ESC Opinion: Knock off or real deal

[RCBro80]

Does anyone have experience with some of the 'hobbywing' ESC's from AliExpress or other Chinese sites?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...DlnE_xlioYTXHWUO56waAoiyEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Is this one of those knock offs that will basically go straight to the garbage, or a viable cost savings option if I'm willing to wait for the long ocean voyage?

 

[Cwatson427]

Okay let us make this clear, the esc in the link above isn't a fake it isn't a knockoff it is a 100% Hobbywing made and designed product. It is an OEM esc made for Redcat Racing it is no different than the Arrma BLX100 and the Arrma BXL120 both made and designed by Hobbywing for Arrma. There is no warranty through Hobbywing.

I've had one of those escs for a few years now and I have not had a single problem with it.

-edit- Literally the only difference between the Hobbywing Max10 SCT and the Max10 SCT RTR is the temp plug and the switch, it still has all of the same program settings.

I recently had this debate with a buddy who ordered some and I was skeptical because of it being that site and like I said to him I completely get hobbywing makes unbranded products for rc companies to use for RTR but the points I brought up is even if that's the case couldn't there be a company out there making knockoffs/counterfeits? With subpar components and internals? I'm sure they are out there. Also who's to say a company hasn't bought those *exact cases made for hobbywing products to throw their hardware in? Essentially like a goolrc esc In a hobbywing designed case? Like I said to him I just think it's a gamble and you really can't tell which one it falls under as im sure there are both on the market. That was my point. I didn't end up ordering any.

 

[slick2500]

I recently had this debate with a buddy who ordered some and I was skeptical because of it being that site and like I said to him I completely get hobbywing makes unbranded products for rc companies to use for RTR but the points I brought up is even if that's the case couldn't there be a company out there making knockoffs/counterfeits? With subpar components and internals? I'm sure they are out there. Also who's to say a company hasn't bought those *exact cases made for hobbywing products to throw their hardware in? Essentially like a goolrc esc In a hobbywing designed case? Like I said to him I just think it's a gamble and you really can't tell which one it falls under as im sure there are both on the market. That was my point. I didn't end up ordering any.

I've ordered a few and other than not having all the programming options as the retail ones they are in fact made by Hobbywing the Goolrc or whatever ones do not work with the Hobbywing program cards these do.

 

[Hector_Fisher]

I recently had this debate with a buddy who ordered some and I was skeptical because of it being that site and like I said to him I completely get hobbywing makes unbranded products for rc companies to use for RTR but the points I brought up is even if that's the case couldn't there be a company out there making knockoffs/counterfeits? With subpar components and internals? I'm sure they are out there. Also who's to say a company hasn't bought those *exact cases made for hobbywing products to throw their hardware in? Essentially like a goolrc esc In a hobbywing designed case? Like I said to him I just think it's a gamble and you really can't tell which one it falls under as im sure there are both on the market. That was my point. I didn't end up ordering any.

Just took delivery of a max8 about a week ago that i had ordered from an aliexpress seller. Soldered on my connector of choice and put it in my MT410. Rips on 6s just like it's supposed to. All programming options were the same as shown in the manuals you can find online. I can't find any reason that it wouldn't be a genuine HW product.

The trick to buying something like this online is to look for a reputable seller that's been around for a while, with a good seller history, and has sold at least a few orders of the item. This applies to any buyer/seller marketplace. Reputable sellers are interested in their appearance, and so customer satisfaction matters to them. They aren't likely to want to sell phony products as that would hurt their rating and the likelihood of them getting future sales.

In a way, a good shopping experience is more about finding the right seller than anything.