Hobbyking coming back to the UK

[Geoff S]

23 hours ago, Geoff S said:

I'm quite tempted by the Gladiator and did a dummy purchase - it's free postage when it gets into UK stock.  I also read the on-line manual.  It's not a model you really want to strip down and reassemble at the field but at 1100mm was it should go into most cars in one piece (but take up more space for storage at home).  I was amused by one of the fault-finding solutions- it recommends turning the prop round if the model goes backwards when the throttle is opened!  Good luck with that!

 

I'm pleased HK is returning and that they (or we) will be paying UK taxes to keep a level playing field with other UK based mail order businesses. 

 

Not sure if it's the best thing to do but I've bitten the bullet and ordered a Gauntlet and a couple of Zippy 4S 2200 LiPos (all my 4S are 4000 mAH which may also be OK to use) on back order.  The total cost is a few pence short of £205 including p&p, which seems to be a good deal.  Should get it by the end of next month.  In any case I paid via PayPal which is financed by my credit card rather than debit card so if things don't work out I should get my money back but I'm 90% sure all will be well 🤞

[FlyinFlynn]

12 hours ago, Geoff S said:

 

Not sure if it's the best thing to do but I've bitten the bullet and ordered a Gauntlet and a couple of Zippy 4S 2200 LiPos (all my 4S are 4000 mAH which may also be OK to use) on back order.  The total cost is a few pence short of £205 including p&p, which seems to be a good deal.  Should get it by the end of next month.  In any case I paid via PayPal which is financed by my credit card rather than debit card so if things don't work out I should get my money back but I'm 90% sure all will be well 🤞

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/PayPal-Section75/ has some interesting info on using a credit card with Paypal. 

[Cuban8]

39 minutes ago, FlyinFlynn said:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/PayPal-Section75/ has some interesting info on using a credit card with Paypal. 

So if I understand things correctly.....I rarely have a credit on my PayPal account (maybe for a short time if I've sold something) but purchases that I make through PayPal are settled in full, monthly, from my credit card that I've connected to my PayPal account. PayPal purchases appear on my credit card statement and are cleared by bank transfer -  therefore I should be entitled to Section 17 protection.....I think.

Maybe a better idea to use the credit card directly for more expensive purchases where Section 17 rights are quite clearcut.

[Ron Gray]

You need to be logged out of your PayPal account at the time of purchase! To be 100% sure of your Section 75 rights (especially £100 - £30000) pay direct using your credit card.

[Tosh McCaber]

I have received a refund from an EBay Chinese trader, who sent the wrong (smaller sized)retract gear, with the help of Paypal directly.  After an amount of arguing and coaxing, and with Paypal's help, I received the refund, and they told me to keep the u/c that they'd sent!- too much hastle to send it back to China!

[FlyinFlynn]

I have trouble seeing exactly what  Paypal actually offers anyone with a working credit card when purchasing from a trader these days, I guess it would have been nice to be able to xfer funds between friends but as I don't have any friends it is of little use to me! 

 

All the European traders I use are all subject to European credit law and all the Chinese traders I use all fit under the Aliexpress/DHGate/Banggood umbrella whose customer service is usually reasonable, for any times it isn't reasonable that is just the cost of doing business with China.

 

Also I had a problem with their customer service that don't allow me to ring their UK help line from France (because I can swear at them much better in English than French!), even though  I had a Paypal.co.uk account. I ditched the account a couple of years ago and haven't missed it.

[john davidson 1]

In my experience Paypal is quick to to obtain a refund, limited to one occasion admittedly

[Nigel Heather]

One benefit of PayPal, if the option is presented (it isn't always), is that doing the currency conversion on the PayPal side can be a lot cheaper than doing it on the credit card side.  It is also much more transparent.

 

I bought an Elegoo 3D printer a few months ago, the conversion was done by the credit card and I was shocked to discover that it totalled £43 on a £330 purchase.  This was a combination of rip-off exchange rates and exorbitant handling and administration fees.  There was no transparency, I didn't know I was going to be hit so hard until the credit card statement arrived a few weeks later.

 

By comparison if you let PayPal do the conversion they use a reasonable exchange rate and they display exactly what you are going to be charged in £s before you press PAY.

