What? No more Spektrum?!

[dkalwishky]

I was told by an employee of Horizon Hobby that they see Motion RC as competition which is mind boggling to me because they are 30x our size.

On one hand that's good, they are scared and see you as a force in the market. On the other had it means they are going to protect themselves by doing crap like this. I think they are scared because of the fantastic planes that you've produced in conjunction with Freewing and Flightline.

I was also told they don't feel Motion RC adds value as a dealer of Horizon products.

They are idiots if they really believe that.

we currently offer Admiral receivers which are compatible with Spektrum radios.

I've been using Lemon for years, when the Admiral like came out I switched to them. I refuse to buy a Spectrum RX.

I sincerely appreciate all the business this community has given to us, and I hope you all will continue to support Motion RC.

I sure all of the Motion regulars already know this. I have so much stuff from Motion in my fleet that guys at my field give me a hard time, they say I've the Midwest distributor for you guys. :)

When you release a new plane they all come to me for an evaluation, they know I'm probably going to buy it.

You guy keep doing what your doing, we love what you do and will support you as long as you are around.

[Gilatrout]

Motion and Horizon need each other. Without the opposition, the challenge to stretch and take chances is reduced or eliminated. Motion was kicking Horizons ass because they got complacent. They scrambled and are just catching up with the Jets. Motion could stand to look at the power system Horizon is using in their 64mm park fliers for it's planes.

I don't understand why Horizon are being asses here.
They have the most to lose. I know they've screwed things between themselves and the local hobby shops. I've seen the margins and it is difficult, if not impossible for LHS to earn enough on plane sales to make it worthwhile.

[Gilatrout]

Also motion, if you really want to freak out Horizon, open up a channel for LHE stores to sell your planes

[Pilot.Vrf201]

My .02 cents

I love both company's, E-flite has some very cool products (the new F-15 with safe) and so does Motion (my awesome L-39 and Admiral Receivers).

However; most distributors what businesses to buy a certain amount of product to sell each month or in a year.
The buyers that come to Motion are not looking for ton of E-flite items or a ton of Spektrum radio stuff, so its hard to stock those items and have them sit on a warehouse self.

I just hope both continue to provide great support and new awesome products! :Cool:

[F22trainer]

Keep doing what you are doing, Tom. It should come to pass HH will realize you didn’t need them but they needed you.:Angry:

[T-CAT]

If all this is accurate, then it is a shame it had to go down like that. I hope they eventually see the value in having Motion as a dealer for the Horizon branded products. With that said, as a hobbyist, I prefer the products offered from MotionRC far more than Horizon. I have owned Horizon products before and still have a few, and I have enjoyed them. I just don't happen to enjoy them nearly as much as the products I get from Motion, and I feel I get a better value from Motion's products (especially Freewing/Flightline). So, I could easily manage to never own further Horizon products if I felt the need to do so for whatever reason(s). I hardly purchase their products as it is. I'm also not tied into the Spektrum ecosystem, so that also helps.

I am interested in many aspects of the RC hobby, but have the strongest passion for jets, both EDF and Turbine. Jet purchases, related accessories, etc. are what consumes most of my RC budget and space in my hobby room. When MotionRC and Freewing came onto the seen, for me, it changed the EDF jet game in a very positive and influential way. It also changed things from a customer service standpoint, cost, product/part availability, etc. I definitely remember the days before they were around, and since their arrival the EDF jet part of the hobby has never been more fun than now for me. It has been great to watch (and participate, since I'm spending money, ha-ha) MotionRC's growth over the years, and hope to see them flourish for years to come.

[Bandiferous93]

Hey Tom, Will you guys still sell FMS products? I really hate to hear how Horizon is treating others in this hobby but you can kind of see it in how they treat people at flying events.

How does Horizon treat people at events? Serious question as I'm honestly curious to hear some examples.

[borntoolate]

Tom, and all the crew at Motion - You guys (and ladies) are doing a great job. You continue to bring out some beautifully designed and executed planes! I do use a Spectrum radio (DX9) but I use none of their receivers. All of my planes use either Lemon or Admiral receivers. You are my go-to shop as my order history will confirm. Keep doing what you are doing and make sure you keep Alpha happy. I would hate to see him not be part of the equation.

