Dealers that sale on EBAY...Good? or Bad?

[UltraLine Motorsports]

Dealers that sale on Ebay, offten don't have a store front... or don't have a track that races every week. (no overhead) Is this a good thing for OVAL racing, or bad?

What do you think?

[hogdaddy77]

I say buy what you can from the LHS/Track..as they are the ones that are supporting the sport/hobby. Most times the track has prices close to the non-store front places on the net/ebay,,and after you consider the time it takes to ship, shipping fees, and wondering if the correct part will arive....to me the local track is the way to go...most times. I do my best to only do business with those that give military discounts...as I am military and prefer to support those that appreciate the armed forces..
...Just my .02 on that

[Doug Carter]

I buy from anyone who has what I need at this point. There are few hobby shops that ever have what I need when I walk in the door, and while I'd like to support the local shop or track, it is NEVER the fastest or easiest means to get a part. If I hear one more hobby shop tell me, "well, we can order that for you." I'm gonna scream. I can order it for myself, get it sooner, not have to drive back here to pick it up, and propbably get it cheaper than you would sell it to me anyway.

Dirt oval parts and supplies are VERY specialized, and most places don't stock or even know where to get the parts. If there was a local track with a hobby shop that carried everything I needed, I'd get it all there. But until that is convenient, practical and cost effective, it isn't an option.

There are FAR more racers who don't have the luxury of buying at a dirt oval track/hobby shop than do.


However, I will ALWAYS support those "storefronts" that make it known that they are dirt oval guys, like kippshobbies.com and nitrosprintcars.com. To me, it's still growing the hobby by keeping those businesses growing.


dc

[big mac 72]

I agree with Doug. My so called LHS carries Traxxas, thats it. When I asked them to order me some TC3 parts he told me it would be two weeks. And I know if I would even mention Custom Works or dirt oval racing the guy would have no clue as to what I was talking about. As much as I would like to support them I cant wait two weeks on a part. I have bought several items from Kipp. Great guy to deal with. I have also bought some pit equipment from dealers off Ebay. Never had a problem yet. I think alot of those guys are RC racers but maybe not DO racers. I felt like I gave my LHS a shot at my business but he failed to even come close to helping me out. I say buy from who can give you the best deal and best service.

[DaBearsNo13]

I guess around here (Central Pa) we are blessed. I can go to at least two of our local hobby shops & find my dirt oval parts. Kranzel's, Newville, even Bumps & Jumps' inventory is increasing. I never have to look online for anything, unless I would want something custom built by Chad, or anybody else. I do also understand that places like Hobbytown, haven't a clue (at least the Harrisburg location) about dirt oval parts. I walked into ours & they did not even know what Custom Works was!! As far as people like Kippy, they are great for the guys who do not have the option of driving accross town to get dirt oval parts, so a big thumbs up to them.
In the end I shall always buy most of my parts at the LHS, because without them, there would not be any tracks to race at! Plus you get more "tech support" from a LHS. :)

Just my .02
Thankyou

[kipp]

i feel like racers should support thier local hobby shops if they can. the problem is, a lot of the hobby shops in this country are geared towards touring cars, monster trucks and off road. until they realize that dirt oval racing is here to stay they are missing the boat. also, there are a lot of people that dont have local hobby shops. why drive 2 hours in hopes that they have what you need when you can have what ever you need delivered to your door step in a few days. i dont think ebay or the internet is hurting this hobby at all. actually i think its a big reason why its getting stronger everyday. if there was no other means to get parts other then your local hobby shops the sport would suffer and prices would be higher. i have a track, a store front and plenty of overhead. since i specialize in dirt oval rc and dont carry monster trucks and touring cars, if i had to rely on my walk in business i would probobly starve. thats why i choose to use the internet as well as my store. i dont feel like im stepping on anybodies toes. any hobby shop that has a computer can do the same thing. its a lot of work and there are a lot of hidden fees but it makes me feel good when people thank me for giving them a place to get parts from. even though i am a dealer when i go to someone elses track to race i usually spend a good amount in thier store. what i feel is most detrimental to the hobby is when people sell stuff out of thier trunk at somebody elses race track.

