RE: Sniper service?
 

Ill have to add my experience with ebay once lol

Ive used it hundreds of times and had no problems but thiers allways one....... once i brought a plane ready built and ready to go from a guy, waited about 4 weeks for it to come and when it finially did he used a saw and cut the wings in half, the front and the back of the fusulage were cut off and the rudder had been cut........ i emailed him and his reaply was well it was the only way it would fit in the box...... what a moron !!!!!!!!...

So somethings are best left to get at your lhs but small things like engines etc no problem with ebay :)

RE: Sniper service?
 

Ebay is always in a cloud of bad story's, if i buy any rc kit its from one of 5! Lhs within 5 mile radius! (doing my best to keep em all alive:)). When i spend cash i like to see, touch, feel, and inspect the item, no way could i buy it blind from ebay. I remember going to our Lhs when i was a kid with my dad, it was a small shop stuffed with planes ect it had a strong smell of glow fuel to it!, and was a special place for me.We used to spend hours in there chatting to other pilots, sharing idea's, hatching crazy plane plans!!!.When you go to your Lhs your getting allot more than the product.
If you do all your buying online your missing part of the rc deal;)

RE: E-BAY
 

I want to answer a few of the questions that are here. One I will match any price within reason if it is paid in advance. Two,I will order any product you ask for and will check to make sure it's in stock before taking your money. This is what I offer in my store, I build my planes here in front of everybody. New people can watch and learn, old flyers can tell me want I'm doing wrong.
My work shop is open to anybody that needs help on a plane 5 days a week. I fly what I sell. I also have room in the store so that the flyers can spend the rainy days here telling us how good they are. Lastly, my store was robbed last spring of over 20,000 and the police told me that because of E-Bay and places like them my stuff is already sold. So the next time you see a item $100 cheaper wonder why. And I am and the internet. Dadstoysbg.com
Thanks and anyone is welcome to come and drink coffee with me a talk planes, you don't have to spend any money to do that. Try that on E-Bay. Dennis

RE: E-BAY
 

One answer: The RC Universer Marketplace

http://www.rcuniverse.com/market

5000 new items by serious RC'ers every month. The junk is the exception and not the rule here thanks to our marketplace moderators.

marc

RE: E-BAY
 

Amen RCadmin.

I purchased some excellent products from fellow RCers here, and each time the product was as advertised. Some sellers also "kick in" additional items.

Lew

RE: E-BAY
 

I wish you where in my town!
I do have a fair hobby shop near me but they do not offer what you have.

RE: Sniper service?
 

I would trust RC Universe Market way before anything on Ebay. No offense to those of you that swear by Ebay, but you often get what you paid for, and in some cases, pay way more than what you got. Stick with those that know the business, stick with RCU Market. You won't go wrong with RC products.

As for the other junk available on Ebay, well, in my opinion, and I've use Ebay a few times and gotten burned, an awful lot of it is exactly that. You can get lucky as some people have advertised, but you don't hear about the many people that get the shaft because that's not good for Ebay.

Nope, sorry, but I'll stick with RC Universe Market for my RC products, and the retail stores for my other needs. I want to hold it in my hand before I buy it.

DS.

RE: Sniper service?
 

I've been with eBay since before they went public (whew a looong time ago) have baught and sold thousands of times and have been dissapointed only two or three times. each time some resolution has been received through PayPal or persuasive emails from me. Aside from a trailer I just purchased it's all been good.

I also used to own a LHS and can really sympathise with dadstoys. I sold mine in 1999 JUST in time as far as I was concerned. It's now closed.
Mailorder was my thorn, I should feel lucky huh, I offered inhouse service on everything I sold as well as most things purchased elsewhere, I had hundreds of square feet of building space for modelers to use for free with free access to tools and discounts to club and AMA members. We would order anything without a deposit and usually have it within 3-4 days, if it was an item we didnt stock I would sell at a steep discount. We offered Customer appreciation nights twice a year. We normaly closed at 7pm. we would mail letters to loyal custromers and club members and anyone that signed our guest book or wish list. We would then re-open at 9pm on friday and stay open untill 12am. You had to present your ..... you know - I'm going to start a new thread about what LHS can do for you and ask for feedback from modeleres about what would really make a difference.

Babble mode off - return to topic=true

As I said I am a longtime member of ebay but am finding that sites such as RCU's marketplace is (mostly) offereing easier to find items and better prices.

RE: Sniper service?
 

