Airtek, changes.

[Ace]

Changes at Airtek.

[Outrunner]

Very sad. They are my favourite supplier of electric motors. Unlike most places they give the full specifications and prop sizes etc if each motor.

Great service and reasonable postal charges 

I will miss them.

Best wishes to the owners and thank you for your past service.

[SIMON CRAGG]

Totally gutted for them. It must be more than heart breaking to see all your hard work end up like this. The very best of luck to the team that runs the show.

[Dai Fledermaus]

Copy of part of the email I had off them yesterday:-

 

Dear ,

Sadly the continuing economic situation and general decline in the hobby has let us to the difficult decision that it is no longer viable to continue the website so we will be closing it soon. We have never really recovered from the effects of Brexit and have struggled to cope with the lack of overseas sales and product availability this has brought about.

So we are having a closing sale of 25% off everything for around one week. A lot of our stock has already been disposed of but there are still a lot of great bargains to be had, but if it says out of stock there will be no more, so be quick!

To take advantage of the discount you MUST apply the Coupon Code CLOSE25 in the coupon code box on the shopping cart page where the 25% discount will be applied to your order. Please note that this discount applies to website orders only, not telephone orders.

[Keith Berriman]

Just had a quick look for two items and it turns out both out of stock already 

 

Been a good supplier but looks like stock is a low levels already 

[Geoff S]

Very sad to hear this.  I've had excellent service from them in the past.  As local shops have disappeared (my preferred suppliers) on-line shops like Airtek have been a welcome innovation. 

[GrumpyGnome]

Shame. I always had great service from them...

[Bruce Collinson]

Every order from the Far East is an order denied to UK retailers.   Joni Mitchell.

BTC

[kevin b]

Unfortunately it was obviously going to happen. Not specifically to this retailer, but generally.

The days of low margin retailers buying in low volume are numbered. I think in future many manufacturers will be looking at higher volume purchasers with deeper pockets.

High shipping costs will also affect the ability to import low volume.

Remember, in the retail industry it is not the selling price that is the important factor, but the cost price including shipping and taxes.

[SIMON CRAGG]

EVERYTHING seems to be purchased on line these days. The other day I needed to get some damp start for the car. Orf to Poole I went to visit trusty Halfords, which had been there forever.....................gone!. Back home to order via Amazon. So its not only model shops by ant stretch of the imagination.

[Geoff S]

This has been happening for years and started long before the internet.  I was brought up in the retail trade (literally - we lived at the shop) and, even as a child, I enjoyed helping customers by demonstrating how to operate what we sold (TVs weren't as straight forward in the 1950s as they are now). As stuff got more reliable customers didn't need to buy from a source that could supply service when needed so mail order flourished and the stack 'em high and sell 'em cheap outfits like Comet thrived.  The internet is simply the extension of that.  Of course, now we can't buy easily from the EU any longer perhaps UK outlets will hang on a bit longer.  Perhaps people will drift back to bricks and mortar shops when they appreciate the benefit of actually seeing and feeling what they're buying and be prepared to pay a small premium for the privilege but I can't see our small interest getting any better.

 

I enjoyed the retail trade but I saw the light in 1961 and left my dad to soldier on alone.

[David Holland 2]

Such a shame, one of my “go to” suppliers too.

[PatMc]

5 hours ago, SIMON CRAGG said:

EVERYTHING seems to be purchased on line these days. The other day I needed to get some damp start for the car. Orf to Poole I went to visit trusty Halfords, which had been there forever.....................gone!. Back home to order via Amazon. So its not only model shops by ant stretch of the imagination.

I think Airtek are/were a phone or online only retailer. 😉

[Cuban8]

My nearest model shop A1 Models in  Colchester has also thrown in the towel. A shrinking hobby simply doesn't need or is able to sustain so many retailers, whether bricks and mortar or on-line. We've been over this so many times for years now, but the notion that the hobby will just have a few larger retailers to service it, and mostly via on-line sales is gradually becoming true. Fewer traders at the shows will also continue to be an issue as they avoid bargain prices as in years gone by and sell less, and entry fees to shows and travelling costs have also gone up.

I was looking for a nice leccy foamy glider last week........so much at my finger tips from SMC, Leeds, Gliders, Robotbirds and plenty more. Searched YouTube for some flight tests and decided on one of the mid sized Multiplex models. A Christmas present methinks!

Got a couple of gallons of Fuel from Leeds Models at the beginning of the year - good price and only £9 for next day courier delivery - I suspect that they have quite a good turnover, some smaller shops can have a problem with old and stale stock that is poorly stored now that electric is very popular. Would I bother driving miles to get it in person anyway? ......nah.  Nearest shop is getting on for an 80 mile round trip now, so the cost of a couple of gallons of petrol is crazy. Suits me down to the ground to have it delivered more cheaply and without bother.

[Jonathan W]

It's not possible for us to know the individual circumstances of Airtek. I have used them in the past and been very pleased with their service. For example, they were always happy to order in spares that were not listed on the website.

 

More recently, I have been using Nexus because they are local to me, so I can purchase by "click and collect". When I call around to collect, they are always frantically busy. This is despite their website being much less pleasant to navigate than the Airtek one and nor do they seem to rely on advertising. So it's hard to know why some sellers prosper and others do not.

Edited November 19, 2022 by Jonathan W
spelling

[GrumpyGnome]

11 hours ago, PatMc said:

I think Airtek are/were a phone or online only retailer. 😉

 

Yup, operating from a warehouse near Huddersfield I think.

[Keith Berriman]

If I remember correctly it was a shop originally in a small village Honley Holmfirth South side of Huddersfield

Then went to on line only.   Got my first Hitec Optic 6 on 35 Meg then bought a 2.4 module conversion 

[Andy Gates]

Sad to see them go as I too used them for motors / esc / servos.

 

Never really got on with HK / Bangood and used to appreciate those in my part of the world that I could get to.

 

Lost to me - Galaxy Models, A1, Hobby Stores (x2) & Bowmans Ipswich.

 

Current favorites ........ Balsa Cabin & Sussex Model Centre.

[kevin b]

Interesting that many of the online shops that receive the best feedback are situated in the North.

I am not saying that they are any better.

Maybe we just appreciate them more.

😉

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

A post been edited.

Been informed Airtek is NOT closed, just the website going in another direction.

[Don Fry]

6 minutes ago, john stones 1 - Moderator said:

A post been edited.

Been informed Airtek is NOT closed, just the website going in another direction.

John, any chance of amending the post title, if it’s the Website only going, not the shop, they might be peeved if we are inadvertently damaging their business, and they are an endangered species.

[Guest]

Thank you everyone for their kind wishes (with the one exception which I see the moderators have kindly edited). Just to make the situation with Airtek clear. As the owner I have decided to completely close the website as I am now going to semi retire. That is not a cop out as Cuban8 (whoever he is) pointed out, nor are we crazy as he also pointed out. For the time being sales on Ebay will continue but I will move the business over to non R/C related models which is where my interests are. After 42 years in the model trade I find the R/C side is just now too toxic, and there is not much pleasure left in being a part of it.

We have had some wonderful customers who I am proud to also call friends, but time to move on and I wish everyone all the best for the future.

Pete

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Sorry for the late editing of title, giz a shout if it's not suitable.