The Economics of RC Boating

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

Since this is a discussion group I thought there may be some of you that would lend a thought in the discussion of this topic.

Without going into a complete economics lecture... I believe everyone is always in favor of cheaper prices. After all, the cheaper we can buy... the more we can buy. Everyone is always for that. But... what happens when the prices get so cheap the company selling the goods can no longer stay in business... then I think the thriftiness becomes a problem for legitimate business owners looking to provide a honest service and make an honest living.

I have thought about this from time to time when I hear about boaters, more specifically showing their concerns about high prices as well as other showing concern about the hobby dieing. It sometimes seems as if boaters are insulted that one actually tries to make a living off of their dollar. I have experieced this in a big way in helping a friend get his hobby business off of the ground.

Now with ebay everyone (and not just boaters) is expecting ebay prices with a store front guarantee. Store front meaning that you get the luxury of going into the store, touching, holding and possibly even seeing a display of the product before buying. And let's not forget the real time response to any questions you might have.

As I mentioned this is the case everywhere in R/C but even more so with boaters... and boaters are quick to complain that hobby shops don't carry boat supplies. But could it be because there are not enough boaters to justify carrying boat supplies?... and if there happens to be an active club near a hobby shop it won't be long before someone in the club decides to contact the distributor directly, pool everyone's money together and by one big batch of plugs or fuel "at cost".

My question is... "Is this really helpful?" Of course it saves you a few bucks and we can all appreciate that... but what about the hobby shop. What about that guy that thought it would be cool to have a business doing something he loves ("R/C") and went out and bought 100s of thousands of dollars in inventory, paid a lease on a building, put out a sign, and paid for some local advertising. How did your quest to save a buck help his business? Many of us fail to realize that those "Store Fronts"... you know those high dollar, high traffic, highly visible areas to on coming traffic? Yah those places are the most advertising that the R/C hobby can get. I mean how many people walk by when you are testing or even racing your boat?... A handful at best and that's only if you are there all day... But a hobby store get's that many in a few minutes. That would be that many potential people to realize their is a Hobby store in their area... and that many that might go into the store... and that many who could possibly be exposed to the hobby of R/C including R/C boating. Therefore that many more people could become possible participants of R/C boating buying into the food chain and feeging it's growth. But this is only possible if each of us supported the hobby shop enough for them to justify carrying the products we need.

Now many of you may say..."Well I will support them if they have what I need" this is the chicken and egg theory. What must come first? Well, I am sure that any hobby shop will carry anything that is asked for enough times becuase he/she will see the demand.

I think this is something we should really think about when we talk about how the hobby seems to be dying. We should think about how each of us contribute to that... if it is in deed true. The fact of the matter is... that things cost money. And if a guy is going to feed his family off of products or services he offers than it should be expected that their will be a few extra dollars added on top of the cost.. It is no different than the few extra dollars that your boss adds on top of the products or services he sells to pay you.

So if any one is interested to share let's discuss this topic. The point isn't to lay blame or point fingers but to bring an awareness to how are actions of each of us work to create the present day situation regarding the support and promotion of R/C boating.

 

[Ron Olson]

What Horizon and some others are doing is trying to help the little guy but making sure that nobody is undercutting prices by having a hobby "Superstore" or a mom and pop outfit as they all have to sell the products for the same price. If I can help to keep "mom and pop" in business with the bigger purchases, I will, even if it costs me a little more by paying state sales tax.

A lot of their profits come from aftermarket parts, espeically those handling the car and truck stuff. The real money isn't in the kits themselves but when you break a part or upgrade it.

We've got a new LHS that does stock boats, the RTR ones but they have zip for parts unless you buy an electric or need other parts that are interchangable from the four-wheeled crowd.

 

[Frosty]

I worked with a good friend of mine at his hobby shop for a few years in the 90's. He had a pretty good thing going. The biggest complaint he had was horizon and tower was killing him. He could not sell his items cheap enough to compete with them and keep his business running. He had a extensive selection of kits and parts and people would still not buy off him. The only thing that kept him alive was his race tracks. It was very frustrating for him.

