I was wondering why yesterday the Tamiya America site didn’t work at all. This afternoon after I popped open the site to check out the 1/32 F-15C, and BAM it hits me that there are these ADD TO CART buttons!!! Though the price is kinda high at manufacture’s suggested price, hey, it’s an effort to offer the customer much more convenience so we don’t have to drive to LHS all the time or spend time on ebay and end up buying more things than what we needed (yeah i turned into an ebay whore), if we were looking for the kit and need it right at the moment.
Props to tamiya for trying harder, though we still await to see more additions to your 1/35 line. =P
Thats cool, the bad part is you can go just about anywhere except a privetly owned hobby store and get it below msrp. Its good that Tamiya has seen the gains they could make by doing that, but I don’t see many people doing that, since I can buy just about any Tamiya kit from hobblinc or HLJ and still pay less then I do at my LHS with shipping. I still support my LHS, but I order a lot of Tamiya stuff from Hobbylinc, just cause they have a good selection, fast shipping and good prices. Sorry, that kinda turned into a plug for them, but it wasn’t, I swear! [:D]
I agree it makes more sense to me to order on-line for kits…so much cheaper. As for the LHS, yes I support it, but I don’t owe them anything, if you know what I mean. I use them for conveniences, i.e. paints and supplies.
I am the same way, the prices are usually to high, but I like to contribute from time to time to keep them around [:D] I know why their prices are so high, but it doesn’t make much sense to spend extra money for the same thing, ya know what I mean?
I can’t wait for the day your LHS goes away…if you don’t buy an ocassional kit from them it will too and then you’re screwed when it comes to “conveniences” like glue and paint…
I do buy a kit or two from them, But mostly I buy my kits online, but I don’t think I am the only person keeping them in business[:)]. They have been there quite some time, and hobby shops in my area don’t seem to do so well, buthe is surviving.
I don’t buy all my kits there, but I also never buy a kit online that isn’t on sale. Jim (the owner at the LHS) knows I buy some online, but he is cheerful, helpful and generous.
Well, sadly if that were the case, I’d end up buying all online. As things are going with the hobby, that might not be too long. I certainly hope that is doesn’t.