Skybolt60-RCU

I work for HobbyTown and I'm saying that my store is great! I work at the Sioux Falls, South Dakota location so if you are ever driving through stop in and we'll chat. Bring a plane or heli and we'll go fly, I'm in 2 clubs and have 3 different flying fields to choose from.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know everything about every RC plane, heli, engine, pumps or other aircraft products, but who could? I DO know what pilots in my part of the state want AND need and that is what I stock. I would stock more but space is at a premium in the store, our biggest departments are RC cars and then trains. Not many people fly gas in my area so we don't stock a lot of gas stuff. Not many people fly jets in my area so we don't stock a lot of jet stuff. But, if you need something we don't carry we can get it if one of our distributors has it.

As for pricing, we try to keep our prices as close to Tower as we can. If we had the kind of product volume going through or store that Tower has we would no doubt have the same kind of pricing. But we don't have everybody in the USA/World ordereing from us. We are a small business with all of the expenses that come with a small business. Our franchise owners are not out to get rich, just to make a living. And I am sure as heck not going to work for free, they need to pay me a little too. Most every aircraft kit/ARF, Futaba/JR radio and OS/Saito/Evolution/Irvine engine that we sell is the same price as what Tower or Horizon sells it for. Some maybe $5 or at a max $10 over and some are less. In fact, the last U-Can-Do .46 ARF that we sold was priced at $129, the last Tower Talk I got had it priced at $149. As for the parts, yes they maybe a few cents higher but isn't it nice when that one part that you need to fly doesn't take 2-4 days to get. And no, our prop prices (or anything else) don't go up for Christmas.

Our return policy: if it doesn't work, bring it back we'll get you a new one (or I'll show you how to use it), we'll give you a different brand, we'll give you store credit or your $$ back. If you bought it at a different location and we stock that product, we'll help you out, our distributors will still take it back. Yes, I said IF we stock the same product. The reason, some distributors (like Great Planes or Horizon) won't take it back if it's something that we (our franchise)have never ordered before.

My RC background, I've been flying for 18 years. I've got 16 aircraft in my hanger at the moment, everything from brushless foamies to a Y/A F-16 jet and 2 heli's.

My beef with this thread is that every HobbyTown USA is NOT the same. There are something like 180 HobbyTowns in the USA and you are generalizing your poor experience with just a few locations. I know their are locations that don't have the knowledge or experience base that they should but please don't lump all HobbyTowns together. I will not eat at the McDonalds located North of Sioux Falls but that doesn't mean that I avoid the 2 in town.

*Crash* I do know how to operate a PC in fact I have built a few.

By the way, today at work I installed a Saito 120 and a Futaba 7C in a 1/4 scale SIG Cub and set it up for a customer. I'll probably test fly it next week for him. Yesterday at work I tested different prop/gearbox/brushless combinations on my Tribute so I could recommend different options to my customers. Monday I helped a customer put together everything he needed to set-up his new Funtana 90 - we had everything in stock but his rx crystal. Last week I test flew a customers new Ultrafly BAE Hawk with the brushless set-up that I recommended to him (nice flying jet by the way).

What did you guys do (besides bash HobbyTown)?

Rod Mullen
HobbyTown USA
1007 West 41st Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57105
(605) 339-6613

bolar

My Feedback: (5)

Rod, very nice, well done.

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Rod, I want to be the first to thank you from responding.
If ever in the area, I will drop by and say hello. I do know that there are some knowledgeable sales people that work for Hobby Town. I consider you a gem among the masses.

modelman360

i was wondering if righty has stock in hobbytown, with all of his defending hobbytown, went to the one in brandon fla yesterday, unbelievably high prices! a model i can buy elsewhere for $15 is $24.50 there, saw no deals on anything whatsoever!...........i was in fairborn ohio by the air force museum, great place and it's free....................i did visit or ...........should i say go back in time to a hobby shop called delovely's.................a mom and pop store!....a lot of old kits, picked up a lindberg b58 hustler for only $15.00!..the box must be a fott and a half long!........great place to visit, it's so small i drove by it twice!

