Who works in a hobby shop?

[RC10th]

Here's a question I had on my mind, especially since many of us have been in the hobby a long time.

Who has worked in a hobby shop?

[GoMachV]

2 years at Aero Hobbies while in school
8 years at Tammies Hobbies

I left Tammies 10 years ago. Much has changed!

[slotcarrod]

I still work for PM Hobbycraft http://www.pmhobbycraft.ca/store/ , 14 years! Pay is not great but it can be a rewarding job at times!

[GoMachV]

You take home a paycheck? I left most of mine at the store! That's a major reason I left

[slotcarrod]

You take home a paycheck? I left most of mine at the store! That's a major reason I left

Yea part of my salary is in store credit!

[RC10th]

That is definately a problem, cheaper prices and money to burn. Maybe you should get paid in food, PG&E credit and gasoline.

[marlo]

I worked for 2 years at a shop called the hobby hut, well over 20 years ago. That location is long gone, and have never heard of them again.

[Coelacanth]

Getting interested in RC in the early 80's is what prompted me to work at a hobby store back in the day, but that was only for a couple years or so. Getting RC stuff at cost + 10% was awesome, though!

[slow_jun]

Yeeeep,started when i was 13,just to support the hobby, theb left right before college, miss those days, working for Parts you need...still want to work as a sideline, but wife does not want me spending more time on my hobby...

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Worked at the local shop and track for minimum wage in high school. I made a lot more money building kits for customers though. $30-$50 depending on the difficulty. I figure I built 80% of the kits available from all manufacturers during that time. Torture to build all the ones you couldn't afford. It was definitely a labor of love when you'd spend an entire weekend building a Clodbuster for $50.

[teman]

No and sadly, the local store to me just closed it's doors. If I had the time and $ I'd start one up It would give my retired father something to do and he's a great salesman I don't know, it's a tough biz.

[Coelacanth]

Worked at the local shop and track for minimum wage in high school. I made a lot more money building kits for customers though. $30-$50 depending on the difficulty. I figure I built 80% of the kits available from all manufacturers during that time. Torture to build all the ones you couldn't afford. It was definitely a labor of love when you'd spend an entire weekend building a Clodbuster for $50.

Heh, that's exactly what we made for building an RC car for a customer. $50. I built a Boomerang, Porsche 959, Bigwig and some lesser cars (Tomcat, Hunter, Falcon, etc.) for some customers. Painted and everything. For me, that $50 seemed like a lot of money, but looking back, for the amount of hours invested, was it really worth it?

[GoMachV]

I made $40 and more if painted bitd but I'd do it for free now. I built a King hauler for $40, that was a lot of time but I loved building. I lost count of how many I built but I'd estimate champ/team rc10s and 10t's alone around 50.

[works92]

I used to work in a skate/snow shop in the past. But it's not a hobby
It's way of life
Anyway, same problem as you, spending all m'y salary in the shop

[MOmo]

I'm currently working for a HobbyShop (Though my boss/owner is an idiot IMO) and its been on-going for 4 years.

I like Jeff (Gomachv) can also say i worked for Tammies Hobbies, one of Oregon's oldest and privately owned Hobby Shops.


My experience has been mixed, at both stores, I LOVE the people and getting people excited about the hobby. I've gotten to know a number of people personally, some have become close friends. I've been asked if I would ever start my own, and most likely i would say YES, sadly i don't have the funding. UNFORTUNATELY, for me, i work 6 days a week, with NO benefits of any kind and no vacation, so I can't really take time off. In addition, I typically work the late shift and close, so it puts me out of racing too.

I'm looking for different options and I would love to own my shop, but knowing that its easy to get burnt out on hobbies.... I go back and forth to make it more of a career path.


MOmo