Supporting your local hobby shop

[andylinney]

I was a wee bit disappointed today when rather than just logging on to one of the normal shops I use for my bits I went to our local shop. I didn't have a big shopping list but thought I should be able get what were absolute basics:

600mm Main Blades
95mm Tail Blades
Coloured Fuel Tubing
Futaba Servo Horns
Bottle of 15 / 20% Nitro
Futaba Gyro Pads (good for mounting rx etc)
Fuel Filters

So, nothing too out of the ordinary...

But I came away empty handed, a little disappointed and a bit cross at myself for driving 25 miles of a 50 mile round trip without calling first.

So, what's fast lads number again..?

[terryk2000]

Been there and done that lol..Just use FL now..their postage costs are usually a lot cheaper than the fuel and road toll costs

[andylinney]

Been there and done that lol..Just use FL now..their postage costs are usually a lot cheaper than the fuel and road toll costs

You're probably not far wrong there, I worked out last week that on current fuel costs I'm burning 21 pence a mile at the moment. So by far and away, it would have been cheaper to have stayed at home

[Rotorhead]

So you're saying they had nothing on that list, not one single thing?

If so then they have no right to complain about customers going elsewhere, I mean, fuel filters, fuel tubing and servo horns and fuel should be in stock in the worst of places, I can kind of understand them being out of specific blade sizes, but the rest of it, that just says they dont know how to run a shop, thats as bad as a stationary store not stocking pens and pencils.

[terryk2000]

100%

[andylinney]

Nope, not that I could see. I was as surprised as you, normally it's a good wee shop for your bits and bobs but I was astonished not to find even the simple stuff. There was every sort of servo extension lead, bits for Blade MSR's and fixed wing hinges but I couldn't believe what I wasn't seeing. A real shame when you walk in with cash in your arse pocket and end up leaving with it still there.

I'm honestly hoping that it was just an incredibly busy weekend for them and I came in on the back of it.

[Gate88]

Ha! The problem with my local shop is almost the same, they've never got what I want but I still seem to spend a fortune & walk out with lots of other shiney trinkets that I dont need!

Thats why I tend to stick to the internet!

[sacko]

Been in the exact situation as you many of times, luckily my LHS have really been sorting themselves out, with loads more spares in stock/ shiney stuff/ fuel, even my latest purchase of a Lipro Quad 4 charger (which they did a very good deal on).

Unfortuantely they arent just a heli store, so will never keep everything that you will need.

[raptorheli2]

i dunno what shop this is andy but i assume it's PMC. if so it's been a bit sparse for months now so it wasn't a rush of sales over the weekend. i have never known in 15 years of going there ANY 600mm blades or 95mm tail blades.

cheers

[supamansuper]

I have the same problem with my local hobby shop and its not just the stock level,they just try to get as much money as possible out of you.

[R1stu]

My local HS is HobbyStores. Now they sale a fair few Align Kits and Tamiya Kits, however they do not stock any tamiya spares and their Align parts you can count on one hand!

[GravityKills]

>>Supporting your local hobby shop
to be honest, a single customer cannot make a difference, unless he's buying loads of ridiculously overpriced products.
Do you want to make a difference?

[waveydavey]

My LHS is Al's Hobbies not half a mile from my front door. Needless to say I use all of the usual online suspects

[Smoothound]

Mine is stuffed full of toy stuff and Gimmer stuff. If you fly a WOT 4 or other dope and tissue stuff you are OK but even if you just want a set of 325 Pros for your Trex 450 you are on a wing and a prayer. The amount of "toy" models they do is unreal, I can see the reasoning but it always seems to me to the detriment of the hardcore users.

They stock shedloads of Model Technics fuel but only the Old Gimmer stuff and Big Bang for the RTR car and buggy boys, I have to order my Copta Mix in specially

[Steve]

This comes back to the same old thing that has been covered countless times before under many different disguises. Your local Rc hobbie shoppe will undoubtedly cater for plane flyers in the whole, with maybe some cars and trains thrown in as well. Most likely, helicopter pilots make up less than 5% of their trade, so it's no wonder they don't stock much stuff on the shelf.

Now agreed, good heli shops are rather important to the likes of you and me, but poor old Mr Hard-Done-By local shopkeeper has to stock what sells in order to make a living.

It's no surprise to me that just about all of us heli-peeps use a sum total of about 6 shops across the whole country - i.e. the specialist heli suppliers. This is a heli forum, so we all have a specific common interest, but we are still in a significant minority when it comes to our chosen flying discipline, which is also reflected in the bias in the BMFA (not wanting to start another bun-fight) magazine towards planes.