Honcho'n still an underground hobby...?

[T Bone 347]

How come 4 out of the last 4 Hobby Towns I've gone in have ZERO kits, RTRs, parts or even tires for my honch? One owner didn't even know what the honcho/dingo was, one said he doesn't deal with Axial anymore, and another said there is no market for crawlers. Good thing I like shopping around for the best price and the 'thrill' of the online hunt!

[Mr.Joshua]

Same deal at my lhs...which I only buy supplies and emergency parts from (ive tried supporting them but they are soooooo over priced and never have what I need so I get it all online). They are just about strictly Losi and Traxxas.
I'm with ya on the online hunt too.
Good luck

[pixelnate]

I hear ya. I've got a 'go fast' hobby shop just up the road, and all they sell are Traxxas, AE and some off-brand (Electrix?). It's all about stadium trucks for running on their track. And they are literally 10 mins from the best crawling spot in the city.

The only other 'shop in town is a Hobby Clown near my office, and for them it's all bashers, planes and helis. I did buy my original Dingo there, but they carry nothing Axial. Truly sad. I have spent a ton of money with the online vendors that do support the hobby.

They are always banging on about how we should support the local guys, but they don't support me. I have had them offer to order parts for me, but what's the point. I can get them quicker from RC4WD.

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[Deerhurst]

I guess im one of the lucky ones. My LHS, where i live but not where i got to school, seems to be pretty good with axial rigs. The usually have a couple honchos and a couple wraiths. Havent broken anything on the dingo yet but i do seem to have to order most of my traxxas parts since i guess i break the lesser common to break ones.

They even have a small rock area in the back for crawlers.

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[George014]

I'm from the UK and none of my 3 lhs' carry axial parts, or for that matter, any crawler parts. I'd like to support them by buying parts for my drifter but their parts are 3x times the price compared to the internet!! so it leads me to buy everything online :/

[pobrockcrawler]

same here, i live in England too, but i get all my parts through my lhs by giving them the part numbers of what i want, and they order the parts in for me for the same price as on the internet. i like doing it that way as i do not like ordering directly from on-line shops and i'm also supporting them.

[cguit]

Axial stupidly signed a deal to only distribute through horizion. So if your lhs doesnt have an account with them, then tough shit, your not getting your axial stuff from your lhs anymore unless your lhs gets an account, and thats not exactly and easy option.

[jdacus]

I usually just order from tower or go down to ckrc but their prices are to expensive. And if ur lucky when you order from tower they will ship from Reno,nv or Illinois. But it's about a 3-5 day wait it your on the west coast if it's coming from Illinois. About 2 days for me if it's coming from Reno. Tower hobbies is a really great place to order everything.

[metalry101]

Originally Posted by cguit

Axial stupidly signed a deal to only distribute through horizion. So if your lhs doesnt have an account with them, then tough shit, your not getting your axial stuff from your lhs anymore unless your lhs gets an account, and thats not exactly and easy option.

This is hopelessly wrong.

Horizon doesn't even carry Axial anymore. Hobbico (aka Great Planes) bought Axial a little while ago and now is the exclusive distributor of their stuff. If that's an issue for your LHS then you don't have a real hobby shop. Horizon and Great Planes are the two biggest hobby distributors in the US. If your LHS doesn't do business w/ one or the other, it's because your LHS doesn't like carrying popular products or because they don't meet the dealer qualifications somehow.

[93flareside]

I have similar issues with my hobbytown but it is because theyve run out of stock and Hobbytown won't send them more until they sell more of other brands. Weird? But at the hobbytown in my grandparents town two states away 30% of their total rc stock is Axial. They had around 8 rtr Honchos last time I went in. I asked their manager why and he said that each hobbytown can choose how they manage their stock and Axial products sold the best for him which seems correct. So with hobbytown talk to the management and they might be able to make some changes.

[NFA Fabrication]

Originally Posted by T Bone 347

How come 4 out of the last 4 Hobby Towns I've gone in have ZERO kits, RTRs, parts or even tires for my honch? One owner didn't even know what the honcho/dingo was, one said he doesn't deal with Axial anymore, and another said there is no market for crawlers. Good thing I like shopping around for the best price and the 'thrill' of the online hunt!

I spoke with my local hobby shop about the same thing a few weeks ago (I needed a part). He said since the price jump, they basically stopped selling them, and no longer keep them in stock. At the price they are selling at these days, more and more people are looking at alternatives I'm guessing. I like my SCX10 RTR Honcho, but I bought mine when they could be had for $250 shipped. I would never pay what they are asking these days! I would probably save a little more and get the RC4WD Toyota instead if I was looking currently.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by T Bone 347

How come 4 out of the last 4 Hobby Towns I've gone in have ZERO kits, RTRs, parts or even tires for my honch? One owner didn't even know what the honcho/dingo was, one said he doesn't deal with Axial anymore, and another said there is no market for crawlers. Good thing I like shopping around for the best price and the 'thrill' of the online hunt!