 

As an example I recently bought some LiPos from Zeee - came to £107, this time I selected PayPal for currency conversion and the final cost was £111.  If I'd let the credit card do the currency conversion it would have been £125.

 

But note, you aren't always offered the option.  If you are directed through the full PayPal application then you do but some of the B2B applications used by sellers are cut-down and don't have the full range of options.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Nigel Heather

[David Hazell 1]

Paypal fills out your delivery details too. Useful for one off purchases from sites you don't use often where you don't want to have to re-enter the same old address stuff over and over...

[leccyflyer]

One of the key benefits of using Paypal is that AFAIK you aren't giving your credit card details to an unknown third party. The other is the ease with which second hand sales through the various online marketplaces is achieved, with the majority of private sellers willing to take Paypal. I certainly would not be comfortable with sending bank account details to unknown, unverified sellers on some of the "wilder" sales sites, such as FB Marketplace, though very good deals are readily available there.  I don't do Freinds and Family for strangers but am perfectly willing to pay the Paypal fees, so that the seller gets the cash amount that we agree on.

[FlyinFlynn]

56 minutes ago, Nigel Heather said:

One benefit of PayPal, if the option is presented (it isn't always), is that doing the currency conversion on the PayPal side can be a lot cheaper than doing it on the credit card side.  It is also much more transparent.

 

 

 

I operate a 'Wise' multi currency account with a free debit card that operates in £ sterling, euros and dollars. It is by far the cheapest way of exchanging between currencies and paying for goods from oversea suppliers. I normally exchange a sum of money each month into dollars and use that to pay for items from China, The fees for doing that exchange are around 0.5% - so 25p to exchange £50 into dollars... that's an order of magnitude less than Paypal. There are no further fees to pay, you buy stuff in dollars and dollars are debited from your account...totally transparent.

 

'Wise' also pay interest on any funds held in your account. The trade off is they are NOT a bank so your funds are not covered by the FSCS but they are registered with the FCA.  Take a look https://wise.com/

 

@leccyflier "One of the key benefits of using Paypal is that AFAIK you aren't giving your credit card details to an unknown third party."

 

Most banks offer virtual cards these days. Wise included. You can simply cancel a virtual card and make a new one if you feel uncomfortable in giving card details over the internet. You might have problems with a possible refund if things go south and you have cancelled your card though.

 

There may be one or two smaller traders that accept Paypal but not a card, but there can't be many.

 

I don't do Facebook. Period.

 

@ David Hazel 1  "Paypal fills out your delivery details too."

 

That is what cookies on your computer are for...you only have to fill in your address once for each company, usually for me, that is either Aliexpress, Banggood or DHgate, besides, it is normally required that you register with these companies before ordering which entails entering your address anyway and the site autofills the delivery address.

 

Still don't have a good thing to say about Paypal.

 

 

[Nigel Heather]

Thanks, I'll look into that Wise account.

 

Can you use it like a credit card - for example if I am on holiday in Greece, can I load it up with Euros and then just use it as a credit card to use in shops, cafes, restaurants etc. ?

[leccyflyer]

@FlyinFlynn - why would I look at getting a virtual card, which doesn't offer any refund protection and can't pay for private sales when Paypal does both of those?

[John Lee]

I use my Halifax Clarity Card for any none Sterling transactions (Including HobbyKing). There are no FX transaction fees, you get the Mastercard rate of exchange & Section 75 protection. My last transaction:

 

 

 

[GaryW]

I will never buy from Shoddyking again... I bought a model from them years ago that was faulty and had to fight like hell to get full refund, wud much rather pay the extra pennies for genuine proper items than pay cheap prices for cheap crap,, That's just my view

[FlyinFlynn]

2 hours ago, Nigel Heather said:

Thanks, I'll look into that Wise account.

 

Can you use it like a credit card - for example if I am on holiday in Greece, can I load it up with Euros and then just use it as a credit card to use in shops, cafes, restaurants etc. ?

Yes, it provides you with a visa card that you can debit in euros. If you don't actually have any euros in the account they will extract from whatever currency you do have that costs the least.  Modern banking has come a long way!

