Catch up on what's new with Races2U and the world of auto racing in general.
Yesterday was a charity car show at Hooters Riverside in Austin Texas to benefit wounded military members and their families. Thank you Eric Mercado for organizing this great event. We were fortunate the rain held off for the entire show, and there were a lot of great classic cars in attendance. Check out the video of the Hooters girls racing our slot cars, and you can see more pictures of the girls and cars on our Facebook page.
If you didn’t get your tickets for tonight’s Premier Party for RUSH, don’t worry- Response has been so good that Moviehouse and Eatery will have another screen for the showing! Get yours now @ www.yrih.ticketbud.com/rush
We waaayyyyyy overbought for the American LeMans/World Endurance Cup races, and now we need to make room on our shelves for our Formula 1 inventory. Our mistake is your gain- $10 off selected Scalextric cars, and $25 off ALL Scalextric track sets. Get your Christmas shopping done early for the race fan in your life. Can’t afford a $1.4 Million Bugatti Veyron? Buy one of ours for less then $40! Porsche, Mercedes, Audi, Camaro, Corvette, even Land Rover! Normally these cars go for between $40-$60. On sale now, some as low as $29.99. Come in, call, or email to see our selection- too many to put on our website.
512-761-RACE (7223).
It has been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so Races2U is flattered that the Circuit of the Americas would decide to have a special showing of RUSH after Races2U has been promoting our showing for almost a month. However, there are several differences between the two showings.
1) The Races2U premier of RUSH is being held Friday, the 27th in the evening, opening day across most of the country. Circuit of the Americas is having there “special showing” Saturday the 28th in the afternoon.
2) The Races2U showing will be at The Moviehouse and Eatery- the nicest theater in Austin, with leather recliners, DBox seats, and the largest screen in Texas. Circuit of the Americas is partnering with Alamo Drafthouse. While the Lakeline Alamo Drafthouse is new, it is still just an Alamo Drafthouse.
3) The movie is about Ferrari and McLaren drivers and cars. Races2U will have a Ferrari F1 car at their showing. There will also be a McLaren MP4 car among the many exotic cars in the parking lot at the Moviehouse and Eatery, weather permitting. Circuit of the Americas will have a Williams F1 car at the showing.
4) Circuit of the Americas will bring the CotA girls to the Alamo Drafthouse. The event at The Moviehouse and Eatery includes not only beautiful women and beautiful cars, but also a racing simulator, slot car track, and more.
5) The event at the Moviehouse and Eatery is first and foremost a fundraiser, designed to promote a charity that helps cancer patients. The event at the Alamo Drafthouse is to promote Circuit of the Americas, owned by a group of super-wealthy individuals, perhaps to boost their lackluster ticket sales and put more money in their pockets. It must be difficult to make money from $30 parking, $15 tower tours, $10 beers and $8 hot dogs if no one comes out to the races. Maybe they would get better attendance if they treated their spectators and vendors better. By the way, it only cost $18 to go to the top of the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the US.
While we are flattered that CotA liked our idea to have a special movie showing, it’s sad that even with all that money they didn’t have the creativity to come up with the event on their own. Most people only go to see a movie in the theater once. You can choose to be among the first to see it, and do it in style and help people in need, or you can see it at another venue at another time. The choice is yours.
Now that Kimi Raikonnen has signed on with Ferrari for 2014, who will be Grosjean’s new teammate? Any guesses? Please post your guess here. Personally, I’d like to see the other Finn- Heikki Kovalainen take Raikkonen’s place, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Fast and Furious Set
Digital Law Enforcer Set
Just arrived in the store, and in plenty of time to beat the holiday rush! These two great Scalextric sets would be awesome under the tree at Christmas, or set up on a ping-pong table for Thanksgiving. The Fast and Furious set is great for any lover of classic muscle cars, and the Digital Law Enforcer set is a great entry level digital track, opening up to all the great features that digital entails, like lane changing, braking, lap counting, and fuel consumption. Check these tracks out at our store in North Austin or online here.
For all you Lotus and/or James Bond fans out there-
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/11/james-bond-lotus-esprit-car-auction
Some people or businesses are afraid of competition, and have fear or disdain of their competitors. As a small business owner, I personally think competition can be a good thing, and I am glad to not only have some excellent established competitors in the market, but I even turn to them for help and products frequently. There has been more than one instance when I have been out of stock on a particular part or product that I needed either for something for my own use or for a customer. If I need it quickly and can’t wait for the vendor to ship it to me, I have no problem getting on the phone and then making a quick trip to King’s Hobby Shop or HobbyTown and buying a part from them, even paying full retail. I have often had customers come in the store saying they were sent to me by someone at one of the other stores as well. I don’t mind sending a customer to one of the aforementioned competitors if I can’t provide what they are looking for. While I may run the risk of losing a customer, I generally find that instead, by looking out for the customer’s best interest, that they will come back to me again. When products are a commodity and prices are similar wherever you go, honesty and service are the things that will differentiate your business from someone else. And, if my competitors are also honest and provide good service, that makes my entire industry look good, and that is still good for my business as well. In fact, I like my competition so much, I sometimes even advertise for them, just as I have done in this post.
A great example of using my competition to our mutual benefit is my relationship with other mobile slot car racing providers around the country. While I have no aversion to travel, and have done so frequently, why should I go to Detroit from Austin when I know there is a perfectly capable and reputable operator already in Michigan? I am happy to refer the business to my friend Ron at Slot Car Rental, just as I know he is happy to send me any requests for racing in Texas. Same thing with other track operators in Florida, New Jersey, and other locations. If we help each other out, it’s better for all of us, and our customer base and our industry will grow.
Something I hear frequently from “Brick and Mortar” retailers is that they have to compete with the internet resellers, and they don’t like the competition. I say “Bring it on!”. Again, I don’t see it as competition, but as an opportunity for us all to shine. I don’t know how many times I have had a rare slot car in my possession that someone was looking for online and I was the only one that had it, or the reverse of that situation, and business has been referred both ways there as well. Just recently, I purchased a rare Scalextric Limited Edition set of James Hunt vs. Niki Lauda McLaren and Ferrari F1 cars, which I really needed for our upcoming Premier Party for “Rush” for which we are hosting a party at a local theater. (For info or tickets to this event, click here) These were no longer available from my suppliers, but Electric Dreams had a set in stock. I was happy to pay full retail for the set, and knew that as a reputable, professional company, they would deliver a quality product to me in a timely fashion. Of course, they came through with flying colors, and I was very happy with my purchase from them. I have also had the pleasure of sending products to them or other reseller customers as well.
A little competition can be a healthy thing. It drives everyone to do better, keeps prices reasonable, and gives consumers a choice. In a niche market like slot cars, not everyone can have everything or do everything all the time, and when there is the opportunity to work with someone rather than against them, I find it is frequently easier and more profitable to cooperate. So, a big “Thank you” to my competition, and keep up the good work, and “Thank you” to my readers as well for finishing my lengthier than normal blog.
