troublesome hobby shop

[Saito]

I'm sure this has happened to some of you before, but I just felt the need to vent.  I have but one local hobby shop left near me.  They of course cater to all this T-Maxx rubbish.  In fact the entire back wall is nothing but T-Maxx doo-dads.  That's fine.  I realize that's the era we live in.  The owner does keep Tamiya paints in stock however and this is very useful to me.  I stop in rather regularly to purchase paint and odds and ends.  When the Lunch Box re-res came out, I asked him to order me a decal set.  He said "no problem", took my phone number and said about a week's wait.  He never called. I let it drop.  I wound up getting the decals from Tower and didn't go back to the shop for about a month.  Several months later I began looking for a lexan Parma beetle body.  I could have bought it online but I somehow felt it would be better to get it from the hobby shop.  They seem to be a dying breed you know.  So I went in, bought some paint and ordered it.  I even provided the part number.  He took my phone number again and said he'd call when it got in.  He never called.  Now I find I'm quite irked by the whole situation.  I like the convience for my model supply needs but I'm tired of being ignored.  I know I'm viewed as a bit of an odd fellow there because of my interest in Tamiyas.  The younger guy who works for him is actually nice to me and remembers Tamiyas fondly.  The older owner just doesn't seem to get it.  He always seems dumbfounded by my taste in RC.  Futhermore, he makes offhanded comments like SRBs beening of poor quaility and constantly breaking.  I just don't get it.  I never really tried to even discuss Tamiyas (or anything), just buy my supplies and leave.  It was actually the younger fellow who noted I bought strictly Tamiya.  I wish I knew what this guy's issue is.  It seems very odd to me.  Oh well, sorry for blowing off steam.

[Ryan L.]

Saito : I feel the same way as you do. I live near Toronto, Ontario Canada. There is one hobby shop fairly close to me. There used to be an old fellow in there. He sold me my first real rc, the tamiya f-150 lightning. This is when I finally got into RC with non cheap cars like you could get at a cheap toy store. They were very nice to me for the longest time. Now, being run by others, it has all changed. When I walk in, no one helps you find what you're looking for (if they even have it). They aren't friendly anymore. When I put in orders for parts, I give him my phone number and wait for a call when they come in. Months later, still nothing. I broke a small transmission set screw in my T-maxx ( my basher lol) but it's what I like to show off with as it is the easiest thing to drive and still quite fun. I had to make the part because they took forever to get it in. And then after a while, they wouldn't even let me order parts because I'm too young ( I'm 16, how old you have to be to play with an RC. Not every RC person is an older hobbyist) Anyways in my madness, I went to search for a new hobby shop. I found one a little further away hidden from the main streets. A very nice fellow runs this shop and he runs it very nicely for such a small area. Every time I walk in, someone is always there to help me find what I'm looking for. If they don't have it, and I want it, they will automatically order it in for me and tell me exactly when it will come. And 99% of the time he is right. So maybe you just have to leave the old reliable close shop and venture out to find a new shop. I'm glad I did.

[Z]

I have two hobby shops which I visit frequently. One has a very helpful

and friendly staff, but it is not a full-fledged hobby shop. Half of it

is more of a toy/craft store, and the only r/c cars and parts they

stock are Traxxas, which makes it difficult for me. The other one I go

to is a shop devoted to radio control, complete with an outdoor dirt

track, indoor carpet track, and stocks almost all brands of cars,

except Tamiya, saving the TNX. In there, I think I get condescended to

because I'm not running some 1/8 nitro monster truck with a .75 engine,

or something equally ridiculous. Of these to places, I enjoy visiting

the first one more, and if you can find a LHS that has good customer

service, it is worth more than good selection.

[Guest DImblum]

I live in southern california and its all the same out here. Hardly any hobby shop owner cares or has any regard for Tamiya. There was one shop that had some vintage parts (unfortunately it closed), however the owner and the guys who worked there thought it was pretty cool when I would dig through bins of old parts like I was a kid in a candy store.

Thankfully TamiyaClub is around so we have a place to go.

The only saving grace is that TamiyaUSA is not too far from where I live. They have two outdoor tracks that are open to the public on weekends. The best part is "Only Tamiya vehicles are allowed". I kid you not... I think they realize that Tamiya fans need some track to call their own... Would be great if they opened someplace to cater to the fans in the UK.