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

I did get a chance to go to the Hobby Town in SD. Nice store, Car area in the back with Planes on the left wall and down the middle. They only carried Monokote, not Ultrakote products. Store was nice.

sdwbarnes

I've been reading this string for a while and finally gotta put my experience on- I went to the Hobbytown in Omaha, Nebraska. After buying an RTR electric stadium truck, the clerk sold me $90 in "upgrades" that "aren't in the kit but you need them". Took all this home and found that I had $90 of duplicate parts- the RTR had everything. I took it back to HobbyTown on the same day- and the clerk denied ever selling me the items (duh, receipt). I asked for a refund and a second clerk said no problem, he would simple delete the transaction and credit my account. The first clerk turned around and told the second clerk to shut up and go in back- the first clerk then accused me of lying ( I'm not sure of what) and refused to return the items- I got stuck with a $90 credit that I unfortunately have to use at HobbyTown. I called the owner at least 6 times and left six messages of which all were ignored. It will be a cold day in H*** before I go to HobbyTown again.

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

I will be heading back to South Dakota so I will try to visit again.
There is a dive shop that has hobby stuff and they are a knowlegable group!

rsallen13

My Feedback: (1)

As Skybolt said not all of the stores are the same. These are all franchises and each is independantly owned occording to HTUSA website.

There are two near me and I have been to them both. The one in St. Charles, IL is a really nice place and has a pleasant staff and a pretty good selection for RC planes. Its about the size of an old fashion hobby shop. The guy behind the cash register new all the clubs in the area and pointed me to the ones that were close and then asked what I flew and then recommended the clubs that he new that leaned towards flying primarily the same class of planes. When I am in that area I stop in and buy something whether I need it or not as my way of supporting his business.

The one in Aurora absolutly sucks. The staff there has been rude to me everytime I have gone in and the last time actually yelled at my wife in kids becasue the kids were playing with the wood train set they had set up on a 1.5 foot high kids table that was sitting in the middle of the floor. What did they think was going to happen. Go to Toys r Us or a Zainie Brainie and thats what it is there for. That day I was there to by the GP Pitts they had and the supplies to build it. Needless to say that sale didn't go through and the lady behind the desk learned a few choice english words to add to her limited vocabulary. Don't mess with my family.

As with any business it depends on who is running it and whether or not the parent company actually goes out and inspects these places to see if they are meeting their contractual requirements. Fast food franchises have had their franchies agreements pulled becasue they didn't meet the requirements of the franchise parent as spelled out in their contract.

I don't expect that to happen becasue when I called the Corporate Office about the Aurora IL store the response I got was we'll look into it and get back to you with our findings. Hever heard from them again. It also sound as it they have had other complaints about the store.

As with any chain of stores some are good and some are bad. You don't like the store don't shop thier and tell others not to shop at that PARTICULAR store. Either they will change or go out of business.

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

RS Allen,
Very well said.
My beef actually started because I get asked to refer LHS's that have planes and things. People don't mind buying over the internet but with anything, you want to see what you are getting. I get asked about the HTUSA in Macon all the time.

THEY SUCK

I never refer them there. I actually refer them to Mac's to the south, and Winder or The Hobby Shop to the north. It is a shame that the Macon HTUSA don't seem to want to cater to the market in the area.

While I have been to several stores areound the USA and some well stocked! (Indianapolis, Indiana (Castleton) none seem to have any helpful and knowledgable people. If dealing with the public is that dramatic, then go into another line of work!

jettstarblue

Thought I'd give the Mentor HTUSA another try- I needed some dope and CA. First I'll say THEY SHO' GOT A LOTTA STUFF! Now I will say, the prices were still inflated and nobody knew where anything was.

I asked the guy where the stick and tissue models were and he got a blank look, then said "Oh you mean paper and sticks?" I said "
Yeah." then he said "Over there somewhere."

Thanks......

Cyclic Hardover

My Feedback: (3)

The problem we had with the two HT here that folded was claiming knowledge he did not have and theyboth based the enitre store around Radio Control instead of general hobbies. He had kits and planes coming out his back end at full retail. Realizing that we were not as stupid [sm=bananahead.gif]as we looked, he was stuck with them.

The two stores only lasted about a year.

fastlane7

I'm a newb to this forum but I will share my experience with hobbytown USA in Bellingham, MA. I am part of a group of rc car & truck bashers that do a most of our buying through the LHS. Internet resources are great but when it comes down to keeping your local track open, buying from them is key. The owner of this location is nothing short of an knob! He acts as if he's doing you a favor by being in business and has a very low tolerance for people with limited or no experience. his additude towards customers who call asking questions is comparable to having 36 grit sandpaper run over your *****. We used them for a short amount of time but the owners bad additude was enough to make us go elsewhere. I'm glad to hear that other locations have better service like Skybolt60's store. Good luck with yours in your area!

dbow

My Feedback: (1)

I have read through the whole thread, I am in GA like Geistware. I have never been to that HT and now that I have read this I will be sure not to ever go there.

