spiftacu1ar

EDIT: forgget this post/thread. I got my shipment on time, but tower didn't update the status of the package. Even after I got the package on time, the website said procesing for a few moredays before finlly updating to delivered.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_89...tm.htm#8993294

I order my parts from a variety of places, but generally tower hobbies or amainhobbies. IMO, amain hobbies has the best customer service I have come accross, but more on that later. I ussually only ordered from tower when I was getting a lot of parts, some of which weren't at amain (becasue tower has a larger selection, but they are farther so shipping takes a little longer). After some time, I found out that super saver gets diso**** codes every month equating to $60 on $300 orders, and $35 on $200 orders (to name only a couple), as well as free shipping. If you think about this, its a good deal, the cheapest you get on pretty much any rc or $300+ item, even though their base prices are higher. Therefore, I decided to sign up.

Although its worth the money, and you get a good deal, I think tower puts super savers at the bottom of the que as far as ordering processing goes. Before i got super saver, They used to always ship out the next day, on some rare occasions, the day after. However, since I got super savers, I am lucky for an order to process in 2 days. Typically, it takes between 3 and 5 days for an order to ship, even if I pay extra for priority. Super saver is basically a trade off between price and service. They give you that discount becasue they stop spending time/energy on keeping you a happy customer. My shipping charges seem to be higher now too...

keep in mind, I am not counting time in transit, just the time it takes for the order status to go from processing to shipped.

Amain, on the other hand, has always gone out of their way to service me as well as possible. One time, I made an order on a saturday (knwing it owuldn't be seen till monday), and about an hour later, I realized I made a stupid error and ordered m3 set screws when I should have ordered m4's (same price). I immediately emailed them asking them to replace the item. However, they processed my order first thing in the morning on monday, and never replied to my email. I had other things on my mind, and didn't think anything of it. Along comes wednesday, and I get my package (they arent located too far from me, so priority is pretty fast). I found that it had teh incorrect screws, so I emailed them again explaining what went down. I said I sorta wanted it by friday, and I think they should pay for shipping back, b/c I emailed that over 36 hours before they shipped.

Get this, they said don't worry about it, and shipped me the correct packet of screws via UPS next day air FREE OF CHARGE. Needless to say, they won't be losing me as a customer anytime soon.

I will probably still order from tower on items where the saving are significant (like BL ESC's, where its $50+ savings, since retail prices are the same everywhere), but if its just $5 or $10, I will stick with Amain. I know they got my back.

djzachtyler

My Feedback: (4)

A-Main = very good IMHO!!! only place I can get ANY of the purple aluminum hop/dress up stuff for my Hyper 7, and it is dirt cheap compared to the ebay stores, or even the OFNA site. never had an issue with A-Main. Glad I never did the supersaver deal myself... they also have great deals on fuel too if you buy in bulk...

mousecritter

My Feedback: (3)

Considering that Tower has the lowest prices, I'm a little forgivable when it comes to shipping times. I would consider a three-day processing/shipping/deliver time really fast. After the initial order, I usually get my stuff from Tower around the 4th or 5th day, which is perfectly fine since it's only an extra day or two. They have the lowest prices and processing efficiency might be one of the ways Tower makes their profits. What's the saying... "you can't have your cake and eat it too?"

I've never ordered from Amain, but do they have coupons or free shipping offers? I might give them a try since I'm interested in a Savage X SS.

spiftacu1ar

If you don't have super savers, they have the HIGHEST prices, not the lowest. And that was my point, their processing is perfectly fine if you are not a member, but once you are a member, they neglect you.

3 days processing, and you get it on the 4th or 5th day?, That means you live really close, or you are using overnight air. Think about it. 3 days processing and the 4th at your door means you had to use overnight or live next door.

Again, I was not talking abot shipping times, just processing times. Most ebay retailers ship out within 48 hours (if not 24), and amain ships out in 24 hours at tops. If I order on monday, I want to get my stuff in time for the weekend, not the following week. I don't have time for RC during the week, due to work, so weekends are all I got. Sure, If I didn't work, it would be fine if I got it on monday; I would only have to wait acouple more days to use it (than if I got it on friday). However, I'm working, so the friday vs monday is a week to me.

Priority mail is 2 - 3 days (and its cheap). That means if you ship out tuesday, the package generally arrives by friday (unless its lost...) Tower has "free shipping" on orders over $150, but their estimate even says 10 days. If you pay for priority, their estimate becomes 6 days, and that too, the price is wayy higher than it could possibly cost them for priority shipping (especially cosnidering that it reflects a savings of "$7.99").

Anyhow, to answer your question, amain has free shipping over a price range, but i think it doesn't count for oversize items (although they give a discount). Also, their base price is always lower. If you are a super saver, you might as well take advantage of the discount for something that expensive.