I have issues finding stuff at the LHS's and myself and some friends have talked to them about stocking boat parts. They are car and plane R/C shops and carry very little boat merchandise and its all old stuff except for the new RTR kits. A friend talked to a manager of one of the shops and he did agree to purchase some marine nitro but very little of it. In the same breath he said he has sold several RTR boat. We are hoping the interest will rise.

I myself do order offline because I'll call the LHS and they say they don't have it but they will order it for me. I can order it myself, get it in the same amount of time, get it cheaper, and pay no tax. If they had it in stock I would have purshased it even at a higher cost. The LHS are there for ease and speed of getting your parts. If they don't stock stuff, which again we have asked, they are no good to me.

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

Most of the larger manufactureres and distributors provide price protection and they are really strict about it, even imposing suspension in service and/or account cancellation if their is a violation. This is fine for the popular planes, helicopters, cars and RTR boat market but the competition boating industry isn't as strict. I quess because the community is so small they do not want to risk destroying a relationship with any customer so they let it ride if someone violates the basic pricing trust. Nevertheless, this is where I see the challenge.

I also work at a R/C Helicopter company that maintains a small store front. I see the guys walk-in and pay $32 for a gallon of 30% with no problem. But see will see a boat hobby dealer have to haggle over prices with boat customers of $30/gal for 60% or anything more than $2 a plug when you can go to a shop and see car plane or helicopter guys buying plus for as much as $7.

Since most hobby dealers that deal in boats are typically much smaller than car and plane hobby dealers they cannot afford to buy the huge quantities that get them a price break but I guess one solution could be rather than getting all your buddies together to buy all your fuel or plugs at the lake get the same guys together and talk to the local hobby dealer to do the same thing. If they see the interest they may start carrying the stuff.

I ran a post a few months ago about the average spending of R/C boaters involved in competition. This ranged from $2500 to $5000 (rouhgly) per year depending on if a boater went to a nationals or not. This is compared to the average $800 to $2000 of cars, and plances (roughly) that I see used in the demographics of Airage publishing. I think if any hobby dealer knew that one boater could potentially spend that much money with them in on year they would be happy to carry anything we need.

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

I worked with a good friend of mine at his hobby shop for a few years in the 90's. He had a pretty good thing going. The biggest complaint he had was horizon and tower was killing him. He could not sell his items cheap enough to compete with them and keep his business running. He had a extensive selection of kits and parts and people would still not buy off him. The only thing that kept him alive was his race tracks. It was very frustrating for him.

I have issues finding stuff at the LHS's and myself and some friends have talked to them about stocking boat parts. They are car and plane R/C shops and carry very little boat merchandise and its all old stuff except for the new RTR kits. A friend talked to a manager of one of the shops and he did agree to purchase some marine nitro but very little of it. In the same breath he said he has sold several RTR boat. We are hoping the interest will rise.

I myself do order offline because I'll call the LHS and they say they don't have it but they will order it for me. I can order it myself, get it in the same amount of time, get it cheaper, and pay no tax. If they had it in stock I would have purshased it even at a higher cost. The LHS are there for ease and speed of getting your parts. If they don't stock stuff, which again we have asked, they are no good to me.

Yah... On site tracks are a big help. It's too bad on site lakes are little harder to come by. . I see the same thing with my friend. But maybe instead of ordering the part yourself let the LHS order it and maybe... just maybe he will order two or three extra and keep them in stock. Slowly but surely his boat inventory could increase that way.... but keep asking and maybe try getting you buddies together to order bulk items like plugs and fuel through your LHS that way he might get an idea of what your group real consumption is.

 

[Scott Schneider]

Roger,

My take on this issue:

Taking all those folks who buy boats and related supplied ... those who actually race are the minority.

Yet those who want trick boats want the best looking/quality equipment they can score.

Because NO part of this HOBBY/SPORT pays you money, it all comes out of pocket. As we all know this Hobby is $$$$$ to play with.

So now comes the equation of the MAJORITY playing in a field where the high end stuff is quite costly.

