# Tell us what you've got!



## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

I'm putting together a full-fledged business plan for the feasability of a fully stocked hobby shop with a covered on-road, off-road, and indoor carpet (or RCP) 1/18 on/off-road track. 

From a start-up capital perspective, inventory will most likely be 40-60% of my initial costs. So, I need some help with knowing what Houston RC'ers own & need parts for. So, tell me what you've got in your arsenals, so I can start getting an idea of what kind of inventory to carry!

P.S. Tell me what you've ACTUALLY got....and not what you wish you had or will be purchasing)


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## KevinLRC (Jul 30, 2004)

Courtney, go to Mike's Hobby Shop in Carrolton, TX and go look at what that guy sells. If you want a successful hobby shop/track you have to sell EVERYTHING and the hobby shop is what makes your money.

If I were going to be doing this I would sell trains, planes, rockets, cars (RTRs and racers). I would even go as far as getting big enough to have an online store in the future. Start up cost would be huge but it would be the only way to be successful in this business venture IMO. You've already got competition with Mike's, Larry's, M&M, Randy's, Victory, and any other shop I forgot to mention. Especially going up against Mike's you would have to impress some people.


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## KevinLRC (Jul 30, 2004)

If you want a good idea about what sells the most go to a place like Larry's and ask what vehicle they sell the most and what parts sell the most.

I run a Mugen MBX5R to answer your question.


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

*Mikes*

I have been to Mike's in Carrolton a couple of years ago. What they have set up is similar to what I have envisioned, but it's all in the planning stages at the moment, and what I need help with right now is to know what people have and are using parts for.


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## insaneracin2003 (Feb 22, 2006)

Are you asking shop owners or the general public?

I own:
Mugen MBX5R
Mugen MBX5T
AE GT2
AE GT
AE FT-T4
AE B-3
Traxxas Revo
Duratrax Vendetta ST
X-Ray M-18
Radio equipment;
Airtronics
JR
LRP
Futaba


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

I'm asking the general public what they've got and drive


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## Guffinator (Aug 27, 2005)

Duratrax Vendetta ST (2 of them)

Associated 18r

Xray M18


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## Big Phil (Apr 27, 2007)

a raceshop wont make money a hobby shop will that was easy.


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## Froggy69 (Jul 21, 2004)

i agree with what big phil said.



associated 18b

losi mini t


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## jelias (Sep 7, 2004)

Losi XXXNT
Losi XXXTMF2
Xray M18


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## jerry23 (Sep 16, 2005)

I've got rickets


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## Maxx (May 8, 2007)

Doing this is a huge gamble, especially going big. Ultimately it boils down to; If I build it, will they come? There is NO garentee and I doubt very seriously you will see profits for a couple of years due to the initial costs. So, not only will you need money to cover start up, but a reserve to cover losses until things catch on and purchases are payed off. 
Location is everything! Because of competing LHS, you will need a great location and/or other niches the comp doesn't offer.
From what I've seen in the past 7 years, running a LHS is not very profitable unless you run it smart, and have lots of luck.


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## insaneracin2003 (Feb 22, 2006)

jerry23 said:


> I've got rickets


what the heck is a "ricket"? STD of some sort?...haha


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## Big Phil (Apr 27, 2007)

they sell shampoo that will get rid of that jerry


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## insaneracin2003 (Feb 22, 2006)

Big Phil said:


> they sell shampoo that will get rid of that jerry


lmao!!!!! or you can try this


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## zxeric (Feb 22, 2005)

Xray T1 FK04
Losi BK2
Xray M18
Tamiya midnight pumpkin(shelf queen)
Tamiya/home made clod crawler
aqua craft boat !

I only run electric.......

I cant wait to see Treys list. They dont call him MADF1man for nothing....


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## Donnie Hayden (Mar 7, 2005)

I had 3 Jammin FTE buggies, Now I am down to:

Jammin FTE buggy
2-RC18T's
RC18R


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## mongo88 (Aug 19, 2004)

Man, Houston has enough hobby shops! Build it in Austin!


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## SwayOveride (Aug 12, 2004)

I agree with what Kevin and Phil say. Mikes in Carrolton has proven to be a first class operation over the years. If somebody wants to know how to operate and run a track Mikes in Carrolton would be the track to look at. Phil summed it up the best when he said a raceshop doesnt make money a hobbyshop will. This is one area that Mikes in Porter excells at, they have a hobbyshop opened every day and the track doesnt support the shop the hobbyshop supports itself. Some people may not see it but Mikes already has a top notch facility, but when they finish all the renovations and additions they will be a world class operation, the top track in the Houston area, and will be hard to compete with.

Cars
Losi XXXNT
Losi XXX MF Edition
Losi XXX BK Edition
Associated B4

Electronics
Airtronics
JR
LRP
Novak


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## Donnie Hayden (Mar 7, 2005)

True, But each shop will only stock certain parts. This forces you to drive all over town. With gas prices the way they are, It's alot easier to sit at home and click add to cart.