Cause most hobby shops have their head in their ASS...it's a wonder some of them stay in busines...."no I don't have that....ya I can order that for you"
WTF I can order it faster and cheaper...I wanted it today and that's why I'm in your store..............:flipof f:

and this:

Originally Posted by cguit

Axial stupidly signed a deal to only distribute through horizion. So if your lhs doesnt have an account with them, then tough shit, your not getting your axial stuff from your lhs anymore unless your lhs gets an account, and thats not exactly and easy option.

[T Bone 347]

Well, I'm glad to see that it isn't just me!!!! I won't even get into their response when I brought up my RS10XT...

[metalry101]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Cause most hobby shops have their head in their ASS...it's a wonder some of them stay in busines...."no I don't have that....ya I can order that for you"
WTF I can order it faster and cheaper...I wanted it today and that's why I'm in your store..............:flipof f:

and this:

I definitely agree that plenty of hobby shops are not very well run, but not carrying some part that you want doesn't make them idiots. I deal w/ this crap all the time at work. Some guy will come in w/ a 10 year old car, or some Chinese knock-off (like the Redcat crawler referenced in the next post) and ask why we don't stock parts for them. Maybe because Redcat stuff is garbage (maybe not the Rockslide...but their fast stuff is...and I've never been impressed w/ any Rockslide a customer has brought in). Maybe because parts for a 10 year old car are discontinued and we sold out of them years ago? We try to stock everything, but we only have so much space, and bringing in a full line of parts to support a vehicle we sell 2x a year is counterproductive to the whole money-making goal of the business.

Why is it so bad that they offer to order it for you? Would you prefer them to tell you to get bent? They're offering to order it, and usually they cover the shipping. Maybe they'll even match a price, or try to get close. Online retailers tend to have far less overhead, and usually specialize, so they can order things in bulk and maybe get better pricing. Neither advantage is available to a small local shop. They're trying to retain you as a customer and help you get the part you need. Maybe you're not interested, but they're trying to help you get your toy car running again. Yes, they're trying to make money in the process, but if you're going to be waiting for the part anyway, maybe they can be the ones to get it for you. Maybe you don't like having stuff delivered to your house because it gets jacked off the porch. Maybe you don't like the security issues of buying stuff online. Maybe you're not that skilled w/ the internets and don't want to spend 30 minutes searching for the part.

There are plenty of reasons to order things through your local shop. If you and your friends go in and show them that there is interest in crawler parts and that you'd be happy to spend some money there if they stocked it, maybe they'd start ordering more stuff in. If their experience w/ crawler guys is you walking in, getting annoyed that they don't have a part they've never been asked for before, then walking out in a huff when they suggest that they can get it for you, they're probably not very likely to start stocking that stuff. It works both ways. I understand that waiting for parts sucks, but if you show your LHS that there is a local market for crawling items, maybe you won't have to wait. Most shops don't just order stuff in that they don't know anything about and don't have confidence that they can sell. That's a lot of risk for a small shop w/ limited cash flow. Instead of expecting them to expose themselves to that kind of risk blindly, get some crawler buddies or maybe the whole club together, and go visit a local shop or two. Maybe they'll brush you off. There are plenty of idiots running hobby shops, but maybe, just maybe, they'll be receptive to the idea of new customers and will be happy to learn about another product line they can bring in and how there is a local scene capable of making that product line profitable. Maybe your club could score a new sponsor for local events. Maybe the exposure of having crawling stuff in the store would increase the size of your local club. Both sides can benefit from a hobby shop carrying the parts you want, but you have to communicate that with them and show them there is a decent sized market for it. Give them the information and help them help you.

[Big Daddy]

Around here there a few shops that carry limited parts for axial and they usually have a few kit/rtr on the shelf. But that is after you wade through all the planes and helis. I will buy from them if it's a part I need to get back on the trail and can't wait the 3 or so days to get it from RPP, that is if the lhs has the part I'm looking for.

The Hobbytown here is a joke unless you want short course, touring or something from Losi or Traxxas. I used to deal with them back in the day when I was in to touring cars but now I don't even waste my time going in there.

[cguit]

ya had the 2 big ones backwards, horizion lost axial and great plains made it exclusive. My lhs isnt a joke. I live in canada and there isnt any big box hobby stores here at all. Also i dont thinks its fair that stuff ppl had on order was cancelled too. My lhs had axial products on the shelf ready to go. I got one for christmas and now i cant go down the street for the upgrades.

