need everyones opinion.....

[EXTREME RC]

i run a hobby shop in pa. currently working on a new store as i type.
i am kickin aroung the idea of having a "club card" for the shop...like at the grocery store. idea would be able to offer specials, pricing, deals thru it, whick takes maintance on my end. not a big problem. OR........do i follow tower hobbies pricing as i do now and offer everyone "tower pricing" with out having card to carry around. i like the 2nd idea, cause reguardless of what amount is spent the customer is getting a good price. with no questions asked.
(and doesn't have to pay shipping)

how do some of your local hobby shops work?

thanks for the insight!!!!!!

extreme r/c

 

[beason]

ok heres my opinnion..

haveing good prices is great.. and being able to match towers prices is REALLY great. but even tower has a membership thing. i think you could do both. people will pay a small amount over towers price for the convienence of having it right then. (if you have it in stock) you could do membership for "scratch and dent" or when something new comes out the members get first dibs. or put a few things a month on membership only sale. if you do repairs maby a cheeper price on that to. or if you have a track, they get a discount on it.

but keep your prices just a bit over tower, unless you have to order it. kinda like if you want it now its 25 bux, if you can wait ill do it for 22.

 

[wannarunem]

yeah what he said...

Do you have a track?

 

[EXTREME RC]

thanks guys...i like the track idea!!! yeah we have a track, pretty big too. nice driverstand. maybe a bashin park added to it this spring!!
this site rocks!! and the member too!!!
keep sendin the ideas!!!! thanks!!

wannarunem...go www.buckrc.com scroll down on home page to "youth awareness day" click on link. pics pop up of store, track and flying field.
(i am one in white hat in hobby shop) surf around on that site. complete lay out of complex and shop

 

[Revo Rancher]

Not that I will ever likely be in your area to stop buy and purchase, let me tell you what one LHS in my area does. They give a 5% discount for credit card purchases over 100.00, 10% for all cash and none for check purchases. (It's actually a model train store, one of my many other hobbies)

 

[EXTREME RC]

Good Idea..sounds Like He Is Staying Away From Bad Checks, And Rewarding At The Same Time....how Is His Pricing?

 

[dougc]

We have something called a red card... They scan it everytime you buy something. It also keeps track of what you buy. For every 400$ you spend you recive 20$ back... I think that is 5% of what you buy. Also their prices are high.

At another LHS They also have a card... it is a punch card. for every 500$ you spend you recive 10$ back I know its not much but their prices are better than tower hobbies.

 

[wannarunem]

thanks for the link...nice shop ya got there!! Thats awesome what you guys are doing with those kids. They will remember those fun days for the rest of their lives.

Back when I didnt know squat about r/c...my LHS would fix my car/truck for free. If you would do that for those kids (if your not already) they will be loyal customers for life. A lot of LHS do not recognize that strategy...but it works man. Keep up the good work your doing!

 

[Revo Rancher]

His pricing is dead on. As you know, in R'C's and model trains, most buying is done from a few large distributors. Even Great PLains and Horizon Hobbies have thier fingers into model trains now.

Anyhow, his pricing is right with the other train shops in this area. In fact, most others are the same or higher. (Allied Model Trains in Culver City, CA comes to mind)

Some of the prices are more or less fixed. For example, Micro-Trains sets the price onthe product. It is against thier contracts for any first retailer to charge more than the pre-set price.

I almost exclusively buy all my model train items from this shop unless I find a killer deal on-line. Same for my favorite LHS for R/C's, Rob's R/C Hobbies in Garden Grove. His prices meet or beat all local stores like Ultimate Hobbies in Orange, CA, plus he can match many online prices from Tower (uses the same distributor pricing I have been told).

 

[FastEddy]

This subject hits close to home. I have just gotten done researching this issue for my stores. Offering good prices is a must but people will come to you , or not come to you a variety of other reasons as well. An incentive plan is a good thing. People love to either be a VIP or know what there is a pot of gold along the trail for them to collect.

I notice you are using a Cash register. This day and age there is no reason for this. ALL your distributors have their data setup and ready to import into a POS. From there many of the POS systems will allow you to track your customers purchases and to award incentives to them in many ways.

Its always cool to ring up a sale and be able to show the customer that they got a 5% or a 10% discount because that are a VIP or to be able to say WOW because you spent X$ in the last 90 days you got a $10 discount. All of this is done automaticly in the background.

My LHS isn't always the cheapest around but if you do your Tower research they will match their price by giving a store credit on your next perchance for the difference in price plus 10%. If tower was 10.00 less I would get a 11. store credit. For the most part its all PR fu=fu because they are usually within a few cents to a few dollars in pricing.

I didn't catch if you were the store owner or a manager. If your the owner, or going to open your own store the POS cash register is or should be the foundation of your CRM, POS, and ordering system. this makes up everything in your back office minus an accounting system. Its a true investment but will pay off in time, making sure your product is in stock, sell through forecasting, employee honesty, and incentive programs.

If you need any of my research results for POS LMK.

 

[Revo Rancher]

Rob's R/C just went POS system about 6 months ago. I helped a bit with the set up. Seemed like a lot of work, but now they have it working smooth and inventory/reordering is much easier and more precise. Plus, they can spot trends and change their order to reflect the trend.

