Team Edition????

[lowlife88]

Since Caster has came a long way since the conception of the pro buggy has been released and many new parts as well as upgraded parts have become available is there possibly any talk of producing a "Team Edition" buggy? I figured with the release of the big bores,new brake disks and numerous other upgraded parts, that it might possible be a good selling point for caster.
Anybody else have any views on this subject?

[vnmsgt]

I think if would be nice. Like if it came with what you said lowlife and also the aluminum rear uprights, captured hinge pins, quick release engine mounts and aluminum chassis brace mount, even bring the carbon fiber back. I get so many people that like the carbon fiber on my buggy and ask it if comes with the kits.

[hakmazter]

We are going to include big bores for sure and maybe some other goodies.....

[lowlife88]

But is there possibly any talk of a total team edition with all these major upgrades sold as a kit?

[hakmazter]

That is what I want to do. Might as well, because at the right price point, we could gain some marketshare that we are obviously missing for some reason.

We will have a news flash in RCDriver next month about the big bores. I will be monitoring our site numbers to see what effect it has on us. I thought that being in forums and having some good racers that are great at public relations would be enough, but 2 magazines say we have to advertise to really grow the business.

Mike

[vnmsgt]

I think the forums have helped alot but can only do so much. I think that the majority of alot of people like what they see in magazines and think because they see alot if them advertised it must be good. I think magazine advertising definetly the right thing to do and you will notice a difference. Alot of people here in the US that have Caster's now I think took a chance on Caster (a new company) like I did, and realized it is a good decision but alot of people are scared to take that chance unless they see some advertising instead of word of mouth. I also think people should post info and pics of when they go to races and race or practice or whatever this way people can see that we are getting out there and running them hard which I do not see too much of and loving every minute of it. It is all mind games:D

[rican25]

dont worry about running them hard, when mine gets full strength you'll be running hard enough to keep up!! then we can post those videos!!!

[Mr Fusion]

I have seen this in the electric 1/8 conversion side of the hobby. One company out there offers some cars for sale and has small ads in the mags, and not coincidentally has a couple reviews of their stuff in the mags. Guess who gets mentioned a lot on the forums by the newbies? (new to the electric side)

This same company is a terrible place to buy from, and has a terrible reputation. But still, peeps see them in the mag and assume they must be ok.

For Caster... it might be a huge deal just to put ads in the mags, but it's very expensive. Having a nice review of the cars would should really stir up some biz, and probably have a bigger impact than the ads. But like Mike said... no ads = no reviews.

btw, that company is Fine Design and the owner Chris Fine is full of it, and is like Jekyl and Hide before and after a sale.

[cold_reboot]

I think getting someone to review the buggy/truggy, either a mag or a site like RCU with thousands of subscribers would also help. A review gives people a good in depth look at the vehicle they don't know anything about. Lets face it, there are people out there that will buy a brand new vehicle just because of the name on it...Losi...OFNA...Associated (I know I'm not the only one here who thought I could run faster with my new pair of Reeboks in grade school). They aren't ready to invest hard earned money in something they know nothing about (and may be worried about parts support for). Most people buy what they know and they usually own or have owned multiple vehicles produced by those companies in the past and liked them and the local shop backs them with parts. Big names have built a reputation, whether their newest creation deserves it or not. Look at how many people have bought an HPI Hellfire...it's nowhere near as durable as a Savage..but they see HPI and assume durability, a reputation created by the Savage/SavageX. The Hellfire isn't a savage...it's no where near as tough, I think a lot of the early adopters regret buying one now...because they....aren't that great (they suck), and look at the price tag on them. Look at how many people bought servo eating 8ight-T's and replaced servo after servo before anyone figured it out. That was piss poor engineering on Losi's part, but the only thing you hear is how great it is, I personally don't understand it but I don't understand why some people find elderly people sexually attractive either.

