Just wanted to hear what you guys have for experiences with this place? Placed an order there for about 1½ month ago, credit card has been charged, and since then not a word. And the online status report just says that the order was processed on February 11th...

Thomas -

I had ordered from GMW the Flagship Models "CIWS" kit in june, 2003. It was listed on their web-ste as "In stock - special order". To date - (and I have a feeling I never will) it is nowhere in sight. They have NOT charged my c/card.

Conversely - and as a bit of a test - I recently (04 MAR) placed an order with them for "sale itmes" armor kits and aftermarket bits. Internet confirmation w/in 20 minutes of placing order, and order in hand < 4 days later. I guess if they HAVE what they SAY they have - it's a pretty good outfit. Just be careful of what you ask for.

best regards, good modelling,

Flange

I've ordered stuff and turned up ok maybe the item is out of stock? log on and see if any of the items are on back ordeer maybe some parts of the order are imcomplete?

I only ordered one item, and it was in stock at the time. Have written an email to them, so I'll se what they say.

My experiences with GreatModels reminds me of that poem:
There once was a girl, who had a little curl,
right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good, she was very, very good,
but when she was bad, she was horrid.

IF you order an item in stock, (and it really IS in stock), you usually get quick, efficient service at a terrific price. IF you have a problem with them, my experience is you generally get nowhere, even after phoning.

What concerns me is that if your order status says your order was processed, that means to me that it has shipped. Your problem may be with the carrier or postal service at this point. Is a tracking option open to you?

Mike

MJ has it right!!

I've received the wrong items in shipments, there have been big delays, pre-orders got cancelled when something else was sent or ordered...

Nonetheless, I've ordered from them many times, and in the end it gets worked out. I suppose you get what you pay for. GMW is consistently the cheapest online shop overall, and that comes with a price!

Cheers
Andy

So far I'm 50/50 with them. First order apparently was really in stock, as opposed to just saying it was in stock. It came quickly and with no problems. The second item was a sale item and listed as in stock but after a week of no shipment and no charge to my credit card I tried to find the status. They are now saying that is on backorder and will be in next week. We'll have to see. Based on what everybody else is saying here it seems to all come down to you pays your money and take your chances. If it really IS in stock, everything is fine, but their site isn't always accurate as to stock.

Generally excellent service for me in the past. The last time (a couple of months ago), my stuff showed up here unexpected even tho my account said that the item was being 'searched' (or whatever they called it). It took some time to get here (I was in no hurry, so didn't care) but, a couple of emails to them had gone unanswered. Still, "A" grade service in my book.

I have ordered from them and not had any problems, but that was over a year ago..

Ok, will have to wait and see I guess. Maybe just a case of lazy postal workers, after all the package has to cross the little pond called the Atlantic...

I have ordered a lot from them...generally, if they don't have something in stock, they are relentless in searching for it. I have found that when an order status says"processed", that means it has been shipped. Better check with the postal service, or if you insured it, put in a claim. At any rate, contact GM, they are sure to be helpfu. I have no connection with them just a satisfied customer.

Like anyplace, they actually do run out of items.
Hell, that's why Wal-mart gives rain checks.
I have always gotten the items I ordered in a timely fashion
from them.
They had one item on back order for me for a year.
even though I placed several orders since the back order.
In my last order, when I inform them that they had the item
back ordered for me for over a year, ( wasn't a major item, just a decal sheet)
they included it in my order at no charge, with a note apolizing for the delay.

Except for Ebay I order all of my models from them because usually they have the best prices on a lot of stuff. The only problems however, have been with pre-orders, "limited items", and things they have listed as purchasable but they are also discontinued items. All of those usually make my order take about 3 months to go through, if its one of those. One of my orders that I did back in January still hasnt even been processed.

My experience with Great Models hs always been excellent - I once got an order through quicker than most US members!

6 weeks sounds a long time, but you should be able to check whether your order has been dispatched yet. It could be caught up in customs...

All the best

Rowan

Maybe its something to do with your shipping method! I have only shopped at hannants and took the cheaper shipping and it takes 3 weeks from England. Were you asked which was your preffered shipping method?

Hi,

I've had pretty good luck overally with GM. I've probably placed 6-10 order with them, added stuff, subtracted, etc. and usually get it all right. Once I had a problem with a resin detail set that has some extremely broken pieces. They sent me a new one before I had even returned the defective item, so it seems as if customer service is pretty good... if they get your problem. I think occassionally they do have problems with e-mail or whatever and miss some things. But overall, I've been very, very happy with Great Models and would order from there again.

My mom ordered for me from there once ('cause I'm still a minor), we didn't get any confirmation emails or things like that, but the order arrived at my relative's house (which we had placed as the shipping address) 2-3 weeks after the order... Aside from a bit of confusion over the status of the order for that time, we didn't have any real problems with them

I ahve ordered twice form them so far, and have had no problems... I received their orders faster then many from the UK. I also rceived confirmation from them... no problems so far...

