BIG SALE!
EVERYTHING HALF PRICE!
At our store at 123 N Main Street, Watervliet Michigan
Sale hours: Tuesday thru Saturday from 12pm to 5pm
NEXT AUCTION COMING SOON!
The next auction is coming up soon. The main reason is so we can get out of Watervliet, MI.
We will keep this site open and let people know when
it will be. Keep checking back often!
At our store at 123 N Main Street, Watervliet Michigan
The next auction is coming up soon. The main reason is so we can get out of Watervliet, MI.
We will keep this site open and let people know when
it will be. Keep checking back often!
At our store at 123 N Main Street, Watervliet Michigan
- LOT OF PLASTIC MODEL KITS & PAINTS
- LOT OF VINTAGE SOUVENIR MICHIGAN DECALS
- SIX SOUVENIR BOB’S HOBBY SHOP STEAK KNIVES
- BOX OF OLD TOOLS
- LIONEL TIN COLLECTOR’S BOX and LIONEL CATALOGS
- BOX OF N GAUGE CORK ROADBED and TRACK
- FOUR PLASTIC MODEL CAR KITS
- REMOTE CONTROL POLARIS SNOWMOBILE
- LOT OF VINTAGE BASEBALL CARDS
- BOX OF CLASSIC MATCHBOX CATALOGS
- SIX DIE CAST CLASSIC VEHICLES
- JAR OF VINTAGE SOUVENIR BUTTONS & DECALS
- FRAMED PICTURE OF A CHICAGO STREET CAR & 5 ANTIQUE STREET CAR BUTTONS
- LIONEL CHRISTMAS STEAM ENGINE & 2 FREIGHT CARS
- LOT OF HO SCALE TRAIN ITEMS
- TWO MODEL KITS
- N GAUGE TRAIN SET
- DUNCAN YO-YO STRING & WAX DISPLAY & 2 YO-YOs
- LIONEL GATEMAN ACCESSORY
- LOT OF 1/32 SCALE SLOT RACING PARTS
- VINTAGE METAL CHURCH COIN BANK
- BOX OF PLASTIC MODEL KITS
- HAWTHORNE VILLAGE THOMAS KINKADE COLLECTIBLE
- LIONEL TYPE LW TRANSFORMER
- BOX OF PARTS FOR DIE CAST VEHICLES
- MISCELLANEOUS SLOT CAR PARTS & ACCESSORIES
- MISC. HO SCALE TRAINS
- VARIOUS OLD TOY VEHICLES
- PLASTIC MODEL KITS & PAINTS
- ABBOTT & COSTELLO PICTURES & DVD
- MISCELLANEOUS S GAUGE TRAINS & PARTS
- VARIOUS FLYING AIRPLANE PARTS
- LIONEL TIN COLLECTOR’S BOX & LIONEL CATALOGS
- ANTIQUE BALSA WOOD FLYING AIRPLANES
- LOT OF N GAUGE TRAINS, TRACK, & ACCESSORIES
- PLASTIC MODEL KITS, PAINT, & PAINT BRUSHES
- N GAUGE TRACK & ACCESSORIES
- BOX OF MISCELLANEOUS DIE CAST RACING VEHICLES
- LOT OF HO SCALE TRAINS
- 4 MARX TINPLATE FREIGHT CARS
- ANTIQUE PUNCHBOARD
- MARINE MODELS PT-10 WOOD SHIP KIT
- BOX OF LIONEL O GAUGE TRACK
- LOT OF MISCELLANEOUS PAPERBACK NOVELS
- LOT OF MATCHBOX SUPERSTAR TRANSPORTERS
- PLASTIC MODEL KITS, PAINT, & BRUSHES
- FUJIFILM DIGITAL CAMERA with the BOX
- LOT OF HO SCALE TRACK & ACCESSORIES
- BOX OF LIONEL ITEMS
- LOT OF HO SCALE TRAIN ITEMS
- LOT OF O SCALE RAILROAD TIES
- LOT OF VINTAGE LIONEL CATALOGS
- BOX OF O SCALE TRAIN ITEMS
- MISCELLANEOUS PLASTIC MODEL KITS
- THREE LIONEL FREIGHTS CARS & 1 BOX
- LOT OF MISC. HO SCALE TRAIN ITEMS
- TWO DISNEY TOWN SQUARE ACCESSORIES
- BOX OF VARIOUS TOYS
- LOT OF VINTAGE AMERICAN FLYER CATALOGS
- FOUR PLASTIC MODEL CAR KITS
- LOT OF MISCELLANEOUS SLOT CAR PARTS & ACCESSORIES
- BOX OF O GAUGE TRACK
- MISCELLANEOUS PLASTIC MODEL KITS
- PLASTIC MODEL CAR KITS, PAINTS, & BRUSHES
- BOX OF MISC. HOBBIES
- N GAUGE TRAINS, TRACK, & ACCESSORIES
- BOX OF HO SCALE TRAINS & ITEMS
- BOX OF VARIOUS LIONEL TRAINS & ACCESSORIES
The Rise and Fall of Michigan's Largest Hobby Shop
We started in Hartford, Michigan in 1966 and moved to Watervliet, Michigan in 1987.
