Reed’s Hobby Shop

I’ve been shopping here most of my life for hobby supplies. However, I thought that the guy at the register just didn’t like me due to my age and/​or skin color.
I must say I’m glad to hear he treats everyone this way and that it’s not just me. After reading all these reviews, I’m going to stop shopping here.
For anyone who is deciding on wether to give them a try, you can find better prices online with waaaaaay better customer service without feeling looked down upon.
If you prefer to see stuff in person, try Discount Hobby Warehouse. They don’t have a model Train focus, but you can get other hobby supplies there.

The men that work in this store need to go to class on how to sell to the public and how customer service works. I never write reviews, but I was so blown away with this stores customer service, I felt it necessary to let these men know that their performance is well below standards. I felt like they did not want to deal with me, a woman /​mom /​of a young boy. (But I am sure those train loving men would have loved to talk my ear off if they had known I flew F-14’s and F/A-18’s off of aircraft carries in the navy for the past 12 years of my life).
When young children come into your store, you should get excited to help them learn to love trains, get their first train sets, etc…
The whole time we were there, I felt like they would have preferred we left. We pushed through, kept asking our questions. Got a little help hear and there, but from 4 different guys. And we had to keep begging to get our questions answered.
And not one of those lazy men could even say thank you back to us as we left the store spending $ 300. Just silence.
What is the deal Reed’s? Are you there to sell to the public, or just there to get out of your house and hang out together, acting annoyed when visitors interrupt you.
I don’t plan to return to this store.

If your child has developed a sustained interest in trains, at some point, you will end up at Reed’s.
The sales people are passionate about trains. I sense that they all have huge collections of model trains themselves and have just run out of space at home, hence the store. Reed’s is much more than Grandpa’s overgrown attic, though.
If I need to re-​spring an N gauge coupler, I go to Reed’s for the springs and necessary tools. If I’m blissfully ignorant about DCC controllers and scared to buy my first one on line, I go to Reed’s to get the face-​to-​face reassurance that the NCE Power Cab is a good purchase for use at the Model Train Museum at Balboa Park.
Reed’s carries wide variety of G, O, HO, N, and Z gauge model trains, track, parts, and accessories. They have a decent selection of Thomas the Train. Reed’s is a good place to pick up a starter train around the holidays. Parking in their lot makes me a little anxious — I use my emergency brake — but hey, it’s part of Reed’s charm.

With Mike gone from this store I no longer shop here.
Chuck is not someone you want to deal with
Customer service NOT Chucks thing is unless you talk his gage of trains. he could care less
He is not a fan of garden or LGB trains
I no longer take the time to stop in here.
Thank You

This will be the first time I have ever left a one star review, I would leave negative 5 stars if they allowed. I recently visited Reeds to purchase a quality train set for my grandson. Due to my obvious age they treated me as if I should know what I wanted. Refusing to assist and actually asking «Did you not grow up with a train set? «Having spent 30 years in the military we never had the money for this large purchase for our children. So now that I do I want a quality set that my grandson may be able to pass along to his children. I had a large budget for this and they could care less with helping me. Via ebay I located a shop in Arizona. The owner spent a total of 3 hours over many different calls, and numerous e-​mails explaing in detail how to build a layout on a 1» x 4 feet x 8 feet paice of plywood. We sent pictures back and forth and all has turned out verry well.
Reeds owners may need to check into some type of therapy sessions to better understand their role in customer service. After the completion I have visted Reeds again to estimate the cost of what I received from Arizona. Even with over $ 150.00 in sh9ipping costs I still saved about $ 275.00.
Thanks for all that have taken the time to READ this.
John

The worst customer service.
I live in Carlsbad and 2 pieces of track for our Christmas train broke so I started calling hobby stores looking for replacement track. The guy I talked to at Reed’s said «no problem, we have 2 different brands of replacement track FOR THAT SET. I asked if he was sure it would work for my set because I would be driving down from Carlsbad and he assured me that both brands would work and that the better brand was $ 6.99 per piece.
The next day my son and I drove down. When we got there, there were 2 employees at the register and one customer checking out. After the sale was complete I showed them my track and they said it was for a cheap «throw-​away» set and that they only carry good track. I explained what the previous guy said the day before and they said they could sell me all new track (theirs wasn’t compatible with mine) and I could try it and it might work. One of the guys walked me back to the track and showed me the 2 brands they carry. One brand started at $ 6.99 and went up to $ 18.99 per piece. I did the math in my head (i needed 16 pieces) and told the guy that I wasn’t going to pay that much for something that «should work». He said they had a cheaper brand and pointed to some crates with a bunch of loose track in them. One of the pieces on the top was tagged at $ 2.99 and there were no other price tags. The guy said that all the pieces in that crate were $ 2.99.
Keep in mind that the track in the crate was really cheaply made with flimsy plastic and rusty rails. The track starting at $ 6.99 was very sturdy and much higher quality.
Well, I was disparate to get the train working for my kids so I rummaged through the crate picking the pieces I needed and went up to the register to see the grumpy guy who doesn’t talk.
The grumpy guy started ringing up the track at $ 4.99 per piece. I told him that it was marked $ 2.99 and that’s what the other guy confirmed. The grumpy guy went in the back for about 5 minutes and then he came out with a white 3 ring notebook pointing to a price of $ 6.60 and said he was wrong the price is $ 6.60 per track.
I couldn’t believe it. There is no way that track was even worth the $ 2.99 a piece, but $ 6.60?
I told him to keep his track and then I left the store in shock and said you will be hearing from me on Unilocal.Well, here it is. They wasted a half a day of my time and a half tank of gas.

I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT! ABSOLUTELY ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE! HOW DO THEY STAY IN BUSINESS?
Just returned from the store, I have to share this. I walked in. Two persons at the counter stared at me. I smiled. No reaction. I walked through the whole store. Nobody approached me, not to ask if I needed help, or if they could help me find anything. I was there for about 15 minutes, finally selected some small items for my layout. Nobody was at the counter; I could have simply walked out. By now I was curious what would happen. I stood at the counter for a few minutes until someone saw me. Nothing; no «did you find everything you needed». My items were on the counter, money in my hand. The «clerk» took the cash from my hand, rang up the purchase, returned my change, all completely silent.
Finally, as I was at the door ready to leave, I couldn’t stand it any more. I said «do you know that nobody said anything to me while I was here?» the answer was that they were busy. They’d been talking about a new layout they wanted to build. I was the only customer in the store for this whole time!
If there were a way to give zero stars, I would.

I found the customer service to be excellent. All of my questions were answered and they were very knowledgeable. The prices were affordable as well. I will definitely come back if I need anything else for my project.

I have been going to Reed’s for 15 or 16 years now and I’ve always been happy with them. They have an inventory of various brands and gauges of model trains. They also carry model airplanes, toys, etc. It has a relaxed atmosphere. The employees don’t push anything on you but they are always helpful and courteous when you need something. I just wish they carried a larger inventory of Lionel O gauge.

If you are a hobbyist and are ever in the San Diego area stop by this store. They have a great hobbyist attitude and will help you with your projects. The staff are hobby enthusiasts and are really into model railroading and u-​control airplanes. Steve Bovee and his staff are good to talk to or make a purchase from. They do stand behind the merchandise they sell.

If you have hobbies such as model cars, trains and planes, this is your go-​to place. They have a HUGE selection of all of the above.
They also buy products for half of what they can sell them at. My grandpa recently passed away and left behind a ton of old model trains. I took them here and was able to sell them. Some were even worth a grip of money… sweet!
Definitely a place to check out if you would like to buy or sell hobby type items!