Model Railroading > Caboose Hobbies - Closed - Lakewood, CO

Caboose Hobbies in Lakewood, Colorado, is Permanently Closed-!  I realize an earlier post mentioned this but the subject heading was rather vague.  Images from visit on 16 December 2020.

Anyone know how to correct the first image orientation-?  It shows empty shelves.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/20 13:59 by cozephyr.

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Image 1 - Another potential customer showed up at 10800 West Alameda Avenue on Wednesday, 16 December 2020.

Image 2 - Former Denver & Rio Grande Western caboose at Caboose Hobbies 16 December 2020 in Lakewood, CO, USA.

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For sale sign at 10800 West Alameda Ave, Lakewood, CO, 16 December 2020.

The Rio Grande caboose is holding up well at Caboose Hobbies.  Wonder if its up for sale-?

 

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cozephyr Wrote:
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> Anyone know how to correct the first image
> orientation-?  It shows empty shelves.

Here you go.
GK

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Yeah their website was down when I tried it Monday afternoon.

I wonder what Caboose Public Benefit Corporation intends to do.  The Caboose FB site seems to be a social media meeting place in recent months for train enthusiasts.  That's great for that bunch, but it seems unclear what the on-going operations will be.  Very vague.
 

I wonder how much the caboose is?
JB

Do they have the box for the Caboose?

Posted from Android

It might be hard for a museum or historical society to spring for the caboose for fair market value unless private or donated funds are provided.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

3rdswitch Wrote:
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> I wonder how much the caboose is?
> JB



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/20 15:39 by wabash2800.

Re: Moving the Caboose. Wonder how far it is to the nearest railroad track?

Rumors are, D&RGW caboose is:

Going to the CRRM in Golden.
Going to Heber Valley RR in Utah.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/20 16:36 by RioGrandeRod.

Sorry for this...

In addition to not having a box, I understand the caboose manufacturer only accepts parts orders at list prices, does not communicate anticipated shipping dates, and has no inventory of spares...

Kinda sad to watch this place die....twice  ×   

Caboose was never Caboose Hobbies. Caboose Hobbies only died once in 2016. The secret sauce died with it.

Posted from Android

Unless a long distance, something like this will be hauled over the road.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

PHall Wrote:
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> Re: Moving the Caboose. Wonder how far it is to
> the nearest railroad track?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/20 18:18 by wabash2800.

I'll donate some money to get that caboose to travel the short 10 or 11 miles to CRRM in Golden.  Anyone else?  It can join up with some of the other newer Rio Grande equipment that is starting to see some restoration progress.

Bill Kepner

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/20 07:46 by drgw0579.

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SPDRGWfan Wrote:
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> Caboose was never Caboose Hobbies. Caboose
> Hobbies only died once in 2016. The secret sauce
> died with it.
>

Personal experience: The secret sauce was dried up before 2016.

So what happens to the deposits placed on orders say, in mid-2019?  Are we just SOL?

RoadForeman Wrote:
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> So what happens to the deposits placed on orders
> say, in mid-2019?  Are we just SOL?

Possibly.  Here is a post from October by Iowa Scaled Engineering who makes Proto Throttle for what it's worth:

Cheers,
Jim

"Iowa Scaled Engineering

As small business owners, we hate to disparage other small businesses in the hobby – and within model railroading, most everything qualifies as a small business. We’re all trying to make a few dollars while providing products and services our fellow modelers want. However, we hit the breaking point a couple weeks ago. Let me get straight to the issue:

Do not do business with Caboose in Lakewood, CO. They don’t pay manufacturers, they don’t fulfill customer pre-orders (or refund down payments), and they don’t communicate.

We have a rather unique arrangement with our dealers, since there’s not the margin in products like the ProtoThrottle to give the usual dealer discount from manufacturers (typically ~60% of MSRP). The arrangement is that we carry the inventory so no payment needs to be made until an item sells. Once the item sells and the dealer has cash in hand, we invoice them for a cost that roughly splits the profits. Once we’ve been paid, we’ll ship them more product.   It’s a win-win – we get greater sales and the dealer makes money with no cost of inventory. 

Or rather, it’s a win-win until some dealer sells the product and decides to just pocket the cash rather than paying up.

