AAA Hobbies and Crafts — Local services in Magnolia

Went in to check out a Traxxas Stampede XL-5. Luckily I checked online pricing first, AAA is charging $316 while a "few" online retailers had several of them in every standard color at $209 (eBay). EXACT same model, same accessories included, no shipping charge, brand new and still in the box. I spoke with the owner (I assume) because I figured it was a simple mistake, nope. He was clear that this was the same exact model as the one I was showing him online for $209 and that he did indeed charge over $100 more. He also made it clear that he had no interest being more realistic with his price. He justified this by saying his online competitors were fly by night operations with no brick and mortar store. I happily showed him pictures of the competitor's real store, selection and the fact that their ebay store had sold nearly 150,000 units with nearly a 100% satisfaction rating.

Now I understand you have to make a profit but more than a 1/3 markup over competitors' pricing!?! The word ripoff comes to mind. I would have paid a little bit more than the online price to keep the money local but over $100 is ridiculous, that's just taking advantage of people.

My son wanted to check out some of the little green plastic army men figures, more than 5x what KMart charges.

I'm a big supporter of the small local businesses and will go out of my way to buy local but not this place, no...

Pros: Wow , there is sooo much to choose from and look at . If you are a crafter/ hobbyist/ artist, this is your " Toy" store . Staff was polite and they keep the place very organized. Very big , and items are spaced according to what hobby you're doing. Thought the train model display in the back was fun. And my son and I had a blast trying out the Mini 4x4 Racers on the back . The man( maybe owner) there was very informative and showed all about the racers . They certainly have variety and odds and ends that you cant find in big box stores.

Cons: Wish it was closer to me , so not fault of them , but 30 min drive . Parking is a little tight , so be careful. They could use an entrance coming from the side road. You'll know why if you ever take that way. Prices are little high , but honestly not by much . Maybe $5 to $10 difference for most stuff , compared to online . Worth it if you need it right away or like to support small business. The "RC" car guy is a little brash/ no filter, but seems like he deals with a lot of picky customers. He was very knowledgeable though. He mostly helps with hobby level RC , not toy rated .

All and all , I would highly recommend coming here . Wish there were more places like this . They seem to care about involving the community with events and family friendly things.

I'm Beef and that's where I was. With my...

I find AAA Hobbies to be an awesome place for hobby supplies and one of my favorite stores to visit - they have a huge selection, covering a wide variety of hobbies (trains, RC cars/planes, modeling supplies, miniature needs/painting, random neat stuff, etc). You don't even need to have a specific hobby - it's like Home Depot in the sense that you just walk around and think "Hey, I have no idea what this is or what it does exactly, but I could use this for...". Don't be discouraged by people who gave the store low marks - the staff is plenty friendly - if you have never met the kind of person who enjoys/works at hobby stores, you could very easily misunderstand them as rude or weird if you don't give them a chance.

I personally find the prices reasonable - especially because a lot of the stuff they sell is hard to find anywhere else (for me this means Vallejo model paints especially). Although, I would say their paint brushes are a bit overpriced. Some of the items that they sell have been sitting on the shelves for a long time (sometimes a pro, sometimes a con). In the absence of Pearl and an easily accessible Dick Blick, this is unique store that is definitely worth...