Price gouging on Amazon.com

[Poverty Flyer]

I got my Neo last week ordered on Amazon from a seller.
Next day I got a email from Dji saying it would be shipped soon.
It took 4 days from Hong Kong to Seattle area. I call that FAST.

So, now I want to get into FPV and need the N3 goggles and Motion 3 controller.
Suggested retail price of goggles is $229.
Some sellers are adding the words (original N3 goggles) and charging
Anywhere from $229 up to $499 All with different arrival times.
More $ doesn't mean faster.
WTH! AMAZON.
Tariffs were not even in effect yet.

Dji store is $229 around 5 day delivery time.
BUT, they have disclaimer saying the buyer may have to help with customs. No definition of help.
Pay tariff?
Pay part?
Pick up at customs?
Row my boat and meet halfway?

I can wait of course but Amazon needs to stop unscrupulous sellers and Dji needs to define help.

I'm having fun with it now but FPV is in my immediate future hopefully.
Time will tell what immediate future means.

Cheers,

 

[RcHawks]

I have both the goggles N3 and the goggles 3 with adjustable lenses. I paid 229 for the N3 and 499 for the goggles 3. From my point of view I like the goggles 3 much better. It's nice to dial in the sharpness of the view on the g3 and they're smaller. The N3 would be nice if you wear glasses as they are larger but I don't wear glasses and like the G3 better. I purchased 2 neos and 2 M3C for head to head flying with two people which as of yet I haven't done.

 

[Poverty Flyer]

Very nice. I wear glasses.
I have the Meta Quest 3 goggles.
It has all the adjustments but it doesn't help. I still have to wear my glasses and it's a bit uncomfortable as they are also small.
Hopefully the N3 will work out better for me and cheaper to boot.

 

[RcHawks]

There's the option with the goggles 3 to add a set of prescription lenses. I'm not sure how that works with getting from you eye doctor I don't know.

 

[Poverty Flyer]

Yeah,
We could turn the $500 goggles into $1000 goggles without even trying hard.
Same for the Quest 3 goggles.
All Hobbies are expensive.
I play electronic drums, guitar and own a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Nothing new about spending $ on stuff to keep me busy.

 

[jmc667]

There is a company called Honsvr.com. Who sells prescription lenses for the Goggles 3. You do need a copy of your script to fill in the info to order the lenses. I have these for my goggles 3, and they work perfectly, just like you are wearing glasses. Just to let you know

 

[NeoNeo]

Issue I have with some box style of goggles like the N3 is I need to wear "readers" for perfect focus. With the Goggles3 I set the diopter correction a bit short of ideal (20/20) to ~20/30 and don't need readers. Honsvr might be needed for those with needs beyond the diopter correction range of the Goggles3. Or don't want to mess with reseting the diopter correction if you accidentally release the IOP/diopter tuning knobs and throw thing off. Or need astigmatism correction.

 

[Poverty Flyer]

Yep, taking care of our shiny expensive toys can be a full time job.
Just trying to charge everything up before a day of fun takes some organization skills not really needed since retirement. LoL
Perfect for feeding my OCD I guess.
Cheers,

 

[NeoNeo]

Personally I avoid any Amazon purchases of brand name items that are not designated an authorized seller by the product manufacturers. Learned my lesson a few times. Luckily inexpensive items like drill bits (fake Bosch and DeWalt). That is, too many amazon sellers with knock-offs.

IIRC, don't remember seeing at the DJI website any amazon seller as an authorized DJI dealer. Haven't ever purchased any DJI products except from the DJI store.

 

[Poverty Flyer]

As I stated in the original post, I bought my Neo on Amazon but it came from and all communications came from Dji.
4 Days from Hong Kong.
I also like to receive my supplies from the original manufacturer but price, convenience and speed of delivery are usually the main guiding factors.

Here is a strange puzzle.
I ordered a set of propellers from the Master Airscrew storefront on Amazon. The shipping time is around 2 weeks. From MA in California! WTH?
The info says sold & shipped from Amazon.
Ordering direct from MS cost more because they charge for shipping.
Returns require a email for return goods authorization.
Amazon is hassle free for returns which is also important.
Logistics is hard to understand for alot of this a good example is why is it cheaper sometimes to fly from Seattle to Hawaii by going to Chicago first rather than Seattle direct to Hawaii?
Jet fuel must be inexpensive?
It's a strange world we live in.

TBH, I am a little worried to order from Dji because of their current disclaimer that "help with customs" may be required with no explanation of what "help" means.

You usually are fully aware of what what Amazon is doing. Usually.

Knockoff products can be just as good or better than oem products.
Amazon returns policies make knockoffs a 0 gamble to try and save time and money.

Next week or so I will be looking to buy the goggles and controller.
Where from will be determined by price and shipping time as usual.
A call to Dji may be done to see if they have an explanation for "help".
If Amazon is same price or close they will get the business. In this case Dji wins either way.

