Tower Hobbies sucks Under New Management

[MeesterC]

Well, since tower hobbies has been bought out they have really gone downhill for us members. The coupon codes are only good for looks now, you have to spend even more to save a little. If you're into rc cars the coupons are worthless, can't use them for any major rc purchase and who in the heck is going to spend $200 or more on parts to save a few bucks. Not to mention either that on top of the worthless coupons, they have doubled the price of membership from $4.99 a year to $9.99 a year, and for what? Over the last several months I have also gotten emails from some of the good and helpful folks there telling me goodbye because they're leaving. Who in the hell am I suppose to talk to now if I have a question or concern? All in all horizon hobbies has destroyed an awesome place that took years to build up into a well liked and helpful site in less than 6 months. I won't be renewing my membership and they can kiss my hairy white a$$. Thanks horizon hobbies for taking away one of the best places us rc addicts had for getting great deals, great service and awesome people, who knew their stuff, to talk to for advice and questions.

End rant and thanks for letting me vent............

 

[Mr.Duke]

I don't buy regularly from Tower so I don't really have skin in the game when it comes to price hikes and loss of previous discounts or membership perks from them, however just to bring focus and perspective to this subject,
If it weren't for Horizon Hobby buying Tower and Arrma from Hobbico (who filed bankruptcy), they wouldn't be around today and we would all be singing a very different tune on this forum.
So a little fat trimming to look after the bottom line is, for me, a very minor inconvenience given the broader picture.

 

[chazekxt46]

i've said this many time's

 

[Jimbobjr]

Heres a few RC brands (cars and kits, not counting parts...) the coupon code may still work on.
Hobao, Kyosho, Mugen, Tamiya, Tekno is about all I can come up with...

 

[Mad Man Slice]

Have to disagree with this...... HH has been nothing but a class act since I started my RC hobby years ago; this is with helis, planes and surface RC's. I have buddies regretting that they sold their Arrma's not too long ago, because Arrma's future was uncertain. You should praising HH for saving Arrma, not slandering them due to coupons and a price jack.

 

[chazekxt46]

we can all disagree. o well for me it's more then the coupon's

 

[olds97_lss]

I used to buy from tower pretty frequently 20 years ago... but I got tired of the shipping cost/tax since they are located in IL. Now I just use ebay 75% of the time and amazon 20% while still buying direct from some places (t-bone and others).

 

[CrashBoom]

At the same time, Tower/Hobbico didn't go bankrupt because they were making money.

Horizon has to pay off their investment and make it profitable.

Not that this makes it any less sucky to lose discounts, but at some level such things are inevitable.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

I just re-upped my tower membership. $10 fee got my $15 off the tires I was buying, plus free shipping. Works.

Plus, HH has always been great when I have had an issue.

Yeah, tower discounts are not what they used to be, but yeah, they are still a good vendor.

 

[MeesterC]

I'm not bitching because of horizon taking over, they did save arrma and I'm very thankful of that but why couldn't they just left tower like it was? The members don't even have the sacred scratch and dent anymore, it's public now.

 

[WoodiE]

I'm very thankful of that but why couldn't they just left tower like it was?

Obviously something in Towers / Hobbico's business model wasn't working, which is why they went bankrupt and sold to Horizon Hobby.

It sounds like Horizon is trying to correct the ship now.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

You know what sucks? Friday, I buy a small pile of tires. Today(monday), I get an email 'big Aka tire sale"... derp.

Great timing, Tower!

Lol

 

[Saltystevo]

You know what sucks? Friday, I buy a small pile of tires. Today(monday), I get an email 'big Aka tire sale"... derp.

Great timing, Tower!

Lol

Email them... they might have coupon insurance which will still get you the savings a certain amount if days purchased before the sale.
Biz is biz and yes it stinks losing the good people but they have to do everything different to keep a sinking ship afloat.
Once they get back on their feet you will see more coupons again.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

I was making a joke. But even so, the tire sale is for AKA, I ordered Duratrax., so...

 

[MeesterC]

I'm just saying I miss the old tower hobbies and the good people who were always helpful with questions and advice. With the coupons you have to spend more to save less and they're only good for a handful of items now. I know HH had to make changes from a business side but why mess with something that was working so well and brought many potential future customers in.

 

[slick2500]

I'm not bitching because of horizon taking over, they did save arrma and I'm very thankful of that but why couldn't they just left tower like it was? The members don't even have the sacred scratch and dent anymore, it's public now.

Scratch and dent was always public. I could see it before I was a member. There were select items that were member only. But the new scratch and dent never has anything in it........

 

[WoodiE]

I know HH had to make changes from a business side but why mess with something that was working so well and brought many potential future customers in.

That's the point... it wasn't working so well.

 

[Saltystevo]

I'm just saying I miss the old tower hobbies and the good people who were always helpful with questions and advice. With the coupons you have to spend more to save less and they're only good for a handful of items now. I know HH had to make changes from a business side but why mess with something that was working so well and brought many potential future customers in.

