Hobbyking Shipping Issues

El_Steak

10 kW
Joined
Aug 11, 2009
Messages
638
Location
Gatineau, Quebec
I want to order 9 packs of 6S 5ah Lipo and a few other things from HobbyKing. The total weight is going to be around 10KG.

I'll probably have to break the shipment in 2-3 packages. I'd like to avoid problems with br0kerage fees and the likes and was wondering if other felow Canadians had to order similar things from HK and what method they used.

I can either use EMS Express or "Air Parcel". I don't care to much about cost or delivery time. I'm really more interested in a trouble-free experience.
 
Alright, here's my experience should this be helpful to someone else:

I placed 2 orders on January 13. Both contained 3 Turnigy 25C 6S 5000ah packs and some miscellaneous gizmos. Both packages weighted 4kg and both packages had about the same value and cust0ms declaration.

I shipped one with EMS Express and the other with Air Parcel

EMS Express:

Shipping Cost: 57.05$
Shipped on: 14-Jan-2010
Left China: 15-Jan-2010
In Canada: 17-Jan-2010
My house: 19-Jan-2010

Air Parcel:
Shipping Cost: 49.10$
Shipped on: 14-Jan-2010
Left China: 16-Jan-2010
In Canada: 19-Jan-2010
My house: 21-Jan-2010

No issues with cust0ms for both orders (YMMV).

Everything arrived at my place in perfect shape, all the cells in the 6 packs were between 3.87v and 3.89v. Also ordered an iCharger 206B, battery medic, 4mm bullet connectors, LiPo bags, 10AWG silicon wire and some shrink wrap. Everything top-quality, I'm really impressed.
 
Here's an additional data point.

Order for 3 additional 6s 5000ah packs. My package was held at cust0ms for 15 days. It was opened and inspected there (yellow tape). The content was classified by them as "Battery - Carbons and other" and they just charged me GST / PST and a 5$ handling fee.

3-Feb-2010 Hong Kong Item posted.
4-Feb-2010 Hong Kong Processed for departure.
5-Feb-2010 Hong Kong The item left Hong Kong for its destination on 5-Feb-2010
7-Feb-2010 Canada Arrived.
7-Feb-2010 Canada Pending customs inspection.
22-Feb-2010 Canada Arrived the delivery office and is being processed.
22-Feb-2010 Canada Tendered for delivery without success because the addressee was not available at the time of delivery. Addressee was advised to pick up the item.
26-Feb-2010 Canada Delivered.
 
El_Steak said:
Here's an additional data point.

Order for 3 additional 6s 5000ah packs. My package was held at customs for 15 days. It was opened and inspected there (yellow tape). The content was classified by them as "Battery - Carbons and other" and they just charged me GST / PST and a 5$ handling fee.

I was less lucky and got nicked for an additional 7% Canadian import duty on top of GST. My A123 packs got classified as HS code 8205109010.

Can you take a look and see what HS code yours went under?
 
I did a tiny order of one battery and a charger from them I think it was such a small peas order (about $30) so they just let it slide completely.
 
El_Steak said:
I think it be better to keep the special features in the HK checkout process for ourselves. Its a good thing and we want to keep it that way... :wink:
Your probably very right, A quick edit is in order. Didn't even think about that.
 
I'm also going to order 6 battery packs (5s each)

Should I seperate the packs into two orders to keep under the weight limit? Or do they do this automaticaly?
 
recumbent said:
I'm also going to order 6 battery packs (5s each)

Should I seperate the packs into two orders to keep under the weight limit? Or do they do this automaticaly?

The weight limit they give is for the price they quote for shipping. when you go over that weight, they recalculate the price.

Its really handy. yesterday i was going to order 2 batteries. shipping was $12. But I wanted 2 meters of there 10g silicone wire. its good stuff. that put me 10 grams over them limit and bumped my shipping to $22. I had a choice: reduce the wire amount, or pay the extra $10, or, as a 3rd option, add 1000 grams worth of other stuff I could get shipped at that quoted rate. So now I have a $12 digital caliper and some other odds and ends I was going to need anyway coming over.
 
Click on "Postage Table" at the top of the HK site. Select Canada and you'll get all the possible shipping options.

The prices vary between 11-30$ per kilo depending on the type of service and total weight of your order.

The sweet spot is "Air Parcel (Canada) up to 6.0kg". @67.93, it's 11.32 per Kilo. Thats more than enough for 6 x 5s packs a charger, wires, connectors and shrinktube.
 
So I have placed a few orders with HK in the past and have always been amazed at how quickly they have gotten to me even using the cheapest method possible. It usually took a week. I always attributed it to being on the west coast. But the most recent order, they are shipping across Europe to the east coast of USA and then to the west coast.....ARGH! :twisted: One week after it has shipped from Singapore it is now in ZURICH! :?
 
