Is it just me or does anyone else ever feel the same way.

I have been using TH for years, from boats to cars to planes and now helis, I can't count how much of my money has gone to tower hobbies. Lately though, I find myself using them less and less and every time I do I see why.

My main gripes -

1. Their shipping options aren't that good and they are overpriced. 9.00 or so for ups ground so I can know where my package is. They need to offer USPS services. I do a lot more business with amainhobbies.com, cost is 6 bucks to get priority. With priority my shipment takes 2-3 days. I can order by tuesday (sometimes wednesday) and still have it for the weekend. With Tower, I placed an order for a heli-max blade balancer on monday. I checked the status today and it still hasn't shipped. Site says please allow 48 hours for shipping. Then, its coming ups ground so I ought to be lucky if I see it halfway through next week.

2. TH kills me with their packaging. No wonder it takes so long, they probably have to cut down 1,000 acres of trees just to send me 1 pack of wheel collars. I swear, I ordered collars and they came in a box! There were coupon books (which I never use because they usually are coupons for stuff nobody wants) and all kinds of other paper junk. I'm no tree hugger but c'mon this type of operation the world over is why we have these problems. Put my crap in an envelope and send it on. Don't give me a whole bunch of junk that I will never look at and have to toss in a landfill.

3. Their rebates. While I like the idea, they always try and scam you in with this hurry up offer ends soon junk and then you see ok, if I spend 300 bucks I will save 20. Geez, thats great. Go check out one of the other hobby sites and you can probably get the same item for the discounted price (and save on shipping, trees and cash).

4. Selection. Great with cars/airplanes/supplies but pretty poor when it comes to helicopters. They used to carry the kyosho stuff but can't even find that with them anymore. If you don't want a heli-max you are in trouble if you want to shop at tower. Hmm, wait, they do have century. So I guess you get your choice of the kinetic or the kinetic, correction hawk.

Done ranting, just irks me that I ordered monday (yah about 3:00) and here it is thursday and it says its being picked and pulled.

try these 2 guys,,, both offer post office shipping,,, send out the same day if you order early in the day.. or they will ship out next day.. the shipping prices for small orders is around 4-5 bucks.. and both guys are real good to deal with. also,,mike from ushobbysupply lives in this forum and is always here to answer your questions even if you not one of his customers.

the other guy mike from kaplanes is just as nice but he is noy on here as often but will answer all your emails very quickly..


[link=http://www.ushobbysupply.com/]http://www.ushobbysupply.com/[/link] guys name is mike..


[link=http://ka-planes.com/]http://ka-planes.com/[/link] mike also,,

by the way,,, my parts are always in my hands 2 days after the order is placed. jake.

Been using them since 1996, love them....

Who else is there that has been around that long and do the consistant good job they do? Quit whinning...

I haven't dealt with Tower Hobbies much but here are some other heli sites you can look at:

www.heliproz.com (Deal with heli's only)
www.southeastrc.com
www.rcheli.com (This site used to be Ricks R/C which is closed at the time being, but should be reopening under a new name fairly soon, they also deal with only heli's)
www.onlyraptors.com (for Thunder Tiger Raptor helis only)

How about a local hobby shop, I will drive 50 miles or more to get hobby stuff but it is worth it . IF we don't stop all this crap with buying everthing online just to save a little time and money ,we wont have any good hobby shops to go to . I have many friends that only go to the hobby shop to pick up fuel. I go to check the hot new products and pick the brians of the experts and I enjoy seeing stuff befor I buy it , to make sure it did not get damaged in shipping or just to make sure its what I thought it was . I don't buy anything online unless I can't get the product anywhere else. I don't know, just my two cents

Evan,

Didn't say they weren't cosistent, because they are....consistently slow, consistently overpriced for shipping charges (probably because they put a little package of screws in a big box with 7 coupon books).

They are good for a lot of stuff because they are like the Wal-mart of hobby stores. I ain't the only one who has ever felt the same way surely so if I feel like whining within the rules of the forum I suppose thats my choice. Also suppose it's yours to tell me to "quit it" but that doesn't mean I have to.

I have heard alot of good about Mike from UShobby and next time I look for something I will give him a ring.

I never thought I would praise the USPS but shipping priority seems a load better to me than ups ground lately.

Ace,

I love the LHS and I go there for everything I can get. The older guys are full of stories/knowledge and I usually end up spending an hour in the store just talking. If they don't have exactly what I am looking for they are great for trying to find another way. Heli's aren't so big at the store though so unless you want a blade you are out of luck.

