ASK Cubby- You Blow Up My Email, I Make My Intern Filter The Good Stuff

“Trade info question

Hi Cubby,

Love the site. Love the content. Quick question……what is the go to, trade, data source for the hobby? Specifically, I’d love to get my hands on market share by segment, units sold, etc. I know it’s hard because they are all private companies but there has to be a good source out there, and if there is, I know YOU will know. Cost isn’t an issue if that matters.
Thanks in advance.

Bob B.”

Cubby- Yo hey Bobby B., thanks for writing in. You’ve already hooked me up with your snail mail, so a sticker pack is on its way.

OK, so I am sitting here giggling. It is no fault of yours of course, but the question that you ask, well, there are a LOT of people that would love to get their hands on the same thing.

To answer your question, no, there is not a good source for industry numbers, even for people within the industry. We get all our info from simply asking. Now, we know a lot of people from having met them face to face, going to dinners with them, etc, and we’ve put years into these relationships. Even then, we can only pull a small amount of info from time to time. We also have friends overseas at the OEMs, which we also use when really needed.

So sorry Bob, I wish I could hook ya up, but getting those types of numbers is really hard in rc. It is super easy, in lets say, full sized motorcycles or cars, but in rc, very few people get access to the good stuff. And ya for sure, I wish the industry would put out some numbers too. Manufacturers don’t have to give away a bunch of sensitive data to do that. For example, lets say a local hobby shop wants to set up a new giant display in their front window. They know what has been selling locally, but overall industry numbers could help them put in a better display. Maybe locally 1/10th 2wd short course trucks have been hot, but if they saw industry numbers indicating that scale crawler sales are doubling every 6 months, they would probably want to do a scale crawling display instead. There are numerous ways that numbers could help, guess I need to set up a meeting with Brian and see what he can do. Brian is a new member to the HMA council and they might be of help getting some general numbers out for the hobby.

Hate More Hate

Hey Cubby, what’s going on? What’s all this I hear about you being owned by Traxxas and how Big Squid is nothing but one big shill for them? Come on man, what’s up?

Eric P.”

Cubby- Yo Eric, what’s up? Thanks for writing in. Oh, don’t forget to send me your snail mail for a sticker pack.

Ya man it’s nuts! So ya, it looks like we’ve finally freak’n made it. LOL. But seriously, when there are a LOT of haters out there, you know you’ve finally made it. Ya, there is tons of hate all over the net (source- I am one of the worst offenders), so I’ve seen it too.

Nope, we don’t go into meltdown mode every time someone says crazy stuff about Big Squid. Why? Because, the proper way to handle such a thing is to ignore it. Ever see tons of hate on the net about MaxAmps? I have, and they handle it like they should, mostly being quiet. What has MaxAmps ever done to torque people off? Well, from me actually knowing some of them, they are super cool guys just like you and me. IMO, their only fault is that they became successful. Yes, we live in an age where simply being successful can be a bad thing to some people. What about Traxxas? Back in the day the uber race community loved to talk down about a “basher” brand like Traxxas. Oh my, Traxxas cars just didn’t have enough carbon fiber for some elitist types, therefore they thought they needed to trash the hell out of the name every time it got brought up. Just FYI, trashing the hell out of a brand name that you’ve probably never even owned before is a terrible thing to do. Ya, we get it you “hate” basher brands, but when you run them into the ground all over the net, a certain portion of people will believe it and buy a B6 when they actually needed a Stampede to start off their rc career.

So no, we aren’t owned by Traxxas. In fact, I can’t even believe I would ever need to type that out, but I just did. Traxxas is an advertiser, which once again people see as being a bad thing. Those people I guess don’t realize that to have a website as big as BigSquid, there comes a lot of bills along with it. And no, Traxxas has zero say in any of our reviews, or of anything else, here on Big Squid. However, they do help to keep our server bill paid, which is an awesome thing if you actually want our website to exist when you click on it. We seriously are just a bunch of bashers who decided to go ahead and put in the thousands of hours that it takes to have a decent website. We bash like you, we enjoy hucking triples just like you, we are probably a whole lot like you except that instead of going into a normal job every day, we punch the clock and start driving rc cars. To boil it down, you can be a hater, you can buy the snake oil, but at the end of the day we are just gonna keep working our azzes off to give you guys the best rc website that we can, with nobody else telling us what to do or say. It is that simple.

Whoa, is this the end of ASK Cubby? Actually, this week it is not! Here are some fast questions and answers from our Facebook page & group. Here goes-

Bobby Matthews- Hi, Is traxxas bronco going to come as full RTR just like the d110 did?

Cubby- This question is a few weeks old, but for those that missed it, yes the Bronco is shipping NOW as an RTR.

Brett Cox- Hello i was wondering if you guys had any info on the flyingcarsfilm that featured team associated back in 2016? I cant seem to find any more info on it.

Cubby- Yo Brett, no idea. Rick, or someone at AE, do you’ll have an update? Wasn’t the lead women in that film from from the Hunger Games films (no, not J-Law, but another woman)? I was super stoked to hear about that flic, but it seems to have fallen flat since they announced it a couple years ago.

Björn Nielsen- Hey guys, here’s a compilation in pure 2040rc style with the best shots of the year: over 8 minutes filled with unique tricks, multiple backflips, epic jumps, impossible transictions and much more!!! Hope you like it!!!;-) Click Here to watch the video.

Cubby- Yo Björn, how ya been? All you guys probably know the 2040rc crew from some of their videos that we’ve posted here, as well as some of their Pro-Line videos that took off. Oh and hey, when we gonna see you guys (the 2040 crew) bashing not at a skate park? There is plenty more epic air to be found, and I’m sure the 2040rc trucks will thank you for a weekend off from hucking to pavement. 🙂 I am selfish of course, but I would love to see what kind of havoc the 2040rc crew could bust out at a new construction site hitting giant piles of dirt.

That’s it, now I’m finally finished! Seriously, my email is totallyyyyy overwhelmed at the moment, but that’s why God created interns. 🙂 Do you have a question? What about an EPIC rant, not a normal style, but like a total meltdown? My email box is always open (except for when it’s not)- thecubreportrc at gmail dot com.

YOUR Cub Reporter