Horizon Hobbies

[Cuban8]

As far as I'm aware, there has been nothing official from Horizon UK regarding their closure - just looked again on the website and I can find nothing. Their Facebook page is the same, although there are a couple of posts mentioning closure of the UK centre.

Obviously it is going ahead, but I'm intrigued to see how Horizon word their official announcement, when it comes, and how 'management speak' will almost certainly be present saying how much better off UK customers and the model trade will be after the change.

Sending stuff back to a German service centre doesn't particularly worry me, I doubt if I'd bother sending anything back that was out of warranty and was worth around fifty quid anyway (receivers for instance). Any issues with new gear or within warranty is the problem of the supplier and I'd think that I'd fight for a replacement rather than repair anyway.

[..]

Posted by Gordon Whitehead 1 on 18/03/2017 09:59:56:

Posted by Paul C. on 18/03/2017 09:00:39:

Can't wait to post a 'woosh' now that I know what it means and without fear of upsetting the mods. Thanks for the info Justin 👍

Paul.

Me too. It's a nice short sweet put-down. Is there a correct spelling?

Gordon

Great I'm glad you like it , it's not a put down tho more of an observation.

Use it wisely and it's rewarding, for instance if you were to take the time & effort to post a link or information that someone clearly hasn't taken the time to digest before posting out of date info or the subject then a woosh is good.

Spelling by the way is entirely dependent on regional dialect, so feel free to whoosh your own way.

Anyway back to the topic ehh ?

[Gordon Whitehead 1]

Posted by Justin K. on 18/03/2017 10:33:29:

Anyway back to the topic ehh ?

Yep.

If HH has now gone over the horizon to Germany without a UK-based distributor, will my local model shop and all the online shops now have to deal direct with Germany to obtain Spekky etc goodies ? While that business plan clearly works for small volume items like jet turbines (eg Jetcat and Jets Munt) and specialist gliders, which only have a limited appeal and hence only need a small number of UK-based outlets, it seems to me that the huge variety and quantity of HH-based items (kits, engines, radio, etc) would require some kind of warehouse and distribution facility in this country to consolidate orders and serve every model shop in the land. Even Hobbyking has a UK-based warehouse.

Or has that requirement already been covered in this thread (or other "social media" I'm not on board with) so that I've whooshed myself again?

Gordon

[..]

Posted by Gordon Whitehead 1 on 18/03/2017 10:55:49:

Posted by Justin K. on 18/03/2017 10:33:29:

Anyway back to the topic ehh ?

Yep.

it seems to me that the huge variety and quantity of HH-based items (kits, engines, radio, etc) would require some kind of warehouse and distribution facility in this country to consolidate orders and serve every model shop in the land. Even Hobbyking has a UK-based warehouse.

Gordon

This remains to be seen Gordon ? The last item I received from them was a replacement part for a kit and came straight from Germany.

Other than this as reported previously in the thread they have indeed left or are in the process of leaving the uk. As with buying from the Hobbyking European warehouse, I would image couriers will carry the stuff to the UK shops / customers from Germany direct.

[Erfolg]

Strangely, before some became hoity toity about the precise subject of the thread, namely a lost or missing Tx and a closure notice. I for one was considering the implications of both the postal charges to Germany, then what happens with respect to customs clearance once the UK leaves the EU.

The postal charge would be horrific if the post Office were to be used. Do the really cost effective carriers operate outside the UK?

As for customs, I guess this will incur some additional charges for items temporarily imported into the EU. Then the bureaucracy of the UK re-import. This will all depend on the terms that the UK can or does not negotiate with the EU.

Seems a bad move by HH, perhaps better to have waited for the outcome of the Brexit. But then again, when stripping money out of a cost structure, two years or more is precisely that. Although I am not sure that they are saving any money, with respect to repairs. Is there to be a step change in HH radio reliability, or just disgruntled punters? I am making the assumption that Spektrum radios are as reliable as any one elses, only they sell many more. Which could indicate that the German centre will be very, very, busy with the additional UK workload.

