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New 2.4 GH futaba

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HS93 (RIP):
saw this advert for a new system comming out end of March, The price looks right when you think its 2$ to the £ at present.Peter

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXPZT8&P=7


http://2.4gigahertz.com/

FullLeatherJacket:
Peter

Now I don't want to disappoint anyone about the price of this, but don't forget the UK importer is Ripmax. If you're wondering what the he11 I'm talking about, check out the drop in price of Graupner items once that company is not involved in the chain (more than 25% - See Wyeforce News elsewhere on this Forum). In other words, if the $296 Tower Hobbies price doesn't convert to around £296 once Ripmax get hold of it then I'll be pleasantly surprised. Of course, if you really enjoy being a victim of rampant capitalism you could buy it from Slough Radio Control - the owner of that establishment also owns Ripmax!

As the motor manufacturers have it, the UK is Treasure Island i.e. we'll pay any damn price they care to charge. It would be very nice if UK modellers either stopped buying Futaba gear (which, IMHO, is nothing like as good as it used to be) or bought it mail-order from Germany, where it is much cheaper. The EU actually has made certain transactions easier!

HS93 (RIP):
Would you buy from RIPmax.?? Ive been buying from the states and other places for over 30 years ,and not payed 1$ to the £. If you look at the people who have been buying spectrum equip they are not paying that sort of exchange rate, there is allways E-bay now.. The main reason to post was just to show people that there is an alternative to spectum equip. peter

tigertiger:
If you buy from elsewhere in the EU the warantee should also be good. As it SHOULD be european cover.

And should be honoured by the register dealers in another EU country.

UK motorcycle distriburtors/dealers tried to refuse to do waarantee work on parrallel imports form other EU countries.
The EU lawyers told the MC manufacturere concerned that they must comply.

So one advantage of buying EU over US.

FullLeatherJacket:
Peter

Your main point was well-made, matey. It will  be a good thing to have competition for Spektrum from probably the world's best-known RC manufacturer, but I wanted to further your original point on the aspect of price.

My purpose was to illustrate that Messrs Ripmax - through whom the vast majority of UK modellers would probably purchase their Futaba gear anyway - are not necessarily either the most reliable or the best value suppliers available. I know that they have been disenfranchised by Graupner viz a viz their position as "sole" UK agents for Graupner, but I'm not aware that Futaba have done the same thing. It couldn't happen soon enough; I detest the concept of "sole agents" in any area of commerce. It says "licenced to print money" to me and is a throwback to darker times.

Notwithstanding your experiences of buying from America, I recently costed a superb battery charger direct from the USA but the price of the shipping killed the deal stone dead. There are also the vagarities of HMRC to contend with when importing from outside the EU, and their involvement would likely put off many potential private imports from the USA; see Threads Passim as they would say in Private Eye!

As Tigertiger says, there are advantages to purchasing goods from the EU e.g. no Customs declarations/VAT/Duty to pay, same voltage, cheaper goods than UK, lower shipping price than US and valid warranties. We might hope that Futaba eventually decide to distribute their goods in the UK through a wider network than at present. If the Futaba 2.4GB stuff will be available in March then we shall see whether I was right or not about the UK price. Meantime please carry on buying your stuff from Uncle Sam and report back to HQ. If you prove me horribly wrong then I won't give a monkey's because there will then be a rush of forum members to buy Futaba 2.4GB from the same place - it's a "no lose" situation (unless you own Ripmax..........)!

Suit yourselves. Meanwhile I will continue to adjust servo throws and mix channels with my thumbs; my model memories remain in my head; my sets are all last century's 40 mHz HiTech and most of the guys who sail where I do are still on 27 meg! It'll be a while before I need a 2.4GB set........

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