Finding a Substitute for Hobby King

Started by CrazyPilot, June 23, 2011, 11:47:19 AM

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dheerajjuneja

Well, you can certainly try this: www.whichhobbystore.com, looks very promising to me :)


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aman1256

It has lot of products :) seem good to me.

kv10

This site is nothing but Hoax ..the owner of the site is using google adsense to earn money & nothing else...Please stop visiting that site..nothing but waste of time....

dheerajjuneja

Quote from: kv10 on November 12, 2013, 09:58:50 AM
This site is nothing but Hoax ..the owner of the site is using google adsense to earn money & nothing else...Please stop visiting that site..nothing but waste of time....

Well, as a user should I be concerned how any site makes money? As far as it even helps me a tiny bit :)


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Propfella

Sorry guys,

I just had a look at a few additions to your list and to be honest there hasn't been anything which comes close to HobbyKing. Take the example given at the top of the last page. That seller had more out of stock than in and many items were simply multiples. The figures look good but when you actually look there's not a great deal there.

This was also on a few other sites. They really look good until you actually see what they have. One site seems to somewhat unsure as to what is RC and what's Technicians tools. I'd imagine very few Rcers have storage Oscilloscopes. The fact is I didn't see anything which looked anything like HobbyKing. OK there are a number of items out of stock but remember very few businesses have room to store more than a limited supply of everything they sell.

Imagine the headache of keeping up with items going out of stock. I've never actually counted how many separate items HobbyKing sells but I'm glad I'm just a buyer and not working there. Obviously HK sources most stock from China itself. Unfortunately they don't actually make a lot of their own stock and have to rely on sometimes very small suppliers. One week they may be making say a 3560 1500kv motor. After that run of so many thousand they'll switch to a 2830 2200kv motor. And so on until they've made all of their inventory and get back to the 3560 again. Now if for some reason there has been a rush on the 2850 750kv motor the manufacturer may not be making that motor for another month so anyone wanting to buy one can't because HK has run out and so has the factory.

Imagine this happening with Flight control boards. This one is a good example. The KK2 board, exclusive to HobbyKing, no other retailer can sell it unless it's been purchased through HobbyKing. There are a group of guys in the US who purchased 400 boards a few months ago. They pooled their money and cleaned HK out. Not one member could get one. Except from these guys in the US. The cost, 3 times what anyone would normally buy it for from HobbyKing $89.00 plus, wait for it, $80.00 freight, all USD. So anyone in Australia who desperately wanted a KK2 board either had to find something else to build or pay $169.00. I quickly found something else to build. They finally came back into stock at HK's. I was at the dentist when the email came to tell me they were back in stock but by the time I got home they had all vanished, Guess who got them, yup, those pesky guys in the US and they were once again back in business.

Those sort of things are happening to a lot of fast selling items. Buyers are selling them on Ebay and making a nice little profit. But good on them for being smart. To hell with them for stopping me from finishing my quad or whatever I need the parts for. HobbyKing sell many items and if you knew what goes on behind the scenes you'd know why things just run out.

But give HK their dues, they do try to stock as much as they possibly can. How many companies do you know which don't want your or my money. Pretty much all of them I'd say. HK certainly don't want you to not buy anything. If they could get it. they'd have it. Then you could have it. I make a point of always having a few builds or projects going at once. If something I need is out of stock I leave a tick in the appropriate box and get HK to send me an email when the part arrives. In the meantime I work on something else I have the parts for.

To sum up, I really don't think there's a replacement for HobbyKing. Nobody has their range and most don't have their prices. Keep looking though, but remember to tell everyone where they are. That's the stock angle covered and the prices but the shipping, well that's another story.

Good luck with whatever you buy and from where you buy it. Happy flying.  Stu.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

dheerajjuneja

Dear,

There is no substitute for HobbyKing, i guess thats something that everyone would agree, they have done a lot to make the hobby affordable and have helped a lot of good people come to hobby (or at least show them that things can be done on a budget).

This thread however, lists websites which should be visited in case you are not happy with some of the products from HK or if they don't have some products handy when you need them.