That's basically what our local hobby shop is like, well, one of them anyway. He trys to get us whatever we need, that is if he does not have it in stock, and he keeps a pretty good stock on hand, and usually will match or even beat the mail order houses. Even if he didn't, I would go there for most of my RC needs. I believe in supporting the local hobby shop. After all, what would you do if they were not there? Depend on mail order or take your chances on Ebay.

As for Ebay, I once heard that you had to be EBay savy to make sure you were not getting the shaft. Well, to tell you the truth, I would prefer not to be savy and just go to my LHS where I don't have to confront people just to get what I paid for or paid for what I sent out. It just ain't worth it to me. And I don't intend to even try to get Ebay savy cuz I don't intend to ever use it again. I've learned my lesson. I've been called names just for asking for my money! I made the mistake of sending the item before getting paid. Then, I had to involve a mediator to get my stinking $200 bucks from someone that "bought" the item and turned around and sold it for a profit, then had the nerve to list me as undesirable because I asked for my money. Nope. It's just not worth it.

DS.

RE: Sniper service?
 

Yeah, yeah Dick. I always suspected that about you. Sell something and right away you expect to get paid. How inconsiderate can you get? Sheesh![:@]

RE: Sniper service?
 

When you own a LHS. I get too see a lot of E-bay stuff come thru here. The kids bring their cars to me because something is wrong and after i give them the parts list they go out very unhappy. That $50 car that only had "3 tanks of fuel" needs a lot of work. Or the guy that buys a used radio that wants me to teach him to program it. For free of course. Or the man that thought that he saved $75 dollars on a trainer outfit, finds out the radio is wind band the engine is locked up and the batteries are dead. what can i say "buyer beware". Dennis

RE: Sniper service?
 

I've only bought a few things on EBAY and they were no longer available retail ANYWHERE. I always lucked out and did well. 2 NIB engines and 2 kits.

RE: Sniper service?
 

Ha... Bruce, all I can say is that it was partially my fault for being trustful. Lesson learned, I guess. I've dealt with several bidders and dealers on RCU and have never gotten burned. All products were as advertized and I was totally happy with what I got. I sold one item and that turned out to be an added friendship as a bonus. The guy turned out to be a retired Navy Warrant Officer. Small world. We've kept in touch since.

Aaaaanyway, we all have our preferences and choose to do as we please. I seem to crash and burn more foamies than I care to admit.. but again, we choose to do as we please.....[sm=bananahead.gif] and in some cases, we end up with an awful lot of scrap. [:@] Wanna buy a motor and ESC? [:o] ha.. perhaps I can sell them on Ebay.. oops.. I mean RCU!!!! :D:D:D

Later.

Dick

RE: Sniper service?
 

Sorry, I don't do electric.[:@]

RE: Sniper service?
 

I find it alot of the times when I watch a item and it sells for more than retail on ebay, there are other items close to the same or better that people either overlook or have already purchased and don't need, if you are willing to wait and not into impulse buying then you will find some good deals, it helps to know the retail price before hand so you are not spending stupid money.
I think its unfair to label people who want to save $$ by shopping arround, there are many deals to be had through the LHS,on line shopping such as tower hobbies and there deal structure, or ebay, the key is shopping smart as is well documented in this thread there is plenty of junk to buy out there its finding the quality items thats half the fun.
and saving a few $$ doesn't hurt either

RE: Sniper service?
 

My wife and I have bought and sold a good bit (several hundred transactions) on ebaY and have had one or two things that didn't work out well. Most people are as honest as they can manage.:eek:. We have bought and sold stuff all over the world with no problem. We use PayPal and like the convenience of quick pay in both directions. I figured our ebaY and PayPal costs to be 13% and 11% of the gross sales the last two years. Better than an antique mall where you pay rent, the owners get 10%, and you don't make table.

As far as bidding, I bid what I am willing to pay and get on with my life. if I don't get something I bid on; well, I have too much stuff already.;)

I buy model airplane stuff, and have built and flown models for some 60 years, so I can deal with something that is not exactly right. I'm fine, but I would not advise a beginner to buy stuff off ebaY. Beginner is much better off with LHS, Tower, etc.

RE: Sniper service?
 

I've bought and sold a few items on ebay. Over the last year I've picked up the kits which are no longer in production, ie. Jemco's, Kraftkit, Tower Hobbies Koas kit, and a Tower Hobbies Koas 40 ARF ($75.00 ) for less than Tower's best price of $95.00. Engines, radio and servos, fuel, balsa, miscellanous items, covering, paint, etc are supported by the LHS.