[Carolina Scaler]

I hate to say it but I do as a lot of others on this post and order my stuff online. I have a local mom and pop hobby store in town. They are the nicest people you will ever meet unfortunately every time I go in there for anything they never have what I need. They always offer to order but the one time I took them up on it it took nearly a month to get what I needed. I will keep trying though as I believe in supporting local business, or at least make the effort to.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by metalry101

I definitely agree that plenty of hobby shops are not very well run, but not carrying some part that you want doesn't make them idiots. I deal w/ this crap all the time at work. Some guy will come in w/ a 10 year old car, or some Chinese knock-off (like the Redcat crawler referenced in the next post) and ask why we don't stock parts for them. Maybe because Redcat stuff is garbage (maybe not the Rockslide...but their fast stuff is...and I've never been impressed w/ any Rockslide a customer has brought in). Maybe because parts for a 10 year old car are discontinued and we sold out of them years ago? We try to stock everything, but we only have so much space, and bringing in a full line of parts to support a vehicle we sell 2x a year is counterproductive to the whole money-making goal of the business.

Why is it so bad that they offer to order it for you? Would you prefer them to tell you to get bent? They're offering to order it, and usually they cover the shipping. Maybe they'll even match a price, or try to get close. Online retailers tend to have far less overhead, and usually specialize, so they can order things in bulk and maybe get better pricing. Neither advantage is available to a small local shop. They're trying to retain you as a customer and help you get the part you need. Maybe you're not interested, but they're trying to help you get your toy car running again. Yes, they're trying to make money in the process, but if you're going to be waiting for the part anyway, maybe they can be the ones to get it for you. Maybe you don't like having stuff delivered to your house because it gets jacked off the porch. Maybe you don't like the security issues of buying stuff online. Maybe you're not that skilled w/ the internets and don't want to spend 30 minutes searching for the part.

There are plenty of reasons to order things through your local shop. If you and your friends go in and show them that there is interest in crawler parts and that you'd be happy to spend some money there if they stocked it, maybe they'd start ordering more stuff in. If their experience w/ crawler guys is you walking in, getting annoyed that they don't have a part they've never been asked for before, then walking out in a huff when they suggest that they can get it for you, they're probably not very likely to start stocking that stuff. It works both ways. I understand that waiting for parts sucks, but if you show your LHS that there is a local market for crawling items, maybe you won't have to wait. Most shops don't just order stuff in that they don't know anything about and don't have confidence that they can sell. That's a lot of risk for a small shop w/ limited cash flow. Instead of expecting them to expose themselves to that kind of risk blindly, get some crawler buddies or maybe the whole club together, and go visit a local shop or two. Maybe they'll brush you off. There are plenty of idiots running hobby shops, but maybe, just maybe, they'll be receptive to the idea of new customers and will be happy to learn about another product line they can bring in and how there is a local scene capable of making that product line profitable. Maybe your club could score a new sponsor for local events. Maybe the exposure of having crawling stuff in the store would increase the size of your local club. Both sides can benefit from a hobby shop carrying the parts you want, but you have to communicate that with them and show them there is a decent sized market for it. Give them the information and help them help you.

Parts for an AX-10 and SCX-10 are very popular around here and are not old or generic brand junk. I've tried many times and finally gave up wasting my time, they don't care or don't want to spend time to do proper inventory control and paying attention to what sells. I never walk out in a hufff.....I walk out in utter amazement that they don't have popular stuff other than say a 2wd Slash. I do business with a couple LHS that get it, but even they are out of stock or amaze me at times with what they don't have. Offering to order the part is good....but at that point it's usually too late...I've gone that route before and it almost always ends up taking weeks and almost never shows up when they tell me it will....LOL> I always communicate with them, but I can't force them to do anything.

Fortunately there are a couple LHS who get it and I usually buy from one of them.


As for the Redcat....that is basically an "internet brand" and I'm not surprised nobody at LHS stocks parts for it. I wouldn't stock parts for it due to the nature of thier business model, it is 100% in direct low budget competition with every LHS. No offence to those who own a Redcat, but their quality is not up to snuff and thier business model is not good.

[metalry101]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Parts for an AX-10 and SCX-10 are very popular around here and are not old or generic brand junk. I've tried many times and finally gave up wasting my time, they don't care or don't want to spend time to do proper inventory control and paying attention to what sells. I never walk out in a hufff.....I walk out in utter amazement that they don't have popular stuff other than say a 2wd Slash. I do business with a couple LHS that get it, but even they are out of stock or amaze me at times with what they don't have. Offering to order the part is good....but at that point it's usually too late...I've gone that route before and it almost always ends up taking weeks and almost never shows up when they tell me it will....LOL> I always communicate with them, but I can't force them to do anything.

I completely understand. I work at a hobby shop and we try to not be one of the shops you're talking about...but some people think we are regardless. I agree that Axial is quality, current, and popular. There are plenty of shops that just don't get it though. You can try, but if management or ownership isn't open to the idea, well, like you said, you can't force them to pull their heads out of their asses.

[CRAWLERJOE]

The local Hobbytown here in Kennesaw, Georgia is like this! If you buy anything HPI or Traxxas you are set with plenty of spare parts on the shelf after you crash at 65MPH! I had to special order some links for my wraith through them and waited three weeks before remembering I had ordered them andthen reordered from online! I agree with everyone that it makes it very hard to want to support local business!