Hobby Town USA Distribution

[-J-]

Originally Posted by payaso

Annnnnnd, before nanotrax chimes in to tell me I have it all wrong, cause I'm an american in america and can't unsterstand, or grasp the complexity of these things. Save it, holmes. The proof is in the pudding. It's an overpriced product, with even worse marketing, PERIOD

He won't have to tell you you've got it all wrong because I'm gonna. First of all, he's an American who just happens to be living in Thailand, just like I'm an American living in Hong Kong. You've got your ass on your shoulders and you need to ask someone to help you get it off, before scare a bunch of potential hobbyists off with your uninformed rants.

The dNaNo is an awesome R/C. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that kyosho screwed up the marketing and distribution plan with the dNaNo, but that doesn't make the product itself crappy. If I wasn't in China, I'd probably be in the same position most of you guys are. Lastly, if you can name 2 R/C's that were perfect out of the box, and had absolutely no early production problems, which are unfortunate but often happen, I'll shut up.

[arch2b]

there is a thread for issues with the dnano or we can start another, lets keep this topic to the silly distribution plan

[billysnarf]

Here in the Dallas area.. 2 Hobbytowns.. no Dnanos... i have had money set aside for some time now for a couple of these cars.. but now, im done... that money will be spent a new traxxas 1/16th vehicle. I am just sick of this Dnano run around.. cool car, ****ty service.

[lornecherry]

Hint to Kyosho USA: If you are not going to consider open distribution or at least loosen restrictions then ...

Appoint at least one authorized Internet dealer to service your North American customers who do not have a participating HTA dealer in there area. I can guarantee this will help with the launch of the dNano. This site's online store is probably the logical choice, since the only information on dNano in the US (and Canada, where I'm from) is funneled through here. If it's a US exclusive provision with HTA that's genuinely holding you back, then I can certainly direct you to reliable Canadian distributors who would be happy to service the NA market. In addition to shutting out unresponsive grey-marketers that simply give the car an undeserved bad name, opening distribution will actually help the involved HTA stores by raising awareness for a product with a lack-luster introduction and very little advertising whatsoever.

In this economy, you need to service your customers first; the online racing and organized leagues will only work after you have a large base of happy dNano owners. For some reason you seem to want to put the cart before the horse.

- Lorne

[payaso]

Originally Posted by -J-

You've got your ass on your shoulders and you need to ask someone to help you get it off, before scare a bunch of potential hobbyists off with your uninformed rants

my knowledge in the micro R/C world goes further than you will ever know and is one of the reasons Dave, the owner of this board made me a moderator over 6 years ago.



Keep your smart comments up and you're not going to be posting here anymore, got it?




I'm here to help point people in the right direction and if people get scared off from the nano line, so be it. It's marketed all wrong and way over priced for what it is. Most will be happier with an MR02. You're just being a fanboy.









silla

[edhchoe]

I hate politics... I love my dNano.

[arch2b]

in his defense (-j-), your last couple posts have been torrents of raining down on them as if they were $300 p.o.s. granted, teh source of the frustration is well deserved, the rest was baseless.

[Millertime]

Well I thought this might be a great place to discuss the dNaNo now that's it's about to be unveiled to North America. I guess if the moderators want to use their status to threaten people that disagree with their opinion then we'll find somewhere else to have the conversation.

[-J-]

Though my comment probably was inappropriate, I don't like being threatened for having a differing, valid opinion.

Now, I'd like to get back to the decent discussion you guys were having about the HTUSA distribution.

[arch2b]

i agree (as another moderator). going hostile on someone whom has a differing opinion makes us no better than the other juvenile forums. were better than that. if there is a personal issue, please discuss this off forum.

lets all just get back to dumping on kyosho for the absurd choice they made in an attempt to get this product in the u.s. market. lets direct our anger/frustration where it's most appropriate

[-J-]

Originally Posted by arch2b

i agree (as another moderator). going hostile on someone whom has a differing opinion makes us no better than the other juvenile forums. were better than that. if there is a personal issue, please discuss this off forum.

lets all just get back to dumping on kyosho for the absurd choice they made in an attempt to get this product in the u.s. market. lets direct our anger/frustration where it's most appropriate

Agreed.

[Millertime]

Group hug?

Has anyone heard anything about Kyosho getting the tracks out to the stores? I don't want to rub it in, but I'm lucky enough to have two HTUSA stores within an hour that have signed up but they are both waiting on their track.

The Mooresville, NC store has been on a waiting list for months now. They said they were 4th in the US to sign up and there are 3 tracks that we know of in operation. They were told months ago that the track would be there within a week, and it keeps getting pushed back.

The limited distribution is bad enough, but if Big K can't even get the tracks to the stores that WANT to participate, we're in real trouble.

[arch2b]

i was told by someone in the know that kyosho essentially put the cart before the horse meaning they can not get product to those whom chose to carry it. reasons were not given but it's obvious kyosho has issues with the supply chain.

another checked box in the laundry list of mis-steps with this product launch.

the true shame is, i really want these. i'm ready to plunk down $600+ on them however i can not get them without ordering out of state at higher prices (high enough already) or going to ebay which is both cost prohibitive and warrantyless purchases which i consider foolish for something that costs as much as these do.

i'm very close to buying them mr-015's instead and forgetting about dnano's. unfortunately, if things don't improve, i think the vast majority of others will as well.

honestly, you can get these for $130 (kit only) which is reasonable considering they are minaturized mini-z's. i have no problem with that cost but like everyone else, it would be better to have them cheaper. smaller yet just as complex product does not = cheaper though. the starter kit is rediculous if you ask me though. $100 for a shoddy tx (read the mini-z posts on the tx) and shoddy charger (read mini-z posts on the charger) is nuts.

[-J-]

Originally Posted by Millertime

if Big K can't even get the tracks to the stores that WANT to participate, we're in real trouble.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Kyosho Japan hasn't even gotten dNaNo tracks to China (their next door neighbor) yet. We had to make our own carpet track to run on. I know Kyosho Japan and Kyosho America operate fairly independently, but we always get things much quicker here. The limited edition MR-02 chassis's are in stock at a couple of my LHS's. We could be in for a long wait. Then again, seeing pictures like this:










at mini-z races is encouraging (the 2009 KO PROPO Mini-Z Grand Prix). I just don't know.

I agree with Arch2b, if Kyosho doesn't do something quick, people will be spending their hard earned cash elsewhere, especially with the current economic situation. A couple of people have already mentioned other R/Cs: MR-015 and Traxxas 1/16th scale vehicles.

[USRaja]

I think most people who buy this car will be from the die hard miniz groups. I dont see alot of new customers willing to put down the $300 for such a small car. I recently got to see some kids test out a Dnano on a Hobbytown track and the kids struggled to keep the car straight and off the wood barriers. The car had too much speed and acceleration for them. I think the price needs to be under $100 for a rtr kit with transmitter, battery charge and car, for this to take off. I dont think it matters if it is only sold at Hobbytown stores or opened up to online distributors. The price needs to come down, alot.