[Team PRD]

Good topic!
First I agree with Doug 100%, when I read his post, it was as if I wrote it myself, lol. "I can order it for you" Give me a break! For some the local hobby shop can be worthwhile and a good place to support while hobby shops that do not support anything other than their wallet are doing more harm than good for our hobby as a whole. By that I mean the shops that do not have a track and will hustle anything they have on the shelf in an attempt to make a buck. I have been in many shops and overheard the customer ask for something and the response is, "I don't carry that, but this is better" and try to sell the guy something else. Me knowing this hobby and what he's trying to sell the guy is NOT better really get's me mad.

For me, the local shops don't carry what I want anyway, so without online shops, I would be out of luck. As doug said, why order it and then drive back to pick it up, when I can get it delivered.

I think kipps hit on a good point too about buying something when he's at anothers track. I commend you for that. That in the big picture is good and we need to have the bigger picture in mind at all times. If the track is making money, then the track will be there to get others involved in dirt oval which is good for us all. If not, then it will go away which always hurts. Kipp also mentioned about the "guy selling out of his trunk" too and that's just wrong; although, there isn't a "code of conduct" for us to follow, it should be just common sense and a sort of "gentlemans agreement" should be in place at all times to respect the track owner and not try to "rape" the hobby by thinking of only themselves. I know some help support their hobby by making parts, selling stuff like was mentioned and that's fine if it keeps them in the hobby, but sell it online or to the local guys or whatever, not at races.

I have just gotten back into dirt oval and without places like kipps and dirt oval dot com, I am not sure of how hard it would be to get into this area of the hobby. This board has been an incredible place to be a part of and the guys here that have the experience have helped me personally save money by suggesting the right things to buy, helped with some setup tips and the list goes on. A big thank you for this board and the members who share and help others.

Oh and kipp, no I have not ordered anything yet from you, but I will, lol. I am on a budget and have been collecting information and making my lists first to be sure I spend my money wisely. I watch your auctions and visit your website regularly. Nice website by the way, photos of what I am buying is the best way to go. The photos keep people from making mistakes and therefore, keep your life easier, lol. Sometimes a pesron thinks something is called one thing, when in reality it's not...the photo sheds light on things.

Well, I have rambled on, but this was a topic of interest to me and wanted to be a part of this post.

Rob,
Team PRD

[nitroforce]

This is a great Topic!!

Ebay has it's place for hobbies, I do beleive you should support your local hobby shop though. Remember they are where we buy tires and fuel most of the time. Some people like Kippy do it right. He has a specialized market and an Ebay store would work great. Then you take People like PDL Racing. Who works out of a garage, spends a ton of money on Engines, and has no overhead. He may make 15 bucks an engine and he's good with that. Manufactures and Importers suffer from it because he drives the entire market down to where nearly nobody makes a buck. This in the end will make it VERY hard to find Novarossi products in the next few years because it will drive the importers out of the business. Here in PHX you will be luckey to find a LHS that even knows what CW is and most just want to sell RTR monster trucks.
A freind of mine went to a shop last week to buy a Mugen MT 12. The owner was lazy and didn't want to order so he told my buddy it was discontinued. If thats the service the LHS is going to give, They will be closed soon.
If you think about it. There are not as many racers as Backyard Bashers, but the Bashers buy a 500.00 Truck drive and break it for a month and it ends up in the garage on a shelf. As racers with a Committed LHS we are repeat customers, work on our own cars, and spend money to go fast. In the end the amounts we spend over shadows the Backyard Basher.
Each Business has a niche, Monster trucks and 1/8 scales are huge right now. Thats the LHS market to tackle. I always thought a dedicated race shop for oval and offroad in PHX would be a great success.

Nitroforce

[Night Flight]

The LHS can't stock every item for every car/truck. There are just too many different manufacturer's not to say after market manufacturer's. A great example of were e-bay fits in is the HPI RS4 super ten is going to be or has been discontiued are you going to stock parts for them in your LHS? No your going to deplete your stock and move on to something with a future. That is not to say there are not alot of super ten's still around that will need parts as well as what is currently being offered. If someone had the financing to have a clearing house for out dated parts I am sure there are a lot of LHS that would like to unload parts that have been on the self and not moving. But until that day comes we will have to resort to e-bay and different for sale web sites to buy the things that are not main stream. The other part to this story is that there are alot of towns out there that are not big enough to support a LHS that still need parts. It is probably very hard for the LHS to stock eight to twenty dollar arms when they can sell an RTR for three to six hundred dollars.

