ansman racing to stop racing division

[mark christopher]

for some reason im unable to reply in the moved thread (could be jimmy trying to allow me to post news as im going to be a news hound for him)
could the relevent mod/admin contact me via pm please!!


any way
]
Mattst

sorry about job losses but news is news, i did not see you complaining when microtech and other shops shut!

its not gossip, i can post the official letter if you wish me two, as i would not report such a thing on "gossip" without the facts.

Wjames

it was to shops via a letter (which i have) but news hits the net somtimes sooner than the company can get it to all sources (but that makes oople one of the best places to get the latest news

Neil Skull

yup i have the official letter, yup my facts are correct, speaking the factual truth can get no one into trouble!

Mattst

are you claimin its all a rumour now?

[mark christopher]

right to prove its not gossip here is the letter from the MD of ansman

[gainsy]

Sad news indeed for all affected :(

[racingdwarf]

This is sad news, the club that I run has had a realy good run of new young drivers in the last 2 to 3 years, mainly do to the ansmann mad rat & monkey.

[mattst]

hi mark, i didn't say it was rumours, but crappy gossip which affects real people including myself as i work for ansmann racing so please by all means call me at the office to discuss your gossip or rumours.

to be honest what gives peeps to wite gossip on a subject they no nothing about.

I am for one this affects and i dont need crappy coments on here about my job and our position on the company.

[Dave Dodd]

It is terrible news for the racing division :(, do hope the personnel dont loose there jobs but get moved in to other divisions...
have not been in work today, so will no doubt see the letter in the flesh tomorrow..







but owners of ansmann products need not be worried as the team c parts do fit and will keep most of there cars moving.

[john333]

Anyone with an ansmann car need not worry at all, as stated above the team c parts will fit perfectly as they are from the same moulds, albeit I'm led to believe the team c parts are made of more durable material.

There is even a part number comparison list on the SMD thread here on oople

[wazee]

Is this Ansmann UK only or are we talking about the whole ansmann rc division worldwide?

[Skye]

hi mark, i didn't say it was rumours, but crappy gossip which affects real people including myself as i work for ansmann racing so please by all means call me at the office to discuss your gossip or rumours.

to be honest what gives peeps to wite gossip on a subject they no nothing about.

I am for one this affects and i dont need crappy coments on here about my job and our position on the company.

I sympathise with you, and you have clearly had a bad day. But you are in no position to say who can or can't comment on it. When Comet went to the wall, people spoke about it, news reported it, its what happens. Just because in this instance it affects you, it doesn't change that fact. My company has just gone through a restructure and people lost their jobs. Local news reported it, people talked about it in real life and on social media. It's to be expected!

[Frecklychimp]

right to prove its not gossip here is the letter from the MD of ansman



Mark, I feel this was very irresponsible of you to publish this letter on here to prove a banter point...

it was privately sent to you and other customers of the company (i.e model shops etc) and it's contents are none of our business as public end consumers.

It is none of our or oOple's business what Ansmann Racing decide to do as a company regards trading, just because we are hobby enthusiasts doesn't give us any rights to demand public statements or know the information in this letter... i would say a fair majority of us don't buy or use Ansmann products anyway.

in fact the letter points out that end consumers will still have spares and warranty support in the near future for current models so shouldn't effect anyone drastically enough to have to publically announce anything... unless you have Ansmann Racing's permission to do so?

So all this thread has done is cause gossip/rumour/upset which is not good really.... not really News that has helped anything or anyone!

You should be very careful when announcing anything to do with a companies trading business... causing anything to affect this in a negative way could end in expensive legal hassle for yourself and possibly against oOple too.

In Mark's defense he obviously didn't post this in any malicious way (probably just without sensible thought!) plus another member had already mentioned it on here today well before he did.

