Hi! Anyone has a bad experience while buying on Great Models online? How long will the order be shipped? Will they charge you after the product is shipped?

For Asian modelers, how long would it take you to get your kit from them? (Assume that it is already in stock)

This would be my first attempt to buy online and the only place where I've seen the AM that I wanted very badly. Thanks!

I do business regularly with GreatModels, and have never had any problems with them. The order will usually be shipped within a couple of days of placing it, assuming they have everything in stock. There's a checkbox when ordering to indicate whether or not you want stuff backordered. If not, then out of stock items will be cancelled. They bill your CC when the package ships, as per US laws.

Assuming that mail works the same way in both directions (I've ordered kits from Asia), then surface mail (cheapest option) will take about two months. Airmail should be there couple of weeks after placing the order.

Hope this helps,
Mika

Thanks! Just making sure my money don't go to waste

I can't speak to what service to Asia would be like, but I've been very pleased with their services here in the U.S. The first time I ordered from them, they shipped to the wrong address, so I had a good opportunity to try out their customer service/support system. They were very responsive to emails, with actual people authorining them. Things were quickly straightened out, and I believe they gave me free shipping to make up for the delay in getting the package.

They're not always the quickest in getting an order out, but they have an online order status screen, so you can at least tell what's going on.

I've ordered from them many times over. As long as everything is in stock it is quick. If it is not in stock, wait time will vary. had one small problem with them on a billing issue and it was resolved within an hour of my noticing it. I can highly recommend them.

Don

Unfortunately I did have an immense problem with GM's that took over two years to sort out. And I still lost out on the deal.
My first order worth 200 USD was slow in being despatched and when it was it was sent ,unknown by anyone at GM, to my bank. After a year of pleading with them they eventually re-processed the order and again some bozo sent it to my bank again unkown. At the time they couldn't understand that I lived in a different country to my bank.
Then Lisa, bless her, arrived and after much investigating, it was discovered that the two shipments had been sent to the wrong address...the bank.
The third attempt was successful, but each time the order was sent I was charged the P&P, so I ended up with a lot less than originally expected.
And of course many of the kits first ordered were sold out or unavailable by the time I actually got something.
Since then I have stayed away from Great Models. What is insurance for?
Never again.
But if no one else has had trouble, I must be very unlucky. If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all.
OK you can stop sniffling now, dry your eyes and put away your hankies...besides the violin player does not work overtime.
Cheers
Peter

If you don't mind the wait, they're pretty good.
In my experience with them, it's usually over a month before your goods reach your door, and I live in the States.
If you need/want the AM goods quickly, let us know and perhaps we can help you locate them from a more "faster" place.

I've had pretty good luck with Great Models. I've placed numerous orders with them and the longest wait I've ever experienced has probably been two weeks max, and that was wating for an out of stock item. Then again, I feel confident ordering from them because they are located only about 20 miles away and if something goes horribly wrong, I can go deal with it.

I did have problems with one order. I ordered an Aires resin detail set and most of the parts were broken when they arrived. I e-mailed GM and they has a new one sent out within about 3 days, and that was before the bad set had even been sent back to them, so I was pretty happy with that.

There was another palce I ordered from recently, don't remember the name and will have to check at home, but ordered an AIres set and it was about 25 percent cheaper and I received it in about two days.

I bought from them! They sometimes are a little slow, but that doesn't matter. I mean were not talking about an organ transplant here.

~Chip

I like greatmodels! And they like me! :-)

Thanks all!

As my wife learned we she ordered my gift off my wish list you should watch out for back ordered items. The whole order got held for one item and she had to pay for more shipping to get it in by Christmas.

Paul

As Paul mentioned, watch out for the backorders.

I ordered from them quite a bit a year ago. Overall the service was good. There was some waiting involved as others have pointed out.

But, if you get their newsletter you may have noticed that they were trying to address the backorder problem a couple months ago.

I had backorder items sent to me long after (6 months) I had cancelled them. And it wasbe for a small $8 items onto which I'd be charged UPS shipping. I was not too thrilled. So, I stopped ordering.

But, I have been thinking of giving them another try because they have hopefully cleared these problems up. They have a big inventory but it is not all 'in stock'. I think this is what causes the wait.

Steve

I ordered a kit that was out of stock on 11/29/03

I sent them an email a week ago, and they said in their response that they are still trying to locate it.

Just be careful with GM. I mean anyone can list all the models and kits ever produced that are still available out there. i think these guys do just that. When you look at the "uncommon" models on their site, you'll notice that it says "Special Order". Of course it's not in stock, probably never was.

Hello, I have had the back order problems as well. everytime I have ordered from GM at least one thing has been back ordered which has slowed the order. And most times the order had been delayed around two weeks and still didnt ship with the missing items. Then each time they have adjusted the balance to apply it to the shipping so It would arrive faster to me with out my consent. I dont know of any other comapny that follows these practices. My girlfriend also ordered a model to be delivered to me for christmas and shock of shocks, she had paid extra for a faster delivery and it showed up at her house when it was clearly marked for delivery too mine. Well enough of a rant, thanks for letting me vent. cheers Kevin

Well lets see have not orderd from them in 2 years last time was a real treat waited and waited called on the phone to place order to make sure in stock !!!
E -mailed spoke too people told me order was going out Tomorrow.
Tomorrow never came.
Well it did 4 months later.
Will retry them one day again but as for now Noway Jose!!

As others said, if it's in stock, GMWS saves you a lot of money. If not in stock, then the wait can be almost up to two weeks to a month to "forever."

GMWS got on my nerves since the wait time for backorders seemed to get longer and longer, or no effort made to find the item and update status. Sometimes four weeks from now, you just don't want the item anymore---the excitement for it died. So the last three orders I placed were all cancelled by me.

GMWS also had high turnover and lots of location moving so I don't know how they are now. I haven't bought from them in about a year.

The clearance sales on the other hand are excellent. Often times sale items are in stock and once bought, GMWS's database quickly removes the sale item from the sales list if they run out of stock. But you must act quickly. One time I bought a sale item only to learn someone did before me so I went on backorder (and cancelled when I saw this the next day). But if you can be the first to buy that sale item, you're in luck. I bought the TAM Leopard 2A5 and T-72M1 for $36 each when at the time both were selling for around $48 online.

I heard GMWS has some problems shipping to people out of the U.S., namely false shipping charges and items shipped piecemeal. Some modelers got really steamed over such issues that GMWS couldn't seem to resolve. One modeler said GMWS is a victim of its own booming success and service and common sense plummetted.

Nowadays, I order from Squadron Mail Order. Sure, they may be more expensive than GMWS, but at least they have it in stock and ship within 24 hours. However, Squadron has no tracking numbers or shipped emails so you've no clue when it shipped and get it whenever it comes. Squadron only charges when the item is shipped and only lists items in stock (normally). However, Squadron does ship one small model in a large box (like a 120mm figure) so you may have to pay high customs fees for such a large box full of air if you're outside of the U.S. It pays to buy magazines, tools, paints, and other models to fill up that box.

One day I'll return to GMWS if I have the patience.

Well I have done more than my share of business with them. My experience is they are reliable although their computer inventory is not always accurrate. I've ordered something "in stock" only to find the next day it is not. I ordered a Azimut 40mm Bofors gun and crew and 18 months later or so it arrived at my door. I'm not complaining either, I'm impressed that they stuck with it that long and finally got it delivered but I will never order an Azimut product again because of that wait. Other orders have shown up in as little as a week but two to three weeks seem to be the average. They have always been honest and never cheated me.

Brian