I feel the same way though about supporting them if at all possible, the internet has sure made it tough for them.

redvetr1000, I agree with what you sayabout the Walmart of R/C. Personally I don't find them slow, their ground delivery makes it to me in 3-4 working days and they have faster service if you pay for it. I take advantage of their free shipping because I wait and order more than $150. Yes there are other on-line and mail order vendors ( I started using Tower way before there was on-line ordering and personal computers) that are faster and have cheaper shipping (I'm amazed that United Hobby gets me stuff in 4 or 5 days from China) but there are a lot worse. Tower also has about the best returns policy, I've never had them say they won't take something back.

As far as whining, the quit whining was tounge in check because we all need to know when a vendor or person does something wrong or good and with out it this forum would be a boring place.

I don't want to get going on UPS, suffice it to say that their service for me has been absolutely horrible the last year or so, boxes left in the middle of the lawn, ripped open, missing stuff, and the drivers don't care at all and just say they got it like that.... See I can whine too....

Hey your name redvtr1000, what's that for a Corvette?

I've never used Tower before but don't get me started on UPS.... I refuse to shop anywhere that doesn't ship USPS so maybe that's why I've never used Tower.

I dont think we see the other side of the price tags at our LHS, they have to pay the, heat ,elec, rent,tax,phone, alos a certain % for use of credit cards and returns if they dont give store credit, paycheck to some that knows the hobby.
Dont get me wrong i will support when i can but sometimes the LHS gest cocky because they know you have to wait to get items shipped to you. We are all consumers and we want the best deal for our hard earned money.

The redvtr1000 is for my bike. I own a 98 model honda vtr1000 bike that has been prettied up fairly well. Usually, it snags up all my hobby money but with the new job I haven't had much time for it. Plus coming in to sit at an office smelling like high octane fuel and castor oil is probably not the best thing.

The bike is on the cover of the 08 heels n' wheels calendar, (not one like it, it is actually my bike). I bought it a while back and have loved it ever since, owned more than a few of the rice rockets and this thing is a big difference. Rides like a superbike (at least for my skill level) but feels like it has a 454 stuffed in it.

Its a V-twin 1000cc bike, aftermarket pipes, rearsets, custom paint, timing work. Have a look.
http://www.calendars.com/xq/asp/PID....qx/product.htm

If that doesn't work go to calendars.com and type a search up for heels & wheels. Its the red honda with the hot blonde bent over it

Part of the enjoyment for me is meeting the folks that have been doing this for a long time so I usually get whatever I can from the LHS. That means I buy a decent amount of supplies (glues, balsa, CF rod, hardware, etc) from them but considering they don't carry parts for what I fly, I am out of luck.

The store here in peachtree city is run by a couple older gentleman that are great for advice and info as to how to solve a problem...I was about to go down there and ask him to hold a deans plug for me while I soldered (left my helping hands at the other house) and they probably would have been happy to do so.

Most of the hobby stores I go to are this way but I have been to the "other" type as well. One hobby store near my home city I no longer go to because I hate feeling like I am in an antiques store.

The guy seemed nice enough at first and I had probably bought parts from him 20 times for my axe but the last time I went in became just that, the "last" time.

The owner was talking with another customer so we wandered around looking. My bro picked up a blade cx off the shelf (guy has models built and setup all over so people can see what they are buying rather than look at a box) and all of a sudden the owner stops his conversation and drops the "hey! be careful with that, its my demo and I don't want it broken"

Now, I can understand if it was kids playing around in the store, but I'm almost 30 and my brother is definitely no child either so I don't want somebody talking to us as if we were. If you don't want someone to touch your model then it shouldn't be on the shelf in plain view where it can be touched (hang it from the cieling or keep it behind the counter but don't put them out there as if you want folks to check them out). It's not like it was a .30 or larger heli.

So, my bro says to the guy: Well, I guess I won't be buying one of those then if it is going to break by me just touching it I certainly wouldn't want to try flying it. The owner has some other smartass remark and I bought the one item I "needed" put the rest of the stuff I was going to buy back on the shelf and we left.

I don't like that kind of environment for a LHS and know I have seen it in more than a few of em....walk around getting watched as if you are about to steal or break something. Surely, not always without reason as it happens without a doubt but a simple "I don't mind you handling the models but please be careful and if you break it you bought it" would be fine. Watching me like a hawk and scolding people is a sure way to lose business to the online guys.