So what's with UE?

[Procharged5.0]

Since the UE parts are essentially "Intellectual Property" IE: Engineering Designs, R&D, CNC Machine Programs and not something with an established market value (or something tangible like actual product or 7075 bar stock) it's pretty hard to say. My wife values businesses for a living so I could ask her for her professional "guesstimate" on this but without her researching into the value of proprietary designs or info from Robin it might be pretty tough to get a good answer to that question.

As far as reproducing them goes, that would be less of an issue. Locating a contract machine shop with appropriate machining & production capabilities would be no big deal (I have connections with Rousch Racing for example. They have massive high performance 5-Axis machining centers). Having the finances to contract them for building the product, or investing in a great enough number of parts to make the cost-per-unit value acceptable is another story.

[lincpimp]

It seems that aside from a small group of hardcore enthusiasts, (myself included) the maxx trucks are becoming less popular. I know that general sales are down, trucks like the Revo and the move to truggies cut into the sales of the Maxx series. Traxxas have tried to keep it going, by updating the Maxx (nitro, at least). I guess UE had more demand, and sales when the Maxx dominated the nitro market, lets face it, more people run nitro than electric. It is a shame, cause UE made the best of the best, sure you had to pay for it, but at least it was available.

[ssspconcepts]

Originally Posted by Procharged5.0

Since the UE parts are essentially "Intellectual Property" IE: Engineering Designs, R&D, CNC Machine Programs and not something with an established market value (or something tangible like actual product or 7075 bar stock) it's pretty hard to say. My wife values businesses for a living so I could ask her for her professional "guesstimate" on this but without her researching into the value of proprietary designs or info from Robin it might be pretty tough to get a good answer to that question.

As far as reproducing them goes, that would be less of an issue. Locating a contract machine shop with appropriate machining & production capabilities would be no big deal (I have connections with Rousch Racing for example. They have massive high performance 5-Axis machining centers). Having the finances to contract them for building the product, or investing in a great enough number of parts to make the cost-per-unit value acceptable is another story.

Its a shame to let this product line "die." Seems like there are enough folks here to keep it going...

[ClodMaxx]

Originally Posted by ssspconcepts

Seems like there are enough folks here to keep it going...

you would think. try checking out the UE forums - guys there are practically screaming for a new production run of high impact arms, racerX suspension, CVDs... just about everything that is out of stock. apparently it's all falling on deaf ears.

[ssspconcepts]

Originally Posted by ClodMaxx

you would think. try checking out the UE forums - guys there are practically screaming for a new production run of high impact arms, racerX suspension, CVDs... just about everything that is out of stock. apparently it's all falling on deaf ears.

I'm surprised someone hasn't approached him to buy the designs...I'd do it if I thought I could just break even...but in all honesty it's outside my area of specialization.

[ClodMaxx]

some may have approached him... who knows. i've never spoken to robin or know what he's like, but it seems he has a lot of pride in his products - who wouldn't. if money isn't an issue, which it most likely isn't, i would put money on the fact that he'll plan to be buried with the plans to his designs... lol.

but even if you could get your hands on designs for a few of the more popular parts that are more rare... high impact arms for sure, VBS, and racerX...maybe even the lightning or razerback... you'd most likely have a lot of orders. you could do a prototype of each to sell pre-orders. then again, the expense of buying designs and contracting a very high quality machine shop to execute those designs won't guarantee the pre-orders. and if there weren't enough orders to sustain the additional cost, you'd be out a lot of money.

from a buyer/market perspective, people may also be leery to buy a 'second generation' product. robin and/or sam inspected every part after the polishing and before it was sold. sam has even said he test fits all the driveshafts. it could turn out like the book collecting world: the first edition, first printings of rare books are much, much more valuable than 2nd editions... even though physically they're the same product.