Despite these days of internet shopping there is still a big need for the high street model shop,however they are getting a bit thin on the ground these days with the sheer cost of filling those shelves ! in my time I have been involved with the setting up of 5 model shops one of which I owned myself for several years and certainly know all about the pitfalls involved,the biggest problem for traders today is stocking the wide variety of different interests,ie boats,cars,aircraft,tanks,railways,kites,diecasts etc etc it is just not possible to specialise in every different field and dealers need to keep to a particular theme,for example there are quite a few specialists in plastic kits around which has proved to be a lucrative market,dont forget that whilst you could be led to thinking that your local shop does not fulfill your needs they cannot cater for the minority interest ! at one time model shops used to stock lots of the materials required to build models from scratch,this is not the case today where the ARTF field has started to dominate the shelves,without going into the whys and wherefores of this aspect it is important to remember that survival is the paramount thing in your dealers mind,he needs to survive through thick and thin in every season,in the summer months where everyone is flying he could sell upwards of 50 gallons of fuel every week,but what happens during the winter months ? spare a thought for this when you moan at him for not stocking this and that ! it just is not possible to do so.
Many of the long established shops have now vanished for good,their owners have retired and taken with them the a lifetimes knowledge,a sad fact but true,following in their footsteps are the large supply houses who have full page ads in the monthly magazines,now here is something else to make you think ? have you ever wondered who purchases those twenty odd model mags in your local newsagent ? well I can reveal that most of them are purchased by absolute raw beginners who have never made a model in their life,surprised,well not really because those that actually reach the goal of building their own dream machine are in a minority,you the reader here probably fit this category of achieving success,you have achieved your goal by years of hard work which brings success,but we are always learning every day.
What I would like you to do is tell us about your local model shop and how you rate their service,you dont need to mention any name just tell us about how his services have helped you or otherwise ? you will be recording a dieing breed of commerce and social history-The ordinary high street model shop. :wavetowel
Many of the long established shops have now vanished for good,their owners have retired and taken with them the a lifetimes knowledge,a sad fact but true,following in their footsteps are the large supply houses who have full page ads in the monthly magazines,now here is something else to make you think ? have you ever wondered who purchases those twenty odd model mags in your local newsagent ? well I can reveal that most of them are purchased by absolute raw beginners who have never made a model in their life,surprised,well not really because those that actually reach the goal of building their own dream machine are in a minority,you the reader here probably fit this category of achieving success,you have achieved your goal by years of hard work which brings success,but we are always learning every day.
What I would like you to do is tell us about your local model shop and how you rate their service,you dont need to mention any name just tell us about how his services have helped you or otherwise ? you will be recording a dieing breed of commerce and social history-The ordinary high street model shop. :wavetowel
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