I really should have read the reviews here before I drove over to Hobby Town. It was not far, and I did need to get out but it would have saved me a lot of time and energy to just buy my item on Amazon to begin with. My son wanted a rock tumbler for his birthday and I found one online and did some research to make sure I knew what I was buying. I wanted to buy it from a local store if at all possible, trying to buy local is just something we do. When I arrived in the store there were two men working there. I only knew that because I had to hunt someone down to help me. The young man working behind the cash register did not know anything about the tumblers they had, but was able to point me in the right direction. He was nice enough but very uninterested in helping and, as was the atmosphere in the store, did not seem to care. I found what I needed and then went to the register. I asked if there was a 30 day guarantee on the item and what about returns if something is not working. He informed me that the store's return policy is they will take it back with a receipt and if the package has not been opened. I then asked what if I open it and something is wrong with it. He stated that I would then need to contact the manufacturer because they will not take it back. So our plan to buy local hit a snag and I walked out without the items. I went home and purchased them on Amazon for 30 dollars less and knowing if something is wrong with the item i still have to ship it but Amazon will take it back and refund me regardless. We will look elsewhere for our Hobby supplies. I am giving this two stars because after reading the other posts I realize it could have been worse. read more

The label for the two-star rating says it all: Meh. I suppose the store is good for people whose hobby has simply to do with prefab models, but if like me you are interested in making something yourself, my advice is to skip it. They seemed to have lots of model car, plane and railroad kits, and for a RC car/plane enthusiast, I guess it was OK, but there were no materials for making scenery (e.g., train, diorama). All of the employees present when I was there seemed puzzled when I asked about epoxy putty ("you know, to fill gaps when the kit parts don't quite match") and other standard tools for someone who wants to do more than assemble someone else's design. read more

A wonderful place to buy some models. They are always willing to order and one of the employees whose name is John is absolutely fantastic when it comes to getting you an order or getting you a specific model. A really fantastic store. read more

One star says it all. I walked in for the first time ever and not one person said anything. Ok forgiven once. I am looking to get into model trains and was willing to buy one today. Not one of the 4 guys behind the counter ask me if I needed any help. Plus all they were doing was flying a helicopter and trying flips with it. Huh there are customers here hello. I even got close to the helicopter flying near me to spark a acknowledgement from just one of them and still no one said anything to me. Trust me I am not a needy person but a simple hello would of been enough. Sorry guys business is going elsewhere. Were all big kids but when your at work try working. read more

I would go for Zero Stars, if I could!! Brought a Blade Intructix drone from them on Sun, Jan 15. Took it home charged the battery, the drone flew great, its was quiet too, then I landed it, and one of the props flew off. Thinking it was not on good I put the prop back on, and flew it again, and the prop came off, again. The spare battery that I purchased was charged, so switched to the second battery, and on the landing two props came off, so I boxed everything back up for return. Today, Jan 22, I went back to the Parmer Lane HobbyTown where I purchased it, and they refused to give me my money back. I told them to keep it, and walked out the store. This is my first experience with this store and HobbyTown, and although they do have lots of nice stuff, I will be the wiser and go to Amazon to get things, because they do have a good return policy. If you buy from them ask about their return policy before you waste your money read more

I am only giving this place 3 stars for the service. I would give it 5 for the products, at least for my projects. My fiance and I are regulars here, and my son is pretty much one also. The "sales" reps don't seem to remember us at any point in time and we have been treated kinda crappy by the older dude in there. One afternoon we went in and there was one guy who seemed drunk, smelled like it too, He also way to far in my personal bubble. I will continue to go for the stuff I need but I don't like to interact with the guys there. read more

Every one in Hobby town is helpful and friendly they answer all questions asked in a very polite and friendly tone I had hundreds trying to figure what RC I wanted great bunch of guys read more

The staff at HobbyTown is very friendly and knowledgeable. Any time I have questions about a project or am looking for a hard-to-find item in stores, HobbyTown delivers! read more

