Hobby Shops in South Africa

Good Afternoon chaps

Here's a question that effects us all...
(and apologies upfront to any business owners)

Dont you think that kit prices are kind of getting a little out of hand?

Seems the likes kits from Europe and the UK are managing still to keep the prices in the 'affordable' range, with ref 1/48th Airfix vehicle range, new Airfix and Revell releases.
Kits from the East however, it seems is open season.
The new Tamiya NSR 500 is expected to be on the shelves at 8-900 bucks, ZM aircraft kits are going for 3-5000 (yup, i've seen them)
and Tamiya armour kits keep going up every month it seems...

Is it the shopowners fault, adding too much profit, the suppliers?
Whats your opinion

Steve

I for one have no problem supporting my LHS -IF they are reasonable. It's easy to judge reasonable too. If I compare their price to what it would cost me to land a kit in my hand if I ordered from - say Hannants, and they are more than 10% dearer, then I rather order on the net. Sometimes it's not the LHS that's the problem though, the importer is usually where the excess charge happens.

Personally I think we better knock this one on the head before it gets ugly. One mans hobby shop is another mans reason to grumble and grumble they will!

junglie wrote:

Personally I think we better knock this one on the head before it gets ugly. One mans hobby shop is another mans reason to grumble and grumble they will!

Nah let everybody have their say, i really want this to be a place where moderating is a last resort - and we always have Bullshit Berties if it has to be used. Difference of opinion is good, it's when it becomes personal that I have a problem.

I dont really have a local, I buy from all over, but the majority of what I buy is off the Internet.
And for one simple reason, its cheaper.

Most of what I buy in the shops, are impulse buys, and i wont really choose one shop over another, if its a couple of bucks cheaper, its basically if they have it ill buy it.
But i can understand what colin is saying, its easy for it to break down into a 'my local is better because.." and yours sucks because they dont have free hors'd'ouvres and naked dancing grils...

If theres 6 shops in Gauteng, then support all six... simple

Steve

MAD STEVE wrote:

I dont really have a local, I buy from all over, but the majority of what I buy is off the Internet.
And for one simple reason, its cheaper.

Most of what I buy in the shops, are impulse buys, and i wont really choose one shop over another, if its a couple of bucks cheaper, its basically if they have it ill buy it.
But i can understand what colin is saying, its easy for it to break down into a 'my local is better because.." and yours sucks because they dont have free hors'd'ouvres and naked dancing grils...

If theres 6 shops in Gauteng, then support all six... simple

Steve

amen

Hi guy's, I might have been coming at this topic from the wrong direction in that I was thinking it was going turn into a slanging match from the start. So forgive me for that.
I don't or didn't have a preference for any shop in Greater Jo'burg, in fact I was quite lazy in that I used one shop in particular, if they didn't have what I wanted I wouldn't go to another to get what I wanted.
However, there was one shop that gave me the zig so unless I was desperate I avoided it.

Down here on the Garden Route we have but one shop and that's mainly radio controlled modelling,. They've startes stocking Tamiya jars and raattle cans but not much else, so for that I'm using a shop in CT run by one of the Cape modelling club guys and he sends me what I want.

Like Steve I get what I want from overseas but I use a barter system but then my tastes are quite perocial in that it's helos or bikes.

So I'v got through it without slagging anyone and I'm still in one piece!