Dan 

 

[barney buggy collector]

i live in Australia and have been waiting for around 13 weeks now for 2 tins of Tamiya paint so i can finish the body on my F350 Hi-Lift.In my case it is the importer  "Toy Traders" that is the problem,not the hobby shop.

[bangstick]

This is very common as far as i am concerned in todays throw away society, your average LHS owner want to make a quick buck selling some RTR nitro car probably made in china which will last about 3 tanks of fuel then go wrong. Then you won't be able to get bits for it so he hopefully sells you some other cheap rubbish and so on. I have 2 localish stores to me, one in Ashford Elite models and Modelworld in Maidstone. The Latter is actually quite good, my only grumble is they have most things except the thing you want. You are ok as long as you want some Savage parts. The one in Ashford is ok but sufferers from an arrogant knowitall young assistant who to add insult to injury is an actual ginge. Maybe i am being harsh but they just seem to want sell silly little throw away micro-copters? On the + side they do actally stock the odd Tamiya kit but have been guilty of the aforementioned lying about stuff they will order for you.

[TWINSET]

I think the mail order companies are really gonna benefit from all these stores poor attitude;

 

My local is pretty poor too, plenty of showy stuff, but very little in the way of service - there's one helpful bloke there, but that's it.

Here's a list of their best moments;

 

I went in last week to get 2 shells, they used to sell loads; Trucks, tourers, even Tamiya hard shells, but this visit they had maybe 8 or 10, 4 of which were prepainted Thunder TIger stadium truck shells.

So I asked the guy where all the bodies were, only to be told there's not much demand for them.

Now considering they had loads, they now have around 10, most of which were pants, it's hardly surprising they don't see a demand [:|]

 

A previous occasion to that, two of the guys were blissfully ignoring the hoardes of customers (Saturday, mid-morning) whilst they discussed openly how to misrepresent their old MTroniks ESCs on eBay!

 

Save the best 'til last;

I knew the guys there were in to vintage stuff - they sell it on eBay, even take the pics for it in the shop!

So, I had a NIB Rough RIder I wanted shot of, and thought if I could get a good trade on a Savage or something then I'd do that.

In I go, chatted to one of the guys, and told him what I wanted to do, he offered me £50 for it as there's no market for them any more, but they could probably shift it.

 

Stores like this are all gonna be sat around whining about us importing stuff from Japan and buying from 'faceless' mail order companies, and I hope I'm walking past that day!

They've had plenty of chances to part me from my money, but their overwhelming arrogance and severe ignorance does kinda make it easy for me to shop elsewhere. 

 

 

[Saito]

Thanks for the replies.  Its somehow both comforting and yet sad to see that I'm not alone. The topic of dwindling hobby shops has been touched on before, but it seems as if these shops are trying to run themselves out of business.  I don't hate the T-Maxx.  Its not my style, but it looks like a fun truck.  I realize its super size/speed and easy RTR status fits in well with the bigger/better/faster throw away society we find ourselves in.  It finds its way into the hands of both hobbist (like ourselves) and the general public looking for some entertainment.  Still, the T-maxx and its brethern are a fad or craze.  When these shops seize on that while ignoring their core consumers who were there before the T-Maxx, they set themselves up for trouble when the craze subsides.  I guess as times continue to change, mail-order might be the only way for all of us.

[VonBlade]

£50 for a NIB Rough Rider! <0_o>

Jesus. I'm amazed he could keep a straight face.

I have no hobby shop near me. The nearest I have is a generic model shop 30 miles away, and a Modelzone 20 miles away. There used to be two in my town.

The thing that I never understand is that they stock nothing of any use to anyone (oh look, another nitro truck), then wonder why no-one buys anything. I realise they can't stock everything ever, and that if it was just Tamiya the Losi/TA boys would be miffed, but sheesh.

Supply and demand. If you don't supply there is no demand!

VB 

[terry.sc]

The thing that I never understand is that they stock nothing of any use to anyone (oh look, another nitro truck), then wonder why no-one buys anything. ...

Supply and demand. If you don't supply there is no demand!

That's the point right there. Demand these days is for big RTR nitro trucks so the shops supply that demand. If there's no demand for electrics why bother stocking them. Electric R/C is a niche product these days, electric off road an even smaller section of that, thats why Associated and Losi, the two biggest electric off road manufacturers have recently moved up to nitro trucks and buggies. The general public which makes up most of the market want a truck as a toy, the bigger and noisier the better. I have two shops near me. One concentrates on electric R/C and is always saying how bad business is. The other shop is a general hobby shop, sells tons of nitro trucks and says business is booming. he also has plenty of extra work repairing these RTRs as the owners don't have a clue about the simplest of jobs such as replacing a broken wishbone (no kidding!). This includes ones bought elsewhere by mail order that still need to be kept running so there is still a need to have a local hobby shop.

