HPI Racing Baja 5B Buggy Kits are back!

I'm sorry, are you genuinely comparing a chinese clone with the original? 

 

I'm kinda blown away that someone needs to spell it out for you. Rovan sells them so cheap because they stole the design, and manufactures them in chinese sweatshops. HPI does NOT get as good a price per manufacturing hour as a chinese company. 

 

Here's a funny anecdote that happened to me just last week, when i got into a small argument with Simon from greensmodels. He sells an AT6 kit for £569. I can get it imported, taxed, dutied and delivered for over £100 less, so i asked how that happened. He doesn't know - and took it to Cross RC. They don't know either how chinese sellers can offer them this cheap. 

 

Ask yourself this: if it's so easy to make a cheap clone RC, why do you think nobody but chinese companies with direct access to factories do it? Why isn't Arrma cloning the Baja? Or any startup outside china?

 

As a sidenote, i wouldn't call a truck that comes with water in the shocks, or whatever oil is available in the factory at the time (quote RCModelz when i asked what my buddies DNT come with) "pretty good". 

9 hours ago, babylon said:

 

 We know there not coming in by some back door, A bricks and mortar shop is selling them, So all import duties and taxes and what not are payed, RCModelz is making something by selling them at that price, Rovan is making something, Everybody seems happy, So can someone tell me why HPI seem to think £700 for a roller is OK. I

Are you that dense? Because youre comparing a fake stolen clone?! There has been no investment needed in R&D, no testing or quality control. Theres a hell of a lot more to the price of an RC than the parts in the box…..

 

 

They literally just bought a Genuine Baja (thats had thousands spent in R&D) and just copied it. Chinese laws means theyre pretty much invincible and free to do it, whilst it literally bankrupts genuine companies.
 

Theyre a cancer to the hobby and anyone buying them is just as responsible for the increase in RC prices as Brexit/Covid/Tories. Its quite frankly disgusting in my opinion that RC Modelz sell them Freely. 
 

Im not saying the HPI is cheap or even good value, Id agree its overpriced maybe, but I can see the reasoning. 

Edited October 12, 2022 by Kpowell911

Having owned many king motor and 30 degree north clone lots, along with building a genuine 5b ss kit a couple of years ago. I can honestly say the quality of every single part on the genuine hpi kits are visibly better quality. All of the hardware used is better quality too. Most of the km clones come from the factory with rust visible on alot of the hardware and screws. 

 

If you have the extra cash to spend then £700 is a bargain...I know what's on my Christmas list this year😂

 

Dense am I, Didn't take long for someone to roll out the old R&D line, So for one how many times  has HPI died and been resuscitated by some hedge fund wanting to try it on again by rolling out something from the back catalogue, And who actually owns it at the moment.

I always thought it was the early adopters that payed for all the start-up costs like R&D, Marketing and tooling, And as time go's on you get that back and slowing through efficiency and recouping the money spent on R&D and tooling you start to pass on the savings, Well it's been what, Coming up to 20 years since release and they've not got there R&D back, OK.

 

 You say it's disgusting that RCModelz can sell them freely, Thing is you don't know what licencing is in place, None of us here ever have, Some have tried to make out they do know but could never back it up, Some here have always assumed they were a straight up illegal copy from the off with absolutely nothing to back up that assumption , Only thing I remember is some vague HPI post moons ago which also went nowhere. HPI has changed hands more times than Liz Truss has changed her mind and you can say for fact that some off them money men didn't think of,  Or actually did sell off some of that intellectual property.

 You say it's an illegal copy, So how is it that a fake Nike or Levi's stall on the market or being sold online can be shut down quicker than you can blink, Yet the only retail bricks and mortar shop in the entire country has been happily importing and selling as you say freely for over 10 years has never to the best of my dense knowledge been issued a cease and desist notice, It's not like HPI would need a team of PI's to hunt down the source of these illegal kits coming into the country.

You also say they just bought a genuine Baja and just copied it, The same is also said about the Losi 5T, If that's the case, How is it the Chinese can copy an iPhone within a month of release, Yet it took King Motor 2 years to copy the 5T, It's also funny that King Motor and Rovan both released there 5T versions at the same time, It's also funny that Losi and Horrizon Hobby, Two of the biggest and richest names in the hobby industry have not only not gone after RCModelz for selling knock off 5T's, Horrizon Hobby's is doing business with them and suppling them with what seems every brand they distribute.

So there is more chance than not that these are actually fully paid up licenced kits, And I would happily call Traxxas a cancer in the hobby before any other.

 

I don't care what you or anyone spends there money on.

But when someone gives there opinion on a toy car, Don't start your reply by calling them dense, Especially when you have nothing what so ever to back up any one of your assumptions.

 

I'm done, As I said I've not touched my cars for 2 years and there just sitting in the roof void above my head, So couldn't care less and just wanted to see if anything had changed, And nothing has, Hpi is still rolling out the same old thing, Now £489 for the XL Flux don't seem bad.

Blimey, a lot of heat flying around about the price of a toy car!

 

There's obviously going to be people that buy it regardless of the cost and then people that are put completely by the value for money from the kit.

 

As a few have brought up the cost of living crisis, luckily nobody is being forced to buy any 1/5th 2wd buggies to heat their houses regardless of their origin!

Quote

Ask yourself this: if it's so easy to make a cheap clone RC, why do you think nobody but chinese companies with direct access to factories do it? Why isn't Arrma cloning the Baja? Or any startup outside china?

prob cos china has no copyright laws so they can copy anything and get away with it theyve been doing it for years with not just RCs but mobiles  watches laptops cars etc .