My first problem with the City of Watervliet was that my awning was three inches too low. I moved down the street to another building and the City found my step was an inch and half too low. In 1992, we moved to our last location. There the City said the numbers on the building were too small.
Things went well for a while. We started looking around on the internet and came across Anysoldier.com. We picked five soldiers a week and had a list of all sorts of the things they wanted or needed. We made five care packages a week to send them. Some packages went to Iraq and others went to Afghanistan. In just a few years our care package count was seven hundred-sixty. I've got a book filled with thank you letters from the soldiers and military which weighs about ten pounds. We received awards from the Army, the Marines, and a thank you from the President of the United States.
Then Chemical Bank introduced me to First Data, a credit card processing company out of California. First Data took about $30,000 from us and put us on a crooks list so we couldn't accept credit cards. We had radio stations, television stations, newspapers, and senators try to help us but this company is too big and wouldn't answer anyone.
The Attorney General of Michigan was no help at all and we even sent letters to the Attorney General of California but they wouldn't answer us. We had to stop sending care packages to our soldiers. First Data had done a lot of people in and a lot of banks still use them.
I then received a letter from the State of Michigan telling me that the underground gas tanks from the gas station next door leaked under my building. I talked to the Attorney General of Ohio, since the headquarters for this gas station is located there. He told me in his state he would've taken care of this immediately. He said that he called the Michigan Attorney General and told me that he would most likely not help me. He was right.
The next problem was a couple of leaks in my roof. I learned that the City of Watervliet received money to help local businesses. I applied but was turned down. I hired a local contractor to work on it and $1,200 later it leaked worse than when they started.
I decided to sell the building and get out. I couldn't find a real estate agent to help sell it. They told me with the contaminated ground, no one would buy it. I contacted my bank and told them I don't want to pay for a building I can't use or sell. Some customers would walk in and then right back out stating how bad the musty smell was. We had a model railroad club with forty-one members upstairs but with the roof leaking, they moved out.
I've a little warehouse in Hartford and moved there to do some mail order and let the bank take back the building in Watervliet. The bank agreed but they had to have environmental inspectors look around and have pictures taken before they could take it back. This takes a long while.
I then got a summons from the City of Watervliet because I have a leaky roof. This is the same roof I asked them for help fixing. I told them it was out of my hands but they needed proof. Chemical Bank said that they would get me a letter explaining that they were responsible but they never did. I had to go to court three times and ended up paying a $400 fine. I then got another summons to court because my building is empty. There are eight other buildings on Main Street that are empty but mine must be special. If I don't get that letter from Chemical Bank, I will probably have to pay another fine. If the City of Watervliet had their way, it would be a capital offence.
Thirty years in town and we've had people visit us from five different countries and every state in the Union.
From this day on, if anyone asks me about doing business in Watervliet, I will tell them that the first thing that they need to do is have their head examined. If the City was fair, they would take down their welcome sign, for perjury is against the law.
I don't vote in Watervliet but the ones who do should make big changes at the top or they'll end up with a ghost town. This is just an opinion but we are allowed this.
I now have a chance to maybe sell the building and get some money. At one time, the bank told me their share was $40,000. I talked to a real estate agent, he needs this statement in writing. All the bank tells me is that if I have a buyer, they would okay it, but the real estate agent can't list this without the definite price. Since I have been in business, Chemical Bank has cost me a lot of money. To solve one problem, I had to call Port Huron, Michigan. They had no idea where Watervliet was. They told me I should work locally but with Chemical Bank, I can't get them to give me the time of day.
If the bank doesn't cooperate, I will let the state take the building back for taxes the bank didn't pay them from the escrow. I have two options: Sell it and the bank and I get some money or let the state take it for back taxes. In my opinion, anyone with a functional brain would choose the first option.
