What I learned today at the LHS

[Wade Wilson]

We’ve got the good HobbyTown where they don’t power smoke weed before work, and then the other one where they do power smoke weed before work.

Guess which one is more efficient…

 

[TriggerHappy]

Sooooo…….plan a family reunion/speed run/ hobby shop spending spree/ learn-about-your-gf trip !!

come on down and bash with me and @TriggerHappy

AND

I WILL BUY AN 8S (stock) rig if YOU DO !!

then 2 of us will turn to the DARK SIDE!!

you knew it was coming,,,,,,,,

Darkside

 

[jondilly1974]

We’ve got the good HobbyTown where they don’t power smoke weed before work, and then the other one where they do power smoke weed before work.

Guess which one is more efficient…

I know which one forgets to take your payment

 

[Cereal_killer]

We used to have two hobbytowns in Missouri. One I used to work at as a 3rd job back in 2008-2010. Until both close there doors without a warning. But hobbytown was amazing when it was around. We have 3 other local shops. One is stocked with just about anything from kyosho to latraxx. And sell used rcs still way over price and the knowledge isn't really good. The other one will price match anything online. From tower/horizonhobby/amain... 3rd one. They own a track. Have a decent selection. They have a harder time getting parts though.

 

[Jimbobjr]

Hobbytown is 1 1/2 hrs from me. It’s sensory over load, they have just about everything you can imagine. Definitely only go there with $$. No track there but a huge vacant dirt bike lot maybe 10minutes away that usually has a couple guys bashing and a four wheeler or two.
I can’t believe there’s not a decent brick and mortar hobby store in side the Philadelphia area. There’s a few smaller ones and one good one that deals mostly online but none where a child (or man child...) can go and see things in person and not on a freakin screen or have to order something...

 

[Jon NC RC]

Hobbytown is 1 1/2 hrs from me. It’s sensory over load, they have just about everything you can imagine. Definitely only go there with $$. No track there but a huge vacant dirt bike lot maybe 10minutes away that usually has a couple guys bashing and a four wheeler or two.
I can’t believe there’s not a decent brick and mortar hobby store in side the Philadelphia area. There’s a few smaller ones and one good one that deals mostly online but none where a child (or man child...) can go and see things in person and not on a freakin screen or have to order something...

Yeah, signs of the times…….my childhood hometown had a mom and pop five and dime we would go to…..old style big metal cash register, old style soda jerk fountain…..penny candy and 1970s football cards from Topps always took my coins there…..today, the street is on the national register of historic places because the buildings are a really cool design, but they are all virtually empty because the little town has died.

Philadelphia doesn’t have an honest to goodness hobby store? Wow…too bad , it’s nice for kids of all ages to go in to an actual store and look….compare, find stuff they never knew existed…..find something they think is super cool…….

yep sensory overload……they did have a big Traxxe$$ display, abnormally large compared to other brands, but had nice variety….

 

[Greengaunja]

Nice to hear that you have a good Hobbytown. The one local to me is pretty worthless. All the parts are located behind the counter and if the workers aren't too busy working on their own cars or running them then they'll offer a half hearted attempt to help you find what you are looking for. I pretty much have to check the online website to see if an item is in stock before "bothering" them to help retrieve it.

This is the ONE thing I dislike about our hobby chain store, Great Hobbies. Most parts you need to ask an employee for. I mainly only use them because of one younger employee who is much a Sentonophile as me. We bounce ideas and he always knows what part I'm looking for long before I can give a part number. Yet, I hate wasting people's times and thus dislike asking to have a part handed to me repeatedly
There is another hobby store. Oshawa's oldest. And run by the classic, arrogant RC snobs. Store only deals with all the old school brands. They lost my business when I went in to ask about parts. I knew they had no Arrma stuff yet was looking for options for my 3s Senton bumper and was told by the owner, "we don't carry parts for that crap here". My response was to walk out and proceed to spend near $4000 at the 3rd LHS in my small city.
Now this one is a mom and pop, family owned. But Horizon scored big making them their area reps. XtremeRC. They are HOBBY people. Their store is set up in a manner that EVERYTHING they sell is accessible. They welcome dogs. They encourage local groups and friendships. They will occasionally not allow you to buy stuff. And only because they know the hobby is expensive and the parts you have CANT work or won't fit. They seem to know every customer by name, and those they don't, they will make it business to find out.
Anyways, back to the "parts behind shelves" bit. I almost always walk into their store with my calipers. Like any other shop, there are many parts they don't have due to back orders. So I like to physically check parts out myself. Size them up and see what I can do to make it work. That goes back to my off road days where I literally saved THOUSANDS spending a day in scrap yards looking at other scraped trucks to see if maybe that Ford leaf or Dodge rear differential or even the Toyota injectors could be modded to work on my Sonoma or Canyon.
Here's what makes them marketing geniuses:

 

[Jon NC RC]

Whew.....where are you located? Did I see Canada?

I see now, says the blind man……

yeah, snobs can hang out with their little crew….
more power to them……

people who could care less about the customer or if the store sell anything this month can spare me,unless it is a complete convenient for ME…..

but those stores that show they care, and are glad you came whether you bought anything or not, try to be helpful, try to get valid info for you, and so on…..yeah, that can be a place I will take money out of my pocket and buy their product…..whether it’s a Kraton 8S, a 40 cent part, a washing machine,or a 1:1 car.

so that’s my take on the 2 LHS I have near me , one in Asheville NC, the other Johnson City, TN, both just so happen to be Hobbytown…..

