A really cool place. Bill has many interesting facts. I love looking at all the items. There are 14,000 unique collectables. read more

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Calling the store only to get the answering machine. After a 6 hr trip it was disappointed to find the store closed close at 4 pm and does not open Sunday. The hours do not appear on yelp google maps or imaps. read more

Big Bill's Die Cast - Google maps and store hours - Hobby Shops Near Me - Saint Augustine, Florida

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I practically ran from my hotel in the sweltering heat at 4:30 only to greeted with locked doors. Apparently closing at 4pm is the standard here. Too bad. I was so anxious to peruse their inventory. read more

Big Bill's Die Cast - Such a tease - Hobby Shops Near Me - Saint Augustine, Florida

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Great store...if it's open. Save yourself some time and call ahead. Apparently, the store is usually open 10:00-4:00 and closed Sundays. However, I just drove from Daytona to find it closed at 2:30pm with a sign that says, "Back Sept 30". Today is Wednesday, October 23, so...who knows?!? read more

Very unique place!! Over 11,000 cars, airplanes, helicopters, trucks, military, & lots more!! Collector's dream come true!! I am never seen so many die cast!! read more

Big Bill's Die Cast - Over 11,000 die cast cars, airplanes, helicopters, trucks, military, & lots more!! Collector's dream come true!! - Hobby Shops Near Me - Saint Augustine, Florida

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Great store, large variety, and the best models and diecast I've ever seen. But the only thing weighing this great store down is the asshole of an owner. I walked in and just wanted to see if he might have a great set of WW2 tanks to put in my model city but when he saw me he instantly thought I was there to steal something or ruin something because he instantly questioned who I was with even though I'm a responsible 17 year old JROTC student. That little incident ruined my whole vacation. read more

This has to be the nicest shop in St. Augustine bill is good when you get to know him. When i come in he always has a new dicast camper waiting for me to buy. The other day he sold me a air stream motor home dicast modal it was a little pricey but the amount of detail that to has on it well worth the money. If your collecting cars trucks rvs planes you name it he has it just be shore you are there befor 4 pm. One thing i will not he does not like children in his shop because alot of the stuff is very breakable. read more

Great selection of diecast. The owner knows a lot about diecast. It's amazing because so many diecast companies have gone out of business. He keeps up with all the new companies as well. It's hard these days to find a small store that treats its customers with respect. It's Unfortunate that ebay forces so many stores like this out of business. There is nothing like touching an item and seeing it in person. I'm willing to pay for that old school approach. Hope to keep coming back to this store many more years. Good luck Bill and see you next year. One last thing ...it's not a children's store and most items are fragile. I would not recommend taking children there if you are a serious collector. Too much to see and kids would just get in the way. Sorry. read more

Huge selection of die cast toys, if late 1970s or newer is your thing then you should definitely visit- all the brands, all different types of cars and planes, some toy soldiers Prices for your run of the mill items were about $5-10 more than what I'd pay. They had a small but nice and decently priced selection of prewar Hubleys. A lot of the items were in the original boxes which is a huge plus but they also had boxes of some loose cars which I liked. Biggest problem was the customer service. My grandfather was a collector and I went antiquing with him a lot as a kid. The person who was there(Bill) didn't even acknowledge my existence until I asked a question showing that I knew my stuff. Before that, no greeting, no "what are you looking for", just a look that was clearly "what are you doing here". I'd go back and buy something but his attitude really bugged me. read more

Big Bill is the proprietor of a truly unique die cast shop. An extensive collection of planes, cars, boats, and rarities. I visited the shop in April to bring home some planes. One month later i called to see if Bill had the "Owl" a rare German night fighter. No problem. Put his hands right on it and shipped it to me. What a great shop. read more

