I am upgrading from Deans to XT86 connectors and wanted some good 14AWG Silicone wire. Searched LHS and good, found one at a reasonable price. But wait, for a Rs 200 wire, I am supposed to pay Rs 113 as shipping in INDIA itself!! I mean when the LHS would become more considerate in shipping prices when the prices of R/C items offered by them is already 2x/3x from their nearest (and biggest) competitor, you know who.

I guess they should come-up with economical shipping for small items in a bubble wrap like what HC has done recently ($2.99), and thats for WORLDWIDE shipping. AFAIK no body would want shipping such non-precious items by DHL or Blue-Dart for christ sake. Inexpensive couriers like First Flight and other minnow charge as less as Rs 30-50 for 250g envelopes, and thats for normal customers, not regular ones. Adding such small values would really help people turn to them. The biggest invention in consumerism were the 'Plastic Carry bag' (now one of the biggest environmental concern) and Credit Card, only to be dwarfted by online shops helped by economical courier systems.

When would LHS learn ?  

I am pretty sure the LHS folks here are watching, and would do everything they can to help this (if possible).

Amen!! I have no way other than add some dummy stuff for Rs 50 and get the wire. Worse, I could only find 18SWG silicone wire in my local electronic market in BLR else....

True, recently ordered some 3 grm servos and CF tubes. The shipping weight was claimed as 2.x kgs and the shipping was Rs.216/- for an order of Rs.1000/-. Shipping charges are cumulative - added up for each item, but surely you don't get individual packages.

I agree. The local LHS must be reasonable. There is always the argument about limited sales and less customers than other businesses but then if the local LHS was reasonable , they would have more customers. I must know a hundred people who order from Hobby City into India and are quite happy about it. One of my favorites is the little box where they show the weight of your order and how much more you can add to maximize the shipping costs. And the fact they they sell items in bulk. You could buy ten conenctors for the price (plus shipping) from Hobby city compared to one from the LHS.

I have had the pleasure of visiting Hobby City's offices in Hong Kong and will give the details in another thread soon.

Hi I am a beginner to R/C terms and was just wondering to what does LHS mean ? 

Ashutosh

Local Hobby Store

Thanks for the feed back guys , as mentioned earlier we cannot compete with Hobby City  in terms of price  at any point of time due to the volumes  factor  as well as the Custom duties  we need to pay  on Imports
We are more than happy to serve those who appreciate the value addition we offer    like  all other LHS's the world over serving such  local hobbyists ,we are  more like these LHS you see all over the world who manage to grow and maintain themselves . So comparing us with HC is quite point less .

Even in places HK and Singapore LHS have their  place despite there being buyers from HC  so it will be here .

We cannot nor aspire to be like HC  as the Indian structure does not allow that  and these things keep changing  like it was Tower and Hobby Lobby till a few years back and now it is HC  and who knows in a few years it could be some other player   : but the Bottom Line is the LHS  still continue this is our where we would like to be .

Majority ( 99 % ) of our customers don't mind  paying that  extra bit for shipment by reputed couriers like DTDC or Aramex  .

If any one  specially would like  lower shipping costs and assume responsibility  for the goods shipped we would be more than happy to ship by speed post  within India BUT PLEASE NOTE WE WILL NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY  WHAT SO EVER FOR SUCH SHIPMENTS  FOR EITHER LOSS OR DAMAGE .

Local speed post is very different form Foreign speed posts operations.

Just to  give an example  when we receive CF Rods and Tubes from abroad there is no damage  despite they being packed in foam , In case of local shipment  despite sending them in thick gauge PVC conduit pipes from Chennai to various destinations we have had damages and theft.

We are open to the idea of even  selling on Frt to pay basis  should you be able to arrange for your own courier. We will only charge you for the goods + nominal packing cost . Please feel free to make your own arrangements to pick up from us  we have nor problems with that.

TG ,
Just to clarify  CF Rods  and Tube , Balsa , Foam  and Kits are charged on Volume weight basis  in which ever part of the world .
I have explained this before   that actual weight is not a  factor considered in this at all.



Sai

I recently ordered from an Indian Hobby store as part of my policy to promote LHS. I could have easily got the spares from US as my in law was coming that week.

I was charged additional for online bank transfer..... Never heard of charge. The vendor came up with many vague reasons. I just let it rest. But not a great practice if you want LHS to be popular.

Guys ,
Just a thought it is like comparing RCI to RCG or RCU  while we all surely know that RCI is  like daddy hobby or a similar local forum at best unlike the former .

Ajo ,
This is not a unheard of practice  even when  you buy thru paypal  some suppliers add paypal charges to their invoice as a regular practice , the issue is if you were not told of it prior to your purchase .

