I have always had a problem with GM, but Lucky model never. I have bought all my kits from there no problem. When it says “available” I just read it as out of stock and you will get it shipped in about 2-3 weeks. That’s what happened with my ARV conversion set anyway…
It’s frustrating when you’re not sure when an order will arrive . I’ve had them arrive months later after forgetting about them (GM). LHS is faster than that and if they can’t get it then I’ll order elsewhere. Roll Models told me how long it would take to get the item and when to expect it . Arrived as advertised. Squadron has called me when an item that was supposed to be in stock wasn’t available for further instructions before shipping . Squadron also changed shippers and it takes a couple of days extra but the packages arrive in great condition . No more mashed,ripped ,half crushed etc. etc. … boxes, I’ll gladly wait for that ! Plus they now have an 800 number and some one will take your order 24 hours a day in the US .
fuzzy
fuzzy
Didn’t realize you were from TN. I’m just down the road from you in Knoxville. Glad to meet another TN modeler!
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend Roll Models based on my last order. I ordered over the phone, which I normally do, because this way I can determine if something is available. My main purchase was a decal set that was unavailable elsewhere, and when I inquired as to its availability was simply told that my shipment would arrive in about three weeks–which is standard for Roll Models. No mention as to whether they had it in stock or would have to search for it, so in hindsight I realize they never actually answered my question. I threw in a couple more items to boot only because I was ordering the decals; otherwise I could have waited to order those items. My order arrived without the decal set, which just by chance is still shown on their website. Where’s the logic of advertising something and not being up front about the chance of receiving it? As far as I’m concerned, with that philosophy one could advertise any old, OOP kit on a website just to lure someone into using your business. If Roll Models had told me that they don’t have the decals in stock, would have to call around for them, and couldn’t guarantee they could get them, that would be fine. I could have ordered just the decals in hopes I might have received them; if not, I would have been out nothing. As it turned out, I spent almost as much for shipping as I did for the items I received. Items I could have done without. At least Great Models and Squadron indicate what is in stock.
I’ve also heard nothing but praise for Sprue Brothers, and will try them in the future.
Mark
Whenever I visit relatives who live near St. Louis I squeeze in a trip to CRM Hobbies. I can spend hours in there looking at all the stuff Chris has. The last time I was short on time so I e-mailed Chris a list of about a dozen items I was needing. When I got there, sitting behind the counter was a box with all the items except one that I asked for. Can’t beat that.
oleander,
Sorry for the delay, I’ve had problems logging in .Glad to meet you too. There are several modelers from TN here on the forums.I was looking for a sheet of decals and found a list and realized I ordered a set of decals three months ago and haven’t received them from Roll Models yet.Really irritating since I saw the real B-24 many moons ago and wanted to try and build it [banghead].Been so long I’d forgot about it , I won’t forget next time I order.
fuzzy
i know how you feel about great models. i have about a 100.00 bucks worth of stuf on back order that they said was in stock. never again will i order from them unless they can gaurantee its thier in thier warehouse. the best two places that i order from is spruce brothers and squdaron. i ave tried room lodels but they seem to be a little hig in some of their prices so i stick witht the 2 that i havent had any problems with yet.
An update on my order from Lucky Model: My email to them was promply returned and they were very helpful in working out a solution. They gave me a choice of shipping the in stock items now and the out of stock items later with no additional shipping charge. They said this is standard with all their orders and you can make that selection (ship together or ship seperately with no additional shipping charge) at the time you place the order. They went ahead and took care of it for me and didn’t make me go back and change my order. I requested that they cancel the seatbelt order and ship the kits. The kits were shipped that day.
I still think they should not say “available” and say what it really means, ie “out of stock”, but their customer service was prompt and helpful. I’ll order from them again, but I’ll make sure it says “in stock”.
I order often from luckymodel and I always appreciated there service. I agree with you that “available” is a little bit confusing, especially for the first time buyer. I would recommend them to write “available soon” or something like that. “Out of stock” may get customers to go buy somewhere else and they probably don’t want that. With “available soon” it would be clear for everyone.