Any package with LiPo in it I get now goes through Zurich... thank that dick-wad mdd0127 (or whatever) for that extra expence, time, and fuel wasted to ship LiPo.
 
Normal non lithium shipments are now going out via HK Intl again, lipo is hitting singapore then going to end destination - not sure what's up with your shippments but my last 3 (within the last week) were about 7 days from order to delivery and spend 2 days getting to singapore then 1 day clearing their customs and handoff to airline, 2 days to arrive at NY Customs and since that was saturday another business day before arriving tuesday.

Those were the lithium orders - the other was for wires and connectors and was here in 3 days as it shipped the day I ordered and went HK EMS which cleared it super fast!

Hope it helps!
Mike
 
The deal is, Hobbyking couldn't follow the LAW and got caught. Now they're illegally bypassing the law instead in complying with it, yet, even knowing this, people still keep giving them money.

Luke,

I'd rather be an honest dick-wad than a microsoft employee any day. It appears that you are a very smart guy in some areas but completely blind to the concepts of ethics, honesty, and speed sensibility. :lol:

Regardless of the attitude you display towards me, I do not have any bad feelings towards you. I know that I pissed you off by speaking the truth about your criminal buddy's company but name calling on the forums is just ignorant and completely juvenile. Grow up.

If you really love hobbyking so much and want to contribute in a positive way, use your connections to help them improve their customer service and shipping methods.
 
mdd,

1.) HobbyKing has begun stocking in the US and several other countries directly, this will allow them to provide "UN compliant" shipping.

2.) Your bitching and moaning didn't really affect the shipping situation, it was destined for being a problem one way or another as it stood... that said, just because I know you smoke pot... and grow in your basement doesn't mean I need to post to the whole world your business {whoops did I say or think that} (JK - I have no knowledge of mdd's pot smoking or growing, I would venture a guess he doesn't toke or he would be more chillax) :)

3.) By criminal buddie I would assume your referring to "Jason" from HobbyKing? Dude forreal, that guy is not ANYONE's BUDDY! He runs a business and like many (if not most) HK based businesses was not in any way prepared for the UN law being enforced for shipping from the HK via speedpost.

So criminal is a tad harsh, perhaps - unprepared, annoying.. heck even ignorant could be used but remember they have begun the population of local based warehouses to provide "compliant" shipping of larger packs and the smaller packs actually are already compliant with UN regulation - it's when we order 4-10 6S 5AH packs that things get sticky with the limits of amount of lithium within the package.

I thought I had more to say but really - that covers it, HobbyKing was screwing up shipping really bad for a while there but they got their poop together and eventually all the back logged shipments arrived (at least to the best of my knowledge).

-Mike
 
mdd0127 said:
The deal is, Hobbyking couldn't follow the LAW and got caught. Now they're illegally bypassing the law instead in complying with it, yet, even knowing this, people still keep giving them money.

I know nothing of the history behind this, but WTF makes YOU the bloody world policeman here? What LAW are HK supposed to have broken? Some parochial legislation in the tiny corner of the globe where YOU happen to live, maybe? They are located in China, FFS, and members of this forum all over the world buy from them and are generally happy with their service.

Just because the law where you happen to live restricts some things, please don't assume that the same law applies to those of us elsewhere in the world. I had wondered why my last HK order took more than two weeks to arrive, rather than the usual four or five days, if YOUR meddling intervention was the cause then you can just Foxtrot Oscar...........

Jeremy
 
Mike,

You'd be surprised what you do and don't know. :wink: Also, Jason seems like a good guy. He's the only one who ever attempts to explain everything when HK starts failing hard in some area. I'm talking about Tony Hand. He's had to change his business name/website name many times because of all of the people he's ripped off through negligent customer service and shoddy business practices. Just google his name and do some reading. I'd imagine there are a few hundred thousand people that have had negative experiences because of his "business".