[FlyinFlynn]

1 hour ago, leccyflyer said:

@FlyinFlynn - why would I look at getting a virtual card, which doesn't offer any refund protection and can't pay for private sales when Paypal does both of those?

It's a VISA card...it gets the same protection as any other card.  As already stated I don't pay personal friends so don't need that facility, if you do, then use your Paypal account, it is the only thing it is actually good for but be aware of the things that Paypal does charge you for and the level of those charges.

[FlyinFlynn]

1 hour ago, John Lee said:

I use my Halifax Clarity Card for any none Sterling transactions (Including HobbyKing). There are no FX transaction fees, you get the Mastercard rate of exchange & Section 75 protection. My last transaction:

 

 

 

No one works for free so I would ask what the exchange rate was that they gave you and the mid-market price at the same time. Wise use the midpoint between the buy and sell rates on the global currency markets. Mid market rate for 26 June was 1.16597432523258670.8576518181912124 according the XE.com, meaning Halifax skimmed about 15p.   Not bad at all. 

 

  Do they charge you any fees for the card?

[Nigel Heather]

45 minutes ago, FlyinFlynn said:

No one works for free so I would ask what the exchange rate was that they gave you and the mid-market price at the same time. Wise use the midpoint between the buy and sell rates on the global currency markets. Mid market rate for 26 June was 1.16597432523258670.8576518181912124 according the XE.com, meaning Halifax skimmed about 15p.   Not bad at all. 

 

  Do they charge you any fees for the card?

 

Everyone expects the buy/sell rates to be favourable to the bank - I don't mind that as I don't expect them to exchange the currency for free.

 

What I don't like is where you get charged twice, you get an exchange rate that favours the bank then on top of that they charge a fee.

[John Lee]

1 hour ago, FlyinFlynn said:

meaning Halifax skimmed about 15p.   Not bad at all. 

 

  Do they charge you any fees for the card?

 

No, provided you pay off the amount outstanding each month the card is entirely fee free. I got it a few years ago (when I was working for another card issuer!) primarily for use when holidaying abroad but it is equally useful for none sterling on-line purchases.

 

[FlyinFlynn]

17 hours ago, John Lee said:

 

No, provided you pay off the amount outstanding each month the card is entirely fee free. I got it a few years ago (when I was working for another card issuer!) primarily for use when holidaying abroad but it is equally useful for none sterling on-line purchases.

 

That is how it should be! Banking has come a long way. These days there are many places offering a reasonable service and if the high street banks don't or can't follow suit they will find themselves going the way of the high street shops in general.

[leccyflyer]

19 hours ago, FlyinFlynn said:

It's a VISA card...it gets the same protection as any other card.  As already stated I don't pay personal friends so don't need that facility, if you do, then use your Paypal account, it is the only thing it is actually good for but be aware of the things that Paypal does charge you for and the level of those charges.

I was just going by your statement that it could prove difficult getting a refund. I already have a VISA card. I'm fully aware of the Paypal fees and, like I said, more often than not I offer to pay the fees to ensure that the seller receives what we agreed on as a price.

[FlyinFlynn]

On 19/09/2023 at 09:29, leccyflyer said:

I was just going by your statement that it could prove difficult getting a refund. I already have a VISA card. I'm fully aware of the Paypal fees and, like I said, more often than not I offer to pay the fees to ensure that the seller receives what we agreed on as a price.

It would be difficult reimbursing your virtual card if you had deleted it after paying for the item, the trader would want to issue the refund so as not to incur the charges from the card company for the original transaction.

[Cuban8]

On 18/09/2023 at 12:08, GaryWebb said:

I will never buy from Shoddyking again... I bought a model from them years ago that was faulty and had to fight like hell to get full refund, wud much rather pay the extra pennies for genuine proper items than pay cheap prices for cheap crap,, That's just my view

Hobby King Vampire.....Best little model in terms of £s/fun index. Still got it. One of the worst customer service experiences I've encountered was from a local model shop and the ensuing row over a rubbish engine that they'd pushed onto an unwitting beginner.

Caveat emptor, no matter where one shops IMHO.

[Geoff Gardiner]

I have been looking at 6s batteries. When I go to the 'UK Back order sale' section of the website the majority of batteries, when clicked on, are coming up as available from Global wharehouse with silly postage - am I missing something?