HK has so many products, at very affordable price, however at times their quality control is questionable and then you need to look at other options, maybe the list present on this thread will help in those situations.
Let's fly!

anandp

i totally agree with @dheerajjuneja

HK has made this hobby reachable to all in the variety of budget  :thumbsup:

Propfella

I'm surprised to see the name BangGood missing from this list. I went to look at their new site and couldn't believe the range of RC gear they have. I must admit I didn't really search for such things as ESCs or motors, mainly because I was buying them from HobbyKing. I had purchased a few non-RC items from the previously, but because of the poor on-line interface I never got to see all the good bits. I ended up buying a Gimbal for my quadcopter. I checked prices and noticed HK had listed it as freight free. So was BangGood, but on just about all stock. The BangGood Gimbal was identical and just $2 cheaper. I got from BG just to see how their delivery went. I was very pleased to find it only took 10 days and it came well wrapped in it's own box, inside a box. They are cheaper on some items and a little dearer on others. The only thing I found a big difference in was their ESC. A 30 amp Simon K ESC for $14.00 you won't find on HK, but their motors are dearer.

As for service, I was impressed with their "Community" forums. If you have a problem you could get in contact with a very well spoken (well he types very good English) :) staff member. My query was answered within 10 minutes, not bad at all. They certainly seem to be trying to make a name for themselves and such things as coupons which give you discounts and never ending big discounts are everywhere. I logged on bought some 5 meter rolls of LEDs. a genuine 50% discount made me buy 2 reels.

Give them a look, it costs nothing and gives you an idea of what's happening. Personally I think they may be an answer to not having one company holding a monopoly. In my opinion monopolies are dangerous. They tend to make a retailer think they can't be bettered on price or service. So much in fact they start to take their customers for granted. A little competition keeps everyone on their toes and prices down. Our biggest danger would be to ignore any company giving HK a run for their money. Giving them a little support helps them keep their prices down due to turnover and HK will improve themselves when trying to keep their customers. At the moment I'm sorry to say I hold no loyalties to HK, mainly because of the way they've treated myself and many others. I've been buying from them for a number of years and I've seen some dirty stunts pulled on their customers.

There's plenty of room in this hobby for dealers to make a comfortable living and we definitely need more than one big supplier. Your best bet is to move around and check out as many outlets as you can. See who gives you the best service and prices, sometimes it's hard to find a good mix of the two, but remember, it's us buyers who make a successful company, plus it's us who can break them. I make it a point to find my own supplier and don't listen too much to horror stories. No business can keep all their customers happy, there's always bound to be a few with gripes. Only when it's an overwhelming majority will I take notice. At the moment I'm spreading my money around between HK and BG. Sorry Mr Hand if you listening :)   
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

aman1256

Well That's Also A Point that nothing comes close to hobbyking.com then what about www.towerhobbies.com its really good am I right???
a lot of products are available there :D
Regards,
Aman.

chintal

Tower hobbies will be costly if you include shipping and customs
Rcmumbai.com
Passion is Airborne

Propfella

Methinks too much exaggeration is going on here. Ten times the  inventory of Hobbyking. I think not. OK they do have a heck of a lot backordered but certainly not 50 % of their stock. As for a mention regarding a company named HKStreets. Who are they and where is their site? I can find them on Ebay and their stock comprises of 1.5 pages of glow plugs. I've seen no sign of them being the answer to HobbyKing. Try going to the address given www.hkstreets.com it's not a site as yet, just a name on a computer somewhere. The other example for the same person is in the UK. How can a shop in the UK, selling Chinese imports be expected to sell anything below HK's prices? I've checked their prices and their range of stock and believe me they are no where near HK on either matter. Maybe their service is better, that wouldn't really be hard to do, but definitely not a HobbyKing killer.

As yet there are no contenders for the title. I'm afraid HK has it to themselves, ....... for a while. Unless I've been living under a rock for the past five years and completely missed a company with a better range of goods and at a competitive price, I can see but one contender for the title and that would have to be BangGood. Unless of course there's a business in India who can compete across the board. There could well be, I haven't yet entertained the idea of buying my RC needs there. I'm willing to shop with anyone who can offer me similar prices with a decent freight cost and better service I think the problem once more could be that India sources a lot of it's RC goods from China as well. How could they compete?

