Stopped by a LHS that I have frequented before but never bought from. Asked the guy what .40 size trainers he had available. He walked me over to the $400 Hanger 9 J-3 Cub PnP. I said, that's a fine plane but not a trainer. He shrugged and looked around for another high wing airplane. I walked out of the store.

What if I didn't know the difference and bought that airplane trusting the advice of a LHS clerk?

Not shure? You may have found out it is not a trainer when you started reading the instructions and/or started asking questions about installing radio and engine.
If you got past all that and tried to fly it on your own you would probably have ended up with a box of sticks.
There are a number of hobby shops that I go to from time to time but only one that I will trust to give the right answer when I have a question.

I never trust the advice of the clerks. From my experience nine times out of ten they have no idea what they are talking about. I've asked for a variety of different parts parts and received blank stares. They are a great hobby shop, but the people they hire just don't have much experience.

Good to see that you didn't get a nasty surprise.

Two of the three LHSs around here have extremely experienced clerks. And the owners have forgotten more about modeling than most average modelers know.

I was in one of them in the morning one day and a beginner was just asking about flying. I happened to come back in the afternoon, and the guy was still there. Being helped. They were building a stack of stuff and the center of it was an excellent trainer. There wasn't a thing in the stack that shouldn't have been. And the clerk was tickled to see me. He had already given the guy flyers from all 3 clubs in the area, but wanted him to "get a 2nd opinion" on all the stuff PLUS wanted the guy to absolutely make contact with an instructor. And that's not even the best shop of the three in the area.

You got a LHS that sucks. Go out to the club field and ask the guys there where they buy their stuff. You want good help? Go where it is almost always found.

there are two shops really close to me but i one i wont go to anymore becuse the custmer service sucks. the other store when you walk in people say hi and all always help you with any ?? you have, the cleks are also trainers at our culb so i trust what there say i never been let down yet. and there all always giving people 10-15 % discounts. on items. but ***'s not mark higher to make the diffance. they really have made flying alot better and easy to do

Most LHS don't care what you ask for. They try to sell you what they have. Be very careful when dealing with these people. Most act like they know everything under the sun. Don't believe it. IF he had that much on the ball, he probably wouldn't be working in a hobby shop.

If you shop at tower hobbies they never give you false info

Even if you buy at a LHS, if you do a little research on-line, you can pretty much find out what you want or need to know about a model. Tower Hobbies, for instance, will give a short writeup, on each model in their inventory, and right there in the first paragraph, they will say if the plane is appropriate for beginners, intermediate, or advanced flyers.

So, even if you don't buy it from them, you can get at least a good idea what the plane will do and who can handle flying it. And, as I said, there are other sources for information on aircraft, especially here on RCU.

This is why many LHS's go out of business and then we're suppose to feel sorry for them. "Been in business 30 years" they say. Well if they hire idiots to run the company, thats what happens.

We are fortunate. Both of our LHS's have an RC'er as a store owner and operator. In one store, the owner is there whenever the store is open, he does not hire peole to do his work for him. So, he is informed and informative. He makes good recomendations and has the stock to back that up.

The other store is more for trains than RC but he has a pretty good stock and knows RC.

I've been in some stores that have a small section in the corner for RC aircraft. Asking questions often draws a blank stare. I steer clear of those places.

da Rock, what part of western NC are you in? The store you describe sounds a lot like one of a couple I go to occasionally, and I'm impressed each time I go. The 4 best stores in my area, and I'm not afraid to name them, are, in no particular order, KC Hobbies, in High Point, King RC in King, Planes Trains, and Automobiles, in Hickory, and The Hobby Stop, in Rock Hill, SC. Everybody I've talked to in those stores is an R/C'er themself, and tries to sell you what you want and need, rather than what's on their shelf. Are there others in Western NC worth looking at?

I get much better information here on RCU that I get at my LHS. Sad to say, but the only use I have for my LHS is a place to buy fuel.

I DEEPLY resent the blanket accusation that none of the LHS store clerks know anything and all will sell you anything just to get a buck. When I ran a hobby shore in Spartanburg, SC, I ALWAYS gave advice based on over 20 years of R/Cing. I never sold anything I didn't believe in. This eventually caused problems between myself and the owner, which is why I finally left. But I NEVER gave off-the-cuff advice, or told any customer anything I hadn't successfully seen or done.

I've seen good LHS and bad ones. The trick is to be informed. Ask experienced pilots at your local field what to buy and where to get it. Some LHS clerks don't know Jack, and will sell you anything or will simply sell you what you ask for without any advice. Some bring many years of flying experience into the store with them and will help you all they can.

