TLR scaling back
11-29-2013, 08:32 PM
#91
Why do people always make comments about losi not getting "top shelf" drivers or not having any? Do they forget/ignore the fact that 2 of the last 3 1/10 electric nationals were won by losi drivers? Not to mention the fact that they are usually in the A-main of the 4wd buggy class running 15 year old cars. The losi guys are just as competitive as any other team.
11-29-2013, 08:33 PM
#92
RTR's are the cash crop of everything RC. If you doubt that, look how the RC Plane/Quadcopters have gone.. ~90-95% RTR's.. Its just more profitable for any company! Have a "true" racing line & racing team is extremely costly.
Some of you may not remember, but once Horizon acquired Losi, there wasn't a real racing line/team, until the TLR Branch started up. Just as the product quality that AE had, lowered once Thunder Tiger acquired them. I'm hearing the same about Durango too.. Racing lines/Teams are very expensive.
11-29-2013, 09:16 PM
#93
Why do people always make comments about losi not getting "top shelf" drivers or not having any? Do they forget/ignore the fact that 2 of the last 3 1/10 electric nationals were won by losi drivers? Not to mention the fact that they are usually in the A-main of the 4wd buggy class running 15 year old cars. The losi guys are just as competitive as any other team.
11-29-2013, 10:23 PM
#95
I think both ryans are locked into LTRacing contracts with AE. I cant see any of those guys leaving.
The driver debate is funny its kinda like LeBron leaving the Cavs. If Tebo signs with losi, it would have to be for serious coin. Imo the company with that kind of money is Traxxas.
Cav used to be Losi too let's not forget.
Lee could go anywhere. AE has a pretty strong team in the UK. We might see him behind the wheel of a Schumacher.
Momo
The driver debate is funny its kinda like LeBron leaving the Cavs. If Tebo signs with losi, it would have to be for serious coin. Imo the company with that kind of money is Traxxas.
Cav used to be Losi too let's not forget.
Lee could go anywhere. AE has a pretty strong team in the UK. We might see him behind the wheel of a Schumacher.
Momo
11-29-2013, 10:29 PM
#96
I think both ryans are locked into LTRacing contracts with AE. I cant see any of those guys leaving.
The driver debate is funny its kinda like LeBron leaving the Cavs. If Tebo signs with losi, it would have to be for serious coin. Imo the company with that kind of money is Traxxas.
Cav used to be Losi too let's not forget.
Lee could go anywhere. AE has a pretty strong team in the UK. We might see him behind the wheel of a Schumacher.
Momo
The driver debate is funny its kinda like LeBron leaving the Cavs. If Tebo signs with losi, it would have to be for serious coin. Imo the company with that kind of money is Traxxas.
Cav used to be Losi too let's not forget.
Lee could go anywhere. AE has a pretty strong team in the UK. We might see him behind the wheel of a Schumacher.
Momo
I would laugh however at everyone suddenly buying Traxxas cars after Tebo won some class with them.
That would be all sorts of special.
Sorry, my intention was not hijacking this from a Losi bashing thread into a Traxxas bashing thread, but Traxxas are great bashers - not great racers.
11-29-2013, 10:33 PM
#97
I think the whole sponsored driver thing is out of control. I think money is better spent at the grassroots level, to have a guy a local tracks helping people out goes way farther than who won some major event with tons of money behind him....
11-30-2013, 12:01 AM
#98
Tech Regular
Don't think Lee would go to Schumacher as he likes the Japanese stuff too much, so if he does move maybe Yokomo. Would be good to see Bloomfield at Schumacher though, he has his eighth sorted with Agama and most other manufacturers do eighth and tenth.
Not sure about TLR scaling back, all just rumour and speculation at the moment, but it does seem as if something's up when long termers leave the company. Maybe money is still very tight in the RC business and companies have to scale back just to survive to fight another day.
Not sure about TLR scaling back, all just rumour and speculation at the moment, but it does seem as if something's up when long termers leave the company. Maybe money is still very tight in the RC business and companies have to scale back just to survive to fight another day.
11-30-2013, 01:40 AM
#99
Yeah tlr has you by your cajones if you think the 22-4 isn't a xx4 2.0 It is an updated xx4 no matter how you look at it. The new 4w buggy was the only losi I was considering. I expected to see a new ground up vehicle and not a refreshed old car. I had yet another extreme let down from tlr and felt they cut a short cut and dropped the ball.
