richard cohen Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 just been on Hobbyking website for a first foray into PNF electric flight. Model and batteries came to £79 which was alright, then Basket page showed the figure in dollars. then went to paypal and logged in and figure still at £79, then pressing continue to pay took me back to HK website which added postage cost of £75 !!!!!!! ..... for a sub 2kg package in the UK ? needless to say i didn't click the final pay button but emptied the basket and thought they were taking the proverbial - so much for a uk warehouse (or is simon cowell delivering goods for them) anyone else find the postage is .A. outrageous and .B. only shown at the last minute? just hoping they don't somehow take the payment anyway so watching paypal account carefully i could drive to the warehouse for less than £75 Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Jarvis Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 The most I have paid in postage is just over £5 for very large boxes. You are doing something wrong. Are you sure you are on the UK site and not the International site. That sounds like the Hong Kong postage rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handyman Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Yes, I was just about to say the same thing. I always try to make sure that I am on the UK site or the european site. It sounds as if you may have gotten yourself buying direct from Hong Kong. Dont be put off, try it again, because the postage from the European site is not that expensive either!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 And look very carefully at the postage options. It always defaults to the most expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard cohen Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Pilot error and a confusing webpage !!! website was definitely .co.uk, currency set to GBP and union flag in top banner. but having looked again at the page there is a small menu next to the Add to Basket tab which lists UK, Euope and international. you would think it would default to UK when i click on UK it reloads the page but the price has gone up £15 for the model .....Hmmmmm ...looks like HM Gov is taking their share of my hobby fund .....haven't been brave enough to go thru' the whole thing to find a delivery price....perhaps i'll ring them and ask a person not a microchip cheers for the reality check though lads..... Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard cohen Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 i still think they should show postage up front in the basket so you know where you are grumpy of Royal Wootton Bassett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 As has been said here on the forum many, many times, if the item you are viewing does not have (UK Warehouse) or (EU Warehouse) or any of the other warehouses around the world, in its description, it will be coming from the International Warehouse in Hong Kong Spot the difference: Every item sold is clearly marked, in exactly the same way, as to its origin - it really is that simple.... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handyman Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Hi again Richard. I asked the UK warehouse about this anomaly a couple of years ago, and they said that it was the extra cost that had to be added on because of importing the models into the Uk. It is still cheaper though in a lot of cases, to pay the extra and get very reasonable postage costs from the UK Warehouse. The postage from the European Warehouse is not too bad eother, but I cannot remember off the top of my head, whether the Warehouse is in Holland or Germany. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Dav 2 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Holland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Here's an odd one, I was looking at some servoless retracts on the HK site a while ago & unsure about what set that had been recommended I phoned my flying buddy. He was online at the time so got the page up, both on the UK page , looking at the same list of products sorted in price order I was seeing prices less than him ??Consistently down the list I was looking at a couple of quid cheaper on some items. This wasn't the one time offer they sometimes give if you have been on a page for a while but on the list page, what's that all about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 It might be that they had updated the exchange rates and you were displaying the page before the change, when he logged in he picked up the new exchange rates..... just a stab in the dark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete taylor Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Posted by Justin K. on 24/01/2015 08:53:42: Here's an odd one, I was looking at some servoless retracts on the HK site a while ago & unsure about what set that had been recommended I phoned my flying buddy. He was online at the time so got the page up, both on the UK page , looking at the same list of products sorted in price order I was seeing prices less than him ??Consistently down the list I was looking at a couple of quid cheaper on some items. This wasn't the one time offer they sometimes give if you have been on a page for a while but on the list page, what's that all about? The price will vary according to how many orders you've placed with Hobbyking; you might be a standard, gold or platinum member and a variable discount is applied to each of these. Call it a loyalty bonus if you like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Were you both logged in and do you have the same membership status, Justin? If you're not both 'Gold' or 'Platinum' members, you won't get the same prices showing on many products. Pete Whoops, just seen Pete's post above - wot he said! Edited By Pete B - Moderator on 24/01/2015 10:18:25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Privett Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 HK do seem to be updating the exchange rates more frequently than they used to - it used to be about twice a year! The current rate looks suspiciously close to what it was when I looked about a week ago, and the actual rate has changed a little since then, so I still don't think they're updating it as often as they should. In any case you get billed in US$, so don't pay too much attention to the price they tell you in £. It ought to be reasonably close, but it might not be. As Pete says, you will see slightly different $ prices depending on whether you're just browsing, or logged-on as gold or platinum member. For