D & J Hobby Inc.

Again, another of my more recent reviews got taken down, but I will repost.
Heartbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking. After New Years I intentio0nally went down to visit my favorite hobby store because I hadn’t been there in a couple of years due to a lot of rea life stuff. But when I did get down there not only was the store moved, but it was down-​scaled, and worst of all, it was now permanently closed.
I’ve been in the Bay Area for over forty years, and as a kid this was one of the first (not the first, but one of) hobby stores I ever went to, and it was the absolute largest I had ever seen. From crafts, arts to models, to books, to games, to miniatures to remote control anything.
At the old store you could smell the paint and paper of the books and games. It had that store feel, and in the windows of the old store you saw toys and models local experts had hand painted. To the right were arts and crafts, catering to the inner artist or to the mother or stay at home wife who loves all sorts of crafts; scrap booking, knitting, dolls and so forth. To the right was the gaming section; board games, card games, war sims, RPGs, etc. Models, remote control cars and airplanes, model trains, this place had it all.
I loved it as a kid, as a teenager, a young man, and fully mature male. But now it is gone.
The service was always good, the owners, when present, would listen to my questions, I never got steered wrong, and if this place didn’t have something in the realm of hobbies and crafts, then no place had it, including Michael’s.
I am terribly sorry it is gone. An outstanding selection and good management and employees.
I’m sorry it’s gone for whatever reason. The Bay Area, and the San Jose south bay is poorer for it closing its doors.

R.I.P. D&J Hobby. I have many fond memories of coming here over the years – they will be greatly missed.

I’m sad to discover that there’ll be one less hobby shop to visit when I go home. Some of my earliest recollections, along with some blurry memories at home take place at D&J’s old Campbell location. My family spent many a Sunday afternoon at the store, and it was one of the early places where my sister and I were taught manners and how to behave in public.
The old store was huge and bustling with activity. Towering over me were shelves lined with model kits of all sorts. I learned to recognize the bright blue boxes from Revell from Germany, Tamiya’s white cardboard with detailed illustrations of vehicles, Italeri’s tricolor logo, and Bandai’s familiar white text in red squares, among others. People came in and out; the doors were never still. There wasn’t ever a lull in activity, and the long glass counter where clerks checked out our purchases were always occupied with staff members laughing and engaging in conversations with their customers.
D&J Hobby wasn’t by any means a convenience store. Nothing was ever where you would expect it to be, and as I grew older, developing my own tastes for models, searching for kits I wanted warranted adventures. Want an elusive MPM ¹⁄₇₂ scale British Defiant fighter plane? Yeah sure, it was a limited run model kit but D&J did have it– I just had to find it myself.
«We’re here to browse the store,» my dad said, «if you’re not willing to spend time hunting, we can just order models from a catalog.» You didn’t come to D&J Hobby and expect to be in and out in minutes. You came to D&J to peruse the aisles, slowly making your way from the plastic model department, through remote control cars and planes, and eventually wind up admiring dollhouses and puzzles on the far end. You came to D&J to immerse yourself in this creative environment, and you left inspired to tackle a new project that you couldn’t wait to start.
As the years went on, my dad stopped building models as much, lacking the time to do so, and our trips to the store became less and less frequent until eventually we just stopped going.
Finally, when I was in the sixth grade, my family hit a rough spot and there was a bit of turmoil. After living with us for years, my grandma decided to return home to Taiwan, leaving my parents to deal with the logistical aftermath as well as the economic recession that was going on at the time. My dad became rather disconnected to the rest of us due to workplace stress and extensive layoffs at Cisco Systems, and my sister, being in her early teenage years, wanted nothing to do with anybody. I didn’t like the environment at home, and tensions were so high that I actually stopped doing homework and turning assignments in on time. My teacher called my mom, telling her that I was falling behind and I’d be unable to articulate how I felt, stuttering and at a loss of words.
Then one Sunday, out of the blue, my dad asked me if I wanted to go to D&J. I looked up from my computer games; he’d caught me by surprise. This was a store name that I hadn’t heard in years, but I was absolutely down to go. When I passed through the familiar glass doors, I found myself once again browsing the familiar aisles of model kits, and awed at the completed airplanes, tanks, and Gundam mobile suits in their display cabinets. My dad and I each picked out something small and inexpensive from the clearance shelf, and we proceeded to head to Costco to buy groceries before heading home. These Sunday afternoon trips to D&J then became a weekly affair.
Dad would take me to the hobby shop, where we’d spend a couple hours, sometimes finding a kit or item we liked on the clearance shelf, more often than not leaving empty-​handed but completely satisfied. We’d then go to Costco, get groceries, and bring home $ 1.50 polish sausage dinners for my mom and sister. Such was life for us living in the recession-​era United States but I found comfort in these weekly trips to D&J. They reminded me of days where everybody got along and everyone was happy. In the midst of tough times, I found solace going to D&J Hobby.
As my sister and I grew up, my father found it harder to communicate with us. But for the hours that we spent at D&J browsing models and discussing the hobby, my father became my «dad» again.
D&J Hobby taught me the value of delayed satisfaction as a youngster. D&J was there for me when I felt hopeless and lonely in elementary school. In middle school, D&J rebuilt my relationship with my dad and gave us a sanctuary where we could bond as father and son.
Unfortunately, D&J won’t be there for me anymore these next four years of college, nor will it be there for me when I take my kids to pick out their first model kits. However, the lessons that I learned within its stucco walls are ones that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
In its final years, when D&J reopened in a smaller store with less inventory, it didn’t really matter to me because they were there for me when I truly needed them to be