Amain's only real coupon system is for every $150 you spend (i think its 150, but i could be wrong), you get a $5 voucher.

mousecritter

My Feedback: (3)

Tower offers $20-$30 for non-Super Saver members, so the list price may be somewhat high, but the coupon isn't taken into effect. Even without the coupon, Tower's prices are soemtimes lower and sometimes higher than other e-tailers. I definitely wouldn't say it's always HIGHEST.


Anyway, I just purchased a Savage X SS 4.6 for the price of $309.99 w/ free shipping. The shipping period is between August 6th-10th. Definitely not bad at all.

EDIT: typo

PrjctStrtFrce

My Feedback: (10)

/rant?

DaveG55

Gee, I've never had issues with Tower.
I've ordered from them late Sunday night and recieved the item on the following Tuesday. From Chiago to Atlanta, that's not bad.. Oh and it was as a supersaver member ordering from the scratch & dent section. I've been ordering from them since the late 70's / early 80's and the time or two something has not been right they have corrected the problem with no questions asked and in a speedy fashion.
I will continue to use Tower and do not expect that there will be any issues with either processing or shipping times.

I've never used A-Main though I would not have any qualms about doing so, just never have. It's good to know that they are building a good reputation for themselves.

thzero

Yeah I use either A-Main or Stormer actually because Tower I have to pay sales tax. Although all three of them could certainly use major improvements to their searching (good example is newegg.com for tech stuff).

spiftacu1ar

Well. i guess I have really bad luck with tower then.

(and yes, /rant)

I sorta got peeved because I ordered from tower last thursday, and it won't be coming till NEXT week. I also made orders from amain, and 2 ebay retailers (yes, I bought a lot of stuff this week) this saturday (so effectively 2 business days later, as the orders don't get looked at till monday). Amain, and one of the ebay dealers processed and shipped out the packages by COB monday. The other ebay dealer shipped out first thing this morning. Tower hobbies still hasn't shipped...

Basically, I am going to be waiting on my acer bearings (which I got from tower), before I rebuild my truck. If i'm lucky and USPS ships in 2 days (rather than 3), I will get it by friday, but it will likely come next week.

/rant

(sorry, I am very much a service oriented person)

robwiljas

I've noticed that my orders take forever to process and ship out now, and I never thought about it but you're right, it's just since I've been a Super Saver member. Before when I ordered things would usually ship the same day if I ordered in the morning, or the next day if I ordered late. Now it always takes 2-3 days to ship out my order. My first order since becoming a member, I ordered an E-Maxx that was supposed to come with 2 free battery packs, but it didn't. When I called Tower and told them they looked it up and said the truck went out at the correct weight for having the packs included. They went ahead and sent me the packs but I got the feeling they thought I was lying. Now with it taking so long for things to ship to me since then I thought maybe they put some note or something on my account to double check the order before shipping it. I feel better now knowing it's not just me lol, but I still wish they would ship stuff as fast as they used to.

rclugnut10

My Feedback: (1)

i've had a few issues with tower messing up an order or 2 as well as with the super saver club my dad got it for me as an X-mass present and imo it really wasn't all the specail yeah i got a buch of cupons, but i didn't use any of them, i either allready had the stuff or had no need for it... and i usually place orders costing about $50 or so, so the free shipping on $150+ wasn't really in effect at all, and the free mags were rc car action... which is pretty second rate and low qual i must say, they don't have ANY neg comments about stuff in there, i've read 5 or 6 issues cover to cover and not a single problem or issue, it makes ya wonder don't it??? then i read XRC about the same cars and imo i get better info like that Car A had crappy rtr tires and could've used a bit more TQ on the servo, but yeah diff rant, either way unless you order form them frequently and in large quanities imo its not really worth it...

and i've heard great things about amain too, tho have yet to oder but i got $60 or so coming from the cuz the stock sportwerks parts and they do have somethings cheaper than tower, i've litteraly compaired items from both my carts for the chepest price... cuz i got like $175 of rc stuff coming form both... but my only qualm about Amain is the search is annoying, and id wish they'd auto sort the brands like tower, but i also wish tower gave you the ability to jump to pages...

the lug

spiftacu1ar

Lol, i felt the opposite about the search. The search at amain isn't great, but I like that you can CHOOSE whether or not to sort by manufacturer. I like being able to sort by price for a lot of things such as glue, tape, velcro, wire, solder, and other stuff which is pretty much the same regardless of brand. With towe ryou have to sit throguh every page, look for the lowest price, note it down, continue flipping pages until you find one cheaper, and repeat. With amain you can stil easily sort by manufacturer, or select a specific manufacturer. ALso, their sidebar makes it easier to flip between catgerories when compared to towers system (IMHO). However, search is one of those things where you cant say as a fact that search A is better than search B. It's opinion based. In my experience, if amain actually has the product I'm looking for, It's easier to find than with tower.

