I tried to place an order last week and got an email a day later saying the refunded my paypal because the kits weren't in stock. I gave them a call yesterday and at first they said they were moving, when I pressed about when they would be taking orders they told me they were closing up.

Really sucks, they had great prices and the free shipping over $99.00 was very obtainable.

Sucks double for me as they are in my area. They were a replacement for when the great San Antonio Hobbies closed. That leaves D&J Hobbies here in the South SF Bay Area.

It seems that they were not here more the a year !

Same old problem. If you own a walk-in shop, you have to sell a lot of plastic and, if you advertise on line, you have to have a pretty substantial inventory or be able to bring it in fast. Otherwise, it's hard to stay in business. There was a great shop in Louisville, KY back in the late 80's. A modelers dream. The problem was not getting people in, but getting them to buy. Telling stories and discussing modeling was great, but the vast majority left with nothing in the sack. Needless to say, it didn't last. There aren't many left. Another sad thing.

I have that situation with one of my LHS's, I never know from one week to the next if he's gonna close up or not; as I am one of only a few regular customers and he always thanks me for my purchases. He refuses to get a website, but does do evilbay, which I think is the only reason he keeps the brick and mortar open.

Well, this is just straight up depressing.

I've tried giving Yanni's as much of my business as 15 minute drives up the I-85 allowed - he's a really nice guy and the shop is a true miracle for a local modeler, but I could see the immense stress there is in running the enterprise...

He's also a creative guy who builds his own models and does multi-media work, so I bet the burden of not being able to find outlet for the creative stuff.

I'll need to pay Yanni's a visit soon then...

Well this news totally blows! Yannis' place is the best hobby shop in Santa Clara County. I guess it'll be mail order only for me from now on.

Chris "toadman" Hughes
Toadman's Tank Pictures
Toadman's Place

That is a shame. They were a regular advertiser up until just recently. I sort of wondered why they would stop advertising after getting the good response they had to their ads.

Jim

Just got back from a meeting of Silicon Valley Scale Modelers. Seems he was telling everyone he was moving so they wouldn't get on their knees and beg him to stay open. He is changing businesses - going into clothing.

Too bad. This was the only decent hobby shop left in the south bay. D&J hobbies has undergone multiple changes that left them (imho) less of a 'plastic' store and more of a gaming /craft outlet.
Best of luck to Yanni in his future endeavors. He ran an outstanding shop and will be missed.
C.

I only wish I pulled the trigger earlier on some kits he had, especially the LAV III and the BMP 3.

It really is a shame - Last time I was there the selection was quite a bit lighter than usual. I asked and he said he had sold a bunch. Seemed strange when he had multiple copies orf some odd, slow selling kits.

D&Js prices were much higher than Yannis, and they have next to nothing as far as selection anymore. It looks like I will now be buying from online sources...

I'll miss them too. I always made a point to go by when out in the Bay area for work. Plus, the $99 shipping was great. Easy to get to. I too am sorry that I didn't make an order last month!

Oh well. Best of luck to him!

Its such as shame that brick and mortar LHS just dont seem to last. Its such a tough game for a select customer base. I used to work in a hobby shop here in Greensboro and there was a lot of blood sweat and tears put into "The Perfect Model". The original owner committed suicide; the shop was sold to a member of the local IPMS chapter, it moved and joined space with a train shop , ugly divorce, and a final move to a basement to sell off the stock.

In it's heyday we wern't breaking any sales records but it was a great place to hang out, trade war stories, and buy plastic kits. I think its hard to replace that LHS feeling while doing your shopping on line but thats a double edged sword.... Its a fine line b/w carrying too much inventory and not enough. You think you know what'll sell and what won't but you never really do and having inventory that just hangs on the shelf wont pay the bills. My hats off to anyone who runs a LHS!

Chris

Thanks for confirming it guys. I am bummed out that I couldn't visit Yannis' store as often as I wished in the last few months. His closure came as a surprise to me as there have been rumors of him moving to a different location.

That would be one more good hobby shop gone. In fact, Yannis' store is the best hobby shop in the entire Bay Area. I have visited nearly ALL the hobby stores around (100 miles radius) and his is the only one that carries the latest stuff, sometimes so new that I would have read about it online only the day before!

Plus, he is extremely chatty and knows everything about the hobby. You can give him suggestions on the latest kits to watch out for and he will have it in stock in a few weeks. Finally, he has no problems letting you preview kits (nice open box policy).

I supported this local hobby store as much as I could, making sure I don't leave empty handed after each visit, be it a bottle of paint or many model kits in hand. There never were signs the operations are in trouble, he had shipments after shipments of new stuff coming in until late December!

