HOBBY king going down the tube?
05-23-2012, 08:47 AM
#276
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
ORIGINAL: grimbeaver
They took his first born child to work as a slave building r/c parts in China.
ORIGINAL: scale only 4 me
Gerry,, come on,, be reasonable,, he's said it 200 times,, it must be true.
Topspin this is quite a vendetta you've been waging,, going on a year now,, what did they do to you again?
Gerry,, come on,, be reasonable,, he's said it 200 times,, it must be true.
Topspin this is quite a vendetta you've been waging,, going on a year now,, what did they do to you again?
That's it, I am leaving now that the truth came out. But I am taking my HK horse with me...
Gerry
(In the process to build a slide in and out try for the 10 cell 5,000 HK battery in my 1/4 scale Sig C/W cub with the Tracon motor from Nitroplanes....)
05-23-2012, 10:13 AM
#277
Senior Member
My Feedback: (2)
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: elmira,
NY
Posts: 775
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
just to add my .02 but i dont agree with paying extra to hk for 3 to 5 day shipping when it takes them a week to get paid , print the order, and pack it up for shipping and then after that week its shipped out and you get it in a week (2 weeks not 1). that to me is false advertising but on the other hand i realize im not the only person ordering these cheap somewhat decent parts for a good savings. every order i have made with them im on 11 now (all tallied up $3284.68) has been decent except order # 9 which my girlfreind wanted a gemini 600 sailboat. i ordered it with some other parts, i recieved a message that it would take a week just to "pack" the sail boat. in all reality they sent the order to get one from the manufacturer and low and behold we paid a extra 75 dollars for ems shipping and recieved the package one month later , opened the box to find real damage to the model as it wasnt in its own box but packed up with all the rest of the stuff. now the main large box" hk calls it that you get reserved for your order, "i have seen these listed as back order from some reason and cancelled a order because its bs" was packed ok but the mail service may have stacked something on it resulting in damage that is bs as its marked on the box as such. all in all i just went ahead and repaired the damage to the hull because they wanted me to send it back to them "costing me more money" it just wasnt worth it. its a hit or miss with hk and if i do ever order another model from them it will most likely come from the us warehouse as its usually at the doorstep i just over a week.
05-23-2012, 12:44 PM
#280
Senior Member
My Feedback: (2)
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: elmira,
NY
Posts: 775
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
lmao it does say poly station is that a new company? it looks like the ps1 you can get a refurbed ps1 for what 5 bucks?
05-23-2012, 02:50 PM
#281
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
So it's one of those FAKE products. You got a POLYstation.
Instead of a getting the REAL thing, you got a cheap imitation. I think I would have paid the regular price and have the REAL thing.
Frank
Instead of a getting the REAL thing, you got a cheap imitation. I think I would have paid the regular price and have the REAL thing.
Frank
05-23-2012, 07:17 PM
#285
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chatfield,
MN
Posts: 164
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
Does nobody see the sarcasm in the PolyStation post? The humour is so obvious… And to the post starter, I'd suck up the damage. My new ParkZone spitfire looks like that after assembling it and bumping it into a door.
05-23-2012, 09:18 PM
#286
Senior Member
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
Whether we buy from these big name U.S. retailers..............or from some discount internet retailer in China, Hongkong etc.........we are in the end buying Chinese manufactured goods..........engines, radios, servos, ARF's, motors, ESC's, batteries etc. etc.............including our laptops, PC's, Ipods, Iphone, Ipads, automobile brake parts. Virtually...........huge amounts of manufacturing has moved offshore to China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam etc. etc.......because of the cheap labor and very loose environmental regulations. You can buy from these big name U.S. retailers but the items are still MADE IN CHINA. One big name retailer focuses on large model airplanes and the quality of construction is still poor quality BUT THE PRICE THEY CHARGE IS SKY HIGH. Yes they have good customer service but the items are very, very expensive priced and the quality is still the same poor quality. To each his own..........but in the end we are still captive of the cheap overseas labor and the advent of Computer Numerically Controlled machine tools in manufacturing that allow these overseas manufacturers to design, develop and distribute many products, many, many items that the U.S. manufacturer cannot compete because of U.S. labor prices. That is the nature of the beast and as for me.............I am a cheap guy...............I buy from whoever gives me a good deal. 'Nuff said. Larry.
