i love my lhs

I have to complain about my lhs again. This time I was there regarding my Traxxas Slash. I must say, that they are selling huge dimensions of Traxxas Cars and Stuff. They also have a very big spare parts board for Traxxas and I have bought already parts there - they know me.

I needed a wheel hub which was not available, no problem so far. Than the assistant said: I can order you the part if you give me the correct part number of Traxxas = You can call on monday tell me the number and I will order the parts. I was a little bit confused that I have to find out that number and ask him if they have this part as a option part from another manufactor - no, not available.

Ok so far, I have investigated the part number by myself and than I have to see, that they are selling option parts - hubs at their webshop

I am really going mad - now I can wait the whole weekend without driving my beloved Slash solely because the staff of this shop is incompetent. Their service is really poor, if I have to search the part numbers by myself ( I am the client!) I can also order the parts online, for me it was the last time I visit this shop.

mitchg95 wrote:i love my local hobby store, i got 3 cox engines at good prices and a steal on a 40 size nitro trainer
i got 2 babe bee's, and a mint condition COX golden bee for $30
the trainer was $125 and is a Topflite Sierra with a ASP 46a engine, it came with a flight box, brand new electric starter, brand new monokote iron, old Futaba Conquest radio, with all the electronics in the plane, they all work, and best of all.... I did not need to balance the plane as it was already balanced
pics to come later

Two babe bees and a mint golden bee for $30? What year was that? 1979

If I am lucky, I might find a Hobby Shop carrying an estes/cox engine every now and then, but there aren't many places carrying the older stuff. Last year, I walked into a hobby shop and I asked if he had any 1/2a engines or kits. He said, no I haven't carried that in about twenty years. Then he said wait a second. He walked into the back room and came out with a golden bee engine. He said, he was cleaning out his desk, and found it in one of the drawers. I said, do you want to sell it? He said, sure, how about five bucks. I said, sorry that's too much, and left. Just kidding. I bought it on the spot. The engine had some minor scuff marks on the tank, but it was brand new. That will never happen again.

So I was at my lhs today and spotted a thing on the counter.

[img][/img]

The guy behind the counter said it would probably be about $100, but he'd have to look it up in the store computer system to be sure.

Its brand new ion the box.

They also have a bunch of planes hanging from the ceiling, I saw one with a .020 pee wee and one with what looked like a .074 queen bee or maybe a .061 or .074 norvel. (It had a muffler) But both of those were heavily used. IDK about the price... They might even have more stuff somewhere. I didn't look at everything.

I'm going back in a couple weeks for the annual swap meet. I'm not sure whether I should drop the money and buy some old cox or not...

Buy it and double your money on Ebay.

Like I said, the $100 was only a ballpark estimate. I don't know how much its actually for sale for. I'd bet its more than $100.

I would like to know more about the swap meet, i'm in Fl also and not much swap meet action down in the south end.

crankbndr wrote:I would like to know more about the swap meet, i'm in Fl also and not much swap meet action down in the south end.

www.gravesrc.com

Waffleman wrote:In Orlando florida, Youcan go to a place called 'graves rc hobbies." I don;t knw for certain if they have 1/2a or not, but I am preety sure they have 1/2a fuel and they have enough on consignment you never know what they have in there. They are a great place because they have knowledgable and kind people who actuly want to help. They also have an online store www(DOT)gravesrc(DOT)com

I used to work at Graves. I worked there for a couple of years. That store is definitely one of a kind! Even though I worked there, I was always in awe of how many airplanes were hanging in the ceiling. I think the number was somewhere between 300 - 400 airplanes.

BTW, where in Orlando are you and where do you fly? I lived in Winter Springs (Seminole County) and I flew at RCACF for a few years before joining Sanford Aero Modelers.

Shawn

Waffleman wrote:So I was at my lhs today and spotted a thing on the counter.

" />

The guy behind the counter said it would probably be about $100, but he'd have to look it up in the store computer system to be sure.

Its brand new ion the box.

They also have a bunch of planes hanging from the ceiling, I saw one with a .020 pee wee and one with what looked like a .074 queen bee or maybe a .061 or .074 norvel. (It had a muffler) But both of those were heavily used. IDK about the price... They might even have more stuff somewhere. I didn't look at everything.

I'm going back in a couple weeks for the annual swap meet. I'm not sure whether I should drop the money and buy some old cox or not...