Bob

[Jersey Hank]

Seems many years ago WORLD ENGINES had os max, super tiger, futaba and a few other brands. Then TOWER HOBBIES took them because they could buy in larger amounts than JOHN MAHONEY could. Then he got EZ and MODELTEC arf and arc kits. TOWER stole them in same way. Now seems HORIZION is trying same crap!! How long before they fold ?? I wish them no ill will but they are trying to conner the market now as well sad but true. The small local dealers may be ok but MOTION is growing and HORIZION does not like it !!! I have bought from MOTION am very happy with their service, HORIZION is upset because you sell me a radio and they get stuck with warrenty on it ????

[Valkpilot]

We're working on it but there is a 99% chance we will never carry Spektrum, E-flite, or anything from Horizon again. I was told by an employee of Horizon Hobby that they see Motion RC as competition which is mind boggling to me because they are 30x our size. I was also told they don't feel Motion RC adds value as a dealer of Horizon products. I can't give specifics but I'll say that Horizon made it difficult if not impossible for Motion RC to continue to sell Horizon products at a profit. I suspect the same thing will happen to other dealers if it has not happened already. As an RC enthusiast, I like Spektrum and E-Flite and I would love to keep their products at Motion RC. As a business owner, we'd be out of business if we continue to carry their products. Potentially following the same story line, we found out that Horizon recently went to a factory we've done business with for a few years and threatened to pull their business if the factory continued to sell to Motion RC. I'm all for competition but I'm for fair and ethical competition.

We'll offer Futaba as a good alternative to Spektrum radios, and we currently offer Admiral receivers which are compatible with Spektrum radios. If anything, this may be a silver lining to offer more and better alternatives. We will continue to innovate with new products and we will continue to offer all our customers the customer service we are known for. I love this hobby and I know everyone here feels the same. I sincerely appreciate all the business this community has given to us, and I hope you all will continue to support Motion RC.

Well THAT explains the dearth of new models, and EXACTLY what I was guessing. Hope you folks have LOTS of evidence on this because you'll probably be getting a letter.

[F4ucorsair]

im newby aussie 53yold pilot luvd baa baa black sheep hence name ,,,over last2 days politics oboy run my own auto shop 20 years ,i getit can i say iv seen u tube horizon vids bla bla andthen motian ryan and mike now alpha and james my fav 16000 mm corsair did like f22 also politics is about money , money only comes with service if i was in us or canada motian rc 4 me go tirod iron cool shed garage??? whateva get rida the power lines go warbirds

[fulltilt]

We're working on it but there is a 99% chance we will never carry Spektrum, E-flite, or anything from Horizon again. I was told by an employee of Horizon Hobby that they see Motion RC as competition which is mind boggling to me because they are 30x our size. I was also told they don't feel Motion RC adds value as a dealer of Horizon products. I can't give specifics but I'll say that Horizon made it difficult if not impossible for Motion RC to continue to sell Horizon products at a profit. I suspect the same thing will happen to other dealers if it has not happened already. As an RC enthusiast, I like Spektrum and E-Flite and I would love to keep their products at Motion RC. As a business owner, we'd be out of business if we continue to carry their products. Potentially following the same story line, we found out that Horizon recently went to a factory we've done business with for a few years and threatened to pull their business if the factory continued to sell to Motion RC. I'm all for competition but I'm for fair and ethical competition.

We'll offer Futaba as a good alternative to Spektrum radios, and we currently offer Admiral receivers which are compatible with Spektrum radios. If anything, this may be a silver lining to offer more and better alternatives. We will continue to innovate with new products and we will continue to offer all our customers the customer service we are known for. I love this hobby and I know everyone here feels the same. I sincerely appreciate all the business this community has given to us, and I hope you all will continue to support Motion RC.

That is sad. I have heard this same thing from other suppliers. I have not done any business with them in a very long time. Not saying i was aa huge fan of Hobbico but sure hated to see Horizon take them over. The answer is to support your local shops as much as possible and not look at always trying to save a penny. We must look at the future now or else......

[JPHRacing]

What's the difference between horizon wanting to do what's best for themselves and motion never selling to other hobby shops? Seems like the same thing, right? Motion has a business model that works for them, so does horizon.

horizon supports the hobby shops, motion does not. Your local hobby shop deserves this s support.