05-23-2012, 10:14 PM
#287
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: rolling meadows,
IL
Posts: 164
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
its all true Larry ....... But the few things that are 100% American made in this Hobby like Unlimited Engineering, Fast Lane Machine etc offer a LIFETIME warranty (so long as the Chinese dont put them out of business) and they dont break (often) thats why they have that warranty
05-24-2012, 03:12 AM
#288
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
Yep, pretty much spot on. Hey, I saved so much money with HK I bought some American stuff from US companies. Oh, but I forgot most of the stuff I bought from US was made in China 
Yes, I guess I got great service in the US...Oh, wait I did not get great service. What a dilemma...still trying to figure it all out.
All joking aside, I wonder if an RC shop/business could devise a successful business model that would have a somewhat decent price and also offer a reasonable service level? Or maybe only offer service at a different price level. Say for instance you could buy a DLE 30 for xxx dollars with only standard warranty. If you wanted to pay more for a service level agreemant then you could. It could include for example a 24 hour replacement warranty, etc.
I wonder just how many would want the cheap way out or would want the SLA route. This would certainly require more management but once everything was figured out the model could work for the long haul.
Ok, back to my next HK purchase. I need some more of those kick butt TG servos at 1/5 of the price of others!
Yes, I guess I got great service in the US...Oh, wait I did not get great service. What a dilemma...still trying to figure it all out. All joking aside, I wonder if an RC shop/business could devise a successful business model that would have a somewhat decent price and also offer a reasonable service level? Or maybe only offer service at a different price level. Say for instance you could buy a DLE 30 for xxx dollars with only standard warranty. If you wanted to pay more for a service level agreemant then you could. It could include for example a 24 hour replacement warranty, etc.
I wonder just how many would want the cheap way out or would want the SLA route. This would certainly require more management but once everything was figured out the model could work for the long haul.
Ok, back to my next HK purchase. I need some more of those kick butt TG servos at 1/5 of the price of others!
05-24-2012, 07:37 AM
#289
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Sterling,
VA
Posts: 1,169
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
ORIGINAL: larrysogla
Whether we buy from these big name U.S. retailers..............or from some discount internet retailer in China, Hongkong etc.........we are in the end buying Chinese manufactured goods..........engines, radios, servos, ARF's, motors, ESC's, batteries etc. etc.............including our laptops, PC's, Ipods, Iphone, Ipads, automobile brake parts. Virtually...........huge amounts of manufacturing has moved offshore to China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam etc. etc.......because of the cheap labor and very loose environmental regulations. You can buy from these big name U.S. retailers but the items are still MADE IN CHINA. One big name retailer focuses on large model airplanes and the quality of construction is still poor quality BUT THE PRICE THEY CHARGE IS SKY HIGH. Yes they have good customer service but the items are very, very expensive priced and the quality is still the same poor quality. To each his own..........but in the end we are still captive of the cheap overseas labor and the advent of Computer Numerically Controlled machine tools in manufacturing that allow these overseas manufacturers to design, develop and distribute many products, many, many items that the U.S. manufacturer cannot compete because of U.S. labor prices. That is the nature of the beast and as for me.............I am a cheap guy...............I buy from whoever gives me a good deal. 'Nuff said. Larry.