Because this is a hobby and no part of it's cost one can really justify as needed ... only wanted <_<

What this does is bring in consumers who really cannot afford or justify the cost of the hobby at a level that would make them happy. (ego's of best/fastest/most bad ass being VERY important)

So every nickel & dime is viewed as too much to spend, making every purchase a search for the best price.

** Sure you have area's within the country with strong economies where extra pocket/play money flows freely, but thats the exception and not the rule .. sort of speak. ( Californias bay area is one such place IMO )

In a country that SOOOOO welcomes it's citizens to live beyond their meens, it is not surprizing why the walmarts & like put the small buisness man OUT of buisness. All the Toys/Cars/Electronics and Stuff people want to own sucks there pocket dry because they WANT IT ! ... Not need it

Off my soapbox

Scott

 

[Piston1]

As a consumer here's the way I look at it in order of priorities.

1. Availability. Do you have it in stock ready to ship. Specially for parts, tune pipes, props, hardware, supplies, etc. If the LHS has it in the store I go buy it, cause I want to have it immediately. After that I look at shipping, can I have it overnight (depending were it comes from), two days, three, etc.

2. Technical Support. Technical Support is important and it is probably the most important thing that a supplier can do to promote bussiness. Anything that a vendor can do to save my own quality time is worth the money to me, (sharp and balanced props, sharpened turnfins, drilled and tapped mounts, engine mods, Mod bolt ons, etc., etc., etc. Those items I will get.

3. Big ticket items. For big ticket items like motors radios etc I always shop around to look for best prices. That I will not change.

There's big money in the local hobby shop bussiness if you are willing to risk high dollars and do it right. Just like everything else, you have to risk and invest large amounts of money if you are wanting to make large profits. Under normal condition bussinness profits are directly proportional to the investment.

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

As a consumer here's the way I look at it in order of priorities.

1. Availability. Do you have it in stock ready to ship. Specially for parts, tune pipes, props, hardware, supplies, etc. If the LHS has it in the store I go buy it, cause I want to have it immediately. After that I look at shipping, can I have it overnight (depending were it comes from), two days, three, etc.

2. Technical Support. Technical Support is important and it is probably the most important thing that a supplier can do to promote bussiness. Anything that a vendor can do to save my own quality time is worth the money to me, (sharp and balanced props, sharpened turnfins, drilled and tapped mounts, engine mods, Mod bolt ons, etc., etc., etc. Those items I will get.

3. Big ticket items. For big ticket items like motors radios etc I always shop around to look for best prices. That I will not change.

There's big money in the local hobby shop bussiness if you are willing to risk high dollars and do it right. Just like everything else, you have to risk and invest large amounts of money if you are wanting to make large profits. Under normal condition bussinness profits are directly proportional to the investment.

Good feedback... I hope some hobby shop owners are reading...

Roger,

My take on this issue:

Taking all those folks who buy boats and related supplied ... those who actually race are the minority.

Yet those who want trick boats want the best looking/quality equipment they can score.

Because NO part of this HOBBY/SPORT pays you money, it all comes out of pocket. As we all know this Hobby is $$$$$ to play with.

So now comes the equation of the MAJORITY playing in a field where the high end stuff is quite costly.

Because this is a hobby and no part of it's cost one can really justify as needed ... only wanted <_<

What this does is bring in consumers who really cannot afford or justify the cost of the hobby at a level that would make them happy. (ego's of best/fastest/most bad ass being VERY important)

So every nickel & dime is viewed as too much to spend, making every purchase a search for the best price.

** Sure you have area's within the country with strong economies where extra pocket/play money flows freely, but thats the exception and not the rule .. sort of speak. ( Californias bay area is one such place IMO )

In a country that SOOOOO welcomes it's citizens to live beyond their meens, it is not surprizing why the walmarts & like put the small buisness man OUT of buisness. All the Toys/Cars/Electronics and Stuff people want to own sucks there pocket dry because they WANT IT ! ... Not need it

Off my soapbox

Scott

This is very true... Perhaps the case with all the hobbies. I know for helicopter very few guys compete. It's funny... a lot don't even fly. :lol: Could a solution toward growth to be to down grade a bit? Perhaps focusing on competitive RTR's that are readily available and pull back on perhaps the Twin power 90 rigger? :lol: Naw... never!!! :lol: but maybe contribute to the purchase of popular items that LHs's do have in stock like RTRs. Offering classes to run such boats might be a start.