Matt, sorry to hear of possible employment issues and hope it works out in future for you... Durango UK are hiring if it helps

[AndyF]

As the owner of a madrat I'm pleased that the offical statement was made public. It clearly states Ansmann's position avoiding rumour and gossip. What can be wrong with that? I now know I don't have to worry about parts in the short term at least. Unless Ansmann sent that letter with some form of signed confedentiality contract, I don't see how making this public (Ansmann's letter read like a marketing letter anyway) harms Ansmann anymore than the news they are pulling out.

If you mean they will sell less of the remaining kits now because of the release of the letter, well keeping that secret to sell off the last remaining kits would be bad practice and I don't think they would be in to that.

If Ansmann didn't inform their staff before the model shops, then thats Ansmanns error of judgement and not anybody who shows a "non" secret message to an interested public.

[Timee80]

i dont see how Mark has done any wrong here. News is news. He hasnt come across to me as though he has said something with any intention to harm anyone.
How often do we read papers / watch tv news and actually here positive things?

[Frecklychimp]

As the owner of a madrat I'm pleased that the offical statement was made public. It clearly states Ansmann's position avoiding rumour and gossip. What can be wrong with that? I now know I don't have to worry about parts in the short term at least. Unless Ansmann sent that letter with some form of signed confedentiality contract, I don't see how making this public (Ansmann's letter read like a marketing letter anyway) harms Ansmann anymore than the news they are pulling out.

If you mean they will sell less of the remaining kits now because of the release of the letter, well keeping that secret to sell off the last remaining kits would be bad practice and I don't think they would be in to that.

If Ansmann didn't inform their staff before the model shops, then thats Ansmanns error of judgement and not anybody who shows a "non" secret message to an interested public.

The letter is not a press release or official statement for public issue,

It is from a company to it's customers (which are the model shops hence receiving letters) not end consumers

There is also info in that letter which concerns other company business not just toy cars market, info which probably wouldn't need to be seen by other customers of Ansmann (i,e not just racing side of company) or it's competitors.

Would you want other customers or even business suppliers knowing you are cutting 8% of your business? may raise a few concerns or lack of confidence... plus rumour

either way it is none of our business as end consumers what the company do, buying a product does not give you any right to have a lifetime of support from the supplier.

[AndyF]

I think you will find that I am a customer of Ansmann has I have purchased a product they produced though a third party dealer. I have a right to know if the company are doing something detrimental to my ownership. Turns out they aren't, and it was the letter that confirmed this.

I don't have a right to dictate to them how to run their business and I don't expect lifetime support. I do expect news regarding the availabilty of spares which will help form an opinion on if I buy a product in the same way I want to know if it has plastic dampers or metal ones etc etc.

Why do you think they sent those letters to the model shops? It wouldn't be so the shops could continue selling Ansmann products with a "knowing" look on their faces hording a little secret. Ansmann are hardly going to release a statement to the press, they must expect the model shops to pass this info on as the best mouth piece.

The letter was produced to provide evidence when its contents were questioned on this forum.

I don't think we will see eye to eye on this, which is fine. but keep in mind they sent that letter to model shops and chose to talk about their wider company. They did that without any evidence I have seen that it was a secret.

I don't know what car you race/own, but If the new Schumacher Tiger Cat SX12 came out two weeks ago and you were about to take the plunge to the tune of £500, all set for the 2013 season. You would want to know if Schumacher were winding rc side of the company up to concentrate on deck chairs. If only to buy their latest deck chair with a 12 position rake adjuster. Those electric bikes sound interesting, infact I will google them now.

[Frecklychimp]

I understand and agree with your concerns as an Ansmann owner...

but you have absolutely no rights i'm afraid, if a company decides to stop selling certain products then it's tough luck to those customers and nothing you say can change that... they've made a decision to pull out of that business and that is the end of it.

In this situation near identical products are available for a lot of the Ansmann range from Team C/Absima/SMD and it does state that Ansmann are continuing support and warranties so there is no need to worry.

I would say that Ansmann parts are going to be available for a long time anyway, i've been in distributor warehouses for the r/c trade and it's amazing how much stock is carried... let alone what is existing at Ansmann HQ... it means we just won't see any new products/cars in the future and current supply will run out.

