There are often folks venting/ranting about poor service, so I'd like to take this opportunity to comment about good vendor service I've received lately:
Case 1: I ordered some launch rods several months ago from bmicad
Case 2: Just an ongoing comment -- I have occasional reason to contact Jim Flis of FlisKits to ask a question or make a comment, and he's always been very prompt about responding. I'm also very impressed with the professionalism of his kits.
Case 3: I recently bought an Aerotech Initiator on ebay (not in box, probably from a 'starter kit'). The seller was very open about there being some 'water stains' on the body tube, but when I received the kit, the 'stains' were sufficient that I felt that one end of the tube was weak (I could have repaired it by sanding and coating with CA, but that's too much like work). I contacted RCS (Aerotech's parent) by phone, and asked if I could order a new body tube. They were extremely courteous, found the part number, and shipped me a new tube promptly (don't get me wrong, I paid for it, as this was obviously not a warranty item). They were well aware that I bought the kit second hand, but could not have been nicer, and the new tube was well packaged, arrived promptly, and didn't cost much (for either the tube or shipping). They treated me as if I were brand new to the hobby (in the sense that they were very encouraging about doing whatever was needed to get my rocket built), and this is JUST the way new customers to the hobby should be treated, in order to encourage growth. Kudos to them for their service!
Case 4: I recently purchased a Micro-Interroc from US Rockets. It arrived within 24 hours, and I was quite pleased with just about every aspect of the kit. I had a few minor suggestions to make about ways I felt the kit could be improved (mostly in the nature of different/enhanced instructions for newer users), and all comments were received and responded to very quickly and professionally by Jerry. I haven't had a chance to launch this one yet, but it looks like it will be one of my 'favorite' rockets to use for a whole lot of field conditions. Given the past comments I've seen from others (very old comments) about poor quality, I have to say that all parts I received were very high quality, instructions were clear, and I definitely got my money's worth. I'll be ordering some more rockets from Jerry soon.
David Erbas-White