MK Racing

[Big G]

does anyone know how to get in contact with MK racing , their phones off line , the shop is empty and the sites off line !!! and before you delete this thread , its just a question and not suggesting anything !!

[Ben Turner]

Lol! It would be nice to allow/have an official response posted, instead of 'rumours' continuing to circulate

Also noticed the MK racing forum section has been removed... So perhaps Jimmy can shed some light on this

[russmini]

Seems to have been confirmed on MB for a few days now.

It is a shame, always liked MK.

:(

[jaffacake]

How long has this been going on??
EDIT- Well,from another source (another forum) it seems MK has folded,bloody shame,always found Marc a top guy to deal with on the phone,no part was too small for him to order in
Sad to remove MK from my favourites list.

[cmgreen]

Gutted!!!!

Was the best shop in the UK,

Wish Marc and his family the best!!!

[Mash Potato]

Gutted!!!!

Was the best shop in the UK,

Wish Marc and his family the best!!!

I echo that

[Big G]

I'm not trying to start rumours. I've ordered from MK many times over the years and just wondered if there was any news.

It's a shame to loose another shop.

[westie]

This is a real shame! Helped me out with my new centro and spares, what a shame!:thumbdown:

[RogerM]

Whilst I hope that this isn't absolutely true and we will see Marc as a retailer again sometime soon & knowing absolutely nothing regarding what has/is/will happen to MK Racing I feel I do need to take a moment to mention a (potentially relevant) little home truth that continues to eat at me;

If people keep trying to save themselves a few pence by buying abroad for the big purchases and only use a UK shop for the occassional emergency item / trackside purchase they WILL eventually disappear.
As much as we all think (know) we have one of the greatest hobbies out there specialist model shops, be they racing suppliers, aircraft specialists or whatever have a VERY limited customer base compared to most other retail sectors we stumble across in day to day life.
This means that if we want them available (and as many support / provide race events / clubs it's more of a NEED than WANT IMHO) we all need to support them. 10 pairs of tires bought trackside by people who forgot to order them from their 'usual supplier' won't support any buisness, no matter how well it is managed.

In my immediate memory I can recall several of my favourite suppliers lossing the battle to internet / overseas sales which, at least slightly, contributed to them closing their doors for the last time. Such great names as;

DC Racing
RacePlace
MicroTech

and now "potentially" MK Racing.

Please guys, think about the bigger picture and the long game.

A I say I hope it's not the end of Mr Knight in the RC retail industry, he is always friendly and helpful. In fact I hope this is a misunderstanding and Marc will be along any moment ... hopefully.

[Dudders]

Good words and agree with everythnig you say, but perhaps there is a bigger picture emerging here?. Two fold:

Without any disrespect to people who may fall into these catagories but you have people selling equipment now over the internet and trackside who do not have a 'proper model shop'. These suppliers have no overheads over than their household bills thus can charge less, the majority of people will go to who charges the least.

Distributors in this country selling direct. I know you can buy direct from Schumacher if you wish too..... how long before the margins get so tight the other distributors will sell direct as well totally forclosing the 'model shop'.

Food for thought, as always there is evolution but you do have to wonder where the hobbies help and guidence, local shops and advice... will be in 5 years time for the new starter...

[mattybucks]

Good words and agree with everythnig you say, but perhaps there is a bigger picture emerging here?. Two fold:

Without any disrespect to people who may fall into these catagories but you have people selling equipment now over the internet and trackside who do not have a 'proper model shop'. These suppliers have no overheads over than their household bills thus can charge less, the majority of people will go to who charges the least.

Distributors in this country selling direct. I know you can buy direct from Schumacher if you wish too..... how long before the margins get so tight the other distributors will sell direct as well totally forclosing the 'model shop'.

Food for thought, as always there is evolution but you do have to wonder where the hobbies help and guidence, local shops and advice... will be in 5 years time for the new starter...


Yes the r/c retail industry is becoming more web based, however there are a number of distributors who will not deal with web only based companies CML, Horizon, to name a couple.

Those companies that are willing to deal with web based companies, one company charges an additional 5% for products, another company the margin is so tight that on a high end kit, by the time you pay the payment fees, and postage the actual profit is less than £5.00.

The web based shops including myself are not really able to offer any substantial discount over a bricks and motar shop. The margins are just not there.

[Dudders]

As you know Matty, wasn't having a pop at you, it was just a general comment about the hobby on where it is.

I am aware of the margins in the sector and they are very small indeed and not what 'Joe Public' thinks they are. It's all about turnover and when that drops it's not good.

How long before all the distributors go direct, or maybe even the manufacturers sell direct and just have warehouses in the UK?

How does it work with say Associated in the USA?

[sly]

Mk racing's ebay shop is still live.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/M-K-Models

[Jamie.T]

Mk racing's ebay shop is still live.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/M-K-Models

That's MK Models which is down south in Weymouth, not M-K Racing.

