RCER88

My Feedback: (25)

Sledge sounds about right. On average it takes a week to get to MI from NY. That shipping is equivalent to the cheapest US rate. So there is a very low priority. I really like it when I see my order come into Chicago then I have it in three days. It is not the fastest but it does get there eventually.

GerKonig

Purchased stuff from China for over 2 years now. Always purchase a min. of 3 batteries thinking one might be bad. Never happened. Great products, never waited more than 2 weeks. Of course IF you purchase stuff that is in stock, it is your fault. Just look when you purchase

Now, for a lot of batteries, you can now buy from the US warehouse and the shipping is FREE.

Great stuff, great prices. Never had to return a thing.

I was an early user of big Lipos for my Telemaster. The prices are so low now it is not funny:-) I also purchased controllers and motors, and accesories (connectors, etc) never a problem. I am looking forward to placing a big "local warehouse" order next week...

Gerry

opjose

HK can be a great resource if you approach buying things from them fully aware of how to do it.

Pointers:

- EMS, yes it costs a lot, but normally you'll save the expense on the first item you buy... so buy several things at once.

- ALWAYS buy things that show as "IN-Stock". If you want something that is backordered, set an e-mail reminder for that item.

- Always limit your purchases to things that are unlikely to be returned for any reason.

- Weight your box when you get it, before you open it. Check the contents IMMEDIATELY.

- If anything is missing or in error, take individual digital pictures of everything and the box... also a picture of everything in one shot.

- If you e-mail their order support people, it can take a week before you see a response. Check your Anti-spam message filters.

- If you need to converse back and forth by e-mail, each exchange can take a week, so always start with your order number and a copy of your receipt to avoid questions. If you are missing something, include the photos and weights, which will save you two weeks of back and forth!

- If something is missing from your order, e-mail them and offer that they can include the missing item in your next order, or better yet have them issue you a points credit useful for your next purchase.

- Certain combos and weights will flag attention and delays at customs.

e.g. 4 heavy packs sail through... but my order for 12 such packs was delayed for a week more. Maybe someone thought it was a bomb?

I've ordered glow engines, gas engines, servos, 100 some LiPo packs ( some of those LiPo's are GREAT BTW!!! The Nano-techs are especially good. ), mounts, electric motors, ESC's, EDF's, etc.

All have been great.

Note that I find their specs on the gas engines to be highly inflated... Expect about 60%-80% of the stated power output levels.

Check the specs... read what others write on the review pages... these are QUITE helpful to avoid problems.

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

HobbyKing is awesome! Never had a failure, sure, from hongkong stuff takes a while to get here (1-3 weeks), but who cares, Im saving hundreds of dollars! From HK USA stuff gets here fast as is still a ton cheaper than anywhere else.

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

I was happy with them until my last order..

I ordered a couple sets of 4S-5000mah packs from the US warehouse..

An airplane showed up on my door along with a email from HK asking me to "reject the delivery"

I did as they asked and took it back to the PO and had them refuse delivery.. It went back return to sender..

HK claims they never got it back and won't ship the correct order.
USPS tracking shows Delivered to my house.. I opened a case with USPS.. They traced the return to sender back to the HK US warehouse.. HK still won't ship my order..
All I got form them for 3 weeks was "We are checking".. Then I opened a paypal dispute and it changed to "We are checking close your dispute, we will email you when we have more information" I haven't heard from them for 3 weeks.

Paypal is due to decide on my case in 3 days... COrrection.. 2 minutes ago.. I got screwed.. no lipos and HK gets to keep my $$..
FYI the only real way to talk to someone is stay up late and do the live support chat.. Emails and calls go unanswered.

Sorry for venting...

opjose

E-mails have always been answered for me.

I've never gotten through to a person via Chat.

Keep trying.

Ask for a credit for the full amount. They can do that easily.

Warbird Joe

Insanemoondoggie, I have bought three of them and one was bad. I tested the cells and found that one cell 1 and 2 were working but not 3. I tested the whole unit through the black and red wire and nothing. So I took the covering off and found that there was a crack in the solder. I put some solder on the crack and put som new heat sink on it and it works awesome.

