WWI Ace

I really like the people that run my LHS, ( which happens to be a 55 mile drive!!). Many times I've been given a discount that was better than any online ads. They don't carry everything I need but I get what I can from them. Planes, Realflight G3.5, lipolys, motors, and ESCs. They really are good people and maybe it helps a little that they are not a franchise store. They are just a little Mom and Pop business that's been around for about thirty something years. I'm sure my purchases aren't paying their bills but maybe it helps a little. Steve.

Brutal E

I guess I should not complain as my hobby shop is minutes away and they started carrying more heli stuff. Still not much on the service side but they know less than I do about this part of RC so I can not blame car and plane guys for not knowing helis. 15 minute drive to the other shop they know helis but my guess is running a hobby shop does not allow you time to research all the new stuff that comes out. He is building a T-Rex 600 so kudos to them. I dropped some cash in there he was very helpful after that. 300 dollars he should be. I had is undivided attention once he figured out that I spend some serious money on this stuff and I only come in when I am ready to buy.

radralph

One other thing to try is to print a web page and ask for the same price at the LHS. Save a few bucks once in a while and support the LHS.

jermo

I've had that experience and found another HS just a few miles further. The new HS is ALOT more friendly and is happy to help. The guy actually talked me out of a more expensive heli for the one I have (Blade CX). His approach was that I should work to actually have fun while learning while not breaking the bank. He then gave me the link to RADD training school on the web. After about a week I'm hoving tail in and have only had to replace the rotor head and upper set of blades. I only crashed when I failed to follow the instructions and got froggy ...pilot error is expensive...... I'm about to start doing left in and right in... I'm pretty excited..
jm

leebee

Too bad that there are some lhs that aren't friendly or helpful. I patronize one in North Prov. RI that sells, understands and is willing to help in all venues, electric and nitro, cars, boats, planes, helicopters and simulators. They will help with setups and make sure product like electric heli's. They are well stocked, very knowledgable and helpful. Too bad they all weren't like that.

firemanbill

You are lucky to have that leebee. I am also well as my lhs owner is a super nice guy and his employees are helpful and knowledgeable also.

It is a shame that some of them just don't care or will just sell you whatever they can to make a buck

jermo

I've had an interesting experience at the one that's not very friendly. I found that it's only some of the employee's that are unfriendly. So perhaps it's an employee issue... mmm...interesting.
Jermo

immorta

Hey I hear what you are saying. There are only a few actual hobby shops where I live. Most are downright rude and unhelpful. I found one a little further away that are really helpful and give goos advice.

I feel your pain, but dont worry, there seems to be plenty of good people on the net who are willing to help a begginer.

CGFlyer

For the moment I live near Hobby-Lobby in TN, and they are beyond great. In moving to Memphis, I am only familiar with two in the area, they both sell great gear, but only one is really a good shop.

I hope to find a great club out there as well.

fly_boy_bc

I have to say that I have NEVER felt welcomed when I have walked into a hobby shop for the fist time. Perhaps it is because hobby shops get so many "lookie loos" who buy nothing. Its not until they begin to recognize you as someone who actually buys stuff that they will smile and welcome you.

I have recently given up on them I will make as many purchases as possible online. I am saving a fortune in mark-ups and I don't have to justify myself to some store clerk who doesn't know half of what I do about the products. The only downside is the wait.

Gary

Heli Jim

Gary...It's really toobad that they treat you like that.

My LHS is great.......the owner is always there and he knows a little
about everything he sells. He's really into cars and boats but he
understands a lot about helis too and he will order something
that I want if he doesn't have it instock.

I really hope you can find somebody like my guy where you live.

marchino61

Here in Australia, I have found the whole RC retail business very amateurish. Here are a few experiences:

1. Went into a shop in Victoria Park, WA and told them I was a complete beginner. What do they recommend? A Parkzone Spitfire! (I crashed in about 10 seconds, of course).

2. Order crystals from another shop - I am told they will arrive "in a week". Phone every week for 8 weeks - nothing.

2a. Order the crystals from the oldest RC shop in Perth. They send AM instead of FM crystals. Itake them back. They phone a couple of days later - the proper crystals are coming overnight from the East....they finally arrive two weeks later. Overnight?

3. Order a battery charger and batteries online via Paypal. Tell them to send to Australia, not my UK address. They send to UK (without charging international post, so they porobably lost money on the deal)

4. Order a Super Cub fuselage and miscellaneous parts from Hobbyzone importer. Company unilaterally cancels my fuselage order and ships the rest - useless without the fuselage. I phone and they agree a return. Six weeks later I am still waiting for a refund to my credit card.

My feeling is that the people "running" these businesses see it as a hobby rather than a business. Their customer service skills are stone-age.

fr4nk1yn

This seems to get covered often. I'm trying to figure it all out now.
Sometimes I walk into the LHS and get great help sometimes there's 5-6 employees all talking and I can't get a prop, which is kept behind the counter.

I can order a gearbox and get it in two days while the LHS TELLS me to order parts they don't want to order online.

I get a nice hand written thank you note ordering online while the cashier acts like she'd rather be doing anything else.

Heck, besides team-orion avionics, suggested by the LHS, I can get an email response to a question before I can get off work and drive to the LHS.

I'm not a LHS basher, I like the convenience of them, but they often seem to have problems they're not willing to fix.

leapfrog

Like I said before... I've received Christmas cards from my online buddies... nary a word from the local shops.

lamrob

I once had a bad arguement with my LHS because they made me travel a couple of times and then accuse me of breaking their faulty product. So I don't want to use any more negative words but let's face it, if the level of service at MacDonald is 10/10 then I would say LHS service is 1/10.