[DCM]

Think they mean MK Racing not MK Models...

[Jamie.T]

Think they mean MK Racing not MK Models...

The ebay shop link posted is not that of M-K Racing as per this thread, its another shop in the UK called MK Models which is down Weymouth. And i know they are very much in buisness.

[gazhillAE]

http://www.maxbashing.com/mbforum/showthread.php?20663-MK-Racing-folded

[Skye]

Marc is one of the most helpful guys I have come across in my short time involved with this sport/hobby so if this is true then it is a terrible shame!

I never met him in person, but when Moto Arena went to the wall with my warranty goods locked inside Marc took it upon himself to contact me and also contacted Answer RC to help me out. He also advised me of the drift meeting that happened behind closed doors at Moto Arena several months later which led directly to me driving over there and getting into the building to retrieve my warranty items so I could send them back to Answer direct. Without Marc's help it is quite likely that none of this would have happened and I would just have ended up on a long list of creditors I imagine.

[Deano577]

What a shame Bloody nice bloke it seems to happen to the nicest people and never the a holes that are out there.
I'm sure Marc will be ok.

[jimmy]

Best wishes to Marc and his family. :(

[sly]

Mk racing's ebay shop is still live.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/M-K-Models

That's MK Models which is down south in Weymouth, not M-K Racing.

Think they mean MK Racing not MK Models...

The ebay shop link posted is not that of M-K Racing as per this thread, its another shop in the UK called MK Models which is down Weymouth. And i know they are very much in buisness.


Dont worry guys i noticed as soon as clicked submit reply and then tried to check backwards and didnt check till now my mistake,:wub

Sorry to here MK Racings is no more.

[Briangb]

Hi Marc. Hope you get to read all theses kind words about you. I would also like to add my thanks to you for help when it has been needed. We last spoke at the FABULOUS MKGP at Newbury only a few weeks ago. I hope you and your family are ok and you will not be lost from our great sport. Does this mean that Dudders will have to organise next years GP on his own. If he does and you are not around, I think the name should remain as MKGP.
Hope to see you at a race track soon.

[Skelbo]

Very sad to hear this. Marc has been in the RC retail world for close to 20 yrs, first as an employee and then as his own boss; never easy. It's a bloody shame..

Hope to see you soon MK.

[racingdwarf]

Very sad news, probably not the last big name to go, I run my own buisness, and have no idea how some of these large shops can afford to hold and payfor the amount of stock they do,pay staff,pay rents and buisness taxes,run the websites..and still make profit! It must be bloody hard.

BUT it's not only shopping over the water that is killing some shops,some of these large on line companys have killed small local shops, as have the uk importers, but thats for another thred, this one is for MK's sad news:(

[Freakypen]

Really bad news-was also at the MKGP was a brill event. Best of luck Marc with whatever you do in the future.

[discothesnake]

Whilst I hope that this isn't absolutely true and we will see Marc as a retailer again sometime soon & knowing absolutely nothing regarding what has/is/will happen to MK Racing I feel I do need to take a moment to mention a (potentially relevant) little home truth that continues to eat at me;

If people keep trying to save themselves a few pence by buying abroad for the big purchases and only use a UK shop for the occassional emergency item / trackside purchase they WILL eventually disappear.
As much as we all think (know) we have one of the greatest hobbies out there specialist model shops, be they racing suppliers, aircraft specialists or whatever have a VERY limited customer base compared to most other retail sectors we stumble across in day to day life.
This means that if we want them available (and as many support / provide race events / clubs it's more of a NEED than WANT IMHO) we all need to support them. 10 pairs of tires bought trackside by people who forgot to order them from their 'usual supplier' won't support any buisness, no matter how well it is managed.

In my immediate memory I can recall several of my favourite suppliers lossing the battle to internet / overseas sales which, at least slightly, contributed to them closing their doors for the last time. Such great names as;

DC Racing
RacePlace
MicroTech

and now "potentially" MK Racing.

Please guys, think about the bigger picture and the long game.

A I say I hope it's not the end of Mr Knight in the RC retail industry, he is always friendly and helpful. In fact I hope this is a misunderstanding and Marc will be along any moment ... hopefully.

I feel really strongly about this and could'nt agree more with Roger. I get really annoyed when i hear people goin on about buying from Hong Kong to save a tenner here and there and then when shops in the UK go out of business it's all "thats a shame, i liked that shop".

We need these shops in the UK and they need us. I always buy my stuff from UK shops. MB Models, JE Spares and MK and Microtech when they were around. I really dont want to see any more shops closing.

All the best Marc.

Regards

Dave

[daz]

I feel really strongly about this and could'nt agree more with Roger. I get really annoyed when i hear people goin on about buying from Hong Kong to save a tenner here and there and then when shops in the UK go out of business it's all "thats a shame, i liked that shop".

