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Such a strange feeling.....

1K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  Ronan 
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#1 ·
They were always here, I always looked through their windows looking at the items displayed, always trying to find a deal or to find a gem. Asking directly a friendly shop owner about the latest models to arrive in Malta and when they should be availible (and what price).

Well, thats not going to be the same for much longer. The shop which I had always visited, its been like 12 years now, has informed that it will close down next summer. Another shop, in which I had found so many nice rarish cars, has already closed down without any warning. Such a strange feeling seeing all these once great shops now closed, and those windows which once were a way to many cars, are now closed with metal shutters......

Maybe some others will open, who knows, but the ones that have remained are these big outlets with salesgirls which do not the difference with a Hot Wheels or a CMC. Sad... so sad...
 
#2 ·
Thats a bummer to hear man- these shops are hard to find anyway, we dont need them shutting down on us.

Over where I am the closest REAL die cast car shop is like an hour away!! :pullhair

It's a good one (EWA) but still its quite a hike.

At least you live in Malta, that place is gorgeous!!! :hot
 
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#7 ·
Essentially, its been a while since I last bought something locally. Cause as you all know, Malta has a very small market and much of the models imported are not my liking. So I already started buying a lot from abroad.

Its the face to face interaction and the hunt thats really going to be missed. I still remember when I found that Gulf McLaren and Repsol Porsche, guess those will be my last.....
 
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#8 ·
Luckily, I've got a couple of shops nearby, although they're selection is usually not to my normal taste. It's got to be hard for the smaller stores though, I'm not going to go in and spend $90 for a Kyosho when I can get it for half that price online. I always visit, though.
 
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#11 ·
that's such a shame Bern :pullhair
but i feel as Lu has expressed it will mostly be net purchases,which is great for most i guess because you can get cheaper prices in most cases........well they haven't got rates/rent etc to pay.
I personally love to be able to walk into a hobby shop and rummage and see in 'the flesh' what i'm buying.
it's good to make a relationship with the store owner or staff(if they are knowledgable).
i'm lucky to have dedicated stores fairly close to me...9 miles in two directions.
both these stores have turned up trumps for me on several occasions where i have just gone in on the off chance and found they have been able to get some good bargains or had a HTF car.
Bern....put your Uni education to good use with your business style studies......buy your own shop :giggle or make sure you support your diecast shop which i'm sure you do :cheers
 
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#12 ·
I still have a couple of shops left, one is 20 min away, the other about 35. Problem is that they have salesgirls/men which absolutely know nothing about diecasts. Once I had a talk with one them, he wanted to pass a Porsche 906 as a 956, just because his computer said so.

Thats the way of the future I guess, but I surely wouldn't mind having my own diecast shop one day, its a little dream I have, buy back my father's shop and return it to its former trading, diecasts and toys......
 
#13 ·
Bernard, that seems to be the way of the world anymore.
Order takers instead of salespeople.
"the computer says it is a 956 so that is what it is"

While the internet has opened the world up for us it has taken a little piece of home away from us as well.

The friendly and knowledgeable local shop owner is almost a thing of the past...
 
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#14 ·
It is sad Burny but I can see why it is happening. Over the past year i've started to buy more and more diecasts from online retailers. It is more convenient, ofter cheaper, and you can buy the model you really want instead of having to make do with the colour/version in stock at the hobby shop.

My :my2cents

:cheers
 
#18 ·
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:iagree It is unfortunate that local hobby shops are getting edged out by the net. There are still about 3 good places to go to buy quality 1:18ths in Dublin, but their prices have been way above what for example Modelissimo has been charging for some time. I was in one on Saturday and they had the AUTOart Lotus Cortina for 85 euro! (I got mine for 64 euro from Modelissimo) and their CMCs were all between 200-220 euro. So for a collector like me there is a huge cost advantage buying online. I do buy cheaper models locally when I can as I do like to browse the shops in person, and to continue doing so I have to give them some business!!! :cheers
 
#15 ·
Bernard, I had much the same experience today.
There is a magazine/tobacco/gift shop here in Bedford that I have been going to since 1972. I was in Jr high and it was just around the corner from the school.
One a month I would go in there and buy about 10 magazines and a Milky Way bar and stop in next door at the butcher shop for a couple of "Smokies".
I have been doing this for over 30 years!
This summer the fellow that owned the butcher shop passed away and now his store is closed

This afternoon I find out that the Magazine store is closing down as well.
The owner is retiring and closing the business.

I don't know what I am going to do on the second Saturday of each month now :scared
 
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#16 ·
Its a strange feeling of void. Be it a normal shop or a diecast shop. But unfortunetaly a good diecast shop is so hard to find these days.

Internet may not be really the key here Jim, many collectors are older, they dont use any internet and are limited to what the shop has in stock... few are like me here and as you can see, there is no other maltese member on board. Its people, they prefer a large shop with hundreds of diecasts and not knowledgable girls running around trying to sell a friggin 906 for a 956 :lol
 
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