[Kim Taylor]

Posted by Cuban8 on 18/03/2017 10:32:03:

As far as I'm aware, there has been nothing official from Horizon UK regarding their closure - just looked again on the website and I can find nothing. Their Facebook page is the same, although there are a couple of posts mentioning closure of the UK centre.

Obviously it is going ahead, but I'm intrigued to see how Horizon word their official announcement, when it comes, and how 'management speak' will almost certainly be present saying how much better off UK customers and the model trade will be after the change.

Sending stuff back to a German service centre doesn't particularly worry me, I doubt if I'd bother sending anything back that was out of warranty and was worth around fifty quid anyway (receivers for instance). Any issues with new gear or within warranty is the problem of the supplier and I'd think that I'd fight for a replacement rather than repair anyway.

I contacted Horizon Hobby UK earlier this week with a query, and the reply I got is pasted in below.

The cost to send a small item (in my case a receiver) to H-H .de was £2.45 if I remember rightly.

Kim

Hello Kim,

Thank you for your email. Sadly we are no longer accepting repairs here, please see below.

Unfortunately we are closing our UK Service Department on 31^st March 2017. Please see information below:

Any items received from Monday 13^th March onwards will be refused at our doors and turned away.

Any Faulty items after this date will need to be returned to:

Horizon Hobby GmbH
Hanskampring 9
D-22885 Barsbüttel

Phone +49-40-30061950

Email: [email protected]

Please ensure you mark clearly across the package “FAO Horizon Service Dept. Dealer UK” to ensure your product gets to the right department without any undue delays.

If you have technical queries you can email our Product Support Team [email protected].

Kind regards,

[Erfolg]

Kim

I would be surprised if £2.45 got a parcel to Germany, never mind its return.

What will be far more significant is the customs issue when the UK leaves the EU. In reality HH could well be slamming the door shut with respect to customer service. Whatever the terms of repairs, it will almost certainly become both expensive and a lot of hazzle.

Are HH effectively abandoning the UK market?

If HH think that Theresa May is a soft touch who will allow them to trade from Germany without reciprocal arrangements, I am pretty much sure they are deluding themselves. She is not Cameron or some lets make a gesture liberal/socialist etc. This could well be the high water mark for HH with respect to Spektrum.

It could be that both Frsky and the Japenese brands with their ultra reliability will once again become more significant.

If HH value the UK market, they need to be careful.

[Kim Taylor]

Posted by Erfolg on 18/03/2017 21:30:35:

Kim

I would be surprised if £2.45 got a parcel to Germany, never mind its return.

Large letter, up to (I think) 250g to anywhere in Europe.

Parcels a different matter, but maybe not as much as you may think.

I agree with your sentiments regarding H-H attitude towards it's UK customers, and have emailed them with my thoughts on the matter.

Won't make any difference though, as soon as the bean counters are in charge, good service will always come a poor second to lower cost. (imho of course)

Kim

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[ben goodfellow 1]

There is one uk shop . And I read a post by the owner on a forum . Saying delivery of this, that and this and also last ever spectrum delivery

[Guvnor]

There's one other thing.

HH will in future only be selling through a selected group of 'premier' dealers. The rest will not be able to sell HH products...

Who the chosen elite are nobody knows yet...

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Cuban8]

A small parcel to Germany via Royal Mail is going to be around the £10-£12 mark and about £6-£7 with one of the cheap couriers. Factoring in the return postage charge for out of warranty work,(quite apart from any labour) then sending a small value, suspect item back for 'checking' looks to be not a viable option.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Erfolg]

Without some form of UK support, for servicing, what have been from what both club members and this sites relevant threads pretty high support equipment, Spektrum, will have entered a new era. That era is pretty much that of the unknown Far Eastern brands that come with disposable toys when there is a problem.

