Never buy from Hobby King
08-07-2014, 10:28 AM
#26
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Wow. That is extremely annoying. The fact that you get zero notification about this is absurd.
And to think they, HK, have tried to tell us that their customer service has improved
".....with a transit time of 14-39 business days" Lol.
S
And to think they, HK, have tried to tell us that their customer service has improved
".....with a transit time of 14-39 business days" Lol.
S
Last edited by smaze17; 08-07-2014 at 10:41 AM.
08-07-2014, 12:53 PM
#29
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I see these threads about Hobby King and have not had any bad experiences. I am in US, I order only what is in stock. Their Live Chat is fantastic, I have always gotten smart people to work with when I have questions. I have had 10 orders with them from US warehouse, all delivered zip zap fast, complete, and quality was fine. I placed one order from international warehouse to test the results. Ordered a couple of OrangeRX receivers. They came in after 45 days - I was fine with that. I haven't been burned - yet.
08-07-2014, 01:18 PM
#30
Somebody needs to proofread their written communications .its hard to take them seriously .
Im sure their English is better than my Mandarin but if your doing business here , speak and write like you are here .
Its just a "thing" with me .
A question for rcjetsaok, I'd really like to use your " pissing on a spark plug " metaphor , I assume you're o.k. with that . It's brilliant .
Im sure their English is better than my Mandarin but if your doing business here , speak and write like you are here .
Its just a "thing" with me .
A question for rcjetsaok, I'd really like to use your " pissing on a spark plug " metaphor , I assume you're o.k. with that . It's brilliant .
08-07-2014, 02:58 PM
#31
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I must be ordering from another planet. Actually, it's Florida, which some might argue IS another planet. But, I need to say, with 120 orders over the past several years, I've only had two issues with products from HK, which were quickly resolved. I've ordered four Stinger EDF planes, a Skipper, a P-38, a Mustang, several other foam EDFs, many many batteries, many motors, huge connector supplies, a couple of dozen Orange products, and the list goes on. Really, I swear it's true. One of the last orders I got from Hong Kong got here in 10 days, and it was SwissPost, least expensive method. I'm a member of their 'premier elite' club because of the number of orders I've made. I pay for good shipping, but in the USA warehouse that's priority mail, the least expensive, --- 2-3 days usually. I believe others have had issues. No denial here. Just reporting my experiences.
08-07-2014, 04:04 PM
#32
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It took many weeks to get refunds on those items and the whole process of communicating with their CS was frustrating.
It made me wary of ordering from the International warehouse for a while.
If those 4 experiences were my first and only experiences with HK I would also despise HK and be discouraging others from using them, so I can see the OP's perspective on this.
08-07-2014, 06:21 PM
#34
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Did any of your'all problems have to do with orders placed around Chinese New Year? It lasts 2 weeks and everything shuts down - 2014 it was the first two weeks of Feb. I would always avoid ordering a week before and the two weeks during CNY.
08-07-2014, 07:04 PM
#36
Hobby King and Tower are my primary sources for almost everything. Never had a problem with either one after a couple hundred orders. If I DO have a problem with either one, I'll follow their procedures and hope for the best. Having a few hundred bucks in limbo would not hurt so long as I'm satisfied in the end. I*f you don't like them, don't patronize them. "Everybody to their own kick." - Dave Gardner
Jim B.
Jim B.
08-07-2014, 08:15 PM
#37
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The first two were clearly HKs fault but the second two were a mystery. I chased it up through Australia post who said the delivery address was incomplete. If so then it's HKs fault again.
Last edited by Rob2160; 08-07-2014 at 09:23 PM.
08-07-2014, 11:38 PM
#39
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I no longer deal with Hobbyking. A few months ago I ordered lipos. I never received them. Their complaints dept was useless & just kept going round in circles. I claimed from Paypal & they refused my claim. Hobbyking is one of their biggest customers.
I also do not use Paypal, unless as a last resort.
I also do not use Paypal, unless as a last resort.
08-08-2014, 12:48 AM
#40
So far my experiences with HK have been 100% positive.
I can't speak for all their products but the gear I have bought has certainly met my expectations.
The Zippy, Turnigy & Rhino lipos have far outlived the FlightPower batteries I paid heaps for and
everything else has at the very least been acceptable considering the price.
I think you have to play the game, buy from your local warehouse where possible & only buy when
in stock. My last order arrived in a couple of days from my local warehouse.
I'm not a fanboy of HK but so far it works for me. - John.