I am revising my review from a previous one. If you are going to be in the hobby of RC cars you will probably have to go to this store. They have no databases to look up parts for any RC cars that I have seen. It's not like going to car part store where they can just look it up for you. In fact almost every time I go there I hear them ask other customers if they have their parts number. It seems very abrasive and irritating. I personally think it's a major flaw in their business design. It forces there employees in a very bad position. The technology is easier now so you can look up your own parts number on your phone And I highly suggest you do before you go in here. I guess if you want to upgrade parts you're going to have to look those up too because there's no way to do that either. All the parts are hung up in sections by numbered Rows. I run Traxxas trucks so I've gotten to know that section pretty quickly. There's a really tall guy at the north store who was extremely helpful to me and seems like a really nice guy. He took some time to explain batteries to me and figured out how my charger worked for me. There's a couple of the employees there I must say I don't care for at all. The good is they have a lot of really cool fun stuff. The bad is it's not a really cool fun place to shop. read more

I used to come here for spareparts for my remote controlled nitro car. But it was interesting over here, they have some display of interesting toys that you can play with. The store is pretty big and nice. Over here, you'll find many toys that you can't find anywhere else (even in toy'r'us) read more

Tony and the staff are great. They helped my friend and I decide on which quadrocopter was best for beginners. They have most of the replacement parts for the Quad we purchased and were happy to order other parts. We had an issue where all of our quadrocopters linked to one controller and couldn't figure out how to fix it. The staff was able to give us the solution promptly over the phone. Well done, chaps. read more

I'm very happy to have a HobbyTown in Cedar Park. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and they've always had what I needed when I needed it. While the selection of nautical plastic model kits might be small I almost always find something that interests me. read more

Lots of great advice at the store when buying an RC kit car for my kid. They made sure I had all the bits and pieces we needed to do a successful build. Would definitely go back for parts or another kit! read more

Great local-feel hobby shop for R/C and modeling enthusiasts. Offers onroad R/C racing every Saturday. Awesome place to indulge your inner kid! They have a great stock of parts and kits and can special order anything they don't have on the shelves. Highly recommended! read more

I wanted to write a quick review and say that I've had mixed results as well. I have probably been in the store 50 times in the last 2 years and no one ever remember me. They also, generally don't seem to know as much about the products I'm looking at (mostly RC stuff that flies - quadcopters, helis, planes, etc.), which is a bit frustrating. But today I had a GREAT experience, which was helpful. Basically, I bought a Blade 200 QX, which just came out within the last few weeks. I could NOT get it to bind to my radio - even after doing research online and trying everything I could, it would not bind, so I could not fly. The guys there (David and one other guy) opened up several new boxes for me and tried everything the could think of to help. After we all got the same result, they called their dealer line for support. After 10 mins on the call with the Blade support, we found out that what the manual says is WRONG. It was not the right binding procedure! Strange. But, with David's help, I got the right procedure and now can fly my new quad. One tip I've found is to arrive their early (right when they open) because they are less busy and you can get some personal attention. As for price, I've found them to be pretty much on par with Amazon...a bit higher in some cases, but generally pretty competitive. I thought I'd leave this positive story in hopes that it encourages more of the great service I got today. Thanks! read more

Tony was great!!! The red-headed guy tried his best and figured out the problem....my dongle. (Isn't it always!) but only Tony was willing to do the right thing and replace the defective one. The manager wanted me to come back tomorrow so they could get approval from Phoenix Fight Sim. That is terrible customer service...I bought the thing from you; you should handle defective parts. If everybody there can follow Tony's lead, they'll do fine. If not, Amazon Prime. read more

Called about a Li-po battery charger and they were very informative, told me to bring my battery to double check the connections so they could be positive they were selling me the right charger . (But I was closer to the store than I was to home so I went in without it) when I got there I told them I didn't have it. That was no problem though I told them exactly what I had and they gave me multiple options of chargers varying in price (not just here you need this very expensive one kinda thing). They even opened the box and made sure I'd have everything I needed to charge my battery (needed an extra cable that it didn't come with) but all in all a good experience and made me feel like they knew what they were talking about. 10/10 will be returning! read more

Update to my review. After expressing my concern, I was contacted by the Franchisee, Chris (promptly). Although the store's policy's are fairly rigid and perhaps not as flexible as most would like, I understand that the nature of the hobbies they sell (R/C primarily) lend to wear and tear on products and a firm stance has to be the "official" position. However, after hearing my case, Chris agreed to take the Helion back and, although he offered me a full refund, I elected to use the credit towards a better manufactured R/C car for my son. So the out of pocket was a little more for me, but I am now a satisfied customer. Admittedly, the manager that I originally worked with (or tried to work with, more accurately) is deemed a little too impersonal to have empathy, but I'm sure the company is working on that. Tony, one of the other managers who helped me on this after the fact, was awesome. A+ and now 5 stars in my book. read more