The cool thing about Graves is you never know what treasures you'll find there. When Bill (The store owner) would order something, he'd order in multiples and if he sold one, he'd order 10 more so there was always plenty of stock. The first time I walked into the store, you literally couldn't walk around with out having to step over a plane, a heli or piles of inventory. That store had pretty much everything including a complete line of COX products.

Too bad they don;t have anything like that here in Maryland.

Shawn

sdjjadk wrote:

Waffleman wrote:In Orlando florida, Youcan go to a place called 'graves rc hobbies." I don;t knw for certain if they have 1/2a or not, but I am preety sure they have 1/2a fuel and they have enough on consignment you never know what they have in there. They are a great place because they have knowledgable and kind people who actuly want to help. They also have an online store www(DOT)gravesrc(DOT)com

I used to work at Graves. I worked there for a couple of years. That store is definitely one of a kind! Even though I worked there, I was always in awe of how many airplanes were hanging in the ceiling. I think the number was somewhere between 300 - 400 airplanes.

BTW, where in Orlando are you and where do you fly? I lived in Winter Springs (Seminole County) and I flew at RCACF for a few years before joining Sanford Aero Modelers.

Shawn

gawd, the typos in my old post. wow.

I'm not in orlando, per se. I'm in Deland, but we don't have any good LHS in deland. We have chief aircraft, which only carries giant scale and some foamies. And sanford only has the hobbytown. Daytona has High-fly hobbies, but they have limited stock.
Graves is truly the best store withing 100 miles of me that I know of.

sdjjadk wrote:

The cool thing about Graves is you never know what treasures you'll find there. When Bill (The store owner) would order something, he'd order in multiples and if he sold one, he'd order 10 more so there was always plenty of stock. The first time I walked into the store, you literally couldn't walk around with out having to step over a plane, a heli or piles of inventory. That store had pretty much everything including a complete line of COX products.

Too bad they don;t have anything like that here in Maryland.

Shawn

For me, making the trip down there is more to look for hidden treasure in the ceiling, on the counter, and in the used stuff room. If I just need standard parts and items, I can order it online. Unless its fuel, which was the reason for my trip down yesterday.

Waffleman wrote:
If I just need standard parts and items, I can order it online. Unless its fuel, which was the reason for my trip down yesterday.

That's one thing I never quite understood and has never made any sense to me. Why would you not want to save the shipping and wait time and buy those "standard items and parts" that are already in stock and sold at mail order prices at the hobby shop? Most if not all Hobby Shop's make a large percentage of their profit on those "Standard Parts and Items" so why not help keep them in business?    

It's sad to see that internet and mail ordering is one of the major reasons why a lot of the (once) great hobby shops either lack inventory, refuse to keep inventory or they go out of business.  

Shawn

Another acronym! I believe by LHS, you mean "Local Hobby Store".

I do not have a LHS. There used to be six within 10 minutes. The nearest one to me is 4 miles away.

You may consider that "local" but London traffic means that that could be a two hour return journey! It is geared towards RC (RTFs) - like most hobby shops in the UK. 1/2A is non existent apart from Dens Models which is based on the Isle of Wight. 90 miles away plus a ferry. Place an order in the morning and it arrives next day or the day after. The £10 postage charge is a fraction of the petrol journey time and ferry costs. (But the order has to be large enough to make the postage worthwhile!)

I am sorry for the demise of the LHS but in this modern climate it is almost a certainty unless mail order is provided. A LHS cannot afford the stocking levels for the limited catchment area that they serve plus the occasional passing trade.

There are also minimum order quantities that they have to comply with and this can mean that they end up with surplus stock.

RC aeroplanes are prime example. A new one is released, a batch has to be bought and paid for and then sold. Other LHS may discount reducing margins. A month later - a better, faster, more nimble, super dooper version is released. Poor old LHS man is now stuck with stock to get rid of and fund buying in the super doper model.

My LHS is 200 miles away. The staff there are incredibly informative being hobbyists themselves. The owner is my biggest diesel engine competitor and we collaborate.

However, this "LHS" can afford to stock well because they provide mail order and quickly sell the slow movers on Fleabay. Their biggest competitor is Hobbyking but they have adapted by providing quality goods and support. They have also, by their endeavors, become sole importers for quite a range - Enya engines, Ligh tex ...............

They do not provide for control line and certainly not 1/2 A. The market for this too limited. Businesses are not charities. We all dream of walking into a LHS and being surrounded by the golden oldies of yesteryear and being able to say "I would like a gudgeon pin for a ED Racer plus a replacement piston and liner!". Dream on! You cannot buy what they don't stock.