We need these shops in the UK and they need us. I always buy my stuff from UK shops. MB Models, JE Spares and MK and Microtech when they were around. I really dont want to see any more shops closing.

All the best Marc.

Regards

Dave
Its the way the worlds revolving. If you want to blame anyone, blame technology for making it too easy to buy overseas. I bet before the internet etc we was always buying from the UK, I remember having to drive a 40 mile round trip to a modelshop in the early nineties every Saturday morning to get stuff what I needed as I wasnt spoilt with a online catalouge what shows live stock levels and guaranteed next day delivery. I cant even remember when I last stepped into a model shop and smiled when I got a whiff of that distintive model shop smell, as I do my shopping online (90% in the UK) or trackside.
Also, what if your local club was in danger of folding but you had a group of people turn up with equipment bought from overseas and would drastically improve numbers potentially saving the club from closure. Would you turn them down because where there stuff was from? Unlikely I know, but still possible.
Another factor is most of us are skint and saving a tenner here and a tenner there can go along way. Its a dog eat dog world and its not going to change, its not just the modelshops its all the retailers who are struggling. So if you think your annoyed with someone saving a few quid, thats just the tip of the tree, the roots to the problems started along time ago.

Oh and all the best Marc.

[JBL]

Sorry to hear about another good model shop having problems, over the past couple of years we have lost a 3 shops I used regularly and MK was one of them. There service was always quick and very helpful over the phone.

Good luck Marc.

[Welshy40]

GUTTED :mad:

I hope all is well with him though as I know he has not been in the best of health recently and was probably caused due to this.

Great guy and also a seriously good racer. Hope to see him down Taplow sometime in the near future.

[Welshy40]

I feel really strongly about this and could'nt agree more with Roger. I get really annoyed when i hear people goin on about buying from Hong Kong to save a tenner here and there and then when shops in the UK go out of business it's all "thats a shame, i liked that shop".

We need these shops in the UK and they need us. I always buy my stuff from UK shops. MB Models, JE Spares and MK and Microtech when they were around. I really dont want to see any more shops closing.

All the best Marc.

Regards

Dave

Im like you and buy from the UK, but some items the UK dont and wont have hence why I go abroad to Japan or Hong Kong, which is fair enough.

[discothesnake]

I understand people are skint at the moment but the more people buy from abroad, the more expensive UK based shops will become. I think in these tough times the UK shops need support or we will see another go down before too long. I have been guilty if buying from Japan but only because I couldn't get Bmax parts over here and Buying from Japan ain't cheap!

Each to their own but I will continue to buy from British shops.

Dave

[reg]

sad news...........i do for once have to agree with daz:eh?:

[Skye]

Whilst I agree in essence with all of Rogers post, it also must be said that he is probably the biggest advocate of Hobbywing products on this forum. For every person who buys Hobbywing products then thats another ESC sale lost for our model shops, be it online or high street.

I also understand that Hobbywing are distributed by Racers In Exile who are UK based, but in sourcing products cheaply from Hong Kong and the likes, then isnt this also contributing to the demise of the shops that Roger is telling us all to support?

Please dont see this as an attack on Roger or Racers In Exile or Hobbywing, or anyone else for that matter. It is not meant to be an 'attack' on anyone.

But I am just trying to highlight that whilst we all want to be seen to be supporting the LHS, we are probably all guilty of going against these morals at some point or other, and all of these isolated cases by us as individuals add up to a lot of lost sales for the shop on the high street.

[msxmre]

Gotta agree with most of the comments on here regarding MK Racing. I bought stuff from Marc at every opportunity but running TRF Buggies which unfortunately no one in the uk stocks at a competitive price, i'm forced to go abroad. It's the same situation for people who want to run Yokomo cars. If the government didn't hammer the businesses with all the tax and so on they'd be able to stay competitive. Unfortunately this is the way it is and i can see more shops encountering difficulties in the near future.
Scotty....

[carrot]

It costs a lot to run a business,there are so many hidden costs that the customer walking through the door doesn't see that the web based or shop in your garage doesn't have to pay,all these costs have to come out of your margin and when times are tight and less people are spending and so it goes on etc..Tough times. Marc is a really nice bloke and a good mate who has always been a great help and a good laugh .He will bounce back.Good luck Mush..

[Crazy L]

Bloody hell:o:o

1st time i've been here since the MKGP a few weeks ago. this is shocking news, and sad too. Not only for the local racing fraternity, but also for his family, who are now an income down, in the winter, with christmas round the corner:thumbdown::thumbdown:.

I'm sure we'll see Marc at a track/shop or burger van pretty soon enough. Lets hope so anyway.

Lei and I are hoping you get sorted soon mush.:thumbsup: