Until now we have not had a local hobby shop within 45 miles. Last Saturday we recieved a HOBBYTOWN USA. So, today I was excited to visit the new hobby shop. What a let down that was!

The prices were equivalent to the major online stores within a few dollars but, had limited glow powered airplanes and accessories. They had a total of less than 10 ARF glow powered planes, absuletly 0 kits and a ton of cheap electrics.

Since they were new I figured they may not have all of there stock out, not the case. Upon asking, I was told "what we have is what we are going to carry" but, we can order anything. Now why would I do that? I can order stuff online for the same price and not have to drive across town to place the order and pick it up.

It looks like I will be driving 45 miles to the Mom and Pop LHS, where the prices beat online stores, to due most of my major shopping.

Anyways just a rant and wondering what you guys thought about situations like this, or if you have similar situations.

Layne

I agree with you. My LHS is a 10 mile drive, often doesn't have what I need, usually has higher prices than I can find online, charges sales tax, and is reluctant to take returns.

In my case I like the guy and understand that he has a hard time making the LHS profitable so I give him my business even if it does cost me a bit more and is less convenient than ordering online.

I understand. I don't have one within an hour's drive, and only one at that distance that is worth considering. Unfortunately it is also a tiny little place and although he has good prices and a decent selection, it's an uncomfortable building it is so small. I miss the big shops we used to have before they closed down. Those were places a true "modeler" could go to look and talk, and find more than a snob and a plastic 'toy'.

And IF we had supported them back then, instead of mail order etc. we might still have them . ENJOY !!! RED

Don't get me wrong there Red. I really prefer the Mom & Pop LHS. Hobbytown USA is not that. It is no more than an online store that you can visit. My rant is more about the impersonal lack of knowledge and availble product that I encountered today at my Not so Local chain type hobby shop. I wish the fellow with the LHS 45 miles away would branch out into my town!


Layne

I'm sure it's nationwide, Hobbytown has been more rc car oriented. Our local Hobby Havens carry more of a balanced line; giant arfs to tissue / rubberband kits.
In a similar situation, I own a smalltown gun shop competing with Gunbrokers.com, Cabela's within 15 miles and 2 new giant Bass Pro's in a 30 mile radius.

i agree 100% i once went into a chain an they were very rood to me. the only thing i would change about layne's statement is instead of putting an lhs in my town, but put one across the street from me.

Dave,

I would go broke if it was that close! Across town is far enough to keep a little green laying around. Anyways, I will continue going to the next town when I can and order online when I can't.

We have a Hobbytown USA fairly close to my home. Their stock of glow powered planes is somewhat limited but is not bad. At any given time they have a few 40 size kits on the shelf. They always have several ARFs and RTFs. They do OK for hardware, fuel tanks, spinners, etc. Even though they’re a chain, I think the stores are franchises and each owner has a certain amount of flexibility regarding the way the store is stocked. The store in Dallas has a couple of guys who seem pretty knowledgeable about airplanes; and everyone there has been extremely nice and helpful every time I’ve gone in.

Boys,
Its nice to know I'm not the only one bangin my head on a rock!!! Man I feal ya on that one. I don't know what kind of success ratios you guys have but mine is about 2 in 10. It seems like every time I need something, I drive, all excited plannin my work and NO FRIGEN DICE! Then you get the "well we can order that for you..." What the hell do I need that for? I Drive home and order it myself!!! Next time I'm just going throw $20 in the toilet, sit in the corner for an hour and a half, scrape 40 miles worth of rubber off my tires, dump 3 gallons of gas in the sewer, and b!tc$ whine and complain for 20 minutes!!![:'(] At least that way I don't have to leave the house!!!

I have about 12 LHS's in my normal travel areas. Of those, most are franchise stores and a few are no-name LHS M&P's.

The franchise stores:

IMHO these stores try to be all things to all people and specialize in NOTHING. You must know exactly what you want and how to use it. I buy servos or maybe some glue if I need it right-now, but that's about it.

The M&P's:

There are 2 M&P LHS's about 120 miles apart that I really like. The best one is in Murrietta, CA. The owner is always there, he flies and builds PLANES and he knows what GOOD stuff is; and is not afraid to tell you NOT to buy something even if it means he won't sell you anything. I buy almost everything from his store. They do mail-order and have a web site you can order from after hours. AND you can order say a Giant Scale airplane through him for the same price as direct from the MFG and KNOW that someone will be there to sign for the boxes and KNOW they won't get stolen from your doorstep. I think I am putting his kids through college.