I know all the staff by name, they let me know of any special offers, news ....... but I have never been to the shop. It is out of the way from any of my journeys.

It would be difficult - if not impossible to set up a LHS in London. The rent & rates are astronomic - premises costs would put the shop at a disadvantage to those located in cheaper areas. I do not think we are going to see an influx of LHS.

Model aeroplane flyers are few and far between, model aeroplane builders even fewer, control liners a diminished species. 1/2 A as rare as Rocking Horse "ess aitch eye tea".

sdjjadk wrote:

Waffleman wrote:
If I just need standard parts and items, I can order it online. Unless its fuel, which was the reason for my trip down yesterday.

That's one thing I never quite understood and has never made any sense to me. Why would you not want to save the shipping and wait time and buy those "standard items and parts" that are already in stock and sold at mail order prices at the hobby shop? Most if not all Hobby Shop's make a large percentage of their profit on those "Standard Parts and Items" so why not help keep them in business?    

It's sad to see that internet and mail ordering is one of the major reasons why a lot of the (once) great hobby shops either lack inventory, refuse to keep inventory or they go out of business.  

Shawn

I do most of my ordereing from www.gravesrc.com

Since they are local. I can have my stuff the next day! And I still support my LHS!

sdjjadk wrote:

Waffleman wrote:
If I just need standard parts and items, I can order it online. Unless its fuel, which was the reason for my trip down yesterday.

That's one thing I never quite understood and has never made any sense to me. Why would you not want to save the shipping and wait time and buy those "standard items and parts" that are already in stock and sold at mail order prices at the hobby shop? Most if not all Hobby Shop's make a large percentage of their profit on those "Standard Parts and Items" so why not help keep them in business?    

It's sad to see that internet and mail ordering is one of the major reasons why a lot of the (once) great hobby shops either lack inventory, refuse to keep inventory or they go out of business.  

Shawn

I have to drive a half hour to 45 minutes to get to the one reasonable shop in the area.  And they have no control line or 1/2A stuff other than a few left-over #309 needles and a couple of old glow heads they want $15 for.  The owners are nice, but their longest time employee is a know-it-all Ass who doesn't listen to input and talks down anything he doesn't like.  And, they have no clue about the aspects of the hobby that I like.  I've always been a 1/2A guy since the 70's.  I do buy heli's and stuff from them, as they usually match mail order.  But even then it is a small selection.

There is a hobby shop about 5-10 minutes away, but I don't trust them, as they overprice things and I've had the owner lie to me a couple of times.  I only go there if I need something now, or if I want some wood.  He does have a good wood supply that he bought from another hobby shop that went out of business a few years ago.  But the good pieces are dwindling as I and a couple of other guys buy it and the shop doesn't re-order.  As with most other places these days, they push ARFs and RTR cars.  The only actual airplane kits they sell are overpriced Guillows free flight planes.  I still drop in every few weeks to ask if they got any Cox stuff in on consignment.  Once in a while he has something that I can talk him down on, as no one else comes in looking for Cox stuff.

Whenever I take the hour and a half trip across town to fly with the guys at Walker Memorial Field, I do stop at the shop over there to buy a couple of control line things, but more to throw a little business his way than to get something I need.  But, the reality is that if I need something, it's most likely that I'll have to mail order.  That's just the way it is.

The Resigned Mark

batjac wrote:

sdjjadk wrote:

Waffleman wrote:
If I just need standard parts and items, I can order it online. Unless its fuel, which was the reason for my trip down yesterday.

That's one thing I never quite understood and has never made any sense to me. Why would you not want to save the shipping and wait time and buy those "standard items and parts" that are already in stock and sold at mail order prices at the hobby shop? Most if not all Hobby Shop's make a large percentage of their profit on those "Standard Parts and Items" so why not help keep them in business?    

It's sad to see that internet and mail ordering is one of the major reasons why a lot of the (once) great hobby shops either lack inventory, refuse to keep inventory or they go out of business.  

Shawn

I have to drive a half hour to 45 minutes to get to the one reasonable shop in the area.  And they have no control line or 1/2A stuff other than a few left-over #309 needles and a couple of old glow heads they want $15 for.  The owners are nice, but their longest time employee is a know-it-all Ass who doesn't listen to input and talks down anything he doesn't like.  And, they have no clue about the aspects of the hobby that I like.  I've always been a 1/2A guy since the 70's.  I do buy heli's and stuff from them, as they usually match mail order.  But even then it is a small selection.