Tower looks for exact word matches, thigns like plural ('s' at the end of the word), means a bunch of stuff doesn't show up. Also, searching for stuff like 3s lipo batts is more difficult with tower. You have to search 3s one time, and 11.1v as well. Some also show up under only 3 cell.

Amain search gives you extra results a lot (since it looks in descriptions), but that is easy to get around via sorting by price. A pinion isn't going to cost $300.
(not really a rant)

Funny fact: If you search "waste money" with amain, you get one result: a losi product, LOL.

Revomad1

Tower is awesome for large orders if you get good discount codes like I do. Amain and Ebay are best for single parts and small orders. END THREAD.

spiftacu1ar

That's not what this thread is about. I never said I won't order a again. The point is they reel you in with good service, and then forget you once you become a member. However, I seem to be the only one with this expereince, so I am going to go ahead and say that I have just had terrible luck. I order at the worst times, and get bad luck. Maybe next time is better. If my next order goes better, then I am willing to believe that it was all fluke.

MadManAndrew

I've been a Super Saver for years now, and ive never had a problem with processing times. Mine almost always get processed the day of or the next day...Plus I save a couple hundred bucks a year with the free shipping and 20% off coupons. IMO it's much easier to find stuff on Tower's site as well, not to mention that half the time aMain doesn't even have what I need.

spiftacu1ar

Please lock this thread if you are a mod.

THe reason is here: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_89...tm.htm#8993294

BudBud

I always had good luck with Tower and Amain, normally here in a few days. The discounts can be very rewarding at both. Tower does a great job standing behind what they sell. I have been a Tower Member for years. My vote would be for this rant to be aimed at NitroHouse, I have seen up to a month to get my parts. Glen

DaveG55

Nice of you to post about getting your Tower order faster than you thought it would but t would have been just as effective to update this thread.

spiftacu1ar

I didn't want this thread to keep getting bumped b/c the first thing people will read is the bad experience, and that's not fair to tower.

mousecritter

My Feedback: (3)

Just an update: I ordered my Savage X SS Tuesday morning and according to UPS, it'll be here Thursday. $309.99 + 2/3 day shipped = Excellent service.

calvino

I love both tower and a-main. I got my first truggy from A-main and wow it shipped out good. I also like tower but they take WAY longer to ship out than a-main.. go figure. It is like i put in my order to a-main, I turn around and its shipped [X(]. Never had an issue with A-main or tower dealing with things but other than tax i LOVE a-main [8D]

KID_EVIL!

Never ordered from amain yet. But tower I have a few times. I live way up here in the north like revomad (not quite as far as him) but I can almost count on 7-10 days and my stuff is here. Most of the time it's here in 7 I think only once it was later. I don't mind tower at all. Like some have said, I will make a biig order for say paint, a body and a few parts or something like that. Exchange and shipping seem to be the killer for me. Odd parts I usually look on ebay. I have found great deals there, as long as you look closely.

Oh! P.S. I'm not a super saver member. But the coupons are great. especially for those bigger orders.

KID EVIL!

mousecritter

My Feedback: (3)

Just another update: the imbeciles at UPS messed up the delivery. Tower shipped the package out quickly, but I sat at home all day waiting for my package... nothing. I checked UPS tracking around 7:00PM and it states, "Delivered." I double checked around the house, my roommates, my neighbors... nothing. Damn UPS.

I called UPS, but they couldn't do crap. I emailed Tower (since their toll free number is closed) and hopefully they'll get this sorted out.

Ball Racing

Some people have trouble with tower, that do online ordering,
a part may be in stock in Nevada not in Illinios, or may be one left on the computer, and the wharehouse guys find nothing,,
and if you order online, Some delays in order fullfilment may be a while until sorted out, and they can contact you.
ups doesn't ship out the moment the order comes or pickup out of the wharehouse every ten minutes.

I am a Super Saver Member since day one,
I order by a Phone Call,
Then I "hear" exactly right then if it's in stock or not, which wharehouse will ship it, if there will be a delay, and if I want to change the shipping option..On the phone they also have daily deals that are not always on the web site....

Phone orders can get messed up too,,,,,
But I have never had a issue with them, or tower in general.
When we want it yesterday, order it the week before

Todays lifestyle has put people behind a computer screen, hitting "buy now" buttons, and then looking out the door to see if its there yet...
I have found myself doing it too....

R/C Lightweight

Where did you order from , and how did you get that price? I looked at A Main and Tower and can't find it for 309.99 at either.