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[tigertiger]

...My local model shop in Leeds now offers a good internet service this may be the way forward for model shops to help bring in new business....

It is IMHO the best way forward. There are some model shops with an online presence, these are easy to trade with online, and easy to find the address when I want to visit the bricks and mortar shop (on my rare trips to UK).

Sadly, many small traders don't understand the importance of internet sales and ignore the management of their own websites, ignore emails etc. and then complain that business is bad. I have even turned up at one traders, after trying to contact by email for a week, to find he was closed for the morning. I had to be somewhere and left with my money. There are other model shops that don't do online.

The internet is a boon to small businesses. It means that a store in Cornwall (not the most populous of places) can have customers from all over the UK/World. I do a lot of online shopping now. Perhaps at 50 years old I am one of the newer people to the hobby, but I find some of the older practices are a barrier to me spending my money.

Examples of good etraders.
ACTion - Dave really knows how to handle eCommerce, websites, and customer enquiries from novices. I think he is a good example of what can be done.
Sailsetc.com - The same
Not just models. - One of our local butchers started selling sausages and pies online. His business became well known and he now supplies big high street names with his fare.

BTW I do buy most of my modelling stuff online, but not from Ebay, I support the dedicated traders where I can.

[irishcarguy]

My local hobby shop is very large & has a massive stock. However they do not carry a large stock of boat bits & have nobody on staff that is really interested in boats. It is a different story if you are into Planes, Heli's & Model Cars. Because of its size I think they have to hire warm bodies just to fill the space. If you ask for an item the best they do most times is point you to the revellant section & then walk away leaving you standing there with little idea how to find what you are looking for. You can look up the store on the web it is "PM Hobbycraft  in Calgary", Canada. Tiger is correct, Dave is quite brilliant & deals with you in a very fast & efficient manner, the main part of that is he knows the hobby well & has a vast knowledge which he is willing to share. I now do 95% of my buying on the net & do not see that changing. Thanks Biker, for a minute there I thought you were trying to shoot me down, though usually my skin is a little thicker than that. This is a first class forum & I really enjoy being a member. Mick B.

[Timmer]

   i used to work in a guitar shop and the owner was also the head of a buying group that incorparated small music shops all other the country. it was a great idea that worked very very well. it ment the small independant shops could offer cut price deals and price match the big chain stores without losing out on profit. cant see why somthing like that couldnt work in the hobby industry. (but im no expert)

[Rex Hunt]

Sometimes some of us have no option but to go Postal!

Here in Norwich we have2 main suburban model shops.
One specializes in aircraft and helicopters and has little time for anything else, the other is better described as a 'Toy shop'

You want something other than Lego . Balsa or Carbon Fibre......you gotta go elsewhere!
Rex

[tobyker]

I do try to support my LMS but the problem is that a small shop cannot afford to carry a vast stock and since every modeller wants a different sort of bit he cannot have everything. However I feel that the importers/distributors let the shops down as I always have to wait at least a fortnight for any ordered bit to come in. If I ordered on the net I'd have the bit in 48 hours - or 24 If I rang Dave! I suspect the distributors don't much care if they sell through LMSs or one of the big half dozen or so internet suppliers, and it must cost them to send reps out to the LMSs. I think this is short-sighted, as the LMS does represent modelling to the community, and if the only place you can find model stuff is on the net, modelling will lose its visbility and shrink still further.