twostroke

My Feedback: (6)

I heard a rumor that Sig is going out of business is this true?

ctdahle

What was the source of this rumour? Was it a person professionally involved in the hobby industry? If your source is not a person who is in a position to know, or the Montezuma, Iowa newspaper, then spreading this rumour, or starting it, is not a good idea. On the internet, rumours take on a life of their own and can become self fulfilling.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Why not call them and ask? You most likely will get a more direct answer than a troll here in rcu.

Dsegal

>Why not call them and ask? <

What a radical idea! Why if people actually stopped to get the facts before posting half the internet would have to shut down.

P-Y

My Feedback: (1)

However, if you go on Tower Hobbies website, all SIG plane's stock status is "Discontinued"

Kmot

My Feedback: (24)

Ah, but if you go to SIG's website they are still in stock. [sm=thumbup.gif]

Bob Yeager

My Feedback: (5)

What has RCU come to with members posting ultra radical ideas such as this? You aren't suggesting that someone actually pick up a telephone, dial it, and actually carry on a conversation with another human being? I can't imagine what off the wall stuff someone will come up with next.

weathervane

I just talked to Sig Mfg. They are NOT going out of business. Tower just decided to stop dist their product any more.
-Andrew

carrellh

If it is not a brand where Hobbico has exclusive distributorship rights, all "discontinued" means at Tower is that they have chosen to stop selling it.

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

This has been talked about in the past. Tower and Sig had a parting of ways, however Sig is still alive and well. You can order direct, your local hobby shop and other on line places. Good luck, Dave

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

To add to what Dave said. This happened about 10 years ago. Back then Sig's pricing wasn't what Tower liked so Tower didn't carry Sig for a year. The next year they all got back on the same sheet of music and Tower carried Sig again. I'm sure the same thing will happen this time around as well.

Ken

TinmanJones

if Tower decides to stop carrying a product, they should remove it from their site! It confuses alot of people to see a product "dicontinued", when in reality, it MIGHT still be available, just through a different avenue!

Hossfly

"Discontinued" at one place of business will only confuse those that have little if any understanding of the most basic marketing function. If A produces a product, then A must sell that product at some price which is above the cost of production. If A sells direct to the consumer, then the cost to the consumer will be far less than if the product travels through a distributor or series of distributors where each has to add their own profit margin to cover transportation, handling, and business profit.
Years ago, before the mass discount marketing, and almost all items being imported, the STANDARD hobby pricing was the mfger./producer sold the items to a Distributor for 40% of the suggested retail price, as advertised by the mfger./producer. The Distributor passed on the item to the retailer at 60% of the suggested retail price, and there were 2-5% discounts here and there for fast payment and such.
Things are somewhat different now, but the basics still remain. Yet, when things began to change and such mail order discounters began to get trade that was originally reserved for the local hobby shops, many LHS simply could not adept to the new marketing, and went out of business. Now, the LHS has to be competitive or maybe close up.
Some simply cannot understand that "return on investment" is a far better way to operate than the old "profit margin" method. When I owned a LHS, Mt. Prospect, IL, I found the discounters were of no significant competition. If I bought a $100 sug. retail item and paid $60, I would sell it ASAP and usually for $75. That was a return of 25% on investment. Can you get that return in the stock market on a daily/weekly? So LHS owner, sit and wait for that $40 profit margin sale and wait and wait.

So when Great "Pains", Tower, Hobbico and such states "Discontinued" then it is discontinued at their place, and not at the place of production. There are many places to shop and many good items in the markets. While the Hobbico world once ruled supreme, their kingdom does not anymore cover all regions. In this thread, I suspect SIG has to determine the advertised retail value of their products, some of which are, IMO, grossly over-priced while others are relatively very good deals. If some distributor thinks SIG has to UP the suggested retail prices so the distributor can discount and yet maintain a nice margin, then that distributor has the problem. WAY TO GO, SIG!

TinmanJones

hossfly, you nailed me at "little if any understanding of the most basic marketing function"... I've been trying to get a certian airplane for a week now... started at Tower, they show "discontinued" on the site, so I gave them a phone call... chatted with a lady for a few & she said the airplane would be back around Nov or Dec...

so I sarted searching around the net for the airplane... one site said they had the airplane in stock, which after I purchased, I learned they really didn't have it in stock & I'm STILL waiting for them to send my money back...

found ANOTHER site that said they had 100 of the airplanes in stock... instead of ordering online, I called them... I asked if they had the airplane in stock & without hesitation, the guy says yes... I tell the guy about ordering from the other site & he tells me that his comany orders directly from SIG & all their products come from the SIG warehouse...
he tells me that he wanted to double check & he would call me back!

he calls back in just a matter of minutes & tells me that the airplane is "discontinued" and won't be available till late October... not sure who he called, I'm assuming SIG...

lastnight, I went directly to sigmfg.com & ordered my airplane... today, my order status on the sig site says "order complete shipping"...

so, at this point, I'll just sit & wait to see if I REALLY get this airplane!

my fingers are crossed!

