REVERSE RUNNING: The newest Local Hobby Shop — the Internet Stepping outside the box with a contrary view
ago, neither is the hobby retail business. While we can wring our hands over what’s been lost, I prefer to consider what’s been gained.
Enter the Internet:
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— by Joe Fugate
H
ardly a day goes by that I don’t run across someone on the internet wringing their hands over the demise of the local hobby shop, also often called the LHS in internet shorthand. It’s true, the LHS is a shrinking part of the hobby landscape – but the more savvy hobbyshop owners are also hanging out a shingle online, such as on eBay. Just like real railroads are not the same business they were 40 years
It’s no secret many businesses are standing up an internet presence and prospering. But that’s not my focus here. Instead, my interest here is on the people side of the move to online. I’m not so sure we should see the internet as an interloper – rather I think we should ask if the internet might not be a savior. I’m sure many will quickly point out the internet’s just not the same as the LHS. Cyberspace is inferior to really being there. I agree it’s not the same – but is it really worse in all aspects? I can go online to sites like the eBay auction site and find
Page 120 • Issue 11 • January 2011 • Reverse Running Editorial
thousands of products listed by both individuals and busineses. And that list completely turns over weekly. It’s the world’s largest continuous swap meet! And then we have dozens of model railroading forums and blogs, not to mention video sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and Blip.tv. What’s being able to reach out and touch tens of thousands of hobbyists in a matter of minutes on the internet worth? I can get lots of feedback on just about any hobby topic from around the globe in a matter of hours. (The MRH staff joke is “you can post a modeling question on the internet and in a matter of hours you will have an answer – and in a few days you will have the right answer.” - ed.) No longer do my modeling buddies need to share my zip code — anyone on the globe with an internet connection can potentially become my model railroading buddy. Thanks to digital cameras, Flicker and YouTube, I can quickly see what others
are doing and I can likewise showcase my work. Never before has communicating with other modelers been easier. What we’ve given up in local direct touch quality, we’ve gained in an amazing ability to touch the planet quickly. And as already mentioned, the array of products you can find online is something hobby oldtimers never dreamt was possible. To talk model trains, in past decades, I’d go hang out at the LHS – now I can go online and talk to the planet! It’s not called the world wide web for nothing! You could call the internet one big LHS on a grand scale never conceived of 40 years ago. And finally, this big new LHS is what has made MRH possible. Thank you all, our readers, for a great first two years! (P.S. I love my brick-and-mortar LHS too! Don’t let the internet lull you into staying away from them, if you have one nearby. But with the internet now everyone has an LHS close at hand!)
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