39LikesBest kit for 2021
09-10-2021, 03:24 AM
#46
There are examples of first rate racers, that know nothing about car setup and leave it entirely to their mechanic/pit man.
Or racers that love the dynamics of car tuning as much as the racing itself.
Or everything that's in between.
Of course people will ask 'how do I get more power on steering for my brand X buggy' or 'what's the best setup for track Y' etc. In this day and age, most of this information will be readily available on the Internet.
At the track, support for advice, parts, tuning etc is largely dependent on local popularity - which can be very different to national or even international trends.
The concept of a manufacturer dealing direct with the consumer should result in lower prices for the consumer, the trade off being Internet only supply of kits and parts. This is probably how it is already for a good percentage of us.
As for best kit - this is such a subjective thing when you appreciate just how many variables there are. Pricing, support, availability, performance, durability, popularity, fit & finish etc.
I've loved my Mugen buggies in the past, loving the quality, durability, performance and prices.
In 2021, I love my Xray XT8 - for most of the same reasons, but you pay more of a premium for it.
I don't know anything about the JQ buggy personally and have no experience with it. The little spread sheet example of how it works out cheaper to buy a $479 annual membership and 2 of his cars, with $400 dollars of parts is..... let's just say dubious.
I think that most of us would buy either a second kit or specifically focused parts - not both - so arriving at a bottom line figure that's $300 cheaper for the JQ is a bit of an Indian rope trick.
However, if someone here would like to demonstrate how $400 of JQ parts = $500 of a competitors parts, that would be great.
Bearing in mind that the yearly membership of $420 + the cost of 1 x $380 JQ Mayako is already $110 more than 1 x $690 buggy on paper.
Or racers that love the dynamics of car tuning as much as the racing itself.
Or everything that's in between.
Of course people will ask 'how do I get more power on steering for my brand X buggy' or 'what's the best setup for track Y' etc. In this day and age, most of this information will be readily available on the Internet.
At the track, support for advice, parts, tuning etc is largely dependent on local popularity - which can be very different to national or even international trends.
The concept of a manufacturer dealing direct with the consumer should result in lower prices for the consumer, the trade off being Internet only supply of kits and parts. This is probably how it is already for a good percentage of us.
As for best kit - this is such a subjective thing when you appreciate just how many variables there are. Pricing, support, availability, performance, durability, popularity, fit & finish etc.
I've loved my Mugen buggies in the past, loving the quality, durability, performance and prices.
In 2021, I love my Xray XT8 - for most of the same reasons, but you pay more of a premium for it.
I don't know anything about the JQ buggy personally and have no experience with it. The little spread sheet example of how it works out cheaper to buy a $479 annual membership and 2 of his cars, with $400 dollars of parts is..... let's just say dubious.
I think that most of us would buy either a second kit or specifically focused parts - not both - so arriving at a bottom line figure that's $300 cheaper for the JQ is a bit of an Indian rope trick.
However, if someone here would like to demonstrate how $400 of JQ parts = $500 of a competitors parts, that would be great.
Bearing in mind that the yearly membership of $420 + the cost of 1 x $380 JQ Mayako is already $110 more than 1 x $690 buggy on paper.
09-10-2021, 05:22 AM
#47
Tech Regular
iTrader: (11)
Edit: If Kit #2 was allotted to build an ebuggy, the spreadsheet wouldn't be too far off imo
Last edited by Buckland; 09-10-2021 at 05:41 AM. Reason: thought
09-10-2021, 06:27 AM
#48
I appreciate that this is a best gear 2021 thread, not a Mayako thread, but this is a clearly new for 2021, so it's specifically relevant.
JQ States:
"It's adding value to the customer experience"
"you get more access to the brand"
"most people will get the membership because they like the other benefits"
There's no denying JQ's ambition or original thinking when it comes to direct selling via a membership system, regardless of whether you agree with him or not.
The numbers mentioned in his spreadsheet assumed car 1 is a nitro, car 2 is an electric variant and $500 of parts was an easy number to work with when demonstrating a 20% discount on parts as a member.
So, it isn't really a good demonstration of how buying into JQ Mayako membership works out cheaper than just buying mainstream cars. Especially when you consider that there actually aren't any e variants of the Mayako yet!
Benefits - in real terms - are certain member only parts, free 'invisible speed' online car tuning guide access, member car development, discord community access with video.
To some people, this thoroughly modern way of doing things might be attractive. The question is: are there enough people out there that think that "the other benefits" are worth $420?
I don't think the JQ membership concept is a Ponzi Scheme, but I totally get why people would have reservations. As this is clearly NOT an investment program - it's a very transparent membership - people can see what they're signing up for and decide whether or not it's worth the annual cost of $420 before they can buy the car.
Xray give access to their tuning guides online for free to anyone.
Most manufacturers have websites with community support from racers.
