J & M Hobby House

Superb customer service. Worked with me to figure out what I needed for my circumstances and then went out of their way to insure I understood everything about my purchase. Other stores usually supply just enough information to make the sell. J & M answered all my questions before I knew what to ask. Very satisfied and the best experience I’ve had at a hobby store.

Excellent customer service is what separates the good from the great.
I just called for a last-​minute Christmas item – my brother in law wants a Tesla, so I thought I’d give him a model. Ian answered the phone, and after checking their stock he suggested another store that might be able to help me out. THAT is what makes a good business great. Thanks, Ian!

Nice shop! Full but organized! Bought a model helicopter and in usual shops they don’t let you open the box to find out which exact paints you need for the model. I asked a guy and he said no problem at all. I loved the way I was treated and there was this other guy asking a lot of questions and asking for parts, he was helped very well and all questions were answered with some additional info to his question. I’ll definitely start coming here for my things although it’s a 20minute drive just for that shop!
Good job J&M!

I drive across the bay to go here. Great little hobby shop. Friendly and helpful staff.

Cliff, Rico, Ian, and the rest of the staff are absolutely terrific. Hobby shops like this are going extinct but if you want hard to find stuff along with expert help, this is the place. I mostly come here for materials and advice for scratch building a large scale airplane and they never disappoint. They have lots of stuff in stock and you’ll spend a long time just looking at everything they have on the shelves. A+ business in my book.

Just a great old fashion hobby shop. Good prices and service. It’s a comfort to know if you buy an item and it’s not right or faulty, you can bring it back and exchange it. Quite a drive for me to San Carlos but worth it.

Best hobby shop ever, they have all the things you’ll need to get any project completed. Always kind and friendly with expert advice, a real gem on the peninsula. Thank you Cliff for all the years of help, advice and friendship.
Dave P.

Its a nice little hobby shop thats been around for a while so they know what they are doing. For that alone its a reason to go. You will get alot of great advice just from talking to the crew here you ask them anything and they will help with great advice and direction. I only purchased to small wooded airplanes to play with in the park. My girlfriend got a bunch of paints and tools but she got alot of very good advice that came from alot of experience.
Come by and take a look especially if you are thinking about getting into the hobby.

I’ll make this complaint short & to the point:
1. Know your business
2. Get your eyes examined
3. Stop being lazy and work on your customer service skills.
This place sucks big time, it sucks so hard, it could suck the seeds out of pickle without even putting their lips on a pickle.

I am lucky that I don’t live far from this place because it was pretty much the only one I am aware of that I could get a particular part for my r/​c tugboat. I was weak and took advantage of his huge airplane selection and bought a parkzone while I was at it. The staff knows what they are doing.

We live in the east bay but when we were on the peninsula, Mr asked if we could stop by J&M. I had never been there before but it was clear he had. He really knew his way around this place.
I loved the old fashioned customer service. We were greeted immediately when we walked in with a friendly hello and a smile. Mr pointed me in the direction of the «girls side» and he went to the «boys side». The girls found a few fun crafty items and the lady behind the counter showed us a few other things that caught our eye.
We went to check on the boys and they were fully engrossed with a very expensive RC helicopter and asking a ton of questions about it and having a great conversation with the gentleman behind the counter. Boys, you have a garage full of RC toys, let’s go please! :-) They talked it up for awhile and thankfully Mr only took out his wallet to pay for the girls’ modest purchase.
The people that work here clearly love it and know their stuff. Everyone was super friendly and knew the answer to every question asked.

Great hobby shop and the last of a dying breed! These guys are very knowledgeable and have just about everything in stock you could imagine. If they don’t have it in stock they will order it for you and not even make you pay up front. They really take their time to explain things to newbies like myself and make you feel like they really care!!!

Support your local retailers!
Two quick reasons why I come here for my RC car needs.
The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. They take the time to explain things in great length and detail because they care. Not because they are trying to sell you something.
AND
The satisfaction that you are supporting and promoting a local business!
Sure, I can find what I need online for a bit less but it gives me such gratification supporting our community and our local economy.

This place is a real life time machine. I’m 49 and I remember coming in here when I was a teenager — I kid you not… it is virtually unchanged and that’s a GOOD thing. Every inch of the store is packed with models, crafts, trains, RC stuff and a lot more goodies. And when I found out its been owned and operated by the same family since the 1960’s, that made it all the better. Hobby shops like this are a rare breed these days and this gem is not to be missed.

Went there a few weeks ago with my brother; wonderful store. For a small store it has everything that is needed for the hobbyist; it’s divided in two, one side for the model builder (the guys), and the other side for arts & crafts (the ladies). The people who work there are very friendly and helpful. It has a warm atmosphere and enjoyable to walk around.

Go there for all my plastic model paints and models — love the store. it is hard to find a model store with a good selection in the bay area, check it out.

My absolute go-​to place for anything Traxxas. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Massive selection of items from RC cars to RC planes, train sets and more.

I’ve known about this place for a long time although I hadn’t started doing business there until my son started getting into R/​C cars. Before I decided on an R/​C car to get for my son we went in there and I was very impressed with the staff’s knowledge. They weren’t pushy and they didn’t try to sell me something that they wanted out of their inventory. They really cared about what we needed based on our skill level. I ended up buying a car for my son based on their recommendation and couldn’t be happier.
I have since gone back and bought additional parts/​supplies because I trust what they recommend.
In this day and age it is easy to take whatever advice they give you and then go on Amazon and try to buy their recommended product for a cheaper price but I must say that their prices are very competitive. I feel happy that I can do business with them knowing that I am getting a great deal. Sometimes I end up spending money at a business because I feel that their service was really good but their prices weren’t that competitive. That isn’t the case here — I feel like I get the best of both worlds.

Not the biggest model train selection, but what brings me back (besides being so close to my house — FTW) is they have a good magazine selection, and GREAT parts and glue selection. You know, common things you need all the time especially when you realize you are out of fresh X-​acto blades in the middle of a project… always receive good service here too.
It’s not my thing but they seem to have a good RC and military model section… and lots of doll stuff, craft stuff, that kind of thing.

I love this place. They are an old-​school shop. They have EVERYTHING!!! If they do not have it– they will order it for you.
I’m into R/​C Planes (electric /​park-​flers) and I go here for almost everything.
They are a great resouce parts and information.
Update– There is one guy there that kinda ruins the fun of visiting– Rico. I think he’s the owner? He is helpful, but not super friendly. Everyone else is AWESOME. The type of people you want to hang out with and talk to.
They are SLOW when it comes to ordering your parts. The other hobby shop in Santa Clara (plus others I have used in the past), can get items in less than 1 week. Why does it take these guys 1 month?