# Learn From My Mistake - AVOID HOBBYKING!



## BSRBOY (Nov 11, 2009)

I'm putting this out there as a public service to - hopefully - help those considering buying from Hobbyking. The following is a true story. Before anyone rushes to HKs defense, I've been in the hobby for ~20 years, raced in several different classes, and take meticulous care of my hardware. I know what I'm doing...

Week 1: Order Turnigy 120A ESC, programming card, and 8.5T motor from HK despite my better judgement and what I'd read online. Parts show up. ESC is DOA. Won't program no matter the settings I tried on the radio. The instructions on HKs web-site were of no help either.

Week 2: Spent 2 hours on "live chat" with HK just to figure out how to pull an RMA to return the parts. Immediately mail back the ESC and program card. Included a note with parts (and via online form) that I wanted a full refund to my paypal account.

Week 3: Parts arrive at HK. HK denies that the parts have arrived, despite the tracking showing otherwise.

Week 4: HK continues to deny that parts have arrived.

Week 5: HK issues me a store credit - despite my request for a full refund. Contacted HK customer service, who told me that it was too late and that they wouldn't refund my paypal account. "Zoe" tells me that PAYPAL has to issue it. I get paypal on the phone who recommends just filing a claim. I try 1 more time with HK customer support and a different lady decides to reverse the credit. I get the money back on my account after 2 hours of arguing with them. AWFUL customer dis-service.

Here's what I learned from my dealings:
1. HK provides dirt cheap electronics - if you get a winner, it's a win. If not, you're in for hell on earth.
2. The motor I purchased was severely under-powered and ran hot. Eventually it croaked after ~3 track days. Big surprise...
3. Their online "instructions" are written by CUSTOMERS and - in my case - conflicted from document to document.
4. You can't get anyone on the phone, ever.
5. You better enjoy broken English, 'cause that's what you're going to get when you contact their customer support.
6. They prevent first-second-and third time customers from posting reviews on parts. You need to be a 'gold' member first.

Never again will I give them a dime. I'd much rather support Tekin, Novak, Castle, Hobbywing, or my LHS who stands behind their product.

You suck Hobbyking! :wave:


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## horsedog (Nov 24, 2010)

I BOUGHT LIKE 10 OF THEIR 16$ hakko knock of soldering irons- no issues at all- what a deal!


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## BSRBOY (Nov 11, 2009)

Yeah, they were so good that you went through 10 of them...


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## horsedog (Nov 24, 2010)

BSRBOY said:


> Yeah, they were so good that you went through 10 of them...


Actually they were resold to Club members so every one gaff s chance to use a good Iron. A tip switch was needed though.


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## Lucky Lance (Dec 29, 2004)

*body clips*

ordered several colors of body clips at maybe $2.50 per 10 pack. Went to check out and found out they would be shipped from Hong Kong and shipping cost were 5 times the total for the clips..Cancelled order.


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## ta_man (Apr 10, 2005)

Lucky Lance said:


> ordered several colors of body clips at maybe $2.50 per 10 pack. Went to check out and found out they would be shipped from Hong Kong and shipping cost were 5 times the total for the clips..Cancelled order.


That's interesting but the thing that is even more intersting is that if you buy small stuff that is available from the U.S. and Hong Kong, it can cost less to ship from Hong Kong because they always using Priority Mail for small U.S. shipments.


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## beachbum2007 (Feb 10, 2003)

I have had a similar experience to Bsrboy. Hobbyking is easy to purchase from, but very hard to return an item. They will promise a full refund but always give you a store credit in the hopes you will settle for that. Eventually, if you are timely enough and persistent enough and dont mind spending time on the phone with at least two different people, they will _usually_ change the store credit into a refund. I just figured it isnt worth the hassle to deal with them any longer.


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## BSRBOY (Nov 11, 2009)

Agreed. It's totally not worth the headache. What makes me angry is when I see RC Driver and RC Car Action running Hobbyking ads and testing their vehicles and ENCOURAGING people to give them a try.

It's detrimental to the hobby.


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## ta_man (Apr 10, 2005)

And yet,

there are many people who are satisfied with what they have got from HobbyKing....


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## BSRBOY (Nov 11, 2009)

Here's how I look at what Hobbyking does for our hobby:

The Bad
1. They undermine your local hobby shops and tracks. Less dollars going local, so tracks close or struggle to stay open.
2. They don't support / sponsor racing at any level (local / regional).
3. They provide next to no customer support.
4. Their products lack proper documentation.
5. They use questionable business tactics to keep your money.

The Good
1. You can get parts for dirt cheap if you want to roll the dice.

So what's the best case scenario? If you get a good part from them (75% odds?) then it works out to your benefit and to the detriment of the local track that you attend. If you get a bad part and have to deal with their customer service, I doubt you'd give them a 2nd chance.

With the volume of customers that HK has there will - of course - be satisfied customers. I'd argue that if more people understood the impact these Chinese vendors have on the hobby, they wouldn't support them.

Or then again, maybe they would. And they'd just complain when they have nowhere to go racing...


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## BSRBOY (Nov 11, 2009)

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Hobby_King

Good read. 4 pages, mostly of VERY happy Hobbyking customers... :lol:


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## ta_man (Apr 10, 2005)

BSRBOY said:


> http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Hobby_King
> 
> Good read. 4 pages, mostly of VERY happy Hobbyking customers... :lol:


The unhappy people will always be the ones complaining. You even see that with high quality items like the Tekin RX-8 speed control. The RCTech forum is full of complainers and people with bad experiences - few people who buy the product and have it work flawlessly bother posting.

It is up to each individual to make his own tradeoffs on price vs service.

If you get 5 good items from HobbyKing for the price of 2 from someplace else and you have no real recourse when the 6th one is bad, did you come out ahead or not?

But since it is luck of the the draw, you might get the bad item first instead of 6th and then you think Hobbyking sucks because you wasted 40% of the price of the "high quality" item.


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## BSRBOY (Nov 11, 2009)

Eh. I guesso. Agree to disagree I suppose!


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## Lucky Lance (Dec 29, 2004)

*It will fit*

Problem I had: I ordered a SPEKTRUM MODULE and receiver combo for a Futaba 3PK and when it got here, IT DIDN'T FIT. There advertisement told me it would! I contacted HK and they wanted a VIDEO. I have NO WAY to send/or take a video, so I sent many pictures. The problem I was having is: The Antenna faced backwards and hit on the radio's body which WOULD'NT allow it to PUSH DOWN on the pins. I argued with then for weeks! Then one day, they told me that the 30 day return policy had EXPIRED and I could NO LONGER get a refund. WELL DUH, when you argue with your customer for SEVERAL weeks, the 30 day's will eventually WORK IN YOUR FAVOR. I'm stuck with the bill, and I basically got stuck with a product that is absolutely worthless to me.
FYI: I have found that, if you're just BASHING in the dirt, practicing, or racing in a SPEC class..Used motors on the For Sale site go for about $45.00 - $55.00..I've even order several at a time and gave some away to my fellow competitors. I DON'T pick out the GOOD ones, I show them the box and say pick the one you want. THUNDER POWER is my choice to run...


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## RACER4FUN (Feb 14, 2012)

I try and buy from a local hobby shop as much as possible to help support the local track, but when I can't find something I need I turn to the Internet. And I agree with the principle that buyer beware. If you only have 30 days to make sure it fits, send it back right away if you know it will not and don't argue with them.


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