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## madf1man (Jan 28, 2005)

I was not going to put my list on here Eric. Gary's been talking bout how much room we use on the server already!


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## SwayOveride (Aug 12, 2004)

Donnie

That is so true, it's very hard to compete with online hobbyshops in todays world. They do such a big turnover they can offer things a little cheaper with no tax. Even with shipping you get out cheaper than what it would have cost you to go to the hobbyshop on the other side of town and get the part today..


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## Big Phil (Apr 27, 2007)

mike has big plans for the shop&tracks in two to three years everyone will be blown away our current shop is to small to stock everything but dont give up on mikes hobby shop yet trust me!


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## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

2-hyper 7's
1-rc18


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## Maxx (May 8, 2007)

I don't think Houston will ever have too many LHS, lol. Location, location, location.
Mike's in Carrolton? Nice, but never been there and never will, too far. Mike's in Porter, never been there and only ever will to race my Savage. I'm just never on that side of town and have no other reason to be. Even Larry's and M&M is too far for me. I just don't like to drive that far. Convenience is everything to me. It was great when Cy-Fair Hobby was open on West @ the Belt, but they're long gone now.


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## Maxx (May 8, 2007)

Oh...
T-Maxx
Savage
RC10T2
Mini Quake
Mini-T
M18
Xmods


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## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

i cant forget my
RC10T3
RC10B2


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## Froggy69 (Jul 21, 2004)

yep cy-fair hobbies was almost walking distance from my house.they had plans to do a larger shop with tracks and all but it never happened.also had problem with getting broke into alot.


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## Maxx (May 8, 2007)

Yeah I heard the same stories. Dunno what happened, but POOF they were gone.Talk about convenience, I could stop by and pick up my parts, grab a burger and head back to the shop with enough lunch time left over to finish eating, install the parts and make a couple test runs before getting back to work.


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## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

thats almost the way k&m went. i mean they talked about it for a little while but all of a sudden POOF. no more k&m


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

I'm probably about to kill this thread, but here it goes.....I gotta vent a little and defend myself:

What's with the negativity on the board in the last few weeks? People like Paul, Trey, & myself (don't hate me if I didn't mention you) are trying to offer up positive ideas to make RC better for EVERYONE! I try to offer up an exciting idea of another top notch shop/track in town that will cater to YOU, and people are coming out of nowhere trying to beat the idea down! We try to mention organizing 1/18 racing in Houston to make it more fun for everyone, and people start sh*tting on that idea as well! Boy, some of you guys love to argue, and it brings the WHOLE forum down!

Do you guys honestly think that I wouldn't cover ALL my bases before taking a gamble? Do you really think I would be able to get a capital investment loan without being able to prove reasonable cash flow, margin, and ROI? 

I have managed a Conn's retail store, a Best Buy, and worked as a District manager for Conn's, all before graduating college, so I'm confident that I understand what it takes to run a business. I know it's a bit of gamble, but with careful and well thought out planning, it can work very well.

That's not what this thread is about though. I started this thread to use as a sample of what Houston's RC customer base owns and needs parts for. The result of this analysis is data that will benefit the customer (YOU!!!) by having both enough inventory, and having parts for the items that you need. Advice is welcome, but please try to present it a more positive fashion, instead of saying "oh, there's no way you can compete....it'll never work!" 

And Donnie, you hit the nail on the head! You have to drive to six different shops to get parts for one car! Why not just order it on the internet?

For all of you who doubt my plan, it involves being a medium scale internet retailer, being a full hobby shop/retailer, 3 well designed and well maintained tracks, and even taking advantage of ebay. 

How would you like to be able to veiw invetory on the internet, build and buy an order, and then pick it up locally at the store? Like on your way home from work or on Saturday morning, instead of waiting for the mail or brown truck? Or ship it to you and it gets there the next day because it's local? How would you like to be able to get your order all at one place? What if there was a shop that carried a FULL line of parts for ALL major brands and their corresponding cars? Like as much as amainhobbies.com or nitrohouse.com? How would you like a shop, indoor 1/18 on/off road track, a full nitro offroad track and onroad track that are both covered? How would you like a real shop and track on the west side of Houston that would be easily located to cover Katy, West Houston, Cypress?...all BOOMING areas 

Point is, I wouldn't be doing this half-***......would be going all the way with it. And it's just a dream in it's infant planning stages at the moment, so don't kick it down before it even learns how to walk!


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## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

im all for it courtney. especially if its on the west side of houston. ive been waiting for something to open up on the west side of town ever since ive been in rc


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

And Phil, you guys are a TOP-NOTCH facility, and I plan on helping the RC scene grow MUCH larger in Houston, so there would be plenty of business to go around.....I'm not thinking about doing this to compete with you guys, or any other shop for that matter.....only do to what I enjoy: business and RC.


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## Maxx (May 8, 2007)

LOL, sorry. I wasn't kicking the plan, just offering observations. I'm a businessman also. I've owned and operated one of Houston's leading grinding companies for 17 years.
As nik said, I'm all for it, especially if it's close to home.


