Hobby King

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Hi Antony,

something for you to think about. When you were involved previously it was probably the case that Futaba were the dominant force - and to some extent you're probably "picking up where you left off"

But the stark reality is things have changed! Futaba are no longer the market leader they were, at present three companies lead the pack: Spektrum, Futaba and FrSky.They are all good reliable makes with excellent facilities. So before you simply jump in a buy Futaba a bit on "auto-pilot"(!) you may just want to look at what these other companies have to offer. You might be surprised both in terms of capability and price.

BEB

[Bob Cotsford]

As the thread is titled 'Hobbyking' this seems relevant. I recently ordered some carbon u/cs, a prop and a couple of FrSky sensors using the International warehouse as this was the only option with all items in stock. Total value around £35. I've just had a card telling me that Royal Mail want £14 to release these, £6 customs, £8 RM handling. I've not been charged previously so it seems HMRC and Royal Mail are getting in practise ready for Brexit!

Edited By Bob Cotsford on 04/10/2018 12:41:05

[The Wright Stuff]

Hi Anthony,

If you're in Cambridge, take a trip up to Huntingdon (either brave the A14 roadworks, or the guided busway) and visit Inwood Models. They have a good range of radio gear and it's a lot closer than Kings Lynn...

...no connection to me except that I also live in Cambs and am a satisfied customer...

[Nigel R]

Bob, nothing new there.

There is a threshold where VAT doesn't get applied, so small value stuff gets through just fine... £18.

Then there is a much larger threshold where duty is applied, £120, although duty it is waived if works out under £7.

It sometimes works out much better to get two small orders using either the EU warehouse or the HK warehouse.

In fact up to a certain weight, on small orders its better to avoid the £5 RM post cost, because post for light/small stuff from the EU warehouse is only £2 or so! RM end up delivering it anyway. Barking.

[ken anderson.]

same happened to me Bob...surprised it hasn't been blamed on Brexit...…...everything else appears to be...

ken anderson...ne..1...Brexit dept.

[Geoff S]

Posted by Bob Cotsford on 04/10/2018 12:40:20:

As the thread is titled 'Hobbyking' this seems relevant. I recently ordered some carbon u/cs, a prop and a couple of FrSky sensors using the International warehouse as this was the only option with all items in stock. Total value around £35. I've just had a card telling me that Royal Mail want £14 to release these, £6 customs, £8 RM handling. I've not been charged previously so it seems HMRC and Royal Mail are getting in practise ready for Brexit!

Edited By Bob Cotsford on 04/10/2018 12:41:05

I received a parcel from Banggood yesterday morning (a tiny indoor quad complete with fpv camera and goggles) which cost around £50. I was half expecting a similar card but it arrived with no problems as have all my other Banggood orders. In fact the only thing I've ever been charged for was a flight simulator package from Tower Hobbies in the USA some years ago - it ended up about the same price I'd have paid here. I ordered from the USA as an experiment.

Geoff

[Stearman65]

Talk about being all over you like a rash, my god, what a company!!!

I made the mistake of ordering from them, 3 items 2 lipos & a charger, one of the lipos was in their european w/h & the other 2 items in stock in the UK. Since the order on the 14th, I've had 9 emails, to the effect that " we are transferring your order to the dispatch area" "we have packed your items safely in a box", "The box contents have been checked" Bla bla bla. Then to top it all I got another email to say the items were ready for collection 200 miles away, bring ID. Someone is supposed to be contacting me. Luckily I paid by Paypal, If nothing positive transpires by the end of today I'll cancel, they have broken their contract.

I know it's black Friday, but this is ridiculous.

[Dave Hess]

Posted by Stearman65 on 16/11/2018 09:35:12:

Talk about being all over you like a rash, my god, what a company!!!

I made the mistake of ordering from them, 3 items 2 lipos & a charger, one of the lipos was in their european w/h & the other 2 items in stock in the UK. Since the order on the 14th, I've had 9 emails, to the effect that " we are transferring your order to the dispatch area" "we have packed your items safely in a box", "The box contents have been checked" Bla bla bla. Then to top it all I got another email to say the items were ready for collection 200 miles away, bring ID. Someone is supposed to be contacting me. Luckily I paid by Paypal, If nothing positive transpires by the end of today I'll cancel, they have broken their contract.