There may be some real bargains available soon though on the upside!

It would be frustrating if options were not available... i've been in the position of owning a car a fair few years ago i couldn't race for a while because i needed parts and the company had folded and was between names... luckily they carried on trading again but there was a break in supply for a while.

My concern is the publishing of the letter on here... it could potentially cause legal trouble for the publisher and/or oOple and tbh was only put on here to prove a point about possible rumour... not worth it in my eyes.

[Si Coe]

Highly unlikely - you don't send out something like that and then expect it to remain a secret. The letter is a PR release, and nothing in there is strictly confidential. In fact, as its mailed out to dealers they don't even know who is going to be reading it! Anyone who's worked with press releases knows there is no such thing as a 'confidential' press release - leaks are inevitable. If you don't want to risk news getting out, you don't send a release at all.
Whether or not it was Mark's place to post it here not withstanding - the moment that release was sent it became public.


But on another note this isn't really a massive surprise is it? There have been signs this was on the cards for at least a year now - a race team built up that suddenly disappeared, Team C selling their own cars, various models being sold with massive discounts etc. Of course those really were just rumours........

[adey]

Awful news this. I just want to say that if anybody loses their job I wish them the best of luck finding alternative employment. Lets not forget that it's nearly Xmas, a time of year when money for alot of people is a real issue. Best of luck.

[Adam F]

This is an official statement from the manufacturer, I dont see how there could be any legal implications by publishing this on a forum?

It is a shame though, Ansmann must have put considerable time and resource into their products so it must have taken some seriously poor sales/projections to make them pull the plug...

[Howler]

As someone who works in a legal department... there are no legal issues around publishing any letter you receive unless it contains either PERSONAL information on individuals or you are prohibited in doing so by a non disclosure agreement, which could be part of a contract.

[Welshy40]

So does this mean the wheels that are made for the mad rat will still be available? I hope so as they are a quality product

[DCM]

OK, lets get some things straight... Ansmann is not an RC MANUFACTURER, they are a RESELLER, what I mean is, they don't actually MAKE their cars and speed controls, they rebadged/box and shift units. They have obviously realised that there are far more profitable lines of business in Europe and gone with them. It would be a problem if they had invested in moulds, designs etc, but hadn't, all manufacturing is carried out by Team C for their racing products.

As for the letter, I read that as a public release, customers of Ansmann are well within their rights to know that their supplier is ceasing supporting their product and gives them plenty of time to find alternative suppliers for spares.

[mark christopher]

just to clear some things up.

i recieved the letter early yesterday and pondered till after lunc on what to post. i decided to just post some info which was challenged, leaving the only option of showing the facts.
i feel for those loosing thier jobs, on the other hnd when microtech and other good uk model shops closed there was plenty of gossip before anything factual came out (and people lost thier jobs then). posting the letter prevented any speculation.
thank you to those who have shown support, it will not please everyone but i will continue to post news on rc as and when i recieve it.

[Neil Skull]

In such a situation, There are 3 steps in sequence once a decision is made what should be done.

1. Inform the staff
2. Inform the Shops (customers)
3. Inform the End Users customers

This is to give everyone direct communication and support to answer any questions face to face before the general public are made aware.

In this country people love to Gossip and some people make a living out if it.
Mark if you going to be a Paparrazi for Jimmy then that's ok business, but you need to make yourself known as that in your sig!! Just remember some news is upsetting when its released and if you are doing it out of the sequence as above you will lose friends in this business. Informing public is good, but in advance and causing concern to some is not.
You have been fortunate to get direct information on this as someone in the Business.
A good Pap would have called Ansmann asking for an official Press release.
You could have made it the exclusive first then everyone would have respected you for letting all know the "official statement".

The way you have done this is what upsets people Mark.

[racingdwarf]

I think not, but as has been said, teamC will fit, I always found wheels from ansmann to be quite expensive compared to the rest of there products.

[Skye]

A good Pap would have called Ansmann asking for an official Press release.


Seriously?? Since when do the Paps ask permission for anything....