 

[Tom Foley]

This a very interesting subject that deals so very much with availability and potential participation . Like it or not RC Boat Racing on the level of performance that experienced people have come to enjoy as the norm is a very , very obscure ands specialized hobby . A similar comparison could be model rocketry on the Dad and Son level VS the Extreme rocketeer spending hundreds on a single launch , or a Dad and Son Hot Rod project Vs an Alcohol Funny Car . Obviously this is not a direct parralel but there are some similar issues with both ventures . The local hobby shop could never be expected to supply the fickle and specialized RC boat racer with their ever changing needs first of all because the stuff isn't available readily . Even the most reliable of manufacturers have lead times for delivery because of the high cost of production versus the cheap prices the stuff goes for . Much appreciation goes out to the manufacturers that keep the fire going in this sport without much monetary gain ; and also to the Dads that bring their kids out to race and run .These kids will hopefully keep running and keep the hobby growing in future years . Wish I could do more of it .

 

[Preston_Hall]

There is what I consider to be a large shop in my area. I and others here have probably talked to the owner. The truth is that he usually cannot buy for what others sell for. A loop hole to MAP pricing is the "A", advertised. Have you seen where you have to add to the product to your cart to get the price? See, that price was not actually advertised.

I feel for the LHS, we can buy all we want from them but it will not stop the big guns since it is the big guns we are buying from. Isn't there only about 2 main suppliers now? Monopoly.........

And the monopoly will eventually drive out the LHS.

 

[Scott Norris]

Personally, my local hobby shop carries nothing but RTR boats and practicly no spare parts for any of those because he has weekly shipments come in and can have most any replacement part for the RTR boats in a few days. He likes me because I buy most all of my Servos, Batteries, Switch Harneses, Recievers, Building supplies like Glues & Woods, Brass tubing etc and he has picked up on my buying habits. He knows what I do and respects the fact that I'm not going to buy Hulls, Engines or Hardware from him but he has paid attention to my buying needs and adjusted his inventory to what I buy. His prices are very competitive too. Smart guy and I keep doing business with him because he does this. He is a Hobby USA Franchise and can match prices with the best of the Internet sales.

 

[anthony_marquart]

Not to really change the topic but a quick note. At least in my area, the guys at the LHS are not much help with anything other than telling me where things are. I don't think I know very much about 2 stroke nitro engines, but these guys have even less knowlege about the engines we run. (any nitro engine for that matter) If they were of more help in the LHS I would probably buy more things there. I aksed one guy about setting up a 3rd channel needle servo and he thought I was an idiot. (maybe I am!)

 

[Chris Wood]

roger this is just my take one it.

1. it was brought up already.. on site lake.. it is hard to push products and not have a place for the person to run them on.. we all know that already.

2. I think ( this is just me personally ) talking around the midwest.. it is not a PUBLICLY EXCEPTED HOBBY.. you see kids running cars. airplanes.. but boats?? at least were i am at. it seams to be more a pain then anything.. i talked to the gal at the local hobby shop last week about this.. she would like to push more boat stuff. but there ins't a place to run.. she said she talked to some other hobby shops in other area's and the rtr such as the vegas boat's are blowing out the door's.. that is because they have place's to run with out the hassles.

several years ago ankeny, ia hosted the byron airplane expo.. huge deal.. ten's of thousands attended over the week.. but the city thought is was to much liability to have people watching and shut it down.. after a year or two the mandated that anyone flying planes carried there own insurance for the course of the week. after that it start to die off. this drew in HUGE dollars for the city over the course of the show.. yet they take it away..

same goes for a grand prix race they had down town in the city of des moines.. brought in close to 5 millon dollars the week of the race.. the cops donated there time so it didn't cost the city squat.. now it is gone.. they was worried about the image of des moines and liability.. but they didn't like losing 5 million a year..

