What's Up With 3DHS??
- Thread starter MM2ICBM
- Start date
xlr8tion
50cc
I think that the "when they are in stock" is the crux of 3DHS's problem that leads to a cascade of other issues.
What is "... good business for the Customers" is for Noll to "plan ahead" with the 8-10 years of 3DHS sales data and develop a methodology to reduce his OOS situation as, in this "want it now" society by ordering inventory without preorders. People have no idea how long a "preorder" will take to be fulfilled and if 3DHS develops a little too much "inventory" in any particular model by ordering too many units of any given model(like the Vyoer 65")-they can "special price" them(as they are now at 299-a steal!) to keep cash flow going,keep customers satisfied, still make a profit(albeit smaller) and not have excessive pent up demand for product that is OOS that translates into clients getting frustrated.
I hope we are not entering a "paradigm shift" with 3DHS expects that ARF's have t be preordered instead of using their own capital vs. ours and we wait for for several months-versus buying what is in stock. That will be a difficult business model as people pre order Cars; not 300 to 500 dollar ARFs-unlless it is a new model release like PA's XR52 for example or a large scale expensive ARF.
With Andrew and Scott gone who is designing the new models in the "pipeline".? With Joe Smith and other sponsored pilots gone-who is left?
Thanks....
Regards....Greg
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ryan_m
100cc
Couldn't agree more, it's the performance we pay for. And after about 10 years in this hobby I've owned a plane from just about every manufacturer I think. About 6 years ago when I discovered 3dhs and specifically the 51" Slick I was thrilled. I had finally found a plane that flew like I wanted. I loved them and quit buying any other planes from any other company. Slowly as 3dhs' customer service started to decline (lack of response to emails, not answering phones), and airframe availability got harder I grew more frustrated. I looked for options. I found EF planes. And they flew a bit different from 3dhs, tended to be built a bit heavier, a bit more solid. But guess what? They were in stock far more often. And EF answered their phones. I bought a few, and liked them. I bought more. And now EF is the first place I look when I want a new plane. I do still like the 70" Velox and 51" Slick, those are perhaps two of my most favorite planes that I have ever flown, and I don't ever want to be without them in my hangar.
But I digress. What I have noticed is that in the last 2-3 years the other brands are catching up. And quick. I've flown a few Pilot 50cc planes that flew every bit as good as the 3dhs 50cc offerings. And I flew the EG Aircraft 60cc Corvus Racer, which also flies awesome. Some of the RedwingRC planes are great performers. I have a small Goldwing Corvus 70E that flies very well also. The gap is shrinking, there are great offerings from other companies. And some of these companies are hungry for business and priced attractively. They seem to also have stock challenges, and you can't always find what you want in stock there either, but at least with more options to choose from I can now find a plane that I want, maybe not THE plane I want, but a plane to buy when I want to buy one. I am unwilling to wait for 3-4 months for a plane to restock. That is one thing I really like about EF - most of the planes restock on each container. They don't get tons of them, and they will sell out in a week or so sometimes, but if I can get the plane I want in 4-6 weeks I'm ok with that. I'm not ok with 3-4 months, and normally you can't even get ahold of someone official at 3dhs that can give you an estimated time for the next container and what it will have on it to know if it will be 3 weeks, 3 months, or more. That, to me, is a failure on their part.
I know the forums are full of all manner of people that aren't very nice, or love to tear apart stuff. Maybe post availability updates on their facebook page. Post it on the website, on the product page. Somewhere. Just tell people when the airframe will likely be back in stock. And do your best to hold to those timelines. I can't tell you often over the last 6 years I've had someone say 2 months only to have it be 6-9. If you don't know, then say that and find out.
I love 3dhs planes. They are well built, well designed, and fly fantastic. I don't love the customer service lately. I would love for things to turn around and see them stay at the top. But I fear that if things continue as they seem to have been over the last year or two that they won't be anywhere near the top... and I would hate that.
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AKfreak
150cc
I have never flown or owned a 3DHS plane. I would love to, and if a used one comes my way I might snatch it up. Remember the Iphone when it first came out. Apple killed it, they knocked the ball out of the park and for many years people didn't have a choice or the choices were new tech and not understood. As the years went by Apple lost its way a little, changes in management (death of S. Jobs), changes in vision, and combined with alternative tech development (droid) a whole new market was born. I dont know the percentage of people who own a smart phone today, but just 5 years ago people were still rocking the flip phones. Now days, only the stubborn old folks still use a flip phone (btw I loved my Razor phone 
). Only the well to do had the Iphones and Ipads, ahh how times have changed..
Now a days there is so much more selection than an just Ipad or Iphone. There are smart phones and tablets at every price point, heck my kid has had a droid tablet since she was 4 (eight now). You see these entry level companies have caught up. All of the tablets and phones do 99% the same thing. Iphone and Ipad are more of a status symbol (btw I love my Ipad 2 (it was a gift) of the well to do. My point is Apple didn't change with the demand of the customers, but the market marched on anyway. The rest of the companies in the same industry learned, built better gear, and are now growing at an extremely fast rate.
