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Safe to buy from Hobby King

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  • Safe to buy from Hobby King

    Never purchased from Hobby King. Heard horror stories, please comments.

  • #2
    I've purchesed from HobbyKing for several years. For the most part, it's OK. The quality standard for planes, some components and customer service is not quite as high as Motion RC or Horizon Hobby. If you choose their higher quality items, you can usually save a bit and do OK.

    I recently purchased the Avios Albatross. It had an issue with one motor and it fried the motor and ESC. I filed a claim with some pics and a good description of the problem. They approved the claim and ordered replacement parts for me in about two days. The parts are backordered, but that's a seperate issue and can sometimes be a problem with HK.

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    • #3
      Thank you very much for responding. Appreciate it, Jerry

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      • #4
        I guess there are new people in the hobby and this is when they start considering places like HobbyKing. I've been dealing with them for nearly a decade, back when product quality was very low and customer service was worse. But most people cannot deny that it was HobbyKing that helped to get them started in the hobby. Prices were low and that's how and why people got started. Quality was low and stuff broke but that's how many people learned to be more discriminating about what they bought and they also learned how to fix stuff - lessons that were valuable that they kept to this day. If it wasn't for HobbyKing, I'd not be in the hobby today. Just know what you are buying and from which warehouse. Their US (Oregon) warehouse is handy to most US customers and free shipping with minimum orders is quite attractive. Shipping outside of the US, you've got brokerage from FedEX. The Hong Kong warehouse can ship stuff by post but some things can only come FedEx and other courier type shippers (again, brokerage).
        Along the way, you'll hear of shops that you won't know if it's a good idea to buy from. You can only ask. Yeah, there are still scammers out there that pretend to be legit and even have names that resemble the "real thing".

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        • #5
          Occasionally very long shipping times. No other issues.

          If it has to go by ship across the pacific, the customs office can take a month to get around to checking the container and allowing the contents to go to their warehouse.

          When I order from the USA warehouse (very carefully) the package normally gets to my house in 3 to 5 days.
          FF gliders and rubber power since 1966, CL 1970-1990, RC since 1975.

          current planes from 1/2 oz to 22 lbs

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          • #6
            I've Purchased from HobbyKing for several years. They have some great aircraft and other great products. You just have to understand how they work..... I only buy the aircraft from the US Warehouses due to shipping costs from China. Parts and other small items are OK from the China warehouse, but it does take a couple of weeks to get them due to customs,etc. I find the quality and service to be very good these days. My only issue is that once an airplane has been on the market for a while, or is no longer available, the parts are also not available. It's a good idea to buy spares for easily broken items like props, landing gear, etc. when you buy the airplane, so you will have them when you need them.

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            • #7
              I've only had problems with two Hobby King products. One was an ESC that blew on a de Havilland Vampire, which I found out later was a chronic condition for that model. The other was with a P-38 mini plane that was supposed to compatible with Spektrum TXs, but wasn't.

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              • #8
                Can someone tell me what’s up with Hobbyking?
                no stock of popular planes for months with only OUT OF STOCK , with no details of restock dates.
                also I see the forum now has disappeared here in the uk... very strange, not risking any money on this company until things resolve themselves!

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                • #9
                  Welcome to "Hobby King"....I have bought select planes; parts; batteries and accessories from them for a few years. They are definitely not as streamlined; accurate and proper about their business as Motion RC is. HK is very "arcane" about their practices and models actually "freeze in time". In other words, they sit there out of stock for eons and then suddenly they have stock! But, it's a small window of opportunity and then that product goes back into "suspended animation" for eons again...The USA warehouse is a great help, plus the fact that they ship free after $100 dollars. The Hong Kong warehouse is always subjected to the daily life of China like; "Coronavirus Outbreak"; "Chinese New Year" that lasts 2 weeks; "The Hong Kong Protests" and the regular and unbelievable shipping logistics that China has to deal with on a weekly basis....Try it out and get used to long wait times and weird moments. Otherwise, they try like everyone else does.....

