robk

iTrader: (22)

TRC used to offer "magic cut" tires that were like race size. This was a long time ago. They probably charged more for them though, haha..


As far as the "time and trouble" of mounting foam tires...
$12 for 1/12 doughnuts + rims I already had plus $.03 for the portion of glue I used = $24.12 for 4 tires. x 8 = $192.96

$22 a pair mounted and trued out of the shop = $44 a set x 8 = $352

Yeah its not worth the trouble.

Smalls

Hey ROBK....


I dig the quote in your signature....


I think I know where you found that, I might even know the guy Barry was talking to

EddieO

iTrader: (6)

Well, I can't see how you can blame a hobby shop wanting to make a profit off items it sells. If a shop has to invest say, $10...they need to at least make 50%....while power DOESN'T cost much more, lots of things do. Labor is higher here, so are taxes, rent, etc....if you think a hobby shop should make $1 off a $10 investment, I would advise never opening a retail business, you will never last....shops barely can stay in business, even with good prices comparable to mail order. Hence why you see shops fold so often.

I will fully agree we need to bring the costs of foams down, but it simply isn't right to blame the hobby shop. Blame the manufacture and government for taxing imports.


Later EddieO

nitro_tacklebox

Perhaps what we could do is:

As a "Community" within this hobby of ours we can empower ourselves to find that "deal" on foam tires, because I agree, it is too expensive to keep buying tires at $30 - $40 a pop which is rediculous....

But as a "community" it is OUR responsibility to grow.....and with that said: why dont we post online dealers or even local hobby shops who have good deals on foams? This, so everyone who is looking for a good deal on foams can click on the link and buy them.....essentially giving those shops, who make the products available at a reasonable price the business, and be rewarded with our patronage.....

So.....lets start posting those shops who are consumer friendly.

Just my .02 cents

seaball

iTrader: (9)

i like that idea. until someone can come up with a better solution. this is a big board, and if word gets around, it may prompt companies to have sales on tires just to get the free advertising by one of us posting it.

booyah.

CypressMidWest

iTrader: (1)

When you get those tires, are they the same foam as the TRC or Jaco or CRC tires? The shore rating may be the same but the rubber itself is different and performs differently on the track. I know, I've tried the "inexpensive" tires, and the preformance is not the same. The cheap stuff works great on prepared asphalt, but it sucks on carpet.

I suggest that if you want less expensive tires buy them online from CRC at $19.99 a pair. Less expensive than the MSRP of the other brands by a few bucks, and they're of equal or better quality.

Nexus

iTrader: (42)

I posted I think earlier...

www.kthobbies.com has excellent prices..

TRCs 16.99
Jaco $16.50

nitroshoes are even cheaper and he has a sale now for cyan/magenta 26mm foams for $26 for a set of 4.


At those prices they are as cheap as rubber tire sets.

EddieO

iTrader: (6)

Well, you can buy the TRCs online directly from trinity for like $17 a pair....so why pay 19.99 for the CRC tires, which only have a few tires available, not mention a higher price.

I still think though, you should support your local track if they are selling tires for 18-20 bucks. They are making a few bucks and giving you a place to race.


The sales on 26mm TRC tires are all over the place, because as of december, trinity is ONLY shipping 28mm foams now, they are no longer making the 26mm versions....this is the excuse they used for racing the price.


Later EddieO

CypressMidWest

iTrader: (1)

I'm with EddieO, You cant blame the shops. Cost on TRC and Jacos for your hobby store is higher than the accepted "fair price" of the posters on this board. If you're happy with the performance of the cheap off-brand foams, order 'em! Of course you'll have to pay shipping, and wait for your tires. If your hobby store were able to carry these cheap off brand foams, they'd still have to pay to have them shipped, and they'd probably have to pay close to the same for them that you would ordering from Hong Kong. Then they'd have to mark 'em up to make a profit it on them, (unless your hobby store is a "non-profit organization!), so you'd still be dropping around $15 or so a set.

I'm sure that at that point we'd all feel that we were being raped.

RTolle

Now that you've all decided to mail order tires and I'm sure mail order parts will follow don't be surprised when you have no place to race next winter.

EddieO

iTrader: (6)

My point exactly..........shops aren't trying to gouge, they are simply trying to stay in business......smaller shops with lower sales volumes, often charge higher prices to stay open. Bigger shops often give better deals, because of increased volume.



And for the record.....

A non-profit can turn a profit, it just can't pay dividends to any owner and employees can't be excessively paid, nor can it be publically traded.

Later EddieO

speedxl

here goes a good one superior hobbies was at the snow birds and selling tires for
$16.95 u.s dollars and proline bodies for about 19 bucks which is about cost and in the meantime at another location by the track trinity was selling tires for 10 dollars
(12 scale ) and 12 dollars for ten scale
and they were selling handpicked stocked motors at 27 dollars with numbers that would drop your jaw! and yes they did run that good because i tried one and yes it was ballistic, i also bought a millennium pro charger for 100.00 dollars . sorry to break the news but we are the only ones to blame because we buy into it.

seaball

iTrader: (9)

if your track is any good at all, i am under the opinion that it should be able to survive on income from entry fees/memberships alone. the argument that profits turned from selling product should be used to keep the track in business implies that people won't pay enough for the raw track time. i do not support businesses that are founded on doing a poor, or sometimes even mediocre, job. if paying too much for parts, allows a track owner to be lazy, cheap, or complacent with a poor facility, then we are getting an even larger shaft. personally, i find charging more than the average for parts at the track to be bad business. it punishes those who have inferior skills, and ultimately can drive away newcomers that will contribute to a larger population of racers. while we are all free to stock up on parts from wherever we find them the cheapest, that is not the best philosophy for inviting racers to your facility.

we put an absurd amount of work and $ into our facility so that our racers (including ourselves) get every penny of enjoyment out of their participation. it is this effort, that breeds pride, and causes racers to come back every week to be part of a great thing.

seaball

iTrader: (9)

i can agree that the finger needn't be pointed any more directly at the local shops than anyone else in the chain. the problem, again, in my opinion, is that price is way to high by the time it even reaches the retail store. why does this product need to go through so many hands when it's nothing more than a piece of foam glued to a plastic cylinder? due to the elementary level of construction, i would be hard pressed to believe that someone could not establish a small business who's product rivals the best out there, and who's cost IS the best out there. so far, the largest factor that prohibits this from coming to fruition is the lack of information being traded.

these are the questions that have yet to be answered in the 90+ posts thus far.

- is it possible to find an identity for this material (purple, magenta)?

- is it possible to find this material from a raw material supplier in small enough quantities that a small business may be able to purchase sheets of it?

- what is the average price per volume of this material?

- is this a compound that is specifically a result of extensive r&d and is manufactured for the sole use of laying down some hot laps? if so, i would stop my pursuit in heartbeat, as i do not have the resources to develop such a product.

speedxl

seaball if some one has an invester i know how i used to make tires and r&D for company called minitech and know how to go about doing it just dont have the start up money!