*tlt Discontinued*

[rbgerrish]

Originally Posted by thorsteenster

you end up doing it anyway though as you repair/upgrade, why not do it off the bat? i like all the extra stuff you get with the whole kit too and have always been a frim believer in buying a whole kit vs just axle pieces. but after 4 tlt's i just dont want or need any other extra parts!

Many crawlers like to (or need to) build up the truck on a budget, and upgrade as their money will allow. Not everyone can drop the big cash to get aluminum-cvd'd-stainless-spooled-fanciness right off the bat. The lack of inexpensive axles will deter many newbies from getting started, and make others not want to start another truck when it was so accessible before...

ryan

[RPP Hobby]

This is just my 2 cents which aint worth a penny probably

These were not a good seller until tamiya dropped the price because they did not sell good in the first place.

I can't see tamiya re doing these again in anything simular to a rock buster/climber kit again.

I think what has driven the recent sales of these (the Axles) is something to look at, and I am sure they are looking at that IMO

[Thorsteenster]

yeah but tamiya corp is looking at global figures. sure tlt's were selling like hotcakes in the US but globaly were probably doing pretty pore.

i think instead of bugging tamiya usa about a re-release of the tlt or remake we should ask them to put together an axle kit for us. then if those sell like hotcakes too tamiya usa could probably keep tlt parts in production longer.

[Rockpiledriver]

Originally Posted by RD400

I know what the title says, its just that you keep dropping comments like "I'll take that bet" and so on. Like I said, not being a dick here, but if you have any extra info, please share.

I have been dropping comments like that to clue everyone in that this is not another scare. They are discontinued.

Am I going to go into everything I know on a public forum and possibly jepordize my relationship with Tamiya? I don't think so.

[RD400]

So you will let us dangle in the wind? Is the hobby or Tamiya your main concern? If Tamiya disco's the most popular axle in our hobby, are they really suporting us? Should we blindly stay loyal?


Hopefully stock parts will still be out there. I don,t feel like spending $100.00 in after market parts that replace $28.00 worth of stock parts I never have problems with.

[Rat1]

Originally Posted by Rockpiledriver

I have been dropping comments like that to clue everyone in that this is not another scare. They are discontinued.

Am I going to go into everything I know on a public forum and possibly jepordize my relationship with Tamiya? I don't think so.

Well should we be dissapointed at the discontinuation of the TLT kit or should we be happy that another product will soon be out to replace the TLT at a compairable price?

Meaning she we hold our breath or just call the paramedics and be done with Tamiya.

I am with others in that as of now I am not into spending 100 dollars to get axle parts to build something when I can do the same for 1/4 the cost.

I do agree that some of the aftermarket products are great but I am really not looking forward to blowing a ton of money just to get a set of axles with no other hardware.

What some people might not realize is that there are many in this hobby that also have other financial responsibilities that must come first.

Buying 350.00 highlifts for parts or spending 100+ on just a set of axles is not part of the financial responsibilities that many of us may have. That and not everyone makes 50K+ a year or have parents that are willing to support the younger ones in this hobby. Oh and that was not ment as a slam because I know of a few younger gen individuals that do work hard to pay for what they have.

Another thing is I really wonder what the marketing strat is going to be for some of the aftermarket companies for the TLT products?

Are they going to produce higher dollar products because the OEM stuff will not be available anymore or are they going to produce similar products at the oem or lower pricing?

I quess that is my biggest concern as I fear that the aftermarket may inflate the prices of these parts when the supplies of OEM parts dwindle.

One example is the Bruise. What used to be a very duable price has come to something way out of the reach of your average modeler.

[wrx-n-ktm]

Looks like ultimate hobbies is all out

[RD400]

Originally Posted by wrx-n-ktm

Looks like ultimate hobbies is all out

Great, the ebay madness will start here in a week. These kits will be going for $250.00+ dollars.

[RPP Hobby]

Originally Posted by wrx-n-ktm

Looks like ultimate hobbies is all out

I do not think they are all sold out. Watch for them being updated with more in stock at a higher price.

[wrx-n-ktm]

Special at hobby people. http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/312774.asp
I nabbed 3 for myself just incase!

[Rockpiledriver]

Originally Posted by RD400

So you will let us dangle in the wind? Is the hobby or Tamiya your main concern?

So now I'm not concerned about the hobby? Give me a break.
Go back and read what I have posted in this thread. If you can't read between the lines that's not my problem. Yeah, your doing a real good job of not being a dick with that comment.

Go attack Dirk for not telling everyone on the board what Proline is releasing next before it's official, and see where that gets you.

[RD400]

Believe me, I'm not being a dick...yet. And I am not saying that you need to burn ant bridges to shut-up us, the lowly public, either. What I am trying to say is Tamiya could do us PAYING CUSTOMERS the favor of filling us in. By RELEASING this newer cooler "whatever" that will replace the TLT before disco'ing it. By saying that we will still be able to buy parts for products they sold to us. To be a little less "Wait and see" and maybe a little more "don't worry, we have you, our customers in mind" when it comes to one of the kits that is the life-blood of this hobby.