instance, a $10.60 Turnigy LiPo in the International warehouse drops to $9.79 when I log-in. I'm a platinum member (> 10 orders) From the Euro warehouse the prices (ordinary/platinum) are $12.99/ $12.55 and from the UK, $13.55/ $12.80. So 6 different prices for the same item depending on where it's coming from and who you are. Obviously the delivery times will be longer and the postage more expensive on goods from the International warehouse, and to a lesser extent, from the Euro warehouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Posted by Pete B - Moderator on 24/01/2015 10:17:22: Were you both logged in and do you have the same membership status, Justin? If you're not both 'Gold' or 'Platinum' members, you won't get the same prices showing on many products. Pete Whoops, just seen Pete's post above - wot he said! Edited By Pete B - Moderator on 24/01/2015 10:18:25 Yes that must be it I suppose, oddly the guy has spent much more than me with them & I got the lower prices. Now there's customer loyalty for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braddock, VC Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 +1 for DH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Privett Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Posted by Justin K. on 24/01/2015 10:35:44: Yes that must be it I suppose, oddly the guy has spent much more than me with them & I got the lower prices. Now there's customer loyalty for you. It's done on the number of orders, not the value. My platinum status is from 10 orders ranging from about $15 to $60 each. I could have spent $n,000 in one transaction and still be a gold member... (I believe gold is the basic level?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codename-John Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Posted by John Privett on 24/01/2015 10:46:13: It's done on the number of orders, not the value. My platinum status is from 10 orders ranging from about $15 to $60 each. I could have spent $n,000 in one transaction and still be a gold member... (I believe gold is the basic level?) They need to check their Precious metals prices as well as their exchange rate more often too, as Gold is more Valuable than Platinum at the moment Was the other guy actually logged in or just on the page as a guest ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppy Ann Lynagh-Smith Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Hi Richard, I have been using Hobbyking for the last couple of years and have never been charged anything like the rate you were quoted even when ordering from their international warehouse the only thing that was a shock was the price that their preferred shipper charges to pay the vat on your behalf as they have charged me almost 30% of the cost of the order just to pay the vat on your behalf and the 30% does not include the vat itself, I have found out that if you use DHL as the shipper that 1 you get your order faster, 2 they do not hold your order until you have paid them the vat and 3 they only charge you what the vat is and nothing extra for "paying it on your behalf" so as long as your order is not something huge it is much better to use the "expensive" shipper as it costs much less in the end. Regards Poppy Ann. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppy Ann Lynagh-Smith Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Hi again, I only just noticed the posts on different prices charged to different people and that it is due to the silly discounts they give to different people one other thing to always check is the different prices charged in the different warehouses i recently bought one of their 2600 FPV gliders (https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__55602__2600FPV_Glider_EPO_2600mm_PNF_EU_Warehouse_.html) in the UK warehouse it was priced at $230 plus shipping, in the EU warehouse it was priced at $193 plus shipping i forgot what it was priced t in the international warehouse, in the end i bought it from the EU warehouse and it only cost $207 including shipping so it turned out cheaper from the EU warehouse with shipping than the price in the UK warehouse without shipping so it is worth spending a little time trying to work out the different costs from the different warehouses, what I do it open separate "private" browsers and place the order in all of them up until you pay that way you get the total cost with shipping from each place (make suer you do not hit pay now) Regards Poppy Ann. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy G. Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Asked my daughter to buy me a Hitec compatible 6 channel receiver for me as a birthday prezzie, it weighs roughly half an ounce, so far so good until she saw th postage cost from the European warehouse. ... £19.46..Annoyed phone call from her saying she wasn't going to pay that much ... more than the cost of the item.. A quick Internet search found one at Robot Bird for roughly the same price but only £3.60 postage, and it came, over easter in just 3 days.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Jarvis Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Never paid more than about £8.00 from EU warehouse even for large aircraft and arrives within 2 days. Although in this case still probably more than the Rx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Privett Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Andy - often there are several options for postage and the default is not necessarily the cheapest. Example - picking at random a $10 ESC on the Euro warehouse, two shipping options are offered - registered parcel at $14 or regular post at $1.77. The $14 box is selected but you can tick the cheaper one of preferred. The same options are offered for the Hitec compatible 5-channel rx currently listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Dav 2 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 As with Alan, I've never paid more than about €10 for anything from the Euro warehouse. I live in France. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I think the issue is with the UK warehouse. I have just ordered a motor. From the UK warehouse £6.08 with postage at £5.87 or £6.87 from the International warehouse (yes, it was dearer from here) and postage at approximate $3. So £12 UK or £9 from China. I went for China, i am no longer in any rush. It does seem that HK, UK, although now using lower cost delivery agents, which I think the last one was Wiggle, are still applying proportionally a lot for P&P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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