Hello All,

I have been lurking around for a while and essentially new to Armorama.

I heard from a friend that Yannis Hobbies in Los Altos CA is essentially having a liquidation sale at their physical location. The store is nearly empty now.

Are they closing down?

This would suck as I finally grew to appreciate their proximity in the San Francisco Bay Area. I haven't had a chance to visit it yet due to a busy work schedule.

Just trying to get some straight facts!

Thanks!

From what I have read and conversations had, they are in fact closing. One of the reasons apparently being citing was that the business wasn't sustainable which might have something to do with the pricing and markup on the items he was selling. You can't continue to literally give away the products and expect to pay operational overhead and provide a living for the proprietor.

There are a lot of start ups popping up in this industry who will befall the same fate. Sure customers will flock to the best price but if that pricing doesn't support the long term viability of the business...the business and any success will be short lived.

Selling products at or slightly above cost is business suicide. Once you have lured customers to your door, they come to expect such pricing. Just as some shoppers only shops sales...thus fewer major retailers in this hobby put popular items on sale as often as they once did...they can't sustain themselves by doing so.