HobbyKingReviews 208

Poor service!
I recently purchased a Walkera Scout case from Hobby King costing 119$. It was the last in stock and I needed it soon. When it arrived, there were large dents on the corner and down one side and the paint was scratched on the top. However, the packaging showed no signs of damage, so the case was sent out in that state.
I immediately took photos and informed Hobby King through their warranty procedure. I heard nothing for two weeks and so contacted PayPal and within hours Hobby King offered me a 5$ refund! I advised Hobby King that as they had obviously sent out a damaged product for whatever reason, their offer in my view was unacceptable and offered very poor customer support.
PayPal have offered me a full refund, but only if I return the case, however, postage costs back to China amount to almost what I would receive in a refund, so I would be out of pocket and without a case, in whatever condition it is in! I can't be without a case even though it is unsightly, as I need it to travel, so I am left ‘between a rock and a hard place'!
I have posted this as a warning to members that although it may cost a little more, it might be better to buy more expensive items locally and with the added benefit that it won't take weeks to arrive!

On multiple occasions I have waited for an order to arrive only to find out that they were out of a product though the product was showing "IN STOCK". They NEVER notified me to let me know they were out. So, I was expected to wait for perhaps months to receive my order even though I live in Florida and I order from the Arkansas warehouse. When I talk to them on their chat line you get one dumb response after another. I have never ended a chat on a positive note. I guess they are making plenty of money in spite of themselves. Their attitude is "who cares about the occasional customer with a legitimate problem".

Ordered some products from the site at check out it gave me a couple of shiping methods chosen the 24 hours by parcelforce... 3 days later i still waiting... customer service is going in circles about it's small print 2-5 busines days (ordered Monday today is Thursday) so yes that is their service... no service just got more news fom customer service " Please take note that we can only request for investigation of parcels not received within the allotted time of 4 months from the posted date." nice...!

NEVER EVER ORDER FORM THIS SITE EVER AGAIN

Ordered a number of items on 5/4/2015 from the USA West warehouse, all showed in stock. As of 5/21 items still not shipped and both of the contacts I've had with HK could only state the items were not shipped. I will not purchase from this company again unless they can get their business processes much improved. It is my opinion that the company falsely reports items in stock, fails to properly update their inventory stocking, and intentionally misleads its customers into purchasing items that are described as in stock but, in fact, are not in stock and may have never been in stock. If one person reads this and it stops them from making a sell then this post has performed it's purpose.

I order two smaller items from their Arizona warehouse on April 1,2015. As of April 13,2015 the order still has NOT shipped. I have made 4 separate contacts with their "support staff" and each one has given me a different excuse as to why the order hasn't shipped yet. When I asked to speak with someone in higher management by telephone they told me that phone support had been closed until further notice... how very convenient for them, wouldn't you say.? At this point I am going to let PayPal handle this issue as I have filed a dispute over this purchase and all future hobby related orders will be made through Tower Hobbies.

Like most every other review here, my dealings with Hobby King have been frustrating to say the least. Placed an order for a small item and was sent an 8 foot wing span model plane. When I contacted customer service, they wanted me to send pictures of what I received and they would start an investigation, and... if they found that they had made an error they would contact me. What? After numerous live chats and phone calls they finally agreed to credit my credit card upon receipt of the merchandise. I shipped the box back, and the next communication... HK decided I didn't deserve a refund that I could only have a store credit. They shipped me the wrong item and I have to buy something else from them to use my credit? Oh, and did I tell you a paid extra to have it shipped from the USA with overnight shipping as I needed it for a company demonstration. I am now 6 weeks into my HK order and still haven't received a full refund. I am not sure how they are if things go right - that has never happened for me - but when HK makes an error, look out. Do not use these guys if you need the item(s) you ordered. There is every chance you will never see the item and never see a refund

As a long time HobbyKing customer with over 200 orders, only 3 or 4 have had problems, and of those all were rectified in time so I have no complaint on that. However, I find myself having to write this very negative report on the disgrace that are the HobbyKing Gift Certificates on behalf of others. Many recipients of them are finding that if they are not used at the full value, the balance is not carried forward! So buy something with a $50 certificate that costs $1 and HobbyKing STEAL the remaining $49!
Anyone reading this review should pass the information on to as many people as you can - DO NOT PURCHASE HOBBYKING GIFT CERTIFICATES!

