Re: Tower Hobbies service slipping?


"Six_O'Clock_High" <Six_O'Clock_High@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"Jim" <jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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Problem is, people are so cheap in this country that they will buy from
hobbycity to save a few dollars, thus putting their LHS and American made
hobby products out of business. Then they complain about that. Someone
else said elsewhere in here that the same products cost 3 - 4 times more
in the U.S. THAT IS NOT TRUE. If you are buying apples for apples, then
after figuring the shipping costs from Hong Kong, the savings may be
25-40%. For example, the SAME motor from Hobbycity that sells for $42.63
+ $25.95 shipping =$68.58 is sold by Cermark for $85.99 + $6.00 shipping
= $91.99. Savings? $23.41 or 25.4%. Service? Nil from Hobbycity. Time to
receive? 3-5 days from most US companies, 2-3 weeks from Hong Kong. Need
to send it back? $6 in the US, at LEAST $25 from US to Hong Kong. Most
people buying from Hong Kong don't know about the 'dual quality' of the
products. There is 'domestic' quality....made to be sold in China and
'export quality' sold to the rest of the world. The 'domestic quality' is
crap, that's why it's so cheap. You really do get what you pay for.

Peace of mind buying in the U.S. and keeping somebody in business?
PRICELESS

So you guys just keep buying from Hobby City but don't complain that
there's no hobby shop in your town anymore!!


"TTman" <someone.pc@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"Jim" <jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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;-) There's a first time for everything!


There have been endless complaints re HobbyCity on their Forum. It was
so bad, the forum got conveniently deleted and a new one started up....
Worst offenders were their 2.4G systems and wrong goods shipped.return
shipping costs are relatively HUGE, discouraging most from sending stuff
back( except maybe transmitters)
Utterly appaling service and I'll never go there again...




When my LHS stops marking over preprinted prices with a higher one, I will
consider supporting them. Until that time I intend to have fun modeling
and will find my supplies where I will. Tower's quality isn't and Hobbico
has taken action to stop the production of the 'good' stuff I like to buy.
Until I get burnt by HobbyCity, I will continue to get what I paid for
which I have not always been able to say about Tower.

There is a long list of products they changed to put their moniker on that
were unimprovemnts which includes things like the paint that matches
monocote. Oh how I wish for the good stuff to return. I fear the day
when monocote goes away to be replaced by TowerKote. <shudder>. Kind of
like they did with the epoxies and other adhesives, hobby knife blades
(just try to get an X-acto blade from them, I dare you and they ARE
different!).

YMMV

but that is MY opinion (and dollars spent)


I bought my first Webra, Saito and Rossi engines from Tower Hobbies many
years ago. Try doing that today.

Tower Hobbies has painted themselves into a corner, so it would seem. I wish
them the best of luck - they are going to need it.

I don't shop in a specific store just to keep them in business. It would be
different were the store owned by family members, or friends of my family.
But that isn't the case these days. I must shop based upon value.

Back in the days when most folks used .40 or .60 sized engines, it was
easier for a hobbyshop to stock a few selections of each size. We didn't
know then that we were being short changed with just those engine sizes
available. To us, it seemed as though there were plenty of choices and
making a choice could be very challenging. Few had heard of Tower Hobbies,
or actually dealt with them, so virtually all buying was at the local level
or from a mail order shop in New York City named America's Hobby Center.
Sometimes AHC's prices were a bit lower than the local hobbyshop, but most
times you just broke even after paying shipping. Still, one could buy an
engine of a different manufacturer from AHC that the local hobbyshop could
not obtain. It was nice to have the only HB or HP engine at the field.

If I had a hobbyshop within reasonable driving distance that had access to
Sig fuel with all castor oil in the percentages I wanted/ditto nitro, I
would be tempted to deal with them. But only if they would special order
items for me from time to time without trying to redirect me into buying
what they have in stock when they do not have the item that I wanted. I
would not expect them to match mail order prices for a particular item, but
I would hope they would match the price of the discount item plus the
shipping and insurance prices. A few percent over that would be fine. I know
that that isn't much to work with from a profit point of view.

If they ever once accepted an engine back from someone and put it back on
the shelf for sale as new, that would be the end of my doing business with
them. I've seen this happen before with disappointing results for the new
owner. Ditto radio systems.

I understand the hobbyshop's point of view of trying to sell what they have
in stock and I would listen attentively to their sales pitch, but when I
make up my mind that I want a particular brand and model, there are usually
immutable reasons for that particular choice.

There are so many sub fields (branches of interest) in our hobby today that
I know the average hobbyshop is unable to stock a good selection of
everything. I also know that there aren't enough of us RC flyers around to
keep a hobbyshop in business if all they do is stock RC airplane items. The
good old days (which didn't truly exist) are gone.

I dealt with Hobby City when they first went online. The prices were great
back then and even with the shipping one had to pay, it represented a good
value. Then one day I had a need to talk with a real person. Of course I
tried email first. No replies. Then I tried calling their phone numbers.
Again, no success. I ended up in quite a stew over a billing error with no
one to talk to. It all worked out eventually and all was well, but it made
me hesitate to order from them again.

A few days ago I ordered one of their Turnigy 52 gas engines at $170 plus
shipping. How could you go wrong? I could part out a defective engine and
get all of my money back, plus a bit of profit were I careful. Win-Win. We
shall see how it goes.

I've bought a couple of DL-50 engines from DLUSA and I've been happy with
the service. I have no intention of buying "serious" engines from China
direct. I'll stick with those USA based folks that can help me when service
or parts are needed. But this $170 52cc engine was just more than I can
resist.

After I ordered this engine, I discovered a few other 50cc engines for sale
in the US at substantially lower prices than the DL-50. Oh well, maybe next
time.

Ed Cregger



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