Just got my 4PX from a local hobby shop here in Tokyo. Thanks to TASMANIAC for the info :) price for the double receiver set was 48,900 yen plus 5% credit card fee, total was 51,017 yen (about US$486).

Overall I am very happy with it. Feels great in my hand. My only complaint is that the digital trim buttons make noise when you wiggle the radio. I also kind of miss the digital trim buttons on the 4PK which are easier to use and also the push button switch underneath the wheel which is softer on the 4PK.

Can't wait to get home from my vacation to try this baby out :D

Just hope you never have to sent it in for anything. Futaba USA will not do any work on the foreign purchased models. You will have to send it overseas.

I figured that would be the case, and also in Australia as well, but given my experiences in the past the warranty wasn't worth the paper it was written on.

No worries here. I'm from Manila, and the local Futaba dealer does not offer any warranty. Just test as much as you want before you pay. It's the same if you buy from the hobby shops in Hong Kong. So I am good to go :)

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...onz3/image.jpg

You said you might boycot the US distributors. Why? Just cause you don’t receive a battery with your control. Please explain.

Between you and Nexxus, neither of you bothered too answer my four simple questions and opted to justify why you would preferred to purchase it outside of your country.


There are many things an imported has to take into account when setting his wholesale price. In Australia we have a 5% import duty plus on controls (that’s if the control are imported under the RC Parts tariff code) and a 10% GST, plus all the other charges that come with importing. Then you are expecting the importer to absorb these expenses??? You have no idea what wholesales and retails have to go thou day to day just to make ends met.


I’m looking forward to receiving mine.

Soon....:nod:

Boz I can understand your affinity towards Futaba Australia and I respect that, but as a consumer I can and do shop where I feel the price and availability best suit my needs. My last Futaba servo (and an Ofna 1/8 GT Car) were purchased locally so I don't necessarily 'boycott' local suppliers at any opportunity, I just have a limited budget and try to make that go as far as I can, and that includes shopping around.

As for your questions, I don't have enough knowledge of the cost price, landed price etc and overheads to make an informed comment, so I won't. It has been a while since I worked in retail but typically we worked on a 20-25% mark up however that was lower on big ticket items and higher on cheaper items (The mark up on a set of wiper blades or a headlight globe for your car is significant)

I admit, I may have been a bit over zealous with my statements. It just seems like for the price they charge, it could come with a stinking battery just like all the other Futaba controllers for the past 15 years.

Just be thankful that you have economies of scale with Tower and Amain at your door step and dont have to pay Australian prices!

To be fair I had to buy a Futaba S3470 servo for a new build and it was cheaper (even before freight) to get it locally than from any online store.

You just have to be smart and shop around

I try to buy local as much as possible and im not worried if it costs more. For me its more about the long wait for new products to come out here or waiting for lhs to order parts in which usually takes a couple weeks for even the simplest of items.

Stuff like the sanwa mt4s has been out for so long now overseas yet none of the lhs can even supply one because their suppliers aren't bringing them in yet. Who know's how long it will be before the 4px becomes available for sale locally. Other stuff like spare parts for rc cars if they aren't in stock at any lhs i end up buying off amain because i can get parts from them in 4 days compared to a couple weeks from lhs.

I would agree completely! For most (at least USA folks) we need, I mean want, it now. Trust me this is not a criticism, 100% true for myself as well. That is why Amain, Amazon, etc are winning with consumers. Get what you want, usually for the best price, in a day or two. Personally I prefer to shop @ LHS first. But when Hobbytown USA doesn't even have EC5 connectors?... And that's in a city of 1m people. If Hobbico had these USA version 4PX's and shipped on their original date of "late-August" we would be talking about the radio and not an absent battery. IMPO.

Some valid points but I feel we are deviating away from the forum topic a bit guys. Personally I could write a couple of pages on the online store vs LHS but this isn't the thread for it :)

Isan't that my point?!?!?

my wife just sent me a pic... mines at home in a box..

Got it got it. Very very well made feels great