Traxxas goes after the TRX4M aftermarket

[Budha]

A bad look.

Jennysrc has also been hit. They legit Buy trucks and sells them in bits.

Traxxas suing HBO Max for using Max is like when Monster Cable sued Pixar for “Monster Inc” the movie - lol.

As someone who has dealt with IP at a corporate level, say what you will, but this is well beyond standard business practices and borders on being a Patent Troll.

Monster Cable’s (Noel Lee) litigious practices did not end well for them. They were so hated that when they “tripped”, the entire industry was there to kick them when they were down and they faded into obscurity- lol. (Talk about over-priced garbage anyway)

I’m not saying Traxxas is going anywhere anytime soon, but this kind of activity has way of backfiring. Karma’s a b$tch.

 

[SrC]

Apparently JennysRC was also on Trx's hate list.
There are many that won't buy Trx just because of their business model which bullies the RC Industry.. Me included.
Not that their stuff is not competitive or worthy. Trx is having a hard time with their bottom line. like so many other Brands are in this economy, so they came up with this one now. To squeeze out the little guy on the block who usually makes a better upgrade part. Sometimes for less $$ than the Trx OE upgrade which can be crappy and less durable than the Stocker OE part alot of the time

 

[Jerold]

What they didn't sue Dodge/Ram? Whimps.

 

[SrC]

Ebay iis full chinese crap same for amazon. Not seeing traxxas taking them down ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

+1.
Trx picks on the low hanging fruit.
Try telling a Chinese company to stop. Most will Tell you to go scratch.
China steals IP all the time. And way more sensitive stuff than just RC Toys/brands China encourages copying. Part of their culture.

 

[Senton_Prime]

Unfortunately not many Toyota models are still made in Japan and shipped to the States.. Most are built here, CA or Mex. And yes, Japanese domestic built ones are still better. It is the local Japanese culture responsible for this. Their work ethic. Most Japanese products are first rate, quality wise.

What if it was made in Dingolfing, Germany!?

 

[Surchaufeur]

What they didn't sue Dodge/Ram? Whimps.

View attachment 290986

They going to release a model of it lol
don't bite the hand that feeds. They made the bronco and other GM products i believe

 

[Jerold]

I had a thought, yes it did hurt.

Traxxas trolled all the small guys. We think the best we can do is get the word out and not support Traxxas; however, there is something more. We can troll them. They Traxxas 4M is a licensed body from Ford Motor Company. Perhaps FMC would like to know about the despicable behavior hard line attitude that Traxxas has has taken to curb the free market.

Unfortunately, they don't have an email contact but they do have a snail mail address and social media contacts. I would suggest we all start tagging FMC on the posts and even write actual letters to FMC. If they get enough bad press for doing business with Traxxas, FMC may push back on they. i.e. "I'm telling Mom".

Let's start bye tagging everything you can even if it's been tagged already by someone else and just ask the question, does FMC condone this business practice? It reflects poorly on their brand as well.

The contact is below. Let's get this battle started!​

https://www.ford.com/help/contact/​

 

[SrC]

They going to release a model of it lol
don't bite the hand that feeds. They made the bronco and other GM products i believe

+1.
When Trx wants a license and approaches Dod/Chrysler for a lexan body product for their Trx lineup, Dodge would tell them to go screw or charge TRX $300.00 per Lexan body created, if they were sued prior. Also, Dodge/Chry. has a much better legal team.


Injora made a good name for themselves with the Crawler crowd no doubt. Their stuff vastly improved over the years. Have much of their stuff on my crawlers.
TRX is headed by a P***y. Thinks his Poop don't stink. But Trx is very politically connected in Tx. Plays golf with The state judges there. True.
Edited.

 

[Tex Koder]

Just noticed JennysRC have changed their listings for TrapXus to just "TRA"..

 

[oldguywnewtoy]

Just noticed JennysRC have changed their listings for TrapXus to just "TRA"..

Wow, your right. Don't think it was like that yesterday.

 

[SrC]

I had a thought, yes it did hurt.

Traxxas trolled all the small guys. We think the best we can do is get the word out and not support Traxxas; however, there is something more. We can troll them. They Traxxas 4M is a licensed body from Ford Motor Company. Perhaps FMC would like to know about the despicable behavior hard line attitude that Traxxas has has taken to curb the free market.

