I’ve been ordering from RDQ for years, customer support was always TOP NOTCH!  Shipping was impressive to say the least.. if I got a order in early.. I swear I would have it in my hands the next day..
 Then things started to change, the Forum was getting spammed like no tomorrow, they changed the “Rewards” to “use them or loose them” thing… free shipping went to $100 from $60(I think).. I get it, inflation, costs rising..
 But they are now playing a “game” with “free shipping over $99.”.. apparently.. it has to come from the RDQ warehouse in Orlando…you even get the “you get FREE SHIPPPNG” as your total reaches over $99
 As I added things to my cart, a sign popped up (like when you order batteries-ground shipping only).. I didn’t pay attention to it… well it’s notifying you “this item will be shipped from another reliable vender location” (GetFPV I’m guessing).. so YOU.have to remember, subtract this in your head and try to figure out exactly what items actually add up to “free shipping”..
 So shipping would be $11 on $102 items.. small light..
 I cut my order back to $55 (removed stuff I didn’t need now)… and shipppng was still $11.. from Orlando Fla. to Savannah, Ga.  
 This wouldn’t be such a big deal..but when you look at their site front page.. they are patting themselves on the back.. The new owners are saying one thing, and not exactly being totally foward …
 It’s just hard when half the stuff u want is “not available”, I know the Chinese New Year is partially to blame.. it just makes ordering items more difficult.. hell I used to add props and swag to break into the free shipping .. not any longer..

RaceDayQuads got sold to Pfingsten Partners LLC, the same parent company who own GetFPV, so I wonder what did people expect. RDQ is never going to be the same as it was when it was run by someone who originally built the company up from nothing and was passionate about the hobby. Now it will just end up being about profits rather than customer satisfaction.

This is what generally happens when acquisitions are made and the original owner of the company steps back and runs off into the sunset with a shed load of cash. The same happened when Red Cat acquired Rotor Riot and FatShark. Both of those companies ended up going to  in the name of the parent company making as much profit as they could.

I've been hearing other reports that they've almost instantly gotten worse since the ownership change. Slow customer support and weak effort to fix problems. It's a sad state of affairs. They used to be my favorite.

In their defense.. my order(s) were filled and shipped.. it’s just they should indicate what items will disqualify you from “free shipping” in the “check out”. That way u can decide at that point.. how bad do I need this..
Basically, if u see this pop up when ordering.. you can expect to pay $11 (minimum) to your order ..

I'm not really surprised that Tyler sold the business if he was offered a decent sum of money. With the decline in FPV hobbyists and his failed battle to try and get Remote ID quashed, he probably decided it was time to throw the towel in and move on. He now owns 3 doggy day care centres and a golf course, so that's quite a change in direction

Well, it is yet to be seen how this whole RDQ thing will work out.  
I am cautiously optimistic, however, I am not holding my breath.

At the moment, this just solidifies my choice of PyroDrone as my 
No. 1, go to, vendor. At some point, I might place a "test" order
with RDQ just to get a bearing on how things go. 

Quote:SnowLeopardFPV

... With the decline in FPV hobbyists ...

From time to time, I see comments that the FPV hobbyists are declining
and perhaps they are. Yeah, Botgrinder had some interesting commentary 
about FPV "influencers". At the very least the hobbyists might be changing.
Do we consider this a decline? If we have a narrow view on what the FPV
Hobbyist looks like, then maybe it is. 


Later, iFly 

I know in the scheme of things this is “petty”… and as we have all found out..FPV is not afraid to make you spend when you REALY shouldn’t.. and the added $11 should not aid you in deciding to place the order or not…
I can be reasonably frugal, (basically CHEAP) when making purchases that are non-family friendly..I would work extra jobs to afford my “toys” so it wouldn’t effect my household.. so every $ counted. Hell, the only way I got started into this hobby was I got a SMOKING deal on second had equipment..
And here I am telling someone “buy once, cry once” when looking at a new set of goggles..
I guess it’s more of the “frustration” of “you receive free shipping”, only to find out it’s not.. Like the days when u were a kid, digging through a box of cereal only to find out there was not “prize” in the box.
YES! I do have “issues”…..

(12-Mar-2024, 12:54 PM)iFly4rotors Wrote: From time to time, I see comments that the FPV hobbyists are declining
and perhaps they are. Yeah, Botgrinder had some interesting commentary 
about FPV "influencers". At the very least the hobbyists might be changing.
Do we consider this a decline? If we have a narrow view on what the FPV
Hobbyist looks like, then maybe it is.

I think the general public are slowly starting to leave the hobby with less people coming along to fill the void. Some of that is though existing pilots getting naturally bored, and some of the rest is due to all the bureaucratic crap they now have to deal with in the hobby, while potential new pilots see the steep learning curve and/or all the over-complicated regulations they are expected to follow and either do a hard pass or get frustrated and throw the towel in after a short period of time. I'm talking specifically about the so-called first world countries here that are starting to infringe on peoples rights in the name of authoritarian control.

People leaving the hobby doesn't really bother me because I like being in a niche hobby that not many other people are a part of, but there is a danger if things decline too much that supply of components may start to be more difficult to obtain or become much more expensive, with vendors also leaving the FPV market or scaling back their involvement.

Where there isn't a decline however is in military circles where some counties now seem to have jumped on the bandwagon with enlisting and training up solders to be specialists in flying FPV quads which have proven to be an effective tool on the battlefield, much to the alarm and concern of every day hobbyists who are just trying to have some fun with their "toys".

We appear to have gone off-topic here from the original post, but whatever

RDQ has been my main source for some years now. In the last year I have been dealing more and more with PyroDrone. Lately I have noticed with RDQ they say it will be shipped the same day, but all they do is create a shipping ticket that shows shipped, but when I check tracking, the items have not physically been shipped and it is usually the next day when it actually starts to move. I am in Tennessee and used to get my order in two to three days. Lately it has been three to five days...

EDIT:
As far as the hobby declining, I feel the same way. Even in this forum, it seems to me that a couple few years ago this place was much more active...

Well, the “trusted supplier” quite possibly is Newbee Drone.. the stanoffs and goggle foam is coming from San Diego ..
Is that another company owned by GetFPV?

While this might not be the appropriate thread to discuss the FPV community 
and whether it is growing, declining, or just changing; the end user consumers 
absolutely affect the vendors. To them it is just business. If you have customers 
you survive, if you don't, you don't. Simple as that.

.. some good news.. apparently the RDQ warehouse staff is still on point..
My order from Monday is “out for delivery”.. kinda hard to complain / b*tch about that…
I’m just going to lick my wounds, chalk up “shipping” to the game, shut up and get as much stick time as I can…

Good, glad to hear it.  I have had good luck with RDQ shipping cross-country.  3-4 days coast to coast is not bad.  I don't mind the shipping costs too much.

I have had good luck with Getfpv, too.

I ordered from RDQ a few weeks ago and had my first issue ever with them. My package went over a week being "completed" but not sent. I emailed to ask why all parts in stock but not shipped and got a nice response saying the shipper DHL was at fault? After a few more days I got a tracking number. In total it took 13 days before USPS delivered my small package. I let them know that was not what I was used to. Wether they cared or not who knows. This is nothing new with other venders who try to save money on shipping. It seems like there is some kind of "space available" or "standby" shipping system. But that is a WAG.

Its been a while since I ordered from RDQ, but needed a motor and a few other spare parts. Paid the $4.5 shipping, and the package arrived very quickly, just 3 days after the order was placed. It seems they are maintaining their prompt shipping, but too bad many items no longer in stock.