flyfish28

O.K. guys- I have only been flying a couple of winters now and have purchased most of my planes, 2-stroke engines, servos, etc, from Tower Hobbies. I'm a Super Saver member and usually try and purchase from $150. to $300. so that I get the free shipping and take advantage of their current coupons. Some online stores offer some decent prices on shipping but some charge for "Over Size" and that hurts!........ Plus Tower just increased their prices by a large %.

Who Else can I use??? Who can beat Tower??

Thanks....

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

I shop at my local hobby shop. He meets or beats Tower's prices and I do not have to worry about shipping. It's a win win deal for me. Good Luck, Dave

ChuckW

Everyone has increased their prices. Like it or not, we are in an inflation period. Production, transportation, everything costs more.

You may occasionally find a better price than Tower whether it be locally or online but it isn't common. They are part of the Hobbico family who is the manufacturer and/or distributor for most of what they sell. Most other retailer buy from them at a reseller discount then sell it to you at Towers retail price.

Generally with the coupons tower sends out, they are about the least expensive out there.

Like I said, you'll find a deal now and then if you look hard enough but not all the time.

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

You can find prices pretty close with other retailers, but once you factor in the discount they offer every month they almost always come out better.

Last month I placed an order and got $75 off of $300. Thats 25% off with free shipping and no sales tax. Thats a huge discount. Plus the item I bought they had it cheaper than anybody else.

I always shop around but unless its an item not available from Tower (like oracover) I buy from them.

As far as servos, engines, and sometimes kits... I always buy here on the marketplace. You can find really good prices especially on servos (1/2 half or more if you have some patience) The RCU marketplace seems to have better sellers and you can check them out in the forums beforehand unlike the other big auction site.

TexasAirBoss

My Feedback: (22)

I just bought a new cordless dremel. I beat the Tower price by 20 bucks and got free shipping.

I often buy my hardware, like nuts and bolts, piano wire, epoxy, etc from Ace Hardware and pay pennies on the dollar compared to Tower .

But when it comes to engines and radios, then I count on Tower. Not just for their good prices, but for their great customer service. If something is wrong, they make it right. That factors in heavily for me.

flyfish28

Dave...... You are Lucky. My local store is 60 miles away and will meet Tower's prices on some things but that's almost $25. round trip for gas and add 10% state tax to that!

That's what I'm getting at!

Thanks

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I'm not A Tower person at all and I have found A lot of places cheaper and better to work with, THAT IS unless you are still pretty new to the hobby and/or flying smaller glow powered planes and using standard items. I always have my students look at Tower and Horizon when they need stuff. Tower may not be the best but they are the most, they have most everything you need all in one spot and that counts for A lot. I'm one of the lucky guys that has several LHS to go to and one of them is A real winner. He is also A Tower or Great Planes distributor so I can save on shipping by buying from him, sometimes he gives you an even better deal if it's an older item he has had in stock for A while. A lot depends on what you are buying, I do A lot of shopping when looking for things like servos, switches, nuts, bolts and screws. Engines?? Just depends, I get quite A bit from Central too but they may have nothing you would want?? Take A look.

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

It depends on what you are buying. For my electrics I get all my stuff from Hobby City (direct out of Hong Kong). It takes about 3 weeks to get the stuff, but motors and lipos are 1/2 of what Tower gets and the quality (99% of the time) is as good or better than Tower.

blvdbuzzard

I compare Hobby People, Tower, Advantage, Hobby City, Deal Extreme, and and and and and and and and and and. I do a lot of shopping for stuff. I am not made of money so I do look for deals. Hobby People will have good sales on the big holidays. Some are in store only, so I have to figure in gas if the sale is not on a weekday. I ordered (8) 9 gram and (8) 6 gram servos from deal extreme for less then (8) servos any where else. If you do not need it right now or this week, some of the places out side the USA can have good deals too.

All depends on what I am shopping for too. I shop jaghobbies, nitroplanes, amainhobbies, kaplanes and the list goes on and on.


Dru.

TFF

Tower is owned by Hobbyco which owns 80% of what is in the catalog; and when you see it in the hobby shop, they had to buy it from the wholesale part of Tower. The smart shop owners try to give at least equal prices otherwise they loose the sale, because they know you will go to tower.

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

It all depends on what you are ordering..
2 years ago I ordered my Futaba 7C from Tower for $209 shipped.. (discounts and free shipping)
None of the LHS's could touch that price..

Last year I got the LHS to order me a Lanier Cap 232 for the tower price of $120 and didn't have to pay the $50 in shipping for the oversize box.

If the LHS can get it for me at the same price and save me shipping I'm happy to send a little extra to cover the tax and support the local stores.