I hope that you can tolerate just one more response about the subject. I was
the backup financial support for "The WhistlePost" here in Springfield for
several years; my son, Brian, actually ran/operated the store. As you all know
we are dedicated S scalers, but the WhistlePost was an authentic hobby shop
with the usual range of hobbies, but with a special focus on model railroading
in all scales. The intention was that the store would eventually support an
independent lifestyle for Brian. That goal seemed readily achievable in the
beginning and we moved it to a more central location in a business mall. The
move initially seemed to pay off. Then the era of the basement bomber came up
on us and the suppliers, including the big ones, like Walthers, began selling
to them as well. Now, one needs to understand that Walthers, as one example,
claimed to require that those stores to which it will sell must have a
legitimate "bricks and
mortars" (as it has been referred to here) store front. Nevertheless, they
sold to the basement bombers despite our complaints to them. The basement
bombers have very little overhead and they easily underpriced
all merchandise and within a relativel short time it became evident that The
WhistlePost, though it never lost money, was never going to be sufficiently
profitable to provide an independent income to Brian. Consequently, The
WhistlePost now only exists as a model on my railroad---which is in the
basement!!
Bob Jackson, aka The Lurker
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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