Enter Caboose.Last summer (2019), they sold 4 regular ProtoThrottles, 1 black ProtoThrottle, 2 NCE receivers, and 4 ESU/WiThrottle receivers. We invoiced them on September 6 for a total of $2598. Attached is the invoice if you’re curious (edited so we don’t quite reveal our dealer pricing). We then contacted them again in late September 2019, visited in person in October 2019 to deliver a paper invoice, and then continued to send certified mail, email and call them in March, June, September, and twice in October 2020. We have been far beyond reasonably patient with them. The only acknowledgement we have received to our last three queries was a single cryptic sentence last week. While it didn’t address any of the issues, it did confirm they are receiving and ignoring our communication.

COVID is not an excuse. These items were sold and they had the cash in hand for them six months before the pandemic even emerged from China.It’s not just manufacturers experiencing Caboose’s unethical behavior – it’s customers as well. I personally pre-ordered 5x N scale Rapido 8-40CMs from them on October 10, 2018, putting down a $292.45 down payment. At the time, I wanted to support them as a local model railroad shop. Neither the 8-40CMs nor a refund on the down payment has ever shown up, and the ones I ordered through other sources arrived a month ago (Sept 2020). Emails go unreturned. My assumption is that they never received the product to sell, and given our experience with them as a manufacturer, I certainly have a guess as to why. My assumption is also that my down payment money is long gone, and there’s nothing in the coffers to refund it.

A normal business would take them to a court of law. Michael, Scott, and I have day jobs that actually pay the bills, the amount is relatively small, and there’s an old adage about blood and turnips that applies here. So instead, we’re taking our case first to the court of public opinion – our fellow modelers. If Caboose pays their year-late invoice in full and either refunds my down payment or delivers my 8-40CMs, I will post an update to this story. In the meantime, please share this with your friends."

Having worked in a hobby shop in college (while working on an accounting degree) it was a harsh introduction to business when I was a hobbyist.   I was rapidly drafted into assisting with the financial side of things and not just doing sales.

First, it was, and is, a brutually seasonal business.   Christmas stores may have the same sales curve, you starve in the summer and get flooded two or three months of the year.  But many expenses are fixed and regular.  During the summer we made more money from two pop vending machines out front than inside sales.

Second, it's expensive.  Most things are NOT on consignment, and it's cash to the vendors.   A 40% markup was typical, so that's your margin, but you can rapidly conclude that if you want to make a 'minimum' wage of $35,000 a year today you need to cover almost $100K of sales to cover that.   That's before fixed occupation costs of of rent, insurance, and anybody to help you out.   And not all product has that margin, you're going to discount that for 'sales' and 'clearances', and some stuff will just gather dust.   

Now, most retail and hobby shops survive on inventory loans, which during my era had brutal and near punitive interest rates.   And the store owner, bless his soul, couldn't understand that he was loosing his shirt stocking Lionel that actually had a lower markup percentage (net of sale price) than his inventory loans.   But he loved Lionel, and literally said 'we make it up on volume!'.   About 40% of our sales were Lionel, high dollar value, but on borrowed money.   You can see where this is going.

It was a fun two years, but one day I came to work and found an IRS padlock and notice on the door, he hadn't submitted payroll taxes.   He sawed it off, opened the store, pretended it never happened.   I finished school, and a couple months later the store closed and was sold at auction - bank had foreclosed on him for not paying his inventory loan.   The 'other' clerk (who was a great modeler but a high-school dropout) decided to get a loan, buy it and restart it, he did in a new location.  He lasted about four months before he went broke doing it as well.

The most recent attempt in the same town involved a general craft and hobby shop with a wonderful selection including trains but used part of what had been a carpet warehouse as an indoor RC racing track and a big one.   Only about  50% of the store was actual retail, and a lot of it was low-dollar value craft materials.    They finally closed - surprise - the utilities costs of that building were eating them alive in the winter.   One partner moved the train-only retail to a much smaller site, he's surviving, but its a post-retirement job for something to do.   He's more realistic than most.   The other local 'hobby shop' in our area is combined with a marina/boat sales, he's kept the lights on for years with that approach as that's two horribly seasonal businesses under one roof with one person.   You can ask about outboard motors and DCC throttles to the same guy.

Bottom line, this is a tough business, and if you're good enough to actually keep one going you could probably succeed in something else that was a lot easier to do.   I still get asked if I want to open up a hobby shop, and by this time you can answer that one yourself.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/20 13:16 by randgust.