worth owning a hobbytown?

[Unimoger]

I have been approached to buy a hobbytown franchise, I am skeptical at best. Anyone have any input, expierance, good or bad? Are they a good company? can you actually turn a profit? are they easy to work with? OR is this just gonna be another pain in my azz? I am asking because there are so many of you all over the world that deal with so many different companies. Let me know what you think, good or bad?

[RodyRazorBackc5]

I think hobby towns are nothing comapared to a "Small no name LHS" . I have been to one and they never carry any of the high end race gear that I use.

I'd say $hit can that idea, and open up your own personal HS. Then you can advertise your own prices , make your own "specials".

Just my $0.02

[braceysdad]

Originally Posted by RodyRazorBackc5

I think hobby towns are nothing comapared to a "Small no name LHS" . I have been to one and they never carry any of the high end race gear that I use.

I'd say $hit can that idea, and open up your own personal HS. Then you can advertise your own prices , make your own "specials".

Just my $0.02

x2, My local hobbytown sucks. That is the only representation of a hobbytown I have so my opinion may suck too.

[dezfan]

The Hobby Town in Columbia MO. carries a good selection of crawler parts, tires, wheels (RC4WD bead locks in stock), motors (always have lathes), bodies, batteries, ect... I think alot depends of the owner/manager/employees.

[peej410]

in regards to the hobby towns not carrying the big dollar race parts... youve never been to the hobbytown in vegas. they probably had 10,000 in stock behind the counter in high end race parts. but they didnt have a tmaxx dshaft yoke!!! as far as i know you can stock what sells. do up a thorough business plan first... then hire me. i hate CT

[K_B]

Regardless of whether or not HT is any good - after all, it's a franchise, the quality of the store is gonna vary greatly - I get the general impression that the hobby trade would be a pain. We only have 2 hobby shops in town and either one seems like it's just makin' ends meet. I can get stuff so much cheaper online. Except that I buy most of my stuff from an actual hobby shop in Glasgow, Montana; Stormer Hobbies.

[STEEL_CITY_CRAWLER]

yeah, my hobby town here sucks for R/C stuff in my opinion, but if you're a "magic the gathering" geek, it seems to be the happening place on a friday. and it seems (i know nothing about these) to be a good place for trains, too...

but for R/C, my hobbytown sucks....

[XSRCdesign]

having worked for one...

you decide what you carry.. so all you guys spouting off that your local hobbytown sucks.. its cause the owner sucks.. its been a couple years, but i still talk to the owner, and many people that work there.. im not sure exactly how it all works..

but i know you still get to do your own thing, tey just kinda help

microgoat may be someone to ask..

[Double J]

From what I understand you can choose what parts you want to stock. The only good thing about a franchise is the widely now name. It helps and hurts. If one gets a bad review then it spreads like wild fire and could hurt business.

If you start your own you will have more say will not have to pay roalties (in most cases with franchise) and you'll have more say about pricing. Then you will have to deal with importing products from Japan and places like that, which is not fun either.

That said I think it would be worth looking into. find out what they require for their name (franchise) is there royalties in place things like that. Figure out what your customer base is and find out what your compition is as well and how well they do (you can obtain that from state agencies). What kind of incentives will they give you buy opening one of their franchise, sometimes they have perks. How many hobby shops are in your area with in a 2 hour driving distance.

As said above a business plan is a must and it will suck to write a good. I can help you if you need a place to start. I have written 15 versions for mine. Not for a hobby store though.

This is just the tip of the iceberge when concidering such an endevor.

[f150dan]

In my area, the Hobbytown is great. I spent alot of money there and get great service.

If its something you think you wanna do, go for it. How much competition would you have in your area? Is there alot of RC interest there? or race tracks?

[run2jeepn]

Hey my Hobby Town Sucks too. Just Because the Owner like planes and heli's more. Like Dezfan said I think it is all about the owner. What he like and what he thinks sells.

[Double J]

Just some quick search information I found.

