Mr Hobby

I was recommended this place back when Fan Expo was in town in conversation with another gamer. I booked marked this place since for a later visit. They had what I was looking for, however, didn’t appreciate being semi followed around as though I was going to steal something. It made me feel uncomfortable that I just asked the lady for something that I knew that they didn’t have so that I could have a reason to leave. I took the passive aggressive approach to the situation. It wasn’t a waste of a trip as there were other things to do in the area. I did eventually post an ad on CL and got the item that I was looking for second hand for cheap. I did message the guy whom recommended this place to me who admitted that he failed to tell me about the couple who worked there. He was more concerned at the time in ensuring that I had the item I was looking for. I am all about supporting small businesses if they make me feel welcome.

I don’t write many reviews, however after seeing the one star review of Mr Hobby by Nick J and my experience at the store I felt compelled to share my very positive experience with the store.
I went in with my son, brother and two nephews on Boxing Day, 2014. Mr Lee was warm and greeted us as soon as we entered the store. The store is a great place full of a great selection of hobby items. From old school models right up to the latest technology in RC planes, helicopters, cars etc.
We bought a Traxxas truck (fantastic RC truck and worth the $) for our son for Christmas (unfortunately we did not think to buy it from Mr. Hobby, simply because we were shopping online at the time) and wanted to get more batteries and a better charger for it. Mr Lee the owner/​operator was very helpful and kind. He is also extremely knowledgeable. For a small $ sale he spent a very long time with us both pre and post sale. he told us all the pros and cons of each battery option and charger before purchasing and after we agreed to purchase and before we paid, he went through the truck with us, gave us some great advice on operating it, made some fine tune adjustments to it, and even took the charger out of the box and showed us how to use it with the battery we bought from him and the one that came with the truck. Both my brother and I left the store commenting on how great it is to have a store like that with an expert who knows his product and takes time to educate the customer. My brother made the comment that although a place like Mr Hobby might cost a bit more, in the long run you will save money because of the expert advice received. After we left the store we checked prices and his are on par or better than what we found online.
Lastly, I found it very ironic that the other post commented on Mr Lee (I know his name because I was so impressed with his service I shook his hand and asked his name as we left) telling him to check the yellow pages because as we were in the store, a man came in asking for a Dremel cut off tool. For those who don’t know what this is it is not something I would expect to find in a hobby store. Mr Lee treated the man with respect and told him he could find it in Sears, asked if the man knew where Sears was (and he did) and then told him where in Sears he would find the tool, a detail that struck me at the time as most people would not go into such detail.
It is a shame to see the other post about Mr Hobby. I don’t know why it is at the other end of the spectrum to my experience. I will leave that to the reader to guess as I would not want to cast aspersions.
I do encourage you to patronize this store as it is one of those great mom and pop shops that provides the service and expertise that is not found in the big box stores. To that end I do wish we bought the truck at Mr Hobby versus online and will be sure to go back to him for all of our future needs.

I’ve been in there twice to look around. The selection is pretty limited. I was going buy something, but changed my mind because of the unfriendly vibe I got.

Some of the Best customer service Ever! Whether you have a $ 2000 helicopter, or a $ 20 snap-​model; Mr. Lee will help find, build, or fix just about anything. Everyone is treated exactly the same: Very well. You may have to wait your turn, as it is sometimes busy, but it’s always worth it. Not the sort of shop that sells you things you don’t need. I can’t even count how many times I went to buy a new part, and Mr. Lee fixes the old one instead! –Usually for no charge! –Politeness goes a long way here, as does a tip once in a while, as his prices are very reasonable, and he always discounts when he can.

Great shop with good selection.

My son (6) and I are working on some airplane models out of cardboard. As part of the project I thought I would surprise him by getting some «real» parts (e.g. used to make RC planes) from a hobby store. I checked online and found Mr. Hobby at 820 Marine Dr. in North Vancouver. So on the way home I stopped by to see if I could find the parts in questions.
When I walked in I asked the owner if he had the parts I was looking for and he said no, he only sold fully built RC planes or kits (I was a bit surprised by the tone of voice that he used). I then asked if he knew of any place in Vancouver that did sell such parts (given that he was clearly in the RC industry). In what felt like a quite rude reply (tone, attitude) he said that he did not know and I would have check the yellow pages. Then he and his wife (both Asian) stood behind the counter and started to speak Chinese (or some other Asian language). I clearly got the impression that they were talking about me.
At that point I left the store and the owners didn’t even acknowledge my departure.
I was a bit shocked, its one of the more negative shopping experiences I have had in a long time …