 

[Jon NC RC]

This is the ONE thing I dislike about our hobby chain store, Great Hobbies. Most parts you need to ask an employee for. I mainly only use them because of one younger employee who is much a Sentonophile as me. We bounce ideas and he always knows what part I'm looking for long before I can give a part number. Yet, I hate wasting people's times and thus dislike asking to have a part handed to me repeatedly
There is another hobby store. Oshawa's oldest. And run by the classic, arrogant RC snobs. Store only deals with all the old school brands. They lost my business when I went in to ask about parts. I knew they had no Arrma stuff yet was looking for options for my 3s Senton bumper and was told by the owner, "we don't carry parts for that crap here". My response was to walk out and proceed to spend near $4000 at the 3rd LHS in my small city.
Now this one is a mom and pop, family owned. But Horizon scored big making them their area reps. XtremeRC. They are HOBBY people. Their store is set up in a manner that EVERYTHING they sell is accessible. They welcome dogs. They encourage local groups and friendships. They will occasionally not allow you to buy stuff. And only because they know the hobby is expensive and the parts you have CANT work or won't fit. They seem to know every customer by name, and those they don't, they will make it business to find out.
Anyways, back to the "parts behind shelves" bit. I almost always walk into their store with my calipers. Like any other shop, there are many parts they don't have due to back orders. So I like to physically check parts out myself. Size them up and see what I can do to make it work. That goes back to my off road days where I literally saved THOUSANDS spending a day in scrap yards looking at other scraped trucks to see if maybe that Ford leaf or Dodge rear differential or even the Toyota injectors could be modded to work on my Sonoma or Canyon.
Here's what makes them marketing geniuses:
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That’s cool!

I know which one of the 3 I would go to!

 

[TriggerHappy]

You can always go to m2c in sc

 

[Jon NC RC]

You can always go to m2c in sc

Ya know, I would like to do that….

 

[TriggerHappy]

Ya know, I would like to do that….

I got an envite for a tour but havnt went yet. Close to a 2 hr ride.

 

[Jon NC RC]

I got an envite for a tour but havnt went yet. Close to a 2 hr ride.

Yeah, 2.5 hours for me….over south of Charlotte…..maybe someday…..would be a cool place to see….

 

[TriggerHappy]

How far are you from maggie valley?

 

[Jon NC RC]

2 hours more or less

 

[TriggerHappy]

2 hours more or less

Wow thought it was a lil closer.

 

[kavax]

My buddy and I were going to hit that place on the way back from a job in Kingsport, TN but ran out of time. I remember it looked like it had a neat storefront to it and looked cool on the inside too from the Google pix.

The closest Hobbytown to us (from Charlotte area) was Mooresville. Experience was pretty good presale when we were kicking tires on getting back in the hobby. All other visits were very meh, the owner seemed good if he's got the time to talk to you but my buddy was given the runaround more times than he should have. He wanted to buy an Outcast one day on a whim but the kid in the shop said they had one but he hadn't put the stickers on it yet so he couldn't sell it to him. My buddy strips the emblems of his 1:1 car, you think he wants stickers applied to his to toy truck?

The Asheville, Hickory and Fayetteville Hobbytown were decent but the most impressive RC shop in the area that I've been to was Anderson RC in Thomasville, NC. Fairly huge selection of many brands.

 

[Jon NC RC]

Wow thought it was a lil closer.

Like my moniker says.....we live out in the stix

 

[Jon NC RC]

My buddy and I were going to hit that place on the way back from a job in Kingsport, TN but ran out of time. I remember it looked like it had a neat storefront to it and looked cool on the inside too from the Google pix.

The closest Hobbytown to us (from Charlotte area) was Mooresville. Experience was pretty good presale when we were kicking tires on getting back in the hobby. All other visits were very meh, the owner seemed good if he's got the time to talk to you but my buddy was given the runaround more times than he should have. He wanted to buy an Outcast one day on a whim but the kid in the shop said they had one but he hadn't put the stickers on it yet so he couldn't sell it to him. My buddy strips the emblems of his 1:1 car, you think he wants stickers applied to his to toy truck?

The Asheville, Hickory and Fayetteville Hobbytown were decent but the most impressive RC shop in the area that I've been to was Anderson RC in Thomasville, NC. Fairly huge selection of many brands.

Yeah, the Asheville store doesn't.have the most square feet, therefore not a wide selection. Johnson City is maybe twice the square feet.....

Haven't searched out owners.....
Each location did have knowledgeable staff stationed in rc area, though.

Sounds like a lame excuse, can't sell the rig without putting on the stickers ?!???!??

If I'm ever in Thomasville, I'll have to find that place you mentioned......

 

[SrC]

Sorry, no, I didn’t….
I do plan on taking the Senton BLX V3, my TRX4 with 2 speed tranny, and Xinlehong 9125 2s 4wd
and he Mojave……honestl, it may be a tad small for the Mojave…..but good jumps and a very high bank 180 degree turn….. also….I have used the athletic fiends next to the Freedom Center for our bigger rigs…..8ft drop off between fields, can jump off or ramp up…..a blast both ways…..check it out if you are in town!!!

but…..how is San Antonio Texas 45 minutes from Johnson City Tennessee?

Well…..make a ROAD TRIP!!!

Tell her that you love her and you want to go back to her roots to learn more about her…..

Sounds like it is a 1/10 scale track....?