If electric R/C became popular again all the shops would start stocking them again. 

Also can't really class the T-maxx as a short lived craze, it's been around since 1999.  

[MFrV1]

I have two hobby shops relatively near me: Apex Models in Crowthorne, and Hobbystores in Reading.

Both stores sell tamiya kits, yet neither stock spares for them.

The other day, I went into Hobbystores and asked if he had an e clip I could use on a Taniya prop joint. His reply of  "Tamiya....erm..." didn't fill me with hope, as he handed a piece of paper with their number and asked me to phone later. I won't waste my time.

At least the staff at Apex Models know something about electric tourers (Well, enough to confuse me), but on the whole they're not the friendliest guys.

I should keep away from both of them: They're tempting me to the dark side (nitro).

[Saito]

I admit the T-Maxx/Nitro truck is not a brief craze.  Like electric off-road however, its time will end.  People's interest (and technology) will forever change.  Gas was expensive and finicky (at least to the average person) when electrics were popular in the 80's.  Now, advancements has made gas more user friendly.  I have a theory however.  When brushless technology becomes cheaper and more commonplace, gas may again fall back.  Gas vehicles are noisy and, around me, this limits the places they can be run.  When electric match the performance of gas, I think their quiet running ease of use may bring them back to the forefront.

[Z]

The T-Maxx reminds me of the Hornet in some ways. There are a million

of 'em out there, they seem to be quite reliable and there are hundreds

of thousands of hop-ups for them. However, the T-maxx today has one

attribute the Hornet didn't back in the 80's: it really can't be

improved upon. Sure you can make a truck that performs noticable better

than the Maxx, but it'll end up costing a fortune, whereas the T-Maxx

is still (relatively),affordable. There really isn't any way you can

improve on  the Maxx without driving the price up. When the public

moves on to another craze, it won't be because the Maxx becomes

obsolete, but, eventually, it will move on, and in a few years, people

might start collecting "period" T-Maxx hop-ups, and maybe start clubs

devoted to the Maxx trucks. Who knows!

[Madmat]

The thing that I never understand is that they stock nothing of any use to anyone (oh look, another nitro truck), then wonder why no-one buys anything. ...

Supply and demand. If you don't supply there is no demand!

 This is one problem we had in the shop i work in earlier on in it's existance, Although in truth it wasn't really a problem of getting the wrong parts but more a case of people were just flying through these parts in no time and we couldn't keep up with them and were be let down by our distributors alot with most orders taking the best part of a month to come in and most of the time they would be missing many key parts. When the shop first opened we mainly stocked thunder tiger and since then had been through a few different manufacturers and distributors trying to find good product which was readily available, It has only been since august of 2005 that we had found a good brand with a solid supply and nowadays this brand is our main stock will slowly become one of the only brands we will stock. This is a problem with some shop, they supply so many different brands that they cant readily stock the parts that are needed because it would just require them to hold so much stock and most of which would be dead weight.

he also has plenty of extra work repairing these RTRs as the owners don't have a clue about the simplest of jobs such as replacing a broken wishbone (no kidding!). This includes ones bought elsewhere by mail order that still need to be kept running so there is still a need to have a local hobby shop.

 

This is one thing which really annoys me, when people come in and expect us to carry out the most simple of jobs for them, now i understand that when you are new to the hobby that it is a bit daunting taking apart your model but we still have people who come in that have been customers for years to get us to replace driveshafts. The one which annoys me the most though is when people bring there cars in for us to clean them, this is just a total lack of care and they really shouldn't have the model if they dont even keep it clean, this is one of the best incomes we get though for me spending ten minutes wiping off a car we charge €50, partly cause it's **** work and partly cause if people see it as too expensive they might do it themselves!! I'm going to stop ranting now, because i could go on forever but we dont want that do we.....

