planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

I like ordering from manufactures direct, if there's a problem, they take care of it right away, no BS or finger pointing, just quick, simple, good service from them.

06sportster

My Feedback: (7)

I just ordered a Sig Wonder from Tower. It shows in stock, we will see how long it takes to come in.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I received my big Tower Catalog in the mail Monday and SIG is not in it. I then went to the Tower web site and a lot of the Sig kits are limited quantity.

Go Figure!

After posting this entry I see that someone else has already posted this in another thread.

tundraman

I just ordered a Sig 1/5 Cub kit and it arrived Wednesday. I ordered the kit from Tower on Monday. Seems like a reasonable time to me.

carrellh

Maybe Tower charges the non-exclusive brands a fee for catalog space? Maybe SIG thinks most people do not use printed catalogs so they did not pay?

ChuckW

Very possible. tower has never promoted Sig or any non-hobbico brand very aggressively that Ive seen during the time I have been in this hobby. You find alot more by searching online that you do in their catalogs.

At a former employer, we had a product being distributed by one of the major tool companies. They had all sorts of advertising co-op programs and stuff. Basically, the more the promoted the thing, the more it cost us.

tundraman

Tower has really gone down in inventory. I have been out of the hobby for 4 years and in 4 years the Tower selection has gone down two fold. Remember the good ol days when the sold Y.S. engines? Their customer service and shipping is top notch in my opinion.

squeakalong

My Feedback: (8)

What's really interesting, when looking through the new Tower Catolog, is how few KITS are actually offered. It's not just the SIG kits effected, it's most all the former kit manufacturers. And...how many actual new kits have we seen come on the market from companies like SIG in recent times? Times are changing for us "old timers".

vmsguy

I ordered a Hog Bipe from Tower yesterday (9/25)... We'll see if/when it arrives.

Last week, I ordered a US 60 kit, and it was on my doorstep 3 days later.

I expect to see the Bipe next Monday....

Hey, Tundraman.... did you receive your Sig kit yet???

tundraman

I received my kit two days later. Tower shipping is great!

harphunt

I emailed both companies as this thread piqued my interest. Both claimed business as usual. Then, I received the Tower 2009 catalog and was also surprised that SIG is nowhere to be found. Not sure why, but as stated earlier, I can order direct from SIG.

peace

housedad

I was also suprised about Sig not being in the catalog. Not even their accesories.

Now, the catalog cannot contain every item that they show in the web. The paper advertising space is limited and expensive, even though it is a big catalog, They may have just made a decision that the Sig line does not provide enough mail order and telephone (as opposed to internet) sales to justify the inclusion in the calalog.

Thanks to modern computing power, even the marketability of individual items over different venues can be addressed with respect to profitability.

It might be the case here.

carrellh

Why is everyone so excited about what is or is not in a printed catalog?

Take a look at:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0002p?&M=SIG
27 Kits
34 ARF or RTF
30 other items

That's pretty good representation for a brand that they are not the exclusive distributor for.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

In this day and age of shifting media outlets (online vs. print media) I really don't think that this is an issue to lose any sleep over. Remember that the leadup for a print catalog like Tower's is many months, were the website can show status changes in minutes. I think the fact that Sig kits are on the website shows more than them not being in the catalog. I'm not going to worry about an issue like this until I don't see them on the website any longer. IMHO, that's when it's time to worry it.

Ken

ChuckW

Sometimes I wonder why companies spend money puting together, printing and mailing paper catalogs. I glance through them really quick and toss them in the recycling bin. The web site is much more up to date and easier.

06sportster

My Feedback: (7)

My Wonder kit made it to me in 4 buisness days from Tower. I'm guess like the others said printed space is just a premium, I do all my shopping from on-line. The catalog and flyers do make good restroom reading though.

housedad

And that is exactly what the catalog does best. Keep you thinking about the hobby, products you want, and the tower name even away from the internet. Even on the throne. I don't know how many of you are of the younger set, but it does remind me of the Sears Wishbook.

For those that don't know, Sears used to make a rather thick catalog of all the Christmas goodies that a kid could dream of. They were slick catalogs, mostly laid out in glossy color. (a big deal in those days.)All across the nation, kids would go nuts when the wishbook arrived in the mail. It was the toys R Us of the 50's and 60's.

I could sit for hours pouring over that book each year, drooling on the pages of all the toys.

Now, as adult, I still sit for hours loking over the tower catalog. Especially in the bathroom!!! There is nothing like a picture to whet the appetite of desire.

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

I hear you there, some of my best idea's come from looking at catalogs, but I would say I never really got that comfortable on the pot to actually need a catalog, heck a small flier maybe but 300 pages is a long poop.

06sportster

My Feedback: (7)

Well, sometimes you just need a long poop. It can be used a quite time away from the wife/kids....


...okay maybe not.

harphunt

YES Housedad!!! The Sears catalog at Christmas! I still love printed material.

peace

Yak18

My Feedback: (11)

No I'm not sure about that. I was merely speculating that they may be doing this. Unless Hobbico buys Sig they have no control over them. In the recent past Sig's web prices were full retail and Tower was discounting them...now it appears that they have matched pricing. Sig has better exposure to the market by wholesaling to Tower but Tower has to take their cut of the profit. It may be a cost saving measure for Sig to sell direct and cut out the middle man (Tower). Again, speculation...only Sig and Tower know the facts.

Bill Diedrich

I buy direct from sig very often, they charge $8.99 shipping up to $150
then it is shipped at no charge after that, have had great service from them
Once I placed 2 different orders, had forgot to order a few things I needed,
they grouped both orders together in same box, came to over $150 so was
sent with no freight charge. Will Tower do the same, no they won't, they charge you
the 2 shipping charges. Sig's packaging is second to none, sometimes
sometime it arrives Fed-Ex, sometimes UPS, have never had anything damaged
unlike what happens with Tower Hobbies many times.

As stated above Sig's pricing is the same online as what Tower's is.

datagoblin67

My Feedback: (1)

I have noticed that in the bigger 'yearly' catalogs Tower Hobbies sends out, does not list every item they have on their website. I take it to mean they are 'promoting' these items, but for the full catalog you should check the website. In the long run, its probably cheaper for them to not list every single razor blade, rubber band, T-pin etc in their paper catalogs.

One thing I have noticed is that there tends to be two or three different numbers for the same item, usually the printed catalogs have different numbers for an item that is on the website. I think this is due to the fact its easier for them to input a temporary item number with a sale price and then link it to the original item than to go through and search for each item and change the price, then change it back when the sale ends.

As for SIG kits, I am relatively new to this hobby and I just picked up 2 of them for 'winter build' projects. They really are nicely packed, and seem to be one of the last remaining companies that still care about getting your kit to you in one piece! I also have to say RCUniverse has been a great source of information on modding/tweaking the kits to make them unique...Thanks to all who post on here!

foodstick

Back in the old days you could tour SIG.. Not sure anymore? I have been through once or twice.. I am telling you its SO COOL .... the area where they pick kits had these HUGE boxs full of sticks, and sheets..picture the best bals supply you have ever seen at a hobbyshop and multiply by a thousand.... Also I actually road along with a hobbyshop owner one time to pickup his order, that was fun as well we hung out and chatted with the guys right in the kit building area.. All the prototypes of their kits hanging over head, huge building tables.. A guy came in with a fresh lazer cut kit for them they were just designing ...yeah, it was alot of fun. Actually much of my family grew up within about 10 miles of there...

tundraman

I bet that was a site to see! I have always wanted an inside look at one of the kit manufactures facilities. Pretty cool.