I have found this an interesting thread that talks a lot about folks understanding of business and capitalism. However, since my nearest LHS is in Grand Junction, CO, 90 miles away and Caboose Hobbies in Denver is where I go most often - maybe 3 times per year - I do not make sympathy buys. Nevertheless, without LHS's our hobby is in trouble. I obviously buy a lot on line, yet it makes me think of buying automobiles on-line. I need to see, experience, touch, etc many of my purchases to be confident of these purchases even if I have to buy on-line since i live i such a remote area. It seems to me a huge conundrum. I have no answer. Jack
Guilty , but now most , 99.9999% , is on line so that stops that nonsense . The buy was to 1/2 show support (sympathy) , and 1/2 to not look like a dead beat modeler (guilt/shame) .
I am guilty of this just the other day.......... I called for a part at a local train store, but I was a couple of days late to pick it up. It was a $6 part, and well I felt a little guilty so I also picked up an Athearn F45 to check them out. The bad part is I do like these, and will get more online......
Athearn (Horrizon Hobby) is the last hold out to not sell to brick and mortar shops. I personally do not understand this mentality , but as more shops seem to go by the wayside it would seem as though they would sell less and less. Even I have to buy my Athearn items at an LHS. Mike
Sympathy for ME! I am an impulse buyer - I like to touch it and look in the box. Most of my purchases come from a LHS. Where I can get advice and ask questions. Twice I have made a sympathy purchase. In the late 80's, early 90's I traveled most of mid USA on business. In Kansas City I stopped by a Mom and POP train store. The elderly women behind the counter was talking to two men about her husband who was not well (he was laying on a cot behind a curtain in the back room) but looked up and thanked me for stopping by. Please look around and if I needed help please ask. I over heard her say that they were going to have to close the store and another LHS was going to buy them out. I looked around at the great inventory and made a sympathy purchase. At the counter she took 20% off and thanked me for taking my time to shop her store. While in Plainfield, IL I stopped by what looked like a store in the lower part of a home. The owner looked to need the sale and was very nice so I made a purchase of 4 car kits. He then said thanks for my purchase and I could have a gift. He proceeded to place a box of 10x12 black and white photos of trains, yards and stations around the Chicago area and said to pick one. I noticed they were from the 40's - 50's. I took the one I wanted and purchased four others at $2 each. Some time there are rewards for sympathy buying?
GREAT example- I picked up an Atlas Classic U-boat in ATSF yesterday off the sale shelf at the LHS. I asked if I could run it, and the guy I was shooting the breeze with let me back behind the counter to do my own thing on their tester. I got the loco all lined up, and put it back & forth across the tracks. I was able to see that it had poor LED placement behind the lights, it has a buzz I didn't like, and it had a tough time on their (clean) Unitrack turnout. I was highly unimpressed. It reminded me of why I like to play before I buy- sometimes the things we think we want, we really don't..... and what a waste of $60 that would have been!
My local store is a mom and pop store and I always make an effort to purchase from them simply because they are such friendly people and often give discount on sizable purchases. They don't have a very large variety so anything I don't find in their store I'll purchase online.