I know it's black Friday, but this is ridiculous.

I find the Hobbyking ordering and shipping system absolutely fantastic as long as you understand how it works. It looks like you selected the option to collect from the warehouse rather than pay for shipping. It's the first option and says "Free".

Key points for ordering from HK:

Shipping is free for orders over £50

Whenever you select anything for ordering, check which warehouse it's available from. Easiest is to only order from UK. Prices are cheaper from USA, but shipping and duty will push it up.

If you're order is small and from multiple warehouses, you get multiple shipping costs

[Stearman65]

"I find the Hobbyking ordering and shipping system absolutely fantastic as long as you understand how it works. It looks like you selected the option to collect from the warehouse rather than pay for shipping. It's the first option and says "Free"."

No I didn't, the shipping details were confirmed on the order & their subsequent emails, I reckon they are in melt down, come back local model shops you are sorely missed.

[Stearman65]

Posted by Stearman65 on 16/11/2018 09:58:24:

"I find the Hobbyking ordering and shipping system absolutely fantastic as long as you understand how it works. It looks like you selected the option to collect from the warehouse rather than pay for shipping. It's the first option and says "Free"."

No I didn't, the shipping details were confirmed on the order & their subsequent emails, I reckon they are in melt down, come back local model shops you are sorely missed.

ok?

[Gary Murphy 1]

Probably a bit late to comment and might get some stick here but here goes.

When HK was mentioned to buy from a couple guys said to buy from struggling UK shops,fair enough. I don't have a LHS, i can travel 45 mins in car to find the stuff i want is not stocked or out of stock. So i get home and order from the Bigger UK mail order shops, its these big UK mail order shops which put the "LHS" out of business to,not just over seas.

Even if i do support my LHS how often do we buy a new ,engine,radio or big item etc,its normally the smaller stuff.with the amount of us guys modelling now this wont keep shops open.

just my opinion,buy from who ever has it in stock for good price.

[ken anderson.]

thumbs up for hobbyking from me, good price and fast delivery from the UK warehouse.iwas and always have been a local shop supporter,now all gone except one(limited stock and choice)....we are forced in to buying on-line..... good/bad who can say.if you order one day and its in your hand the next,suppose you cant fault it..... I haven't had any problems(faulty goods,or goods gone awol)...maybe my opinion will change...as time go's on...but like I say the hobby and the way we buy stuff has changed and we(me)dinosaurisis are going to have to get on with it...

ken anderson....ne...1...Jurassic dept.

[Nigel R]

Our kit and clobber is a niche thing, whichever way you slice it, and niche shops of all types aren't viable as a physical entity in the way they used to be. The ground rent kills it and none of us want to pay the prices that would support ye olde local shoppe, the influx of cheaper goods has seen to that, nobody is paying £100+ for a basic 4 channel RX are they? Businesses have to do what they have to do to survive, at present that means doing mail order and going to cheaper locales.

Honestly, I'm happy I can get stuff whether it be mail order or not.

[Nigel R]

Eric have you spoken to anyone at Hobbyking about this? It just looks like a mistake, one that could easily be rectified.

FWIW I have yet to experience a single problem with HobbyKing, after many orders, all have turned up promptly and been as expected.

[Stearman65]

Posted by Nigel R on 16/11/2018 10:40:19:

Eric have you spoken to anyone at Hobbyking about this? It just looks like a mistake, one that could easily be rectified.

FWIW I have yet to experience a single problem with HobbyKing, after many orders, all have turned up promptly and been as expected.

Their on-line chat service isn't working, I've put a ticket in the support system. I don't see why I should spend money on a long distance phone call when it's their cock up.

[Peter Miller]

Hi Antony

Pegasus models in Norwich afe brilliant and not too far from you.

Never had a problem with Hobbyking but do watch out which wharehouse you are dealing with. I goofed there but That was purely my mistake so no blame to hobbyking.

I only use them for ghings I can't get elsewhere

[Cuban8]

Let's have a reality check here................those of us who have been around the hobby for many years will recall that local model shops have been in decline well before the likes of HK were ever in existence. I can recall several shops local to me when I lived in East London, that opened up and were subsequently out of business within a few years, also long established businesses that just folded when the owner died or retired - no outside interest or investment to keep the shop going. A nice little shop (forget the name) in Loughton and Russels of Walthamstow, come to mind - so many others I could mention.