Whether we buy from these big name U.S. retailers..............or from some discount internet retailer in China, Hongkong etc.........we are in the end buying Chinese manufactured goods..........engines, radios, servos, ARF's, motors, ESC's, batteries etc. etc.............including our laptops, PC's, Ipods, Iphone, Ipads, automobile brake parts. Virtually...........huge amounts of manufacturing has moved offshore to China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam etc. etc.......because of the cheap labor and very loose environmental regulations. You can buy from these big name U.S. retailers but the items are still MADE IN CHINA. One big name retailer focuses on large model airplanes and the quality of construction is still poor quality BUT THE PRICE THEY CHARGE IS SKY HIGH. Yes they have good customer service but the items are very, very expensive priced and the quality is still the same poor quality. To each his own..........but in the end we are still captive of the cheap overseas labor and the advent of Computer Numerically Controlled machine tools in manufacturing that allow these overseas manufacturers to design, develop and distribute many products, many, many items that the U.S. manufacturer cannot compete because of U.S. labor prices. That is the nature of the beast and as for me.............I am a cheap guy...............I buy from whoever gives me a good deal. 'Nuff said. Larry.
Everyone knows that most of what we buy comes from China, that's not what this thread is about. Most of the US retail distributors sell Chinese parts but if your order doesn't show up or it is defective you can contact them and they will make it right. The issue here is that Hobby King doesn't care about you once they have your money. If something goes wrong with your order or you get broken or defective merchandise they will pay lip service and blow you off rather than spend a few dollars to keep a customer happy and in the end keep a customer. That is why they are failing and that is why they need to fail.
There are plenty of Chinese hobby companies that will take care of you after the sale. Those companies have the same items made buy the same manufacturers at the same or better prices than Hobby King.
So why would would anyone want to deal a company that is famous for treating customers poorly. It just doesn't make any sense.
05-24-2012, 08:00 AM
#290
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
ORIGINAL: topspin
Everyone knows that most of what we buy comes from China, that's not what this thread is about. Most of the US retail distributors sell Chinese parts but if your order doesn't show up or it is defective you can contact them and they will make it right. The issue here is that Hobby King doesn't care about you once they have your money. If something goes wrong with your order or you get broken or defective merchandise they will pay lip service and blow you off rather than spend a few dollars to keep a customer happy and in the end keep a customer. That is why they are failing and that is why they need to fail.
There are plenty of Chinese hobby companies that will take care of you after the sale. Those companies have the same items made buy the same manufacturers at the same or better prices than Hobby King.
So why would would anyone want to deal a company that is famous for treating customers poorly. It just doesn't make any sense.
ORIGINAL: larrysogla
Whether we buy from these big name U.S. retailers..............or from some discount internet retailer in China, Hongkong etc.........we are in the end buying Chinese manufactured goods..........engines, radios, servos, ARF's, motors, ESC's, batteries etc. etc.............including our laptops, PC's, Ipods, Iphone, Ipads, automobile brake parts. Virtually...........huge amounts of manufacturing has moved offshore to China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam etc. etc.......because of the cheap labor and very loose environmental regulations. You can buy from these big name U.S. retailers but the items are still MADE IN CHINA. One big name retailer focuses on large model airplanes and the quality of construction is still poor quality BUT THE PRICE THEY CHARGE IS SKY HIGH. Yes they have good customer service but the items are very, very expensive priced and the quality is still the same poor quality. To each his own..........but in the end we are still captive of the cheap overseas labor and the advent of Computer Numerically Controlled machine tools in manufacturing that allow these overseas manufacturers to design, develop and distribute many products, many, many items that the U.S. manufacturer cannot compete because of U.S. labor prices. That is the nature of the beast and as for me.............I am a cheap guy...............I buy from whoever gives me a good deal. 'Nuff said. Larry.
Whether we buy from these big name U.S. retailers..............or from some discount internet retailer in China, Hongkong etc.........we are in the end buying Chinese manufactured goods..........engines, radios, servos, ARF's, motors, ESC's, batteries etc. etc.............including our laptops, PC's, Ipods, Iphone, Ipads, automobile brake parts. Virtually...........huge amounts of manufacturing has moved offshore to China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam etc. etc.......because of the cheap labor and very loose environmental regulations. You can buy from these big name U.S. retailers but the items are still MADE IN CHINA. One big name retailer focuses on large model airplanes and the quality of construction is still poor quality BUT THE PRICE THEY CHARGE IS SKY HIGH. Yes they have good customer service but the items are very, very expensive priced and the quality is still the same poor quality. To each his own..........but in the end we are still captive of the cheap overseas labor and the advent of Computer Numerically Controlled machine tools in manufacturing that allow these overseas manufacturers to design, develop and distribute many products, many, many items that the U.S. manufacturer cannot compete because of U.S. labor prices. That is the nature of the beast and as for me.............I am a cheap guy...............I buy from whoever gives me a good deal. 'Nuff said. Larry.
