nitrosportsandrunner

Not long ago I emailed a Redcat rep and was told that they are trying to shift the majority of their dealer's to Amazon, as opposed to ebay.

This makes no sense to me. But, I buy 95% of my parts off ebay....maybe 4% from LHS and 1% from amazon.

Part of the reason I don't use amazon much is that the times I have looked parts (and especially models) seem to cost more. There are RC items overpriced on both sites, but I seem to find it easier to sort out the overpriced stuff on ebay. I can list about 6-8 ebay sellers who are top notch RC dealers.

I have also ordered a wheely king off amazon once, and the seller took 7 days before shipping it!

Some stuff that actually gets boxed and shipped by amazon arrives very fast. But most of the RC stuff is boxed and shipped from some LHS or some guy's garage. This is also true of ebay, but there are plenty of solid ebay sellers who sell just RC stuff and who I have found to be very reliable.

I did try (very briefly) to sell on amazon and found it very confusing. The setup didn't seem to make as much sense. But, I didn't try that hard and it did take me a bit of work to make good ads on ebay as well. Amazon just seemed harder. And while ebay fees are crazy, amazon's seemed just as bad (if not worse)

Do any of you guys shop on amazon for your RC stuff? If so, why? Because the only reason I ever have is due to having a amazon credit card

RustyUs

99% of parts for my RC cars are from eBay. Even big name hobby shops (i.e. Tower Hobbies sister company Omni Models) sell on eBay. Amazon is more for people who don't trust eBay. I think that's what I'm trying to say. As far as the fees go...I think eBay is fair...Amazon is getting greedy along with raising the free shipping minimum. But, where else you gonna let the whole world see what you got to sell? My wife used eBay to sell baby/kids clothes after seeing she got a lot more money selling on eBay than at "yard sales".

But the fun is using eBay as what it was first designed for...auctions!

It all comes down to ease of shopping nowadays. Sit at home; watching the game; click the "confirm order" button...item is on it's way to your doorstep. That's the only way I like to shop. It's cheaper than getting into your car and running to the store for the item (unless you need it right now).

nitrosportsandrunner

I would think a larger majority of RC guys buy off of ebay rather than amazon.

The only 2 reasons I can think redcat would want more sales on amazon are
1) maybe they think more of their target consumer will shop on amazon? They do target the "newb" and maybe they figure more of them will shop amazon for a rc rather than ebay?
2) maybe they thing switching to amazon will help weed out some of the less desirable dealers. There are certainly some redcat dealers that have not helped redcat's rep. I am not saying they don't deserve some of their bad rep, they do have some models that have poor design or bad choice of materials used. But Ive heard more than a few horror stories of people who bought from a dealer, had an issue right away and the dealer wouldn't stand behind the product or try to help the customer. Since redcat as a brand attracts many new to the hobby, as a redcat dealer you do have to spend more time helping to educate the customer than you normally would.

in the end, I don't care as long as I can still find the redcat stuff I want on ebay. for the buyer, ebay is great. Even if you buy a brand new nitro rc, run it for 5 minutes you can put it back in the box and tell ebay it didn't work and you will get your money back, less shipping costs....no hassles.

1QwkSport2.5r

I buy most of my RC parts and related stuff from my good 'ole hobby shop. Their prices are better than some online retailers and they almost always have what I need in stock. To add, the LHS is about 3/4mile from where I work. The only things I order online are my nitromethane and oil for making fuel, and glow plugs. I usually get my stuff through Amazon, sometimes I get lucky and I get prime shipping. I'm not a fan of buying stuff from Ebay, at least on auction. There seems to always be those pesky bidders with asterisks in their names that overbid on something and get the price too high to be realistic or a "deal".

nitrosportsandrunner

I also do not often buy Auction ads on ebay. 95% of what I buy on ebay is BIN ads.

I certainly would do more of my buying if the hobby shop were closer. But way up here in maine, the hobby shops' prices are not always the best. I can often save $5-$15 when buying a few traxxas parts on ebay as opposed to the hobby shop. While many parts are about the same price either place, some are much higher at LHS.