"Excuse me m'lady, would you mind awfully if I photograph you topless with the future king of England and publish the pictures for the world to see?"

Not Likely.

Journalism is cut throat, they trample all over people in search of the latest story. Often they over step the mark in their pursuit of a scoop. Think phone hacking etc.

In this instance I dont think Mark has done ANYTHING wrong. Had he tapped up Ansmann phone lines and listened in then that would have been different. But seeing as he had been sent by them a formal letter of notification then I am pretty sure staff would already have been told. In which case then following you 1,2,3 then the only people left to be told were the end users. Which Mark did.....

[Neil Skull]

"Journalism is cut throat, they trample all over people in search of the latest story. Often they over step the mark in their pursuit of a scoop. Think phone hacking etc."

I agree but who wants to be the person that does that?

How many of the paps that chased Diana and Dody would you want as friends? how many of the phone hackers are considered friends in this small community?

Mark is seen by many here as a friend.
His intention was good but as always with Mark he could have handled it better.

[budfish]

I think mark has done the right thing. If went and bought a ansmann car today to find out that news tomorrow I'd be really pi**ed off. As for job losses have you all been living on mars???? 50% of the workforce in this country are worried about their jobs so what? But does that stop itv news reporting on job losses? No

All of you stop being so touchy if ansmann distributed quality instead of crap this wouldn't be happening. Ansmann may have got a lot of guys back into racing with the cheap rtr buggys but after said racer does a couple of meetings he soon realises what a brittle piece of crap ansmann buggys are and goes and buys a kyosho or ae

[DCM]

Isn't this all getting a little out of hand. Mark may or may not of jumped the gun, but by the looks of the posts, staff were informed, shops were informed, Mark was just passing it on to the final link in the chain. Nothing more.

[mark christopher]

In such a situation, There are 3 steps in sequence once a decision is made what should be done.

1. Inform the staff
2. Inform the Shops (customers)
3. Inform the End Users customers

This is to give everyone direct communication and support to answer any questions face to face before the general public are made aware.

In this country people love to Gossip and some people make a living out if it.
Mark if you going to be a Paparrazi for Jimmy then that's ok business, but you need to make yourself known as that in your sig!! Just remember some news is upsetting when its released and if you are doing it out of the sequence as above you will lose friends in this business. Informing public is good, but in advance and causing concern to some is not.
You have been fortunate to get direct information on this as someone in the Business.
A good Pap would have called Ansmann asking for an official Press release.
You could have made it the exclusive first then everyone would have respected you for letting all know the "official statement".

The way you have done this is what upsets people Mark.

disagree. i followed steps 123 in your order, the letter is address to cutomers. not shops end use is a customer, if i buy i kyosho am i not your customer?

the letter is as official as an official anouncemet can be. and if you think ansman thought it would not get out into the public domain you are mightly disolousioned

the only people on here upset seem to be thier staff, but im sure keith robertson was just the same when the news went up on here about microtech before there was any confirmation. (not started by me)

soon as jimmy has done some more work to the site i will get a news hound tag..

oOple Is the place for latest news/gossip/info, thats what makes it so popular, and long may it remain that way

[Welshy40]

I think not, but as has been said, teamC will fit, I always found wheels from ansmann to be quite expensive compared to the rest of there products.

Ive been informed today CML do an almost exact design so when the stock runs out for Annsman I will buy from there. I knew this day may be coming but wasnt expecting this to happen so soon. Gutted.:cry:

[DCM]

James, Team C make the Ansmann wheel's, so why not just buy the Team C ones?

[ryanlownie]

All I see here is someone wanting to be first to post some big news.

[FrogPrince82]

@Mark Christopher - I have been in a similar situation to yours and unfortunately you are in the position of messenger, which is always the person who gets it in the neck from everyone on both sides. So I wouldn't feel bad for the dscision you made as I'm sure it wasn't made lightly.