The HobbyTown I use is located in Duluth and they are very good. The people working there have decent knowledge and if you talk to someone that does not know the answer they will get you someone that does, rather than offer a BS answer. I just bought some brand new 1/18 micro on road cars there and the car guy was very helpful and was able to answer all my questions. They had everything I needed in stock and even some option parts available that I do not need yet.
I have some other onroad gas cars and they always have the parts I need hanging on the wall.

I also fly planes and they have a decent selection of planes and field equipment. They even have G3 set up on a PC which I introduced my son to flying a PT-40. Dont think he is ready for the planes yet...maybe soon.

Well its a great store, they have always given me excellent customer service and given me help when I needed it. Thats why I shop there.


There is a very large HobbyTown to the North in Kennesaw GA. One of the largest hobby stores I have ever seen. There are also awesome on customer service and they have in stock just about anything you could want. They have more car and truck parts then I have ever seen. They seem to have a good helicopter department and they have some plane stuff as well.
I also dabble with trains and HobbyTown Kennesaw has tons of train stuff.


I can also speak for the Winder hobby shop, they are awesome also. I dont get over that way very often but to anyone from the area reading this if you dont already know, its a great store.


I have been to a few other shops and a few other HobbyTowns, results do vary from place to place. Seems that each store has its own idea of what should and should not be. I think some owners listen and some dont, some seem to thrive and some dont.


Dbow

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Dbow,
I have hear good things about the Kennesaw GA HTUSA store. It takes me about 90 munites or more to get that far north so I will have to get there on my way to/from Tenn. Winder is good. If you are ever in Stockbridge, visit "The Hobby Shop". The have a good selection of Plane/Car/paintball stuff!

Hill202

My Feedback: (24)

"The Hobby SHop" in Stockbridge has great prices as well

dbow

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for the info on Stockbridge store, I will have to check them out sometime. I know what you mean about the drive to Kennesaw, during the week it is almost impossible to get up there with all that traffic. I normally head up there on the weekends but only if the duluth store does not have what I need.

Dbow

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Well, I plan to visit the HTUSA in Sioux Falls on Saturday.
I will see if Skybolt60-RCU is in the house!

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

late post, not pertinent, sorry.

Skybolt60-RCU

Hey Geistware - it was great to meet you! So what did you think of our newly expanded store? Wish it wasn't 5 degrees out we could have hit a few of the local flying fields.

Here's a virtual tour link of our new store:

[link]http://vrsiouxfalls.com/hobbytownusa/temp/[/link]

Later,
Rod

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Everyone,
I visited Skybolts store and immediately noticed that it was remodeled.
I walked through the car section and Bob came over the ask me if I needed help. I thanked him and said no. I walked over to the paint and covering section, another guy came over and said hello. I walked to the back of the store where the plastic models were and there were two tables of people that were putting together models. They welcomed me and asked if I cared to join or just pull up a seat and chat. I told them I had a plane to catch. I did chat for a while. They were building a variety of models from tanks and landing craft to fantasy models. Great bunch of guys. They seem to meet on Saturdays just to build plastic scale models. One guy was so eager to work on his model that he didn't get around to removing his tie. I teased him about it and we all had a good laugh.

Following my walkthough, I went to the front of the store and asked for Skybolt. He was in the back (RC Section) and was helping a customer. I introduced myself and we chatted for a quick minute. I had less than an hour before my plane left so I could not visit like I wanted to. Also, it was 3 degrees outside and 70 inside so I was sweating like a pig but I had a very good time in a very customer friendly and down home hobby store.

I would like to openly commend Skybolt and the staff of the Sioux Falls HTUSA. The corporate office needs to visit this store and use them as the corporate model

H. Wayne S

My Feedback: (18)

Good to know owners and managers read some of these Post.
I was very blunt and truthfull in my post of 08-29-04.
Ok this post was started on 8-29-04.
I will say that since that time the HT-USA here in Macon has made leaps and bounds in improveing the RC Air division. They now have hired knowledgeable people and have even started stocking items the frequent flyer needs.
As long as you go on the weekend you can be assured you will be greeted by knowledgeable
people.
They even give an AMA membership discount.
They are trying.

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Wow,
It is good to see people are learning.
I may even visit the Macon store again.
Wonders never cease!

Taildrager-inactive

My Feedback: (11)

Seems the guy buys a pump that no one else has problems with. Did he read the directions, did he ask for help, did he call the manufacture, we don't know because all he can say is the pump is junk and Hobby Town is crap because they won't take it back. My local HT is great as they will for the most part match Tower's prices, have a great staff, and go out of their way to make sure you get the right product.