Where is all the stock???

[chrisleematt21]

I put the question to fastlads on Facebook this morning and they replied very quickly as follows.

Makes sense to be fair

[Dean airwolf]

Hello all
If the 3 main players in this hobby look at there sales they would see what we need on a regular basis and have items on the shelf waiting instead of use looking over the pond.When I need bits I just look at the small helicopter shops and most of the time they have the parts am looking for.I did ask 1 main player for a discount could not give me (£5.00) on a Airwolf kit.So I got kit from Germany £25.00 more but there gain delivered 3 days.They can't need the business.

[trillian]

Well, for me it has pretty much become a situation where no one in the UK stocks spares for my helis anyway (except Kasama UK), so I'm used to having to buy stuff from abroad. Minicopter and Henseleit have pretty much always been a matter of dealing direct with the manufacturer. Beam and Compass once upon a time you could get stuff as with at least some JR models. Not sure about UK stock of Raptor E700 bits these days.

[Crashalotjoe]

Hello all
If the 3 main players in this hobby look at there sales they would see what we need on a regular basis and have items on the shelf waiting instead of use looking over the pond.......

Yes, I kind of agree. I'm sure, as Fast Lad say, that sales are slow at this time of year but surely, with winter being building season and summer being crashing season, they must see a trend in component sales. Just at this moment, none of the 'big three' have any Brain 2's, no Spartan Vortex, almost no Hobbywing V4's, few Castle Edge ESCs, no BK servos, few motors etc. Even main blades that are not Align 360's are having to come from europe. If I want to buy some obscure component for a 10 year old heli, there doesn't seem to be an issue.

I don't really buy the exchange rates thing. If the main UK dealers don't have parts I want, I go to europe and have to pay the premuim for the poor exchange rates. I guess I'm not alone. Within reason, if I need something to finish a build or a repair, I pay the premium. I don't want to wait to see what the exchange rate does for the sake of a few percent, I want to be out there flying. These guys must be losing a fair bit of business.

I know they don't want to sit on expensive stock if the exchange rates fall but surely some trend analysis on sales would reduce that risk.

[DaveG]

Hello all
If the 3 main players in this hobby look at there sales they would see what we need on a regular basis and have items on the shelf waiting instead of use looking over the pond.When I need bits I just look at the small helicopter shops and most of the time they have the parts am looking for.I did ask 1 main player for a discount could not give me (£5.00) on a Airwolf kit.So I got kit from Germany £25.00 more but there gain delivered 3 days.They can't need the business.

Let me get this straight, for the sake of £5 you paid £25 more because the shop would'nt give you the discount? Why £5 discount may i ask? I would'nt been fussed about the discount of £5 and saved the £20.. or is that just me?

[PeteStewardson]

The thing is Fastlads are out of stock of pretty much everything model wise. Seems like they are missing out on the prime time for everyone to buy a new model to start the season. I don't get it from a business perspective.

[tomatwalden]

Chuffin Brexit a right old game of speculators and hedgers, in real terms what has changed absolutely eff all, an olive still costs the same to grow in Greece or Spain as it did before June the 23rd and it still costs the same in diesel to ship to the UK. It shouldn't be allowed to happen, the UK in manufacturing exports is 11th or so in the World with exports up due to the weaker £. It's a load of old cobblers and a form of control, we're not even out of Europe yet. Anyway the Toon have just gone 1 up against the Villa

The thing is, like those Spanish or Greek olives, almost all RC helicopter related equipment is manufactured abroad. Have the manufacturer costs changed? for the most part, no (although bear in mind, most modern complex products involve a lot of OEM parts, so in fact, the price probably fluctuates day to day). The thing is though, it's not manufacturer costs that matter with Brexit - it's the relative value of the £ against foreign currencies - rather than what it cost to produce the actual product in local currencies. In real terms, our £ simply is worth less, and therefore it costs us more since our wages haven't changed accordingly. You say brexit hasn't happened yet - but again, that's not the point. If/when we finally leave the EU market - many things will change - and most of the trade agreements we rely on will be null and void - so I expect prices to rise again as we try to agree new agreements outside the EU. But, the fact we haven't reached that day yet doesn't stop the change in the exchange rate. How much a currency is worth is based heavily on investor confidence. Because of the referendum, and by the hard line Mayhem is taking, that investor confidence in the £ is extremely low and consequently, costs of foreign products (to us in the UK) have risen significantly.

[waveydavey]

Yep, get that Tom but at the moment totally down as you say to confidence and speculation. Nothing has changed as yet, we haven't left and there is no real reason apart from the confidence of the markets and lets be honest it's not the most honourable or straightforward of establishments is it the financial markets. As I said in my original post, a false dawn brought about by arse wipes in it to make money for themselves on the backs of people like us

[tomatwalden]

But confidence and speculation is what drives exchange rates the world over. Britain has chosen a very disruptive (ie. risky) economic path - the consequences of that were always going to be a weak £ and higher prices. Factors which influence the exchange rate | Economics Help

In better news, the weather seems to be improving ... might brave actually flying something soon!

[waveydavey]

Thanks for the link, don't need to take a look though as I do get it, hence the point of my badly written first post

Was out yesterday, not nice

[ChrisB]

Going forward its the Euro that will struggle,Sterling will rally again once we get the shackles of the EU off our backs.

And the quicker we do it and the harder we play ball with them the better.

[tomatwalden]

Going forward its the Euro that will struggle,Sterling will rally again once we get the shackles of the EU off our backs.

And the quicker we do it and the harder we play ball with them the better.

Yeah, it's going to be SO great, SO terrific. We're going to build the best coins, best in the world. Nobody will be make coins like us. It will be SO SO great. And Mexico will pay for all the LIPOs and RC heli spares ...

[ChrisB]

They will be the best coins,when the EU falls apart and the Euro is dumped by remaining nations in favour of their original currency,Sterling will be the strong currency investors will pile money into,the UK will have a fantastic future ahead and thank God we now have a PM with some balls(ironically not) to stand up and fight.

[Bob Cole]

They will be the best coins,when the EU falls apart and the Euro is dumped by remaining nations in favour of their original currency,Sterling will be the strong currency investors will pile money into,the UK will have a fantastic future ahead and thank God we now have a PM with some balls(ironically not) to stand up and fight.

Very nicely put, totally agree

[tomatwalden]

Very nicely put, totally agree

Unfortunately for everyone, most financial investors don't agree - hence why the value of the £ has dropped and the costs of this hobby have gone up. Anyway, no point in arguing over this - the fiscal future of the UK will be what it will be regardless of what we think or say here. For now, costs are higher and like it or not, brexit is a big part of the reason for that.