[NSRCA-discussion] Mac Hodges

[Phil S.]

Hmmm, Jon, sounds like I might need to drive to Huntsville once in a 
while.  OTOH, I cna get stuff delivered from Champana, IL in about the 
same time.  ;-{)

Phil Spelt, KCRC Emeritus, Secretary
AMA 1294 Scientific Leader Member
SPA L-18, Board Member
(865)435-1476v, (865)604-0541c


On 3/18/2014 10:06 AM, Jon Lowe wrote:
> 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 <mailto:klhoard at hotmail.com>
> To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org 
> <mailto: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 <mailto:jsf106 at gmail.com>
> Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 08:35:29 -0500
> To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org 
> <mailto: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 
> <mailto: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 <mailto:mups1953 at yahoo.com>
>     To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>     <mailto: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
>     <mailto: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 <mailto: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 <mailto:johnfuqua at embarqmail.com>
>     850-974-6655 Cell
>
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