electricrc68

just wondering, will Hobbytown solder battery connectors on for you? like from a tamiya plug to a traxxas plug?

rchobbydood

My Feedback: (2)

Excellent advice - listen to what he says

dpb73

u need a track. the biggest and long lasting hobby stores have some type of racing.

john.hopkins

My Feedback: (3)

I'm guessing you go to riverside hobbies. I dont know if you know, but espiritmodels is off of palm bay rd... If you havent been there you need to make a special trip. Its unbelievable...

john.hopkins

My Feedback: (3)

I'm guessing you go to riverside hobbies. I dont know if you know, but espiritmodels is off of palm bay rd... If you havent been there you need to make a special trip. Its unbelievable..

fgibson

After years of no local hobby shop we suddently have two in town.  One is an independent and the other is a new Hobbytown.  As a glow airplane guy, both are disappointing because they are chock full of bind n fly pre-built stuff.  The people working there seem to know little about glow powered airplanes.  Actually the folks at HT didn't know what a J series connector was today when I was there (much less the old G series adapter that I was looking for).  Guess they are still training...doing my best to educate them...LOL

Not one single airplane kit in either of them.  I know, nobody wants to build anymore.  (Not sure I believe that.  Have you tried to bid on a kit recently on ebay?  They are not going cheap.  Somebody out there still wants to build.)

Anyway I am watching with great interest to see which one will survive and/or prosper.  I think it will be the one that takes the time to find out what the local people want and can adapt to that.  Hobby shops have gotten to be like McDonalds...all the same and kind of lacking in individual character and creativity.  Bottom line is that I'm glad both of them are here and I'm going to give them as much business as I can.  I believe in supporting local hobby shops.  And, not having to drive an hour to get to the nearest hobby shop is huge with gas prices today.

As far as local pricing versus Tower, the other day I found a Futaba 2.4ghz 7 channel receiver at HT that was $15 cheaper than Tower.  That was a deal!

ramcfarland

My Feedback: (44)

In Waldorf we used to have a fairly well stocked hobby shop with a friendly and knowledgeable staff but the shop is gone though the building remains I would love to work PT at a hobby Town franchise in Waldorf Maryland.. You stock it and I will sell it

htusa1

As president of the HobbyTown USA franchise, I can speak to some of the information and challenges shared by former franchisees and employees on this thread in regard to the operation of a hobby shop (franchise or independent). Without question, owning and operating a retail business of any kind is a challenge and requires hard work and dedication to be successful. Each HobbyTown USA store is independently owned and operated and as such, the owner of each franchise is given great latitude to tailor the inventory selection in the store to fit the local market and their personal hobby interests. Our franchise owners have access to national and regional sales data to help guide their inventory purchasing decisions to complement the feedback from their local market. We encourage and welcome customer feedback at each store to help shape the inventory and best meet the needs of our local hobby customers.

The hobby industry and consumer tastes have certainly evolved in our 25 years of franchising. While we have made every effort to adapt our product selection and innovate the customer shopping experience along the way, we have also tried to maintain a focus on the fundamental value that a brick and mortar hobby shop can provide for individuals, families and communities. We greatly appreciate the loyalty and support of hobby customers to the LHS to keep this rich community tradition alive and provide a venue for future generations to have a hands on hobby shopping experience. As stated in an earlier post, if you have further questions about the franchise, please feel free to contact Nichole at [email protected].

meistertjk

How about doing an online store like hobbyking, nitroplanes, etc.? I was really thinking of opening my own online store. Trying to find for suppliers/manufacturers. What do you think?

FormerCA.

My Feedback: (8)

I pesonally will pay a few dollars more for the convenience of being able to pick up whatever i need right then.

chuckk2

Running a successful hobby shop depends on a lot of variables.
1. Pockets deep enough to stock what the local area customers need and want.
2. Time to cater to individual customers, and the knowledge to go with the time.
An example is that I know a bit about A/C aircraft, and next to nothing about R/C cars.
3. Cost of help. This gets to be a biggie.
4. Cost of the storefront. A local area gentleman tried to start a hobby shop in the local metropolitan area.
Storefront cost was way out of line for any typical location, so he opened in a mini mall with cheap rent.
Unfortunately, after four break-ins to steal R/C cars and parts, he packed things up, and moved to a location outside the metro area.