Army Retired

Newly rejoined the RC hobby. Needed to get some replacement LiPO batteries for a 12 year old plane. Ordered a couple of batteries from Hobbyking back in mid May. They showed up way earlier than expected and work great. Only problem is I discovered two batteries isn’t enough to fly like I was used to back in the gas and go days.

So…I opted to order three more batteries from Hobbyking. That was May 31st. Order shows “complete” on June 1st. The tracking showed (and still shows) “USPS awaiting item”. I sent an online inquiry after 1 week, no response. I did a chat session after 2 weeks, they said they needed to do an investigation to see what happened…check back in a few days to see an updated status. At least they emailed me a chat transcript. No change to status after a few days. Chatted again yesterday and the “person” stated an investigation was started, but they had to wait until it concluded before they could remedy anything. I said “So, let me get this straight…I order something from you on the 31st of May and the order is screwed up through no fault of my own. I have to wait until you guys figure out how you or the USPS messed it up before you will decide what to do about it? Did I sum this up correctly?” I then asked for a refund. The reply was they couldn’t do that until after the investigation concluded. Pfffft. Rant off.

Is this the current state of the RC hobby? Did I just get one of those rare situations? I know I’m just venting and ranting, but it’s irritating.

What are the good vendors these days. I live too far from a local hobby shop to go that route.

init4fun

Hi Army Retired,

If you want to know what's up with HK, do a google search of "HobbyKing complaints" and read a few of the many complaints that search comes up with. Sure they're way less expensive than the "good vendors" , but this comes at the expense of what your dealing with now. Right now, to the best of my knowledge, Horizon Hobby is pretty much the top vendor, but as we all know from the old saying; "Good, Fast, Cheap, you only get to pick two" , well Horizon is good & fast, so you know right off it ain't gonna be cheap

Dumbthumbs67

Init4fun just hit the nail on the head perfectly.

Henpecked

Look up rcbattery.com in the battery forum of rcgroups. People are having pretty decent luck with these.... maybe. You're the decider. Also CNHL perhaps. HobbyKing is struggling. Wish they weren't.

Army Retired

I’ve ordered quite a few batteries from RCBattery.com after Hobbyking screwed me over. Still no resolution from Hobbyking. I paid them with PayPal, so getting a refund isn’t as straight forward as when using a CC.

2W0EPI

I logged on to Hobbyking a day previous to this reply, went through the motions of check out and noticed vat and import duties to be added to the final sum of money, I rejected it from this point.What I normally do with a new company dealings is first order, spend $10 with them and see what gives?.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

If you're in the EU aren't they required to charge that?

Just like if I order I pay FL state sales tax.

2W0EPI

That's the problem, I am in the UK and rather stupidly the British people voted to be outside the EU as an independent country.

I notice there is a EU rc company which is alot cheaper, better stocked and if you live EU you pay no penalties, they have and sell engines which I drool over.

Army Retired

I just contacted HK again today...still no resolution of the "investigation". It's easy, either the warehouse lost my order or USPS lost my order. Nothing to do with me. The person on live chat said it will be resolved by 15 July. I'll report back on what they come up with.

Army Retired

Exactly 1.5 months after I ordered them, three 3S batteries finally showed up today from Hobbyking. Of course I’d long replaced them from RCBatteries. Now I’ve got enough batteries to fly my little 39” Edge 540 for quite a while.

2W0EPI

Please be not angry but, let that be a lesson!, don't place internet orders outside the USA, otherwise you are at risk paying higher prices or long delays for yourself..I would say you have got off lightly considering the circumstances..

acdii

Being that HK is a Chinese owned company, with US warehouses, all dealings are directly with China. Whenever I ordered from them I got an overseas fee on my account even though I ordered from a US warehouse. Anything that comes from China from HK will be on a slow boat, something one needs to keep in mind when they order from HK. Some of what they sell, they are the only vendor, like the Orange RX. Those cheap little RX are some of the most reliable ones I have, only had one fail, and that was out of the box, kept dropping bind, but for the $8 it costs, I'm ok with it. I have a dozen and they have been more reliable over the years than the Spektrum RX. So when I order, I have no expectations on delivery, I just sit back and wait and never buy anything that I need right now since I wont get them. Oh, their covering is also some of the best I worked with. It's nearly identical to Oracover, and blows Monojoke away. It is also wider and longer rolls. I bought enough to fully cover a Rascal 168 for less than $40. I also bought a few rolls of red white and blue to recover my Chipmunk and it came out excellent.

Their customer service though, you get what you pay for.

Joseph Frost

After 12 years of dealing with them I never had any complaints but for the last six month or close I had more than enough! They are not only responsible for closing most of the good old RC shops, but now going bust themselfs, serves them right!
They won't see a single buk of my pocket money anymore, after yesty's attempt to buy few items, finito, basta!

larry@coyotenet

My Feedback: (21)

Hobby King is owned out of Australia

Joseph Frost

So what that got to do with the price of the fish on the market?

Oldsalt1

I have been shopping with both Tower/Hobbico and HK for several years now, since my favorite local hobby shop closed. Since HK now has a US warehouse, I usually only shop for deals using the US only shopping cue. Most of those orders I receive in a few days. Since overseas suppliers have the slow boat from China syndrome coupled with the possibility that US customs may want to x-ray or open and inspect "suspicious" packages, those orders normally take a few weeks. God, forbid you screw up and forget to notice the item you order from HK is on back order, in that case, you succumb to the dreaded "month or more wait time".
With good old Tower, if it is in stock and you are a member and order above the min, you get free shipping, but they charge tax, which HK does not charge us here in Texas. HK free shipping is lower for the US warehouse than for overseas by a long shot. Recently HK moved their warehouse and did a closeout on many needful hobby items. I actually got two 32cc gas engines for $99 each which was half priced and several decent electric motors for 30% of their standard price, which was about 10% of Towers price for comparable sizes. It really pays to shop frequently. Tower runs coupons from time to time and if you are a super saver member, even sends emails for those coupons. For example, I bought a DLE 20 with the coupon discount for $207 including tax recently. The coupons can't be used for everything, like Saito engines, but most ARF and other engines are discounted. If you are an old retiree like me, I appreciate being able to enjoy our hobby for a little less money.