I prefer to use online shopping because I don't have to travel to LHS and then get an unwelcoming message saying we don't have the parts you want or maybe what they are saying is we don't make that much money from the parts you want. Besides online guys has to be much better in term of service to get business.

xuzme720

Welcome Lamrob. hope your experiences here at Wattflyer are better than your LHS.
if you can find a good shop and get to know the people in it, you will be a much happier person. of course this isn't the easiest thing to do. good luck and welcome aboard!

Heli Jim

I have to agree with Gary.....I hope you can find a good one close by.

There were two in my area......one wouldn't give me the time of day when
I went in there. After a couple of stops, I just quit going there and then I
found the good one.

Eventually, the first one went out of business (Duh!) The one I go to now bought him out.....

My local guy is a good one and I give him all the business I can because we
both need each other....he can't survive without customers and I really like
having him there when I need advise or personal service. I still mail order once in a while when he can't get what I need but that is the rare occasion
now.

Keep looking.....there ARE good LHS's out there.

lamrob

xuzme720 vbmenu_register("postmenu_254041", true); & JIM

Thank you for your welcome!

I am really glad we have forums. I don't know how we could survive without them a couple years ago. We can have all the experience and help at our finger tips. The only thing the web cannot teach us is how to fly the heli

Oglomott

I am some what of an OF myself, but I'm very new to R/C helis. These forums have been very helpful in answering questions and helping me out. What would we all have done 20 years ago without the internet???As far as my LHS, they damn well should treat me like a king, because in helis and parts, I have spent probably around $1000 in the past few months.My main complaint about my LHS is that they are always busy on the weekends, which of course is when most people have the time to go. This leaves them less time to help you and answer questions. Even if there's nobody else there, when the phone rings, they must stop waiting on you and answer the phone, and it always seems to be to talk to someone who has a million questions to ask. But the guys in the heli department are fliers themselves and are very knowledgeable. I hope by this point they recognize me when I come in and recall how much money I have spent to date, but the guys there always answer my questions and are always courteous to me. I think the fact that I am not a young kid might help me out in this regard, I may actually look like I have more experience than I really do!

Heli Jim

I went into the LHS today because I needed some stuff due to a crash
last week. (posted elsewhere about that)

I wanted some spindles and he had the package that included the O rings and some other parts. I said that I just wanted the spindles and he looked it up and sure enough, it's available seperately. So.........we ordered three.

I needed some more blades, and he ordered those too. I bought the last of the ones he had in stock a few days ago. I also said that I wanted another 3S LiPo and he ordered that too. This will all be here by the end of the week.

Same as if I ordered on line but NO SHIPPING cost.

Then we got to talking about the new Blade 400 that's due out soon. He tells me that he's got 12 on order and they should be in stock in another month. Also said that the initial shippment shoud be at a good price because he order a bunch of them. Should be a good sale then.

This is why I support the guy. I can get parts just as quick as the internet shops without paying postage and I get a LOT of good will from him, too. I KNOW that he appreciates his customers and we all appreciate him, too. He's doing well and I know that he's not going away due to lack of service.

I have a great LHS.............I wish you all could have one like it!!

FORDEVR

I use to live in Calgary ab. and loved (and still do love) PM hobbies (they were formerly called "PMS hobbies" believe it or not) now i live closer to edmonton and used "Hobby Wholesale" however.... I needed a replacement shaft for my himax brushless and the guy as wholesale tells me i need to order the shaft direct from himax. so i tell him i have got them before from pm hobbies. He darn near ignored what i said and proceeded to tell me to use a drill bit or a R/c car shock shaft. (IDIOT) Soooo I phone PM hobbies and ask them if they can order me one. He says "I HAVE 4 IN STOCK HOW MANY WOULD YOU LIKE." Now thats service. and he put them on hold for a week so my bro who is local could pickem up for me at his leasure. Now thats service. Also took wholesale 7 months to get me a part from GWS....i almost forgot I ordered the part. PM does alot of mail order and I recommend them.

sketchaholic

Wow, I thought it was just me! I can't believe this is the case with a lot of people around the world. It is kinda sad though isn't it? I visit 3 LHS here that I can easily buy from. One of them has good service, but don't carry any building supplies for my scratch building and modding needs, so I end up going to one of the other ones. It has been getting better there so maybe you do have to let the workers get to know you.

rcheli82

I have had a very pleasant experience with my LHS. I have picked their brains countless time for info that I ended up using to make a purchase decision through an internet wholesaler, BUT with good reason!

I have found that not only are the prices at my LHS double what I can get the same parts for off the internet, but they are TRIPLE the price .

It's absolutely outlandish, and as much as I enjoy walking around the store looking at things and that whole "have it in your possession as soon as you pay for it" thing, I just can't bring myself to spend $300 on a gyro, brushed-ESC and AR6100 Rx, when I can get it for under $120 online. And no, the $300 price was "not negotiable".

bucwheat

I think a lot of these Grumpy Old Guys have lost touch with the fact that they were once beginners themselves. Possibly a little reminder may be in order.

Heli Jim

I think that the price you quoted is a little extreme but you also have to realize that some of the online places are nothing more than a warehouse with a shipping department. The guy has no overhead other than a light bill and a phone bill so he can well afford to sell at a lower price. I personally don't begrudge the LHS a reasonable profit on what he sells. Most of the time, my guy is spot on to what I would have to pay from most of the online hobby shops, especially when you factor in the shipping cost, too.