tower hobbies.... tsk tsk tsk

[mavrick0611]

Man i think tower hobbies is the best on-line hobby store but they're shipping ***** . I checked my account last night at like 7 or 8, and it said item shipped or something and gave me a tracking number, and it wasnt activated yet, now its just a little passes 6:30 the next day and the tracking number still doesnt work, heck my order with horizon hobbies was the fastest i ever got,

just had to let that off my back

aj

[Obi112]

I've had good experiences with Tower's shipping. Small orders come in a couple of days and larger orders take 5-7 (which may be murder for some people but I don't mind).

[mavrick0611]

its not that, they say its been shipped in the customer account section, but its not being tracked or shipped for 1-3 more days, which makes no since, all i ordered was a comm lathe, a few screws and comm drops,,,

i dont know
aj

[Car_Head12]

i have had three coronaries, two hernias, five hip replacements, and gone through seven hearing aids while waiting for Tower Hobbies to ship something!
Done use tower hobbies HORIZON ROCKS!!

[atm92484]

I've ordered a ton of stuff from Tower and the only problem I had was with my GT. They held it a day to verify that the card holder (my mom) knew that a large order was on the card. Other than that everything has arrived a day after the first day they said I could expect it.

[TA03 Drive Hard]

Um... I'm there number 1 customer and i seem to get my orders sooner than expected :D

[The_Ne-Go-She-Ate-r]

I have had nothing but good experiences with tower hobbies....

[chizzler]

yeah!
I get my stuff NEXT DAY>>>> :) :p

[HauntedMyst]

I'm with you TAO3, I've never had a problem with Tower Hobbies and since I live in Illinois I usually get in 1 or 2 days.

[chizzler]

hey hauntedmyst -(off the topic), when is the race on the 17th start??
just thought id ask since we both posted the same times

[RichieRich]

I've never had a problem with Tower Hobbies and I've been ordering from them since 1988. I'm never in a hurry to get my merchandise. So normally, if I order on Monday, and use the cheap-o shipping, I'll have everything before the weekend.

[ 06-08-2001: Message edited by: RichieRich ]

[ammoace]

I haven't had a single problem with Tower Hobbies. My last four shipments have gotten here on time everytime.
Jerry

[jeepinator]

One vote for Tower Hobbies from me.
And I will actually explain why (if you care to read ;) )

1) Tower Hobbies is cheaper. Period. Every single item. Do a check.
2) Tower Hobbies has actual product descriptions on most items. They have pictures on a lot of items. They have technically oriented notes, cautions, and dependencies (you must have item A before you can use item B).
3) They offer rebates for orders over X amount (changes quite a bit, but you can always get about 10% off), and cheaper shipping if you are a "club member". Hey, priority US Mail shipping is 5 bucks ! And I usually get my stuff in 2 or 3 days with this method !
4) They are not competing with LHS's with their own products ! Horizon owns Losi. They SELL Losi. They sell Losi stuff in competition with LHS's. Ummmm ... that seems to be not helpful to this hobby. Traditionaly the manufacturer does not sell directly to consumers because it damages the ability for the reseller to make a profit. Unless, of course, the manufacturer charges MORE than the reseller. Read item #1. I suppose Tower is kinda in the same boat as they are owned by a distributor. Meaning that Great Planes is competing with LHS's via Tower Hobbies. Hmm... lots to think about there ... :confused:
5) I had a shipment disapear. Not make it to me. They noted that it had been delivered. But, I know that I did not receive it. They never questioned me. They just resent the same order the same day. Very nice. On that same note, once I did not get a discount becuase I called up to modify an existing order. The dude forgot to put my "add number" doohicky on there. They credited me the $15. no questions. Very nice.

And yes, I have ordered stuff from Horizon. They were fast and curteous. No question about it. But, for the hardcore web shopper and researcher like myself, Tower is far more compatible.

[mavrick0611]

Tower does have great the BEST search listings and every thing, but usually, every time i got to order instock stuff, it magically goes out of stock (go fig).