[JohnBoy72]

When I was growing up in NY...everyone was into dirt oval....you could go into any LHS shop in northern or central NY and get parts....But now in Southwest Missouri, yeah, that's another question...but wait, Hobbytown is stocking mod bodies...no Custom Works cars or anything but I think it's coming around. As far as Ebay, yeah, I believe in Ebay...I bought my Drake off there for pretty cheap. But on the flip side, I put my CEN CT4S for sale and it didn't sell. Maybe I'll try again....But with the power of the internet, it's so easy to save a buck and get stuff ordered and shipped to your door from your door. I'd hate to be a LHS owner...big competition with the internet!!! Well you can never beat going down to the LHS and picking up a part same day!!!

[racerrandy]

I feel lucky, I race at Fastlane Raceway, and when ever I need something he doesn't stock, he orders 2 or 3 and hangs the others on the wall. We race on Sat, and if something breaks and we need to order, its there on Wed. I have never paid more at my local HS than online. I have to pay taxes vs. pay shipping. Same dif. I know other places its not this way, but part of it is I have gotten to know the people at the lhs's and they take care of me. MY .02!

Later,Randy

[Daryl Lane]

As an R/C manufacturer, I use E-Bay as a means of advertising new products and getting my product in front of R/C Racers. I have sold Dirt Oval parts to racer and hobbyist that do not have local oval tracks to race at or hobby shops selling oval parts. They now race with friends in their back yards, and empty parking lots on week ends. Growth of sport?

I have more and more dealers buying from me now so I sell less on E-Bay. I personally would not buy parts off ebay "If my local shop had the part on the self." I also believe in supporting the LHS - After paying for shipping and handling the parts on e-bay can some times cost more then they would at the LHS or close to the same price.

I believe as with most things e-bay has its place some of the time. The other thing to take into account is that E-Bay is getting more and more costly to sell on, and if the parts do not sell you still have to pay the listing fees. E-bay is becoming too costly for for me with some parts to list.

[MWMOTORSPORTS21]

That's the same response I have been getting at my local Hobbytown. If they don't stock something I'm looking for, they get what I need and a few extras. Most "chain" stores won't even spend the time to look into something, but the guys at my local store are really into the hobby and take care of their customers as best they can. I was asked to bring in my dirt oval cars so they could see how they were made and what types of parts they used. They were amazed when I took in my Terminator and new Custom Works nitro sprinter. They seemed truly interested in the products and neither of them had ever seen any cars like that before. On the other hand, there is another local shop that says they'll get you something and you never hear from them again. And they are twice as big a store as Hobbytown. Go figure. Some stores want to cater and others don't give a crap. The majority of my items I purchase are either through Kranzel's or Newville. I can order in the morning and have it shipped to me next day, and they almost never are out of the common parts I use for dirt oval specific cars. Bumps and Jumps also has come a long way in their stock on the shelves, plus all the places mentioned above are great to deal with. Good service. I think for others out there who don't have much of a choice that the internet is just fine. I have purchased from Ebay and internet stores with great success and service, along with usually saving a bunch of change. If there weren't any internet parts dealers, there would be a lot less people in the hobby across the nation. I feel they are a good source for items to feed their competitive need.

[BradleyMiller]

I'll echo the sentiment of supporting your LHS. It was always a real pain to see the local racers going through the Tower Hobbies ads (back in the days before the web) and purchasing things mail order. We watched a lot of tracks dry-up and fizzle out back in the day. I know that the LHS owner is not rolling in dough or ordering a new Cadillac. LHS (with tracks) are the lifeblood of our sport. Luckily the LHS now has a bigger venue for parts sales with the surfing population, but it's the guy undercutting prices and padding the pocket book that hurts.

[antilley]

The site we opened up was intended to fill the same void --- And right from the front page we post this:

*******************
Please support your local hobby stores and tracks first !!! If you cannot find what you need or have no local access we are here to serve you. End of the day we need local shops and tracks to grow our great hobby !

*******************
We also rent a room at our local track and pay a percentage back to the owner for anything we sell. We are certainly not going to get rich out of this deal --- but, it allows us to support the dirtoval cars for parts that cannot be found in the store. We also do not sell parts / kits that can be found anywhere in DFW ----

IT is a double edge sword -- as in most cases the LHS will choose to not stock parts with a small margins that also carry low revenue potential ----
I know Kippy has been nothing but greatness when we have ordered stuff from him and we hope to be like him in how we handle our customers.