Oh, the problems of life these days! Lol
It all makes sense if you don't think about it.
Happy Saturday ( or the day before or after) retirement is bliss.
Usually.
Cheers

 

[NeoNeo]

True some knockoffs can be as good or better. Problem with amazon are the number of counterfeit products. Why companies like Milwaukee tools note that retailer like amazon that are not authorized dealer are probably selling counterfeit products. Not only amazon. eBay. The direct from China retailers. When it comes to brand name products that are relatively expensive or where safety is a concern. A few extra dollars is fine with me.

Just checked the DJI site for authorized dealers. Amazon.com Service Inc is an authorized dealer. Assuming that means shipped and sold by Amazon.com Not the shipped from amazon and seller is: xxxx. DJI offer warranty to only authorized dealers if any issue should happen.

Prior to our tariff policies found shipping direct from DJI was fast from either direct from China or from their CA warehouse. Haven't purchased anything from DJI since prior to the new tariff policy.

MasterAirScrew at least for Avata2 were no real improvement. Close to DJI prop prices. The MAS Neo props look, sound to be similar. That is, minimal if any improvement over the stock Neo propellers. Just a huge price difference. If needing or wanting a propeller that isn't black. Check out HQProp. They came out with a specific prop for the Neo at stock Neo price($5/set of 4). GemFan,IIRC D51 series work, but might require longer mounting screws. Also, inexpensive. Realistically if flying only in N or S modes just stick with the stock or if needing a different color the inexpensive HQs or Gems.

 

[NeoNeo]

Just realized something about AMAZON shipping. Not a Prime member. Oil drain pan finally arrived yesterday. Ordered in early mid-April. Sort of forgot about it. No real need for awhile. Checked this AM for some replacement watering can roses ordered in early April. Now scheduled to ship mid May to mid June. Could use the roses. It's Spring veggie garden planting time Guessing the supply chain is sort of messy right now. One must be patient.

 

[Poverty Flyer]

I'll check out HQProp.
Thanks!
BTW, ordered the MAS props last week. Still haven't shipped it yet.
They say 23 - 24.
Looking forward to my personalized " especially made for Poverty Flyer " laser engraved propellers.
Or maybe the ol' injection mold machine has to be warmed up first? 3Dprinter?
Whatever, patience I got.
I don't expect miracles from a prop change. The MAS look pretty cool.
At some point I'd like to try 4 and 5 blade props ( just for shirts and girdles ).


Tools is a quandary for sure.
Milwaukee used to be second to Mastercraft. They have too many levels of quality lines to keep up with. Mechanic, professional and General purpose. $ to $$$.
Nowadays, if i need a tool it's probably a one time use so off to Harbor Freight for disposables.
If I need a quality tool for work on my Harley I borrow it from a friend or buy from Snap-On.
I miss going to Sears for quality stuff.
Over the years I've collected a decent set for my Harley tinkering but every once in awhile a one off tool is needed.

Being on a fixed income (low) i can occasionally burn a $20 bill for a wild hair. Anything else requires a lucky hit at the casino by my wife.
Which happens quite frequently actually!
Her hobby is more than all mine together but with occasional benefits. Lol
Yep, during this tariff thing patience will be required.

Cheers

 

[Poverty Flyer]

Er, Craftsman not Mastercraft.
Senior moment.

 

[NeoNeo]

Tools like many things.... Acquisitions, mergers. Craftsman IIRC was acquired by the Stanley group. DeWalt by ??? Have couple old Craftsman beam torque wrenches. Variety of wrenches, ratchet and sockets from the Sears era Craftsman that back then had "lifetime" warranty. Fine, but today. No one around to support the warranty. Was at the local Ace Hardware yesterday. Looked at the Craftsman 1/2" 50-250ft/pound click torque wrench on sale after dropping off my 75th Anniversary Craftsman cordless power tools at a thrift sale fund raising event for our library. 1 year warranty.

Just purchased the 1/2" Milwaukee gen3 impact wrench. Decades of knuckle busting, grunting, and not so kind thoughts trying to loosen nuts on the tractor and now truck wheels. Retired and tired of grunting. Bit pricey even on sale. Interesting pricing at AMZ. Guessing the too low priced are fakes. The one overpriced? Maybe the seller's margin? TorqueTest did a breakdown of a number of counterfeits. They sort of work. But tear apart revealed some real questionable components and build quality.

Too easy to manufacture superficial look alike today. Thought I saw a Neo "clone" when skimming through YTube or Google searching. Anyone else. Or just my old brain imagination creating another internet myth?

 

[NEO 317]

Just purchased the 1/2" Milwaukee gen3 impact wrench. Decades of knuckle busting, grunting, and not so kind thoughts trying to loosen nuts on the tractor and now truck wheels. Retired and tired of grunting.

Similar story. I had to change four tires on a trailer that sat for years and it was a NO GO the manual way.

Purchased an impact wrench from RYOBI and was impressed how easy it was.

.

 

[Poverty Flyer]

At some point long ago I had a set (almost complete) of open end box wrenches with the original Ford logo on them.
I believe they were from around the 1930s.
Heavy, thick, not shiny iron.
They got stolen from my truck about 20 years ago.
Built to last forever.
Those were the days.

 

[RcHawks]

That was the thing, built to last forever. we have a washer and dryer that's 20 yrs old and still running strong. Only a few minor repairs I was able to do after getting on a repair site. Maytag Btw.
I miss SEARS.