I could not find any more appropriate place to post this. Has anyone tried to contact Sheldon's via telephone in the last week?

I have an engine on order but everytime I call I get an immediate answering machine message stating. "Hello, thank you for calling Sheldon's Hobbies. Phone services are currently unavailable.... Please try back later."

What is with this place? I thought this was a fairly reputable hobby shop, now I am unsure. I cannot even contact them to cancel my order. Their website has no e-mail addresses to send inquiries to either.

Any suggestions?

I have used them in the past without a problem. They have been in buisness for more than thirty years so i am sure they will deliver.

Tom

My biggest concern is how the phone system can be non functional for a week. Especially since there is no other way to contact them. Seems a bit strange to me.

I just got off the phone with Ron and all is OK, did have some phone issues but all is resolved now.

Carlos

Cool. maybe I'll give them a shout. Thanks.

I love that shop but I have had that problem before , frankly I think it depends on who is in the store .
Now for those of you who think I may have a beef with this place , I travel the US and started a post called Favorite hobby shops , this was one listed along with hobbywarehouse in Richfield Minn .

When I go to Northern Cal , I often will call Sheldons on my cell before I make the trip , and yes it does go to the answer machine

Maybe there was a death in the family, or they lost a principle partner. Life happens. Hang in there. I'll bet it will be resolved to your satisfaction.

I just bought three engines from them in the last couple of months. Enyas. Sheldon's was the last hold out that I knew of. I hope they will survive. If you used your credit card to fund the purchase of the engine, you have a means to resolve the issue.

Ed that is precisely what I am looking to get, an Enya 53-4C. I did get a hold of them and they were unsure when the shipment of Enya's was going to arrive, so they suggested I call ALtech/MRC. I did, and got some bad news. The Enya order isn't due to arrive at MRC until mid April, meaning my engine will not be arriving at my house until at least mid May.

I guess the Saito 56 goes into the SIG Rascal. I cannot wait that long to get it in the air. I'll just have to find another tail dragger sport airplane for the 53. Any suggestions?

I've been up there to buy stuff at the store almost every weekend for the past 2 months and I think their staff has shrunk a little bit but the store is still going strong.

I live in San Jose and visit Sheldons almost every weekend. There is one guy that is really mean. He's always grumpy and is too lasy to help you.

"Hi, I'm looking for a nice trainer plane." Reply "Well, there over there."


This is one of many conversations with the man. I believe he also works at the Hobbytown USA in San Jose.

Oh well, Sheldon's is a nice hobby shop though and they've got lots of good stuff.

Hey Frankie,

You MUST be referring to Reenae, He can be quite indifferent and even rude to most everyone he comes in contact with unless he knows them.

yep , i met that guy , that have a young guy who was good and an older guy does nothing but try to get paid to set up helis , I listened to him tell the customer how Mr Sheldon does not like him to spend to much time on one person , so then he gave the guy his number and said call me outside the shop , I will set the heli up for a charge

I also live in San Jose and Sheldon's in my local hobby shop.
dmrcflyr2, just curiuos, what do u buy from Sheldons via mail ?? There are many bigger, reliable, cheaper online stores around.

My honest opinion,. I go to Sheldons when I REALLY have to, like fuel or small parts.
They always say to me at the checkout register, "buy an airplane !!" which gives me pressure.
One day, I bought some small parts and the guy said "so cheap" in sarcastic way.

I don't like local small store because it becomes personal.
Their attitude forces me to buy more online.

Good luck sheldons.

Jake.

jrotor

I am buying from Sheldon's because they are one of the only places to get Enya engines. If you know of others in the continental US please let me know...

I have never actually been to the shop, although a business trip to San Jose is in my future. If that is the attitude you get when you are there, then I agree with you 110%. I would not listen to that either.

http://www.richmondrc.com carries Enya engines and they are the biggest VMAR distributor.
they usually have discounts on ARF when u buy engines from them or vice versa so check it out.

Richmond RC is out of stock on Enya 53-4C and they could not even tell me when more would be coming in. I guess I will keep my order with Sheldon's....

Reenae looks like the meanest grasshopper from the movie, Bug's life.

------------------


Rumor has it that MRC/Altec is no longer going to carry the Enya line of engines. The fact that they told you that there is another shipment of Enya engines cheers me up.

I bought two of their SS .15 R/C engines and a 53-4C just in time, I suppose. Good luck on getting your 53-4C.

Another bad experience with Sheldon's over the phone.
I think he was the owner, the guy who's in the back all the time.

Jake : Hello, I'm looking ____ parts. Do u carry that ?
Owner : No we don't but we can special order them.
Jake : Oh I see, do you charge s/h ? (I asked this because I could just order from Horizon myself)
Owner : ............(short silence), Have a good day sir (then he hung up the phone on me).

Can u believe how personal things can be ?

Only in CA can a place with this kind of personel stay in business...

Why on Earth does anyone give these people one cent? Maybe it's the only LHS for miles, OK, I can see that. Why not just figure out when the old buzzard works, and don't go in then. If the shop never does a dime's worth of business while this old Donkey is working, then surely they'd have no recourse but to fire him, and maybe get someone less crabby in. Problem is, though, it sounds like Mr. Sheldon himself is a farily crabby old fart. I've read enough on this forum (and definitely not just this thread) that they'll never see one penney of my hard earned money. Period. I have no use for an engine that is great enough for me to condone or put up with that kind of people. There are simply too many other good brands of engine out there. For crying out loud, order them from over seas if necessary....

Reenae or whatever also works in the HobbyTown USA in Blossom Hill except Sheldon's doesn't know that. All I know is that if that guy keeps up the attitude that place is going out of business. He has lost me as a customer[:@]

The young guy was very helpful , he helped me match some mac muffler extensions to my Os engines .
The funny thing about this great site is the power of communication . I swear this is a true story , I have always wanted a Pica P40 , either 1/6 or 1/5 . So on my first trip in about nov 2004 I noticed about 11 Pica WW2 kits , the spit , the p40 and the P51 . both sizes 1/6 and 1/5 . SO I bought the 1/6 for $179 , stupid me I could have purchased the 1/5 for about 199 .

anyway , I start seeing these post on "pica out of biz , where can I get the planes " so I post sheldons . The next time in I tell them and they say there was a run on the kits and they did not know why , but they sold them all .I said yes , RCU is a powerful place , but they just dont get it .

ANother RCU member told me about Hobbywarehouse in Richfield Minn , well I can tell you I have spent over $3000 in there from 2005 thru this year , but they are extremely helpful , very nice people and prices are better then mail order