Horizon Hobby vs HobbyKing

[bisco]

New to hobby, and need the best place to buy planes.

there is no best place. i would start with something like this to learn how to fly basics and orientation.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1651745939...CD-NTTJM0NafwSei3EcuvZwi2amTwKShoC2yUQAvD_BwE

then, while learning the basics, spend a lot of time investigating different planes and transmitters, how everything works and what the costs are.
it's a very complex hobby, and easy to make financial mistakes that can spiral out of control.

 

[Mr_Stripes]

great service Horizon Hobby

Just dont try the phone number if you value your time

 

[Mr_Stripes]

HH is overpriced imo. Hobbyking has some good stuff, lots of outdated stuff and shipping is too pricy. Overall is cheaper tho.

 

[Ketchup]

I don't think there is any "best" place to buy things and tbh the question isn't really fair since both online stores do different things. Hobbyking is great for builders because you can get parts like motors and servos from there to build a plane out of, and they have a pretty huge selection of parts. I'd call Horizon better for pre built planes in most cases because the general aircraft quality would be just a bit better and they are made to be as easy to assemble, handle, and operate as possible. Of course both places can do both jobs though. You could buy parts from Horizon to build a plane from scratch if you wanted to, but I wouldn't really recommend it since the only parts they carry are replacement parts for other planes and they would end up being more expensive. You could also buy pre built planes from Hobbyking, but there are more choices from Horizon as they kinda specialize in that.

 

[bisco]

agreed. i have purchased from both, and both have their positives and negatives. each purchase must be made on an individual basis.
on the whole, i would say horizon provides better customer service overall, and some great products.

hobbyking has some great prices and products, but high shipping costs, or double horizons freight free minimum.
that would not stop me from buying a tundra or some accessories if it is the right product at the right price including freight.

 

[Awesomest_Dude]

Do you have any local hobby shops? If so, look there for some Horizon Hobby / E-Flite / Hobby-Zone (all same company) BNF or RTF models. Then if you have issues, there will be somebody you can go back to for support.

I also fly a LOT of http://ReadyMadeRC.com models

how would i find the right shop. ALso how do i find an rc group near me? And why do you prefer https://ReadyMadeRC.com? The prices are the same as far as I can tell

 

[Quinnyperks]

I'm for both, parts from hobbyking, planes from Horizon.

 

[bisco]

just start with the closest shop, and move on if they don't have anything you like, or are unhelpful

 

[LitterBug]

how would i find the right shop. ALso how do i find an rc group near me? And why do you prefer https://ReadyMadeRC.com? The prices are the same as far as I can tell

Just look for Hobby shops in your area.
I prefer ReadyMadeRC because they are a local company for me. They also have been extremely helpful in the rare event that there has been an issue with my order. They sell some of their own products as well as some from Horizon Hobby and a handful of other vendors.

 

[Off-topic jes]

Hobby king! I think Horizon is over priced😁

 

[CrashRecovery]

For me it's going to be about customer service. I might be slightly biased, but as mentioned try and get in touch with horizon. Even before I started my current job, I would look for companies who stood behind their products and were relatively easy to work with. In my honest opinion, a few extra dollars is worth knowing customer support is there and the company stands behind the products they sell.

 

[bisco]

choice is good

 

[bisco]

Hobby king! I think Horizon is over priced😁

did you get your carbon cub from hobbyking?