Franchise Requirements
Franchise Fee: $19,500
Cash Required: $60,000+
Total Investment: $180,000- $500,000

It doesn't say if its an anual Franchise fee or not. Cash on hand is kinda high but normal.
Some other info. It seems to have some decent advantages.
What We Provide


The HobbyTown USA® franchise success is due to a proven business practice in an exciting and growing industry. Our franchisees enjoy these benefits for their business:

• The most recognized and trusted name in the hobby industry
• Financing assistance after the agreement is executed
• Site location and lease negotiation assistance
• Comprehensive store layout and design services
• On-site training and opening assistance
• Complete pre-opening and operations manuals
• Ongoing business support from the home office
• Point of purchase and inventory computer program and 24/7 technical support
• Customizable store website
• National advertising program and local promotional assistance
• Award-winning hobby magazines for your customers
• Discount product purchase program and national buying power
• Annual franchise convention with educational seminars and trade show

All of these services are offered to our franchise stores from the national headquarters in Lincoln. The HobbyTown USA® story is an exciting one of making people's dreams of owning their own successful business come true.

[TwistedXT]

we just had one in Parker colorado close up... didnt do any business... location location location. Having tracks for people to break their stuff is a good idea too. If you know what to stock.. you should be fine.

I go to MHOR in denver, an offroad and onroad race track. They have a small hobby shop attached that carries parts for all of the most comonly used cars. on big race nights, they must make bank. its funny how much time and money people will spend just to win a $3 trophy!!!!

If you have a great location picked out, id say go for it. Aint nothing like owning your own business.

[Double J]

A track is a must and make it on and off road. Advertise the races and it will bring walk in customers as well as particpants buying broken parts.

[dezfan]

Originally Posted by Double J

A track is a must and make it on and off road. Advertise the races and it will bring walk in customers as well as particpants buying broken parts.

And add a rock crawling area for us to use when we visit!:-P

[peej410]

yes, my gf and i are taking a road trip every year... we will come visit.

the only thing that sucks about a hobby shop is that they totally rape you wholesale with the cost of kits.

[xjman]

I think owning a hobbytown would be a good idea. You have a way to stock parts for your hobby as well as bring new people to the hobby. The best part is you can stock it with the merch. you want.

[dezfan]

The Hobby Town in Columbia sells TLT kits for $80.00. So kit prices are flexable too.

[microgoat]

Ben, if you make it your primary business and pour your heart and soul into it, it will be a raging success. Yes, there's a big buy-in, and you have to pay a franchise fee, but you get some benefits in return. Whether you can make it work in Helena or not is another story. How many shops are there, and how big is the RC and general hobby scene? What's the supply of honest, knowledgeable people like? You can have a million dollars in inventory and the store will still fail if you staff it with teenagers who don't know Jack about hobbies and spend their shift talking on their cell phones and checking out some chick's myspace instead of helping customers.

It's not an easy business to make money in. To make it run smoothly, you have to know not only plastic models, RC planes, helis, nitro cars, trucks, trains, games, rockets, Pokemon cards, metal detectors, pool tables and Airsoft in some HT's, but you've got to have a good handle on how to run a business. A lot of guys think they can buy the franchise, hire a manager and sit back and rake in the cash. Maybe in Los Angeles you can, but everywhere else it's very much a hands-on business. Plan on putting in some 20-hour days.

As the store owner, you have the final say in what you sell your stock for. If you want to sell T-Maxxes for $19.95, go for it. To a large extent Tower Hobbies dictates the prices. A lot of the time, the price in our store is lower than Tower's

The HT crew are good people and they'll treat you right, but it's not something to jump into lightly, and you won't make your money back overnight (but you knew that anyway).

The customers will drive you right up the wall, though. People are getting ruder every day, and it's bad manners to hit them.

Guys, if your HT "sucks", let the owner or manager know what you'd like them to carry. Be specific, if you can bring in some links to the products you'd like to see on the shelves, print them out. Since I suggested we carry 2.2 Moabs, we've sold a ton of them, and that means the store made money. The owner likes that. But he doesn't like dead stock, so don't look for any RC4WD beadlocks on the shelves. People will buy a set of wheels for $20, but it takes a long time to move a set at $150 in a retail store.

[Double J]

Good way to put it Microgoat.
There are so many factors it will make you head spin and will make you almost not want to go into business. But once the initial herdals are covered your good to go, so to speak. It will never get easy and I hate the "teenage" retail employees don't ever hire them.