It only took them 3 days to finally mail out my package, it was sent out this morning. If they had mailed it out when they had it packaged (Wed.) i would have a 80% chance of having it today. I was hoping to have it by today so i get get my motor trued, (buying a lathe), and go racing on sunday, but that wont be happening.

Horizon hobbies is exellent, but theyre not as good as tower yet, and why is tower and horzon in the same town????? If one store doesnt have it do the people go to the other?
wierd

Speaking of rebates and junk, my order was like $124.5something. and the day after i sent out the order i got a e-mail that if you spend over $125 you get $10 off. Isnt that a crock???? and i was wanting to get a trinity bumper for my tc3, i should have...

aj

p.s. Chizzler, well you should have it in 1-2 days your like what 150 miles away? (or less?)

[ 06-08-2001: Message edited by: mavrick0611 ]

[chizzler]

its somewhere around that distance, maybe i should get out my measuring tape :D

[AnimeKing]

THE ANSWER YOU''VE ALL BEEN LOOKING FOR:

The reason that when tower says they've shipped something and it takes a day before UPS or FedEx catches up is because tower tells you when THEY ship it, however it's not entered into UPS or FedEx's computers until it's scanned on arrival at a distribution center. So from the truck ride over from tower at like 7-8 PM EST until it makes it to where it's going, like the next day, there is no update.

Tower has met it's estimated arrival date on the over 15 orders I have placed.

Try ordering from amazon some time, you'll appreciate Tower more...

[mavrick0611]

no, what i dont understand is how, Horizon and Tower are located in the SAME TOWN But Horizon can manage to ship out via ups the same day if they get the order before 2 and tower still has to wait. Same toen, Same UPS station, but tower takes longer. Doesnt add up?

aj

[JP]

Tower Hobbies just renewed my faith in them...I was going to switch to Horizon/Omni after my membership expired. Its not quite expired, so I just bought a Mini-Z. 149.99, and tires for it 7.99. I got the Mini-Z for 144.99, and the tires for 6.99 because im a member. I also got a $10 discount, and free shipping. I ordered this Wensday, and they said they shipped it today. Which means I should be getting it today, or tomarrow. Tower is in IL, and so am I...so they charge tax. Wanna know the total of a $158 (after tax)? $152. So i basically got those set of tires for FREE. Wow, Tower has renewed my faith. I never did want to go to Horizon...they own Losi stuff :p :D

[HowieStern]

oh boy... the mods are gonna love this post... LOL...

anybody wonder why your LHS has to charge higher prices than Tower/Horizon??

ever wonder why your LHS doesn't have much in stock??

ever wonder why you may not even have an LHS for 100 miles?? and the one 100 miles away is horrible??

well... all these are because of a couple reasons...

1. guys like you that have not supported your LHS and have saved "a buck or two" and did mail order....

2. your LHS's suppliers are also their direct competitors.... how in the world can your LHS compete in price with the people THEY are buying from??? (ie- tower/horizon pay much less for their inventory than your LHS does)....

i'm a gen X'er folks... i want things NOW... not two days from now... and i don't want to blow my time waiting on an order, or checking tracking numbers to see just where my order is...

i also like supporting local people... keeping my money local... as opposed to sending it to illinois to a couple groups of people who have held this hobby down for years....

i could go off on this subject forever... LOL....

overall....if possible... support your LHS...

and i wish many more manufactures would sell factory direct to dealers, not use the tower/horizon monopolies as their sole distributors...

peace out... :)

[atm92484]

I agree with Howie. I love Tower because the stuff costs less but I'd much rather order from my LHS even though its a little more. I know the people pretty well so if there is a problem I can drive out there and get it taken care of. This is just my opinion but Tower rips you off on shipping especially if I just need something like a spur gear or a servo. If I order that part from my LHS on a Monday it will be there Thursday or Friday and I don't get stuck paying for better shipping.