[K Stevens]

I have a great LHS, Racers Haven in Bakersfield, CA. They carry a full line of cars and parts, and they have two great racetracks with racing 1 or 2 nights a week with up to 130 racers each race night. They sell products at prices that are comparable to online retailers, and provide great service to all of their customers. Not everyone is as lucky as me, and for that reason "e-tailers" are a great alternative place to purchase items that either aren't carried locally or are otherwise hard to get at a fair price.

Just as everyone has said...but it bears repeating: If your LHS sells products at a reasonable price and supports racing that is fun and fair, then support your LHS. If your LHS sells everything at retail prices and is only interested in making a profit, then online retailers are a good alternative. In the end, if you don't have a place to race your equipment, then it really won't matter much. That being said, it doesn't give track/shop owners the right to take advantage of the customer. Honestly, it would seem to me that the mix of LHS and online dealers creates a good competitive balance that works well for everyone. In the end, the hobby seems to be healthier today than I have seen it in over 20 years.

[Doug Carter]

I will add a caveat to my earlier post. The closest real hobby shop to work or home is about 45 minutes away on a good day. The last time I gave them the benefit of the doubt, I bought an Airtronics MX3 radio with a receiver. It was VERY overpriced, but I wanted to support the "local" hobby shop, so I decided to buy it anyway. When I told them I didn't need the servos that were in the box if they could cut the price down, they took them out and knocked $6 off the total price.

I don't buy anything there anymore unless I absolutely have to. And this is one of the oldest hobby shops in the area.

It's a difficult thing for some retailers to hear, but price is definitely a major concern for a lot of people. Not everyone is eager to throw their money at a hobby shop just because they want to "support the hobby."

For me, the speed I can get things usually decides where I spend my hobby dollar. With so few hobby shops in this country completely ignoring dirt oval products, mail order and eBay are two of the most viable options. Internet shopping carts are easy to set up now, and many manufacturers are taking advantage of direct to customer sales. Given the choice of ordering from the LHS or directly from the manufacturer, I have a hard time buying from a shop that didn't care to have the part in the first place.



Oh yeah, one other little story while I am thinking of it. Just to show you that not all LHSs deserve to be supported blindly. Another area shop that has long been into R/C car racing and support, also has been a track owner and builder in the past 10 years. With each changing year, his tracks have changed from carpet to asphalt to dirt, back to carpet, to off road to oval to road course, and back again with a regularity that would make Metamucil jealous. Each time he does it, everyone who has one type of car sells it immediately to be able to run what the new track offers. I don't think these two actions are mutually exclusive. When this shop owner was asked point blank why he didn't carry any dirt oval products (the closest dirt oval track is 25 minutes from his shop), his response was, "that's not my game, I'll let everyone else [specifically the track owner] carry those kinds of parts."

After his last carpet track shut down, I watched a younger racer sell his X-ray touring car in the R/C department of this hobby shop for $75 to buy a Losi Kinwald buggy.

Gotta love capitalism.

[GnarlyCar]

Regarding Doug's story, I have to wonder how this guy can look these kids in the eye every week when he knows he's just going to change his track at the end of the season and cost them tons of money that they probably spent weeks throwing newspapers or shoveling driveways to earn. People like that just plain need a good slappin around.

Personally, I hate mail ordering or internet shopping. I do absolutely everything I can in person, at a store or with a representative of that store. The problem is this. The nearest hobby shop to my house (a Hobbytown) is run by a crabby bastard who seems to think he's doing me a favor by answering a simple question, and heaven forbid you ask him to look up a part number. On top of that, all thier parts are behind the counter, so you have to ask him to help you find the stuff. Big fkn chore to close your magazine and get off your stool to come and help someone who wants to give you money...pisses me off just thinking about the guy, and I haven't been in there in over a year. Fortunately, I run a CW sprint and a Terminator now, niether of which he's probably ever heard of, let alone stocks parts for, so the only thing he has that I might want is paint. I don't even get that from him anymore, now, as the track where I run usually has whatever I need there.

There's another hobby shop geared toward racers about 45 minutes away from my house, but they're more interested in on-road stuff. They've got a lot of good electronics, batteries, motors, and pit gear, so I've done a good amount of business with them.

The guy I get my batteries from sells them to me only because there's not a hobby shop in my area that carries them. He's refused to sell stuff to people in the past that are near one of his dealers.

I've used the Tower Hobby gift cards I got for Xmas for the last 2 years, and with the exception of some stock brushes I couldn't find anywhere else, that's all the business I've ever done with them.

