I buy alot of stuff from Tower Hobbies over a years time, and have always been happy with their service. Yet there is this other site which I believe to either be owned by Tower Hobbies, or directly connected somehow because they carry most of all the same products including Tower Hobbies Products, and the prices are the very same, and the items come and go out of stock at the same times. Where there is a difference is that OMNI offers FREE Shipping all the time on any orders over $100, where Tower Hobbies is $7.99 unless you belong to Super Savers Club, and then it is FREE if you order over $150. OMNI charges $5.00 on all orders under $100. The reason I bring this up is I was just in the process of ordering a a new SuperTigre 40 engine which right now are $49.99 at Tower. They are also $49.99 at OMNI. The difference is Tower wants $7.99 for shipping and OMNI wants $5.00. Thats a savings of $3.00 which don't sound like alot, but considering how much I order in a years time the savings would really add up fast. I just wanted to bring this to peoples attention who may not know, and may be looking for ways to save a few bucks off Towers Prices. Don't take me wrong, I personally think Tower has a great selection and great prices. Its just that OMNI and Tower to me seem to pretty much be one in the same. The only real difference being the savings on shipping. I think Tower has gotten so big that it is automatically embedded in peoples minds when they need something to go right to Tower and get it. If you are looking to save a couple bucks though over a years time then the best alternative would be OMNI.
[link=http://www2.omnimodels.com]OMNI MODELS[/link]

Thanks for the link... Seems like a slightly smaller, low key Tower... Looks like their product descriptions are identical...

Cheers!

Jim

Something that I thought was funny for another example is that lets say you wanted to buy the Tower Hobbies Kaos ARF. Right now it is $100 at Tower, and $100 at OMNI. OMNI offers a $10 Coupon for $100 orders right now, and Tower offers a $15 Coupon for $150 Orders. With Omni you are going to get it shipped for FREE. With Tower it is going to cost you an additional $7.99. So you can actually get the Tower Hobbies Kaos shipped to your door cheaper from OMNI than you can Tower Hobbies. It would be $90 shipped to your door from OMNI, and it would be $107.99 shipped to your door from Tower Hobbies. That leaves a difference of $18 to spend on something else.

Where I can see Tower Offering the better price is on very large orders where at times they offer $30-$40 coupons off larger orders. From where I sit, it looks like OMNI will be the better deal on $100 and under orders.

Just something to think about..................

Thanks for the info Ray.

thanks for all the info! i usually place orders of under 100. so this will help a lot in the long run

Tower and Omni are one and the same. They are just different sales strategies from the same company.

That Mahomet, IL is just the first exit west of town on the interstate. It's just a P.O.Box. There's nothing there but a little general store type post office.

If you look at the contact phone numbers for support, they are the same as Tower.

Enjoy,

Jim

yup, registered under the same IP ( see www.coolwhois.com ) and all that. But if one is cheaper, hey!! Sweet!!


Ray out

Thankx for the heads up Ray! Just for info, I am in Canada and found out that TH has a $17.00 US shipping charge for anything to Canada. Doesn't matter how big the order is. If you have a large order then it might be ok, but if you just want a few small parts the $17.00 is just gouging! [>:] Found this out the hard way. Maybe Omni will be better, will check them out. [8D]

I've ordered quite a few things from Omni. Same great service after the sale.

I was told one time the the gentleman who set up tower hobbies ended up laeving there and started his own company and called it omni models. Well it was doing so well that tower bought him out. And once again he started another business this time it is Quantum models. He also offers free shipping over 100 dollars and is very quick to ship.

Omni Models
207.97.211.130 corp1.hobbico.com
Phone# 217-398-7738

Tower Hobbies
207.97.211.130 corp1.hobbico.com
Phone# 217-398-3636

Not a seperate company at all. The websites resolve to the same destination!! I feel so used.....

I think the captain is halfright yes the owner of quantummodels (www.quantummodels.com) whose services is very good and I use a lot, started OMNI models after being a key player in tower hobbies success. Omni models was doing so well that Tower bought it from him and now he has its own.. quantum[8D]

So yes Omni and Tower are the same, however if due to marketing strategy it is cheaper for things under $100 I am all for it

I don't believe you guys at all about all this Omni vs. Tower stuff. I'm going to have to place an order with Omni to test it.

The one thing Omni doesn't offer that Tower does is the Parts Express rate where small items are only charged $3.99 shipping. You can have a big order and as long as it is made up entirely of Parts Express items, shipping will be only $3.99. Nice feature for those of us who live in the sticks without a LHS and need some clevises or tubing now and then.

I guess the best thing to do is check out both sites before you order something, and figure out from which you can get the best deal once coupons and shipping are figured in. Just a way for a guy to maybe save a couple bucks between two websites that by the looks are actually one in the same. So its not like you are taking your business elsewhere if you really like Tower. I just like to find ways here and there to save a little money that can be put towards more Airplane stuff, and get the most bang for the buck!

I can tell you that my customer number is exaclty the same whether I order from Tower or Omni, and if I order something from Omni and have it shipped second or next day air, the box has a sticker on it that says it's for a Tower Hobbies Super Saver, or something of the like.

T.

I just priced a Kokam 3 cell 1500 ma li-poly battery.

Omni price: $37.99

Tower price: 42.99

That's a $5.00 difference.

I know where I'm going.