Micro RC sales fueled by spam?

Dracos · #1 12-22-2002, 11:52 PM

Personally, I don't believe the main point of the article (mostly because I only happen to get 3-5 spam a week), but at least this article tells us what stores carry which OEM brands.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/850710.asp?cp1=1

What are your thoughts, Tiny?

8ate8 · #2 12-23-2002, 12:34 AM

i believe it. i have an old email address that i've had for almost 10 years now, and i've been added to just about every spam list out there. i get roughly 10 junk emails a day. about every other day there's a spam for the micro r/c's.. but never Tomy brand.. always the clones, and always at at least $29.95

MTL · #3 12-23-2002, 12:43 AM

i just read it....
hope that patent thing goes through soon, wonder whats gonna happen when all of a sudden, every mini rc that is molded from a bit charg body or controller has to be destroyed...sounds like fun

i get tired of seeing the cheap clones..when i get an email about mini rc cars, i just look at it to see if they have any new bodies..
and i HATE when they say its the smallest RC car in the world, because it ISNT, and these people dont know jack crap about what they are selling
SOLD OUT IN STORES...???? wtf...they dont even have a brand and yet they say its sold out, they are trying to get a piece of the action by confusing noobs and parents that this toy is HOT.the only micro rc car thats sold out or scarce is ZipZaps.

ive never bought a bit charg clone yet, but ive been looking for other small rc cars that have different controllers and bodies
clones suck with a few exceptions

ShadowMage · #4 12-23-2002, 02:23 AM

Just finished reading parts of it and skimmed through the rest. This could be good and bad. I can see it being good because of my bias towards the BCG but I also see that this could in fact be harmful in that Tomy will have no one (or at least hardly anyone) to compete with. Which more or less means (at that point) that Tomy can charge, sell, and basically do what they want because there's no one else to really compete with. Anyone elses thoughts, arguments, etc?

Vincent Flagg · #5 12-23-2002, 03:51 AM

Well, In my opinion I have to agreed whit the article, Some time ago I recieve a email about becoming a member for something and they give you a present for only 4.95 the S&H only, I pick up the Mini R/C that come whit that offer, I join 4 times, canceling it 4 times for a total of 4 cars, thay kind of stupid, they give me 4 cars and only I pay 20 for them. but the point is that some companies are giving them for free, Clones that is.

Draconious · #6 12-23-2002, 11:27 AM

“that cute little car I saw online.”

Personaly I feel any one asking that to a sales clerk, saw them here on TinyRC, mini-zracer.com, or ebay.... more then the spam mails.

And the ppl selling 330,000 of them, are selling 10,000 at a time, to ppl who want to resell them... ive seen photos of boxes upon boxes of them trying to sell all of them

. some are even on ebay... you can see a whare house in the background..

Now they need to post someting similar about the mini-z clones

#7 12-23-2002, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ShadowMage
Just finished reading parts of it and skimmed through the rest. This could be good and bad. I can see it being good because of my bias towards the BCG but I also see that this could in fact be harmful in that Tomy will have no one (or at least hardly anyone) to compete with. Which more or less means (at that point) that Tomy can charge, sell, and basically do what they want because there's no one else to really compete with. Anyone elses thoughts, arguments, etc?

I don't know if any of the patents are really enforceable, they could be challenged by the clone manufacturers. I don't see anything that is technologically groundbreaking here, just a bunch of standard electronic components assembled into a really cool little toy. Maybe the transmitter design is patentable because of the retracting antenna, but many of the clones use a different styled transmitter, and I've seen some with a separate charging base. Hopefully, what WILL remain in the clones is the ability to interchange motors/gears/bodies, etc.
If Tomy was smart, they would have just marketed them here under their own name, instead of having Hobbico resell them. This is just driving up the cost of a genuine BCG here in America, and creating a market for the cheaper clones. If the microsizers retailed for $19.99, I would definitely buy a microsizer over a $15 clone that could be a POJ. This would automatically reduce the demand for the clones, and then you'll see less of them. After the holidays, I am going to order a few BCG's from toyeast.com. I hear that the shipping isn't too bad from the Far East, anyone have a good/bad experience with toyeast?

EDIT: corrected "toyseast.com to toyeast.com" whadda n00b...

Pojo · #8 12-23-2002, 02:57 PM

ToyEast.com is great! Good customer support, Fast shipping, Great prices! The product I received was exactly as described.

#9 12-23-2002, 03:02 PM

Thanks for the info!
Did your orders ever get hung up in customs?
I feel much better knowing that people have had great experiences with them.

Draconious · #10 12-23-2002, 04:15 PM

toyeast, did yours also have 3 layers of tape on the transmitter end? with only 1 that wasnt cut open?

mine did...

#11 01-18-2003, 06:51 PM

Just wanted to let folks know that toyeast.com is a reliable exporter to deal with. Because of the shipping, you will do better by ordering a few things with your buddies and combining the order.
All my items were factory sealed, and arrived in perfect condition. Packing was excellent.

Now that it's after xmas, it seems there is somewhat of a "glut" in the market. I got one of those "spam" emails an hour ago, they were selling panther clones for $75 a dozen, and a little less if you wanted to buy a case of 48!

Silent_NightR34 · #12 01-18-2003, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MTL
the only micro rc car thats sold out or scarce is ZipZaps.

zip zaps???omg!!i would say microsizers they are really hard to find...hum..i never even saw a zip zap before

#13 01-18-2003, 08:45 PM

If I want a MicroSizer, I can buy one at a number of places. If I didn't own a Zip Zap, I would think that they are mythical toys for the Gods or something. But since I have one, they must actually exist. After playin' with the Bits and Bit clones, Radio Shaft can take their ZipZaps and "Shaq" them! It's almost a month after xmas, and no RS in my area has ZZ's in stock.

(they are still blaming it on some dock worker strike that happened like 3 months ago.....)