All that said, I always order “in stock” items and if something is “available” or “back order”, I simply wait and visit their website on a daily bases.
They have very good prices and special sales comes back often. The only comment I have is the last two shipments I received from them had the boxes crushed down. The kits were intact but the boxes were ugly. I’ve sent them an e-mail to tell them the situation and suggested to improve their packing methods. No answers so far but like I said, the kits were intact … so…
I really have to question Roll Model’s honesty. They know that many customers, especially new ones, are suprised after they place an order that there will be an extended wait. And what do they do to about it? Why, nothing.
I placed an order with Squadron last Friday and another on Sunday, plus I placed another order with Sprue Bros today (told you I had a problem). The first Squadron order arrived yesterday the second will be here tomorrow. The Sprue Bros order will be here Thursday I’m sure. I also placed an order with Great Models this past Sunday. Haven’t heard a peep out of them, figure I might see the order next week if I’m lucky and the items are actually in stock. Turn around is important, very important – equally as important as selection, maybe a little more important than price (as long as their not being absurd). I don’t understand why most on-line vendors don’t get that. Sounds pretty damn simple to me.
Being upfront on availability is equally important, also not a difficult problem to solve IMO. If you ain’t got it, say so, clearly and distinctly. It ain’t rocket science folks.
Communication - so simple, so effective, so cheap. Let me know what’s going on with my order, please!
-dave
I only just discovered greatmodels.com and wish I had seen them sooner. The price of their shipping compared to Squadron allows me to use air mail which works out cheaper than Squadrons surface mail.
Been 5 weeks and still haven’t got my 1st Squadron order… and 3 more are following it somewhere (I’ll be totally mashed by the wife if they all come at once. Only thing that will save me is if I say I can sell them on EBay for a profit.
I like Tower Hobbies except they don’t stock detail sets which is a shame.
Great models has some very good prices on 1/72 and 1/48 Hasegawa models at the moment (hint hint) so I added to my Japanese collection. The 40%-50% on the models I purchased allowed me to get the canopy masks and full detail sets and still spend less than if I just bought the model in my LHS.
Also, with Squadron if you don’t print out your order there is no way of going back into the system to re-print or view it.
Yeah, I just picked up a Hasegawa A6M5 Zero Type 52 Skeleton verison from Squadron for $13.81. Usually up in the high thirties somewhere. Neat kit, tons of PE and metal parts. Ordered Sunday…arrived today.
-dave
why don’t you guys try EBAY ???
In Australia this kits goes for anything above A$55 + postage. Was thinking about getting 5+ and flogging them off on EBay over here as Squadron postage is the cheaper of 30% of the total or the actual postage. I got a few of the huge R/M 1/48 Avro’s for US$5.99 a while back as they go for A$79.95 in the LHS.
Been down that road with other hobbies. Just not worth the pain and aggravation for me. Others seem to do pretty good using that avenue though.
-dave
I try to stay as far away as I can from that place!
Sorry to hear of your problems with the different online stores i have to say my dealings for the past 3 years with GM have been very good. i general order stuff that is expensive here on the West Coast of Australia. GM will have it my doorstep in two to three weeks. i keep a close check on the order status and if the item search is more than a couple of days i email a querie. That seems to work well for me also i generally work on three kits at the same time to over come delays.
kfinger
Ofcourse, living in the Netherlands, my favourite is Luchtvaart Hobby Shop ( http://www.aviationmegastore.com/ ). Over the years I’ve ordered lots of stuff there and only once or twice got a reply that an item that initially was labelled as in stock was actually sold out (never something big, but always a conversion part or decals).
I cannot speak for the rest of the world, but here they deliver in two days.
Good luck!
Gertjan
I have to also recommend Sprue Brothers, fantastic overseas service to the UK, my first choice when I can’t source items over here, had no problems with packaging either.