I hope what I am trying to say makes sense. Companies that don't make the stuff that people want and can afford, or keep up with the supply and demand of the market, lose their customers. Change is great, competition is great, and all one needs to do in order to succeed and thrive in this or any industry is be passionate, have a vision, work hard, communicate, be honest and take care of people. Stop doing any one of the these things, you will fail.
Anyways, I hate to see a company that has so much potential be struggling. Remember the RC plane industry is Ultra Tiny, and once you lose a customer it's hard to find another. After all its not like the smart device industry which is fast growing and has roughly 400,000 new customer born daily.
). Only the well to do had the Iphones and Ipads, ahh how times have changed..Now a days there is so much more selection than an just Ipad or Iphone. There are smart phones and tablets at every price point, heck my kid has had a droid tablet since she was 4 (eight now). You see these entry level companies have caught up. All of the tablets and phones do 99% the same thing. Iphone and Ipad are more of a status symbol (btw I love my Ipad 2 (it was a gift) of the well to do. My point is Apple didn't change with the demand of the customers, but the market marched on anyway. The rest of the companies in the same industry learned, built better gear, and are now growing at an extremely fast rate.
I hope what I am trying to say makes sense. Companies that don't make the stuff that people want and can afford, or keep up with the supply and demand of the market, lose their customers. Change is great, competition is great, and all one needs to do in order to succeed and thrive in this or any industry is be passionate, have a vision, work hard, communicate, be honest and take care of people. Stop doing any one of the these things, you will fail.
Anyways, I hate to see a company that has so much potential be struggling. Remember the RC plane industry is Ultra Tiny, and once you lose a customer it's hard to find another. After all its not like the smart device industry which is fast growing and has roughly 400,000 new customer born daily
.
Ahblair4
70cc twin V2
I have never flown or owned a 3DHS plane. I would love to, and if a used one comes my way I might snatch it up. Remember the Iphone when it first came out. Apple killed it, they knocked the ball out of the park and for many years people didn't have a choice or the choices were new tech and not understood. As the years went by Apple lost its way a little, changes in management (death of S. Jobs), changes in vision, and combined with alternative tech development (droid) a whole new market was born. I dont know the percentage of people who own a smart phone today, but just 5 years ago people were still rocking the flip phones. Now days, only the stubborn old folks still use a flip phone (btw I loved my Razor phone
Now a days there is so much more selection than an just Ipad or Iphone. There are smart phones and tablets at every price point, heck my kid has had a droid tablet since she was 4 (eight now). You see these entry level companies have caught up. All of the tablets and phones do 99% the same thing. Iphone and Ipad are more of a status symbol (btw I love my Ipad 2 (it was a gift) of the well to do. My point is Apple didn't change with the demand of the customers, but the market marched on anyway. The rest of the companies in the same industry learned, built better gear, and are now growing at an extremely fast rate.
I hope what I am trying to say makes sense. Companies that don't make the stuff that people want and can afford, or keep up with the supply and demand of the market, lose their customers. Change is great, competition is great, and all one needs to do in order to succeed and thrive in this or any industry is be passionate, have a vision, work hard, communicate, be honest and take care of people. Stop doing any one of the these things, you will fail.
Anyways, I hate to see a company that has so much potential be struggling. Remember the RC plane industry is Ultra Tiny, and once you lose a customer it's hard to find another. After all its not like the smart device industry which is fast growing and has roughly 400,000 new customer born daily
My second plane was a 3DHS 42 Edge and I loved it! I've had 3 more since. It is sad to see them lose so many potential purchases every day.
I do see people complaining about them on several places on the internet, I honestly don`t have any problems with them..I pre-ordered my last plane and it got here about a week late(no biggie) and when I emailed them about parts for it I received an email back in 24 hrs. like I always do...They are hard to get on the phone...Almost all my planes are 3dhs and I`m probably not changing anytime soon as they have been good too me..some people have had a different experience it looks like...
xlr8tion
50cc
Australia is Close to CHINA.....
Australia is close to China vs USA so its easiet to partial ship containers that distance and keep Supply Chain Mgmt tighter on much quicker transit times of the Container ships.
Glad to hear it tho!
Greg
Australia is close to China vs USA so its easiet to partial ship containers that distance and keep Supply Chain Mgmt tighter on much quicker transit times of the Container ships.
Glad to hear it tho!
Greg
Greg Hateley
New to GSN!
I second that .Andrew is brilliant but sadly as we have around 5% of the market we are always at the tail end of the supply .personally I have bought the bigfoot and tbe 74 edge and as of yesterday the 51 slick .I have been in the market for a new 30 cc model for 2 months and after looking at the other brands on offer and having flown a few of them I'm happy to wait another couple of months for new stock to arrive as there is simply no comparison in quality or price with other brands .Once you've owned a 74 edge there will never be a 30cc model that compares well that is until o get my hands on a 75 extra