I wish i new what the anwser was as i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to open a hobby shop and supply boaters with everything that we currently use and future items. but I believe until we can get MAIN STREAM it will be tough to make a go.

just my thoughts.

chris wood

 

[Wesleys Custom RC]

I am a business man who races. If I thought for 1 second that I could start a sucessfull hobby shop I would but considder this: Lets say Joe Blow wins a race with a OPS pipe. OK, now everyone wants me to keep everything in stock so I go and buy all these OPS pipes. They buy for a while and some get frustrated cuz I can't keep them in stock fast enough. Then Joe Blow goes out and wins a race with a different pipe. Now I've got my money tied up in this big inventory of OPS pipes I can't give away and everybody wants me to stock these new "better" pipes and I have no money to buy them. It sounds crazy but fads happen almost that fast. Especially in racing. Thats why you see guys like Cooper and Erwin making and selling stuff out of their garage and doing well. They have little overhead, nearly no stock onthe shelf and they can go on to a different design any day of the week. And they can sell direct to save the customer money. Not many hobby shops in the country have been able to absorb the losses from these trends and survive. Als Hobby shop in Chicago is surviving only because they now do mail order along with their vast inventory and good service people. Let's face it, If I want something today, I go to this site, talk to somebody, find out what is working, look at a picture, talk to the guy who makes it and order it all in about 30 minutes. If I want , I can have it the next day. All by siting my lazy butt down at the computer.

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

I am a business man who races. If I thought for 1 second that I could start a sucessfull hobby shop I would but considder this: Lets say Joe Blow wins a race with a OPS pipe. OK, now everyone wants me to keep everything in stock so I go and buy all these OPS pipes. They buy for a while and some get frustrated cuz I can't keep them in stock fast enough. Then Joe Blow goes out and wins a race with a different pipe. Now I've got my money tied up in this big inventory of OPS pipes I can't give away and everybody wants me to stock these new "better" pipes and I have no money to buy them. It sounds crazy but fads happen almost that fast. Especially in racing. Thats why you see guys like Cooper and Erwin making and selling stuff out of their garage and doing well. They have little overhead, nearly no stock onthe shelf and they can go on to a different design any day of the week. And they can sell direct to save the customer money. Not many hobby shops in the country have been able to absorb the losses from these trends and survive. Als Hobby shop in Chicago is surviving only because they now do mail order along with their vast inventory and good service people. Let's face it, If I want something today, I go to this site, talk to somebody, find out what is working, look at a picture, talk to the guy who makes it and order it all in about 30 minutes. If I want , I can have it the next day. All by siting my lazy butt down at the computer.

I see your point. In your example however, the key would be to have your own crew that races and runs the parts you want to endorse. Then when they win they send those interested in your product to your hobby shop.

My motto.

Sponsor the best... and sell to the rest!

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

roger this is just my take one it.

1. it was brought up already.. on site lake.. it is hard to push products and not have a place for the person to run them on.. we all know that already.

2. I think ( this is just me personally ) talking around the midwest.. it is not a PUBLICLY EXCEPTED HOBBY.. you see kids running cars. airplanes.. but boats?? at least were i am at. it seams to be more a pain then anything.. i talked to the gal at the local hobby shop last week about this.. she would like to push more boat stuff. but there ins't a place to run.. she said she talked to some other hobby shops in other area's and the rtr such as the vegas boat's are blowing out the door's.. that is because they have place's to run with out the hassles.

several years ago ankeny, ia hosted the byron airplane expo.. huge deal.. ten's of thousands attended over the week.. but the city thought is was to much liability to have people watching and shut it down.. after a year or two the mandated that anyone flying planes carried there own insurance for the course of the week. after that it start to die off. this drew in HUGE dollars for the city over the course of the show.. yet they take it away..

same goes for a grand prix race they had down town in the city of des moines.. brought in close to 5 millon dollars the week of the race.. the cops donated there time so it didn't cost the city squat.. now it is gone.. they was worried about the image of des moines and liability.. but they didn't like losing 5 million a year..