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Sijohn View Post
                    Can someone tell me what’s up with Hobbyking?
                    no stock of popular planes for months with only OUT OF STOCK , with no details of restock dates.
                    also I see the forum now has disappeared here in the uk... very strange, not risking any money on this company until things resolve themselves!
                    You're right. Of the 1/2 dozen or so HobbyKing planes I currently own and fly, most of them are "back ordered". I'm not sure what's going on with them. Their last "weekly wrap" was 3 months ago on YouTube and not a single video since. I kinda liked that young lady in the weekly wrap. They seem to have some activity on their FaceBook page, but I don't go there hardly at all. As for their forum, I can't see it either. For me it's no big deal. It was a total waste of time there anyway, populated by numbnuts and HobbyKing fanbois who thought they were the gods of the internet forum scene. It'll be only those who are crying in their giant onesie pajamas.
                    From time to time, HobbyKing comes up with a spectacular product. I capitalized on several of them in the past year and a half or so. They're still good for the little "odds and sods" but I only put in an order when I've built up enough quantity in the "wish list".

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by xviper View Post
                      You're right. Of the 1/2 dozen or so HobbyKing planes I currently own and fly, most of them are "back ordered". I'm not sure what's going on with them. Their last "weekly wrap" was 3 months ago on YouTube and not a single video since. I kinda liked that young lady in the weekly wrap.
                      I understand they closed the australian office, which is where eleanor was based. There has been much speculation about the state of HK's business. I really only order batteries and miscellaneous bits and pieces from them, and although there was a period where AU warehouse shipping was impacted by the bushfires in southern NSW, it has been business as usual. The area their warehouse is located is still under great threat: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-...coast/11899422

                      I think they're just terrible at managing inventory, although given the scale of their operation it's unfair to expect motion-level service quality.

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                      • #12
                        Thanks xviper, I really like the Komet, and the efx racer... I shall wait to see what happens with HobbyKing before I send them anymore hard earned cash !
                        cheers for your input!.

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                        • #13
                          Thanks also mshagg your thoughts on the state of HobbyKing.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by mshagg View Post

                            I understand they closed the australian office, which is where eleanor was based.
                            I didn't know what their OZ operations was like or how big it was. I heard rumors a couple years back that HobbyKing was bought by an Australian but the new owner let the company continue to do business from Hong Kong as usual. This is where I got the idea that HK was HQ'd in OZ. I'm sure there's one guy with Motion (ex-HobbyKing) who knows the whole scoop but he may not be at liberty to divulge such information (or he may be too polite to do so).

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                            • #15
                              Hope they
                              hang in, I love their graphine batts. As for the quality of their kits I'd have to say so so,seem to need allot of mods. Got a sky sward last year, came ok but will be a while before shes ready for flight
                              rc flyin addict

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                              • #16
                                The odds and ends I’ve bought from Hobby King have been of nice quality. I bought one of their P-51 750mm warbirds that come with a stabilizer and for just under $100 and it went together great. Tried to finally maiden her today but to many folks out in the parks. From all reviews I’ve seen it’s a decent flying model. Looks decent for the price.

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                                • #17
                                  I've purchased tools, etc. from them that were nice. Shipping is maddening. You can literally watch something make 7-8 stops across the U.S. sometimes sitting in each place for a day or two. Other than that I've had no issues. The number for the U.S. warehouse is 505-612-8680 should anyone ever need to call.

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                                  • #18
                                    Do not buy anything at Hobbyking, DHL sent an Imax B6 for return, it has arrived at the company for several days, they do not answer me now, nor do they send me my money.

                                    In the person of mr. Richard Y. stopped responding to my calls. I will complain through the European Consumer Center.

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                                    • #19
                                      I've had no problems with HK for the past few years. But I live in the US and ONLY order items they have in stock at the US warehouse.

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                                      • #20
                                        I don't have a problem with buying from HobbyKing. In fact, I buy a lot of stuff from HK. Like any RC supplier, the main time one has "problems", is if you have a problem with the product and you need to have it fixed or returned and any seller can be difficult, depending on what the complaint is. This same situation happens with Banana Hobby. Everything is usually perfectly fine until something is wrong with the item and you have to get some sort of resolution from the company. The company has to contend with customers tinkering with the product and sometimes, they break it. Then the company has to determine whether or not the item was "played with" or crashed or just misused, especially with electronics and/or planes. You can't possibly expect a company to hand over a refund with no questions asked, especially in the RC hobby.

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