My fiancé went in two weeks prior to them closing and ordered a race track set for our boys for Christmas, they told him it would be ready the following week. We paid cash since supposedly our card was not working (IRONIC!!!). We called a billion times, since we don’t live in the area, I went in on 11÷13÷15 and the doors were shut, I emailed them, called them, Facebook messaged them and no ANSWER! My friend at work even went there on Saturday and Sunday, since she lives nearby. ALL WE WANT is the race track set we ordered for our boys. If they knew they were going out of business, why would you deceive customers into ordering a product you knew were not going to provide? You pocketed a few hundred bucks, but most importantly you stole something from two very special boys!

Seems like they are closing down… Sad, my dad used to take me there as a kid when they were on Campbell ave. I still found reasons to go back over there from time to time to talk to the staff and buy plastic models and paint. Figured there would come a day when this would happen. I wish the D&J employees the best of luck through this, really good people. Good times and good memories at the hobby shop.

Two days this week I have made the trip to DJ Hobby and the store is closed during advertised open times. No sign on the doors stating why or when they will be open.
I would like to support the local businesses but there not a lot of places that carry materials to build and paint models.
So now the USS Missouri will have to wait till Amazon can deliver.

Walked up to find the doors locked and a sheet of paper giving then a 5 day notice to vacate! Leaving a five star review for the good memories.
D&J was a favorite place of mine to go since I was a little kid. Granted they gave been going down hill for the past 7 years or so. I remember walking through the aisles of their original location, amazed at their selection. Their newest location was a bummer and they never had the same stock. I hope they reopen somewhere else, but this seems to be the fate of local south bay hobby stores.

These guys rock! Helped me with my RC car that is WAY more car than I needed but bought it off a RC nut on Craigslist. It goes about 50 mph and didn’t like the curb I slammed it in. They helped me put it back together.

The store is a little bear when I came in but the staff were really nice and friendly. I got my self in total about two booster of battle for zen and a figure. The price was about the same as the normal hobby shops. A perk is that it’s close to west valley. About a 15 min drive and nice to just pop in and grab a pack. They will certainly be a consideration when I have the time and cash to spare.

I’m sure this shop is great at catering to certain demographics, but RC is not one of them. I gave this place two stars wanting to be fair since they do have a lot of hobbies, If I was reviewing them based on just RC stuff I would give them one star at best. I went into the shop looking for some motor spray, no motor spray and the employee didn’t even know what motor spay is.
If you’re interested in RC cars do yourself a favor and check out Nor Cal Hobbies (I have zero affiliation with them) their shop is stocked much better and have more knowledgeable staff on hand.

This is by far the best Hobby store around! Super friendly and know what they are doing Jason is my RC guy and is extremely knowledgeable about parts and what’s available. They don’t stock a ton of parts in house anymore because prices change so often and I have found them to be comparable to online prices since they don’t. They can order and have them next day or two to three max every time, and I am all about helping local small stores! Anything hobby this is the place!

I am not in their typical demographic. I came in here because my son wanted some playdo/​clay. It was a nice experience. The staff was helpful and things are more or less easy to find. It is quite large so my first thought was «wow they must pay a lot of rent.»
If I was a hobby guy it seems like I’d love this place.

This is a «hobby» «shop». Notice the aforementioned quotes. If your hobby is to browse empty shelves at a place in which you can hardly understand its purpose then this is definitely a shop for you.
I’ve been at this place several times and each time they told that they had those amazing sales and everything got sold out and that tomorrow they would get restocked. Lo and behold each time I visited this place they had even less stuff than before!
I mean for whatever hobby you pick be it RC cars, RC helis or planes, trains or even kites they barely carry anything. Last time when I was there they literally had one kite on the shelf, around 2.5 helis and around 3 types of cars (all in the stratoshere price range and size). They do carry a lot of model kits but even that selection probably nothing I would call authoritative.
For comparison, in a quarter of one toy isle at Fry’s electronics they carry more RC stuff then in this entire store.
The service personnel assured me that they can order anything I want, believe or not…
I know how to use internet myself, thank you very much.

A mere shadow of its former greatness. D&J used to be my shop for all things RC. Sadly what they stock now is like ¹⁄₅₀^th of what they used to carry. They seem to be focusing on model building and games these days.
I understand they gotta do what they gotta do to keep the doors open but man do I miss their old location where you could walk in… ask for some random Heli part and walk out in five minutes satisfied.
These days you gotta order everything online and wait 2 weeks.

