HobbyTown — Local services in Fredericksburg

HORRIBLE HOBBY SHOP. NO REGARD FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. HORRIBLE RETURN POLICY. I WOULD GIVE ZERO STARS IF POSSIBLE!

I purchased a helion animus 18tr after being told by both gentlemen behind the counter that it is a great deal for the 100 dollar price. I was hesitant about the purchase but I was reassured by the staff that it wouldn't break unless I ran it full speed into a wall or did anything stupid. Well after getting home I put the battery in and ran it for about 3 minutes and I had a drive shaft and a rear hub break while driving it in my yard. I returned to the store less then 2 hours after purchasing the truck and they said they couldn't do anything for me except offer me the replacement/ or upgrade parts at full price. After purchasing the stock parts and having the gentleman at the store put them on the truck I went home to try it out again. Within the first 5 minutes of a fresh battery I had a rear drive coupling, rear drive shaft and rear shock break after driving it in circles and having it roll ever. I went back 3 days after purchasing it and 48 hours after it breaking the first time. I walked in the store and asked if they can take it back or give me some type of store credit for selling me something that has broken so far two time in under 24 hours. They said they couldn't offer me anything more then the monthly coupon of five dollars off 25 dollars And then they threw at me all the upgrades to fix my problem. With me really wanting this truck to work I purchased the upgraded drive couplings, rear hubs and stock shocks. So far within 72 hours I have 80 dollars into a 100 dollar rc car. Now I'm on the 4th day and the motor has burned up and no longer runs after running the car for about 6 minutes in my living room. At this point it is a lost cause and now I have an expensive paper weight.

The customer service and the inability to do anything about selling me something that broke within the first 3 hours of owning is unbelievable. I will never go back to this store or any other HobbyTown stores. I will also be putting at review on the Helion website about this unbelievably fragile HOBBY...

Update - I've given another chance and the 1 star still stands. When it comes to aircraft stuff unless you know what you're looking for and willing to stop in to verify if they have it in stock - don't bother. Staff is helpful, for RC if you want car stuff they are great - otherwise forget it outside of what they have for kits. There is a 100+ member RC aircraft club nearby yet they they have ignored repeated request to try to carry common crash parts. Very small stock of screws which are commonly needed. The store could double their business especially in the summer time, but instead management has chosen to ignore the needs of the local RC customers and has proven to be useless which forces us to drive another hour and a half to Hobby Hanger if we want to keep flying over the weekend. More than a few people have reached out to management to improve relations with the local RC aircraft community only to be ignored by both store and corporate management. They even sold a quadcopter kit and sent them to the local RC club to help them put it together because they had no idea how to, only for that customer to run off with a $30 battery that was...

I simply love HobbyTown! HobbyTown fills a void in the Fredericksburg area that no other store can! There was a time you could buy models , rc cars and supplies from many stores but as toy store chains closed and department stores dropped these items a void was created. HobbyTown fixed that for all of us. They more than fixed it they improved upon it. Ed and the employees at HobbyTown are very friendly and knowledgeable. They are also hard working, if you ask something they cannot immediately answer they will not stop until they get the answer! If your looking for something not in stock they will find it and order it for you (which btw saves you paying shipping , but most HobbyTown's items have special $1.99 shipping). Our HobbyTown is easy to find, directly across from the Route 3 ChickAla. They have models, paints, parts, rc cars of all types, rc aircraft, radios , servos, motors, ESCs, pretty much anything you could need for your hobby needs. I highly recommend this store and thank Ed and everyone at our HobbyTown for being there to fill our...