@Everyone else - At the end of the day, for those buying the cars and running them, this is a hobby and Ansmann have assured there will still be aftermarket care for their products. For the people involved in the selling and production of the products, it is their jobs and their lives that are affected so I think that needs to be remembered.

There is never a "good way" to break this bad news, but considering everything apprears to be officially sent out, Mark is only passing on information that Ansmann were happy to release. All we can hope is that Ansmann did the correct thing of notifying all staff before they sent this information to people outside of the company.

Until you have personally been in the situation that Mark, and the Ansmann management, have been in it is very difficult to pass judgement on how it has been handled so I feel personal attacks (based on speculation and assumption) are uncalled for.

I feel this thread was designed, in good faith, to pass on the information involving Ansmann to the people who use their products so lets please keep it that way.

[mark christopher]

All I see here is someone wanting to be first to post some big news.
that would be the idea of being on a site that likes to give out news as soon as possible..;)
had ansman have said they were investin millions and taking on 50 staff the news would have got posted, like wise if i had not somone else would have...

[Neil Skull]

I would like to draw a line underneath this.
I don't have any major issue with Mark, maybe its a misunderstanding.
I do feel sorry for any one losing their job especially this time of year and i know most of the guys at Ansmann Racing. I would have prefered bad news be done properly but its done now!!!!

I understood this.
The Letter went out to all customers of Ansmann that means shops and few drivers who get direct. I guess Mark falls into the latter.
Its a generic letter that likely should not have gone to driver accounts.

Mark, if you drive a Kyosho you are not my Customer you are the shops customer unless i supplied you direct!!!. This is always confusing in retail where a customer is perceived to be the end user.

I did not think this letter was to be published as an official statement. otherwise it would have been titled as such! Ansmann need to make one to Clarify to there customers. Its there responsibilty to do this quickly after the first 2 steps have been done.

The point to Mark is i guess he has been given products as a sponsored driver/user in the past, hence he got the letter, maybe you have to be a bit more diplomatic to the people who have looked after you rather than dropping the bomb, remember some of these guys will remain in the business and you may help from them in the future.

Do you remember when we lost Nova Rossi Mark??
You was the first to spread the Bad news as always even though we was supporting you at the time.
And when we got it back who did you ask again for help!!!
I would have thought you would have learned lol!!!
:p

[Frecklychimp]

just to clear some things up.

i recieved the letter early yesterday and pondered till after lunc on what to post. i decided to just post some info which was challenged, leaving the only option of showing the facts.
i feel for those loosing thier jobs, on the other hnd when microtech and other good uk model shops closed there was plenty of gossip before anything factual came out (and people lost thier jobs then). posting the letter prevented any speculation.
thank you to those who have shown support, it will not please everyone but i will continue to post news on rc as and when i recieve it.

Posting the news you received in that letter is fine as a journalist... you are reporting relevant news connected to the industry... a good journalist would have contacted Ansmann Racing for confirmation of facts and ask permission to publish the 'story' before doing so to prevent ill feeling and making sure facts are facts... that letter or some of it's contents could have been a mistake for example!

You were challenged by an upset employee that you were spreading rumour and gossip... you didn't have to rise to this publically but fair enough for defending yourself... publically challenging you brings it's own questions and opinions too!

The displaying of the letter just to defend yourself is what i have issue with, it's an unprofessional and trashy way of dealing with things and doesn't look good for yourself or oOple for allowing it.

it is a business letter between Ansmann racing and it's customers (they do not sell direct so model shops/resellers etc are their customers not us as general public consumers). Realise that model shops own the stock they hold and buy from the distributors/brands to resell rather than being a dealer or agent.

If you buy an Ansmann from a model shop you are the model shop customer, not Ansmann's, you are an Ansmann brand consumer... did everyone that owns a madrat etc get that letter?

you were out of order publishing that unless you had direct permission, its actual contents were not the business of oOple or it's users and it wasn't a press release plus the actual contents were not intended for public view, by doing so you could have caused trouble, whether the letter has sensitive content is down to the opinion of it's copyright (the person that wrote it!)

