$600 Brand-new Baja 5Bs

[Razor_Racer]

For the past couple of days I've been tracking these...
Brand-new Baja 5B clones (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=unknown&sbrftog=1&dfsp=32&from=R40&satitle=dirt+buster+baja+massive+rc&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=95125&sabfmts=1&saobfmts=insif&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=32%26fsoo%3D2)

Looks like people are recieving them well according to the feedback. Also someone mentioned the seller is a drop-shipper. Which means they list on ebay, they get the cash after they sell it, the seller sends order to the warehouse overseas, and the warehouse ships it. That also means the seller can get the Bajas for a lot cheaper than 600, since he has to make a profit... HPI seems to be aware of this and they are very pissed, on some baja 5b forums the admin has to get rid of any evidence of clone talk, or else HPI will sue him :eek:

Now who wants to go out and find the wareshouse drop-shipper :evil:

[TheJANG]

on some baja 5b forums the admin has to get rid of any evidence of clone talk, or else HPI will sue him

That's bogus. They can go after folks selling these clones, and perhaps they can do VERO takedown of the eBay listings, but they can't go after a forum for allowing discussion of the clones. That's protected by free speech and by threatening to sue they're putting themselves in a bad legal position.

[Iliketobash]

WOW
$134.95 for shipping to the U.S.!
That's a lot.

[SavagePede]

As much as that may be (and I do agree that's a lot for shipping), you'd still be getting a bargain on the 5b.

[Bashin Maxxer15]

So are they the real deal 5B's, or are the one-off remakes?

[Razor_Racer]

Remakes, theyre from the same factory though so theyre nearly identical, only thing I've heard different was that the parts fit a little tighter on the clone

[e owner]

I don't think I'd take the risk based on this reveiw..

http://reviews.ebay.com/Hpi-BAJA-5b-Scammers-from-china_W0QQugidZ10000000001314903?ssPageName=BUYGD:CAT:-1:SEARCH:5

"Currently there are lots of listings for selling HPI BAJA 5B 1/5 scale RC cars. in the US they are priced at $1000/-. the listing are selling them for $200-300. I purchased one and the seller has not yet sent the car or answered my email since the time he recieved the money. i took the trouble to wire transfer the money as none of them accept paypal. he had 12 positive feedback but in private mode where one can see the positive feedback but cannot see the comments. he left me positive feedback. now i am ready to file for item not recieved claim. many of the other sellers are 0 feedback, but the price being so attactive one gets tempted. Please beware when you buy."

[dabid]

Honestly, if I were to shell out the cash for a 5b, I'd pop for the real deal despite it being several hundred dollars more. Even if it is more expensive, if something is screwy out of the box, you have a recourse to get it resolved either with new parts or a new vehicle through both the shop you buy it at or HPI themselves. The fly-by-night Canadian or Chinese or whatever companies might not be there tomorrow, or to help out when things go wrong.

[Razor_Racer]

"Currently there are lots of listings for selling HPI BAJA 5B 1/5 scale RC cars. in the US they are priced at $1000/-. the listing are selling them for $200-300. I purchased one and the seller has not yet sent the car or answered my email since the time he recieved the money. i took the trouble to wire transfer the money as none of them accept paypal. he had 12 positive feedback but in private mode where one can see the positive feedback but cannot see the comments. he left me positive feedback. now i am ready to file for item not recieved claim. many of the other sellers are 0 feedback, but the price being so attactive one gets tempted. Please beware when you buy."

I'm fairly sure the seller of these are legit, hes located in Canada (Bajas get drop-shipped from overseas, though), 1200+ ratings and feedback shows that the customers got the stuff in good condition. What that review was mentioning was an earlier scam from a while back for "real" bajas, completely different from these.

I guess anyone can try at their risk, but I'm always on the lookout for deals like these since I cant afford lots of brand name stuff :lol:

[e owner]

yeah I relized that after I posted....

It would depend on how good of a deal I could get one for...
I'l help you track down the drop shipper...:)

[rstreet0311]

so who do i contact for one of these bajas??

[rstreet0311]

nvm got it lol

[Kemo]

Just to let everyone know, all parts are interchangeable on the King Motor bajas. They are just as good as a HPI Baja, but you get them for a LOT cheaper. This means you can throw your money into the upgrades that the original baja should have come with.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-5-Massive-Gas-RC-Dirt-Buster-Baja-Dune-Buggy-23cc-NEW_W0QQitemZ330257811457QQihZ014QQcategoryZ1200QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Buy one, quit complaining, and start upgrading. Don't complain because you had to upgrade a part here or there, be happy that you aren't spending over 1000 for the same quality... just be happy you are making it better than a REAL HPI baja for cheaper! While you are at it, head to DDM and get this pipe:

http://www.davesmotors.com/store/product1624.html

"Oh but its almost 200 bucks!"... yeah but you are STILL spending way less than buying a HPI baja and throwing on a pipe.

[savtraxx2]

if i owned hpi (some day i will) id go out and burn that factory down. itd suck having a product nearly the same as yours and its just a "clone". the product has to be 10 % different from the original product in order to be allowed to sell

[Kemo]

no it doesn't... our laws don't apply out in china, so they can do as they please.

[e owner]

also where do you think hpi has the baja 5bs made?!?! if anything these guys made them first....

[Razor_Racer]

HPI designs the 5Bs and the factory cranks them out. The thing is HPI cant sell every single 5b the factory produces. I've heard the factory changes a few little things and start to make the clones. They come out a lot cheaper because the real 5Bs include the cost HPI wants you to pay for all their R&D work

[TheJANG]

In some cases way the deal is structured, the company that designs the vehicle doesn't have to pay for the molds (or gets a discounted price), and in return the factory can sell OEM-branded copies after a certain number of years. I have no idea if this happened with the 5b, though, or if these knockoffs are unauthorized.

[Kemo]

I dono who copied who, or if it was the factory who did their own, but this is very common when the vehicles are OEM'd in China. Kyosho's MP777 had clones out in no time, right after the SP1 came out is when the clones popped up.

Clones are here to stay, and they are getting harder and harder to detect (except when the name is missing on parts). At least the clones are becoming almost 100% copies unlike the older clones of the MP 7.5.

Gibson guitars have a TON of clones coming from China, and china does EVERY detail to make it almost a carbon copy of a gibson! Serial numbers are even generated, and they even throw the MADE IN USA sticker on 'em... clones are here to stay.

[kewlman]

there are so many knockoffs of everything... knock offs of knock offs.. I have 2 knock offs of Honda dirt bikes in my yard now that my kids use.. ya know what they are just as good. it's just the way it is.. If people are interested i am a dealer for PBU and they sell 2 versions of a 1/5 scale R/C car.. one on road and one off road..i can get'em for who even wants them. Let me know in a private message if you want one. there are performance parts for them too.