Everyone knows that most of what we buy comes from China, that's not what this thread is about. Most of the US retail distributors sell Chinese parts but if your order doesn't show up or it is defective you can contact them and they will make it right. The issue here is that Hobby King doesn't care about you once they have your money. If something goes wrong with your order or you get broken or defective merchandise they will pay lip service and blow you off rather than spend a few dollars to keep a customer happy and in the end keep a customer. That is why they are failing and that is why they need to fail.
There are plenty of Chinese hobby companies that will take care of you after the sale. Those companies have the same items made buy the same manufacturers at the same or better prices than Hobby King.
So why would would anyone want to deal a company that is famous for treating customers poorly. It just doesn't make any sense.
They are failing? show your sources once for all to see? I had 2 problems and they solved them. Does that make them good? Of course not. It might be an exception, I do not know. Many of my buddies never had a problem. Some people on this board had problems. Does that make them bad? I read people on this site that had problems also with tower, and Horizon (I never had problems with either of them).
Obviously if you make up statements like these you have a problem with them, who knows. I do not care, but to say they are failing is crazy and unsubstantiated in the real world.
Gerry
05-24-2012, 08:51 AM
#291
My Feedback: (8)
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Blaine,
MN
Posts: 540
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
ORIGINAL: vasek
I have been ordering from HK for the past couple of years without any issues. They do have good prices.
Lately I ordered a foamy Corsair and received both wingtips damaged (see pics) the box had no apparent damage, so it must have been put in the box already damaged. I complained & got $10 worth of credit for the damage! I was thinking something along the line like a NEW WING! Plus the online chat help has been unavailable (at least to me) for more than a week now. They're playing dead...
On top, my new order shows UNPAID status even though it has been paid in full. New complaint...
I'm starting to get fed up with HK. I'll be thinking twice before ordering again.
Anyone has problems like that lately?
Cheers, V.
I have been ordering from HK for the past couple of years without any issues. They do have good prices.
Lately I ordered a foamy Corsair and received both wingtips damaged (see pics) the box had no apparent damage, so it must have been put in the box already damaged. I complained & got $10 worth of credit for the damage! I was thinking something along the line like a NEW WING! Plus the online chat help has been unavailable (at least to me) for more than a week now. They're playing dead...
On top, my new order shows UNPAID status even though it has been paid in full. New complaint...
I'm starting to get fed up with HK. I'll be thinking twice before ordering again.
Anyone has problems like that lately?
Cheers, V.
this is why I shop at tower hobbies
05-24-2012, 12:21 PM
#294
Member
My Feedback: (1)
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: hill city, SD
Posts: 91
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
Its amazing what consumers put up with nowdays. The standard of quality has gone wayyy down and with the absence of customer service for the most part, its a hit and miss on what you purchase on any level, that being: our food, clothes, health care,cars.... and most importantly, ourR/Ctoys!