I guess my point is that everyone here seems to be in agreement that they all want to support thier local hobby shop, even at times when it might not be in thier best interest financially or time-wise. I think the majority knows that doing so is going to contribute to the growth of the sport, but there is and probably always will be a place for guys with online storefronts, simply because it makes the specialty Dirt Oval RC Store within driving distance for everyone on the planet.

There will always be times when you can't find parts, and this past weekend was one of those times for me. I broke a part on my sprint, and looked in the track's HS, talked to the local CW dealer, and even asked a bunch of other racers if they had one to sell me before finding my only option for getting the parts by the next race day was to do business with an online dealer. I was very happy with the service I was given, having had to be walked through the PayPal process, and recieved my parts with plenty of time to put things back together. (by the way, Thanks, Kipp!) Overall, I was pretty happy with the outcome, but I'll never get used to the idea of throwing my money over a fence and hoping someone I've never met throws the right part back over for me.

[RedneckRC]

Wow.... I just caught up to this one and all I can say is wow. Just want to let people know that there are still LHS out there that do support your hobby!! We do have a dirt oval track, we sell everything starting at Tower Hobby prices and when we say we will order it... it is ordered and received within 3 days and we will ship it directly to you usually for no shipping charges and btw we have 10,000 sqft of space! How about 3pk titaniums for $339, 3800 matched race packs for $49.95 and foam tires complete sets for $41.00 and on and on!!! Now someone tell me that we are not trying to take care of our customers versus Ebay sellers/buyers!! How many times do you all have to read "New" on ebay to realize 90% of the stuff is not new.

I could go on and on but maybe I will stop here.... not trying to work with your LHS is NOT good for our hobby. Sometimes guys you might want to make a bigger effort by sitting down with your LHS owner and discussing the issues that you have and help to give them a better understanding of what you expect.... what is the worse thing that could happan... you take your business else where

Art
Redneck RC
Fulton, NY

[jeff@vinyltrix]

Wow.... I just caught up to this one and all I can say is wow. Just want to let people know that there are still LHS out there that do support your hobby!! We do have a dirt oval track, we sell everything starting at Tower Hobby prices and when we say we will order it... it is ordered and received within 3 days and we will ship it directly to you usually for no shipping charges and btw we have 10,000 sqft of space! How about 3pk titaniums for $339, 3800 matched race packs for $49.95 and foam tires complete sets for $41.00 and on and on!!! Now someone tell me that we are not trying to take care of our customers versus Ebay sellers/buyers!! How many times do you all have to read "New" on ebay to realize 90% of the stuff is not new.

I could go on and on but maybe I will stop here.... not trying to work with your LHS is NOT good for our hobby. Sometimes guys you might want to make a bigger effort by sitting down with your LHS owner and discussing the issues that you have and help to give them a better understanding of what you expect.... what is the worse thing that could happan... you take your business else where

Art
Redneck RC
Fulton, NY


This man does not tell stories!! Ill just say this when i want the spectrum setup for my 3pk he not only had it with in a few days he beat tower or any other shops prices by a good margin!! since redneck has opened i cut down my ebay business down and given it to art and calvin!! guys keep up what you are doing we all appreaciate it greatly!!

jeff@vinyltrix

[TQT2]

Hence the car count at Art & Cal's track. All you hafta do is ask... (it's kinda like Christmas there).... ask & you shall receive. What warranty do you get from eBay? If you LHS will take care of you, I'd definately shop there.

As a matter of fact, the LHS in my county doesn't take care of anyone. I support who supports MY HOBBY!!!!!

BSR tires, close to cost. Spektrum DSM's darn near cost. Any kit you can think of.... :D

Not only do they offer a place to race, but also offer a relaxed atmosphere and treat you as they would a good friend !

[RedneckRC]

Thanks guys for the compliments... all it takes is a little people skills and a good understanding of what the customers want... no big secrets... just honest communication, good prices, deliver on what you say you are going to do and create a great atmosphere where everyone can enjoy the hobby they are so passionate about!! If your LHS doesn't understand this than maybe they need to hear it directly from their customers either one at a time or a group of you together. It is up to you guys and girls to let them know what you expect... if they choose not to listen than they deserve what they get but at least give them a chance!! Your LHS needs to understand that they are there to service you and maybe they just need a reminder. This industry needs the LHS to promote this hobby and see it grow especially with the younger crowd and the LHS owner must listen to you to better service your needs and create a hobby that is fun and enjoyable to all. If they do not listen they are only hurting themselves and most of all hurting you and this hobby!! Places like ebay are just a place to peddle product... they have nothing to offer to better this hobby in anyway!

