the truth about hobby shops

[guggi101]

OK. I have 2 hobby shops by my house. One Pioneer Valley Hobby and the other R/c Madness. Well Pioneer I can only say good. They halped my get my first car and told me the TRUTH. I bought all my stuff from there and recommend them to everyone. They have four people that work there. The first is the owner and the second is his son. Then he has his daughter and wife there making up the whole hobby shop. They all know what they are talking about and are very informative.Ok R/c madness i can only say BAD. The owner knows nothing. You come in trying to find out about a kit and all he does is say "oh o would recommend this instead", and shows you this kit for like 200 bucks.I go in there to buy a glow heater and he trys to sell me one for 57 bucks. Come on.I don't know about any one else but hobby shops are getting worse as time passes.

[TC3Racer]

smae happened to me and my dad. we were talking to the guy at my LHS about a plane. we knew that electric planes are good for beginners and we were tlaking ot him about them. now i know that a nitro or gas plane is better than an electric of course, but we just wanted a plane for fun. so were talkin' to this guy and were looking at this ARF electric plane for 180 bucks, and he is trying to point us to this 420 dollar gas plane! we told him where ust beginners and we dont need **** a sophisticated plane but he kept talking bad about electric and saying how great this plane is. so i guess you guys are right that its money they are going for. there are some other guys at my LHS that know alot and are reasonable and dont push you about it, but one guy is just "no u gotta buy the most expensive **** plane here!" course he didn't really say that but i'm just making an example.

[matt stepanian]

I'm sorry for your bad experiences. But.... Why is it that many people are very naive about R/C's? We, as consumers, shop wisely for just about everything else. Why is ANYBODY a bad R/C shopper? It really isn't right, if you think about how we shop for all of our other consumer products. I don't like hearing about a lhs being greedy, but the owners are, after, trying to make money, just like the local used car dealer, clothing shop, grocery store, and even gas station. The shops in the malls aren't there to sell us the cheapest stuff they have, either. Like I said, I don't like hearing about a lhs railroading someone into buying something they don't want or need, AT ALL. But- customer naivety is a big problem in the world of R/C, even with the vast number of websites for R/C that allow buyers to price items wisely. "Let the buyer beware!"
guggi101, keep giving Pioneer your business, ahd, hats off to them. Money talks in all businesses.

[ 07-26-2001: Message edited by: Mattski ]

[atm92484]

Actually TC3 racer, gas planes are better. Thats all I fly. I've seen electric fly and 90% of them are slow and expensive. With gas you get a lot more plane for your money.

After hearing these horror stories I'm thankful my LHS is as good as they are. Like others have said you just have to go, request what you want and if they won't give it to you, take a trip to www.towerhobbies.com (http://www.towerhobbies.com) .

[Lost Racer]

For newbies, researching R/C is like learning a new language. Think about it. If you've never had any contact with someone who knows anything about R/C or even worse, contact with a person who knows almost nothing about R/C, the learning can be intimidating. And for beginners asking questions on forums, its hard to get an honest response on what is going to be good for them as a beginner because majority always try's to say the most expensive is the best. When in fact its better for the experienced rather than newbies.
For starting maybe get a book so newbies can learn the vocabulary and tems for R/C's and racing. As well as the parts for the cars. Once that part is taken care of and you have some sense of whats going on, then maybe start looking at RTR's or electric or whatever you want to do. By this time the research shouldn't be so hard to comprehend. Don't get me wrong though. Using the forum is a great tool when help is needed. But knowing the terms will help you a great deal when reading or asking questions.

As far as the LHS's go in upselling. Thats business. Ever go to McDonalds? Do you look at the person behind the counter funny when they suggest (notice:I said suggest. not ask.)you supersizing your value meal?
Same thing. Different situation. Its still a business. And they are in business to make money. If they're forcing items on you thats a different story. Granted you may not feel its right. But that is they're business. I'm not condoning his act, because I don't like it either. But at least understand whats going on from the owners end. :D I have more to say, but I'll save it for later. :o

[hpi racer2]

my local hobby shop sells some of there stuff at the retail price not the street price.

mainly i shop st www.towerhobbies.com (http://www.towerhobbies.com)

[TC3Racer]

atm-

oh yea i know that gas planes are way better, but the electric plane we were looking at was just a little plane we wanted to have fun with. sorta like a parkflyer but not as cheap. i guess the guy at our LHS thought we were more serious about buying planes and getting into them than we thought. even though we told him ourselves that we just want something to fly around with and have fun.

[Rick Hohwart]

I don't think it is common. The best bet for any consumer is to determine what product he needs (or wants), through his own research, before he goes to the store. Then he can't be sold something he does not need or want.

[mavrick0611]

if he needs a glow starter, he isnt going to pay $57 for one! thats BS!
aj

[JP]

Wow, all the horror stories im starting to read! We got newbies at our LHS, real smart :rolleyes: Thats sarcastic...

BUT, the guys that have been working there for awhile are REALLY cool (the adults). VERY nice and smart, if you ever visit, talk to the "older" ones :)
www.alshobbyshop.com (http://www.alshobbyshop.com)

[chizzler]

Its a "win some and lose some" situation.

hey JP if im ever in elmhurst i may check them out!

[rcracer_xxxt_futaba]

This is a very good topic if your interested in hearing some other stories. http://www.rccaraction.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000373

[XXXER]

Mattski, you sound like my kind of customer, you not only know your stuff, but you can tell when someone is talking out of their (_I_), and stuff.

If you are ever in Utah, stop by :)

[rims']

i like my lhs

[matt stepanian]

XXXER, I will be in Utah withinn a week!!! My wife and I are leaving Friday after work to head up to Yellowstone, and we want to drive down to the Grand Canyon Via y'all's canyons. Where in Utah are you? ANyway, thanks. If we're good shoppers at averything else we do, we should be good R/C shoppers. Sometimes I mail-order because its a better deal, but often I'll pick up parts from my lhs to support them and also because I may only need a single part. Keep your brains on, R'C'ers!

[superpitstain]

I like my lhs, they are very nice people and knows alot, my other ***** , they jsut want money

[XXXER]

I live in Sandy, just south of Salt Lake City, do you race? You should definat----head out to IR/CR if you do.

-Steve