 

Matt

 

[dinodog]

[] Hi Guys, it seems to me that the lhs know they are in a death spin and out of control. I say this because of the reaction I had in one recently. I went into my lhs Michaels Models in North London, they have some fantastic looking models hanging from the ceiling and an excellent and varied RTR selection on show around the shop but I didn't see any Tamiyas. They give the impression that they are part of a large chain.  I politely asked the assistant if he had an antenna for a car. He said quite brusquely "If you want an antenna for a car you should go to a motorist shop!" I was gobsmacked. "An antenna for a radio control car please." I said with a smile. He gave me a used whip antenna with no end cap, just a sharp wire end. 8.50 GBP. hmm... I bought it because I needed it and I had a couple of spare end caps, but I know that I will not return to that shop! As for the T-Maxx debate I don't know much about the model, but am I right or being fair in guessing that Tamiya may be falling behind a bit, is the T-Maxx filling a gap left by Mr.T? I might be mad [:|] but whenever I see an outstanding RC model, I think "Why doesn't Tamiya make one of those?" I personally love military scale, so I bought a couple of Hummers. Very nice, how about a Gun? Working hatch? Patrol variant? Action figures? A 1:12 scale M1A2 Abrams to suit? Oh while we are at it, wouldn't a 1:12 6x6 M35A2 deuce and a half with a 50 cal. or two on top be great? All this seems to be missing from the Hummer range which should have been expanded and better supported by accessory aftersales and hop ups. Is it fair for me to moan about the lack of recent models from big T? OK I know that 1:12 is my passion, and I can't expect Mr. T to produce every model that comes into my head in 1:12 scale, but what about the 1:16 Tamiya Panther debacle? 1:16 enthusiasts are gagging to see a new model! Where is it Mr. Tamiya? Confucius say "If you don't do it for your lover someone else will." Dino[&]

[WillyChang]

...people bring there cars in for us to clean them, this is just a total lack of care and they really shouldn't have the model if they dont even keep it clean, this is one of the best incomes we get though for me spending ten minutes wiping off a car we charge €50, partly cause it's **** work and partly cause if people see it as too expensive they might do it themselves!!

wow, you can charge that much for a RC car clean?? [:^)]

That's better $$$ than a 1:1 hand car wash, I smell opportunity! []

[bangstick]

They've had plenty of chances to part me from my money, but their overwhelming arrogance and severe ignorance does kinda make it easy for me to shop elsewhere. 

 

 

I have an excellent example of this, i went to the one i mentioned in Ashford. Elite models, took Stu (Bratattacks) there as he wanted a hotter motor for his Grasshopper, nothing specialist just a 19t something or other. I spoke to the owner he is nice enough but just never seems to re-order stuff they run out of, he said he just a big run on motors and all they had left was about 20x various 12t motors? So thats about £30 he lost straight away. I had about £85 in my pocket burning a hole and thought i might buy some nice new tyres for a King blackfoot, on asking he said that again he had a run on those and has now sold out, funny that eh? He then offered to order them which in my experience is usually a non event, so i said no thanks. We were about to leave when i started looking at other stuff, then noticed a rack on which there were about 30 packs of truck tyres, not 1 or 2 but loads. If you owned the shop you would probably notice them lol. There were just the things i asked him about, proline sandpaws. dirtpaws, ribbed chevron pattern etc etc, all for a tenner a pair. DON'T YOU WANT MY MONEY!!! Unfortunately my need for parts is greater than my principles so bought a couple of packs, which is usually the case []

[TWINSET]

Unfortunately my need for parts is greater than my principles so bought a couple of packs, which is usually the case []

 And that's where they got you by the plums - Sometimes you just gotta have something there and then, regardless of price, quality of service or any other factor which, if you were in say a supermarket, would result in your walking out and going to the competition.

Trouble is, there's not many streets (or towns) with more than one hobby shops and they know it - why be helpful when the money's gonna leave the wallet anyway? [:@]

If my LHS disappeared, I wouldn't actually miss it, I'd just order stuff online in a more organised fashion.

 

Full power to decent UK mail order companies!

[federx]

here is the same thing. it seems that we're very few left with the hobby for electric cars, all the time i see nitro trucks.

i hate them, i don't like the way the smell, the noise, everything.

and i don't want to be confused with one of their average owners...[+o(] 

[tupers]

Hi guys I would just like to say, I work in my local model shop (in Devon England) and we would love to have more people coming in who are actualy interestred in tamiya kits insted of just rtr trucks.

I would sway that 80% of the cars that we sell are thunder tiger nitro trucks and although they are very good quality and and last very well we would love to sell more kits but bairly anyone wants to biuld a kit no matter how easy it is.

Most of the people that come in who do actualy biuld cars are racers who moan about how nobody new is joining their club.