Yes it would be nice to have the same prices, but without the freight costs.  Remember though, HK is making a packet from their freight fees and I defy Mr Hand to prove me wrong. I've watched what's been going on over the past 12 months with freight and everything points to a lot of hidden profit being made. I recall Mr Hand saying to camera "HobbyKing makes no profit from freight" Unless the word "profit" is being used in a far different context I suggest things have changed dramatically in the freight scenario. Although I've made many inquiries on the matter, I've yet to hear a reasonable reason for HobbyKing not taking advantage of the Chinese Governments free freight incentive for Chines retailers. BangGood certainly use it, as does almost every other business in China. Why is HobbyKing different?

Give me a reasonable answer to that question and you'll gain my admiration. In the meantime I wish you luck in finding your gold at the end of the rainbow. Unfortunately HobbyKIng is still the biggest retailer of RC goods available to us ordinary people and until someone can match their prices and the range of their stock that's where they'll stay. The only answer I can think of is to look to a company in your own country and support them 110% and hopefully you can help build that company into a giant in RC. After all, it's the customers who dictate who takes the crown, and it's the same people who can take it away. Good luck, I think you'll need it. :)      Stu
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

rcpilotacro

well !!

my 2C bit, did buy, of late from http://thanksbuyer.com/  mostly free shipping (meaning you'll have to wait awhile for the parcel to reach you) most, if not all goods sold there are much cheaper than Hobbyking (If you include the freight charges that is)

Like i told you, that my 2C
Gusty's Hangar and Introduction.

A Good pilot will practice until he gets it right,
A Great pilot will practice until he can't get it wrong.

areebnazim

I order from aliexpress.com a lot! A couple of sellers are starting to know me better and give some freebies when I order from them!

I usually manage to get a 20% discount. All you have to do is contact them and crib for high duty charges on the last order... :P

aman1256

Well yes thats also a point too.@ chintal sir.
Regards,
Aman.

Propfella

I think the main gist of the thread is for a "replacement" for HobbyKing. At the moment I find it hard to believe there is just ONE who could replace them. Very few have the stock HK has. Some try to make customers believe they have more stock by listing the same items over and over again and some even leave superseded stock items listed. Many RCers buy from various suppliers, but at the moment only one supplier offers virtually everything an RCer could need. Personally I'd be very happy if there was somewhere I could buy what I need at pre 2014 HobbyKing prices and have free freight.

I stipulate 2014 because if anyone has been an HK member for a few years they would know HK prices have gone ballistic since mid 2014, including freight costs. Their price rises certainly aren't due to manufacturers price rises, I've been keeping a close watch on those. Freight increases most definitely weren't brought around by Airlibe price rises, in fact HK's own prices for freight actually dropped due to wrangling a deal with Singapore Air to carry their freight exclusively. They certainly didn't pass those savings on to their customers.

The way I see it, the only company set to topple HK's stranglehold on the hobby industry would have to be BangGood. Yjeir stocks of RC related items has increased dramatically and their prices are beginning to look tempting. Take their ESC prices. I purchased 4 x 45 amp NFet Simon K ESCs  yesterday for just $15 each. Not a bad buy. Some items are slightly better in price than HKs and a lot are not far off. BUT it's all freight free, a big deciding factor.

Spending time looking around for what you want can pay dividends. My wife told me she wanted to buy more LEDs for next Christmas to decorate the house. Whilst looking through BangGood I spotted their 5 meter rolls of 300 LEDs at 50% off. I grabbed  a few of those and my wife is very happy. The message I'm trying to convey is try not to find the "perfect supplier" Cash in on who has the best prices. I purchased a gimbal from HK this morning for just $22. no motors but I have a few spares. All I need is a controller board and I have an excellent and cheap gimbal. OK I had to pay $7 freight but I think it's still a bargain. Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter, or as Gusty said, my 2c. or perhaps 20c worth. :-)
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

irshtin

Are there any reliable stores other than regular stores like quadkopters, rcb,rcd etc who sell hobbyking products at a cheap rate ?? If so .. pls gimme their details ... thanks in advance :-)

sooraj.palakkad

www.rcproduct.in
www.robu.in   (Contact Jayesh jain sir on the forum)
www.rcmumbai.com
www.hobbysea.com
www.rcsportz.com  .......      And many more...
RC Hobbyist and an Aerial Cinematographer..

EdallHobby


Propfella

How would edallhobby sell RC goods cheaper than HobbyKing when they are buying the majority of their stock from HobbyKing. ??
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

RCJIndia


loristevens

I want to share my dream, you should also like  :rolleyes:

https://www.dynamrc.com/