I bought a slot car set for my grandson for his birthday. The set was good but I bought 2 other cars and One did not work. I took it back today and the clerks were just short of being rude. The long haired young man I bought it from has no retail skills at all and the other man was new and virtually suggested that they not doing anything because I had opened it. He other young man said they had no choice since they couldn't test it. I told him that if I hadn't have opened it I would not know that it didn't work. I informed them that I have had and been a major collector years ago for slot cars and new how to check them. They told me I could pick out another car for the same price. I did pick out one, but they clearly showed their disapproval of what they "had to do". The other thing was that they showed no remorse for it putting a damper on the happy day. No apology for any inconvenience that it caused. It will be several weeks until I can get back down to my sons house. People who do not have people skills should not be in a position to deal with people. Train the people better. You should not make the customer the problem!! read more

Friends do not let friends shop at HobbyTown! Really! I bought a Dromida Omnius quad copter there yesterday afternoon. It had a hardware issue Out of the Box; the motors would not engage. I went there the next morning to exchange it for another one. They Said NO! I said then I will return it and they said NO! I really do not have time for this kind of treatment of customers, none. I left my Dromida Omnius on their counter and walked out, never to return. Unbelievable! I was actually going to pick up a few more things there too! Bottom line: I really like supporting local businesses, but when they treat customers as insignificant, then they deserve to fail. read more

Spend your hard earned $$s anywhere but here (even gasp online) because service sucks, stock on hand sucks, return policy sucks, price sucks ... Had a $50 dollar gift card from here... 1st try Fail - Tried to buy the phoenix flight simulator. Out of stock. Quicker to receive from amazon. Also much cheaper online. 2nd - Bought a popular entry level heli. Not in stock. The wait was 1+ week. The price 27% higher than Amazon. To top it off when I glanced at the receipt it listed "NO REFUNDS" and my special order was entered as Closeout thus "NO RETURNS on sales of and CLOSEOUT items". Should have told me this at point of sell. Save yourself the trouble and shop somewhere else. read more

Went in on 7/18/2015 looking to get out of dirt and into street 1/10th scale . What I got was two smart butt kids making jokes and being so unprofessional that I wanted to leave before I was rude myself . I've been going to both the north and south locations for years and never had the disrespect I encountered that day. I simply asked if they only sold ready to run kits ,or if they had any rollers at that location . What I got was " No but I can take it apart and bag it up for you for 10 more bucks" . I stopped by the south location on Sunday and was very satisfied with the service and my purchases . read more

My first visit to this location I asked the person behind the counter if they carried a certain type of part. He said 'yes' and then went back to what he was doing on his cash register. I didn't see any other salesperson and he seemed too busy to pay attention to me. I had to ask where in the store I would find the item. He gave a terse answer then went back to his register. On my second visit I asked if he carried a specific type of connector. It's standard but his reply was "what kind of connector? What you see is what we have", pointing to a rack full of different parts. Really? You expect me to scan through an entire rack rather than you knowing your stock and directing me to what I need? The prices there are high so I expect a little bit of customer service. I'd hate to see what I'd get if I tried to ask questions more complicated than where is such and such part. read more

My best friend and I love going to Hobbytown for projects and just to get creative. We hate just sitting on the couch doing nothing but watching tv. Everyone has been awesome when we go in. My best friend is also a talker and they indulge him in so many subjects, they really know their stuffhere :D Love it here. read more

Came in today to get a little help with my RC car. 3 men were working none of them seemed very interested in helping me. None of them offered any assistance, another customer helped me get what I needed. Seriously? I had to basically beg the guy behind the counter to help me. Not a great way to keep customers returning! I will never recommend this store to anyone! Drove all the way from Killeen for piss poor customer service. read more

I have been in a couple times. Customer service here is very low. I would recommend some major help in this area. Otherwise store is large with a wide range selection. read more

Great store and helpful staff. Carries a good stock of Traxxas RC parts. Full service meant the guy walked me over to the parts I was looking for and talked through the differences. I also needed to re-glue some tires and he spent the time to explain how to do it right and some tips and tricks for making them stay put. A+. read more

