RAILforum: Model Railroad Industry

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Posted by Crusher17801 (Member # 965) on :

Can anyone give me some information on the model railroad industry? What are some of the trends?

Posted by mgaeth (Member # 297) on :

Well the first thing to know is what are your plans? What are your ideas? What have you done in the past? What layout do you have room for? What clubs or hobby shops are in the area?

As you can see a little more information is needed to help you in your quest.

Mark Gaeth
Decatur, IN

Posted by Crusher17801 (Member # 965) on :

I'm looking to start a hobby shop and there's no competitors in the area. I'd like to do some Internet sales and maybe generate some other ideas once it gets started. The problem is that I don't know where to get started.

Posted by mgaeth (Member # 297) on :

Crusher,

You are proposing to take on a big headache without some credentials. There are many aspects that you may or may not be aware of about the model hobby industry as a whole.
1) Have you ever been self-employed?
2) There is a lot of reseach to do and market studies to conduct.
3) Do you have the finacial resources to sustain a business for at least a year without little to no return on investment?
4) What size of population density is your target market?
5)What are the demands for your area? Such as, plastic models, slot cars, radio control cars/planes, model trains, etc?
6)Is this a full time venture or something to get a business license and get personal stuff at a cheaper rate?
7) Is the target area strong enough to support your shop and compete with low-ball internet or mailorder?
8)Are you sure you really are up to the fustration of competition?

These are just a few of the questions that you must answer. I wonder why if the area could support a hobby shop why one is not there now? If I could make a suggestion, I would go to the nearest sizable hobby shop near you and approuch the owner with a proposition of assiting to set you up as a satelite(sp?) store or maybe you could approch hinm with the internet side of operation for him. The owner should/could help you give the in-outs with this type of venture. He may have the experiance that you seek that may help to forma good partnership.

Just my thoughts and observations. It is a very tough way to make a living and many have gone belly up trying. You will need to cover all aspects of people's leisure time available dollars. Start small and grow.

Mark

Posted by Chuck Walsh (Member # 677) on :

Crusher, your competition is as far away as a
1-800-telephone # I do hobby buying in 5 states with discounts up to 40% off Plus shipping, but no tax. Look in MR,and look at
trainworld's add. Could you beat their prices
and survive??????

Posted by MPALMER (Member # 125) on :

You might also consider going to a Train Show or Swap Meet to see what is going on. Check out how the various stands and booths are set up. Accept credit cards? checks? What aspect of the hobby are you an "expert" in?