Write'em an e-mail, to this adress:
[email protected]
and at the "Subject" line, write To:Stephanie Cummings,
OR, send an e-mail directly to:
[email protected]

They are very helpful, i'n sure they will help u as fast as possible.
Remember to write your "Username" to top of your mail

Hi...
While many on site have no complaints about Great Models, I do however.

I placed my very first order on the Internet with them worth USD 200. The promise of dispatching within days was a highly optimistic promise. 3 months later my order was shipped but not to me. It somehow got sent to my bank, never to be seen again. After the 3 months waiting period was over much begging and pleading was done on my part until they relented and sent a replacement order...guess where to....my banks address again....again lost.
Then followed many many more e-mails etc with no satisfactory response from them until Lisa arrived at GM.
She sorted it out and the order was sent for a third time...this time to me, which duly arrived.

However this saga took over two years to sort out, and each time a shipment was sent the shipping costs of ALL shipments were subtracted from the original value. Talk about deflation.
And also by the time I did receive the order, many of the items originally requested were no longer in stock or were now unavailable.

Its interesting to note GM seem to have a big turn over in staff...seems not many like working there.
And have you noticed how many items in the catalogue have the “Sorry...it’s gone” message?
Seems a good 50% of their listed stuff is out of stock, hence long action times.

Needless to say I’ve never used them again. I stick to Hannants and Squadron. So far in three years no problems with either of them. Always good prompt service and if anything is out of stock they tell you.

Hope it helps
Cheers
Peter
:-)

I've ordered from them a couple of times. The only problem I've had is when the item is out of stock, I had one order held up for quite some time because the out of stock item was unavailable and it was about 1/2 the purchase price so they were holding the order until they got it. I made a second order and the bulk of my first order was tacked on (which was as I hoped). Never did hear any further on the out of stock item.

But the main thing to me was they did not charge my account until shipped, with the exception of the frustration of waiting for an order to ship I have nothing bad to say about them, I'll forgive waiting so long as your not holding onto my money. I've had very quick service when the items are in stock and expect to continue to use them.

I agree pretty much with everyone's comments/experiences above too. One other thing happened to me - and caused me not to frequent GMW anymore...

I used to have their Subscription Service, and I'd not only get my magazines later than the hobby shops (minor) but every week or so I noticed charges against my credit card by GMW for small amounts like $3.96, $4.50, $6.98, etc. Just small enough not to draw a lot of attention - but enough in accumulation to become noticeable. There was nothing ordered and nothing shipped to me, but this kept happening. I'd call, e-mail, write, yell - and it would stop for perhaps a week and then the phantom charges would reappear.

I never got a satisfactory response from GMW as to what they were doing - so I cancelled my subscription(s) and stopped shopping there altogether.

Gunnie

It seemed like every time I placed an order with them, there was some problem. I used to order lots of stuff, placed an order each week for a couple months with them. What they did was to let all my orders build up and not ship anything until the last item of my last order was in stock. I had orders with all items "in stock" sitting around unshipped for a month and a half while they waited to fill my latest order. This is contrary to their stated policy of shipping each order when the items of that order are in stock.

On my last order, I didn't check the "accept back orders" box on the order form. So they cancelled my order. I called and asked why, and they said they had ordered my item from one of their suppliers, but when they got the shipment from the supplier, my stuff wasn't in it. So since I didn't accept back orders, they cancelled it. So I asked them to re-order it from their supplier. They shipped it the next day - so obviously they DID get the item from their supplier, they just screwed it up.

And I was always annoyed at how when you place your order, they give you an amount you'll be charged. Then when you receive your order, you get a hard-copy of the invoice, which is for a different amount. Then when they charge your credit card, it's for yet a third amount. This always adds a couple of bucks to the original price, but the real problem is when you order a lot of stuff, just try to reconcile your Visa card statement to their invoices. Have fun!

And then there was the time I placed a pre-order for something that was soon-to-be-released. After a year I cancelled it. I see they still don't have that model. Another thing that ticked me off was they once had a sale where they guaranteed that if you ordered something "in stock", they would ship it in 24 hours or you got free shipping. I placed an order for something in stock, and they didn't ship it for days. I read the fine print of the sale terms, and it turns out that since I had something on pre-order, that I wasn't eligible for their sale. That makes no sense at all. If I cancelled an order with them, they'd give me better service. How logical.

But overall, I've always gotten everything I've ordered from them ,just with a few calls or e-mails (except the pre-order that never came in, which I cancelled). The prices are good and the selection is huge, so I guess it's worth it.

I will not order from them. The only time I ordered from them they sent a confirmation and billed my CC. Then they billed it againt for additional shipping. They "lady" I talked to about this was very rude and unhelpful.

SB

I've ordered from GM, Squadron and Military Hobbies. I'd have to say GM is the best in my opinion, the prices, being able to check order status etc. #:-)