Sai

Sai... I don't think people want to compare LHS to HobbyCity on prices. It is only about choices when it comes to shipping, and you have already said that you are flexible on that. BTW, I do remember DTDC charging very little on small items I sent back to a store in Chennai (like Rs 40), not sure why some hobby stores would charge much higher for the same.  And that, seems to be only concern and not prices in general.

About online transfers, that is supposed to be easier on the banks and other financial institutions, as it reduces paper work. The global trend is to offer services for free when it is done online.  Again, comparing it to Paypal is fees is seems inappropriate (as it is a margin paid to a third party), while in this case, the banks typically do not charge for online transfers (at least they do not charge the recipient!).

I guess you got my point Anwar Bhai. Mr Sai, I am not arguing about 'Slabbed' shipping for items like CF rods, bigger ARFs, where one is forced to opt for costly EMS. but then HC earnestly ship drooling items like HK-450 kit my normal Airmail, which costs as much as getting smaller items from neighboring LHS in Chennai, Mumbai, Pune etc.

And members, please, lets not deviate the thread by opening yet another LHS-IHS prices debate. They are deemed to be high, if you compare to HC/other E-bay store. But the difference becomes smaller when compared to US shops like Towers/Hobby-Lobby, barring any QC concerns.

The prices for shipping are charged on volume or weight which ever is higher. Also prices for shipping documents to commercial goods there is price difference.

Also note even local ems the charges are not Rs. 30/- for 250gms, please check up and also inform them that it is commercial goods.

What HC does is send it by regular airmail. The shipping time for the same within India is from anywhere from 5-7 days, most people in India do not want to wait for that long. Now we cannot change the way the indian postal department works.

All we can say is the LHS are trying there best to reduce cost. Have already mentioned in earlier post that not necessary that LHS are costly than HC, the prices of LHS are cheaper on many products when compared to HC, even after including shipping.

The LHS are trying their best to give products at the best prices to their customers here in India.

Yes LHS are already trying to give free shipping to customers for certain products. Hope that the same is also appreciated.

Also please let us know which same items the prices offered by LHS is 2x/3x times more ?

Also has anyone mentioned that HC is costlier on many products compared to LHS on the forums and also asked why, that would also be interesting 

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (2010)
Annotated for Statistical Reporting Purposes
XX
95-2
Heading/ Stat.                                                                                      Unit Rates of Duty
Subheading Suf- Article Description of                                                       1                         2
                                                                                   fix Quantity General Special
9503.00.00 Tricycles, scooters, pedal cars and similar wheeled toys;
dolls’ carriages; dolls, other toys; reduced-scale (“scale”)
models and similar recreational models, working or not;
puzzles of all kinds; parts and accessories thereof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Free                       70%

Clearly from the above you can see that in the US the LHS don't have to pay any custom duty on their imports.

Nobody is disputing the challenges faced by the LHSes.

The question here is specific though.  Can an LHS arrange for a courier company (like DTDC and so on) to deliver small items (say a pair of deans connectors), without the buyer having to pay something like Rs110 ?

Anwar,

Even with DTDC the minimum charge for commercial goods (Parcel) is 1kg. For one Kg the minimum charge for instance to Bombay is Rs. 60/Kg + fuel surcharge 17.5%+ Service Tax of 10.3% on their regular service. We are using either TNT and DTDC Plus service which is costlier.

We have a walkin option were you don't pay any charges.

You can see from this that the charges are very reasonable. The profit margin earned by LHS on a pair of deans will be Rs. 5/- whereas the packing cost for the same and printing a invoice and time spent is much more than the profit.

Also very rarely will someone ask for just a pair of Deans. Does anyone only order one pair of deans from HC/towerhobbies and then complain that the shipping cost is much higher than the cost of product.

We have now got the shipping prices negotiated very low on ARFs etc for example for a 26cc aircraft they only pay Rs. 600/- by TNT. Yes we are further negotiating prices for smaller shipments.

Hope people understand the realities.

We are also negotiating with some companies to have same day delivery to about 10 major cities if order is place before 10am, of course at a slightly higher cost.

I agree broadly with what you are saying.

But my personal experience was different.  It cost me around Rs.40 to send back couple of packets of servo arms from Guruvayur to Chennai, as what I had ordered were servo cases (not servo arms).

And it is not strange that people need small items right ?  They order in bulk that they do not have the right type of connectors or servo extensions or Y cables.  These things need a more economical shipping option.

Totally agree with you, but when a company ships goods it is commercial so the difference.

We have always and will continue to add value for our customers, it cannot be done overnight but will happen soon.

Some things will totally change how LHS are looked at in the near future.

Some great product pricing itself. We have launched the free additional rx for the SD 10G this is the first  outside of the US and to add icing we are giving free shipping to all indian customers.

2010 will change the way the LHS are perceived if we dont have more govt interventions.

Usually services provided by any private enterprise is cheaper for other commercial entities, due to the volume and other aspects (as compared to an individual).  Wonder why it is the other way around in this case.