xlgraphicspro

iTrader: (5)

The thing about Hobby town U.S.A Is that it's a franchise, but the individual owner is responsiblefor setting all the prices. I too have never been overly impressed with Hobbytown in other states as well as Nebraska. That was untill they open up the Hobby Plex, It's frigg'n huge! 65% of the products are RC related, and they order alot of parts for several different companies.

stanky626

iTrader: (5)

What do you guys think of a 5-10% discount on any item that has to be ordered in to the LHS? Now we're getting closer to online prices, right? And, the waiting/shipping period would offset each other.

rabidsquirrel

iTrader: (2)

Competative prices are paramount for me.

Online orders and discount outlets like Nitrohouse are almost completely painless. I've seen so many hobby shops that have extremely high prices relative to e-tailers. Some of the local shop owners are less technically adept at ordering online than I am, so in my experience, the LHS has generally been a more 'painful' shopping experience than e-tailers.

This is an expensive hobby. Fortunately I make enough money to participate in it, but I know many fellow racers don't have the same financial resources as I have, so price point is even more important to them.

It's nice to hear about these killer hobby 'plex' type shops, but I don't seem to have any near me in Tampa. I just moved here, so hopefully I'm wrong.

xlgraphicspro

iTrader: (5)

that's another thing, all special orders that are prepaid get an extra 10% off. you guys are better off moving to Omaha Nebraska!

Burst

iTrader: (7)

I'm new to the forum but have been racing since the 80's when the RC10 was new and cars were just beginning to gain in technology. I support my local hobby shop in TN because without them, my son and I would have no track to race at. Backyard bashing is ok from time to time, but the competition and track is where its at for us. We enjoy the comraderie and the immense amount of knowledge you gain from meeting other racers. My hobby shop will order anythign I want and its there in 3 days. He even eats the shipping. I can not get any better deal if I mail order the stuff myself and pay shipping...maybe I could save a few dollars but not much. He matches any price that I can find and he does this because I ALWAYS spend my money there. I have a relationship with him now as a trusted customer. It didnt start out that way but when he realized I was going to purchase all my goodies there, he began taking care of me. I will always buy from my local shop.....its my shop in my opinion....I race there, hang out there, my son is treated like a person, and I can have any product that you can mail order. If we dont support the stores, we wont have tracks. Without tracks and stores, the mail order business will die. Just ask AMAIN, Carolinasrc.com etc...they'll tell you the same thing..without the local shops and tracks, there is no need for mail order.

gubbs3

iTrader: (7)

What do I expect from my lhs? Hmm... NOTHING! That way I can't be disappointed in the poor customer service, lack of product knowledge, outdated stock of parts, and the constant asking of "What's the part #?"

Now before you go and say I am anti-small business, I am not. The shop I refer to is one of the better known national chains which I won't name but we all know. I do however strongly support the two individual dealers in my area and will order everything I can through them as often as possible because they are the individuals that provide a place to race, are extremely friendly, and have excellent business sense. R/C is not their source of income. They are small business owners that use their storefronts to become dealers in order to help our hobby thrive.

Jason Halvorson

iTrader: (22)

hobbytown's SUCK!!!!!!!!!! all the guys at my local hobbytown are flyboys and treat the nitro off roaders like crap...

sickboy

iTrader: (75)

i have great luck with hobbytown. they take my special orders over the phone and usually get them in two days. prices are competitive. its family owned and operated. they race almost every weekend, so they know what they are talking about. i dont order anything on-line unless h/t cant get it.

xlgraphicspro

iTrader: (5)

I agree with you there! They Did suck! When I first started going to the HobbyTown Hobby Plex, I never asked for help, because I already knew what I wanted and how to find it. The advice I often overheard from employees to other customers was so bad, that I often interrupted their conversations to give the correct information.

It was laughable what some of these guys said. One day i was in the store, and the manager offered me a job because I was more helpful than his own employees. I turned him down untill about 3 months later, and I started working there part time. they hired about 5 guys so far that are primarily racers. Since then we've been able to influence so many people into racing, because of that our weekly turnouts are better than I can ever remember.

The only down side is for the customers who need help with puzzles and train stuff, because I honestly could care less about that kind of stuff. I pretend well, so they won't find out what an ass I really am.

I currently don't work there because I quit so I could get married and buy a house, and actually have time to work on it!

joe of loath

iTrader: (1)

i went to my LHS and asked if they had a brake disc for my firestorm. they said no, but they could get it in TWO WEEKS TIME! (probably for twice the price of it on the internet) so i said don't bother, went home and made my own... but i will buy my fuel from there, and any tyres/wheels/bodyshells i may need.

stiffler297

Ok my turn here Stanky! You know the hobby shops we go to so you know how well customer service is. Only a few people actually know something about anything. My biggest complaint with these shops is that they always seem to be out of what I need when I need it. My first race at pegasus was cut short because I busted the tank on my .5 and they didn't have any! Then went a few weeks later to find some tires and rims for it and the KID behind the counter said they didn't have any. So I proceeded to go down to the Jammin section at the end and low and behold, THERE THEY WERE! Not with the rest of the tires and rims but with the manufacturer's items. Why can't they keep it all together. I'll get off my stool now!

CRASH

iTrader: (26)

We have 2 Hobbytowns here in KC. One is terrible and the other one is TOTALLY AWESOME!

2 different owners and 2 different styles of doing business.

Later,

jchas26

For me the smaller shops are great when they have what I need. The big shops "cough" *****town"cough" want 32 bucks for a pull start for my Axial engine? Forget that! And they have the nerve to get all snippy when I say that everywhere else is way cheaper. I am sorry you spent 5 min to look up a part but it aint going to make me pay an extra 10 bucks to keep you happy!
They are however really great at keeping all my RC magazine needs taken care of.

bellr77

I buy the little pieces I need for assembly or stock replacement parts but honestly even with 2 hobby shops in my town Im unable to get any hop ups for my Nitro Rustler and they dont seem very interested in helping me find the parts so I find myself doing alot of online shopping for my Rustler although they do have most parts for my Savage and Tmaxx so even though it costs a little more i buy that stuff there unless its a pricier item that I can get off Ebay or at an online store for alot cheaper. Alot of my purchases are off of Ebay because I can get it super cheap, not so much cause Im dead set I need it but because I'd kinda like it so I bid cheap and if I get it great if not there is always next time.

Jason Halvorson

iTrader: (22)

if my hobbyclown could get it together i would buy from there....as for now there is a .com owner that sells his stock out of his house also so thats where i have been going to get fuel and other parts www.krcproducts.com......