My focus in the radio control is helicopters and quad copters. This store carries a few of the smaller helis and quads. They do carry parts for the things they sell which is a big positive. There are a couple of negatives for me. I believe that their focus is primarily RC cars. They don't seem to have much knowledge of helicopters and quads. They are beginning to carry some products that are higher end such as good quality Savox servos. Usually when I go there it is to buy a part that is small and cheap making it less cost effective to purchase online. It doesn't make sense to pay $6.49 shipping on a $2 part after all. I have bought some more expensive thing there in an effort to support my local hobby store even though I could buy them online for less. The rise of online commerce was basically the death knell for the specialized local hobby stores. Few stores carries parts and electronics for our big, expensive RC helicopters. Though a quickly growing segment of the hobby, stores have to invest in a great deal of expensive inventory that is on a very short development cycle, in order to be successful. Last year's electronics and kits are not likely to sell. This leads to a situation where most people rely on a few larger online retailers for their hobby purchases. This store doesn't seem to have many employees with more than very basic knowledge of the products they sell. Customer service is OK most of the time. read more

This store is privately owned and has terrible return policies compared to the online store. If you purchase anything from this store you are only allowed a gift card for refund even if you have a receipt and return it unopened the same day! They will not refund the amount in cash or back on the card originally used for purchase. After running into this issue; I now order everything from the online store and have it shipped to store for free. This insures me that I am able to receive a refund back on my card since the online store has a way better return policy. Also, if it is an item that is already in stock it will tell you and you can pick it up in the store immediately. There is no reason to support this store owner and his terrible policies. read more

The staff is knowledgeable and helpful with all your hobby needs. The locations are easily accessible and very convenient to North Austin residence without having to travel everywhere to look for hobby related items. read more

I purchased a radio controlled car and it was defected, also I didn't like some other features regarding the car, so I returned it. First of all they do not give refunds at all, just store credit. The cost of the car was $119.99 but they charged me a 15% restocking fee because they claimed I didn't put back a piece of cardboard!!!!!! Their prices are very high also. I am writing this because I don't want anyone else to get taken advantage of. read more

Tony is awesome! Absolutely amazing! He was so kind and helped my son diagnose an issue with his RC car. He really impressed me and treated my child so well. We will shop there over and over just because of him -- although everyone there has always been wonderful. :) read more

We recently purchased a RC car from Hobbytown. My son did a great deal of his own research, but honestly after a few minutes with the very knowledgable staff, we were pointed in a more appropriate direction. We brought the new vehicle home and started unboxing. Unfortunately, there were a couple of damaged parts. We took everything back, not sure what we would be up against. These guys tested everything, found the defective parts, replaced them on the spot and had us up and running in a few shortly minutes. Fantastic service from guys that really know their stuff. Could not be happier with the advice or the service. Thanks Hobbytown!! read more

I walked in with my 5 year old looking for an RC car. There were 3 guys behind the counter and 1 said hello. We walked around for 10 min. or so looking at all the RC stuff. No one asked if I needed help or what I was looking for. There was no one else even in the store. I was going to buy something that day but nobody offered to help. I guess they saw me pull up in my Kia and not my Mercedes and figured I didn't have cash. The employees were not doing ANYTHING! I'll spend my $$$ elsewhere I guess you guys don't need it. It;s cheaper online anyway. I will never go there again. They don't care about you unless you have $100 bills falling out of wallet. read more

No return policy whatsoever if you open the package! Make sure if you buy it you really want it. If you have any issues with the product they will not support it at all. You must deal with the manufacturer. I'm not sure why they don't just work out some kind of restocking fee and then sell slightly used product. I tried bringing back an item one day after I purchased it. Keep in mind I hooked it up, it didn't work, and I unhooked it and brought it back. It didn't work with my setup so I needed to exchange it for something that did work. I was told by the salesperson that there were no returns once a product was opened. I had him ask the manager if anything could be done. I quickly saw what I and many others are up against. Very black and white attitude. He looked at his salesperson and said no. Then walked away. Nice. Way to solve the issue. read more

BEWARE - do NOT shop here! - I came to the store to purchase a battery and a charger for my RC airplane. When I got home and tried to charge my new battery with the charger I just bought I found out that they do not fit each other - I was sold a charger for a different battery. I thought no problem, mistakes happen. So I went back to the store with the battery, charger, and my receipt and asked for a replacement or my money back so I can go buy the right charger. Unfortunately I was told that they do have the correct charger, but it costs double. When I then asked for my money back I was told they don't do that. What a great business plan - RIP-OFF CUSTOMERS BY SELLING THEM INCORRECT PARTS AND THEN REFUSE TO RETURN MONEY! read more

