HobbiCo / Great Planes / Tower Hobbies

[Highmark]

Trouble's a brewin'

Originally Posted by Vanquish Products

Attention all Customers:
It is disappointing to announce that after a short relationship, Vanquish Products must part ways with Hobbico. We were excited to partner with Hobbico/Tower during the growth of our company and the scale market. However, due to issues outside of our control we are currently no longer able to supply them with our parts. We wish all Hobbico employees the best during this time.

If you have placed an order through Hobbico/Tower Hobbies that is currently backordered and awaiting fulfillment, please feel free to contact us via our website.

Also, dealer applications are available on our website for any dealer that is no longer able to purchase Vanquish Products through one of your distributors.

Sincerely,
The Vanquish Products Team

[ColdFox]

Arrma look to be in a good shape, not sure if it makes a lot of money tho

[skinnyj]

Originally Posted by DukeMinnix

The parent company could collapse and sell off the smaller entities that are profitable to other companies in order to try and save liquid. It happens all the time. Those companies you just named off would still exist as brands, they would just be distributed by someone else most likely.

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

The profitable brands would be sold off which would include Axial. I highly doubt Duratrax would survive. Arrma is questionable.

I know this. I was speaking in a general worst case scenario. I was trying to make the point that Hobbico is not just a "middle man" as CM900 was saying. When you buy Axial from Tower, you are cutting out the middle man. Even if you order from Axial's web site, the order is handled by Tower.

[svt923]

How about this one:

Feds investigating Hobbico over deferred employee stock payments | News-Gazette.com

Federal investigations into your employee stock plan are a good thing, right?

[Col_Sanders]

ARRMA is great. Their stuff is tough and actually innovative. Having them die off would suck. No other companies seem to be coming up with anything new in the basher monster truck style stuff (with the exception of Pro-Line's new rig). The damn Maxx series, along with LST, Revo, etc are all old and havent changed much if at all in over 10 years.

Its amazing to me that Tekno, Associated, Team Losi, and a few other companies can develop new platforms every couple years but the crawler and basher crowd get stuck with the same designs for 10+ years.

[skinnyj]

Originally Posted by Highmark

Trouble's a brewin'

And that is how you handle that situation without burning bridges.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Highmark

Trouble's a brewin'

Where did you find that?

Originally Posted by svt923

How about this one:

Feds investigating Hobbico over deferred employee stock payments | News-Gazette.com

Federal investigations into your employee stock plan are a good thing, right?

I saw that. Not good.

More news. A little older, but still news pertinent to this thread.
http://www.illinoishomepage.net/news...ness/820731749

[skinnyj]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Where did you find that?


I saw that. Not good.

More news. A little older, but still news pertinent to this thread.
Low sales behind layoffs at business | IllinoisHomepage

Heh... "Traxxus"...

[ROWDY RACING]

Originally Posted by jatotheripper

where did you find that?]

fb!

[mikemcE]

Originally Posted by ROWDY RACING

fb!

Then it’s not speculation, it’s fact !


Hang up and Drive

[ROWDY RACING]

Its fact, they have been steadily losing product lines and not refilling inventory, their days are numbered.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by durok

At least Amain has a brick and mortar shop... A very nice one, from what I understand.

A-main is a bit different. They are store fronts and mail order but they are a reseller buying from manufacturers. They aren't a distributor double touching the market with supplying hobby shops and selling out the back door to the hobby shop customers.

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

The profitable brands would be sold off which would include Axial. I highly doubt Duratrax would survive. Arrma is questionable.

Originally Posted by ColdFox

Arrma look to be in a good shape, not sure if it makes a lot of money tho

You think anyone wants to touch Arrma right now with the Traxxas suit?

[skinnyj]

Originally Posted by Robbob

A-main is a bit different. They are store fronts and mail order but they are a reseller buying from manufacturers. They aren't a distributor double touching the market with supplying hobby shops and selling out the back door to the hobby shop customers.

I have a list of vendors I don't do business with for that very reason at my job. It is also why I try to steer my salesmen away from drop-shipping. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to google a company name on a UPS label.

[Greatscott]

Originally Posted by skinnyj

Heh... "Traxxus"...

Yeah, seems like a news outlet would have Googled that to get the name right. Do they actually Internet in Illinois? They didn't when I was there last, of course that was boot camp in the early 90's.

Makes me wonder if the Axial employee who suggest that they sell to Hobbico is still at Axial; and, if so, if any one is talking to him (or her) right now...

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by ROWDY RACING

fb!

I went there and "seen" it after you said.

Originally Posted by Robbob

A-main is a bit different. They are store fronts and mail order but they are a reseller buying from manufacturers. They aren't a distributor double touching the market with supplying hobby shops and selling out the back door to the hobby shop customers.

You think anyone wants to touch Arrma right now with the Traxxas suit?

AMain is simply a reseller with their own, very limited line of products that are made for them by other companies.

That's why I said questionable. I can't say Arrma isn't worth the risk of the lawsuit, but it's definitely a huge deterrent.

[CM9000]

getting rid of "the middle man" and putting the orders back in the hands of the company could put the finances back at ease but it becomes a battle of who is better at quality and marketing. axial would not disappear, but the order and marketing process would change.

like for instance, look at who distributes AE now. horizon. the same owner of losi. though.. TLR is separate from losi now. I don't see any issues at all with hobbico, gp, or tower going away. I honestly wish they would never had existed.

amain.. meh. that's a different topic.

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by skinnyj

And that is how you handle that situation without burning bridges.

Very gracious.


Just curious, how many people order from Tower because of their selections verse ordering because of the easy pay system?
I'll be honest I have a set amount of "mad money" I can spend without dipping into the household fund or savings. I don't like to order on credit cards, and I can't save, mad money, for nothing.
Under my payday, mad money I order from ebay or RPP, over that tower.
Past the easy pay, I don't find a lot of crawler specific parts. Other then complete rigs Im not sure them losing vendors affects me.

[Greatscott]

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

Very gracious.


Just curious, how many people order from Tower because of their selections verse ordering because of the easy pay system?
I'll be honest I have a set amount of "mad money" I can spend without dipping into the household fund or savings. I don't like to order on credit cards, and I can't save, mad money, for nothing.
Under my payday, mad money I order from ebay or RPP, over that tower.
Past the easy pay, I don't find a lot of crawler specific parts. Other then complete rigs Im not sure them losing vendors affects me.

I have my budget, and if I want to go over it I sell something off. Cash out of pocket for everything (or PayPal), I do not believe in using credit for hobby purchases.

[skinnyj]

Originally Posted by Greatscott

I have my budget, and if I want to go over it I sell something off. Cash out of pocket for everything (or PayPal), I do not believe in using credit for hobby purchases.

This is why it took me a over a year to get my first scaler. I had had some things work out, money-wise, in the last couple of weeks so I was able to finally pull the trigger. Plus, the wife bought tickets to see Pink this April, so I was able to use that as leverage, too.

[makya]

Originally Posted by Robbob

A-main is a bit different. They are store fronts and mail order but they are a reseller buying from manufacturers. They aren't a distributor double touching the market with supplying hobby shops and selling out the back door to the hobby shop customers...

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

...AMain is simply a reseller with their own, very limited line of products that are made for them by other companies...

*cough*

https://www.swiftdistributing.com/

*cough*