[mavrick0611]

I would much rather support my LHS, but when they dont carry what i need, (my lhs doesnt carry comm lathes, hard to beleive) They didnt have assoacited motor head screws, and they didnt have comm cutting fluid. So i rodered from tower. I hate mail orders. I would much rather have it right now. But if your LHS doesnt chave it or carry it what are you suppose to do????

aj

[RichieRich]

I would love to support my local hobby shop. BUT with rude service, limited stock and exorbitant prices what am I supposed to do? I'd rather wait a few extra days, and get the items I need at a fair price with no hassle using mail order. Now, mind you, I wouldn't mind paying a few bucks extra to my LHS if I received good service and they have the items I need. (Even if they had to order them, that would be fine.) If they're jerks, why should I give them my hard earned money?

[HowieStern]

i really don't blame most people for shopping at the tower/horizon monopolies... i mean, most people don't have a choice in the matter...

i know plenty of people who don't have an LHS for well over 100 miles... and if they did drive to that far away LHS, they probably wouldn't have the part in stock anyways... and if they went ahead and ordered it from that LHS, it would mean waiting for the part AND paying a lot more...

but.... just so everyone knows.... Tower/Horizon are the reasons behind this... they make it nearly impossible for an LHS to make any money... therefore, your LHS has to charge more, and only carry a limited inventory...

so like i said... support your LHS if possible... if not.. you gotta get your parts the best way you can.... and hope someday the manufactures wake up, and help the local dealers compete with the big two...

[jeepinator]

Supporting your LHS post is important. No argument from me.
However, if LHS's want to stay in business they will have to change the WAY they do business to match the changing market.
They will need to do what we in the networking industry call "value add". They need to provide what the mega Internet stores can't. They need to make the reason for me to buy from them. They need to make me want to use them. Buying from them for some ficticious reason is just delaying the innevitable.
It can be done and few around here do. They have a track, they have technical expertise, they have race oriented parts, they have stuff you can touch and feel before buying.
I do my part in supporting these businesses in parts alone. When making larger purchases of things that I know exactly what they are I am going to "save a buck or two". Period. Not doing this makes no sense.
This problem needs to be resolved by the people having firect profit interests, NOT by the consumer. If anyone thinks that changing the buying habbits of the mass populace is going to work, feel free to buy the bridge I have for sale ;)

That said, please consider where you buy your stuff from for more than just price.
I think that is what we all pretty much said ?

[mavrick0611]

That said, please consider where you buy your stuff from for more than just price.


I totally agree with that. My LHS doesnt have bad customer support exept for one bald headed jerk. With as much money as i spend there i would pay theyre salary! :D But what they have in stock does affect your buying habbits. But moat LHS's (like mine) do make a great deal ammount of money. I would like to see them take a small portion over time and build a track. They set up a little pvc track on sundays in the parking lot but its just not the same as a real track.

I wish lhs's would be really friendly and give back a little like making a track like i just mentioned. Heck id come down and help them maintain it and build it, no biggie. But its more than what is under the roof of the lhs. Its how they treat you, the instock merchandise and (in some cases) what weekend fun they can provide.

may sound corny but thats what i think.

aj

[JP]

OK, topic has changed a little, so here are my second thoughts in this thread now about "monopoly vs. LHS."

It truely is just that, a monopoly. Im even cought up in the whole mix of those things. But it IS really important to keep with your LHS. I buy all the stuff I possibly can from my LHS...E-Maxx, TC3, Rustler, dragster, XXT CR GP, parts, electronics, and all. In fact, im well known at my LHS for spending a couple thousand there a year (my gifts, others money). In fact, I bought EVERYTHING I ever had at my LHS, except 3 things: Airbrush, RC10GT and parts, and Mini-Z. The airbrush and Mini-Z are only $250 (only, lol), but they never did stock them and wouldnt order either. But my GT was the real biggie, but when spending over $2000 at one shot/order, my LHS couldnt keep up; so i turned at Tower. I needed hundreds of parts, and my LHS only had a few, not to mention Tower was saving me $200-$300 in deals. I feel bad for that...but sometimes you just cant rely on your LHS to get them.

But its very true, that the reason the majority of LHS are out of business are because of the on-line retailers. And these on-line retailers are always goign to be there, because they own most of what hobby shops buy. Tower owns Kyosho and Hobbico, Horizon owns Losi (any others?) and thats just in R/C vehicles and not airplanes. LHS are forced to buy from them, which gives the online places even more money. But nowadays, kids are, and adults (im included in one of them) are in Generation D...Digital. We do everything we can over the internet/phone as long as we can get a cheaper price.

