EDIT (22nd November 2023): Drone Authority is Back! See another post HERE.

It's another sad day for the UK FPV hobby following an announcement that Drone Authority has decided to shut up shop (their official announcement is HERE). This follows in the footsteps of Quadcopters.co.uk who threw in the towel a couple of years ago (see another post HERE).

There isn't a huge amount of stock left, but what is left is being sold at a 20% discount if you use the code GOODBYE at checkout. The link below filters all items on the site that are still flagged as having some remaining stock available...

https://www.droneauthority.co.uk/collect...lability=1

Drone Authority Wrote:Closing the Chapter: A Farewell from Drone Authority

It's with a heavy heart that we pen this note to our beloved community and customers of Drone Authority. The journey we embarked on in 2020 – right in the midst of the Covid epidemic – started as a beacon of hope and excitement. With the world slowing down and everyone rediscovering their hobbies, we felt it was the perfect time for Drone Authority to take flight.

Drew and Lisa (yes, that's us) were initially amazed at the traction we gained. It was the perfect combination of passion and opportunity. Drone enthusiasts, hobbyists, and the simply curious flocked to us, and the sky seemed the limit.

But as the old adage goes, "what goes up must come down." Over the past year or two, we've seen the once-promising drone market plateau and then slowly dip. The industry dynamics have shifted, and the enthusiasm which once drove high sales has diminished. Our profit margins, at best hovering around 10%, coupled with the ever-increasing costs of advertising in a niche like FPV, made it challenging to sustain the business to the level it once thrived.

The decision to wind down wasn't taken lightly, but as every good pilot knows, it's essential to read the conditions and make the best call for safety. We're at a crossroads where we believe it's best for us and our family to land the plane while we still can, without the weight of unsold inventory holding us down.

Starting immediately, all out-of-stock items will be hidden from our website. And for those looking to snag a piece of Drone Authority history, we're offering a 20% off site-wide closing sale with discount code GOODBYE.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Whether you were a one-time purchaser or a regular customer, your support meant everything. Some days were tough, but your positive messages always brought sunshine to our cloudy days.

For any budding entrepreneurs or businesses in the industry, our domain name is up for grabs. We believe it holds significant SEO value, and we're willing to offer a complete list of product/collection URLs to make the transition smoother. Please reach out to us if interested.

Although this chapter is closing for Drone Authority, the memories, experiences, and friendships we've made along the way will forever remain in our hearts. So, from Drew and Lisa, we sign off with immense gratitude and hope that the winds always remain favorable for you, no matter where life takes you.

Warmly, Drew & Lisa

They were always too niche for me. The only thing I've got from them in the past was a Mad Mushroom last year. They never seemed to stock things I wanted or needed, so UMT/HobbyRC/YourFPV always got my business.

Anyway I was looking at the 11 pack of buzzers for the last couple of months, so i ordered a set and some 35mm whoop props. Nothing much else is of use to me.

I agree. From the main product lines point of view they mostly sold DJI, TBS, Ethix, Torvol, and iFlight gear, and I don't touch iFlight stuff with a barge pole so all of the FC, ESCs, motors, and frames they sold were already on my blacklist. I bought some DJI, Ethix and Torvol gear from them in the past plus a few sundries I chucked in with the orders but most of the other stuff can be got from other UK vendors or cheaper from AliExpress.

I don't see anything of interest to me out of what stock they do still have left. Maybe some other members on here will. I guess some of their more loyal customers might have been given early notice of the business closure, so all of the good stuff likely already sold out before an official public announcement was made.

The problem recently has been that all of the UK vendors seem to have low or limited stock of the non-sundry items so you either can't get what you want at all or not all from the same vendor which then means shipping charges from multiple vendors, so I think people have just gone back to ordering stuff direct from China for a bit less money even if they have to wait longer for delivery.

It's still sad to see one of what are a limited number of FPV vendors in the UK disappear.

Yeah i sent an email to UMT telling them that they needed to get more FC's in stock and they seem to have done so, plus they also have a bunch of the new AT FCs. Generally they seem to have improved stock quantities since.

Those buzzers were the only thing i really was interested in. I wanted some buzzers for putting on whoops and smaller craft. Stuff that can't take ViFly buzzers.

For me there are only three main companies that cater for FPV and a few smaller ones that cater for niche areas like whoops.

Another one that might have gone is Drone Junkie. There site seems to be offline and has been for a couple of weeks with a DNS issue. They had very little stock but did have certain whoop related things at reasonable prices, like the old F3 FC's for £30 and other obscure/obsolete stuff.

I’m pretty sure droneislife has also thrown in the towel as their website is “under maintenance” and the owner seems to be flogging the remains stuff off on Facebook.

I'd be surprised if we didn't end up with only the big three in the end. No complaints though, they all cater for different things.

I just hope those 3 vendors manage to keep their heads above water. It's good to at least have a few vendors to create some healthy competition and to try and keep prices to a reasonable level.

For anyone who subscribed to this thread, Drone Authority will be back on 1st December 2023

See another post about that at the link below...

https://intofpv.com/t-drone-authority-uk-is-back

Yeah I stumbled on their website today looking for something and was a bit shocked it was still up and had stock available. Looks like they are run by someone else now, out of Richmond. Can't find a great deal of information beyond that, but i didn't look all that hard either.