I have seen at least five local independent hobby shops close in my local area. Now, two Hobbytowns are about all that's left here, to be fair, they are not terrible but RC cars and model railroads seem to be their major market. They have a couple of employees that are really into flying so that helps.
Since I scratch build most of my planes, I really miss the selection of balsa, including contest grade, that some of the now closed shops carried.

Does anyone build anymore? All I see in the stores today is ARFs and RTFs. If you see a kit, its usually a 3-D electric foamy. I guess the Monokote they sell is for repairing ARFs.

We have a hobbytown Usa aswell although it does have a few Rtf Trainers and ALOT OF ELECTRICS!!!!There is no Kits or ARF and they say the same thing we can order for you well we made the mistake of getting them to order a Retract Servo that was 2 months ago no joke even had to get them to order it twice cause they sold the first one we special ordered well today we went in and there it was well 2 weeks ago my dad ordered one from tower that monday was expected the next monday got it that thursday so we mainly use online and only use HobbyTown for fuel and emergency parts (when they have stuff in stock)

I BUILD!!!!!! LOL

back to hobbytown usa.......went to the one in memphis last weekend. never have been impressed but my wife likes going to memphis shopping so i make the most out of it. had around 150 buck worth and was looking at the glow plugs. just making small talk and joking around when i make the statement that i didn't need to see that plane sitting up there on the shelf looking all nice and pretty. the clerk asked me which one i was talking about i told him the gp super skybolt ARF. i explained to him i've just spent around 8 months building one. his reply, believe it or not, was "maybe you shouldn't have been looking"

i felt like i'd been slapped in the face. anyway, i told him to ring me up and he wouldn't have to worry about any of my future business because i wouldn't be back. from now on i'll order online. no sales tax, better prices, and the shipping charges beats the he!! out of the $50+- fuel it costs me to drive there and back.

Forget hobby shops. Ace Hardware carries all the bolts and nuts, epoxy and wood glue, sand paper, brass tubing, piano wire and even balsa wood, Dremel parts and Rustoleum paint, (which works better than Lustrekote)
Hobby Lobby, a craft store chain, carries balsa wood and CA.
There is simply no reason to deal with another hobby shop for anything other than fuel and you can even order that.
Don't waste your time driving an hour out of your way to hear that you don't need what you are looking for from (lets face it) a rather SLOW clerk in a hobby shop !!!! And "We can order that for you". So can my grandmother ! Gee thanks !!
These smucks don't support you so why should you support them ? That is a two way street and they never seemed to catch on. Let them all go under.


Your hobby shop is your computor !! ANd it has everything.

Used to have two hobby stores in my town, but one recently closed down. That store had two aisles of RC stuff, two for rubber stamps(!?!) and about 2000 sq. ft. dedicated to an indoor car track that was used once a week. No wonder it closed down.

The second one was just taken over by a new owner and while he's trying, I still think he's doing it wrong. He's got a very small store and now has the front 3rd dedicated to a railroad display set up. Nothing for sale, jut a railroad set that is meant to be only looked at...in the front window...taking up about 200 sq. ft. of a store that's only about 1000. He just doesn't get that that space could be much better put to use as sales area. He's also started jacking prices simply because he thinks he can. One of our club members went in to get a Blade CP Pro and he had it on the shelf at LIST price! Member said he'd buy it if he matched Horizon's price and while he initially refused, he eventually agreed. He though because he was local that he could charge a premium over Horizon's price. He didn't quite get that Horizon's is only 40 miles away and anyone can order one day and receive the order the next day...with ground shipping.

Last weekend I really needed a servo, so I decided to let my car's nav system do the walking for me and lead me to Venture Hobbies in Wheeling (NW Chicago suburb). I finally know what it's like to be in a real hobby store. The ceiling was covered with hanging airplanes...all for sale. They had probably 75 kits/ARFs of all kinds. A good selection of engines, building supplies and electronics. Not to mention a model section that had more models than you could shake a stick at. Granted, they are in a much more populated area than Central IL, but the smaller shop down here should take a page from their book. Almost no floor space was used for demos or displays (like a monsterous train set). In fact, I think the only displays they had were for G3 and FSOne which they had set up at demo stations. Every other inch of the store was dedicated to nothing other than merchandise. And the prices were the same as you would get from an online retailer.