Mayako Shop
And here's the RCTech mayako thread:
Mayako Thread
JQ States:
"It's adding value to the customer experience"
"you get more access to the brand"
"most people will get the membership because they like the other benefits"
There's no denying JQ's ambition or original thinking when it comes to direct selling via a membership system, regardless of whether you agree with him or not.
The numbers mentioned in his spreadsheet assumed car 1 is a nitro, car 2 is an electric variant and $500 of parts was an easy number to work with when demonstrating a 20% discount on parts as a member.
So, it isn't really a good demonstration of how buying into JQ Mayako membership works out cheaper than just buying mainstream cars. Especially when you consider that there actually aren't any e variants of the Mayako yet!
Benefits - in real terms - are certain member only parts, free 'invisible speed' online car tuning guide access, member car development, discord community access with video.
To some people, this thoroughly modern way of doing things might be attractive. The question is: are there enough people out there that think that "the other benefits" are worth $420?
I don't think the JQ membership concept is a Ponzi Scheme, but I totally get why people would have reservations. As this is clearly NOT an investment program - it's a very transparent membership - people can see what they're signing up for and decide whether or not it's worth the annual cost of $420 before they can buy the car.
Xray give access to their tuning guides online for free to anyone.
Most manufacturers have websites with community support from racers.
Mayako Shop
And here's the RCTech mayako thread:
Mayako Thread
09-10-2021, 06:42 AM
#49
I appreciate that this is a best gear 2021 thread, not a Mayako thread, but this is a clearly new for 2021, so it's specifically relevant.
JQ States:
"It's adding value to the customer experience"
"you get more access to the brand"
"most people will get the membership because they like the other benefits"
There's no denying JQ's ambition or original thinking when it comes to direct selling via a membership system, regardless of whether you agree with him or not.
The numbers mentioned in his spreadsheet assumed car 1 is a nitro, car 2 is an electric variant and $500 of parts was an easy number to work with when demonstrating a 20% discount on parts as a member.
So, it isn't really a good demonstration of how buying into JQ Mayako membership works out cheaper than just buying mainstream cars. Especially when you consider that there actually aren't any e variants of the Mayako yet!
Benefits - in real terms - are certain member only parts, free 'invisible speed' online car tuning guide access, member car development, discord community access with video.
To some people, this thoroughly modern way of doing things might be attractive. The question is: are there enough people out there that think that "the other benefits" are worth $420?
I don't think the JQ membership concept is a Ponzi Scheme, but I totally get why people would have reservations. As this is clearly NOT an investment program - it's a very transparent membership - people can see what they're signing up for and decide whether or not it's worth the annual cost of $420 before they can buy the car.
Xray give access to their tuning guides online for free to anyone.
Most manufacturers have websites with community support from racers.
Mayako Shop
And here's the RCTech mayako thread:
Mayako Thread
JQ States:
"It's adding value to the customer experience"
"you get more access to the brand"
"most people will get the membership because they like the other benefits"
There's no denying JQ's ambition or original thinking when it comes to direct selling via a membership system, regardless of whether you agree with him or not.
The numbers mentioned in his spreadsheet assumed car 1 is a nitro, car 2 is an electric variant and $500 of parts was an easy number to work with when demonstrating a 20% discount on parts as a member.
So, it isn't really a good demonstration of how buying into JQ Mayako membership works out cheaper than just buying mainstream cars. Especially when you consider that there actually aren't any e variants of the Mayako yet!
Benefits - in real terms - are certain member only parts, free 'invisible speed' online car tuning guide access, member car development, discord community access with video.
To some people, this thoroughly modern way of doing things might be attractive. The question is: are there enough people out there that think that "the other benefits" are worth $420?
I don't think the JQ membership concept is a Ponzi Scheme, but I totally get why people would have reservations. As this is clearly NOT an investment program - it's a very transparent membership - people can see what they're signing up for and decide whether or not it's worth the annual cost of $420 before they can buy the car.
Xray give access to their tuning guides online for free to anyone.
Most manufacturers have websites with community support from racers.
Mayako Shop
And here's the RCTech mayako thread:
Mayako Thread
Last edited by ravage; 12-03-2021 at 05:40 AM.
09-10-2021, 06:47 AM
#50
I generally agree with you his spreadsheet was created to support his narrative, as I don't know many people that buy two brand new kits and hundreds of dollars in spares per season (some do, I wouldn't say the majority though). I believe the difference in cost of spares is due to the fact the membership gives you a 20% discount on parts. I don't think it's a bad deal by any stretch, if you're interested in the cars (remains to be seen as pictures aren't fully released haha) and want to run them, the idea of having direct connection to the community and input on future design is cool. I don't believe the regular intermediate driver is going to influence JQ's design in any significant way, but at the very least issues could hopefully be resolved without the "good" drivers dismissing them as non-issues. We won't know if no one tries, so I'm interested in following along!