Just my 2 cents...

Art
Redneck RC
Fulton, NY

[brockh]

If memory serves correctly, to become and maintain derlership through horizon or great planes you MUST have an established hobby shop and be open a certain number of hours during the week......the true "dealers" put in their time...if they want to sell on the internet so be it. The sport would die quick if everyone was paying retail for the simple fact everything is so expensive and the "budget" racers would not be able to afford to continue in the sport, but those same guys will break pieces here and there at the track and they will have to buy something there at the hobby shop.....so now the guy that sold that car on the internet at a deal just helped out the hobby shop because joe racer needs parts quick. Had he not sold that car joe racer would not have been racing and a sale would have been lost at the hobby shop.

[marzzz23]

good or bad? my two cents is this. Before our track closed it supplied is with some parts and the local hobby shops have a minute amount of stuff availible. I run a terminator, Kranzel's is both way too far and expsensive. So what am I supposed to do? My options are ebay and whats for sale on here or the internet. Sure I'd love to just buy from my local shop but that isnt possible. I don't have a choice. From what it sounds like a place like Redneck is great, and if I could race and buy parts there I'd love it, but not all of us have that availible.

[kipp]

Thanks guys for the compliments... all it takes is a little people skills and a good understanding of what the customers want... no big secrets... just honest communication, good prices, deliver on what you say you are going to do and create a great atmosphere where everyone can enjoy the hobby they are so passionate about!! If your LHS doesn't understand this than maybe they need to hear it directly from their customers either one at a time or a group of you together. It is up to you guys and girls to let them know what you expect... if they choose not to listen than they deserve what they get but at least give them a chance!! Your LHS needs to understand that they are there to service you and maybe they just need a reminder. This industry needs the LHS to promote this hobby and see it grow especially with the younger crowd and the LHS owner must listen to you to better service your needs and create a hobby that is fun and enjoyable to all. If they do not listen they are only hurting themselves and most of all hurting you and this hobby!! Places like ebay are just a place to peddle product... they have nothing to offer to better this hobby in anyway!

Just my 2 cents...

Art
Redneck RC
Fulton, NY
art, i agree with what your saying about supporting your local hobby shop. however, i disagree with your comments about internet sales and ebay. lets face it, ebay is huge and its not going away. not everybody in this country has a local hobby shop near them or thier local hobby shop may not carry the products they want or need. to say that ebay or internet hobby stores are hurting the hobby is untrue in my opinion. in fact, i think its helping the hobby grow. i have a lot of people tell me that they wouldn't be able to take part in the hobby if it was not for the internet. i am glad to see you opened a track and a store in your area. its good to see the hobby is growing thanks to people like you and others that are passionate about our hobby. i cant help but to take your comments personally since i do sell on ebay and i do have a .com store. i also have a local hobby store here in nc. and yes, i spend most of my day in it manufacturing body kits . its a lot of hard work for not a lot of profit. to keep this hobby strong we need all kinds of places to get product to the racers at fair prices. i also spend a lot of time on the phone with customers answering questions and giving advice when i can. you cant get that kind of personal service from places like tower hobbies. its really hard to match prices with tower hobbies and horizon hobbies when they are 2 of the biggest distributors that us hobby stores get our products from. for an example, to meet tower hobbies price on a good speed control the hobby store makes about 15.00. kinda hard to pay the overhead on that kind of profit margin!! i call it the wallmart sydrome!!!

[RedneckRC]

Hey Kipp... I wasn't talking about internet sales I was talking about ebay... there is a difference. We will also have a legit website up with a complete store front soon in order to sell products as well however we have no plans on selling on ebay now or in the future. If your saying that Tower and Horizon are not helping the hobby how in the world can you think ebay is?? When you buy a set of HPI shocks from hong kong on ebay for $10 how exactly does that help. You sure aren't going to get them from Tower or Horizon for that price. We sell everything starting at Tower prices and have a solid profit margin... you just have to know how to work with your suppliers to get to the margins your looking for, believe me they are there. Now its your choice to put all that work in and sell on ebay and pay the rediculous fees for next to nothing for profit but if you would listen to what you are saying.... how is that helping the hobby?????

