I know this has been asked a couple of times but this is a bit different and a 2 part question. Please respond everyone.

A bunch of buddies and me where talking this weekend and this came up. I bring it to you guys to settle.


First part

How much do you spend a month at the Hobby Shop. just the store front hobby shop not online not ebay not buying from your friends.

second part

for us the closest hobby shop is 40 miles away and it is run by one guy out of his garage as a part time thing 6pm-9pm m-f and 10am-1pm on Saturday. After that it is 70miles to the closest full time hobby shop. For those of you like us with a long drive to the "local hobby shop" would you spend more if you had one say 10 minutes away instead of a hour or more?


thanks Mike

Originally Posted by cars4fun2001

I know this has been asked a couple of times but this is a bit different and a 2 part question. Please respond everyone.

A bunch of buddies and me where talking this weekend and this came up. I bring it to you guys to settle.


First part

How much do you spend a month at the Hobby Shop. just the store front hobby shop not online not ebay not buying from your friends.

second part

for us the closest hobby shop is 40 miles away and it is run by one guy out of his garage as a part time thing 6pm-9pm m-f and 10am-1pm on Saturday. After that it is 70miles to the closest full time hobby shop. For those of you like us with a long drive to the "local hobby shop" would you spend more if you had one say 10 minutes away instead of a hour or more?


thanks Mike

There's two "L"HS's in either direction from me, both 45 minutes away in opposite directions... but the fact that I don't typically know when I'll be in town means I'm typically shopping online and getting the deals where possible. Most I've done in one of the stores is $200 that included some lipo's for a heli. Otherwise, typical purchase is $20 for glue, and odds and ends.

...but I think you'll find that there are no set answers, as the world takes all kinds. I'm sure there are those that the LHS is a mere stroll down the road and yet they'll get all their gear from UnitedHobbies or whatever. Whenever I'm in one of the stores, it always seems they're selling some guy a complete 450/500 size heli outfit.

Originally Posted by cars4fun2001

I know this has been asked a couple of times but this is a bit different and a 2 part question. Please respond everyone.

A bunch of buddies and me where talking this weekend and this came up. I bring it to you guys to settle.


First part

How much do you spend a month at the Hobby Shop. just the store front hobby shop not online not ebay not buying from your friends.

second part

for us the closest hobby shop is 40 miles away and it is run by one guy out of his garage as a part time thing 6pm-9pm m-f and 10am-1pm on Saturday. After that it is 70miles to the closest full time hobby shop. For those of you like us with a long drive to the "local hobby shop" would you spend more if you had one say 10 minutes away instead of a hour or more?


thanks Mike

Hi Mike,

I'm confused...

You asked us to settle an argument between your buddies about how much we spend on our hobby?

What could you possibly be arguing about???

Chuck

Originally Posted by NoFlyZone

Hi Mike,

I'm confused...

You asked us to settle an argument between your buddies about how much we spend on our hobby?

What could you possibly be arguing about???

Chuck

well pretty simple really. We where talking about what "most" folks spend a month at the hobby shop and that lead to whether or not they would spend more if they where every where like "wall mart".


I average $50 a trip and don't think I have ever gotten out for less then $20. If I didn't have to spend $40 on gas to get there I would spend that money there to.


Mike

My "model budget" varies greatly...

Some months less than $50 some months over $1500

Local hobby shop is 7 miles away... its not the greatest shop... but they will order anything I want and have i faster than I could get it via the internet 9 times out of 10... and they usually match or beat the on-line price for my special orders. (saving me shipping costs, but I have to pay sales tax...)

I can stop in the shop... shoot the breeze for an hour and might leave with nothing purchased... or a bag full of stuff.

There's a larger shop 35 miles south... I've gont to ONCE.
And another large shop 60 miles north that I try to get to about once every 4 months... (but I have no other reason to go to that city... so I won't go for just a gallon of fuel.)

Originally Posted by cars4fun2001

First part

How much do you spend a month at the Hobby Shop.

$0

For those of you like us with a long drive to the "local hobby shop" would you spend more if you had one say 10 minutes away instead of a hour or more?

No

Generally somewhere on the order of $300 per year for me. Most of it usually comes around this time of year when flying season is starting again.

With gas prices so high, on top of that, taxes. I don't have any reason to shop locally. I tried giving LHS more business, but I just end up with less money in my pocket. Plus they're only open during the time I'm at work, it makes it a PITA to shop. So why would I try so hard to get out of work early, pay taxes, pay gas, and spend more money? Shopping online I get lower prices, no tax (it's like 8.25% discount every time), and whatever I order is at my door in 2 days. Most online shops offer free shipping if I order enough. Even if they don't, shipping charges are lower than tax plus gas. If this means LHS will die out, so be it. I'll stock up on parts I need so I won't be missing something last minute. The last few times that I need something quickly, my LHS didn't have it, I ended up buying something close but didn't work, (wasted $$) then I then had to order online.

I have one hobby store maybe one mile from me, and another about three miles away. The one-mile guy often has what I want, will promise to get it for me "next week", but it never seems to arrive. The three-mile guy nearly always has what I want, and always gets it by next week if it's not in stock. Guess which one I use most.

Having said that, neither of them have very good prices on AXI motors and Jeti ESCs (my currently preferred brands) so I go online for them.

Average spend? Don't know, and I'd probably be kidding myself if I did make a guess, but last week was less than £10 for some balsa and glue, and a couple of months ago it was £250 or so for a new radio

my local shop is 45miles away. i would buy everything i needed from a local shop if it was closer and they had it in stock... usually a few hundred dollars per month. i would never have anyone order something for me because i can do that myself and have it delivered to my house sooner than i could get it from them. the key is, they need to be close and have everything in stock.

1. $100-400
2. Yes

I spend around $50 a month, sometimes more, sometimes less.

BTW, my LHS is ...

Hobby-Lobby International!!!

Only five minutes from work, and ten minutes from the house.

thanks for the input guys. pretty much echo's my fillings about the lack of knowledge and care for the patrons in most lhs's. I know if I had one that was closer I would be in there all the time and that would translate into more money spent there.

Keep it coming I really would like every one's thoughts on the matter.

Mike

I spend $50 or so monthly on average. Local shop gets $3 for glue and the rest goes to whoever has what I want for the best price. Our hobby shop does not cater to flying much, so it's a 50 mile drive to one that does and often way cheaper online after figuring gas and wear on vehicles.

If I had a good local full service shop, I would gladly pay 5% more just to have it when I want it.

James

Originally Posted by NoFlyZone

Hi Mike,

I'm confused... :

What could you possibly be arguing about???

Chuck

When your wife finds out how much is being spent on hobby stuff? Ohhh...there'll be an argument alright.

(Might even need attorneys for that one)

On to the question though...

I prefer to buy from the LHS. Usually! Not always. If I've got to wait a week for something to come in....what's the point? I can order it myself, have it in 3 days and cut him out of the loop altogether.

Just depends on the item. Our LHS is pretty good, and if something doesn't work right...you're getting a new one....no BS. That's a plus.