Example, a set of traxxas steel output yokes on ebay, $12.50. At LHS, $19.99. Pretty much any brushed motor is $5 cheaper on ebay.
If I need stuff in a hurry, I will pay the extra but usually I can afford to wait. My hobby budget is not much, so saving $5 means I can have more fun.

tvjv2009

The ONLY reason I use Amazon is to see some reviews. 95 percent e bay. I search in the sellers store that I never have issue with first. My first RC was a redcat nitro truck. I had issues with it several times and dealt with a rep named Matt directly through redcat. After a while I got tired of replacing parts. Now I run all traxxas. I have used buytraxxas.com. Last trip to LHS cost 40 bucks for a fuel tank and 2 glow plugs. Could have e bayed under 25. My wife uses walmart.com a lot and if she needs to fill out an order to get free shipping, I can get traxxas stuff there as well!

nitrosportsandrunner

ive found it interesting that you can now have a "walmart store"
Basically, you list your items/price on ebay...someone buys and you ship item. Walmart isn't stocking the items.
You can get traxxas and redcat, and maybe a few other hobby grade brands threw walmart.com....but it is really a dealer who is selling/shipping the item to you.

I know a lot of brick/mortar hobby shops are also selling online....either a .com store or threw ebay.

I am lucky to have a LHS only 25 minutes away....a few years back the closest one was about an hour to 1.5 hours away.

But sometimes LHS is just too expensive. I get that it is hard for them to compete on some items, due to extra overhead costs (building, card machine, counter worker, ect) I think my LHS has only been able to stay in the green because they built an indoor and outdoor race tracks. Without them, I don't think they would still be open. Not only do race fees generate income, but when you break a part on race night...you don't care what it costs to get your truck back on the track!

RustyUs

Yes indeed I second that nitrosport dude.
The "brick and mortar" dudes get business from me on eBay all the time. St. Louis Rc, Phil's, ....I have no "real" hobby shop to go to around my parts.

phmaximus

The majority of stuff I order is through ebay and comes from overseas. If it wasn't for international postage.....

thehuntingterminator

I used to buy almost all of my RC stuff on ebay (new and used) and continue to be an avid ebay buyer and seller. Ebay just makes everything easy with their close relationship with paypal. Out of the 5+ years I've been buying off of ebay, I've only had a handful of bad experiences. That being said, I have moved to buying more stuff locally because of convenience if nothing else. Also, it's nice to be able to see a $125 set of aluminum crawler wheels in my hand before I shell out the cash, which just isn't possible buying online. Plus a lot of larger LHS's are now aware of online competition and will match Tower or other major retailers. So in short, I say buy local when possible, but don't kill your wallet in the process.

Ttowntoolman

I buy 95% from Tower and split the other 5% between Local Hobby Shops. I have purchased stuff from e-bay and from classifieds in the forums and generally you get hosed buying used. Never purchased on amazon for anything ever, they seem over priced. If I buy used, I can physically touch it before I buy it..........

SyCo_VeNoM

Yea I now have a 2+ hour drive to the closest LHS as the one I went to went under a few months back. Sad thing is they had a "All things must go sale", and from what I read from people (I didn't go as I had no idea till after they were closed they went under) on other forums the stuff was still more expensive then ordering online... I can easily see how the hobby shop went under they had almost no real stock seriously they had maybe 10 different paint colors on the rack. Hell only RC parts they really had were for Traxxas vehicles. They cut down on bodies from having an entire basement full of bodies for every make, and model you could imagine they went down to a rack which was mostly for traxxas... RC's they had in stock I'd say 85% were Traxxas... IMO Traxxas kinda killed them as most the people I saw shopping there usually were looking for Tamiya, Associated, HPI, OFNA, or more race orientated brands(which they USED to stock). Honestly I needed a sheet of styrene, and they had to go look originally I was told they could order it and it would be in 3 days later... So it was pretty much ALL hobby supplies they were short on.

But I digress Amazon I hate dealing with those affiliates I've had VERY bad experiences. From being sent bootlegged memory cards, and other parts to having one seller accuse me of mail fraud cause I never received my order, and the tracking info said it never even left their dock(which I found out a week later it never was even shipped). I've also had issues with Amazon themselves(bought a Sandisk SDHC card that turned out was counterfeit that Amazon themselves were selling) so I try and steer clear of them for most things unless they are the only place I could find that sells it.

pcarluvr

I consider myself lucky that I have 3 hobby shops local to where I live and work. I prefer to purchase from them. One is a franchise Hobby Town USA and the other two are family owned and operated. The two family stores will match Tower on pricing. I know I can get it cheaper on ebay or Amazon but if they are willing to match Tower, I don't see a need to shop and have them price match the lowest price, they are running a business after all. I'm old school cause I like the personal relationship with the people. Plus, this may not happen often or may not happen to most others, but if I make a mistake on the part I order online and it needs sent back or exchanged, that whole process is worth the extra money I pay to the LHS. Usually, I have models that Amazon doesn't carry so that leaves ebay when I have to.