I keep opening my RC car Action and Xtreme RC every month thinking I'm going to see a Caster ad. Unfortunately that hasn't happened yet. But you can bet when it does I'll cart it around and tell everyone "I know those guys, buy one, you won't regret it, those guys back thier stuff". Also keep expecting the "New Review" posting at the top of the RCU forum to be a Caster. On the plus side, I have seen more and more people interested in brushless systems as well. After the write up on the brushless "revolution" in RC Car Action a month or two ago, I think the electric buggy/truggy are a good investment by Caster. I can't think of any other companies off the top of my head offering electric 1/8th scale buggy's/truggy's RTR (conversions I've seen a few of...out of the box, not that I can think of). I think you guys should capitalize on what you do that other companies haven't done. If you have to bite the bullet and pay for some advertising, do it there, try to get a review done. Everyone remembers Christopher Columbus...first guy to discover the america's...who was the second guy who came over here?,.......exactly.

Might also considering offering some option parts that us westerners are more accustomed to seeing, like smaller center spurs (I know Mikey asked about it once before). Not that it makes any difference, a OFNA or CEN adopter wouldn't care, but those are the only two I can think of that also use the larger spurs. This was my first experience with a larger center spur, to be honest I didn't know what to expect, just kept thinking "I hope it's not a dog". First time I ran it put those fears to rest tho. I do understand the benefits of a larger spur...easier on the engine etc. I also understand that a smaller gear is less spinning mass... I know Ziggy put a Mugen spur/center assembly on his (I think)...but he's french and therefore crazy (I'm kidding Zig...where's he been anyway?).

I'm behind you guys 100%, I want to see Caster USA succeed, I think the product deserves it as well as the guys standing behind it. I love my K8T....a lot. Want to hear me ramble on and on?, Let a guy ask me, "What is that?" after a few laps around the track.

[hakmazter]

Thank you for the kind words. I am negotiating with Xtreme and RCDriver so you might have to switch magazines.....lol.

[hakmazter]

As a person outside of the industry, I like RCDriver best. Wanna know why? I think they use the best printing, page quality, etc...and they definitely take the best pics for reviews, especially action shots. However, xtreme does use hot girls.....lol.

I am sure you guys have differing opinions.......lol.

[cold_reboot]

Yeah actually I don't subscribe to either of them yet....but RC Car Action is the easiest to find on news stands (something to think about). I've never seen a RC Driver mag. Might look into what the circulation numbers are and the demographic to make the most of your advertising dollars. Wouldn't do a lot of good to put an add in "Oil Drums and Teen Bums" since BigC would be the only one reading it.

[hakmazter]

You realize that he is going to see that someday......

[cold_reboot]

Yup...hot chicks...I keep seeing the one where you think she's not wearing underwear squated down leaning against a wall....she's not even holding anything...matter of fact I don't even know what the hell the add is for. At least the other one I always see she's holding a bearing...at least I know what the advertisement is about...at least i think it's bearings. Can't let um overpower the page tho... I can't tell you one thing about the adds...other than there's hot women in um...not even the manufacturers name.

[cold_reboot]

Yeah, i think i can take him....

[hakmazter]

http://casterracingusa.com/files/Mike/Clayton.jpg

But can you take his boss?

[cold_reboot]

I have a Kevlar vest.....yes I can

You have too much free time by the way Hak.

[razzor]

Well said Cold reboot.
For us guys outside of the US its very hard to sell something if its not got coverage or promotion in the US or UK with the US having the biggest impact.
Just the fact the product is in a rc mag has a very big impact in the minds of its readers and gives it credibility.
Ive been pushing Caster as much as possible and helping guys out at nats and local club races as well as advice on local forums etc... but still a product like a Bazooka buggy, OFNA Ravager and other chinese knock offs etc... gets more mention as they see it in US and UK magazines.
Also the online guys that browse the online shops also look at Amain, Tower etc.. as a kind of validation that the product is good.
I am actually surprised that Amain for example hasnt jumped at the Caster range of products.
What ever the reason it would be great if they had a relook and saw that its up there with all the other brands they carry.

[vnmsgt]

Yup...hot chicks...I keep seeing the one where you think she's not wearing underwear squated down leaning against a wall....she's not even holding anything...matter of fact I don't even know what the hell the add is for. At least the other one I always see she's holding a bearing...at least I know what the advertisement is about...at least i think it's bearings. Can't let um overpower the page tho... I can't tell you one thing about the adds...other than there's hot women in um...not even the manufacturers name.

Every mag with that add becomes my favorite issue till the next!:&!@ It is for Acer bearings. I LOVE THAT ADD!!!

This is my opinion on mags.....

RC Car Action: For newbies, people getting into the hobby and people just
having fun with RC, not alot of racers, Most exposure.