I really have no idea why i posted this, it didnt help or hurt the debate in either way. BUT I did, so im gunna post it...whatever, ill delete it if i get sick of it :rolleyes:

[jeepinator]

JP, thanks. Your post was fine. You gave your opinion, and not much more.
I am not quite sure Tower owns Kyosho. I am pretty sure they don't actually. But I understand your point.
Also, by pure legal deinition, there are no monopolies in the RC world. At least none that I am aware of.
You have choices, lots of them. This fact really disqualifies Tower, et al from being a monopoly. I think the industry may be controlled by only a few companies, and they may even be practicing some form of undesireable business tactics, but it is a legitimate industry as far as I can see.
But, I am no expert on anything either. In fact I am merely an observer. I did not even go to college ! Heheh, hurray for Cisco certifications ;) Don't need no crummy education with those :p

[HumbleEagle487]

Hey here's my theory. If your gonna buy a car and there is a 70 dollar diff in internet and lhs, and you don't have 70 extra bucks, go with tower. That is what I did and then I bought all my painting materials and extra body clicps and other stuff from my lhs. They're nice people over at Walt's. And they are building an offroad track. Heck their probably done with it by now. I havn't been down there in a bit. Tisk tisk on me. lol

[hpiguy]

Hello,

Tower and OMNI are the SAME company. Just so you know. Great Planes owns them both, so switching to just Omni wouldn't hurt anything on Tower's end.

I have placed a total of about $20,000 ( a low estimate) in orders from Tower in my history of R/C of the past couple decades. Maybe more if I could find the imvoices from when they first went in business.

In all that time and all those orders they have screwed up exactly ZERO times. And if they were to mess up they will cover it completely. I have had products shipped that were missing pieces. Horizon has told me "Deal with the manufacturer, we can't help you." Tower says "Send it back postage due and we'll send you the new item today."

Stormer, and Hobby People have both lost my business because they are incompetent and have very poor customer service. Tower is friendly, and fast, and always happy to help. When is the last time Stormer, Horizon or Hobby People have given "20 dollars off for spending 100 AND free shipping"? NEVER. And Tower price matches anybody on top of that.

Also Horizon and Tower are in the same town because Champaign Illinois gives great tax breaks to large industrial companies. So a ton of companies moved there to save money. It just happened that they both moved there, they DO NOT have a store front that you can walk in and buy stuff.

The reason for the delay in shipping is that Horizon sends out about a full UPS or FEDEX truck per day. ONE measly box van worth on average.

Tower ships usually two SEMI trucks full of product for Onmi, Great Planes and Tower.

How do I know this? I've been to both warehouses on my business trips in the past.

It takes MUCH longer to register and tag 2 SEMI fulls than a box van full.

I for one have NEVER had a problem with the shipping times or tracking numbers.

Maybe you are expecting WAY too much for the price you pay. After all $6.99 shipping charge pays for the warehouse, employees, utility, tape, boxes, etc, etc, etc, AND the actual shipping no matter how much you buy it only costs 6.99 to send it all.

[ 06-09-2001: Message edited by: hpiguy ]

[Car_Head12]

hpiguy- I respect the fact that you choose Tower, but I, MYSELF, do not like them.1) Whenever I talked to them on the phone they unkind, and NEVER, EVER told me to ship it back and they would send me a new one the next day. Maybe their policies have changed but the last time I ordered from them I ordered a Hitec625 servo. It took them two days longer than how long they said it would take, and when it didnt work they made me send it back, then after 2weeks I finally got a working servo. This is not the only experience I have had with Tower. But now that I see they are being more reasonable about customer service.
About the shipping thing... If your in the same state as the hobby store their obviously going to get it to you earlier than they say.
Also, I RESPECT all your opinions and that is why I think I am going to try tower again.
BTW Tower is owned by Great Planes which owns about half of ALL the R/C market. There is NO way to avoid giving your money to gret planes...
Peace dudes (are there any dudets? :D :cool: )

Car Head

[Car_Head12]

