About the motors, yes, they are excellent but I won't carry them because the price would be as much as a NEU motor which is the accepted level of excellence in the U.S. Nobody is carrying NEU in Europe for some reason. If they did, I'm not sure the Tenshock motors would enjoy the same level of success they have now. (I have a personal friend in Europe who wins a lot of races who is thinking about being the European distributor for NEU. I have highly encouraged him. I think he would have a tremendous success with them.) Tenshock also doesn't produce any long can (XL) motors. Just the shorter ones. The reason is that in Europe, most of their classes are smaller boats than we run here and they don't need the extra power.
I have argued strongly with Tenshock about the pricing of their motors but they won't lower them because they sell a ton of them in Europe. So, sadly, I don't carry their high end motors. Wish it was different but it ain't! I have a very close relationship with Tenshock, not just a business relationship. I put them on the map when they were first struggling to get into the hobby industry. I have helped them refine their products and introduced new design concepts to them to make their products more acceptable on the North American market. We are very close 'friends' which is necessary to deal with the Chinese. Believe it or not, the personal relationship is more important to the Chinese than the business end. It is their culture. Anyone anticipating importing that doesn't go to China and personally meet the owners of the companies, go to dinner with them, meet their family, etc. is making a big mistake. You will not get consistent quality in your shipments, etc. They don't feel any allegiance to you whatsoever. They just want your first order and then after that anything is possible. But if you become their 'friend' they will treat you like family and never rip you off.
I'm writing this just to point out that importing is not as simple as most people think. It is tricky and risky and expensive. Steven and I take our chances to provide product for you guys. I just want you to know the real deal so that maybe you will show a little appreciation for our efforts. OK?
Last edited by sailr; 08-01-2009 at 04:26 PM.
Mini Cat Racing USA
www.minicatracingusa.com
There are a FEW people that would like to have the small monos from Etti, Tenshock, etc. BUT these are not classes that are run in the U.S. so the demand isn't sufficient enough for Steve or I to stock the items. I wish it was otherwise but you'll have to take it up with NAMBA and IMPBA. As a perfect example, several people begged me to bring in some Tenshock Mini-Eco boats. I did and I even gave the guys on this board one hell of a good deal on them. I sold exactly one half of them and now I'm sitting on a few hundred dollars worth of Mini Eco's that I can't sell. If you want one, PM me!
Steven is pretty cautious about what he brings in and for good reason. I, being a sympathetic fool sometimes try to meet the demand. Unfortunately, the 'talk' seems to be bigger than the 'action' and I end up the loser. I'm not whining about it but I doubt seriously that I will fill special requests like that in the future. It's really too bad because I like playing with the new stuff as much as the next guy but my accountant is giving me hell for it!
Mini Cat Racing USA
www.minicatracingusa.com
Sorry, didn't realize Tenshock's prices were so high.
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