The staff is helpful, friendly and super knowledgeable. This is a great store to find unique gifts because they have a large selection of fun craft items, hobby items and puzzles. If you like gaming they have events regularly.

I feel that the fact that D&J Hobby has such a long and storied history counts against them in the eyes of most locals. Yes, it’s not the hobby crafting mecca it once was. Unfortunately, model kits, RCs and the like are just not as popular as they once were. From my perspective (forgive me, I am a geek of the gaming variety), D&J has had to make the difficult decision of trying to reinvent itself to survive, and is still in the process of deciding which direction to go with that.
As a result, there’s a little bit of everything at this store. Board games have taken a larger space, but the stock doesn’t compare to GameKastle, Illusive or Legends. Models, as I’ve read from other reviews, are scaling down in comparison so all of the different niches (cars, trains, military craft, Gundam, etc.) are suffering equally in terms of stock. I do think they have a lot of great craft supplies, though, but as a newbie modeler myself I wouldn’t know how to judge the quality of what they have.
I originally came specifically because I wanted to host a wargaming miniature event for the Geek Girls but sadly, they don’t carry any such miniatures, which made it hard for me to get the gals into the hobby. What kept me coming back is not so much their stock (though I always try to buy something, unless I forget), but the fact the employees there have been very, very obliging and kind when I approached them about hosting regular events for my meetup. Every time I come in with a few of the gals they greet me with a smile and shoot the breeze, and even the regulars come by and ask what we are up to.
In fact, I love the vibe so much I’m continually trying to reinvent my humble event series there to get more Geek Girls to come. My next iteration as of this writing will be a Tabletop RPG series that I’m real excited about!
One of the advantages of D&J as a venue for me, which may not be so fortunate for them, is that it is largely NOT crowded on the days I scheduled with them. They have made great strides to get involved with the south bay’s thriving CCG community (there’s Magic: The Gathering, Yu-​gi-​oh and I believe Cardfight: Vanguard) but on non-​CCG days it’s a very chill and easygoing place to hang out and game. I don’t happen to have space to host games at my own home, so venues like D&J that are welcoming, open to new ideas, and have ample table space are absolutely priceless to me.
It’s true that D&J in the present day is having a bit of an ‘identity crisis’ as far which geeky niche (s) it wants to fill, but I feel there is still a lot of heart and passion in this place and its employees. I feel that hosting community events here will have a large impact on the future of the store, as it drives more people to come, browse, buy, and weigh in on what they’d like to see stocked moving forward. If you look at their calendar there is still plenty of space! It’s my personal hope that, as another reviewer suggested, they would consider devoting more of the store to table space so even more events can take root here.
And some RPG books and miniatures would be nice too! ;)

Disappointed. That’s the best word.
My son’s Christmas present, a Traxxass RC truck broke within hours of coming out of the box. Nothing unusual in that and its certainly not D&J’s fault, so we went down to buy a replacement piece.
It was not in stock, but I paid for it on special order, and lets be fair, a steering arm for the most popular model RC car of the year should be pretty easy to come by. Especially if thats your line of business.
That was over a week ago, and after having been back to the shop twice to see if its come in, or even to get an answer as to when its coming in, I’ve just ordered it on Amazon for a little over half the price, with guaranteed delivery in 24 hours.
I probably should have just ordered it on Amazon or similar to begin with, but in my heart I really wanted to support a local store, that we could go back to time and time again.
The sad truth is though, with poor customer service, absolutely no positive reinforcement that the part would be delivered any time soon, and a «dont call us, we’ll call you when its here» (actual words) attitude, I’m saddened to say that I’ll be continuing to order online and not in-​store.

BUYER BEWARE! I purchased a $ 120 charger less than a week ago and the LED screen failed. I brought it back in to D&J and was told there’s nothing they can do, even with receipt in hand. Luckily, I contacted the mfg and they are handling it. They also mentioned the company below as a high integrity business offering great prices and terrific service (
). It’s a shame you can’t get good service from your local hobby shop anymore, especially when they charge higher prices than online, you expect D&J to emphasize good service.
(great alternative to D&J)

Wow,
I remember the old location. It was much better.
This place has plenty of friendly personnel willing to answer any of your questions… which is a good thing… but i’m looking for instant gratification (a 2015 mustang model for a Christmas present) and the vehicle selection may appeal to some of the vintage collectors.
I suppose there are plenty of goods for the new hobbyist since they carry parts and such for items they sell, but is seems like general hobby shops are shrinking in size due to the internet and it’s variety of deals coupled with you-​tube videos.
It had a «run down» kind of feeling inside. I didn’t see any ridiculous prices, just not much selection.

Pretty cool place to browse games and toys, and pretty much everything miscellaneously related to them — I especially liked the kids’ education based games, that I’d want to buy for my younger cousins in the future. Lots and lots of selection.
Heads up that as a brick and mortar store, a lot of things are marked up compared to what you can find online. I spotted Agricola for $ 70! That’s nearly double Amazon.