There is a hobby shop about 5-10 minutes away, but I don't trust them, as they overprice things and I've had the owner lie to me a couple of times.  I only go there if I need something now, or if I want some wood.  He does have a good wood supply that he bought from another hobby shop that went out of business a few years ago.  But the good pieces are dwindling as I and a couple of other guys buy it and the shop doesn't re-order.  As with most other places these days, they push ARFs and RTR cars.  The only actual airplane kits they sell are overpriced Guillows free flight planes.  I still drop in every few weeks to ask if they got any Cox stuff in on consignment.  Once in a while he has something that I can talk him down on, as no one else comes in looking for Cox stuff.

Whenever I take the hour and a half trip across town to fly with the guys at Walker Memorial Field, I do stop at the shop over there to buy a couple of control line things, but more to throw a little business his way than to get something I need.  But, the reality is that if I need something, it's most likely that I'll have to mail order.  That's just the way it is.

The Resigned Mark

I completely understand buying online when there are either no local hobby shops or the hobby shop lacks inventory. the shop owner and or employees are rude and won't stock or offer to order what you need. But, their should be no reason to order online if you have a local hobby shop that has great service and stocks everything you need / want at "Online" prices. Or they can order something for you and still save you the shipping! Not to mention the after purchase care you get from a good hobby shop.


Shawn

I Think we missed where I said the website I order from.

www.gravesrc.com

IS the website for the best LHS near me. Its awesome that they sell online and ship, so I don't have to make an hour trip everytime I need stuff. I can have it the next day, ordering it from them.

The only time I DON'T buy from them is when I am making a LIPO battery order for my electric fleet of R/Cs. The prices for "quality" LIPO batteries are ridiculous. I can buy one battery for $80, or I can buy 4 for $20 from china and get a lot more flying time with comparable performance in most applications.

Waffleman wrote:And sanford only has the hobbytown.

There is a Hobbytown in Sanford now? When did they open one there?
I remember there used to be a couple decent hobby shops in Sanford. There was Flightline Hobbies that was in 2 different locations, the original spot was over by the Sanford Autotrain and then they moved over on 17-92 and they moved back to the original location and there was Hover Hobbies in the Sanford Walmart Shopping Center but they both closed down quite a few years ago. When I moved to Florida back in 97', there were tons of hobby shops around. But it seems that Superior Hobbies, Graves, Bob's Hobby Center, Colonial Photo & Hobby and I think Central Florida Hobbies are the only hobby shops left in that area.

sdjjadk wrote:

Waffleman wrote:And sanford only has the hobbytown.

There is a Hobbytown in Sanford now? When did they open one?
I remember there used to be a couple decent hobby shops in Sanford. There was Flightline Hobbies that was in 2 different locations the original spot was over by the Sanford Autotrain and then they moved over on 17-92 and they moved back to the original location and there was Hover Hobbies in the Sanford Walmart Shopping Center but they both closed down quite a few years ago.

I don't know, but its been there since I started flying 4 years ago. its in the mall.

I've only been there once. I much prefer Graves or even HighFly in daytona to hobbytown, they carry nothing.

Waffleman wrote:

sdjjadk wrote:

Waffleman wrote:And sanford only has the hobbytown.

There is a Hobbytown in Sanford now? When did they open one?
I remember there used to be a couple decent hobby shops in Sanford. There was Flightline Hobbies that was in 2 different locations the original spot was over by the Sanford Autotrain and then they moved over on 17-92 and they moved back to the original location and there was Hover Hobbies in the Sanford Walmart Shopping Center but they both closed down quite a few years ago.

I don't know, but its been there since I started flying 4 years ago. its in the mall.

I've only been there once. I much prefer Graves or even HighFly in daytona to hobbytown, they carry nothing.

I heard of HiFly but I've never been in there.

Its an average LHS. Sometimes a bit overpriced, and they carry a little, but not much, of everything. I don't recall ever seeing anything cox there.

http://www.highflyhobbies.com/

Waffleman wrote:Its an average LHS. Sometimes a bit overpriced, and they carry a little, but not much, of everything. I don't recall ever seeing anything cox there.

http://www.highflyhobbies.com/

If you're ever in the area of 50 and 436, check out Bob's Hobby Center over on Goldenrod Rd.
It's a neat little store. Steve is the owner and he as well as the staff are very friendly.

http://www.bobshobbycenter.com

I've heard of the place, but I've never been. I need to one of theses days.