Editorial- Turning Up The Heat

By Michael Benolkin

There has been a religious debate that has raged throughout the modeling community for years – whether to buy your models and such from the local hobby shop or via mail order. There have also been some compelling arguments put forth by both sides of the issue. What I’d like to know is this: What about Internet Online Hobby Shops?

To recap:

• The local hobby shop is a few minutes drive away, allows you to touch and feel the merchandise, and supports instant gratification. The local retailer can’t always afford to keep the stocks of aftermarket goodies that you need for your next project, but you interact with a real person that is likely to be a fellow modeler and even sets cool new things aside for you to see.

• The mail order shop is only a phone call away and the kits are several days to several weeks away from your mailbox, but you can obtain a variety of items not carried by the local retailer. The mail order houses sometimes even save you money, and you still get personal treatment when you phone in your orders. The only real downside is the lack of instant gratification.

• The Internet hobby store is a new contender. It is usually nothing more than one or two folks that answer emails, process your orders, order the merchandise from a distributor, and ship it on to you. The reduced overhead (little or no shop space, little or no inventory on-hand, little or no payroll, etc.) can save you money over the mail order shops, but you may have a longer wait for your merchandise. With Internet hobby shops, you have access to hobby resources from around the world (at least the ones that will translate their sites into English)! The really successful online shops even attempt to retain the "personal touch" by communicating with you by email. Others resort to automated response systems that can leave you frustrated. In any case, patience is the requisite commodity to dealing with online hobby shops, but the rewards can be worth it.

What concerns me is the continuing depersonalization of this hobby. Granted, modelers tend to be loners to some degree (this isn’t a team sport, after all), but we do enjoy the periodic fellowship at the local hobby establishments and/or model club meetings. Mail order was the first level of depersonalization, because now you are only dealing with a voice. We got over it, and we reaped the benefits that they offered. Next we have online ‘virtual’ hobby shops – better deals (usually) and now we are communicating via emails. There are advantages to this medium as well.

But now we are entering a new level of depersonalization – the ‘automated’ online hobby shop. The one that will not answer your emails except with automated responses. The one that will not help you to resolve an order problem except through pre-recorded emails. The one that has removed the ‘personal touch’ from their business. If you see one of these (and I have) be forewarned. You will experience levels of frustration that equal or exceed the equally impersonal automated phone systems that require you to circumnavigate dozens of menus before you realize that they just hung up on you!

Is there any right answer? Everyone’s situation is a little different, but from where I sit, I think we need to support our local hobby shops, while retaining the flexibility and selection of the mail order and Internet hobby shops. Vote with your feet – if you get good service from any or all of the above, spend your money there. If not, get out of Dodge and try dealing with other vendors. Just beware of dealing with the computers – they have no personality…