Everybody’s Scalin’ – Expensive Doesn’t Mean Overpriced

The topic of expensive vs. overpriced is one that I’ve been meaning to tackle for sometime, and with the holidays quickly approaching I figure now is as good a time as ever. Consider this a prelude to my “Stocking Stuffers For Your Scaler” piece that’s going to go live on Black Friday next week.

Here at Big Squid we try our best to arm consumers with the information they need to decide whether something is worth their hard earned dollar (value is one of our review criteria, after all), but even with that said I still wanted to bring this topic up as I’ve seen a lot of price squabbling going on thanks to the emergence of various high end machined accessories as of late.

This discussion can be relatable to any form of r/c but it seems particularly prevalent in the scaling scene due to the nature of small run, intricately machined/fabricated pieces that you’ll find on a trick rig.

Let’s take my Gear Head Champ wheels (seen in above pic) for instance. I have owned many types of wheels since I started scaling a few years ago. I’ve used aluminum, plastic, steel, whatever. I’ve cussed at some, enjoyed some, and felt indifferent about others. The Gear Heads are the most expensive I’ve ever had (a set of 4 will run you $129.99) but I could not be happier with them. The Made in the USA machine work is outstanding, the material used feels very high quality, the bead fit and finish is top of the line, and they are gorgeous mounted up. That, my friends, is expensive….NOT overpriced.

Now for another personal example. I have used a set of, well, let’s just say imported Brand X aluminum steering knuckles on my SCX10 as I didn’t want to pay the higher price of a more reputable brand. The “aluminum” felt shoddy, holes were slightly off, and overall I was dis-satisfied. While the price wasn’t bank breaking, they were around $20 less than the name brand stuff yet considerably more expensive than plastic replacement stock ones. This is what I would consider overpriced, NOT expensive.

I would never fault a person for trying to save money as sometimes the “good stuff” just doesn’t fit into the budget. And hey, sometimes you can get a fine part for a cheap price. Companies that do that should be commended (we try and recognize this when we can). Just remember that more often than not you get what you pay for. I’d also argue that supporting certain companies who straight up rip off others designs and have them produced overseas where copyright laws don’t apply is extremely disingenuous…but that’s a whole other can o’ worms.

Let me end with a quote from Ben Franklin that one of my professional mentors constantly spouts (he is a notable machinist and former NASCAR crew chief) “He who wants a sweet exo-cage for their Axial SCX10 must be prepared to pony up”. Ok, ok, Ben Franklin never said that….but he probably would have if he had ever driven a Mattzilla chassis’d truck!

Mr. Franklin’s real quote is “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten”. Something to think about.

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