"Searched the web for the lowest price on a proline mt 4x4 and Tower, after coupons, was hands down the best deal with get this, FREE 2 DAY SHIPPING! Will absolutely continue to give more business to this fine company!"
"I love Tower Hobbies!! I have never had a bad experience with them on many, many orders, and one return of a faulty product. Most of the complaints here are about customer ignorance and attitude. For instance, any refunded charge (debit purchases are different) takes 3-10 days to go back into your account and the merchant has ZERO control over this... It's the bank holding the funds. Second, when using PayPal from ANY merchant's site, you go go PayPal for approval first, then back to the merchant for the total with shipping. (Why? I don't know, but Amain and Horizon are the same way!) Third, the prices at Tower are very competitive. Occasionally, I might find an rc car $5-$10 cheaper somewhere else, but when you add in Tower's coupons, their prices are always much lower. Fourth, they cannot carry every thing (nor does Amain or Horizon), and let's face it, while there are some great US made rc items, 90% of the rc hobby is manufactured overseas, so don't knock Tower for that. Fifth, their easy pay plan is wonderful. You order a $500 rc car, make the first 1/3 payment and get the item within a week. They TRUST you to make the other two payments! WOW! So, you cannot blame them for occasionally denying this privilege (not a right), if something appears to be amiss with an account! Finally, I find that calling the customer service of any company with a bad attitude, usually illicits a bad attitude on the other end. You are not the first mule's rearend they've talk to that day. Rather, a pleasant demeanor with an attitude of "can you help me" brings favorable results 99% of the time.
Unsolicited, Tower's customer service/technical has even called, and emailed, me after a purchase of a kit, to ask if I needed any help with the project. Their coupons, Super Saver Club, Easy Pay, Parts Saver Shipping ($1.99 for many smaller items), and other free shipping deals are terrific customer care, but their customer service keeps me coming back!"
"I had a shipping issue , that I tried resolving with ups , it was a nightmare , instead I called tower, and was lucky enough to,get a person named Kim in the phone , she ROCKS, I was asking for one thing, and she one upped what I was asking for, with no charge!
I wish all companies and they're reps, are as great as Kim was!
I'm a long time customer , and I will continue to be one !
Thanks Kim, hope u have a great weekend!"
"Bought 5+ axial products and drones etc. Always went great. Even when i did have issues was resolved easily and timely. Then recently someone called and to make sure everything went great. Don't know how else to explain my satisfaction. Have nothing but great things to say about Tower Hobbies. I look forward to all the new toys to come."
"Tower has been around since the 80s.. if they were so shady do you honestly think they would have such a loyal customer base ? Hell i created an account here just to fix the wrongs.. 1.Tower has zero control over when you get your funds back into your checking acct. it's your BANK.. i know .. i work for a bank.. there are built in procedures for reversing funds.Its so shady people or friends who work at stores can't let you buy something on credit then do a reverse and you have instant funds availability.This is bank 101.. 2.They do not upcharge any special shipping rates.. i am guessing the negative comments are people who are loyal to Horizon Hobbies.. their only competitor . I have been buying items since the 80s .. everything from rc cars,boats,airplanes, kites and model rockets.. what the shipping charge is will always be stated on the page before you submit.. simple as that.. im guessing the people complaining have never used online ordering before. Tower Hobbies is your go to place for when your LHS is out of stock or wont budge on price.. since you always want to support your LHS. "
"I've had nothing but good experiences with Towerhobbies.com over the years. Look at their reviews on bizrate.com or Google Store Ratings for the true story. They evidently don't monitor this site, and it's where a minimal group of people post their complaints...most of them probably tried to stiff Tower on Easy Pay payments (just my guess). The masses are happy with them, just look elsewhere for the real truth."
"I bought from this company and then canceled my order. It took them a FULL week to release the pending credit card hold.
They are TERRIBLE."