A $469.00 dollar price tag the car has for old technology is outragious! Hell the car doesnt even come with sway bars, not even a rear one! I would have loved to own a new losi wheeler but I'm no dummy to travel down tlr's road again. I'm sure you can easily spend $150 more dollars to make it a car the team guys drive. For $469 the car should come with absolutely every single option part. Tlr markets to kyosho prices but you only get half the option parts. Xray schumacher associated kyosho (just naming a few brands) box a product completely ready to hit the track without needing more fancy optional parts to go with it. And those brands minus kyosho aren't crazy priced like the losi car with bad quality control on sloppy plastic parts, I won't go down that road right now.
..I will be up north soon and I will run LOSI all the way!!Hope to beat You SOON!!!!!!!lol LOL LOL LOL LOL
Last edited by BmainStar; 11-30-2013 at 02:27 AM.
11-30-2013, 05:39 AM
#100
I think some people forget that in the end, its all about business! Regardless of how well the people at losi, ae, traxxas, etc want to please their customers, if the numbers don't make sense or there is no room for profit, then its a no-go!
As others mentioned, if your company depends strictly on the race aspect of the hobby, its a losing battle. While race kits are expensive, along with the upgrade and "go fast" parts, you have to keep in mind that racers are a very small percentage of the overall customer base of the hobby.
RTR vehicles is where the money is made... I am willing to bet that if you looked through losi's financial statements, the TLR (race specific) line doesnt bring in 1/10th of the profit that their rtr products do.
Traxxas is a prime example. I guarantee that traxxas makes more "profit" off a 2wd slash than losi does off of the tlr 22-4. Sure the losi is twice the price but here is the difference between traxxas and losi. When traxxas sells a truck, the dedicate the majority of the time/money to advertising. Advertising is key, the more money you invest, the more you will see in return.
Losi on the other hand has to take the little profit they made off of their TLR race specific vehicles and not only worry about advertising but also keeping their race team alive and the countless other expenses involved with that.
Traxxas runs a very smart business. It may not cater to us racers, but they are great at what businesses need to be great at, which is making money.
As another member said... if Traxxas ever wanted to get into the serious race scene, they would be unstoppable. They have nearly unlimited funding from the rtr line and their advertising is number one in the industry by far.
Businesses have to change with the times or else they wont stay alive.... that is all Losi is doing.
As others mentioned, if your company depends strictly on the race aspect of the hobby, its a losing battle. While race kits are expensive, along with the upgrade and "go fast" parts, you have to keep in mind that racers are a very small percentage of the overall customer base of the hobby.
RTR vehicles is where the money is made... I am willing to bet that if you looked through losi's financial statements, the TLR (race specific) line doesnt bring in 1/10th of the profit that their rtr products do.
Traxxas is a prime example. I guarantee that traxxas makes more "profit" off a 2wd slash than losi does off of the tlr 22-4. Sure the losi is twice the price but here is the difference between traxxas and losi. When traxxas sells a truck, the dedicate the majority of the time/money to advertising. Advertising is key, the more money you invest, the more you will see in return.
Losi on the other hand has to take the little profit they made off of their TLR race specific vehicles and not only worry about advertising but also keeping their race team alive and the countless other expenses involved with that.
Traxxas runs a very smart business. It may not cater to us racers, but they are great at what businesses need to be great at, which is making money.
As another member said... if Traxxas ever wanted to get into the serious race scene, they would be unstoppable. They have nearly unlimited funding from the rtr line and their advertising is number one in the industry by far.
Businesses have to change with the times or else they wont stay alive.... that is all Losi is doing.
11-30-2013, 05:56 AM
#101
I have loved my TLR products. I do well with the 22 and while its initial cost was a little more than competitors, I have spent less than $30 in replacement parts in three years. I recently purchased the 22T and I'm starting to do as well with it. My parts don't wear quickly (except for 1.0 steering racks). The vehicles are crazy durable and I feel that they respond to tuning far better than the Kyosho and AE cars I ran before switching. I do like my FTSC10 and love my Tekno 410sct. So I would call myself a Losi fan boy.
I hate to hear that they are scaling back. I hate that they have discontinued production on the 22T platform. I don't like the price points of their 8th scale kits and will most likely never get one.
