Model Railroading > Lakewood Calif Hobby Warehouse closed

Stopped by the Hobby Warehouse last week and it's been closed for a while, The rumor has it that the Owner, Gary has passed away. They have been scaling back for quite a while.

Apparently son and wife are not continuing the business.

Anyone have more information?

Watts local

Stopped by today and there is a handwritten note on the door saying closed. Oh well, the store was slowly dying, a mere shadow of the old store that caught fire.

Whoah, this is news to me. Not surprised that the store is closed though as it seemed to have been bitten hard by the bad economy. That's very sad that the owner passed away though! Their train selection shrank drastically though in the past 5 years, as to compared when I 1st started going there they had a great room in the back just for train products & a very cool train guy "Eli" who was very friendly.

You know, I don't know of even one shop owner that stopped ordering railroad inventory, because his customers kept coming in and buying it all up. I do know of countless shop owners who stopped ordering railroad inventory because his "customers" would come into his shop, chew the fat, ask to see items demonstrated, ask how to wire them and how to program them, read the magazines, use the restroom and then leave, go home and order their track, locomotives and rolling stock from wholesaletrains.com or some other Internet dealer, just so they could save the sales tax. It really is a mystery as to why all these old line shops shrivel up and die, isn't it? And when we hear these stories, we always reminisce about what a nice guy the owner was and what a great place his shop "used" to be. Yeah, old Bob or old Bill or old Fred or old Ron or old Dick or old Paul or old Brian. They were all great guys. Can't imagine why none of them are in business anymore.

There was a train shop in Lakewood...news to me. Maybe that's why Fred has not restocked his Athearn cars for several years.

Streamliner Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yeah,
> old Bob or old Bill or old Fred or old Ron or old
> Dick or old Paul or old Brian. They were all
> great guys. Can't imagine why none of them are in
> business anymore.

Don't forget old Allen. :-)

It's not that difficult to create an Internet site and most surviving retail stores have created their own. So, the main difference in cost of operations is in the rental of a retail storefront vs. a warehouse. The real problem that I see is that competition on the Internet is going to be far too intense because pricing will be the principle driver. The need for good service is clearly recognized and can be easily controlled, but pricing of products will be reduced through intense competition to the point that it will be nearly impossible to make a profit. I think we will eventually see a nearly complete shift to direct purchases from manufacturers and elimination of the middleman.

Many of you are also missing the common thread that seems to run through many of these businesses. The proprietors are either retiring or passing away. Like the vast majority of small businesses, unless there is a willing family member or entrepreneur to step up and keep running it, once the driving force behind the shop is gone it is likely on borrowed time. I have seen more shops close up due to the owner passing away, than from internet competition.

That's no different than what I see in many other small specialty shops or restaurants. Without someone there to maintain the legacy, the business tends to end when the owner retires or passes on.

Gary the owner of Hobby Warehouse died just before Thanksgiving. Yes, no train store in Lakewood any longer. Can always stop by the one in Bellflower.

Jeff Smith
Lakewood, CA
RailMaster Hobbies

Shipping is not getting any less expensive. Many times I can match prices at the local hobby stores vs. internet shops if all of the costs are counted. I'm lucky to have 3.5 good railroad shops within about a 50-mile radius of my home. This wasn't true in other areas where I lived previously.