Companies pumping their own stock values on an overall scale is a myth. Economy being good does not mean everyone is doing well.. it is an overall generalization. I personally fared better under a slower moving economy over the fast paced market this year. The hedge fund and equity guys getting hammered is because excessive greed and wanting faster bigger profits, taking greater risks. Consumers do the same by buying what they cant afford, or can barely afford payments on. I do think this whole cheap credit thing is a big problem in itself though, and consumer and lender equally to blame. I have learned to only buy if i can buy with cash and that means what i can afford with cash. Of course that does not contribute to speeding the economy up.

SO back to these hobby distributors. They got greedy trying to keep high margins, limiting their re-sellers, etc ... If Hobbico and Horizon were so good in penetrating the "rc" market, a lot of the prospering drone manufacturers would be relying on them for distribution ... but why would they when they can go to Best Buy and other big name stores directly. Most of the mainstream hobby grade RC gear is seriously overpriced and inflated compared to the development and manufacturing costs ... it is a downward spiral unfortunately .. AMA is a pathetic joke lately grasping at straws and kissing up to a market that does not care about them also. I don't see an RC hobby renaissance any time soon unfortunately. Kids AND ADULTS these days cant even glue two pieces of wood together for the life of them.

So my son was turned off from RC by the "social" challenges of the hobby, lol .. He was never mechanically inclined however before, and had me a little concerned he was too "digitally" inclined. Well, he dunked his dirt-bike in some mud and needed to fix it . He went from knowing nothing to rebuilding his whole top end, rebuilding a carb, redoing the valves, upgrading some suspension parts, etc , etc .. It was enough that I trusted him to do a whole exhaust job with me on one of my cars, and we had a great time doing it ... oh yea, all the parts for his bike were less than 1/2 of what servos for one of my jets cost .. less than a decent foamy. So tell me what hobby is he going to continue with ? Sadly, my direction had been similar .. and I say sadly, because I do miss flying as mush as I used to ( and I miss the friends unexpectedly lost over the years also )