I received two more summons, both for the same things I am paying fines for. I have one goal in life and that is to get out of Watervliet. I have looked at a building in Bangor, Michigan and one in Coloma, Michigan. Most of the customers know my problems and can't believe what is going on. I have customers in Japan, Australia, England and Canada. I haven't told any of them about this. I can't believe that this can happen in the United States. I thought the Thousand Year Reich ended in April 1945 but I guess I was wrong.
We started in Hartford, Michigan in 1966 and moved to Watervliet, Michigan in 1987.
My first problem with the City of Watervliet was that my awning was three inches too low. I moved down the street to another building and the City found my step was an inch and half too low. In 1992, we moved to our last location. There the City said the numbers on the building were too small.
Things went well for a while. We started looking around on the internet and came across Anysoldier.com. We picked five soldiers a week and had a list of all sorts of the things they wanted or needed. We made five care packages a week to send them. Some packages went to Iraq and others went to Afghanistan. In just a few years our care package count was seven hundred-sixty. I've got a book filled with thank you letters from the soldiers and military which weighs about ten pounds. We received awards from the Army, the Marines, and a thank you from the President of the United States.
Then Chemical Bank introduced me to First Data, a credit card processing company out of California. First Data took about $30,000 from us and put us on a crooks list so we couldn't accept credit cards. We had radio stations, television stations, newspapers, and senators try to help us but this company is too big and wouldn't answer anyone.
The Attorney General of Michigan was no help at all and we even sent letters to the Attorney General of California but they wouldn't answer us. We had to stop sending care packages to our soldiers. First Data had done a lot of people in and a lot of banks still use them.
I then received a letter from the State of Michigan telling me that the underground gas tanks from the gas station next door leaked under my building. I talked to the Attorney General of Ohio, since the headquarters for this gas station is located there. He told me in his state he would've taken care of this immediately. He said that he called the Michigan Attorney General and told me that he would most likely not help me. He was right.
The next problem was a couple of leaks in my roof. I learned that the City of Watervliet received money to help local businesses. I applied but was turned down. I hired a local contractor to work on it and $1,200 later it leaked worse than when they started.
I decided to sell the building and get out. I couldn't find a real estate agent to help sell it. They told me with the contaminated ground, no one would buy it. I contacted my bank and told them I don't want to pay for a building I can't use or sell. Some customers would walk in and then right back out stating how bad the musty smell was. We had a model railroad club with forty-one members upstairs but with the roof leaking, they moved out.
I've a little warehouse in Hartford and moved there to do some mail order and let the bank take back the building in Watervliet. The bank agreed but they had to have environmental inspectors look around and have pictures taken before they could take it back. This takes a long while.
I then got a summons from the City of Watervliet because I have a leaky roof. This is the same roof I asked them for help fixing. I told them it was out of my hands but they needed proof. Chemical Bank said that they would get me a letter explaining that they were responsible but they never did. I had to go to court three times and ended up paying a $400 fine. I then got another summons to court because my building is empty. There are eight other buildings on Main Street that are empty but mine must be special. If I don't get that letter from Chemical Bank, I will probably have to pay another fine. If the City of Watervliet had their way, it would be a capital offence.
Thirty years in town and we've had people visit us from five different countries and every state in the Union.
From this day on, if anyone asks me about doing business in Watervliet, I will tell them that the first thing that they need to do is have their head examined. If the City was fair, they would take down their welcome sign, for perjury is against the law.
I don't vote in Watervliet but the ones who do should make big changes at the top or they'll end up with a ghost town. This is just an opinion but we are allowed this.
I now have a chance to maybe sell the building and get some money. At one time, the bank told me their share was $40,000. I talked to a real estate agent, he needs this statement in writing. All the bank tells me is that if I have a buyer, they would okay it, but the real estate agent can't list this without the definite price. Since I have been in business, Chemical Bank has cost me a lot of money. To solve one problem, I had to call Port Huron, Michigan. They had no idea where Watervliet was. They told me I should work locally but with Chemical Bank, I can't get them to give me the time of day.
If the bank doesn't cooperate, I will let the state take the building back for taxes the bank didn't pay them from the escrow. I have two options: Sell it and the bank and I get some money or let the state take it for back taxes. In my opinion, anyone with a functional brain would choose the first option.
I received two more summons, both for the same things I am paying fines for. I have one goal in life and that is to get out of Watervliet. I have looked at a building in Bangor, Michigan and one in Coloma, Michigan. Most of the customers know my problems and can't believe what is going on. I have customers in Japan, Australia, England and Canada. I haven't told any of them about this. I can't believe that this can happen in the United States. I thought the Thousand Year Reich ended in April 1945 but I guess I was wrong.