Wish I had the capital it invest because I think a hobby store done right in this town would do well...

my local one closed down and im marooned here in england!

hmm... maybe one day foamy will have a shop... yes... "Foamys-Hobbies" or something like that... and all RCU members get a 20% discount! yeeeeeey!... (mods and admins get 30% )

I can probably make you all feel better. There WAS 4 or 5 Hobby Town USA franchises in the Seattle area a few years back. Now there might be one, If I'm unlucky. But at the same time, there have been 2 or 3 GOOD LHS's go under as well. For those that live in Pheonix, you have it good with Hobby Bench. Best hobby shop I was ever in was one of their stores on the north side of town. They had almost anything you could ask for, from trains, planes(ARFs, ARCs and kits), boats as well as art and baking supplies. My fiance and I spent several hours in the store, but since we had to fly home the next day, everything that I wanted had to stay there[&o]

I'll have to agree with the plug for the Hobby Bench on Bell Rd. in Phoenix - they are as well stocked as ANY LHS I've ever been in. Certainly nothing like that exists here in WI. I have one above average LHS in the Milwaukee area and a pretty decent Hobbytown USA closer to where I live. THe Hobbytown doesn't stock much in the way of planes or engines, but they are unbelievably responsive in special ordering what I heed. If it can be obtained from Great Planes or Horizon, they can have it in no longer than the time it takes me to order directly. THey are very competative in matching or most of the time beating on-line prices and usually have a local coupon forf regular customers to offset the sales tax. I'd never been impressed with Hobbytown prior and maybe I've just been fortunate to get the exception close to home. But the one in Grafton, WI has made a regular customer out of me.

We have a great LHS where I live. He is about a 20 min drive and beats all of the mail order prices. Been in business about 30 years and Mark is a great guy. Bailed me out with Horizon and got my fuselage and tail feathers replaced on my Miss America P51 when Horizon just blew me off. Support your LHS when you can, because once they are gone, they're gone for good. Then we are at the mercy of the chains and mail order houses.

oh so true mscic... oh so true...

the closest thing to a LHS i ever see around here is Halfords (you may not know it...) and they just sell fuel, XMODS cars, one or two stock Savage and hellfire bodyshells, spur gears and maybe some tyres, but they are a ripoff. although if you can find a local one you dont have to pay courier fees and shipping costs, so thats an added bonus (and if you have a problem with something you can drive over there and get it replaced, none of this on the phone stuff )

ive already drawn up designs for use of the floor space at "Foamys-hobbies"... will keep you posted

Have a HobbyTown 5 min away. Not impressed. Last time I needed a small item, "not in stock". Now I also have a mom & pop store that is 30 min away. That is where I do all my shopping now. I've know the owner for 30 plus years. Get this, he will refund or exchange anything you purchase from him. Don't like the new radio you bought, he will exchange or refund, no questions asked. Look at kit and don't like it, take it back. His shop is located behind his home in a very small town and he has enlarged it for the second time. He will order anything you want for the same price as you can get from Tower. Of course you pay taxes but no shipping and if it is received damaged he will reorder and return the damaged on for you. Believe me you cant beat this service. Oh yes also has free coffee and/or soft drinks and several chairs for chewing the fat. The only thing he doesn't carry much of is in the way of boats but there is another LHS that in into boats big time. I don't mind the gas or the distance for this type of service.




Keep your wings level and wheels down.


a senior citizen-Jim

I'll echo Old-n-slow. I'm lucky enough to live 30 minutes from both a Hobby Town and a legit LHS. I'd been dealing with the Hobby Town, much to my chagrin, primarily because I wanted to support any local hobby shop.

Then I found a real LHS. I may pay a very slight premium to deal with them, but the owner "gets it". The owner works the store and answers the phone most of the time. They stock most of my "by the way" needs on a daily basis. I was able to order a kit for less than Tower prices. The crowning achievement came when I was all set to order a Futaba flight pack, and these guys steered me towards the Futaba skysport pack. This netted me a buddy box and all the servos I needed plus the batteries and crystal. This alone saved me 10% - 20% versus buying a receiver crystal plus the flight pack. I could go on and on about the great hours they keep (Thursday & Friday open until 7pm). From now on, I'm going to give these guys every penny I can in this hobby. I'll happily pay a 10% - 20% premium to keep these guys in business.

Online for planes, hobby store for building supplies.

Problem Solved!!!!!

Let me explain... 96% of the time when I go to the two LHS in my area they never have anything that I am after (even simple stuff), they are poorly stocked, unfriendly and unhelpful..And god forbid I have them order anything for me. they would tell me that they would have it in about 3 or 4 days ....and two weeks later they finally get it.

So with that being said I decided to set up my own hobbie shop and carry all the things that they don't have and more!
I look at it this way; if it does not go well, then I will have my own private stock. Then I would not have to worry about going on-line or going to the LHS to find what I would like or need because I would have it right there in the shop.

like I said my problem solved