I can't speak for all their products but the gear I have bought has certainly met my expectations.
The Zippy, Turnigy & Rhino lipos have far outlived the FlightPower batteries I paid heaps for and
everything else has at the very least been acceptable considering the price.
I think you have to play the game, buy from your local warehouse where possible & only buy when
in stock. My last order arrived in a couple of days from my local warehouse.
I'm not a fanboy of HK but so far it works for me. - John.
08-08-2014, 02:12 AM
#42
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Hey Pete.....Join the club. I also ordered batteries about 4 months ago and they never arrived. $80 bucks down the drain.
I'LL NEVER BUY FROM HOBBY KING EVER.
There must be a big basket full of hobby King products at a customs location somewhere.
I'LL NEVER BUY FROM HOBBY KING EVER.
There must be a big basket full of hobby King products at a customs location somewhere.
08-08-2014, 02:19 AM
#43
Plus 1 on using an AMEX card. Any dispute results in a credit to your account. That said, I buy all my batteries from HK and have never had any problems over a 5 plus year timeframe. I use the USA warehouse whenever possible. In all fairness, I have never purchased an airplane from them so that might be a different situation.
Last edited by Lifer; 08-08-2014 at 09:36 AM.
08-08-2014, 06:47 AM
#46
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Why do people buy from HK? - Low Price is probably 95% the reason. I do it all the time. When I can buy a Turnigy Battery for less than 1/2 of almost any other store why not? I have top dollar batteries that I put in the same plane as the Turnigy and I can't see any difference. I may see it in the life of the battery but they have lasted 3 years now.
I am lucky and haven't had any problems other than I ordered from the Malaysia or wherever it is warehouse and it took 40 days. I was stupid and didn't read the location so that was my fault. I received everything I ordered and it was all in perfect shape so I can't complain. I normally order fro USA warehouse only.
People say HK is the PROBLEM with this industry. I say the problem with this industry is companies charging high dollar amounts and "claiming" their product is superior when in fact it is very similar to the low cost items. I understand they are free to charge what they want and I can chose not to purchase from them but if they were really a good company they would offer a good product at a good price. The problem with many items in this industry is that there is no way to know for sure if it is superior or not so until you have some experience using a product you don't know which to purchase.
Just my 2 cents
Keith
I am lucky and haven't had any problems other than I ordered from the Malaysia or wherever it is warehouse and it took 40 days. I was stupid and didn't read the location so that was my fault. I received everything I ordered and it was all in perfect shape so I can't complain. I normally order fro USA warehouse only.
People say HK is the PROBLEM with this industry. I say the problem with this industry is companies charging high dollar amounts and "claiming" their product is superior when in fact it is very similar to the low cost items. I understand they are free to charge what they want and I can chose not to purchase from them but if they were really a good company they would offer a good product at a good price. The problem with many items in this industry is that there is no way to know for sure if it is superior or not so until you have some experience using a product you don't know which to purchase.
Just my 2 cents
Keith
08-08-2014, 07:02 AM
#48
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Well I have had great success with them, I rarely order from the international warehouse but when I do I use the upgraded shipping. From the US warehouse I use priority mail. I always use paypal so I can dispute if necessary! I reccieved a puffed lipo from them a few months back, got ahold of customer service, emailed them some pictures and I had a full credit for my pack the next day! Bummer to hear of the issues we all know it's a bit of risk ordering from them but I believe the price offsets the risk. I've saved $1000's of dollars using them and have been using their batteries with great success in some pretty high stress setups and no problems!
08-08-2014, 07:22 AM
#50
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I have had hundreds of orders with Hobby King and every single one has arrived within 2 days. Their products are leaps and bounds better quality than anything I can buy anywhere else in the world - at any price. Their batteries have twice the run time of any Thunder Power and never puff, even after running them completely dead and storing them in the furnace. Their customer service is top notch, they always have everything in stock and their prices are so low, I feel like I am getting most things for free!
Just kidding! Actually I have had nothing but problems with HK shipping and product quality. I only order from them as a very last resort and I don't expect the product to work as advertised or that I will ever receive a refund for damaged or defective items. Let's face it, we order from HK because they are so cheap that it's hard to resist not taking the risk!
Just kidding! Actually I have had nothing but problems with HK shipping and product quality. I only order from them as a very last resort and I don't expect the product to work as advertised or that I will ever receive a refund for damaged or defective items. Let's face it, we order from HK because they are so cheap that it's hard to resist not taking the risk!