ORIGINAL: SMOKEFAN
Im pretty sure Ace has been profitable over the years.......why else would Tower purchase them??
In my Professional business opinion it makes better sense to not even post a price for the 2 weeks ( If thats whats going on ) Rather then post a price WAY out of the ballpark and push people another direction or to another supplier.
150.00 - 20% is not even close to the 100.00 shipped I just paid to get it to my door. Not to mention the cost of the super saver BS, in the end your still paying 140.00 bux for it if you factor in the SS program which is bogus.
I do hope the price comes down and we are luck enough to see it on easy pay to.
Tower/Hobbico didn't purchase Ace Hobby, Thunder Tiger owned Ace Hobby and closed them down because Thunder Tiger can make more money letting Hobbico distribute for them rather than running Ace Hobby as their own distributor.
Temporarily jacking up the prices has all of you scrambling to buy engines from Ace's resellers that have inventory in stock. Perhaps this was intentional, so folks who won't be reselling Thunder Tiger in the future won't get stuck with inventory.
If Hobbico does have to raise street prices because Ace had been dumping product simply to keep it moving, the $119.99 price you'll be seeing next month for the Pro .46 will look a lot better after seeing $149.99 up on the web site for a little while. We just have to wait and see where Tower decides to set pricing once the big move is complete
If you didn't like Tower Hobbies before, you probably won't like Tower Hobbies in the future, either. You can call the Super Saver Club "BS" if you want to, the fact remains that joining it is the quickest way to save money if you frequently purchase hobby items. I combine orders with my friends so we always get the maximum discounts and free shipping. Tower is always well stocked, their website is very accurate, and they almost never mess up an order. I like shopping with them.
One of the largest RC product manufacturers on Earth is signing a huge new distribution deal with another one of largest RC products manufacturers on Earth. This deal is going to have a significant impact on how RC hobby products are distributed throughout most of the Western Hemisphere. It's a big, scary change. The only folks who like change are babies with wet diapers, and even they still cry about it.
Hobbico partnering with Thunder Tiger is going to make both companies stronger.