My favorite aspect about TLR has been their racers and staff. Dustin Evans, Dakota Phend, Frank Root, and Casper have been amazing on the RCTech threads. I never received this kind of resource from AE or Kyosho. Add to that the success that Dakota and Dustin have had as top tier racers over the past few years yet they are still willing to get on the threads and help us all out.
So all in all, as an average Joe racer, I have been extremely happy with my TLR experience. Their 1/10 platforms are great and their willingness to help out racers has been amazing. As long as they can keep a good product in my hand and offer me the resources to advice on tuning, I will still feel good about TLR. I don't just race one brand however and if or when the competition offers a better package, I will try it. As for now, I love my 22s and I am considering the new 4wd although it is pricey and wheeler has not been doing well at my home track. Been over 6 months since I saw one there and it sat on a bench.
I hate to hear that they are scaling back. I hate that they have discontinued production on the 22T platform. I don't like the price points of their 8th scale kits and will most likely never get one.
My favorite aspect about TLR has been their racers and staff. Dustin Evans, Dakota Phend, Frank Root, and Casper have been amazing on the RCTech threads. I never received this kind of resource from AE or Kyosho. Add to that the success that Dakota and Dustin have had as top tier racers over the past few years yet they are still willing to get on the threads and help us all out.
So all in all, as an average Joe racer, I have been extremely happy with my TLR experience. Their 1/10 platforms are great and their willingness to help out racers has been amazing. As long as they can keep a good product in my hand and offer me the resources to advice on tuning, I will still feel good about TLR. I don't just race one brand however and if or when the competition offers a better package, I will try it. As for now, I love my 22s and I am considering the new 4wd although it is pricey and wheeler has not been doing well at my home track. Been over 6 months since I saw one there and it sat on a bench.
11-30-2013, 06:02 AM
#102
I can't look away!
11-30-2013, 06:54 AM
#103
Why do people always make comments about losi not getting "top shelf" drivers or not having any? Do they forget/ignore the fact that 2 of the last 3 1/10 electric nationals were won by losi drivers? Not to mention the fact that they are usually in the A-main of the 4wd buggy class running 15 year old cars. The losi guys are just as competitive as any other team.
I said ANOTHER top shelf racer. I wasn't saying anything about TLRs current crop of talent.
11-30-2013, 06:59 AM
#104
Working at a hobby shop I can tell you there's a lot to be said for a TLR product (this goes the same for the blade helis). Sure, it may not be the cheapest but when you buy it, you know you're getting a quality product. They're not over priced, just priced at the top of the range of what normal guys would want to spend for whatever kit they're buying. You know when you open the box the kit is going to be perfect, and in the rare case that it isn't you can call them up and have the replacement part on it's way to you within a few minutes. Say you need help with the build, call them up and they'll help you out, no problem at all. Say you need setup help, post on here and Frank Root is right on it.
On the up side for your LHS, they don't get completely raped on pricing and can actually make money on the kits. Other companies we can buy a car for $260, pay for shipping, and sell it for $300, take out money for credit card fees, and you're making just about nothing. Horizon products you can sell and actually make money, while selling something that's easy to say is a good product, and has amazing service.
Also for the 5t upgrade kit, I'm not sure about all the pricing things, but can say the guys who buy that car have no problem dropping money on items for it. We sell the $250 body pretty often... Crazy, I know
On the up side for your LHS, they don't get completely raped on pricing and can actually make money on the kits. Other companies we can buy a car for $260, pay for shipping, and sell it for $300, take out money for credit card fees, and you're making just about nothing. Horizon products you can sell and actually make money, while selling something that's easy to say is a good product, and has amazing service.
Also for the 5t upgrade kit, I'm not sure about all the pricing things, but can say the guys who buy that car have no problem dropping money on items for it. We sell the $250 body pretty often... Crazy, I know
I work at a hobby shop for sh*ts and giggles and Horizon and Losi are an excellent company and product to deal with. I don't even own any Losi products but I do appreciate their customer service and dedication to the consumer. For everybody b*tching about the prices, how is it any different than tekin charging 200$ for an ESC when you can get a HW for 90$? Its customer service with a high quality product. Once again , I am no losi fan boy, but if you haven't driven a 8e 3.0 or you think its the same old, your dead wrong. The car is excellent and worth every dollar......
And does anyone have any idea on how much these top tier drivers even make? Or is everyone speculating? I can imagine it is very much......
11-30-2013, 07:13 AM
#105
I have heard they make somewhere in the vicinity of six figures.