I have bought several RC vehicles here and always wanted to like them more than I do. I mainly buy Traxxas and like to support businesses that are located in Texas. It seems like every time that I need a part they don't have it in stock .These are usually common parts that wear or break for a mainstream product and it's always less likely that they have it. I get it that there are a vast number of RC vehicles to choose from on the market. But hey Traxxas is based in Plano and they are a good company with cool products! Hobbytown will tell me that the part can be ordered or it might come in on the next shipment but by then I am at home and it's on the way from Amazon for later that same week. It is hit or miss with the employees too. Some of them are great and helpful and even apologetic when they are out of something. Others seem to care less and wander off if it doesn't spark their interest. I even had one employee there tell me that Traxxas was junk. I appreciate that everyone is entitled to an opinion. Just have the tact to keep it to yourself when the person is looking for a part on a product you don't happen to like. It was a good thing that by that time I had resorted to buying my trucks online at one of the bigger websites. I will end my review by saying that you should give them a call first before you head down there in person. I still try from time to time in the hopes that they will have what I need and I can keep it local. read more

Went into this shop for the first time yesterday all excited to learn more about 1/10 scale RC cars that I've been researching. A few guys said hi as I entered, yet did not look interested in my arrival. OK, whatever. I moved on and looked around. All kinds of awesomeness in the shop. Finally decide to ask some questions about a Redcat Racing brnad rock crawler I found on their website. They acted like I was stupid for mentioning it. Told me they cant order it for me but I can order it online. Told me I couldn't get parts for it anywhere but the companies website - this is untrue. One guy told me he could "just give me 5 bucks and spit in my hand", for me. Think that was meant to be a clever/funny insult. I got the point. Another guy walked away in the middle of a discussion we were having, without saying a word, to help someone else. Someone else called him as we were talking, completely ignoring the fact that we were talking, which was rude to start. What's even more odd was that the guy went running on command. I stood there in disbelief momentarily then began to look around again. Surprisingly someone else walked up and asked if I still had questions and kind of helped pick up where we'd left off. Pretty strange and very rude. Basically felt like I was dealing with the most arrogant bunch of snobby nerds I've ever met... and I'm in I.T.! I told them this was a Christmas present for my 8 year old son and that I was not interested in spending $399. on an RC vehicle (or anything else for that matter) for a kid his age. I guess this meant I wasn't worth their time. They couldn't quite comprehend my reasoning. They clearly didn't want or need my business. There was an older gentlemen there that appeared to try and save my experience from being a complete waste of time and he did answer a few questions for me as he moved around behind the counter, organizing things or whatever he was doing. Overall, my experience was completely disappointing. I was hoping to find a new home for my son's/my new hobby and to potentially meet some helpful guys that I would begin doing repeated business with. Instead, I now dread having to enter this place again for parts as I'm sure I'll be needing them in the future for my kids new toy, which I'll absolutely be purchasing elsewhere. My girlfriend came in towards the end of my visit and noticed how one of the guys was looking at me while I talked to him. I missed this as I was looking around at the options I was considering. Once we left she said it was obvious the guy was rude. She didn't get to experience the whole visit, which is good for them as she would have said something up front. read more

Don't shop here. If you are unlucky enough to receive defective merchandise, the store takes no responsibility whatsoever for selling a "lemon". I purchased an expensive R/C gas car. The car would not run more than a couple of seconds at a time, and never moved even one inch. When I took the car back to the store only a few hours after the initial purchase, they announced that it had a scored cylinder and that the engine was ruined. My position is that they sold a lemon, and should take the car back for an exchange for the exact same car, or issue a refund. The staff was rude and simply pointed out a sign on the counter regarding their unfair policies (that they didn't point out at the time of purchase) and said that if we opened the package and tried to run the car that it was used and could not be returned. I know the car is defective, because I have the same engine in another car and it worked fine out of the box; the second car is simply defective. Hobbytown wants me to deal with the manufacturer because I opened the package and tried to use the car. If I wanted to deal with the mail, I would have purchased the car from a mail order source in the first place. I have purchased several cars, airplanes, a helicopter, and numerous other models and rockets from Hobbytown, but they don't care. read more

great customer service, excellent selection for this type of store, most other stores have almost nothing you need, they do and if not they can order it at no extra cost, Darrin and Eric both have helped me many times, and i have nothing but good things to say about this store. read more