If a company decided you have damaged it's reputation, customer confidence, business relations or sales directly etc by publishing something then they have the right to take legal action against you for doing so

you could also upset other companies/brands related, they could lose trust in oOple if there is a possibility trade communications will be broadcast in this way.

learn from it and move on, i have confidence that you will do a good job of oOple Journo... just be careful when defending yourself!

[mark christopher]

I would like to draw a line underneath this.
I don't have any major issue with Mark, maybe its a misunderstanding.
I do feel sorry for any one losing their job especially this time of year and i know most of the guys at Ansmann Racing. I would have prefered bad news be done properly but its done now!!!!

I understood this.
The Letter went out to all customers of Ansmann that means shops and few drivers who get direct. I guess Mark falls into the latter.
Its a generic letter that likely should not have gone to driver accounts.

Mark, if you drive a Kyosho you are not my Customer you are the shops customer unless i supplied you direct!!!. This is always confusing in retail where a customer is perceived to be the end user.

I did not think this letter was to be published as an official statement. otherwise it would have been titled as such! Ansmann need to make one to Clarify to there customers. Its there responsibilty to do this quickly after the first 2 steps have been done.

The point to Mark is i guess he has been given products as a sponsored driver/user in the past, hence he got the letter, maybe you have to be a bit more diplomatic to the people who have looked after you rather than dropping the bomb, remember some of these guys will remain in the business and you may help from them in the future.

Do you remember when we lost Nova Rossi Mark??
You was the first to spread the Bad news as always even though we was supporting you at the time.
And when we got it back who did you ask again for help!!!
I would have thought you would have learned lol!!!
:p


ahh so thats it!!! a little contradictory dont you think?

i have never been given/sponsored by ansman what so ever, so now you are spreading false claims by guessing!..


anyway news is news im off to look for more!

[mark christopher]

Posting the news you received in that letter is fine as a journalist... you are reporting relevant news connected to the industry... a good journalist would have contacted Ansmann Racing for confirmation of facts and ask permission to publish the 'story' before doing so to prevent ill feeling and making sure facts are facts... that letter or some of it's contents could have been a mistake for example!

You were challenged by an upset employee that you were spreading rumour and gossip... you didn't have to rise to this publically but fair enough for defending yourself... publically challenging you brings it's own questions and opinions too!

The displaying of the letter just to defend yourself is what i have issue with, it's an unprofessional and trashy way of dealing with things and doesn't look good for yourself or oOple for allowing it.

it is a business letter between Ansmann racing and it's customers (they do not sell direct so model shops/resellers etc are their customers not us as general public consumers). Realise that model shops own the stock they hold and buy from the distributors/brands to resell rather than being a dealer or agent.

If you buy an Ansmann from a model shop you are the model shop customer, not Ansmann's, you are an Ansmann brand consumer... did everyone that owns a madrat etc get that letter?

you were out of order publishing that unless you had direct permission, its actual contents were not the business of oOple or it's users and it wasn't a press release plus the actual contents were not intended for public view, by doing so you could have caused trouble, whether the letter has sensitive content is down to the opinion of it's copyright (the person that wrote it!)

If a company decided you have damaged it's reputation, customer confidence, business relations or sales directly etc by publishing something then they have the right to take legal action against you for doing so

you could also upset other companies/brands related, they could lose trust in oOple if there is a possibility trade communications will be broadcast in this way.

learn from it and move on, i have confidence that you will do a good job of oOple Journo... just be careful when defending yourself!

please read the post made by somone in the legal trade...
as has been said the letter was not personal/marked confidential and a mail shot ( not even to named parties) ansman would know this would get out, hence why they promote the other side of thier company.

[racingdwarf]

The letter really that important? some smaller shops probably have it taped to the counter by now for customers to see to clarify the situation. I would hope that anyone who worked within ansmann would have been informed of a job loss before the shops knew with a far better letter than what was posted on here! that letter is basically an announcement to all ansmann suppliers that ansmann are to stop making cars and pursue other interests,they have prob produce hundreds so it's far from personal.