[RCjetdude]

Welcome to HobbySquawk JPHRacing. I see Motion as a distributor just like a local hobby shop. They buy from whoever at wholesale prices to then sell and make a profit. The only difference is the LHS maybe has a store front in addition to or maybe instead of an online presence. How is it that a LHS is more privileged to do business with Horizon than Motion when they could both equally sell Horizon products? I know that my LHS struggles to make anything on Horizon planes at a minimum. You can't compare Motions business model to that of Horizons. This is not just about who supports the hobby shops.

[Valkpilot]

What's the difference between horizon wanting to do what's best for themselves and motion never selling to other hobby shops? Seems like the same thing, right? Motion has a business model that works for them, so does horizon.

horizon supports the hobby shops, motion does not. Your local hobby shop deserves this s support.

Horizon is a retailer and a wholesaler. THEORETICALLY, LHS and MRC should be able to got to companies like E-flite and not have to deal with Horizon. As for MRC's "in-house" brands, they are also available at other on-line sites (mostly Chinese based), and THEORETICALLY your LHS COULD get Flightline and Freewing themselves IF they went to China or found a distributor in the US, which many brands do not have,

[MikeT]

In the long run Motions better off. Knowing the margins on hobby related items it probably wasn't worth their time and effort anyway. Stick to what you do best Fliteline and Freewing. Horizon supports the LHS and Motion does their thing. I wish we could sell Motion's line of planes but as I said there's just no margin there for them ( which I completely understand ) . I'll continue to support both Motion and Horizon.

Mike

[Bandiferous93]

Horizon is a retailer and a wholesaler. THEORETICALLY, LHS and MRC should be able to got to companies like E-flite and not have to deal with Horizon.

E-flite isn't a "company". It's a proprietary brand name owned by Horizon. Kinda hard to do E-flite without Horizon and they just slap it on a model. Same as Parkzone. They don't actually make anything. You'd have to go directly to who makes the E-flite models like FMS, etc.

[Bill Wakeley Jr.]

I bought a Kingfisher from HH. (most of my planes are from HH ) Half way through assembly I found that the tail section was either poorly manufactured or just didn't fit this particular plane. A call to HH was in order so I called HH Service. I explained the problem and was promptly asked if I opened the box.....um yeah. Did I unpack the box …..um yeah. Well because I opened and unpacked the box there would be no help from HH...… um really? I hung up the phone with a giant question mark bouncing around my brain. How could I know there was a problem if I didn't open the damn box? I stated it would be my last HH plane and I would be sure to tell everyone I know into r/c that HH will rob you first then crap all over you and your beloved hobby. Anyone else have this problem?

[RCjetdude]

I bought a Kingfisher from HH. (most of my planes are from HH ) Half way through assembly I found that the tail section was either poorly manufactured or just didn't fit this particular plane. A call to HH was in order so I called HH Service. I explained the problem and was promptly asked if I opened the box.....um yeah. Did I unpack the box …..um yeah. Well because I opened and unpacked the box there would be no help from HH...… um really? I hung up the phone with a giant question mark bouncing around my brain. How could I know there was a problem if I didn't open the damn box? I stated it would be my last HH plane and I would be sure to tell everyone I know into r/c that HH will rob you first then crap all over you and your beloved hobby. Anyone else have this problem?

Wow! Were they thinking it was shipping damage?

[F22trainer]

I bought a Kingfisher from HH. (most of my planes are from HH ) Half way through assembly I found that the tail section was either poorly manufactured or just didn't fit this particular plane. A call to HH was in order so I called HH Service. I explained the problem and was promptly asked if I opened the box.....um yeah. Did I unpack the box …..um yeah. Well because I opened and unpacked the box there would be no help from HH...… um really? I hung up the phone with a giant question mark bouncing around my brain. How could I know there was a problem if I didn't open the damn box? I stated it would be my last HH plane and I would be sure to tell everyone I know into r/c that HH will rob you first then crap all over you and your beloved hobby. Anyone else have this problem?

I find that hard to believe, as on two occasions I have contacted them regarding an airplane I received which had minor issues. The replacement parts were shipped out that day at no charge. Recently with my Piper Cherokee, they even sent a full replacement set of wings, landing gear and even the servos - because the box had been dropped one one corner and had deformed the wing tip. Not broken mind you, just an oops.
Ya might want to try again and start with a “good morning”...