Unfortunately, they don't have an email contact but they do have a snail mail address and social media contacts. I would suggest we all start tagging FMC on the posts and even write actual letters to FMC. If they get enough bad press for doing business with Traxxas, FMC may push back on they. i.e. "I'm telling Mom".

Let's start bye tagging everything you can even if it's been tagged already by someone else and just ask the question, does FMC condone this business practice? It reflects poorly on their brand as well.

The contact is below. Let's get this battle started!​

https://www.ford.com/help/contact/​

FMC has problems internally right now. I doubt they need or want any more negative fanfare.
FWIW, being engulfed in the Auto industry and its inner corp workings.... The FMC Bronco, is a lemon. Not talking about the cheaper smaller Sport version. Their New Hard core Off road Bronco is plagued with major engine defect issues. Owners are all pissed off. Ford Techs don't even advise buying them. There is also a defect with the Roof. There are thousands parked and acres of them sitting outside FMC holding areas, that cannot be sold. FMC is sucking wind with that Bronco. Especially since they had the balls to let Dealers mark them up more than 30% over Sticker price. Screw both FMC and TRX.
Yeah someone should drop a dime on Trx to FMC. That will stir the pot for sure.

 

[Jerold]

FMC has problems internally right now. I doubt they need or want any more negative fanfare.
FWIW, being engulfed in the Auto industry and its inner corp workings.... The FMC Bronco, is a lemon. Not talking about the cheaper smaller Sport version. Their New Hard core Off road Bronco is plagued with major engine defect issues. Owners are all pissed off. Ford Techs don't even advise buying them. There is also a defect with the Roof. There are thousands parked and acres of them sitting outside FMC holding areas, that cannot be sold. FMC is sucking wind with that Bronco. Especially since they had the balls to let Dealers mark them up more than 30% over Sticker price. Screw both FMC and TRX.
Yeah someone should drop a dime on Trx to FMC. That will stir the pot for sure.

I totally agree and it's really too bad. When the the Bronco came back I was super excited. But my general rule is don't buy the first model year. That combined with the global shortage of parts (forcing ad hoc redesigns) is a recipe for a real mess.

Because of the parts shortage I wouldn't buy any car produced between Feb 2020 and probably 2024. I'm a bit leery of just about anything electronic produced between those years.

 

[SrC]

+1 Agree completely.

 

[Panther6834]

Here's the "long & short of it"...as most know by now, approximately 20 third-party aftermarket/upgrade parts manufacturers had their ENTIRE websites shut down. Traxxas wants to claim (possibly correctly, possibly nothing more than a "cover story") "trademark infringement". Even IF there is any "trademark infringement", Traxxas SHOULD have turned DIRECTLY to the businesses in question, and had them remove the "offending" products from their websites, or, better yet, remove/change the "offending" portion. To turn to the site hosting companies, and ILLEGALLY force them to shut down the ENTIRE website for each of these companies, THAT is "bad business"...and, quite possibly, ILLEGAL. There's a 'right' way, and a 'wrong' way...and, the route Traxxas took is, MOST DEFINITELY, the 'wrong' way.

At the core of Traxxas' motives is the TRX4m, and upgrade parts for said vehicle. Traxxas knowingly chose to sell the TRX4m at a ridiculously-low price, and purposely outfitted said vehicles with lower-end parts...possibly (although, unlikely) losing money on each unit sold...expecting to sell huge numbers of overpriced Traxxas-made TRX4m upgrade parts, thus turning much larger profits (think of how Sony & Microsoft sell their gaming consoles, losing money on each unit, knowing they will turn huge profits on games & accessories sold). Unfortunately for them, their 'plan' backfired, as aftermarket companies came out with upgrade parts that were not only less costly to purchase...but, they were at least as good, if not better than, the Traxxas-produced parts. It's this last point that Traxxas has chosen to use to retaliate against these small companies. Notice that, with the exception of STRC, they are only going after very small companies (although, truth-be-told, STRC isn't really a 'large' company...they are also a small company, just one with a larger reach than most other small companies). In a matter of speaking, Traxxas isn't acting like an "800lb gorilla"...more like a 1,000lb BULLY.

My hope...and, if anyone reading this has a direct, or indirect, connection to any of the affected companies, I HIGHLY recommend not only paying attention to what I'm about to say, but I also hope you take the information, and put it to 'productive' use...is that the affected companies band together, and file a Class-Action lawsuit against Traxxas. In what Traxxas is doing, they are doing it because they know none of these companies can afford to (individually) file lawsuits against them...but, one thing I don't think they've bothered to consider is the possibility that these companies could proactively work together against them. I'm willing to bet that Traxxas is 'banking' on no lawsuits being filed against them, due to the fact that several of these companies are based outside the US, and that the US-based companies, being as small as they are, don't have the financial resources to file lawsuits.

