Is the slow economy affecting your hobby?

[bully]

Definitely the aussie dollar sucks at the moment ...

[RC10th]

Aussie dollar and sucky shipping are making me really watch what I buy, and most little things that I would have normally bought usually get passed up these days.


Uhhhhh, I just checked and it's $19.95 to send one Lunsford turnbuckle from the US to Canada..... wtf

[mikea96]

I recently sent three little packages out of the US the largest weighing 10 oz and the smallest weighing 2oz and it was 50.00.

[Asso_man!]

Same here, the high shipping costs, the strong dollar/euro exchange rate and the new eBay rules that allow them to literally rip you off with their own calculated shipping rate and pre-paid custom fees have made me think twice or more when considering buying anything from a foreign country. It's definitely not what it was 5 or 7 years ago (not even mentioning the fact that most of the nicest stuff is now in the hands of collectors who know the value of the items or hold onto them) where you could still find hidden gems at a bargain price. That being said I recently (after more than 10 years of hunting and collecting) bought the central piece of my collection (an original RC10 that belonged to Masami Hisosaka) at a fair price for what it is. Shipping from Japan was ridiculous and no custom fee was applied. I truly believe his father Masaaki would have gotten at least 3 times the price I paid if he would have advertised it on eBay. In a nutshell, avoid eBay, think twice but still keep an eye wide open for the best opportunities

[mAdMan]

What's a letter cost to go from Los Angeles to Ontario Canada?!

[Coelacanth]

Aussie dollar and sucky shipping are making me really watch what I buy, and most little things that I would have normally bought usually get passed up these days.


Uhhhhh, I just checked and it's $19.95 to send one Lunsford turnbuckle from the US to Canada..... wtf

That's ridiculous...and because many sellers will only use Priority Post. Something as cheap and small as turnbuckles could be sent in a regular paper envelope, maybe taped and folded up in a piece of cereal box cardboard or something, and mailed for a few bucks. But eBay really almost forces sellers to use Priority Post, so it can be trackable. But to pay that much to ship something that's not even worth the cost of the shipping is asinine.

[RC10th]

I guess HPI Europe isn't immune to the economy and has been placed into voluntary administration.

http://www.rcnews.net/2016/01/22/hpi-europe-in-administration/

[RC104ever]

The economy isn't affecting anything so much as my lack of interest in doing anything RC related. I have a 95% completed Hot Shot that's just sitting there along with a bunch of other cars that just need a few things fixed. To be honest, I was thinking of selling most of it off and buying a motorcycle.

But I can't quite bring myself to do it because of the time and money invested already. I walk by it every day when I'm working from home and just stare at it. I'll probably go back to it one day and binge fix / build everything again.

The dollar does suck huge right now so I've stopped looking on ebay and places like amain for deals.

[Diamond Dave]

Just bid your time and it will all come back to us.

Selling anything just because you walk by and stare at it is not a good idea. I am sure you can buy a bike and keep the cars/trucks you have so much time and effort into.

You know you will want one of them back, or regret that you sold a different one as time goes bye. Right?