Fortunately, for my business, i do not have to deal with this, and with my wife's (now) former private business, she did not either as any software needed for monitering shop income was offered as part of the franchise.

 

[EXTREME RC]

Yo Fast Eddy!!!! Man Good Info...here Is The Scoop. My Family Owns The Shop. Right Beside The Shop We Just Built A Brand New Grocery Store. Which Is The Main Business Venture, I And My Brothers/cousins Operate Both Locations. We Are In Our 4 Generation Of This Thing, Which Is Fun!!!! Now, We Are Completely Computerized,pos..etc...the Whole Nine. The Shop That You Are Seeing Was Expanded Very Quickly With Remodel In Mind. New Shop....i Have A Killer System Coming. Thanks For The Thoughts......totally Agree With Everything...

 

[Monkey Wrench]

The LHS here has a hobby club card. For every $100.00 spent, you get a $5.00 off coupon that you can use next time. What I like about this set-up is that it doesn't require $100.00 spend in one trip. You can bank it and roll it over. In addition, his prices are good. Some things he can touch Tower on, others he can't, but he's got a couple things going for him. One, he's close and two, he's a good guy. I'll spend a bit more for a guy that remembers my name every time I walk in the door. THAT, is customer service!

 

[EXTREME RC]

Revo Rancher...trends Is A Big Thing That I Need...easier From Year To Order For "the Season" Great Info...what Are The Biggest Trends Out There Car Wise For You Guys? Here Is The Traxxas,ofna. Ofna Huge Since I Put Track In.

Money Wrench.....you Nailed It!!!! Customer Service Goes Alot Farther Than Some Kick A@# Pos System. Especially In This Industry!! What Do Run??

 

[Revo Rancher]

This year, from what I have seen while hanging around, it's less T-Maxx, more Revo, Truggy, buggy, and LOTS of mini MT's like the Mini T.

For me, I have been into electric planes and TC's, but that is because it is winter and we can do those things here in SoCal in the winter.

Good luck! Looks like you have the monopoly there on groceries and hobbies in that small town!

 

[Plaidfish]

I enjoy getting the poop talkers in the LHS.....everyone gets a lil flak for breaking stuff, I guess I play along w/ it and fire it right back so it's a fun place to go when I need to pick up RC stuff OR be insulted for a stupid mistake...that's what makes me go back to my LHS...I must be a masochist.....

I personally like to support my local shop as much as possible...obviously if there is an outrageous deal I give them a chance to match it, if they can't they understand, plus they know I'm hooked on this crack like hobby and I will be back for more soon....I don't like the shops that are real clique oriented.....that just irritates me to walk into an Us vs. Them attitude......the only suggestion I have is just treat everyone like they are just hanging out talking about RC stuff.....no hard sells and if you don't know the answer don't be afraid to say you need to double check for someone instead of just blurting out BS.....nice shop and good luck.....How long has th eshop been open?
has it started turning profit yet? or is it like the family's excuse to be in the hobby LOL....

 

[HeartBreak]

The one hobby shop I go to whenever I need a part uses a point-of-sale system. However, they don't offer any incentives whatsoever. The track that I started to go to (that closed down.... <insert choice words>), they didn't use a point-of-sale, but the guy knew everyone on a firstname basis. He offered a track-pass system. It was like this; $7 for the day, $25 for the month. With those prices, you get unlimited runs on the track for no additional cost.

Now, the shop I worked at used a plain old register (hated that thing). We used to offer 10% off to club members (didn't matter which club.. as long as they were on the approved list) and 20% off to model train hobbyists. People new to the hobby also got a discount, if they were purchasing all the stuff they needed to get started, that is. They got about a 15% "welcome aboard" discount. Those discounts really helped keep the place afloat, due to the pricing scheme... Which was cost+40%.

 

[EXTREME RC]

plaiddfish...store has been in existance for about 6 1/2 years....and doing awesome.
$$ wise. and as far as that duble checkin thing....i have a lap top on with high speed all the time. it is impossible to keep heli,car,boat plane, rockets, etc straight. this crack like hobby make my brain go crack sometime lol!!!! but it is a blast!!!! here is the killer...not one person in my family run r/c...if ya ever want the whole story,which is whack, i'll email ya it. youjust shake your head...my uncle did it years ago. go figure. anyway thanks for the info...

heartbreak...track prices are similar to mine...same kinda thing.....

 

[HeartBreak]

Excellent. I might have to check it out if I'm ever in the PA area... Who knows when I'll hafta travel, eh?

 

[olds97_lss]

Getting free stuff is cool as well. Like spend over $50, get a free glow plug or something. Instant gratification keeps me going back to my LHS's. I have to drive an hour one way to get to any of the 4 LHS's that are "near" me.

Honoring Towers prices without complaint would go a long way with me. 2 of the four that I go to himm and haww whenever I bring in a print out from tower. Once or twice, they wouldn't honor it... but that was a store that went out of business and was over charging.

Honestly, being friendly, helpful and not completely arrogent or trying to "push" certain items is what keeps me going back to them.

I figure, if I order from tower (I live in IL, so I have to pay taxes due to Tower being in IL), I have to pay shipping and wait. If I knew, with garantee, that I could go to a LHS and get Tower's price with a smile, I'd spend the shipping fee on gas to drive there and get it instead.