The Backyard – Never Sell Your Radios, Chargers, Batteries, or Tools

Hey all, a happy Friday to you! Welcome to the Backyard.

Today I am going to hopefully impart some wisdom. This is wisdom that I’ve come about first hand, via myself or friends of mine.

It’s normal to get burned out by the hobby, just as it is with any kind of thing you do for fun. And when someone is burned out, it’s easy to see that fleet of r/c’s collecting dust and start seeing dollar signs above them. Big collections of vehicles can also take up a bunch of space, freeing up said real estate is another “bonus” of selling your stuff when you think you want out.

There’s nothing wrong with selling stuff, mind you. I have a myriad of hobbies and am constantly shuffling assets between them in a never-ending battle of trying to afford them all. In regards to my r/c’s specifically, if a vehicle sits for a long time that I truly have no interest in, it can be on the chopping block to make money for other trucks that I DO want. This is a normal thing.

That’s not what I’m talking about though. I’m specifically talking about the hobbyist who is ready to “get out of the hobby” and start a collection fire sale where everything must go.

Some people legit do want out of the hobby, but there is a good chance that if you’re reading this blog post, on an r/c site, that you are fairly engaged with the hobby on a deeper level than the average Joe. Because of that, I’m guessing that you’ll be back, even if you think you won’t be. Even if it takes a couple of years.

So here’s the wisdom drop. Go ahead and sell your vehicles, but don’t sell your radios, chargers, batteries, or specialty tools.

Eventually something is gonna come out that you have to have, and when you do come back, you are going to have to have a full-on “buy back”, and it will be both a pain AND expensive.

I learned this lesson the hard way back in the late aughts. I got out of the hobby and sold EVERYTHING. I wound up being gone for two years, and it was a headache re-acquiring all the logistical stuff I needed to get back in.

In recent years I’ve seen this happen with friends, where they think they are “truly done this time” and hold a fire sale, only to several months later hop back in after some time off and deal with the PITA of getting everything they need again.

So there is my warning- if you want out, go ahead and sell the vehicles but hang on to your radios, chargers, batteries, and tools! It’ll make it much easier when you eventually get back in.

I’ve found the hobby is like the NWO. Once you’re NWO, you’re NWO 4 life. Even if you think you aren’t!

Until next week, keep it on all 4’s!