Long before the 'web, big mail order companies selling kits, radios etc were springing up and undercutting the local guys - find some old RCM&E, Radio Modeller, & Model World mags from the 70s and 80s and you'll find them stuffed full of multi-page ads all offering deals far better than anything local to you. Remember Hobby Stores that swallowed up and rebranded a lot of small model shops (my local one was Red Baron Models), effectively stifling competition - look what happened to them in the end.

Think back to the Sandown Park show and others, and how huge their trade presence was back in the day - you were nuts if you paid local shop prices, when the deals on offer at this and many other shows were so good at the time. There was so much stuff being sold that very often, show car parks were littered with discarded boxes and packing, because people had bought so much gear, they couldn't get it, and their passengers all back in the car. Hard to believe now, if you hadn't actually seen it.

HK will either survive or they won't - even now they are coming under pressure from direct sales from China, Banggood etc. Who knows where we'll be in ten years time?

 

Edited By Cuban8 on 16/11/2018 11:35:02

[Stearman65]

Latest on this saga before I cut my throat.

Just had a half hour online chat with hobbyking, result cancelled the UK portion of the order. Got a copy of the chat but it's too long to post on here.

I also ordered a soldering aid which was mentioned on here from Banggood, got a confirmation email of the order, all hunky dory, then this morning got one to say my address was too long. What is going on??? .

[Adrian Smith 1]

I have speak as I find and so far my experience with HK has been positive.

[Stearman65]

UPDATE ON MY HOBBY KING EXPERIENCE.

It's now 5 days after my marathon session on their chat "help" service. As I didn't get any response after HK confirmed they would refund the UK portion of the order, so I took up the case with Paypal. Today I will be able to escalate the dispute against HK with Paypal. Since I took up the matter with Paypal, I have had one message from HK asking me to change the status of the dispute from cancelled/refund to not received, which isn't true. So I have sent them two further messages but had no response.

In complete contrast, I ordered the items cancelled with HK from Wireless Madness Preston on Monday, this morning I received an email from Fed Ex saying the order would be delivered today. I know who I'll be using in the future & it won't be Hobby King.

[SONNY MONKS]

wheelspin models and 4max are quite reliable,and if you are after frsky radio gear and gliders,T9 in bradford,west yorkshire are a good supplier.

[Geoff Parkes]

I can only come to H.K, defence, I am a platinum member which gives me slightly better prices, the site does take some following, but if used enough it is easy to follow , I order on average twice a month , if you know the cut off date for your credit card you can get an additional months credit ! I have used them for batteries , motors ,speedos and small items such as screws and hinges, the covering which I have used for years is in my oppinion the best, 5 metre rolls for approx. 8 pounds, If you make the order value up to 50 dollars you will get free deliveryfrom the U.K or E.U. depots , my last order was placed on Sunday eve. and is due today (wed. ) Lastly on all my orders which probably number well into the 50 to 60,s I have only had one faulty item, which was a speed controller this was returned to the U.K depot. for them to check , a new speedo was posted back to me within a week - better service that I had from a U.K. motor supplier I could mention.

[Robert Putley 1]

I have to say that I have been using HK since they first placed an advert in RCM&E many years ago. During that time over many many orders I have found them to be reliable. Also very helpful and obliging. Twice during this period when a refund was due, it was paid without question. Last year I purchased a newly offered foam type pusher jet. from the European depo. Upon delivery I found that some small plastic parts were missing. Went on the chat line....always helpful and obliging....explained the problem. Said they would forward the missing bits. One week later I received a complete new kit!!

I'm sure that must be others too with a similar experience.

[SIMON CRAGG]

Due to the lack of LHS, I have been getting stuff from HK for years. IMHO, I dont think you can beat them. Great prices, confirmation of the order process etc. I have had a couple of minor issues (Vampire slight damage and ESC issue) for which they gave me a very generous refund. Long may they proper!.

[Nigel R]

" I have had one message from HK asking me to change the status of the dispute from cancelled/refund to not received, which isn't true"

What's not true about "not received"?

Perhaps the paypal dispute status affects whether HK can refund easily, here I speculate of course.

Personally, nothing but good results from HK. They are what they are, the Amazon of RC, box shifters, as such they work very well.