Originally Posted by
the incubus
I've stated it numerous times before.
(...)
who's looking out for me?
Certainly NOT the local hobby shop owner.
I think this may be true for many stand-alone hobby shops. I am lucky enough to frequent a shop with a track. Everyone there does their best to stock kits and parts that the local racers prefer. For my track this means Associated, Losi and some Kyosho (as well as Traxxas but thats irrelevant for racers). They will also order any part you need with 2 day delivery and no shipping costs.
When the D413 was announced they saw the demand for the kit and made the decision to start carrying the kit and parts because thats the car that local racers want. Unfortunately they are having the same troubles with parts availability as other shops and retailers, but I was informed that my kit is coming in today.
I think that when you find a shop that does care about their customers, then its worth it to support them. Also it's where I race and I want it to be there for a while.
They along with other retailers had a similar problem with parts availability, perhaps to a lesser degree, with the release with the B5r and B5m. There was a time when people were literally running into the shop because they got a shipment of 5 sets of a-arms. As someone who has had parts injection molded in China, I feel for the HB guys. There are things that happen in that supply chain that you are not necessarily in control of. I'm willing to bet that they are getting things sorted out.