Beware HobbyKing USA warehouse

[Abu Soud]

Well said. If not for hobby king is probably be flyin my Trex 450 and never had the heart to spend so much money on something I might not like (fixed wings & quad). Also if you live where I do. By the time hobbyking items are found in the only legit hobby shop we have it'll cost you as much as something similar from well known brand.

I'm not saying they're Angels or something. They just have the right pricing for someone who is not sure he is buying the correct item for him (newbies in each field who are trying to get in another) it's cheap and practical especially if you know how well you'll fly it for the first time ever. I started learning on yak 54 3d profile from HK and I bought it from my LHS for 100$ for the kit. I would imagine if this was hh plane it'd probably cost at least twice. I had some crap electronics laying around. I fitted that on the kit and made around 25 crashes till I understood how do plane land since then I never crashed or hard landed a plane.
I'd not get in to fixed wings at all since I started and advanced with heli flying but too many spares and maintenance made it feel like a second job.

I have small rc Buisness here and I have 3dhs planes and HK planes and they sell. If the customer is a veteran and don't want to modify and upgrade HK plane to make it even better he will ask for 3dhs items. If it's the other way around and he is someone enjoys building and modifying a plane to make it better or a cheaper is always better kinda of a guy he will ask about the others.

I believe one of HK points of strength is they have huge selection of items specially those small hardwares you'll usually needs in this hobby. Buying these on their own and paying a lot to ship them (or double shipping like in my case) is total waste of money at least for me. But not having Lhs that have them so you'll usually have small stock of anything might be needed
With each order I place I always have some of those hardwares. Now if hobby king forgot to send a nut or a horn it's not big deal I always have what might be needed to complete the build.

If I'll be flying a huge plane with few thousand $ invested in electronics I'll for sure spend few hundred more to get branded equipment.

About replacement when damaged. I never had any esc or motor fails on me or my customers from HK till now. Few broken plastic servos I've my share of those. If I'll need to ship my items back to usa or China for repair it'd probably cost me 50% of what that item cost me new. So I don't care much about we will replace it if it's damaged.

I had few broken items and not received orders but compared to almost 100 order and 5 of them had problems needed some following up to solve I don't mind it. I had a main hobbies screwing up my first order of rc items ever and they had the guts to tell unless you close your escalation with PayPal you're getting nothing. I kept my escalation and received my refund for items that have been lost for over 45 days (tracking showed it never left usa)

One last thing to say to all these expensive brands. If you're worried someone will compete with you using your own design and ideas. Don't send them to them to manufacture cheaper for you so you get more profit.
I can't see us government outsourcing their secret weapons or advanced technology to other countries cause labor is cheaper there. If these companies were not greedy they wouldn't be in this position now. I know Chinese can copy anything but how good those copies will be without all the required manufacturing info? 90% performance for 35% the price is good. But knowing I'll have half the quality cause I paid half the price of course I won't be buying those

Sorry for the long reply. Too many redbull I guess lol

[chris-fry]

When will you guys give up on Hobby King?? Granted, prices are killer. But when you need a warranty item, you are up that famous creek with no paddle.

Spend your money elsewhere.

[Inverse]

When are you guys that despise HobbyKing going to stop bagging out a company that many, many customers have limited or no issues with?
I can guarantee that the amount of happy customers outweighs the disenchanted ones by a huge ratio and I know many people who wouldn't be in the hobby if it weren't for HK.
You could always just spend your money elsewhere?

[chris-fry]

Many of my friends have had issues with HK. I have not. What happens when you get sent a wrong item or have a warranty issue. You get the run around. Good companies on this side of the sea will provide you with awesome CS , not give you the run around.

When I was buying stuff from HK, I would buy stuff that could be easily, cost effectively bought again, if needed.

[Cailid]

Originally Posted by Inverse

When are you guys that despise HobbyKing going to stop bagging out a company that many, many customers have limited or no issues with?

That'll probably happen when the people that praise them stop supporting a company that cheats their customers and steals their money.

[sarpilot]

[Inverse]

Originally Posted by Cailid

That'll probably happen when the people that praise them stop supporting a company that cheats their customers and steals their money.

Huh?

[Abu Soud]

My advice in dealing with hobbyking (100+ orders in 2 years)

Don't order new product till they're tested and enhanced or if you saw it with a friend or the field and know it suits what you're looking for.

Be patient especially if you order using slow mail (not EMS or DHL or fedex) I receive my hobbyking orders in 10 days atmost and this include the time my forwarding company is wasting till they ship to me in Saudi arabia.

Double check your order an make sure about the items especially those little hardwares used they have multiple quality of the same items

If you're so anal and always find a problem no matter where you it from. Hobbyking isn't for you

In this hobby there is people who like to fly and others who enjoys tweaking and enhancing stuff before they fly it. If you just want to fly stick to the well known and tested by many users and you'll be fine

I agree that some of the items are crappy and total waste of money. Make your research before placing an order and you won't be disappointed. Also always keep in mind when you buy 500$ item for 50$ for sure it won't be exactly the same (especially electronics) you'll get what you paid for most of the time.

my 2 cents