The bigger issue for the hobby is the loss of some great entry level cars, yer a driver whos only interested in the A final, the top heat and what they get from a days racing, not worried about clubs and numbers may well think the cars were crap an sniggred at any new driver who turned up with one,But ansmann filled a hole left by tamiya, they were a fantastic,cheep entry car, that looked like a B4 or in the case of the mad monkey an X6, and with a better idler gear fitted and a set of schumacher tyres you could get people going round a track very well.and make them catch the bug before the cost factor put them off. I just hope That teamC or someone else can fill those boots. :cry:.Ansmann is quit a loss for our hobby in my view, it was a great car for getting people hooked, then they will go out and buy the big guns from losi,kyosho,AE etc etc

[Frecklychimp]

please read the post made by somone in the legasl trade...

Seriously, wake up!

If you had just done that to my company that turns over 50 million squids a year i would be talking to solicitors and taking action just to cause you some discomfort!

i can claim to be an expert in anything and type anything on a forum, doesn't mean it's accurate or ethical either... upsetting people in a small community only goes one way... against you!

stop giving people reasons for attacking you and you won't need to defend everything you type on here in the name of being controversial!

[coleman758]

Maybe Ansman should have told there employes, before releasing this letter.
then it wouldn't have come back to them as a rumor.

The very fact the letter had been sent means Ansman were spreading the word.
if i was just about to by an Ansman, I would want to know.

If Ansman didn't want the word getting round why send the letter.

[Neil Skull]

ahh so thats it!!! a little contradictory dont you think?

i have never been given/sponsored by ansman what so ever, so now you are spreading false claims by guessing!..


anyway news is news im off to look for more!

LOL!!! there is no point in trying to give you advice.

Mark I dont have a major problem with you. I met you you are a nice polite guy!
Its just you love to spread the gossip, that's fine normally but some things are sensitive.

So if you did not have an account with Ansmann why did you get the letter??
Thats the only thing i dont understand? if this letter went to you as a customer did it go to everyone?

[racingdwarf]

The letter really that important? some smaller shops probably have it taped to the counter by now for customers to see to clarify the situation. I would hope that anyone who worked within ansmann would have been informed of a job loss before the shops knew with a far better letter than what was posted on here! that letter is basically an announcement to all ansmann suppliers that ansmann are to stop making cars and pursue other interests,they have prob produce hundreds so it's far from personal.

The bigger issue for the hobby is the loss of some great entry level cars, yer a driver whos only interested in the A final, the top heat and what they get from a days racing, not worried about clubs and numbers may well think the cars were crap an sniggred at any new driver who turned up with one,But ansmann filled a hole left by tamiya, they were a fantastic,cheep entry car, that looked like a B4 or in the case of the mad monkey an X6, and with a better idler gear fitted and a set of schumacher tyres you could get people going round a track very well.and make them catch the bug before the cost factor put them off. I just hope That teamC or someone else can fill those boots. :cry:.Ansmann is quit a loss for our hobby in my view, it was a great car for getting people hooked, then they will go out and buy the big guns from losi,kyosho,AE etc etc


Just to add, really, go have a good read of the letter in post 2 I think it is, look at who it's addressed to, then read it through, Now I only see the fact of this thred, about that letter.I really don't see the problem, and why the posts need to be so aggressive, thats as close to a press realise as you can get, lets keep it on subject, not turn it into a slanging match, it's not good for forums

[Si Coe]

Of course all the recriminations flying around here seem to be making a good smokescreen to the real issue I can see here - Ansmann have decided RC isn't profitable for them.
Now admittedly we are talking about rebranded OEM stuff (they say they'll keep making their own original products) but this still speaks heavily of the current health of the RC industry. Ansmann are a 'successful' brand at least in terms of model sales, and whilst their cars have a questionable reputation for reliability their radios (which are also rebrands) have been a big hit. If despite all those sales they aren't making enough money they certainly can't be alone.
Ansmann is in fact a massive company, RC was a tiny division and they are simply abandoning that to focus on other arms (something a solely RC company can't do) but you don't drop a successful arm in a recession.
Under the circumstances I can't imagine this is the only company going to be closing its doors......