I too had considered sending it back but it cost $18 to send back an $8 battery. Now I will not take credit for trying taking it apart and fixing it. One of the guys at the field that is an electric genius helped me take it apart and fix it. Hope this is something that can help you to get the battery up and running.

Good luck.

Joe

panhndl

My Feedback: (10)

I bought an in stock battery from the US warehouse and it took over two months to get here. Not quite sure why the chinese new year should screw up US warehouse.

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

I have ordered a couple of orders from HK. One came reasonably fast and the other took about a week longer. I am not complaining too bad because I did not spend over a 100.00 each time. HK is a place I would be very cautious about spending any large amount. I believe that would be a huge mistake.

If you just need some cheap stuff and want to wait for it to come you cannot beat HK, but for anything that you want service or larger ticket items deal with someone that will give you good service. It is worth paying a bit more sometimes. You just have to be careful what you buy. Some guys I know really love buying batteries from HK, cause they are dirt cheap and if the thing does not work just toss it.

At any rate that is another 1.5 cents thrown in the pot

RCER88

My Feedback: (25)

In the HK forums customer service at HK. Jason quoted CS gets over 100 emails a day. SO it may take a couple of days to get an answer. ALSO if you email them a bunch about the same thing then you get pushed down the list. So what I do is send them one email and then call them. Now remember they are about 12 hours ahead. So in the US you have to wait until 9 pm to call Eastern time. I have not had any problems doing that. Live chat is hit and miss. But when I get through I always get an answer. The CS people do not have technical information but there is tons of information in the forums.

I placed an order on Wednesday I have tracking info for UPS now. Should be here on Monday. Still better than Tower and most US companies. When I can buy 3-6 servos for the price of one here in the US and they are made of the same components of some of the "name brand" and work just as good. Why would I waste my money? I don't have to drive to my LHS over 50 miles one way.

For instance a Name brand micro servo costs 16.99 at the LHS. HK a servo with the same specs cost 2.99 and the parts are interchangeable with the high dollar name brand. Makes you want to go HMMM. Only difference I noticed was the sticker.

If you do your homework and study things a bit the items from HK are just as good as the high dollar name brand stuff here in the States. A friend of mine who was real leery took a look at some of the stuff I had then the perfomance and now orders most of his servos and stuff from HK. He compared his HK order versus Tower for the same basic stuff and saved over $300.00.

Another guy placed an order with HK and tower on the same day. Paid EMS shipping from HK and standard from Tower. He got his HK order before he got the Tower order.

If you are smart do your homework you can make this hobby much less expensive and run good gear. The old addage "you get what you pay for" is complete rubbish.

tee681

value hobby I have been using thair batteries for 2 years

Valve floater

I have ordered batteries from HK. They are ok so far. But recently i have been ordering from Value Hobby too. The batteries are about the same and also Approx.the same cost. They come with a deans connector. They are U.S. based at least.That makes me feel better. Even like Walmart, it`s from China. At least some of my money stays here.

rc18junky

i had good luck and 100.00 of bad luck first i ordered 2 turnigy 4000 40c 2cell and the both work great so i decided to order two 5000 40c 3cell and two 2200 30c 3cell and all 4 of them when out in one month. i did well on the 2 cells but the 3 cells was a ripoff and i will never get lipos from HK again most of the things the sell is junk in my eyes

misterv

It is quite amusing to read the grizzels and gripes from US customers complaining about service and delays from products in Chima and especially Hobby King. Modellers from other countries ( yes we do exist) have been putting up with extremely high postage costs, higher air and courier freights, lack of service or completely ignorance from suppliers in the US for many, many years. Do your homework and have a knowledge of what you are ordering, and you will have no problems. CHEAP no longer has to be inferior products. Maybe previously before Hobby King and the internet. we were just plainly being overcharged. Retailing around the world has changed and aeromodelling has changed and we now have options.
China and Hobby King did not make the rules about LIPOS being banned on aircraft so expect some delays. If not pay 3 or 4 times the price at your LHS for the same product but with a prettier label. I believe there are only 3 manufacturers of Lipos world wide. Someone has been making a killing.China and Korea have all the factories. If you want your lipos faster, get in touch with your government and push for a "dirty" lipo factory in your suburb.That will speed up delivery to US but elsewhere can wait again.

