"We've noticed lots of people come into the store to check out the new items. That's usually a very good thing, but some of them are just using us to examine the item, ask questions about it and leaving never to be heard from again. They're scanning the item with a smart phone and finding the lowest price on the internet. I wouldn't mind so much if they'd give me a chance to either match the price or add some value added service like a tune up on an R/C car, something the internet dealers just can't do. Our prices are very competitive with the online dealers, but we can't have the lowest price on everything. We want to be here for you for a long time, so let us prove our value!
thank you,
Dave O'Neil"
There are a couple other things that I can not figure out even though we match pricing we have a off road track and an oval track these people will have know were to race there stuff they are buying so that of all things makes me wonder what do people think. I do not get mad because you will never stop it, but if we are offering the same price I am just dumb founded. Please let us Hobby Shop Owners know why you rather buy from the web it will give us a heads up to what people are thinking.
There is no tax online (as of now). That is a big reason for many people especially for larger purchases.
ReplyDeleteYes I get that all the time I really have no answer for that except that we try to get you the product for the same price worth tax included we of course can not always do that but we try our best. I just think that being able to go to your hobby shop if something is wrong which happens a good amount of times would be easier for warranties. I know some shops push customers to take care of it themselves, but I believe in helping them do that even if it is calling the manufacture and if I have one in stock replace the part then wait for the warranty part to come back. I know you scan never get all sales just wanted to know why people buy online thank you very much for your answer it is much appreciated.
DeleteI make a majority of my purchases online for several reasons. Mostly, I am into the niche market of the hobby. Scalers, crawlers, and drifting . no one at my hobby shop has a clue about these nor do they try and learn. Secondly, my hobby shop likes to hire people who have no clue about the hobby in general, they pass up hiring people who know what they are talking about to hire people that have not a clue. Lastly, if it's not traxxas, they don't stock it. I can get it faster by ordering it myself than if they order it in for me.
ReplyDeleteYes I can understand that totally and some stuff the hobby shops can not get but even if we do not have it in stock we can usually get the product for you in a promptly fashion. I am sorry to hear your hobby shop don't try to learn what there customers need to know I keep a well informed staff that take care of every area. There are questions that they will not know, but with computer technology they can just get online with the customer right there and find out what they need to know. I truly believe that customer service is the best thing a hobby shop can give to its customers and thank you very much for the insight I will be sure to pass this on to our employees.
DeleteI work a hobby shop and my customer service brings them back. Been in the hobby for about 19 years and kinda know what Im talking about. We do have customers that shop on line for the pricing but they come back and bu y stuff if they really need it. We also order 2 times a week so that the customer gets it ASAP with no shipping charge. If the customer does a large purchase over $100 before 12:00 they will receive it next day with no shipping charge.Smith Brothers Hobby Center. Support your local hobby shops.
ReplyDeleteYes we do the same thing order every Monday and Wednesday and orders come in on Wednesday and Friday. We do get a lot of customers and have a lot of racers, but I was asking why people shop on line not how to keep your customers that is a totally different subject. I have owned a Hobby Shop for about 15 years and have seen about everything I am glad to see there is a lot of good people out there taking care of customers because customer service is our best weapon to keep people coming back.
DeleteI am from Canada and I can tell you that I generally prefer to buy from my lhs but only kits and airframes. When it comes to electronics or batteries or motors I tend tend to stick to HK reason being that the prices these lhs demand is prohibitive .what's more they get angry when you tell them that there is much cheaper stuff online particularly HK . instead of getting angry I wish they would stock HK products and that way I would always buy at my lhs
ReplyDeleteWell I can understand were you are going with this but HK really don't give your local hobby shop much of a deal. We can buy from HK but we are paying the same price as you then we would have to increase the price and you would already know what you are paying for it on HK. There is no easy answer for either side of the story but in your Hobby Shops defense they get no breaks from HK and it is hard for them to stay in business when a lot of people shop online. There is no reason for your local hobby shop to get mad because you just can not change the results and keep your customers happy at all times that what keeps them coming back good customer service.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason i buy stuff on line is we live in a small town and the closets Hobby store to me is a 2 hour drive so instead of driving the distance i do my research online and get it shipped so it really doesnt take time out of my day to get the parts i need. i would rather buy from a store for the fact of when you get great service, and you learn a lot more then from just buying online. so until we get a closer hobby store i will be forced to buy online but i hope they build one soon.
ReplyDeletethanks for writing this post,
Calvin