I wish i new what the anwser was as i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to open a hobby shop and supply boaters with everything that we currently use and future items. but I believe until we can get MAIN STREAM it will be tough to make a go.

just my thoughts.

chris wood

I think it is really important for clubs and/or individuals to secure lake sites. I know it can be hard some time and local government can make it even more difficult. For this reason we have to be more creative and more social with local government staff. I think some times we as boaters are a little self centered. All we want is to run our boats and for one to bother us. What we fail to realize that usually for us to run our boats relies on us to take advantage of someone elses efforts. Since this is true we need to think how we can contribute to that collective group as a whole.

A friend of mine who runs a hobby shop came up with a unique angle. He says R/C can be the activity for those kids who aren't the academic or sports aces but it still allows them to get out of the house and apply some basic skills in problem solving, engineering, discipline, and hand/eye coordination. It can also be a legitimate family activity where everyone can realistically participate and be competitive no matter what their size age or gender. On top of that if you apply some simple basics in safety it is almost impossible to get injured or cause injury to someone else. Saturday Peewee league soccer can even make that claim.

Kids, and Family is always a strong point. The fact that Mom, Dad, brother, sister, grandma and grandpa can all do this on the same day one against on another is just about unheard of in anything else. That's what I focus on when presenting the hobby.

 

[Wesleys Custom RC]

I am a business man who races. If I thought for 1 second that I could start a sucessfull hobby shop I would but considder this: Lets say Joe Blow wins a race with a OPS pipe. OK, now everyone wants me to keep everything in stock so I go and buy all these OPS pipes. They buy for a while and some get frustrated cuz I can't keep them in stock fast enough. Then Joe Blow goes out and wins a race with a different pipe. Now I've got my money tied up in this big inventory of OPS pipes I can't give away and everybody wants me to stock these new "better" pipes and I have no money to buy them. It sounds crazy but fads happen almost that fast. Especially in racing. Thats why you see guys like Cooper and Erwin making and selling stuff out of their garage and doing well. They have little overhead, nearly no stock onthe shelf and they can go on to a different design any day of the week. And they can sell direct to save the customer money. Not many hobby shops in the country have been able to absorb the losses from these trends and survive. Als Hobby shop in Chicago is surviving only because they now do mail order along with their vast inventory and good service people. Let's face it, If I want something today, I go to this site, talk to somebody, find out what is working, look at a picture, talk to the guy who makes it and order it all in about 30 minutes. If I want , I can have it the next day. All by siting my lazy butt down at the computer.

I see your point. In your example however, the key would be to have your own crew that races and runs the parts you want to endorse. Then when they win they send those interested in your product to your hobby shop.

My motto.

Sponsor the best... and sell to the rest!

Your right to a degree. Every series we have ran in there was somebody racing and selling their products. That works for somebody who is financing their hobby but to do it on a large scale you then either have to hire people to race and promote your stuff or give them free stuff and hope they push it. Either way you have to sell alot to pay for all that advertising money you just spent. Or raise your prices. If you do that then they will touch, feel and talk to your guys then, when they get home they call Tower Hobby. I know people and even your friends will do that. I had a True Value hardware store and the guys at the coffee shop complained about having to buy foreign stuff ( nothing against our foreign friends out there). But when I had an american made hammer next to a foreign made hammer of the same quality the American made stuff just collected dust cuz they were $.75 to $1. higher for a $16. hammer. It's in our genes I guess. We want to save a penny at any cost, even to our own distruction.