So...to ALL the affected companies in this matter...you now know that you DO have (legal) rights, and you DO have recourse. If what was done only affected sales of parts related to the vehicle in question (ie. TRX4m), that would be one thing. However, Traxxas acted illegally, and the results were that it affected sales of every product you sell...which, in turn, could have led (and, technically, could still lead) to the possibility of your company going out of business. STAND UP for your legal rights, band together, and file a Class-Action lawsuit against Traxxas. As long as at least five such businesses band together to file a Class-Action lawsuit against Traxxas, all the other affected companies will qualify to become part of the 'Class'. The 'advantage' to being a part of the "filing Class" is a higher return for your efforts (ie. "filing Class" members end up with many, many, many times for money than lower "Class" members).

Personally...and, as many others have stated...until such time as Traxxas changes its business practices, and gains some 'morals', I will refrain from purchasing any more Traxxas vehicles. While I might have no choice but to purchase 'base' Traxxas replacement parts, where 'upgrade' parts are concerned, I will attempt to purchase parts made by any other company (well, except RPM, but that's for an entirely different reason), only purchasing Traxxas-made parts if I have no other choice.

That is my "2 cents worth".

 

[Rocketzx1]

Panther88,

It is not illegal for Traxxas to protect their IP, and by having website hosting companies take down an infringing website is fully within their legal right.

Traxxas would lose out on more money if this were truly illegal for them to do, and Traxxas isn’t stupid.

They wouldn’t send out cease and desist letters if they didn’t have the legal right to enforce trademark/copyright/intellectual property infringements.

A lot of you may not like this, and that’s okay. But this is what’s happening. We also don’t know 100% of the story for each situation, and are speculating for a lot of it.

You know what they say about assuming….

 

[Jerold]

Here's the "long & short of it"...as most know by now, approximately 20 third-party aftermarket/upgrade parts manufacturers had their ENTIRE websites shut down. Traxxas wants to claim (possibly correctly, possibly nothing more than a "cover story") "trademark infringement". Even IF there is any "trademark infringement", Traxxas SHOULD have turned DIRECTLY to the businesses in question, and had them remove the "offending" products from their websites, or, better yet, remove/change the "offending" portion. To turn to the site hosting companies, and ILLEGALLY force them to shut down the ENTIRE website for each of these companies, THAT is "bad business"...and, quite possibly, ILLEGAL. There's a 'right' way, and a 'wrong' way...and, the route Traxxas took is, MOST DEFINITELY, the 'wrong' way.

At the core of Traxxas' motives is the TRX4m, and upgrade parts for said vehicle. Traxxas knowingly chose to sell the TRX4m at a ridiculously-low price, and purposely outfitted said vehicles with lower-end parts...possibly (although, unlikely) losing money on each unit sold...expecting to sell huge numbers of overpriced Traxxas-made TRX4m upgrade parts, thus turning much larger profits (think of how Sony & Microsoft sell their gaming consoles, losing money on each unit, knowing they will turn huge profits on games & accessories sold). Unfortunately for them, their 'plan' backfired, as aftermarket companies came out with upgrade parts that were not only less costly to purchase...but, they were at least as good, if not better than, the Traxxas-produced parts. It's this last point that Traxxas has chosen to use to retaliate against these small companies. Notice that, with the exception of STRC, they are only going after very small companies (although, truth-be-told, STRC isn't really a 'large' company...they are also a small company, just one with a larger reach than most other small companies). In a matter of speaking, Traxxas isn't acting like an "800lb gorilla"...more like a 1,000lb BULLY.

My hope...and, if anyone reading this has a direct, or indirect, connection to any of the affected companies, I HIGHLY recommend not only paying attention to what I'm about to say, but I also hope you take the information, and put it to 'productive' use...is that the affected companies band together, and file a Class-Action lawsuit against Traxxas. In what Traxxas is doing, they are doing it because they know none of these companies can afford to (individually) file lawsuits against them...but, one thing I don't think they've bothered to consider is the possibility that these companies could proactively work together against them. I'm willing to bet that Traxxas is 'banking' on no lawsuits being filed against them, due to the fact that several of these companies are based outside the US, and that the US-based companies, being as small as they are, don't have the financial resources to file lawsuits.