I purchased the HK 450 v2 helicopter and it arrived 3 days later now I have read some reviews that said shipping was slow but I can't say that it was ferry fast and the product was perfect. Thank you HobbyKing warehouse.

Purchased B-17 in November 2014. Very poor support. It took more than two weeks to convince them the ESCs were defective and allow me to send them back. What I sent, I did not get back. I recieved generic ESCs without the long harness used in the model and no connectors. You should not do business with this company. I am bothered by the fact they are allowed to advertise in the Academy of Model Aeronautics magazine. That is the governing body that should be protecting member modelers. If you buy from them, you will not be happy. Worst hobby company I have ever dealt with.

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..

“This company is a total rip off. Paid over $73.00 for items and got email next day to say everything was ok and they would be sending me tracking number. Then 2 days pass, not sending unless they get more money, some courier outfit sent me email looking vat which i have already paid. On live chat can't tell me when i will receive refund. Had to contact paypal, so hopefully not to long”

I have been purchasing products from HobbyKing for a couple of years. Their prices are good, but the quality has always been hit and miss--mostly marginal.

I have also been frustrated by the fact that they have so many inventory issues. (I almost never find what I am looking for in stock.)

Up until now, I have been able to accept this as being the price you pay to save money. (They are generally less expensive than other online hobby shops.) But my last order sat for weeks without being processed, even though the items were in stock. And no explanation was ever given.

I opened a service request and asked them to cancel the order. It took so long to get a response that I opened a dispute with PayPal.

When HobbyKing support finally responded, they told me they could not process my refund until I canceled the PayPal dispute. I did as they requested (even though I knew better), and now they have simply become unresponsive. Nor have they refunded my money.

Even worse, you can only open a dispute once for a particular PayPal transaction, so I am stuck having to deal with HobbyKing's silent treatment. (I kind of get the impression at this point that I was just conned into giving them a monetary donation without any recourse. :( )

Never again! This is the worst customer service I have ever experienced with any online merchant.

I doubt they even care, but they have forever lost a formally loyal customer. (And I spend a lot on this hobby!)

Placed order. Four days later get email to say item out of stock and I can get a refund in Bonus Points. I asked for an equivalent item but they would not substitute. I had to place a new order for that item and pay postage again! Asked for refund. Eventually accepted but 4-6 weeks to pay back to my card! Not happy. Spoke to customer support - he said order on UK warehouse. He will sort it and throw in a few freebies. Placed another order and paid with my credit card. 10 days later their site still says unpaid. Tried to cancel order and, you guessed it, 4 - 6 weeks to refund me. So they now have GBP 80 (about US $120 of mine and I'll have to wait at least a month to get it back. Unethical and very bad customer service! I won't be buying from them again!

I ordered the Bix 3 and thought it would be shipped from the USA warehouse but when the order was totaled I found that it would be shipped from China. Shipping charges were $74.58! Then after reading some reviews, I got worried. The good news is that the plane arrived in good condition in 12 business days. A great r/c model but their business practices were rather suspect.

I could go on for awhile about HK. At first all was good. Then things went south real quick. I ordered a 4S 4500MAH battery that took 16 days to arrive from Lakewood warehouse. Put it on charger about a week later and HELLO! Dead cell. No way to get hold of anyone. The 30day warranty arrived so I bit the bullet on that one! But, the final straw was opening the US East Coast warehouse. I live in AL so I figured I would finally save on HK's high shipping prices. I ordered 4 small items that totaled $11 and weighed 14 ozs. Not much choice as to how to ship. The shipping came to $7.48 from AR to AL! I spend quite a bit of money shopping on line and never have I seen shipping charges in the 60% range vs cost on these type of items. No hazmat on that order by the way. I was warned by members of my rc club, but I didn't listen.

HobbyKing order may take months to deliver. I ordered items that were shown to be in stock and made payment immediately. Next day one of the items was shown as back ordered. My order was not filled. Ten days later the item was shown to be back in stock and my order was sent to warehouse. Unfortunately the other two items I paid for were now back ordered and the shipment was delayed again. Bottom line ordered 7 weeks before Christmas and HK was unable to deliver.