Altered1

My order (still to b delivered),  apparently took ten days to fly from HK, to Melbourne Aus....  that's all I have ot report - more when the box arrives!  but on the prices, if it all works, I'll be happy.

opjose

I've spent over $4K there... it wasn't a mistake... especially since that 4K represents a net savings of close to another $6K had I purchased from another more local source. At the same time I wouldn't have been able to afford to get what I did, elsewhere.

Their LiPo's have been great as well.... particularly the Nano's.

However as with all LiPo's it pays never to push the batteries to their full rated draw values, for both safety and longevity reasons.

Do that, and you'll do fine. I'll push my 20C's to no more than 15c, etc.

As already noted, you are otherwise buying the same battery packs sold with a different label... the Chinese and Koreans manufacture all of the LiPo's we use anyway.

And if you believe in the "junk" posts... check out Greg Convey's "Amped up" column here where he uses Turnigy battery packs to power his 150cc sized plane at a total cost for electronics that is CHEAPER than a gas engine of the same size...

Campgems

Misterv, you seem to miss the point of a lot of the complaints. Granted cheap doesn't mean inferior product. Granted one should expect slower delivery from a source a few thousand miles away. Yes, there is a language barrier doing business with companies that do not use English as a primary language. So I take all this into consideration when I chose to use or not use a supplier. After my first use of Hobby King, Ichose not to use them again Come on, the Chinese New Year doesn't last all year. Flat refusal to acknowledge a defective product was shipped and state that I may be charged a restock fee and get to pay shipping three times if I am to get a usable product just goes a bit beyond poor customer service.Cheap and usable is a good combination, but Cheap and un-usable is not acceptable.

I have used othersuppliers in China and the customer service was great,quick shipping at a lesser price than HK, and for some reason theChinese new year didn't come up in any of theirnotes on the order and they kept me informed of the status of the order, including tracking numbers and expected delivery date. That company, I will use again.


I amcurious as to which company or companies in the USgave you such bad service.

Don

Karl-Bratcher

Surely there are exceptions, but the items I purchased from HK were not of manufactures I knew of and the grades were no bad but not up to the standards I like to use. My biggest concern is were my USDollar remains. I greatly lean toward USHobby Companies knowing some of my money spent there stays there.

BTW, I know of no online hobby provider that comes close to shipping time than Advantage Hobbies, Two days is not unusual for <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region></st1lace> traffic. If ever it is more that 3 days you have a week end involved.

Just my $.02 guys, no offense intended.

BEAR-AvHistory

I use Advantage a lot if I need something fast. That being said, except for companies like DuBro, most of their stuff still comes from China so the only part of you dollar staying here is their markup & shipping.

opjose

If you are looking for a specific labeled product then you are correct. However many things you buy here with different labels and brands come from the very same factories and production runs.... so bare that in mind.


If that were so...

Since we don't manufacture this stuff here ( with thankfully a few exceptions, e.g. Castle, Syssaircraft, etc. ) most of your cash is going out of the country anyway.

I'd pay a up to a 50% markup plus shipping for equivalent U.S. products.... unfortunately you can't get even that.

e.g. $7.99 for a HK Nano 2200mAh 3S 35C pack or $38.00+ for the same capacity and power output from Thunder Power ( and the latter is STILL manufactured in China! ).

If it were $18.00 from TP I'd skip HK for packs...

nitro-rob

Vote me in for negative. I've only bought lipos that were DOA and forget about support. Pay a lot less for mediocre stuff that is hit and miss but does the job for a lot of people. I am fine with that but please don't say its the same stuff with a different badge and lower price and insult people that sell good products with quality standards and good support in mind.

Indy Park Flyer

I oreder from Hobby King and many of the members of my club order from Hobby King on a regualr basis. As a matter of fact, except for one LHS, Hobby King is the source that is recommended most at our field. I have bought a variety of items from them, including batteries, motors, a corona 2.4ghz conversion module, and various other items, all without issue. I know there have been some reports of problems, so I would say they are not perfect, or even good at customer service, but you can't beat the pricing. As far as the shipping goes, just realize unless you pay for better shipping, the average shipping time is 2-3 weeks and the tracking numbers are hit and miss as far as accuracy. If your concerned, why not try a small test order and see how it goes for you?
Indy Park Flyer