[NSRCA-discussion] Mac Hodges

Tue Mar 18 06:06:57 AKDT 2014

We are fortunate to have 3 hobby shops in town, two locally owned, and one a franchise of Hobby Town.  The Hobby Town shop is as others have described, heavy in games, and not much available for airplanes. 

The two locally owned shops are thriving, because they have both breadth and depth in their inventories.  The one I frequent, RC Hobbies, decided some time back if they can't beat them, join them, and stocks some HobbyKing items with a small markup.  They are heavy into cars and helis (they have a car track on their property), but stock all kinds of airplane stuff, and will go out of their way to quickly get anything they don't have in stock.  They stock large numbers of engine and servo parts and have repair parts for foamy airplanes in quantity and depth. They know how to fix stuff, and they will make up special battery packs, etc, if they don't have them on the shelf. They even stock Central Hobbies carbon fiber pushrods/titanium ends.  They know their customers, and stock what they need, not what a franchise tells them.  Sometime back they asked me what they could stock that we might need periodically, and they started stocking those items.  They are smart business people, and don't have franchise fees and demands to deal with.

The local shop in town caters largely to helis, but stocks other things as well.  They are far enough from me that I don't frequent them.

I've not been impressed with any Hobby Town I've been in.  We already had one fail in our city, and I was surprised when another sprang up.  I bypass Hobby Town to go to my regular shop, simply because I know my regular shop will have what I need, and know what I'm talking about when I ask for something.  

Jon

-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Hoard <klhoard at hotmail.com>
To: NSRCA Discussion <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
Sent: Tue, Mar 18, 2014 8:45 am
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Mac Hodges

However, 95% of what I just wrote about Hobby Town DOES NOT apply to Mac Hodges hobby shop. . 

From: klhoard at hotmail.com
To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
Subject: RE: [NSRCA-discussion] Mac Hodges
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 08:44:49 -0500

Our club leadership is now constantly pleading with us to do business thru the Hobby Town - if they don't have it (which usually they don't), they'll order it.  Well, that's great but the shop is a 45 minute drive one-way for me and its the same 2-3 day wait if my stuff gets shipped to the Hobby Town or to my front door.  As for having the Hobby Town there for "help and advice" . . . all of the kids that work there are either car or "Magic the Gathering" card game players . . . so, I don't get much value added with that either.  I get more help posting on the mailing list and sifting thru all the opposing opinions than driving 45 minutes for a blank stare and "we can get that in by Friday".

I'm sorry, but buggy whip manufacturers went out of business when folks switched to automobiles.

From: jsf106 at gmail.com
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 08:35:29 -0500
To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Mac Hodges

I was at a huge Hobby Town USA in the Atlanta area last year…a large as a grocery store. Even at that, 80% of the floorspace was dedicated to other hobbies and crafts. The RC section was small and a very small portion of it dedicated to a limited selection of small electric ARFs. 
In a very large market with several active clubs and almost year-round flying season, this is indicative of the direction of the market. 
The modest local hobby shop in Kansas City that I go to, is about the same floorspace ratio, but with a super-active hell counter, and sizable selection of electric ARFs. 

The only things I buy there are glue, carbon fibre, and a few odds and ends in a pinch. 

John

On Mar 18, 2014, at 8:14 AM, Keith Hoard <klhoard at hotmail.com> wrote:

Our local Hobby Town is downsizing, probably a first step towards going away.  Only a small part of their business is now airplane / helo - mostly Eflight and stuff like that.

Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 06:00:26 -0700
From: mups1953 at yahoo.com
To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Mac Hodges

Local Hobby shops are hard hit by the way business is conducted these days.
 It's sad.

Mike Mueller
President of

 F3AUnlimited

On Tuesday, March 18, 2014 7:06 AM, Hnycmpsts <hnycmpsts at aol.com> wrote:

I didn't know he closed his hobby shop. That's too bad. It was just one of the many perks when flying at his field.

Oscar

On Mar 17, 2014, at 11:36 PM, "John Fuqua" <johnfuqua at embarqmail.com> wrote:

Has anybody got a good phone number and/or email address for Mac Hodges.    Previous numbers he used for his hobby shop are no good now that the shop is closed.

thanks

John D. Fuqua
johnfuqua at embarqmail.com
850-974-6655 Cell

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