Post Brexit, the customs issue will be even more of a road block for the average person. From my families experiences even family parcels were often opened and contents confiscated. Such things as tinned Rollmops, Saurkraut as well as biscuits and clothing. Bringing my toy scooter (used, not new) into the UK was a issue, until the customs officer laughed and said it was not worth his time, the duty being less than the cost of collection. It seems that these issues work both ways now, as my mother found out when sending a reasonably recent parcel to Germany. Vowing never again.

To be honest i feel for all those Spektum owners/users who purchased a set with an unspoken believe that their sets could be repaired by HH. Perhaps the best that can be hoped for is that HH appoints a company to deal with UK repairs who are based here. If not, Spektrum could go the way of all those sets of the past, from Waltron, Sovereign, Stavely, Cannon, Flight Link and so on, just names now.

[MattyB]

Posted by Guvnor on 19/03/2017 00:08:52:

There's one other thing.

HH will in future only be selling through a selected group of 'premier' dealers. The rest will not be able to sell HH products...

Who the chosen elite are nobody knows yet...

What is the source of this rumour Guvnor? Sounds like a Hari kari strategy to me if it is true, hence my slight scepticism...

[Paul C.]

I wonder if HH intend to use 'premier' dealers as means of holding stock in the UK probably selling to them with increased discount. They in turn would sell on to second level dealers/LMS at a lower discount, it's a business model that has been used by in industry for a while now. Just a thought but I guess time will tell how with will evolve.

[Alan Jarvis]

 

Could these Premier Dealers be authorised repair centres.

Apple have independent stores all Apple branded but not owned by Apple who are authories repair centres.

Here is one.

**LINK**

 

 

Edited By Alan Jarvis on 19/03/2017 12:08:51

[Erfolg]

The concept of the Premier dealers undertaking the maintenance does at first seem like a good idea. Then thinking about the training, equipment necessary and the necessary monitoring to maintain not only a standard, and that standard being acceptably high, to customers, all seems pretty expensive.

On reflection, I am expecting is that they handle the warranty claims. Again there is the issue of consistency and being fair.

Doing any of these jobs, will not come at a low cost. Doing the job at a level that meets the expectations of the customer, could be very expensive. Of course, there is an alternative, that looses the good will of Spektum users and future sales.

Edited By Erfolg on 19/03/2017 20:09:05

[Guvnor]

Posted by MattyB on 19/03/2017 11:46:07:

Posted by Guvnor on 19/03/2017 00:08:52:

There's one other thing.

HH will in future only be selling through a selected group of 'premier' dealers. The rest will not be able to sell HH products...

Who the chosen elite are nobody knows yet...

What is the source of this rumour Guvnor? Sounds like a Hari kari strategy to me if it is true, hence my slight scepticism...

The source is one of the shops who hopes to be in the 'premiere league'.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Don Fry]

I get a load of Chinese Groceries from Bristol to SW France for twelve quid. The courier bends with the load. A receiver is about a quid more than UK postage. And if under in the phrase of saleable quality, or whatever the current UK sales law is, your seller has the problem, not you.

And Erf, I love you, but I believe Submarine May has bigger concerns than Horizon moving to Germany. Just as the German Chancellor, on her current journey to the States, apart from not holding hands, will not be congratulating "the Donald" on this small movement of American industry.

[..]

Posted by Alan Jarvis on 19/03/2017 12:07:38:

Could these Premier Dealers be authorised repair centres.

Apple have independent stores all Apple branded but not owned by Apple who are authories repair centres.

Here is one.

**LINK**

Edited By Alan Jarvis on 19/03/2017 12:08:51

I would image Apples multi billion budget caters for the salaries and training of skilled technicians, I can't see your average local model shop or HH for that being able to afford the luxury of an electronics & mechanical guy instore ? If they can't afford to keep a small office going in Essex employing countless more people seems extremely unlikely.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]