"Upon surfing online through the Tower Hobby website, I experience a shady process in going through the payment process, including confusing and non disclosure of final cost and breakdown. While online, I had contacted their customer service rep, who at first was equally confused, but then directed me to a small hidden detail window, located below and off the the left, but NOT present directly on the site. It warned of a possible up charge in shipping costs, but did NOT show a cost! Again, it was NOT displayed next to the selling price of the plane kit (Top Flite F4U Corsair). She then directed me to hit the place order key (in red), and I told her that I did NOT even have a explanative- final price breakdown. I still hadn't entered into my PayPal account. I was leary about hitting a "Complete Order" key, but she instructed me to move forward, and then I was sent into my PayPal account. I selected my delivery address & bank account. I then continued from PP, and then was sent back to Tower Hobby, where the final breakdown was revealed. The rep was still on the phone, and I still had to hit another "Complete Order" key. I argued the hidden charge, despite the so- called $50 off coupon. They wanted to charge an additional $59.99 in addition to a $9.99 shipping charge. Of course they blamed the extra "sur charge" cost on UPS. How convenient. Never the less, I completely disagreed with the way they kept the actual costs hidden throughout the process until after PP. I refused and did NOT hit the final acceptance key, backed out and logged off my account, thus told their rep that I was NOT interested and to have a nice day! I went to Horizon Hobby, where I had a upfront experience without ANY hidden charges!!! A few days later, I received two plane kits from Tower Hobbies, and I then noticed that my PP and my bank account was charged by Tower Hobby for an order that I NEVER submitted a "Final Order". I contacted the Tower Hobby customer service and they could care less about my experience. I even spoke to their supervisor, who equally treated me without care and/ or concern. They basically blamed the entire experience on myself and the shipping company, and that it was done online. Yes, online and on their website, and directed by their sales staff. I'm not their I. T. person, and I did NOT format their online system. I own my own business and shop for parts for our customers on a daily basis, and with several different vendors. This is NOT my first rodeo! "
"Ordered a copy of Realflight from them. Site advised 7-14 day expected delivery.
At 21 days, with no delivery, contacted them, and was advised I would have to wait up to 45 days before they would do anything more about it.
No tracking number on international delivery. Can't follow it up. Can't hunt it down. Useless idiots.
When advised I needed it within 30 days, was told if I disputed through Paypal, would receive no further follow up service from them, and would never be able to shop their again. They actually put this in writing!
If this was an Australian store, they'd be at Fair Trading for breach of the law. Unfortunately, they're not.
I guess they think they can do anything they like, as it's too hard for international customers to complain.
Surprising how their Facebook page has a lot of complaints, but somehow still generates a 4.4/5 very high star rating, yet here it's all negative. Sure, they don't screen their reviews there!
Would never shop their again. Wish I'd ordered locally, and paid for good service, instead of dealing with monkeys who have none."
"I've been or say was a Tower Hobbies customer for over 15 years until recently since they no longer care about the customer especially on the Scratch and dent items. I was missing a major part in one item that I purchased and was told that scratch and dent items are sold as is and I argued that it was not properly described and was told that they do not have the time to waste or resources to accurately describe scratch and dent items and what you get you get ! This is such BS because the item I purchased was described as damaged not missing parts. They said that I could return the item but I had to pay return shipping and I would also lose the two gift certificates that I used to buy the item with . They would not send me the $9 battery I was missing ! This is false advertising so I am going to complain also to the BBB. Ust buy some where's else if you possibly can ! I have spent over $15,000 and the treat me like crap. My business means nothing to this company who sells mostly China products anyways. I have tried to contact someone higher in management other that the person I'm very unhappy with but no such luck. I always get the message they are out of the office .BS"
"I paid extra for priority mail shipping which indicated an estimated delivery date within 2 days of shipping. The package didn't arrive until six days after I ordered. I emailed their customer service numerous times asking for a refund on the shipping costs, as I could have just kept with free shipping, but instead of offering a refund they told me to bring my complaint to the US Postal Office. Not impressed and will not be a returning customer."
"I have no idea why people buy from Tower. Their selection is in reality poor although quite a lot of items are listed, their prices not at all competitive and their multiple "bonus" programs are useless. Also, they are extremely late at getting new releases in stock. Furthermore, though totally legal, they have lots of brands and products with unacceptable quality that my moral would have stopped me from offering if I had a business myself
I've spent a total of roughly 500 Euro on 31 items from Tower, and deeply regret giving them my money. I reckon Tower is rather big, but I bet they won't survive as global competition gets harder and people realize that there are so many better shops out there."
"Tried to order a new RC kit and take advantage of their so called "easy pay" plan. I had to sign up for a account to do this, so no big deal. I did all of this placed my order and all looked well. Later that day I get a email from their customer service department saying that they have cancelled my order because I already had a account with them. I email them back saying this is my first order, I've never bought anything from you except on Ebay (Omni Models). They then email back saying that although I didn't have account before my account shares some details with someone that did and that they have the right to refuse ordering privileges. What a friggin JOKE!!! On top of it, Tower charged my bank card the initial payment even though they cancelled my order, now I am fighting to get my money back. After this mess, I went onto Amain.com and purchased a new Losi 22 3.0 buggy kit. I will not buy anything asscociated with Great Planes (Tower Hobbies) ever again."
"Good products with factory seals, fast shipping (5-7 days) is normally (2-3 days), great customer service ( 0-15 secs wait time on hold ) , user friendly website with a lot of predicted text. I am a 1st time nitro rc owner and highly recommend this company. I had multiple late orders that I had placed during holidays and all were received before expected delivery dates. (True testament). "
"TC4 kit arrived missing parts. Contacted customer service within 48hrs and without success. CS stated there was nothing they could do and laughed when I mentioned disputing the credit card charges."