So...to ALL the affected companies in this matter...you now know that you DO have (legal) rights, and you DO have recourse. If what was done only affected sales of parts related to the vehicle in question (ie. TRX4m), that would be one thing. However, Traxxas acted illegally, and the results were that it affected sales of every product you sell...which, in turn, could have led (and, technically, could still lead) to the possibility of your company going out of business. STAND UP for your legal rights, band together, and file a Class-Action lawsuit against Traxxas. As long as at least five such businesses band together to file a Class-Action lawsuit against Traxxas, all the other affected companies will qualify to become part of the 'Class'. The 'advantage' to being a part of the "filing Class" is a higher return for your efforts (ie. "filing Class" members end up with many, many, many times for money than lower "Class" members).

Personally...and, as many others have stated...until such time as Traxxas changes its business practices, and gains some 'morals', I will refrain from purchasing any more Traxxas vehicles. While I might have no choice but to purchase 'base' Traxxas replacement parts, where 'upgrade' parts are concerned, I will attempt to purchase parts made by any other company (well, except RPM, but that's for an entirely different reason), only purchasing Traxxas-made parts if I have no other choice.

That is my "2 cents worth".

All good points. I think it's a matter of finance for the plaintiffs. If it's a class action the lawyers need to assess if they will get paid and how much time do they want to invest?

This could be a violation of FTC laws. From what I see Traxxas did try to prevent entry to the market. They played dirty pool full well know that any of the individuals didn't have the resources to fight back which would be considered aggressive.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV.

https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/anticompetitive-practices

 

[Panther6834]

Panther88,

It is not illegal for Traxxas to protect their IP, and by having website hosting companies take down an infringing website is fully within their legal right.

Traxxas would lose out on more money if this were truly illegal for them to do, and Traxxas isn’t stupid.

They wouldn’t send out cease and desist letters if they didn’t have the legal right to enforce trademark/copyright/intellectual property infringements.

A lot of you may not like this, and that’s okay. But this is what’s happening. We also don’t know 100% of the story for each situation, and are speculating for a lot of it.

You know what they say about assuming….

First, Traxxas did NOT send "cease and desist" letters to the RC parts companies in question. That would have been the 'right' way of going about things. Instead, they sent letters to the hosting services of these companies, illegally forcing them to shut down these company's entire websites. In other words, these actions affected not only sales of the parts in (supposed) question, but EVEYTHING sold by these companies. THAT is what makes this action "illegal". Here's a question for you (no need to answer it...it's for you to ask yourself) - why haven't they done this before, in regards to parts for other Traxxas vehicles? The truth is, they are only doing this because of the incredibly low profit margin (and, as I pointed out, possible loss) of the TRX4m. Obviously, the TRX4m costs more to manufacture than the Axial SCX24...yet, they sell it at a price that's lower than the SCX24 Bronco. In other words, Traxxas "banked" on turning huge profits with their own upgrade parts. In comparison, the 1:10 TRX4 is priced right in-line with similar vehicles from other RC manufacturers, and offers upgrade parts also priced similarly...yet, even though these very same aftermarket companies produce upgrade parts for the TRX4, Traxxas has never even tried shutting them down.

Learn to "read between the lines", and see the reality of what's going on. Traxxas & Horizon Hobby have, both, been working hard at "growing", eliminating competitors as best they can. They both want to be the 'Apple' of the RC industry...and, just as there's been somewhat of a "war" between Apple & Microsoft for close to 40 years, the same could be on the horizon between these two RC giants. I'm not going to say this "will" happen...but, if you look at what's gone on in the RC industry over the past 5-10 years, you begin to see that what I just said does hold some weight - the 'possibility' IS there. Note I'm not saying "probable", only "possible". For better, or worse, this could, potentially, be the beginning of some 'interesting', and huge, changes in the RC industry over the next 5-10 years.