Jeremy,

It's truly sad to me that this is my first communication with you on this forum. I really respect your ideas, intelligence and dedication. Synopsis of what happened is, HobbyKing sent me over $600 in Lipo in a thin crappy worn out box and it arrived all beat up so I'm going to have to tear every pack apart to replace banged up cells. They told me to send the batteries back at my expense. I don't feel that their normal return policy can be applied because they made NO effort to get my items to me safely. When I did give up and decide to eat the shipping, I took the batteries, in the box they sent them in to the post office to return and that's where things went south for HK. The postal employee noticed the issues on the customs form and was aware of the UN SANCTIONED LIPO SHIPPING LAW (look it up) that was enacted in January or something, told me it was illegal to send back without specialized hazmat packaging since their structural integrity was compromised and reported the package to customs and the post master. Since HK made it very clear to me through inaction, forum banning, etc that they didn't care about making things right with me, I really don't feel too bad about them getting caught. If I was the straw that broke the camel's back, then it has resulted in HK doing the right thing and opening up a US warehouse. What's so bad about that? So if you're still mad at me, you can Foxtrot Oscar but I'd love to be friends. :D

BTW, just so you guys know. I've been doing a ton of research on lithium battery production and suppliers and found some scary information. I really hope it's not true but there's a ton of evidence supporting the following statements. The only way HK stays in the lipo business is through government subsidies. They do not actually produce profits. The lithium industry is so heavily supported by the government that private businesses in other countries can't compete. It is a tactic of the Chinese government to have a monopoly on the supply of batteries once they start replacing oil in the future. I'm not saying that other countries can't chose to do the same thing. Apparently South Korea has a similar idea. My thing is I don't like the idea of supporting those who don't have to play fair. If HK can have a monopoly on lipo by being able to set prices lower than anyone operating honestly can because of the government subsidies, and they don't even hire enough employees to have decent customer service, anyone doing business with them is an enemy of the free market and supporting a company with extremely questionable business ethics.

The fact that a lot of you guys are so smart about electronics and development is awesome but it's time to realize how your actions in other areas affect the rest of the world. Basically, your only voice/vote/way to really change things is your money and who you spend it with. If you haven't thought about all of this, you know, stuff like how your actions affect the future of the human race, honestly, you are lucky, but if you have, and still continue spending money with companies that pollute, produce disposable crap, skirt international shipping laws designed to keep aircraft from falling out of the sky, and through their negligence and or ignorance, cause thousands of people per year, based on Luke's 10 per day number, which was based completely upon HK order support forum posts, to lose money or time because of making the decision to do business with them, then you are not needed on this planet and have lost your value as a human. It's time to re-evaluate your position here on earth or prepare to be swept away because your lifestyle is not sustainable.

That's all I have to say about that whole issue. I felt the need to clarify and defend myself against some negative stuff that was said. If you have any questions or counter points, please re read my posts. There is nothing more to say about this. I have covered it all and have stated nothing but the truth.

Bottom line. HK shipping sucks because they don't want to follow the rules that everyone else does. They do not care for one second about your business. Find or create alternate suppliers.
 
FWIW, I wrote the UK military air carriage procedures for lithium batteries back in the early 90's, when they were first used in military equipment. The big fear was the fire hazard, so we specified packaging, maximum mass of lithium, mandated special fire extinguisher specs etc to mitigate the risk.

After a few years we realised we'd massively over-reacted, and that the risks were, in reality, much lower than had first been thought.

I'm now watching the same thing happen all over again, with scaremongers over-reacting to the potential lithium hazard and people like you choosing to stir things up to the detriment of worldwide purchasers.

Also, go check on the authority that the UN has worldwide. You may be surprised that it cannot pass laws that apply globally, all it can do is make recommendations, which member states are strongly advised to follow, but which are not laws and cannot be enforced.

I detest interfering shit-stirring, particularly when it buggers up the service I get from a supplier who offers better value than pretty much any other I have access to.

Jeremy
 
Absolutely nothing HK sells is subsidized (this is BS started back when China subsidized the steel market to try to develop new business, and it worked)... If you want to see some sick subsidizes, look at what the US government does for corn. I asked him about that, he said the only thing the government does is tax the shit out of him and any other company with success . He pays benefits for employees, pays above average wages, and doesn't profit because he is always reinventing back into the company (like a good business should do to grow). Notice they doubled warehouse size twice in the last two years, bought a new factory full of equipment, and hired there own research and development engineers for the first time, because the goal now is to build better things than are available anywhere else rather than only making copies of successful designs.

It's a good thing. It's a good company. It's leading production scale battery technology available anywhere in the world, and selling it for much lower cost than comparatively shit batteries you can buy other places.
 
Pretty much every successful country in the world indulges in restrictive trade practices at some time, either by subsidising domestic manufacture (take a look at Japan for some of the most creative subsidy mechanisms I've ever seen), or by creating a shit-storm of misinformation intended to damage the reputation of foreign manufacturers. I know for a fact that we've behaved like this, as has the US, China, Korea and a few other major manufacturing nations.

From what I know of technology companies in China, they certainly are hit with high taxes when they become successful exporters. I've always thought this was a bit counter-intuitive, but then the Chinese government doesn't seem to approach things in the same way we in the West might.

Jeremy
 
Back
Top