Art

[kipp]

Hey Kipp... I wasn't talking about internet sales I was talking about ebay... there is a difference. We will also have a legit website up with a complete store front soon in order to sell products as well however we have no plans on selling on ebay now or in the future. If your saying that Tower and Horizon are not helping the hobby how in the world can you think ebay is?? When you buy a set of HPI shocks from hong kong on ebay for $10 how exactly does that help. You sure aren't going to get them from Tower or Horizon for that price. We sell everything starting at Tower prices and have a solid profit margin... you just have to know how to work with your suppliers to get to the margins your looking for, believe me they are there. Now its your choice to put all that work in and sell on ebay and pay the rediculous fees for next to nothing for profit but if you would listen to what you are saying.... how is that helping the hobby?????

Art

art, im not saying that the big 2 are hurting the hobby, im saying that competing with thier prices is difficult for the small mom and pop hobby shops. as far as ebay goes, some people love it and some hate it. over half the stuff i list goes unsold. i dont list stuff at basement bargain prices. its impossible to do that because of thier fees. its basically more for advertising purposes that i use ebay.

[Dlan44]

I'll echo the sentiment of supporting your LHS. It was always a real pain to see the local racers going through the Tower Hobbies ads (back in the days before the web) and purchasing things mail order. We watched a lot of tracks dry-up and fizzle out back in the day. I know that the LHS owner is not rolling in dough or ordering a new Cadillac. LHS (with tracks) are the lifeblood of our sport. Luckily the LHS now has a bigger venue for parts sales with the surfing population, but it's the guy undercutting prices and padding the pocket book that hurts.


Your post sums allot of it up.......and is true. I have read all the posts on this thread......and had the same discussion with TRACK owners. From their position, they make VERY LITTLE if any on Kits/RTR's, and their racing entry fees doesn't even cover the rent and utilities.......for race night!. They make their money off of parts, fuel, tires, engines, electronics etc.
Do I buy from EBay/E stores........yes. But I DO SUPPORT MY LOCAL HOBBY SHOP/TRACK. What I mail order are parts I can not get anywhere else. What I EBay is mostly used stuff I can rebuild or use on a prototype car. Where do most of the rebuild parts come from.......My local track/shop.

When you buy online/mail order, you can't see it and hold it. If you are prototyping, you buy things you hope will fit. My LHS/Track will take it back.......not so on line. When you EBay engines/electronics........it is a crap shoot. Don't buy it unless you cant find it elsewhere, or the deal is SO GOOD it is worth the risk that you can rebuild it and still save $$$$. Case in point. Like new RB Rody x12. Rotary carb. SG shaft. I got it for $65. I can rebuild it......so I thought.....if necessary. Well........I was not looking at the Pic carefully enough.....and it wasn't a good pic. It had a chunk of STEEL tubing hammered into the case and JB Welded in OS carb. It also had a stock MugenMT.12 crank with a wore out rod and decent P/S.......Mugen not Rody. So for $65 I basically got a Rody heatsink, Mugen Crank/P/S. Not a good deal.

I think most of us agree.......it has to be a balance. The economy and availability dictates we do mail order and online. However, if the track owners don't make money.........we can sell ALL our stufF, buy us a HOT computer and set up an online racing league. We may be pulling a trigger, and turning a wheel.......but the sound smell and PEOPLE will not be there.

[RCRACR20]

Having been in the hobby for 15 years, and having worked in the hobby long enough, knowing what the general cost of items are (before any of the discounts the distributors give out), I think Im entitled to say that Art has got it all figured out. He knows that he can sell 2 or 3 of a particular item at a "discounted" price in a week, rather than sell 1 of that item after having it sit around for 3-4 weeks, and end up with the same profit. Theres an old saying that goes....it costs money to make money....and Art has definitly done that. Look at his track...look at the little things he's done to that place, look at how far out of his way he goes to make everyone who races there happy. Thats what all hobbyshop owners should do. Make the customers and racers feel wanted. Terry and Zack did the exact same thing when they ran Fountain. Those are the kind of places that people shouldnt even hesitate to support, because those are the kinds of places that care about the hobby.

As far as Ebay goes....great place to get hard to find stuff, and a great place to unload unwanted junk, and sometimes you can get a steal of a deal on there.

