So it goes. -- Al

 

[BLReed]

....... There used to be some 3 dozen used and new bookstores within easy driving distance for me some 20 years ago .........

Now you have thousands of bookstores thousands of miles from you, all within an easy click.
Super Markets always carried the best sellers in store. Half of what bookstores charged.

Then there is and was always the local library. Locally a new $50 million library facility just opened
two weeks ago. Complete with some three million books, magazines, newspapers, computers, copy machines (even 3D $ Color)
and some 70,000 DVD & blu-ray disks, eBooks & Audiobooks. All free except the copy machines. I guess
way back when, Carnegie got the blame.

Clickety, click.

 

[Warrior]

Now you have thousands of bookstores thousands of miles from you, all within an easy click.
Super Markets always carried the best sellers in store. Half of what bookstores charged.

Then there is and was always the local library. Locally a new $50 million library facility just opened
two weeks ago. Complete with some three million books, magazines, newspapers, computers, copy machines (even 3D $ Color)
and some 70,000 DVD & blu-ray disks, eBooks & Audiobooks. All free except the copy machines. I guess
way back when, Carnegie got the blame.

Clickety, click.

Wow, that's great, good for you; do they still have copies of the daily newspaper on a rack with those giant sticks through the middle of them. We need those 50.00 sticks, we wouldn't want someone walking off with a .50 newspaper.

I like Napoleonic artwork books, I've got more than I can count in my library, I don't like buying them sight unseen as artwork is a subjective thing, so I'll keep buying from Dennis at OMM when I see him at the wargaming shows. He's one of the few left who actually has a store.

No clickety, click for me.

 

[Peter Reuss]

I can say without any reservation that if I did a search for King and COuntry, First Legion, etc today on the internet and the term "TREEFROG TREASURES" came up would I even remotely think that had anything to do with military soldiers. {sm4}

But we DOMINATE the crossover market for collectors looking for miniature frog figurines!! :tongue:

One of the drawbacks of a storefront is the amount of inventory that gets tied up in displays. Quality displays are a must for a store and they do drive sales, but many collectors don't want a figure that 'has been displayed.' That means one for the shelf and one for the display, which can add up.

While we have a small showroom we recognize that Eyota is not the epicenter of toy soldier collecting! This is a hobby made for the internet: a disbursed collector base with small items (making shipping reasonable). There is nothing like seeing things in person (i.e. shows or shops), but once hooked many collectors prefer the convenience of having their armies brought to their front doors. The challenge for on-line folks is to attract new collectors, which is why we advertise outside the toy soldier world.

 

[jazzeum]

Now you have thousands of bookstores thousands of miles from you, all within an easy click.
Super Markets always carried the best sellers in store. Half of what bookstores charged.

Then there is and was always the local library. Locally a new $50 million library facility just opened
two weeks ago. Complete with some three million books, magazines, newspapers, computers, copy machines (even 3D $ Color)
and some 70,000 DVD & blu-ray disks, eBooks & Audiobooks. All free except the copy machines. I guess
way back when, Carnegie got the blame.

Clickety, click.

Not even close to being the same or better. There's nothing like going to a bookstore, even a B & N, and browsing, whiling your time away in the stacks.

 

[BLReed]

........ There's nothing like going to a bookstore, even a B & N, and browsing, whiling your time away in the stacks.

Yeah, those browsers are big time spenders. Then going home and ordering from Amazon.

At lease Barnes & Noble has been turning a small
profit lately. After closing some stores and laying off 190 Nook people.

"Retail store closings in the U.S. have less to do with economic implications and more to do with
sociological insights. Store closings are no longer about discretionary income as much as they are
about consumer empowerment and how retail consumption is shapeshifting in response to rapidly
changing consumer behaviors and preferences."

 

[jazzeum]

Yeah, I figured someone like you wouldn't understand what a bookshop is all about.

 

[theBaron]

....Then there is and was always the local library...

We have very good libraries here, from our municipal library, tied in to the inter-library loan system, to the university libraries in our area, but the problem is that you have to go there, and they don't necessarily have convenient hours. Our city library closes at 5PM during the week.