DM
DM
05-26-2012, 08:18 AM
#297
Senior Member
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
The unhappy customer is more vocal, reactive,.............than the happy customer. So on most forums..........the unhappy customer have the upper hand in being visible, vocal, loud. The truth of the matter is that there are missteps in customer service by HobbyKing and they have lost these customers perhaps for life..............but also there are legions of HobbyKing customers that are satisfied and had good experiences with HobbyKing.......................I am one of them as I have a perhaps 1% failure rate on the cheap stuff that I have ordered from HobbyKing....I did not even bother to contact HobbyKing on the 1% failed item as I know it will cost a fortune to ship it back to HongKong. Oh! I have also used their free membership to gain points which I used to pay for one of my purchases by as much as $30 during one of my orders. Yes, I paid for that $30 order with the points I accumulated. I have also ordered thousands of dollars from Tower Hobbies(my favorite big name U.S. retailer...........they have thousands and thousands of items that are very good and also discounted at a very good price reduction......I love Tower Hobbies!!!). HobbyKing will survive and will continue to have legions of satisfied customers which are the SILENT MAJORITY. Many, many satisfied customers of all kinds from automobiles to groceries never bother to post their satisfaction on internet forums.............but the unhappy customer will post his/her dissatisfaction in MULTIPLE forums and sound like there are millions of unhappy people like them experiencing the same horrible frustration of bad, bad, bad customer service. They are certainly telling the truth as with the tens of thousands of orders that HobbyKing fills up every year, there will certainly be those that have fallen in the cracks and neglected, ignored, or simply told a big NO! HobbyKing will continue to have satisfied customers and unhappy customers but the satisfied customers definitely outnumber the unhappy customers by several orders of magnitude. Tower Hobbies will also survive very well as they are a favorite of many, many happy customers. HK and Tower Hobbies will definitely continue to be in my go to list. 'Nuff said. Larry.
05-27-2012, 06:56 AM
#299
Senior Member
My Feedback: (1)
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Anytown
Posts: 1,287
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
ORIGINAL: jayjay283
is this one of those shills ?
is this one of those shills ?
It's one of those umpiad shills. You know the one from the guy at the field that lovrs to g on and on about how little thye pay for their equipment in an attempt to show how much smarter than you they are. They don't fly a whole lot as they are usually waiting on replacement parts and have a large box full of puffed Lipos.
05-28-2012, 03:20 AM
#300
Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: norwich, UNITED KINGDOM
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: HOBBY king going down the tube?
[quote]ORIGINAL: countilaw
ORIGINAL: startazz
As far as Hobbyking CS goes i've seen a few comments over on there twitter posts, Live chat is back online and they have just trained a bunch of new staff,so i'd say things should be looking up rather than going down the tube.
After the five years i've been buying from HK i've never had anything to complain about (touch wood),i've just seen a rather sweet ME-163 Komet i'll be getting at the end of this month,by the looks of things they must be doing something right as the Komet sold out with in a couple of hours.
As far as Hobbyking CS goes i've seen a few comments over on there twitter posts, Live chat is back online and they have just trained a bunch of new staff,so i'd say things should be looking up rather than going down the tube.
After the five years i've been buying from HK i've never had anything to complain about (touch wood),i've just seen a rather sweet ME-163 Komet i'll be getting at the end of this month,by the looks of things they must be doing something right as the Komet sold out with in a couple of hours.
How many times have we heard that? About once a month? The shills are at it again I see.
Just because i don't share your opinion on a company i must be working for them or what ever right,i don't think so and all because of that you feel the need to start name calling.
I don't think i should reply to such a comment,i shall as i'd hate to think what some people might start to think if i don't.
When i first got into this hobby i found it hard to pay for my helicopter and a plane (yes i crashed them) as i live in the UK and the LHS have quite high prices which were out of my price range and still are.
So i had to come online to find a cheaper source for my RC needs,which is when i came across HK and my prayers had been answered,now if i had unlimited funds i to might buy from the well known names in this hobby but i'm sorry i don't,so i have to go to HK and i don't mind saying so because like i say i've been shopping with them for about 5 years now and i've never had a problem,so when i see negative comments about them i'll stick up for them because i really do rate them,is it so hard to understand that if anyone buy from a company and have had good products and no problems why shouldn't i say so with out being called names.
It reminds me of he school bully,if you don't agree with me,well you get the idea,so could we please just leave the name calling out of it an agree to disagree.
I will carry on sticking up for HK just as some of you do for other companies,plus i will always pass on where i think people can go to get a bargain because i wish someone had done the same for me,as i nearly gave up this great hobby of ours because i couldn't afford the high prices the big companies and my LHS wanted,i'd hate to think someone else out there might do the same.