I think the problem is that for the same price as a complete setup on an electric car you can get a redy to run nitro car that they bring back to us to fix.

[Madmat]

...people bring there cars in for us to clean them, this is just a total lack of care and they really shouldn't have the model if they dont even keep it clean, this is one of the best incomes we get though for me spending ten minutes wiping off a car we charge €50, partly cause it's **** work and partly cause if people see it as too expensive they might do it themselves!!

wow, you can charge that much for a RC car clean?? [:^)]

That's better $$$ than a 1:1 hand car wash, I smell opportunity! []

 

We charge so much in a hope it will deter people from getting us to clean it and to do it themselves, plus there are many more important jobs that could be done rather than cleaning some ones car but if they insist on giving us money to do it, then we will, it's is easy money at the end of the day, saying that though we never charge for labour on car repairs only what it costs for the parts!

 

I would sway that 80% of the cars that we sell

are thunder tiger nitro trucks and although they are very good quality

and and last very well we would love to sell more kits but bairly

anyone wants to biuld a kit no matter how easy it is.

I

think the problem is that for the same price as a complete setup on an

electric car you can get a redy to run nitro car that they bring back

to us to fix.

 

I agree totaly, in the last year i'd say there has only been five people that came into the shop looking for an actual kit to build, unfortunately we can never find a suitable model kit because the very limited amount of kits that are available these days are mostly pro race cars!!! If we could we would happily stock tamiya kits in the shop because they have such a good range of kits but because the guy who run the distributorship for tamiya in ireland is such a muppet, he doesn't want to bother with the r/c kits and if we did want to get them through him it would be at a massively inflated price so he would feel it's worth his time. Thunder tiger stuff is good from mid range up, the cheaper models i felt were a bit naff, but thats just me!!!

 

[acprc]

Hi all,

I think that 99% of the stuff I buy now comes from online dealers and probably 80% of that from outside of the UK. Like many on this forum I find my LHS just doesn't stock the things I need. I usually only use him for paint but now that seems to be very hit and miss.

I don't however hold any grudge against the shop as they are catering for the market they have which in my LHS's case seems to be RTR and aircraft/helicopters. I don't expect them to hold loads of Tamiya spares for the odd time I walk in and want one. They do offer to order though.

Incidentally I have about 90 Tamiya cars now but my Nitro runner is a T-Maxx. The reason for this is that the Tamiya range of Nitro trucks are hard to get spares for and have a poor range of Hop-ups. The T-maxx as pointed out has been around since 1999 and is easy to get spares for anywhere it seems, nothing worse than braking a suspension arm and having to wait two weeks to "get one in".

I'm sure that certain vehicle styles will come and go and electric will ovetake nitro eventually but the T-Maxx and my Tamiyas will continue to be used and who knows maybe in the future that suspension arm will be listed on Ebay as "vintage".

Thanks

 

Adam 

[bangstick]

It is a shame they are a dying breed whether its their fault for giving bad service/not stocking what we want or whether its our fault for buying online as i actually like to go and browse. I might not need anything but like to have a root round and actually pick things up and probably buy something i might need later on. I always remember going into hobby shops as a kid and drooling over whatever kits they had way up high on the top shelves, something us 20-30 year old take for granted but will be probably mentioned in a "I remember when this was all fields" style in a few years time to our youngsters.

Perhaps the good old LHS has the odds stacked against them anyhow, i mean generally speaking people are less patient, less courteous and want things yesterday so will always be quick to slam their LHS when they don't stock that vintage part or tin of tartan paint. I only say this as i like to consider both angles and look at things from the other persons perspective. For all we know there could be some nitro truck/car website similar to this one heaping praise on all their LHS's as they stock all the nitro stuff you could ever want or need. Another thing to consider is the fact that people just love to moan, myself right at the top of that list.

[tupers]

To add to what I have already said most importers in the model trade charge a fixed rate of upto £10 on postage on all their products so if you order a piece that only costs £7 the model shop has to make up the £3 difference.

I can't speak for other model shops but this could be why it takes a long time to get what you have ordered as an order has to bilt up to help ofset the postage. I know the quote on the postage is in the extreame but I sure that if you ofered to pay the postage (like you would have to if you ordered from the internet) then your parts would arive a lot quiker.

Please not I am not being mardy and trying to put people off ordering from the net, I am just trying to show that like in any relationship there has to be a bit of give and take.[+o(]

Tupers.