Now that i read your post again i will smack you up hrmmmm... they have screwed up exactly "ZERO" times yet you know that they say they will send a new one, sounds strange to me... :eek: :eek: :eek:

[wojo65]

I personally have all good experiences with tower. i have never gone to purchase things at my local hobby shop unless i am desperate. There are 2 men that work there. I called ahead and asked about a certain boat i had, they guy said he has one and can help me with anything. I drove 45 minutes there and when i got there he told me i should know how to fix this, its common sense. I told him he will not be getting any more business from me or my friends. My father went up to our hobby shop and had a discussion with this employee. I recieved a "im sorry". I will not go there. Also there products are very very old. They sit on the shelves. They have gas for gas rucks but who knows how long it sits there? So i buy from tower. Also just last week they mixed up dates with the r10gt rtr's so i called cancelled and re-ordered a factory team gt with .12cvx, they gave me a 50 discount for the inconvenience. I have been very pleased with tower and will not switch unless i am desperate. :D

[atm92484]

.

[ 06-09-2001: Message edited by: atm92484 ]

[hpiguy]

CAR HEAD:

Hold up on the smacking there (BTW I'm not scared of a computer :) ) and learn to read!!!! PLEASE before accusing me of anything. :eek:

The MANUFACTURER is the one who botched by not having the correct parts count. NOT TOWER. How is Tower supposed to tell it wasn't correct in the box? TOWER took care of the problem and did the Manuf. job for them. Reread it again.
And I live in Wisconsin, not Illinois. About 500 miles from Champaign if not more. So it is far from the same state. It's 1/6th across the country.

Thanks, and yes I respect your opinion too, and the Howie Sterns opinion as well.

[ 06-09-2001: Message edited by: hpiguy ]

[RustlerBoy]

Tower doesn't have the leats expensive items! At Dirt King's in th RCCA mag, almost all the ESC's are cheaper, batts are cheaper, cars are cheaper, EVERYTHING is chaper! I love Tower thoi8gh because they ship SO DANG FAST!!!!!null :confused: :eek: :mad: :rolleyes: :cool: :

[hpiguy]

Oh and Tower does NOT own Kyosho.

Great Planes owns Hobbico, Tower and Omni but that is all according to them.

They DO have a ton of exlcusive US rights to distribution though. Includes O.S, Futaba, Kyosho, Duratrax, etc, etc.

But so does Trinity and nobody on here is whining about paying too much for batts cause TTT causes prices to remain artificially high.

[BadRacer]

Could the people talking bad about Tower please stop??

If you pay 6.99 for shipping your not going to get it there faster, in other words you get what you pay for!

You also have to understand if you order a item past office hours your order is gonna seem like its one day late when its not. They are not going to pay people to pack items 24/7. Another thing is ONCE THE PACKAGE IS OUT OF TOWER'S HANDS TOWER CAN NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. It is now in the hands of UPS, FedX, so on and so forth. You should be mad at the UPS people not TOWER....Tower has nothing to do with it after the shipping company has it.

My point is your running a company's name through the mud and its not in their control after the shipping company has it!

Get over it and stop complaining about Tower. Tower is doing their best to keep their customers happy and they are doing one heck of a job! Iv only had one time where my order was late and it was due to the UPS people, and Tower refunded me the shipping cost. And on another account i bought a Radio system and a Stock motor....paid for that 3 day shipping thing and it got to me one day early!

I hate seeing threads like this and the admins are going to end up closeing this thread. I don't see why people have to complain all the time about things not going their way!

BTW good luck with your lathe.

BadRacer :cool:

[BadRacer]

Sorry for the blow up guys but if you felt the way i do then you would understand my point of veiw. How ever i do understand your point of veiw for not getting your stuff on time but you have to figure all this stuff plays a roll in many things and sometimes its all to easy to blame someone instead of trying to figure why something is wrong.

Later

[jeepinator]

BadRacer, there appears to be more supporters of Tower in this thread than non supporters.
Why do you feel Tower is being victimized ?
I think this type of thread is healthy and informative. It seems to be pretty calm and there have been moslty just opinions. What is wrong with stating your opinion ?