Money. It might have been working well for customers but on their end they need to make alot of cha ges to stay in business. Only speculation of course.

 

[slick2500]

lately, I buy everything at discounts and noticeably save money

.

 

[dandrew]

Well, since tower hobbies has been bought out they have really gone downhill for us members. The coupon codes are only good for looks now, you have to spend even more to save a little. If you're into rc cars the coupons are worthless, can't use them for any major rc purchase and who in the heck is going to spend $200 or more on parts to save a few bucks. Not to mention either that on top of the worthless coupons, they have doubled the price of membership from $4.99 a year to $9.99 a year, and for what? Over the last several months I have also gotten emails from some of the good and helpful folks there telling me goodbye because they're leaving. Who in the hell am I suppose to talk to now if I have a question or concern? All in all horizon hobbies has destroyed an awesome place that took years to build up into a well liked and helpful site in less than 6 months. I won't be renewing my membership and they can kiss my hairy white a$$. Thanks horizon hobbies for taking away one of the best places us rc addicts had for getting great deals, great service and awesome people, who knew their stuff, to talk to for advice and questions.

End rant and thanks for letting me vent............

I know it’s several years old but you are absolutely correct and I couldn’t have said it better! What a waste!!! I just had a 2 hour chat session since they’ve taken away phone support. They decided to take away easy pay which has been the main reason I buy from them since the Hostile Horizon Hobbies takeover- They’ve decided to use PayPal instead which now will require credit checks and so forth. The $500 credit allowance was great for spreading out the cost of a larger purchase especially since prices keep rising…Unfortunately not everyone has perfect credit and this was fantastic. Now they’re using 3rd party “big banks” who are super picky on who they lend to even with decent credit at times. What a shame- They have no clue how much this will hurt them in the long run…they have tons of competition out there and just way too much baggage- I won’t ever give them another cent. They told me that they would be replacing Easy Pay with a “better” option but same terms - better for whom??? If you have perfect credit or unlimited finances then it won’t matter to you but in my case I’ve dealt with a wife who has cancer and trying to raise a family. This was the easiest way to still still enjoy my lifelong hobby and still meet my responsibilities. When I voiced my frustrations I was told basically “Tough S**t” and that I could simply save the money I would have spent on Easy Pay and buy it outright. What an insult considering that I’m a 45 year old Welding Fabricator who has worked 6-7 days a week/ 10-14 hours a week to support my family and save for a retirement someday…Obviously a young woman with no real life experiences giving me advice about how to save money. Well, things change when you’re caring for a sick family member. Medical bills pile up quick and despite “good” insurance coverage you’re often left buried…what to do? Keep trying to dig out- I cashed out my retirement accounts, I’m beat from doing this work for nearly 27 years and instead of coasting I’m getting a 2nd job to help get by. I’ve had this hobby my whole life and it’s my only escape and for an hour or two a week if I’m lucky- I guess the responsible thing is to give it up but I feel I deserve some time for myself. Spreading the cost of it over 3 months makes it just barely manageable and she had the nerve to say I need to learn to be more responsible. Well my credit is not great because I’m buried in medical debt, and currently filing chapter 13 to repay debt I incurred from helping a friend out. No business of hers anyway but I felt I needed to clarify that credit scores don’t always tell the story and with over 40 completed Easy Pay transactions I feel I have proved my ability to make payments on time. After she argued with me over and over that this was best for everyone and to be patient I was just disgusted. They set an end date of April, 30th 2023 but then reduced the credit limit to $100 max- This is 2 months before the official cutoff and is definitely false advertising. After cutting off the chat several times because she was annoyed with me(No I wasn’t being rude, just persistent)- I finally got sick of reconnecting to move forward I gave up and said have a nice day- to which she replied have a “blessed” day…Seriously???? Maybe I’m overly sensitive but WTF!!! I really feel blessed that my wife has cancer and I’m now unable to continue with my passion(at least in the capacity I am used to)…Knowing my family situation and wife’s health it was an extremely backhanded and rude thing to say. Truthfully very hurtful and I reached back out for a supervisor who defended her and said she was just being nice….Yes maybe however her demeanor during it all was not very nice and blamed me for what was going on- What a shame as this was a place I have been loyal to since I was 9 years old- I looked forward to the yearly catalog and the new speedmart flyers every month. Always a family run business with top notch customer support and the best sales out there. What a change- Every single positive attribute that kept myself and so many others loyal to them all these years and BAM- Horizon stripped that away- What a joke!!! I hope more people realize this travesty and start looking elsewhere…Avoid them and run them out of business- I’m not a Traxxas fan and don’t own much of their products but they have damn good customer service and phone support…top notch warranties and always parts in stock…I LOVE Arrma and want so badly to keep supporting the brand but this makes it so tough for me- I’m really bummed about the shift in this industry and have my doubts about the longevity of it all- please tread carefully with them and don’t expect any appreciation for supporting them.