Sometimes I come off wrong in typed form, for this I am sorry. But I was not meaning or trying to be a jerk, I am just trying to get someone to reasure us crawlers that our cost for this hobby hasn't just rocketed out of reach of most crawlers.

[Thorsteenster]

the tlt is only so cheap because its been out for so long and probably sales wernt all that great. if they see a need and hmm, lets release another tlt based truck, it aint gonna be anywhere near 70 bucks.

sure they were selling here, but globally they probably wernt doing squat, and tamiya being a global company isnt going to keep a model in production because of a sliver of the market.

[dezfan]

Originally Posted by thorsteenster

the tlt is only so cheap because its been out for so long and probably sales wernt all that great. if they see a need and hmm, lets release another tlt based truck, it aint gonna be anywhere near 70 bucks.

sure they were selling here, but globally they probably wernt doing squat, and tamiya being a global company isnt going to keep a model in production because of a sliver of the market.

I would dare to say that the US market is quite a bit more than a sliver of Tamiya's bottom line.

[Thorsteenster]

Originally Posted by dezfan

I would dare to say that the US market is quite a bit more than a sliver of Tamiya's botom line.

yeah, bad statement, a sliver is all that came to when i was typing. US market is way more than a sliver, heck, i wouldnt be surprised if we were 25% of sales but not enough to keep a kit in production in the global scheme of things.

it would be interesting to see some sales figures from tamiya rc to see what exactly the US's percentage of sales are.

[JIA's Dad]

Just an idea since Rockpiledriver seems to be in the driver seat on this and really the one going to profit from the discontinuation if the product. Make more or your product sell to more people and lower your price gouging prices. That alone would mean a lot more sales for you. And help people out, not your pockets. More sales, less profit, one product cheeper. Da*n I'm sorry Henry Ford all ready proved that works. Right!!!!!!!

[Rockpiledriver]

Originally Posted by RD400

Believe me, I'm not being a dick...yet. And I am not saying that you need to burn ant bridges to shut-up us, the lowly public, either. What I am trying to say is Tamiya could do us PAYING CUSTOMERS the favor of filling us in. By RELEASING this newer cooler "whatever" that will replace the TLT before disco'ing it. By saying that we will still be able to buy parts for products they sold to us. To be a little less "Wait and see" and maybe a little more "don't worry, we have you, our customers in mind" when it comes to one of the kits that is the life-blood of this hobby.

Sometimes I come off wrong in typed form, for this I am sorry. But I was not meaning or trying to be a jerk, I am just trying to get someone to reasure us crawlers that our cost for this hobby hasn't just rocketed out of reach of most crawlers.

Sounds like you should be calling or e-mailing Tamiya then. Have you?

Tamiya has told us the TLT is discontinued.
Tamiya has told us they will continue to make parts.

You should be able to easily come to this conclusion, on your own, by reading what has been posted here, by visiting our website, and by talking directly to Tamiya.

Trying to pressure me into divulging privileged info, whether I do, or do not have it is not cool and it's not going to happen.

RCP will continue to support and grow this hobby in any way we can trust me.

Anyone can go to our site and see that we carry all of the spare parts for the TLT axle. Until *Tamiya* quits making parts we will continue to sell them. RCP will be offering axles in both stock and upgraded versions, as has been stated above.

If that's not supporting this Hobby I don't know what is.

[jason]

RCP had the CVD's and spools in the works long before anyone had a clue that the TLT was going to be discontinued. If you think RCP plotted with Tamiya to have the TLT's disco'd you are fools. If anything less tlt's on the market means less potiential customers getting their new products.

You guys are reading way more into this than needs be. Brian knows that the TLT is gone, that is what he has eluded to in this entire thread. That's it, there's no more to the story.

[Rockpiledriver]

Originally Posted by JIA's Dad

Just an idea since Rockpiledriver seems to be in the driver seat on this and really the one going to profit from the discontinuation if the product. Make more or your product sell to more people and lower your price gouging prices. That alone would mean a lot more sales for you. And help people out, not your pockets. More sales, less profit, one product cheeper. Da*n I'm sorry Henry Ford all ready proved that works. Right!!!!!!!

I'm not sure I understand exactly what you are saying. If you guys knew the margin we make on some of the stuff we sell I think you'd be amazed. If you have been to our site you will see that our prices are lower than almost ANY on the web.
I hope you don't think we have "price gouged" anyone.

The ONLY reason we have not offered a TLT axle kit is the fact that after we added up all of the parts required, we could not offer the axles by themselves in kit form for less than the entire kit was selling for. We will now offer them in kit form. That kit will be more than $69 and we will only make a small profit.

[Rockpiledriver]

Thank you Jason. You are 100% correct.