PS... please excuse any typo's... I just typed all this on my telephone! LOL
No time to proof read! :-)

Scar

My Feedback: (3)

Looks like he called Great Planes.

Sig has great prices and you can order from the website. Looks like a good place to shop. I see they offer covering (mylar, fabric, unpainted fabric), adhesives, and other neat stuff.

Dave Olson

TinmanJones

Dave, I'll remembr this when I begin the building process.

psb667

Sig imports kavan stuff on there website to its some good$&!# they sell direct the prices are reasonable the shipping is reasonable its almost like dealing with a real company

Kmot

My Feedback: (24)

Hahaha, quote of the day!

redkav

What can I say - SIG is a great company with good products fairly priced. And most important, they are a company with great people and old fahion values - hard working and honest. When I look for products, I check SIG first and will buy from them direct or preferably my local hobby shop. Only if they do not have the product I need will I look elsewhere! Proof point - I have a SIG Kavalier, Four Star 60, and Something Extra flying. I have the SIG 1/4 Scale J3 Cub, Astro Hog, 1/4 Scale Spacewalker, and Citabria still in the box and sceduled to be built over the next few years. I only have one non SIG ARF (ModelTech Lucky Stik) and one non-SIG kit in the box (Top Flite P-47). Go SIG!!

Tommygun

My Feedback: (2)

Tower used to carry all sorts of good stuff back in the day. I remember when they were the sole Kyosho distributor; now I don't know where you'd even buy Kyosho. They sold Lanier, House of Balsa, lots of building equipment. I guess they still do, but man they used to have interesting catalogs with lots of product. Now it's mostly just Great Planes/Hobbico stuff. But they do have good customer service.

Hossfly

Great "Pains" destroyed the kit manufacturers in this country by doing to them what Sears did to so many small mfg. businesses back before, during, and after WWll. They start giving them large orders, then orders that the small mfger. could not fill, then took over (purchased??) the business. In reality the small business owners allowed their GREED to take their businesses away from themselves.
I had an elderly gentleman that worked for me back in the '70s. He despised Sears, because his father kept trying to fill the Sears' orders yet he could not do so without borrowing production loans, larger and larger. Then when he was strictly a Sears producer, Sears canceled a year's orders. He had to sell out to Sears to pay his loans, some which were debts to Sears itself.

Not saying GP did that exactly, but that is how the system works. GP swallowed up every mfger available back in the '80s except for SIG, and Midwest while the greatest of all, Frank Garcher, was still alive. ( Frank was one of my exhaulted HEROES. A true modeler and businessman in every definition, he was the greatest, and he served each and every discipline of the model airplane builders and fliers. ) Of course when Frank flew west, his business was also up for grabs as heirs so frequently do.

Now since there is no competition, GP produces whatever they so desire. Strictly in my opinion having these "going out of business" rumors floating around is a very neat method to divert customers from trading directly with SIG or whomever, and may assure the customer purchases whatever the rumor-starter offers to said customer. Good plan for the ching-ching-ching!

Live Wire

Hoss
No matter how you word it it sill come out POLITICS[:@]

Old RC Aviator

My Feedback: (9)

Darn, You scared the crap out of me. Back in the day (early 70s) Sig was the first company I ever bought a piece of R/C equipment from. Over the years Glen and Hazel Sigafoose became like family at my place though I never met them. After Glen's death Hazel kept the company going and it's still where I shop for everything R/C. I can only hope that they continue the business they have maintained over these many years. Sig, you don't need Tower, You just need us.
Jay.

Live Wire

Those were the good old day MADE IN THE USA. Sig, Fox, K&B and the list could go on
Larry K

If you were in the Hobby You were Family

Nathan_L

You know why these rumors keep coming up?

Because you call SIG and they tell you it's going to be SIX MONTHS (or more) at least to get some of their most common kits out the door. Then if they actually have something you want in stock and you buy it you can't get tracking on the shipment like most of their competitors, then you get the package and half the stuff you ordered isn't there and you call them and they say "Well we figured you would figure it out when you only got half that we didn't have the other half". No, well we'll email/call you and let you know or let you know you can backorder it etc...

That's why....because people wonder how long a company can stay in business when they never have anything in stock to sale and talk about half a year OR MORE before they will have many items...not just one hot item.

Bax came on here and stated the reason Tower dropped SIG wasn't because they were a kit/arf/accessories competitor but Tower couldn't continually have items on the website that they never got in to ship out from SIG.

If you look thru RCU in the last 6 months in several sections like the clubhose and kit building there are many of these threads. These threads don't pop up with companies that are shipping product.......

Is SIG going out of business? I have no idea. Do they have a problem? I'm guessing or these threads wouldn't keep popping up.