Hobby Industry Stock Levels During COVID 19

Just what is going on?

The RC world is, annoyingly, still part of the rest of the world. Manufacturing of everything has slowed down. And with many people around the world unable to go out and do whatever they used to do, they are discovering or re-discovering RC.

 Remember a few months ago when you couldn’t get any toilet paper because everyone bought it out and the factories couldn’t make enough? That’s pretty much what’s going on here. But instead of toilet paper, it’s Traxxas. Or Arrma. Even ancient brands like Tamiya can’t produce as many RC cars as people are wanting. 

There is less stuff available, and more people asking for it. Sharing a pizza between two people is fine, but if we’ve got 12 people wanting 1 of the 8 slices, 4 people miss out. This seems like simple maths, but it is worth pointing out when it seems nobody has any pizza.

Distribution rights are a thing. If you have been calling every hobby shop in the country trying to get a Slash 4x4 and getting the same answer from all the shops, there is a good reason for that. Traxxas, like many other brands in many other industries, have only the one official importer and distributor of the product to retailers. Essentially, if that sole distributor doesn’t have a product – nobody does.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Demand eclipsing supply is a fantastic problem to have. For the RC world, everyone going nuts for something and waiting impatiently for its release is way better than new products being released and no one caring. Tamiya has recently re-released one of the best looking RC cars of all time, the Avante. Losi has a bunch of new designs, as does Traxxas. Arrma has a 1/7 scale, 80mph street basher that comes with a handbrake. In terms of releases this year, everything is just so exciting and interesting.

When covid-19 is finally a bad memory, and production can increase, just think of how many RC cars, parts, options, and fellow enthusiasts are going to be around. It’ll be RC nerdvana.

Things might not be great now, but man, the future looks bright.