Good place to buy new stuff....NIP

[kipp]

Having been in the hobby for 15 years, and having worked in the hobby long enough, knowing what the general cost of items are (before any of the discounts the distributors give out), I think Im entitled to say that Art has got it all figured out. He knows that he can sell 2 or 3 of a particular item at a "discounted" price in a week, rather than sell 1 of that item after having it sit around for 3-4 weeks, and end up with the same profit. Theres an old saying that goes....it costs money to make money....and Art has definitly done that. Look at his track...look at the little things he's done to that place, look at how far out of his way he goes to make everyone who races there happy. Thats what all hobbyshop owners should do. Make the customers and racers feel wanted. Terry and Zack did the exact same thing when they ran Fountain. Those are the kind of places that people shouldnt even hesitate to support, because those are the kinds of places that care about the hobby.

As far as Ebay goes....great place to get hard to find stuff, and a great place to unload unwanted junk, and sometimes you can get a steal of a deal on there.

Good place to buy new stuff....NIP
well said matt !! its all about good people....ive met some great people in the past few years in this hobby.

[mkiiracer]

Here where i race the lhs is getting more and more parts. just for the do-racers. and if i just need a few parts i will get them from him. No one near by sells cw so i got that car from kippy on ebay. along with tires and that monster of an engine ( a great guy to deal with). but if i need a bunch of parts it is cheeper to get from the "rc walmart" of the internet.
I'd say im not a big budget racer. and my cars aren't really threatening any track records. having said all that. i still do believe that the reason for opening a track is to sell parts at the Lhs and it would be suicidle for a hobby shop not to carry parts for the track has opened up.just my $.02

[BPP]

More power to anyone who makes money. If someone is willing to sell 10 items cheap instead of 1 item at regular cost, thats thier business. Its what they think will work for them. There are parts I would not buy at regular price, so the only person gaining anything would be the person selling them cheap, the person who wants to sell high doesnt lose anything because I wouldnt by from them anyway.


also note, I have bought parts from Kipp because of his ebay auctions. I didnt buy them on ebay, but I wouldnt have known he had them if it wasnt for the auctions.

[RedneckRC]

Kipp, good thinking as far as the advertising goes with ebay. Great way to get your name out there and if you look at the price you pay on items that you list and don't sell its a great way to pay for advertising with minimal investment. Big thumbs up for that idea!!

[nigtro4294]

I will always hit the local hobby shop for my parts first, but that being said, the closest hobby shop to me is 40 miles away.He does run dirt oval and offroad in the summer months and thats where I do my racing. If I am going to be in the area at any other time, I will stop in and get what I need. Otherwise, its web and e bay for me.
Always support the tracks and hobby shops that are willing to help us dirt oval guys.

[RedneckRC]

Having been in the hobby for 15 years, and having worked in the hobby long enough, knowing what the general cost of items are (before any of the discounts the distributors give out), I think Im entitled to say that Art has got it all figured out. He knows that he can sell 2 or 3 of a particular item at a "discounted" price in a week, rather than sell 1 of that item after having it sit around for 3-4 weeks, and end up with the same profit. Theres an old saying that goes....it costs money to make money....and Art has definitly done that. Look at his track...look at the little things he's done to that place, look at how far out of his way he goes to make everyone who races there happy. Thats what all hobbyshop owners should do. Make the customers and racers feel wanted. Terry and Zack did the exact same thing when they ran Fountain. Those are the kind of places that people shouldnt even hesitate to support, because those are the kinds of places that care about the hobby.

As far as Ebay goes....great place to get hard to find stuff, and a great place to unload unwanted junk, and sometimes you can get a steal of a deal on there.

Good place to buy new stuff....NIP


Thanks a bunch for the compliments... I just think that it is really up to us the LHS owners to make sure we offer something that the customers want and are happy with... if we do that the rest will take care of itself. We need to offer the best prices we can afford becuase if anyone hasn't noticed... this hobby can be very expensive! It is up to you, the customers, to help the LHS by doing business with hobby shops like Kipps and others who do a great job servicing you and by letting the ones that don't know your issues. There are hobby shops that offer internet sales that have tracks, like Kipps, who will do a good job servicing you. Sure... you pay a couple of bucks more but at least you are helping someone who truely cares about the hobby and wants to promote it rather than the "Super RC Walmarts" that are in it strickley to take your money! Its something to think about. I am not saying to buy everything from them becuase they sometimes can't compete on price but if it is something you need and they are in your budget why not look first to giving the LHS the business if they are close enough on price??