HobbyTown — Local services in Symmes Township

"It's okay" I went there the other day with my girlfriend to just scope out some RC stuff as I'm trying to get into RC and I'm already into models and HO scale trains. I hadn't set foot in a hobby store for years so I just wanted to see what they had. I ended up buying some paint markers to finish a 1:24 I had 95% built and got paint for another one I haven't yet started. She bought an Estes ProtoN quadcopter (She called it a drone at first and I quickly corrected her and said quadcopter because anyone who's even slightly into the hobby knows that's sort of a faux pas in the RC flying world..Oh what am I talking about it's a TOY who CARES?) But I think we ran into the same person another user did with the drone stuff. We were talking about whether she wanted a camera or not on it and I told her to start there's not much point and he said something from over the counter about FPV flying and how you had to have a camera if you wanted to do that (no really I expected to see without a camera) but we weren't even talking about FPV, we were just looking at starter quads (which by the way the ProtoN is really nice it flies very well even as teeny tiny as it is.)

Really the experience wasn't that bad It could have been better but they have a fair bit of stuff there so if I need RC parts in the future that's one place I can look. Guy at the register was pretty friendly and seemed like he wanted to help but the guy in the back who was over the RC stuff seemed a bit standoffish, I asked what their best selling 1:10 scale SCT was and he sort of responded with an uninterested tone "Traxxas Slash" (not that I was expecting a different answer) - I had asked as well about whether they carried any Losi or Team Associated and he told me they could get parts but nothing in stock. Again not particularly mean but it didn't seem like he wanted to be there, or didn't want to deal with me. I guess it was a Sunday but if someone comes in asking about a $500+ RC kit I'd probably give them time of day. I guess he figured I wasn't going to pick something that day. So whatever, not a big deal just kinda wished I had someone who was IN the hobby for a good while that could answer my questions about fitment of motors and ESCs in certain chassis and batteries and chargers but, well, Google has taken care of that for me.

I'm pretty much set on an Arrma Senton 6S BLX now after looking at what it would cost to build a Tekno SCT410.3 or a Losi TEN SCTE 2.0, the Arrma just makes sense for my purposes. So I'll be looking around probably tomorrow and seeing if anyone's got it in stock, plus some batteries and bodies to replace the stock one with and if not I'll just order it off of Arrma's site direct and piece it together.

Not going to never shop there again but I will definitely be considering other, smaller stores beforehand, like, as one user mentioned, Pit Road over by Kenwood. Totally forgot about them.

So over all, not a bad place but you might do better somewhere else. Got a lot of selection but the atmosphere at least in the RC section is at best and at worst...

I went here a week ago with my 7 year old son to spend his Christmas money. I asked about an rc truck as to whether it was a truck that when he broke it I could get parts to fix it, I was told that yes they stocked parts for it. He broke it on the second day, as expected. when I started looking for parts I found out that this particular truck was discontinued 2 years ago and that finding parts is determined by if a store has any left over parts from that line. I will never trust this store to help me in future buying decisions. Luck had it that the part that I needed was actually something that they still had, I called them at 4:00 on Sunday and was told that they had the part. They close at 5:00, I got there at 4:30 ad they had closed early. A heads up about closing early would have been appreciated, the half hour drive one way is a reason that I don't shop there more often in the first place. I really do appreciate the store and its variety of items, I try to support brick and mortar stores because I enjoy the shopping experience. When I get experiences like this it makes me want to just buy online. Some of your items have set pricing by the manufacturer so those prices are the same, the ones that aren't set like that can usually be found cheaper. I worked in retail for 20 years I always bent over backwards to give my customers the best experience possible, even if I didn't make any money from them that day, I always wanted to make sure that they had no reasons to not come back. I also noticed that when I showed up at the store that I wasn't the only one who wanted to come to your store, who knows how much money may have been lost from the other potential customers that day, my purchase would not have been a very large one, however I have been Flying RC planes for years and started playing with trucks recently. Now that my son is almost 8 and is ready to start playing with hobby grade toys I will most likely be spending a lot of money both for him and myself so we can enjoy the...

Updated review below

If they were not right next door when I need an R/C part I would never shop there again. If You don't need a part immediately go to Pit Road by Kenwood Mall. I just sat at Hobbytown for 5min at the R/C counter watching an employee type on the computer. No problem he may be doing something important so I politely wait. After waiting he looks up and asks if " Are you just going to stand there and stare at me or do you need something". Since I drove from my house and walked in the store then stood here for 5min, yes I probably need a part behind the counter I cannot access and need your rude ass to get it. Will only shop there as a last resort. Real bummer because my last few visits were at least acceptable.

Updated Review from 1 to 3 stars Owner responded to my review. I appreciate him taking time out of his day to respond which shows customer service is important to him. I upgraded to 3 stars also because there was a younger guy who was very knowledgeable and helpful in repairing my Traxxas Rally R/C car. He gave me recommendations and warnings of things to do and not to do. I will update my review again after future visits.

Updated Review on 3/3/16 from 3 to 5 Stars I have now visited the store about 10 times since my first review. Last night the gentlemen who was rude was there and extremely polite and helpful. Maybe he was having a bad night or the owner fixed the issue either way great job. I am elevating to 5 stars and am now a regular customer. Everyone has been very polite and extremely helpful, especially the gentlemen from my first visit and a young guy I believe is a supervisor. I had to exchange a part for the first time at no fault of theres tonight and they helped me find the right part and exchange it...