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## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

im only 15 but i am sort of a business man in the making as my mom and stepdad own a local weekly newspaper in conroe. so i sort of know what it takes to run a business. and i agree with maxx. i think everyone was just offering suggestions and observations not intentionaly being negative


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

I know you guys don't mean anything by your comments, and I hope you didn't take what I said as an insult pointed at you. But what I'm trying to to do is to convey the kind of attitude we need to have as a whole if we want thing to continue, or grow. 

As cheesy as this sounds, I have a dream. And I've laid out a small portion of it to you above. And if I want my dream to turn into a successful plan, I have to be out here promoting Houston RC as much as I can to try and keep the momentum alive until I can bring things to reality.


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## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

i would be willing to help as much as i can and as much as you will let me


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## Maxx (May 8, 2007)

No sweat bro. I feel the same as you and certainly wouldn't intentionally post negative things. Sorry if my post sounded that way.

I support the dream!


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## KevinLRC (Jul 30, 2004)

I hope you didn't take my comment as being negative Courtney, I think it would be awesome. I was only trying to give some advice of something I've noticed over the many years I've been involved with this. I don't know that much about you, and wasn't trying to insult you, there's just so many people that have tried to half a** it or even 3/4 a** it and it still didn't work. I think you're onto something and it sounds like you've got your bases covered. I hope your dream becomes a reality.


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## jerry23 (Sep 16, 2005)

if you listen to rodney carrington then you know what rickets are.


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## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

theres jerry goin on more about banjos!!!


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

*rodney*



jerry23 said:


> if you listen to rodney carrington then you know what rickets are.


I like my women like I like my chicken!


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## Gary (May 21, 2004)

Vintage RC10 and RC10T.
Ralph Naders Corvair.
XMod, 67 Firebird.
Robotronic Scalpel.
GMS Drag Spec.
XRay M18.
RC18B.
RCTC4.
ZipZap.


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## Maxx (May 8, 2007)

Courtney Vaughan said:


> I like my women like I like my chicken!


Fried, skinless, boneless, baked, with plenty of buffalo sauce? :question:


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## Big Phil (Apr 27, 2007)

Courtney Vaughan said:


> I like my women like I like my chicken!


with a little fat on the end!


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## Gary (May 21, 2004)

Please keep it "on topic" and clean guys.


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## Big Phil (Apr 27, 2007)

sorry i had to finish it it was killing me lol


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## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

ya i wanted to finish it sooooooo bad, but i didnt want to make the 'mod' mad!!


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## danthrc (Jun 19, 2007)

Man Katy would be a great spot! There are 10,000 families a year moving out there and they all have kids.

Hobby shop, Track, Kids, Able Parents = $$$$$$ in Katy


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## KevinLRC (Jul 30, 2004)

That's where I would put one, either there or on the southside.

You could look into Livingston too, I'm tired of the hour long drives to the track. lol


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

*Katy*



danthrc said:


> Man Katy would be a great spot! There are 10,000 families a year moving out there and they all have kids.
> 
> Hobby shop, Track, Kids, Able Parents = $$$$$$ in Katy


Your on to my plan Danny! Katy & Cypress.....the hottest growth areas in Houston with middle to upper class incomes! Now if somebody doesn't beat me to it!


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## Donnie Hayden (Mar 7, 2005)

Courtney, I think I speak for the majority of us in saying we want you to be able to make your dream come true. You have some great ideas and it has shown with HARC. Not many people are able to grab the bull by the horns and get it done. You have my upmost respect for that. Do what you gotta do bro to get this up and running. You have alot of friends here in the R/C community that will help with what they can.


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## insaneracin2003 (Feb 22, 2006)

exactly my thoughts Donnie, if you need any help CV, let me know, I will do what I can,you know that!!


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## Aggdaddy (Mar 7, 2007)

RC18B and R, B4, Xray t1R, and a couple of mini-z's .. all collecting dust.


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## Donnie Hayden (Mar 7, 2005)

You need to get out and run them bro.


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## gkcontra (Feb 25, 2007)

CEN GST 7.7
2 tmaxxs
3 18Ts
Mini -T
2 Micro RS4s
iwaver 2.0
xmods
other mini's as well, zipzaps, 1/32, 1/64.

Will be picking up the LOSI Slider when out.


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## Maxx (May 8, 2007)

Hey Greg, your not painting anymore?


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## gkcontra (Feb 25, 2007)

I've just gotten lazy, need to paint some for the 18T's but that's it for now.


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## Maxx (May 8, 2007)

I hear ya, I haven't had the time myself. I'm gonna try and get one for my M18 done this weekend.
Just wondering, haven't seen ya on CFX in a while. Post 'em up when you finish! 

I look forward to meeting you at the track.


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## DanielT (Jul 21, 2007)

The west side needs a great shop & Track.

Vintage RC10
RC 10T
Tamiya Nissan King Cab
18B
MiniZ


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## Gary (May 21, 2004)

Welcome to 2Cool DanielT!


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