[Skye]

Seriously, wake up!

If you had just done that to my company that turns over 50 million squids a year i would be talking to solicitors and taking action just to cause you some discomfort!

You need to get a grip. You seem to be on some sort of tirade and if there is one person who is portraying themself badly on this thread.... Well that would be you.

[Si Coe]

Seriously, wake up!

If you had just done that to my company that turns over 50 million squids a year i would be talking to solicitors and taking action just to cause you some discomfort!

You need to get a grip. You seem to be on some sort of tirade and if there is one person who is portraying themself badly on this thread.... Well that would be you.

Quite true.
No company would sue over that letter no matter their turnover as it would be laughed out of court. Far from causing discomfort the company would be looking at an expensive costs payout and humiliating publicity.
Nowhere in that letter does it explicitly state you can't pass this on. It might be implied, but the law these days is quite clear that implied isn't good enough.
Spouting things like that just undermines your argument......

[Frecklychimp]

Seriously, wake up!

If you had just done that to my company that turns over 50 million squids a year i would be talking to solicitors and taking action just to cause you some discomfort!

You need to get a grip. You seem to be on some sort of tirade and if there is one person who is portraying themself badly on this thread.... Well that would be you.

Tirade?!

quite simply i am an oOpler and read the news on here with trust that it has come from a good source, is accurate, relevant and is in the interests of us and those that it affects...

what i don't want or need to see is the source of that information being used to prove a squabble point, it's unprofessional and trashy and could cause implications if the company involved decide it is not helping their business or customers, whether in this instance or in future.

i welcome your opinion, but could you explain why i am portraying myself badly by expressing my opinion which i have justified?

feel free to PM me with your reply and to continue discussion as this is not relevant to the topic.

[lordnikon]

The point is we as RC enthusiasts, have lost a decent entry level manufacturer and supplier, that has to be the biggest point here. I started out with the ansmann brand having recently returned to RC and for very little outlay you can get a decent competitive kit that allowed those on a budget to return to RC.

Yes Team C will no doubt plug the gap but i still think all this bickering is missing the obvious loss.

Seems to be alot of this needless internet arguing at the moment, complete waste of time, much like this line of text i guess :bored:

[mark christopher]

deleted

[PTRU]

is,nt oOple great, you guys ;)

[DCM]

Tirade?!

quite simply i am an oOpler and read the news on here with trust that it has come from a good source, is accurate, relevant and is in the interests of us and those that it affects...

what i don't want or need to see is the source of that information being used to prove a squabble point, it's unprofessional and trashy and could cause implications if the company involved decide it is not helping their business or customers, whether in this instance or in future.

i welcome your opinion, but could you explain why i am portraying myself badly by expressing my opinion which i have justified?

feel free to PM me with your reply and to continue discussion as this is not relevant to the topic.

Isn't posting a copy proving that it was infact an accurate news report, hence really making your second point mute?

[Garry]

Can we lock this thread? News is out, it would have happened sooner or later, keyboard warriors from all sides of the fence are just making themselves look ridiculous/immature and nobody is winning or even proving a point anymore.

Sad day for RC in general.

[Frecklychimp]

Isn't posting a copy proving that it was infact an accurate news report, hence really making your second point mute?

Please read my original post on this thread,

I have never questioned the validity of the news report, I question the action of posting the copy of the letter for public view and the reasons this was posted!

It's a shame to see this on oOple, not to mention the people missing the point or just posting plain abuse against Mark.

[stegger]

Can we lock this thread? News is out, it would have happened sooner or later, keyboard warriors from all sides of the fence are just making themselves look ridiculous/immature and nobody is winning or even proving a point anymore.

Sad day for RC in general.

+ 1 :yawn:

[gainsy]

Ok guys
We have requested a official statement from Ansmann on this matter, once we have something from them we will post it up
Cheers
The oople team