I have used HobbyKing for several years with few delays and have always bought '5 crown' rated items. I always read the reviews on each item before selecting. I always use PayPal so that I have a record of payment. I'm a 'platinum' member because I have made 63 orders with HobbyKing. I try to find what I need at the US warehouse for quicker shipping but most of my shipments have come from the Global Warehouse and usually arrives in 10 to 15 days. Jesi Chan and her customer support for issues are poor and she needs to fire the bunch thats in there now and get some people who care. HobbyKing states that their # one priority is customer support. If Jesi can't get it done then Peter should fire her and hire someone who can make service and support a prioity. If He did, with a world wide customer base, HobbyKing would triple their business.
I can not give them a rating - they are terrible. I had to give them one star to submit. I was told to wait for over 2 months for order to be shipped. It was suppose to be a birthday gift. The response - "need to hear from warehouse". When I stated to cancel the order - then they heard from warehouse and item could be shipped. As I no longer could trust them - I wanted a refund. Now we have to check with warehouse again and no further response. DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM! Once they have your money - they do nothing.
My husband ordered from them dec 21st we received the wrong stuff, we sent it back and the post office verified they received it jan 15th and we have still not got the correct order or our $165.00 back. Worst customer service I've ever experienced!
Hobbyking has come a long way since I started using it a few years ago.
You get a lot more than you pay for, and remember, most of the stuff you are buying is a small fraction of the stuff you would get at a local hobby shop. There are plenty of examples of people getting DOA merchandise, but if you can buy 5 for the price of a name brand item that is one of the risks you are taking!
Things to remember are:
1) If any of the items in your order are out of stock, the entire order will be held until it is restocked.
2) Read the customer reviews! This is where they have really grown. Most of their items have tons of reviews, tips, user manuals, videos, or useful discussions.
3) It is going to take a week or more to get your items, even if you order from the warehouse in your country. Just another one of the things you get with the discount pricing.
Hobby King sent me another customers order in my package. None of the items I ordered were enclosed. Hobby King made me pay for return shipping of these wrong items.
They have refused to credit me for the shipping costs.
Their returns policy states that they will pay for return shipping if the item is defective.
I consider a wrong item (Hobby King Error) to be the same as a defective item when it comes to shipping. I told them that I will never order from Hobby King again and they said that they don't care.
I ordered a camera costing £54. It claimed it was in stock in the uk warehouse on the website. However, hobbyking have shipped it from China, and it will not be delivered until I pay £24 in customs charges, almost half the cost again. Hobbyking have been most unhelpful and just logout of the online support when I complain that the charges are unreasonable and I have been conned.
Worst experience I have ever had.In early May, I bought a Walkera helicopter for $ 255. The shipment was canceled (failed delivery?) and I was advised to wait until the package was returned to Hobby King. After many emails, and 8 months of begging, HK promised me a refund of $ 185. I had to pay $ 65 for administrative costs. You better think twice before you buy something from HK..
I ordered from what i was lead to believe was a uk site, only to recieve a bill for import duty. Turns out they sent it from hong kong. I spoke to daisy on live chat and she said i must have ordered wrong and then shut the call off. Really poor allround dont use them
I ordered a Quanum Nova quad copter from this site. The item was advertised with free shipping. The Hobby King courier charged an additional 70 Euros for duty and handling. One of the motors burnt out on the first flight of the quad copter. I returned the unit (at my expense) and Hobby King agreed a free of charge replacement. When this was sent, again by the Hobby King courier, I was again charged 70 Euros for duty. When I complained Hobby King agreed to send out another Quanum Nova via a courier that would not incur a duty charge. This never happened so I asked for a refund. To date this has not happened either. Interestingly when I tried to leave a review on the Hobby King website I was unable to. You need to have placed three orders before you are allowed to review! I will never buy anything from this site again and strongly urge others not to either.
I wish I had read these reviews before purchasing a $50 gift certificate from them for my boyfriend. Never got the gift certificate and also never received ANY response to the multiple multiple emails I sent inquiring. Also now I look like an $#*! because I gave my boyfriend nothing for his birthday. Thanks for the $50 nothing, Hobby King.
Answer: Hi. I live in the UK. I would never use hobbyking again. I never got my stuff took 3 months to get refund. Take your money and then they don't care
Answer: It all depends on the Bank that you. Plus check on why it took the refund. In fact, the refund is quick from an average of 3-4 days. Actually just given extra time for both the seller and the Bank. And accordingly, if the seller has constant operations on a refund, this has a negative impact on the company's rating for the Bank. Especially if there are disputes between buyer and seller. From my experience, the returns are realized in several ways: 1. On credit card 2. On account on the HobbyKing website. 3. Or product if not reached or was spoiled. Damaged goods was a couple of times, and some of the delivery services. Overall, the problems with the refund arose. Sorry for bad English.
Answer: Please contact us here https://support.hobbyking.com/hc/en-us/requests/new for the latest rates
Answer: In all honesty, I think it only means they got your money. That's all they seem to care about. I've been going round and round with them saying my order is complete when in fact they still owe me about 70% of the total order. They refuse to split the order and I'm tired of arguing with them. From some of the other reviews, it sounds like it's their method to start the clock early on the return policy. Regardless of whether you have actually received the item or not, the return policy starts when they say the order is complete.
Answer: PS Peter, I am assuming you mean the 1400mm EPO Flybaby? If it's the balsa 1350mm model I have no idea as I have not owned that model. Al
Answer: Hi Peter. Unfortunately I don't have the FlyBaby any more to check the battery bay I can however tell you I used ZIPPY Flightmax 3000mAh 4S1P 20C@ 139x46x25mm. A larger battery will fit but IMHO you will probably be better off with a 2200 to keep it as light as possible. Al
HobbyKing has a rating of 1.5 stars from 195 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with HobbyKing most frequently mention customer service, live chat and store credit. HobbyKing ranks 11th among Remote Control Cars sites.
Hi John
Thank you for feedback. We do really listen and appreciate customers taking the time to leave a genuine review with constructive criticism.
On your negative point ref quality control. We take quality control very seriously and we will replace ANY and EVERY faulty product a customer receives. We understand that our returns process is cumbersome and slow, we are working on changing this to make it much easier to return items. On top of this we will also be opening our first US based call centre to better serve our US customers.
Thanks
Dan