RC Driver: More people who have been in hobby, more knowledgeable and
more racers, Awesome pics and nice reviews, one step above,
Good exposure.

Extreme RC: Mostly for racers, Tons of Racing tips, Awesome reviews, most
usable info, and of course lovely ladies! Least Exposure

All this of course for the area I live in. I can never find Extreme RC and RC Driver every once in a while but RC Car Action is everywhere.

[cold_reboot]

I know someone mentioned AMainHobbies at some point, don't remember if it was this thread or not, but irregardless. Has anyone spoken with Kendall over there to see about maybe picking up the Truggy/Buggy? I know a lot of people buy from AMain because they seem to carry a lot of things not carried by a lot of other companies. I think thats been a good part of AMain's success. I used to buy everything from Tower (but that was Airplane stuff...I still buy almost all of the plane stuff from them). I buy all my land vehicle stuff from AMain (Or Cam if it's Caster specific). I don't know exactly whats involved, but getting the vehicles listed on a site that thousands of people already buy from would be a huge step forward.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, doing something about the paint job on the RTR body (or change it to something else entirely... i know vnmsgt isn't a fan of Jammin bodies, which he says the stock body is based on) to be more visually appealing to the eye would be good. I'm just as guilty as anyone....I'm sure the Cen Matrix TR is a great truck...but asthetically it's just ugly as hell to me (so is the Hyper ST...I HATE the way that thing looks). I know vnmsgt feels the same way about the TTR ST-1. There are a good number of people who pick and choose between one truck or another because of asthetics if comes down to "this truck" or "that truck".

[bc24fl]

First, I think there is a balance of integrity vs bottom line that all companies have to address. The Caster kit should reflect this to its customers when they first open the box.

In my opinion Caster has to focus on a few key issues that will make it stand out from the rest and forget about the please-all mentality. And it should be done with a good amount of originality that will stick in customer's heads when they hear news about it. People will buy Caster when they are excited about the product.

Lets say Caster's focus was on quality / dependability. You can generate alot of excitement saying "The K8T is unbreakable!!". "Caster took a beating and continued strong to win me the race!". "You break it, we replace it FREE!". "Lifetime warranty!" etc, etc.. I realize some of these things aren't possible from a business point of view but you can see how much excitement I generated from those phrases alone. So much so that you won't have to pay for any ad space since these mags will be targeting you.

[cold_reboot]

I think the news release on NeoBuggy was awesome, stating that David finishing third with the Caster "shows the Caster's competativeness against the likes of Taylor". You can't buy that kind of advertising, just wish more of the general public saw it. You could always place something on the homepage congratulating David (fantastic job by the way David) and quoting what was said about the Caster. A good unbiased third party comment on how well the Caster performed.

BC, I think Caster is right where they need to be, I've found my K8T to be very dependable..which is a reflection of the quality (get Mikey to add some Captured pivots, hinge pins and a stiffer saver spring and your good to go out of the box). And statements made like on NeoBuggy show it's competativeness. The problem Mike and Cam and the company guys are having is name recognition. People don't know a lot about Caster (if anything). Shortly after I got my TTR and carried it to the track for some racing with friends not a single one of them had ever heard of a TTR ST-1. And the fact that the TTR was nudging the rear bumper of one of the eight-t's (actually at one point down a straight the TTR actually climbed on to the back of the Losi...literally). That event wasn't lost on the Losi guy and for a 300 dollar truck the Losi guy was very impressed. But as popular as the TTR is on at least one web forum (almost has a cult following), you'll always find the majority of people have never heard of it.

[mikey]

hi i think you got a point, we will do that as soon as we can on the

congratulation of David, ...sure,

thanks for the input, man...appreciated

[bc24fl]

Cold_Reboot, my comment wasn't a negative reflection of the quality of Caster products (In fact, I'm very impressed with what I got compared to what I paid). My comments were based on getting people excited about the caster product line. It's not what was said but how. It's that excitement that generates buzz in the community (just like the current buzz about GO engines).

Can you post a link to the article. I've googled with no luck.

Thanks.

[razzor]

If you refferring to teh neobuggy post here it is.

http://www.neobuggy.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4127

[bc24fl]

Ah ok thanks. I wish these races were recorded so we can see them in action.