Thank you for your opinions. It is a good point that shipping is not in direct control of the seller. They do, however, get to choose WHO ships their merchandise. That is important. Further, there can be significant differences between companies on how long it takes, after getting your order, to actually ship the merchandise. This lag time is important also.

cheers

[loki]

I dunno, it sounds like somebody just wanted to vent a bit of frustration, and all of a sudden, we've got a thread about LHS's vs Big Business... sounds like a conversation to me. Tower's name is most definately not getting "dragged through the mud" here. Plus, when's the last time you heard any first-hand accounts on hobby supply distributor's warehouse shipping volumes? This is why I enjoy RCZone.

Anyways, somebody mentioned this already, but I'd like to second: patronize your LHS if you can. As much as you can. If you can't, fine (100miles away, college kid on a budget) but don't make up excuses to save a few bucks (they won't build a track, bwah bwah, that one guy is so rude, bwah bwah...). That is, if you have any interest whatsoever in the idea of this hobby as a "community."

Tower's a great company in the world of discount volume distributors. Talk to the right people, and the world would be a better place if *all* the places we shopped at were like that. So go to Home Depot, Sam's Club, whatever. Go move out to the suburbs and buy an SUV. Clean your car with solvent (it's so fast, and it works so great!). It's a great world we're supporting that way...just keep me out of it. Oops, got off track a bit there. But I think you see my point (hint hint: it's just an opinion)

Anyways, regarding the original post, and BadRacer's second reply, seems like Maverick0611 coulda done some research and found out that Tower might take longer between keying their shipments and actually packing the truck and transferring the data to UPS and so on (or maybe they don't, I'm hardly convinced that information on this board is irrefutabale ;) ). But hey, we all have that to chew on now, don't we?

Okay, sorry for the long post, but I got bored waiting for my receiver batteries to charge :rolleyes:

Later,

Loki

[the_yawn]

HEy jeepinator, I challenge your saying that towerhobbiess is the cheapest in the world. There is a place called http://www.stormerhobbies.com You would better check it out.

[ 06-09-2001: Message edited by: Administrator ]

[Ras Thavas]

I have had the most awesome service from Tower Hobbies.

I have been ordering something just about every week from them for the past 2 months.
I think your problem with the tracking number is slow entries on the part of the shipper. I never have a problem tracking UPS stuff, but the one time they sent something priority mail with the post office the tracking number still did not work even after the package was delivered.

[jeepinator]

Mr. Yawn, fellow RC person, and thoughtful poster, I think you may have mis-interpreted what I meant.
We, at that time in the thread, were comparing Tower Hobbies with Horizon Hobby. Not Tower against the whole world. Now, if you can find something, anything, cheaper at Horizon than can be had at Tower, come on back and let us know about it :p

EDIT: What on Earth did you write to make your post get edited ? I sure hope you were not being rude ! I have been nice to everyone here, as has everyone here been nice to everyone else. Let's keep it that way, eh ? Check you attitude at the door :D

[ 06-09-2001: Message edited by: jeepinator ]

[BadRacer]

Sorry guys i guess i did need to vent......lol

People have their right to opinions and i guess i took mine a little bit over board there.

Im cool now, iv just seen alot of people complain about companys and what they should and should not do and i guess when i read this post last night i took it the wrong way....im human and it happens, all i can do is say im sorry and move on.

But i do feel it that it isn't Tower's fault went it comes to the shipping company and how long it takes for the package to get to you. Theres alot of reasons that the package could be late....Truck breaking down, it ran out of gas...you know the stuff you don't want to happen while taking a trip to another state. LOL

Sorry again for the post......but some of the stuff i said i stick to, i just should have took it a little more easyer. ;)

[the_yawn]

Oops, my mistake. Sorry! I wasn't trying to be rude. :( I can sense that you are being sarcastic to me jeep. :D

[ 06-09-2001: Message edited by: the_yawn ]

[THORAX]

