Originally Posted by
Jaz240
It all comes down to money. eBay or eBay sellers do not pay RC tech for advertising so any links will get deleted if spotted. Also I realize that allot of you shop eBay but the people who are not authorized dealers or sellers of RC related products are killing off our hobby and if left unchecked will continue to damage your local hobby shops, tracks with retail sales and even the big online retailers that you all shop with.
I've stated it numerous times before. LHS can shove it. Been at this for about 25 years and 90% of them follow the same trend/business model and therefore most end up closing shop. They sell you on the brands they stock and you end up dropping a considerable amount only to have them switch to other brands, dropping the original brand they sold you on and then you have to wait for them to order parts which sometimes can take unto 3 weeks, sometimes more.
The only brands that are static pretty much everywhere int he states are Associated and TLR and even then some shops stop carrying those brands as well. We have a ginormous shop here that's not too far out of my way that was the premier place to buy all of your kits and parts and slowly but surely they stopped stocking parts and brands until they completely switched focus, turning their backs on customers who supported them for several decades, to morph themselves into an overpriced toy store the peddles utter junk.
We all used to go there and bump into one another and hang out and by the time we all checked out (usually closing time), they'd ring up several thousand dollars.Then one day we walk in and everything changed. All remaining stock was thrown into boxes and placed on a shelf and you had to sift through them to try and find the part(s) you needed, and if they weren't there they wouldn't even order it for you because that was no longer their focus.
Local shops screw themselves and at this point in my life, there are things I see that I want to try and no longer will I be forced to buy only a select few brands because that's all the local shops stock. I buy what I find appealing and order parts right to my door and the cost of shipping is usually less than what I spend on gas to get to my local shops anyway, and it's way more convenient.
HB has been making great vehicles for a long time and there isn't a single shop that has ever stocked their kits. They have to order them if you so wanted to buy one. Same with Durango, Schumacher (SINCE FOREVER), and most other brands that weren't Associated, Losi, and Tamiya (who's kit's were always super awesome in theory but were in all actuality severely overpriced JUNK!!!) I haven't run a Tamiya car for a very long time but they now seem to be on a similar level to high end race kits.
I worked one summer cutting lawns on crutches to get an Astute (like I said, been at this for a long time) and it was so intricately engineered, but broke like crazy if you just looked at it wrong, and it was as heavy as a Sherman tank and thus was not competitive. Went back to my RC10 and JRx2.
In short, ebay (or any online retailer) isn't killing much of anything and ebay sellers have just as much right to sell product as does the local seller. I for one am tired of double, triple, and quadruple taxation without representation and will always opt to save a few dollars, because while I might be looking out for the local guy, who's looking out for me?
Certainly NOT the local hobby shop owner.