Edit: If Kit #2 was allotted to build an ebuggy, the spreadsheet wouldn't be too far off imo
Edit: If Kit #2 was allotted to build an ebuggy, the spreadsheet wouldn't be too far off imo
JQ definitely reads these threads, because he directly responded to the accusations of a Ponzi scheme in his video.
People having a 'voice' or sense of involvement with the development of new cars would be a nice touch, but realistically, this is an arbitrary feature, an illusion.
Development of a chassis, or even a single part bolted onto it, would be developed from feedback from a small team of test drivers.
If your car designer/s are comprised of JQ and let's say - 2 other chief designers - vetting 6000 ideas, from 2000 different people would be an impossibly tall order. Put simply, any potentially viable ideas would be lost in noise without a large team of people vetting all the contributions.
That being said, I have an open mind about the concept of a membership system. It's waaay too soon to write off JQ's ideas and we need to see what this car is like on a track. If it's competitive, people might start signing up.
09-10-2021, 07:06 AM
#51
i speak with some members daily and the prototype still hasn’t shipped. The buyer is investing their money into a product that was supposed to be here and it’s not. Here is the definition for investment: the action or process of investing money for profit or MATERIAL result. Where is the car? Your investing your money into the membership. So yes the membership is an investment.
What you are not doing is investing with a view to making profit or gaining any kind of share with risks attached.
If said goods don't materialise, you are entitled to 100% of your money back as a consumer.
If you decide to make a risky business investment, you're not entitled to anything if said business goes down the swanny.
With all that out of the way, if the company is using the money from 'early subscribers' to fund production and tooling, and the goods still don't actually exist - there's a pretty good argument that the money has been obtained by deception.
If the orders were placed and the small print clearly states that products might take longer to arrive - consumers still reserve the right to cancel their purchase in the event of unfulfilled orders - or orders that are not fulfilled within a reasonable length of time.
Have these people you talked to attempted to cancel their orders?
09-10-2021, 07:17 AM
#52
Tech Rookie
There is no best kit. All kits are great. Pick one and stick with it.
09-10-2021, 07:18 AM
#53
If hypothetically, one is to buy a JQ membership and order a car, one is paying for goods/services as a paying customer.
What you are not doing is investing with a view to making profit or gaining any kind of share with risks attached.
If said goods don't materialise, you are entitled to 100% of your money back as a consumer.
If you decide to make a risky business investment, you're not entitled to anything if said business goes down the swanny.
With all that out of the way, if the company is using the money from 'early subscribers' to fund production and tooling, and the goods still don't actually exist - there's a pretty good argument that the money has been obtained by deception.
If the orders were placed and the small print clearly states that products might take longer to arrive - consumers still reserve the right to cancel their purchase in the event of unfulfilled orders - or orders that are not fulfilled within a reasonable length of time.
Have these people you talked to attempted to cancel their orders?
What you are not doing is investing with a view to making profit or gaining any kind of share with risks attached.
If said goods don't materialise, you are entitled to 100% of your money back as a consumer.
If you decide to make a risky business investment, you're not entitled to anything if said business goes down the swanny.
With all that out of the way, if the company is using the money from 'early subscribers' to fund production and tooling, and the goods still don't actually exist - there's a pretty good argument that the money has been obtained by deception.
If the orders were placed and the small print clearly states that products might take longer to arrive - consumers still reserve the right to cancel their purchase in the event of unfulfilled orders - or orders that are not fulfilled within a reasonable length of time.
Have these people you talked to attempted to cancel their orders?
09-10-2021, 07:23 AM
#54
09-10-2021, 07:30 AM
#55
Buyer beware!
09-10-2021, 08:10 AM
#56
If the purpose of the the membership was to gain access to purchasing the car, it might reasonably be argued that if the car isn't available, that the membership was deceptively sold/mis represented sale.
09-10-2021, 08:23 AM
#57
Sounds a bit like Infinity: "Buy a car to become a member of our family (and please spend all your other money on our tools)"
09-13-2021, 04:13 PM
#58
sorry dude, I completely disagree with "most racers understand what adjustments are needed". Have you ever been in the factory pits? All those guys constantly talk about car setup, tires, lines, ect. Don't matter what manufacture. if most knew, then Drake and JQ would not have such popular videos... We are always learning new things in this hobby. I have seen way to many people show up to a track with a brand that isnt popular at said track. They sell that car and get something that's more popular at that track.... Wonder why that is? Go on FB and look at the factory guys videos. Hundreds of watches and the same questions in the chat, what changes did you make.... MOST racers do not want to spend the days at the track learning what each tuning option does. They want to know what to do now to go fast...
Ill be in cali this winter racing, perhaps we can meet..
Ill be in cali this winter racing, perhaps we can meet..
Sure, I'm always down to meet fellow RC'ers. What part of CA are you going to? I'm in the Sacramento area. If not at the tracks, we can meet somewhere else.
09-20-2021, 11:59 AM
#60