This is a pretty awesome die cast collector's store nestled up next to a bunch of antique & boutique stores. Hundreds (thousands?) of die cast cars, planes, ships, etc. - it's impressive. I've visited a handful of times. However: this is not a toy store. Let me tell you a story. I visited the other day with my 3 1/2 year old son. In the back of the store, we came upon a rubbermaid tub filled with cars from the Pixar movie. As he's a Lightning McQueen enthusiast, I let him pick out a car as a treat, and we made our way to the front of the store. Now, this was a large tub of cars, all unopened but pretty beat up, with bent packaging and stuff. Nothing was priced, but I assumed, hey, it'll be a couple of bucks and a good treat for the kid. The owner examined the car and said it'd be $9. I was a little surprised, but hey, it's a collector's store. Dialogue follows: Me: "Do you take plastic?" Him: "Not for $9." Awkward silence. Well, I don't have $9 cash, but do have a 5, so I asked, "are any other of the cars cheaper?" Him: "Nope, that's the cheapest one. The rest are $15, $20. They're all first run models." At this point I realized I wasn't going to get the car unless I bought something else to get to whatever his credit card minimum was (he didn't say how much I'd need to spend, and I was quickly losing the motivation to give him any money). So then I had to tell my son to hand back the Lightning McQueen. At this point, the owner holds his hand out to my son. My son looks confused and sad, but reluctantly gives back the toy without fussing. The owner then says to him: "Looks like your daddy forgot his wallet, son." We left. My head was spinning a little. On the way out of the store, my 3-year-old turned to me and said very sincerely, within earshot of the owner: "Daddy, this is not a great store." Like I explained to him once we were outside: this isn't a toy store. It's a store for people that like to keep things in the packaging and charge too much money for them. The kind of people who can belittle a 3-year-old's dad because he doesn't want to foot a credit card surcharge. So, you know, there are a lot of die cast cars here. But it's not a toy store, and the more I reflect on the way my son was treated in front of me, the more I wonder how I managed to leave without causing a scene of some sort. Pretty proud of my son, though. The kid really held it together. read more

After being a retail manager for 20+ years I still remember a area Vice President share with me when referring to his thoughts on employees and he said " Everyine has an expiration date" it wasn't until I frequented this business in several locations that I realized the full Meaning of what my mentor was trying to relay to me. This visit was no different than previous visits when the owner would openly voice his thoughts of customers and pretend they weren't directed at me. Once the owner realized I was not there to spend big bucks on overpriced 1:18 scale die cast that I was searching for some 1:64 scale models I heard a "pahrumphs" and then a snide comment about customers coming in to shop at the last minute and causing him to not be able to close his doors on time. I finished my visit 15 minutes before he closed. Then there was the comment to my wife about a minimum purchase to use a credit card. If you would quit running off business maybe you could afford the credit card fees that every other business accepts. I didn't say it was fair, it's just a part of doing business. If you don't like what you do anymore maybe it's time to pass the torch to someone with renewed passion for the business and move on to something that makes you happy again. Clearly this is isn't it. read more

Love this place - it is an annual visit for me and I usually come away with a new addition to my collection.

I have stopped by this store on several occasions. I have only found it to be open on one occasion. On my last trip to Florida, I made two special trips to this store only to find it closed both times. This is a really cool store, but it'.s a long way from I-95 to find it closed. I doubt that I will try to visit again. If this store would only stay open it would be more profitable. read more

I wish I'd read the reviews here before we stopped in today. We had been trying to visit this store the last few times we were in St. Augustine, and it was always closed. We drove by today and the OPEN sign was lit up. We should've kept driving... We entered and we're not greeted; instead told that those were collectibles and to not let the kids touch them. Within a few minutes he (the owner, I presume) started complaining about how he only meant to stay open until noon and it was 2:30, loudly so everyone could hear. He didn't ask us to leave or give a warning to bring purchases up to the register; he was just complaining. We continued shopping like everyone else (there were about 8-10 other people in the store). We found a small car with a $5.99 price tag and we inquired about prices of the other cars on a shelf so we could buy a second car of a similar price for our other son. He told us that all the cars cost $10 and he wouldn't be selling it for anything less than that, including the one with the $5.99 price tag. ("I won't be selling it for $5.99, that's for sure!") Still, we were willing to purchase two cars for our kids. He walked over to us and said "I'm serious. I'm closed. Yep. I'm closed". We were escorted out while he continued his rant about his store being closed since noon and was just waiting for everyone to leave. Definitely not a family friendly store, considering the above and the Nazi propaganda in the front of the store as well as inside. We will never, ever return. Such a rude man and awful service. read more

The owner obviously has a problem with children. My grandchildren were with us, but not at our side. The kids were looking at the models, but not touching anything at all. The owner got upset because the kids were not at our sides. His curmudgeonly attitude lost him a sale when we left without buying anything. If I could give zero stars to this a***Ole I would. read more

Our experience is excellent. Always willing to help us search for the airplanes my husband is looking for. Nothing but good things to say about Bills Die Cast. Visit him every time we are in St. Augustine and always find a new plane or for me a new truck/car with Santa on it. read more

We admittedly arrived 6 minutes before the posted 4:00 closing time, as we just walked many blocks to get there. There were 5 of us, the door was locked, when a car pulled out with the store signs on the sides of his car. We attempted to get his attention, but he kept going. 3 of us were serious car collectors, but obviously he was not interested. Based on other reviews it's probably just as well we didn't go in. He probably would have most curtly showed us the door. read more