Wow, that's great, good for you; do they still have copies of the daily newspaper on a rack with those giant sticks through the middle of them. We need those 50.00 sticks..

Did you ever have sword fights with 'em as a kid? They're like little kendo sticks.

Not even close to being the same or better. There's nothing like going to a bookstore, even a B & N, and browsing, whiling your time away in the stacks.

I found, though, as I got older, that my book buying or browsing habits became more like my general buying habits, that is, I knew what I wanted, so I wanted to get in, get it and get out, and then devour it at home. But I did use to spend time at the mall book stores like Waldenbooks or B. Dalton, when they were still around, looking at new releases.

Prost!
Brad

 

[lancer]

Not even close to being the same or better. There's nothing like going to a bookstore, even a B & N, and browsing, whiling your time away in the stacks.

For a book lover, this post hits the nail on the head. Books and book buying in a store is a very tactile experience, the feel and weight of a book, the smell of the paper and the store itself, the whole adventure of digging through the shelves for an unexpected gem, the chat with the proprietor, all that is lost with the internet. Sure, you can get your book cheaper at Amazon, and don't have to leave your abode, but the whole book buying experience and the pleasure drawn from it, is lost. -- Al

 

[marco55]

Maybe It because I'm getting older but I also miss going to a bookstore or hobby shop.There's something small town doing that and it was just a nice feeling going to the shops.I don't get that sitting in front of my computer or going to Walmart.Oh yeah I almost always bought something.
Mark

 

[Warrior]

Maybe It because I'm getting older but I also miss going to a bookstore or hobby shop.There's something small town doing that and it was just a nice feeling going to the shops.

Bingo.

I must be getting older too because I feel the same way. Some of my greatest memories revolve around trips to stores.

My family was on vacation on Cape Cod and we stopped into the mall there; they had a small hobby shop and I found the Airfix Waterloo Royal Horse Artillery set and several vacuform Bellona pieces.

I walked into Woolworths in the Dedham Mall and there in the toy aisle was the holy grail for me; Waterloo French Infantry, I had been waiting YEARS for them, I bought ten boxes of them.

A new hobby shop opened in Needham MA; Heritage Hobby, so my Dad took me there and I found the new Airfix Africa Corps and 8th Army sets there.

My Mother took me to the South Shore Plaza in Braintree and at a hobby shop there, I found the Airfix French Foreign Legion set and the Arabs, this was right after I had seen Beau Geste (the Telly Savalas/Guy Stockwell version, my favorite).

My family took another vacation to Washington DC and Gettysburg PA and our hotel in Gettysburg was right down the street from Gilberts Hobby Shop and I bought my first ever metal figures, the K & L Civil War figures, still have them.

Just several examples of what you mentioned, I've got dozens more........................

 

[jrsteel]

Yeah, I figured someone like you wouldn't understand what a bookshop is all about.

http://www.bookbarn.com/default.html

Brad if you're in the area, maybe for the Valley Forge show you might want to check this place out. 300,000 books in a 150 year old barn. There's a whole room dedicated to military history.

 

[jazzeum]

Thanks JR. I definitely want to make a visit there ^&cool

 

[marco55]

When I was little we had a Grant's department store and my grandparents would take me there and they had a separate room with nothing but toys in it!It was where I got my first FFL set,my green army men and a ton of other stuff.I was so deep in that room one night my grandparents had to come in to get me and when we emerged from the that room just about all the lights were out and we were locked in. Thankfully the owner was still there and he let us out.To be honest I wouldn't have minded staying there all night as I had a whole big room of toys to play with!^&grin
Mark

 

[lancer]

Now that's what I call a bookstore. It would take days to go through and absorb all that. Outstanding! -- Al

 

[zblang]

I walked into Woolworths in the Dedham Mall and there in the toy aisle was the holy grail for me; Waterloo French Infantry, I had been waiting YEARS for them, I bought ten boxes of them.

What a hell hole that place is now! (the mall I mean)