I do carpet/upholstery cleaning for a living. People continue to use our company because of our friendly service and our price. Yes people can get it cheaper elsewhere but they stay with us because we are kind and courteous.If the LHS's want to stay in business and compete with the mail order giants they need to up the service. I would pay the higher price (within reason) for good service at my LHS. They're are a few around here and all have pretty bad service. Tower usually helps me out more than my LHS. My first nitro i bought was from my LHS. I went back the next day for some advice and all they said was "we just sell the nitros If you would of got an electric we could help you." Geez thanks a lot. They usually have most replacement parts in stock which is nice. Just dont ask them for any help finding something cuz all they will say is "it should be over there somewhere." On another note Tower is on my crap list cuz i placed an order last friday and it took 7 days to arrive with priority mail. The package was small. It had a piston/sleeve 2 bearings, shock oil, steering bellcrank. Although this made me furious it was the first time that happened.I will conmtinue to order from Tower the items that are way overpriced at my LHS :rolleyes:

[mudpuppy]

I agree I would love to support my LHS But I am Moving up north to wyoming and the closest lhs is 229 miles away. no track So I am Going to try to find some land and when I can afford it build a dirt track,paved oval, and maybe start my own hobby store. Right now in arizona the hobby store I use is way overpriced in batterys and some other products but the chargers were reasonable. If I had my choice I would rather always shop locally than wait for anything to arrive and for those out there that expect priority mail to be quick <yeah right> the postal service only guarntees that they will try to get it there in two or three days.ive had items arrive in 3days and seven days same distance away from me same time shipped. Just wanted to let you know within a year maybe 2002 There will be a new track in wyoming. :rolleyes: if everything goes right. Tower doesnt seem any worse than any other large company. just because of one jerk dont think there all that way!

[E-MAXX]

In my opinion I do not like stormer hobbies. There search is impossible to use,you can not get to what you are looking for. I think Towerhobbies rocks! They were my first choice when I started this hobby( 1999). I am glad I chose them first because.... type what you are looking for, cheap shipping , A HUGE SELECTION, the best customer service, and they are really nice with discounts and the willingness to help you.
Just my words
Philip S

[jeepinator]

Phillip, in regards to Stormer hobbies, I would just like to comment that while the web page may be not as good as Tower's, the company is great !
I have personally spoken with Bob Stormer, the owner, and transacted with him via email a few times. I bought a few things from the store as well. He is one stand up guy and is the kind of personality we need more of in this industry.
I am in no way arguing with you. I just wanted to make sure people differentiated between the website and the company. I am going to check out Stomer's web site right now ;) I have not been there yet.

[Scomp87]

Yo....
With all this bickering on online shipping. I'd think you might have tried them all. Has anyone noticed that OmniModels is almost an exact replica of the information on the products compared to towerhobbies. Shipping from Omni is superb. :eek:

[BadRacer]

Omni and Tower are the same.

[RC Freak]

I agree with what howie said, b/c my lhs (hobbytown uas in Augusta GA) has great costomer support and when i want something and they dont have it they imediatly call up and order the item i want. Like today i went to buy a ft t3,P2K pro,novac esc, and ect, and they didnt have it. the guy at the store picked up the phone and ordered it,and he is charging me what tower charges but w/out the the added shipping cost b/c they didnt have it. they also said it would be here in 2 days. that is what i call a good hobby shop. they also help me w/ any problem i have.

[XXXER]

Hehe, i Get my stuff the same day. How? I buy from my LHS and Track, Mwhahahahahaaa!

I do not really care a few bucks over the money i have to pay for shipping, no biggie for me.

Ask yourself this: How does my LHS/Track benefit from me buying off of tower? It does not. <----see that, it was a period, end of the conversation

[E-MAXX]

Dear jeepinator, I am commenting on the website not the person because I know there are a lot of nice people with websites. I am just saying that stormer hobbies website is not one of my picks.
Speaking of nice, there was this old man about 50years old(he didn't act like it though). He owned a hobby shop, it is called competition RC and I have to say that is the nicest RC guy I have ever met. He answered every question with niceness and even remembered when I was moving away!!!
All I have to say is he was the nicest RC guy ever!
Have any of yall met someone like this?
Philip S

[jeepinator]

It's cool Phil, we are on the same page.
XXXER, I got your point ... uhhh ... period ;)