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

I am a business man who races. If I thought for 1 second that I could start a sucessfull hobby shop I would but considder this: Lets say Joe Blow wins a race with a OPS pipe. OK, now everyone wants me to keep everything in stock so I go and buy all these OPS pipes. They buy for a while and some get frustrated cuz I can't keep them in stock fast enough. Then Joe Blow goes out and wins a race with a different pipe. Now I've got my money tied up in this big inventory of OPS pipes I can't give away and everybody wants me to stock these new "better" pipes and I have no money to buy them. It sounds crazy but fads happen almost that fast. Especially in racing. Thats why you see guys like Cooper and Erwin making and selling stuff out of their garage and doing well. They have little overhead, nearly no stock onthe shelf and they can go on to a different design any day of the week. And they can sell direct to save the customer money. Not many hobby shops in the country have been able to absorb the losses from these trends and survive. Als Hobby shop in Chicago is surviving only because they now do mail order along with their vast inventory and good service people. Let's face it, If I want something today, I go to this site, talk to somebody, find out what is working, look at a picture, talk to the guy who makes it and order it all in about 30 minutes. If I want , I can have it the next day. All by siting my lazy butt down at the computer.

I see your point. In your example however, the key would be to have your own crew that races and runs the parts you want to endorse. Then when they win they send those interested in your product to your hobby shop.

My motto.

Sponsor the best... and sell to the rest!

Your right to a degree. Every series we have ran in there was somebody racing and selling their products. That works for somebody who is financing their hobby but to do it on a large scale you then either have to hire people to race and promote your stuff or give them free stuff and hope they push it. Either way you have to sell alot to pay for all that advertising money you just spent. Or raise your prices. If you do that then they will touch, feel and talk to your guys then, when they get home they call Tower Hobby. I know people and even your friends will do that. I had a True Value hardware store and the guys at the coffee shop complained about having to buy foreign stuff ( nothing against our foreign friends out there). But when I had an american made hammer next to a foreign made hammer of the same quality the American made stuff just collected dust cuz they were $.75 to $1. higher for a $16. hammer. It's in our genes I guess. We want to save a penny at any cost, even to our own distruction.

Well my friend seems to be carving a niche as a aftermarket hobby dealer. He has several guys who come in for the latest and in bling and speed. They don't race in an organized circuit... just with their friends. But they still want to go faster... want the hardware or the polished look. This probably sums up the entire market. You don't have to race within and organization to have the desire for more... whethet it's more speed... more bling or anthing... just more of it so your friends can ask... "Where did you get that?" People tend t want the inside track on the latest. They want to know before everyone else... At least with my experiences. They all want to say they have the latest and greatest. You won't get that from a Tower Hobby.

But back to the point. I know there are many challenges with the present day situation and our LHS but there has to be a catalyst some where or we can never see an improvement. I just want to make people aware of what could be done to make an improvement. The local hobby shop has the highest amount of regular traffic of people most likely to try out R/C boating. I think that is a tremendous source of new hobbyist that most of us have given up on... And with the RTR boats there are even more willing to try it out. I just want to put it in people's mind that next time they stop by a hobby shop looking for something... make it a point to let the owner know, who you are and what you are looking for. Encourage them to support you so you can support them in return. But don't just do it once... make it habbit. Tell them what you will need and 20 other guys like you at the beginning of the season or in the off season. Make it clear that you have money to spend and right now your spending somewhere else because you don't see what you are looking for in their store.

 

[Wesleys Custom RC]

Hay, don't get me wrong. I'm not really a pesamist, hell I can't even spell it. Maby these young guns are finding something at their local store they can't get at Tower Hobbies. If I can find a nich market i'll jump head first. I just gotta know it's not short term. I have the upmost respect for your friend and any body who tries a new business. It's just about the hardest thing you will ever do but it has the best rewards for those who succeed. When you can go home at the end of the day and say I made someone happy today and even made a little money doing it, thats cool.

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

Hay, don't get me wrong. I'm not really a pesamist, hell I can't even spell it. Maby these young guns are finding something at their local store they can't get at Tower Hobbies. If I can find a nich market i'll jump head first. I just gotta know it's not short term. I have the upmost respect for your friend and any body who tries a new business. It's just about the hardest thing you will ever do but it has the best rewards for those who succeed. When you can go home at the end of the day and say I made someone happy today and even made a little money doing it, thats cool.

No problem... I didn't see you as making pesimistic statements... just another point of view to add to the discussion. After all isn't that what this is a "Discussion Board"? Thanks for your input and perhaps people reading this will get some ideas of their own to promote our hobby.