 

[Surchaufeur]

Traxxas hates the rc community. They are the only brand who went after content creators and small bussinesses

 

[Jerold]

First, Traxxas did NOT send "cease and desist" letters to the RC parts companies in question. That would have been the 'right' way of going about things. Instead, they sent letters to the hosting services of these companies, illegally forcing them to shut down these company's entire websites. In other words, these actions affected not only sales of the parts in (supposed) question, but EVEYTHING sold by these companies. THAT is what makes this action "illegal". Here's a question for you (no need to answer it...it's for you to ask yourself) - why haven't they done this before, in regards to parts for other Traxxas vehicles? The truth is, they are only doing this because of the incredibly low profit margin (and, as I pointed out, possible loss) of the TRX4m. Obviously, the TRX4m costs more to manufacture than the Axial SCX24...yet, they sell it at a price that's lower than the SCX24 Bronco. In other words, Traxxas "banked" on turning huge profits with their own upgrade parts. In comparison, the 1:10 TRX4 is priced right in-line with similar vehicles from other RC manufacturers, and offers upgrade parts also priced similarly...yet, even though these very same aftermarket companies produce upgrade parts for the TRX4, Traxxas has never even tried shutting them down.

Learn to "read between the lines", and see the reality of what's going on. Traxxas & Horizon Hobby have, both, been working hard at "growing", eliminating competitors as best they can. They both want to be the 'Apple' of the RC industry...and, just as there's been somewhat of a "war" between Apple & Microsoft for close to 40 years, the same could be on the horizon between these two RC giants. I'm not going to say this "will" happen...but, if you look at what's gone on in the RC industry over the past 5-10 years, you begin to see that what I just said does hold some weight - the 'possibility' IS there. Note I'm not saying "probable", only "possible". For better, or worse, this could, potentially, be the beginning of some 'interesting', and huge, changes in the RC industry over the next 5-10 years.

This is standard warfare strategy- shut off the supply line, in this case is the web host providers.

It's no different than Ford telling the foundry that provides Chevy's metals that Ford is in violation of whatever and they need to stop selling to Chevy. It's not a fair business practice.

If I told a customer that I won't support them because they use a competitor on a different product, I would at least be in trouble if not fired. That tactic does not align with any modern business practice or company ethics statement that I've seen.

Mayb it's legal, maybe it's not. But in any case it's passive aggressive and not a good business practice.

BTW I recall Tomley RC talking about the FMF MAX Smasher V2 is no longer a "Max".

 

[Panther6834]

Traxxas doesn't hates the rc community. They are the only brand who went after content creators and small bussinesses

I know I'm not the only one thinking that comment doesn't make any sense. By the second sentence, that would actually prove Traxxas DOES "hate " (I'm NOT saying they 'hate'...I'm only using that word because Surchaufeur used it) the RC community. Content creators & small businesses (such as those Traxxas recently went after) HELP the industry as a whole, and HELP to boost sales of the primary manufacturer's products. Without the aftermarket industry, the primary vehicle manufacturers probably wouldn't sell as many RTRs. I'll use one of Big 'T's own vehicles as a perfect example - the Sledge. I wanted a vehicle of this type/size, but I really wasn't interested in the Arrma Kraton or Redcat Machete...but, if "push came to shove", and there hadn't been aftermarket upgrades for the Sledge, I would have ended up purchasing one of those other vehicles. Thanks-be to the aftermarket industry, and the small businesses, who developed/manufactured upgrade parts for the Sledge. Except for certain stock parts (especially the chassis & shock towers), I truly believe that the Sledge is the better vehicle among these three...but, without a much better chassis, and much better shock towers, Big 'T' would have lost that sale...and, I know I'm not the only one, as Big 'T' has sold more Sledge units thanks to the aftermarket than they would ave ever sold had those aftermarket parts been prevented from being sold. The same holds true for the TRX4...and, in all likelihood, for the TRX4m.

Instead of trying to put these businesses "out of business", Big 'T' should be THANKING them for helping them sell as many TRX4m units as they have sold. While I have no facts/figures to "back up" what I'm about to say (ie. it's an 'assumption'), I'd almost be willing to bet that the sale of TRX4m units has greatly increased since aftermarket parts became available, as this is exactly what happened with the Axial SCX24. Axial SCX24 sales were 'decent' before aftermarket parts became available...but, sales started increasing once aftermarket parts started becoming available (this comes from the owners of two RC shops). Between a 'stock' TRX4m, and the ability to have an 'upgraded' SCX24, I'm also willing to bet that more would prefer the upgraded SCX24. Now, looking at the possibilities of both vehicles being able to be upgraded, but the Big 'T' version only being able to have upgrade parts made by Big 'T'...once again...I'm willing to bet that more people would prefer the SCX24 over the TRX4m. By eliminating the aftermarket, they will, in all likelihood, be eliminating sales of their own vehicle.