D&J Hobbies is close to my work and it will now be the only major store in the vicinity. Unfortunately, they are not as responsive to new kits as Yannis and priced higher to boot. Another decent store would be HobbyTown USA in Fremont a good 20 minutes drive away. Also Hobby House in San Carlos (which has lots of oldies). Yannis has been the cutting edge among all of them!

Cheers!

Well that just outright sucks. I have ordered several kits from him via phone and he is just the niceest guy to talk to. He would go get the stuff while we talked to let me know he had it then and there. Here in Dallas, we've also lost all our great places, the legendary Phils, Keith McGee's Hobby Annex, and that great one out in Bedford.

A real shame and a loss that not only locals will feel..
I recently bought the CH Flakpanther from him after a pleasant chat on the phone from half way round the globe. So glad I purchased when I did.

To Yanni, all the best in your future endeavours, wherever they take you.

Can some one give me the address of Yannis? I am heading to the south bay soon and would love to see if he has anything to clear. I grew up in Los Gatos and spent much of my childhood and teenage years at D&J. Last year when I was there I was surprised to see all the stock and more importantly all the old guys gone. No more Al, David or any others. Very sad. I was even more shocked to see that San Antonio was gone too. Again if someone can provide an address I would be very grateful. Cheers.

I did not have any dealings with Yanni's, but I'm afraid the LHS is going the way of the Dodo.


We all lament their passing, but then flock to the latest Internet retailer with the "best" prices, even when they're too good to be true (still folks getting sucked-in by TankRats).

To survive, these stores will have to have several things going for them:

1.) they own the building: landlords want market prices.
2.) they have a sideline that keeps them going (RC airplanes, trains, etc.)
3.) they have an Internet business.

When was the last time you purchased a new kit from a LHS? Not when you can buy two kits for the same price online.

There used to be a butcher shop, a bakery and a small grocery store on most city blocks. Hardware stores were the mom & pop variety with a million items in the inventory and Joe knew where that replacement thing-a-ma-bob was for your broken what's it. Now it's supermarkets and even they're struggling to fight Walmart. The local hardware store is mostly part of a chain now or out of business because there's a Home Depot sucking up all the business.

Human nature is to save money, so the "category killers" mean you don't buy fresh food, you stock up, and you don't repair things in your house like toilets and sinks, you replace them. It's the new American way.

Bill I flat out disagree with you. It is NOT the American way. It is the lazy way that too many Americans are going. I own a small business, it is a constant struggle, but most days I love it. I have made conscious decisions for my family that affect what we buy and the quality of life we live. We have chosen to NOT go the cheap route with all things. We have very few stores in our community WalMart and HomeDepot are the only big box stores here. If there is a local business that sells the same thing, I'' spend the extra buck or two, its usually not a big deal. If that store cannot provide the product knowledge or the service then yes, take your money elsewhere. But when a great locally owned business pops up, do your damnedest to support it. Talk with the owner let him/her know that you appreciate what they do and their knowledge. And especially let them know that when times are tough, they need to talk to their customers to let them know. I'd bet if Yanni's had let all of us know here, we could have all rallied and bought kits from him, just to help. I know I would have.
Yes you can save a couple of bucks buying online, but the money you spend in your community will actually stay IN your community. 87 cents of every dollar spent with a local business stays in that community. If anyone still has contact with Yanni, let him know that there are still people willing to support him, if he really wants to do this. Tell him to keep a small section in his clothing store for all the guys that are forced to shop with their wives or girlfriends, they'll appreciate it and tell their buddies. Hell he might even make some new customers. Cheers.

I had mentioned this a few weeks back in another forum, why not create a tab that has links or at least listings of the remaining Brick and Mortar Local Hobby Shops by area and focus. For us tread heads, I would LOVE to be able to check out a page here that tells me what, if any, hobby shops are located in the area I am traveling in. This is a great way to support all of the guys still left and its a great resource for those of us that travel and do not have great (none in my case) local hobby stores around. Cheers.

Dragon's M1A1 AIM kit. For less than I've been able to get it online when shipping is included.

Damon, you can disagree with the spirit of what I'm saying, but you can't really say I'm not right.

There are structural problems with the hobby as well. I was speaking with an importer and kitmaker today who spoke of how many distributors only add $$$ to the process. So the LHS pays double what Luckymodel is charging (with the model still cheaper after shipping from Hong Kong).

Don't bother looking as the store has been vacated. I drove by there on Monday and it is completely empty. It looked like the landlord was already in there doing some minor upkeep and getting it ready for a new tenant.

Al left D&J several years ago. I see him at Jacques Littlefield's place periodically as he volunteers there with me.

Chris "toadman" Hughes
Toadman's Tank Pictures

Al left D&J several years ago. I see him at Jacques Littlefield's place periodically as he volunteers there with me.

What is Jacques Littlefields?? Ask AL if he is willing to teach me how to paint a carrier deck yet. He promised me when I was sixteen that he'd eventually teach me.
Cheers.