Dr.1

It has been hit and miss with me. Sometimes you get someone good behind the counter that seems to go out of his way and sometimes you get someone that doesn't know the difference between a tire and a prop. My biggest disappointment is when i come in for a certain brand X and they don't have it and try and sell me brand Y when it is clear i don't want it. I understand they can't carry everything in every brand, but i seem to be let down more often than not.

i backup the statement that says theres good LHS's and bad ones

im fortunate enough to have a LHS that has clerks who also fly RC, some times i go in there for an hour or so and have a good convo with some of the guys who work there and only spend £10 on something.

like last time i went in there and was looking at fuel pumps, one of the clerks was on the phone and saw me looking at the £9.99 pump and picked up the £7.99 pump and passed it to me, explained that it was pretty much the same pump only cheaper :P, and so saved me £2, and he also gave me some solid advice on my second plane and recomended a few good kits (and advised me not to buy a Edge 540 as my 2nd)

i guess its pretty much hit and miss

I'm between KC Hobbies and King R/C and thankful for it. I wish I knew of more, but haven't needed to search more out.

well at least you got waited on........i have been to my Local Hobbytown and never been waited on in the 8 visits i've entertained.........................the one time i needed to actually have a clerk help me, i practically grabbed him by the shirt. nice kid and all, just no clue as to running this one time fine shop...........seems the owner is never there.
funny thing is, since returning to RC, i think i've spent over 10K on 6 models, 5 engines and enough radio gear to equip 4 planes plus all the stuff i needed for the shop and flightline..................maybe spent $50.00 of that with Hobbytown..........................you think the owner would care if i told him?

thats what i like about being in a small town. the only disadvantage to that is there isn't quite as much stuff at the shop as a big shop. but if you think about it there really isn't the demand for it. if i need anything usualy i can get by the next week if he aint got it. but the hobby shop about an hour away, the owner is a real $%#$#. dont like the guy at all. no one here does. some people would just rather drive the the shop i normally go to which is an hour away just to deal with a nice guy instead of driving 10 minutes and coming out hacked off. i would tell the name of the town it is in but i dont know if i am allowed to do that considering how i am talking about him. if yall want to know ask me and if the moderators delete it then i'll know for sure but dont want to get on the moderators bad sides.

WOW, you are in a small town. Est population @1800 this year. I couldn't make it in a place that small but have family friends in a small town in KS that love it. To each his own. To me Memphis is small after living in Detroit and Houston areas.

This statement stands true for about 60% of the hobby shops in the Houston area. A few weeks back I was in one with a pimply faced kid pointing to the elevator on a plane and arguing with a customer that it was the ailerons. This was 20 minutes after I had to listen to him tell me and/or anyone within earshot what an awesome pilot he was. Anways I just laughed it off and only bought what I came in for. By the way before I left I did make it a point to ask the other customer "when did they move the ailerons to the tail of extra 330's". All I got was a big smile

Showtime, it's unfortunate that some shops will do that. I think some do it out of ignorance and others are just trying to make a sale.

In the Dallas area we're fortunate to have some good shops. We also have some that are not so good.

The closest shop is a Hobbytown. Everyone there has been very nice every time I've gone in. I know one of the guys is a former RC pilot, and another seems pretty knowledgeable about planes and accessories. They don't always have a great selection but I usually check them first if I need just one or two small things.

Other shops I like (in order of driving distance) are:
Plano RC, in Plano
Mike's, in Carrollton
Wild Bill's, in Irving
Roy's, in Hurst
All have strengths and weaknesses. I think Roy's is my current favorite; unfortunately it is the longest drive.

There's a shop in Mesquite, A-1 Hobby, that used to be very good. It was sold, and now the service and selection has become pretty spotty.

Mike's is a $500 store. Never have I come out of that store having spent less than $500!!!!



Ken

I think my biggest total there has been about $200 but it has happened like that several times.

They seem to be moving away from planes, in favor of cars, but it's still a good shop. If you haven't been down recently, he has moved to a bigger location and now has 'on road' and 'off road' tracks inside the building.

When my brother was shopping for his first computer radio we went to Mike's. The guy helping him pulled at least a half dozen transmitters out of the case, and explained a lot of the differences in features and programming. He was able to get the "feel" of them at one place and came out with a radio that he used for at least 5 years (and he still has it).

I tend to spend more in there because I only get down there once or twice a year. I have been to his new store. I like the way they have it set up.

Ken

man bruce88123, if you lived there for just a little while you would love it. everybody knows everybody. everything is a slower pace. not near as much traffic. aint gotta worry bout stuff getting stolen out the back of your truck. and within 20 minutes i can get to any big town i really want to go to, kennett mo, paragould ar, if i wanna go to a big town its only an hour. jonesboro ar.