Howdy All,

There has been a little discussion on buying kits from overseas. Apart from cost, what motivates you (if at all) to buy overseas or even interstate instead of from the local hobby shop if any?

My point in buying locally wherever possible is that if I need something in a hurry ie paint then my local store is there for me. If I buy my big and expensive kits from os instead of ordering locally, he might not be there next week when I need him.

Thoughts??

Cheers as always
Shane

Hiya

I have the same philosophy for buying kits, my hobby shop can get almost any kit I want to purchase but the problem here in perth is with their distibutor and a member of the staff within the hobby shop I frequent, but I have found if I do the research myself and pass on the information to the store they can order anything for me.

One downfall is with Photo Etching from Gold Medal Models, as their is no distibutor for them here, then they can't order what I need.

As for dealing with model companies from overseas, you need to do your research, I have dealt with 2 companies in the US and have had excellent service. I actually used Ebay a bit and found some hard to find kits there and Ebay is local to Australia.

Regards

Lindsay

I buy the majority of my kits from Overseas.
Aussie shops simply do not carry the kits I want, especially resin figures.
I usually buy $150+ at a time to save on shipping and it works out very good value too.
Sydney hobby / figure shops - Hobbyco and The Tin Soldier don't carry the ranges I want - Warriors, Alpine, Hornet etc.
And I can buy them overseas for about 60% of what I would pay for them at a LHS.
I would like to support Aussie shops but their ranges and for the most prices can't compete with O.S

Shane
If we had a local hobby shop in Mackay then I would buy what I could locally. However Toys R Us closed their model section a few months ago and it is now Rockhampton or Townsville - 4 hours wither way - to get to a LHS.

I have just ventured OS with the DAK Tiger from chc and although it was a good experience would rather stay within Oz. I have bought a fair bit from our ebay and will be looking to some of the online stores here for my future wants (I prefer to think of them as needs :-) )

Brian

I understand your philosophy , where I think your theory falls down , is that we are not the most popular hobby around, Figures show our numbers are decreasing . Simply in my area Orange central NSW we have one Toy Kingdom that has a very limited range , small buying power with major brands , no wish to promote the hobby & who if he honestly didn't value the friendship of the few modellers who come in , wouldn't even carry , paint , glue & spare scalpel blades . He places very irregular orders because of freight costs & kits can be months away. Don't even insult your inteligence by asking him to get any aftermarket in stock!!!! Thus I am forced to either travel out of my area or mail order . I have shopped around , for plastic look at Hobby HQ in Melbourne & Frontline Hobbies in Newcastle , Aftermarket can be obtained through Firestorm at Figtree,if you use a lot go buyers elite ,pick up 25% on his stock range items , & South East Hobbies from Dandenong & you can order and recieve any item they have within a few days . Even if they have not they buy so regularly you will have the item within a fortnight . If you need any more convincing price the Dragon 88mm through a local Hobby store , then check the current price at Frontline . After you take postage into account I bet you are still at least ten dollars better off . Think of that ,who's pocket is that money better off in ?? After all that I need a beer

That's OK for those that have a LHS. Here I don't so any kits have to be mail ordered anyway so where ever the best price and service is is where I shop. I also take into concideration the cost of any fees etc for overseas money orders before ordering as sometimes it is quicker and easier to buy from interstate then overseas.

The local Toy shop has paint so I buy that from there.

cheers
Cliff

G'day all

My opion is simple "seek and you will find" and "patients is a Virtue". I will only buy from Australia even though it is a challenge to find what i need/want.

I don't believe saving a few dollars on an item from overseas to only pay extra through posting charges. Also by getting a local/interstate dealer to do special orders i believe keeps them in buisness and improves what they stock in future. also lets them know people are interested in the hobby.

Don't get me wrong I am not saying don't get involved with overseas companies at all. I just believe let the O/S companies try and get their products on selves in Aussie stores through Distributers which will also hopefully cut down on Ordering times.

Madboof
Brissie

Madboof, I don't know in what quantities or from where you are buying but if you end up paying more when buying overseas your doing something very, very wrong!
As an example I can buy 5 Hornet figures from the US at $12 AUD each and about $13 AUD shipping.
The same figures cost $25 here in Australia and will cost me approx. $9 postage. If you do the maths you can see I'm way ahead by purchasing from overseas.
I wish I could support the local hobby industry however it comes down to the simple fact that I work too damn hard for my money..

Hi all,
I usually purcahse all my consumables at the LHS ie paints, glues etc etc. As far as kits are concerned I am starting to venture to the O/S market basically because the LHS rarely carries kits of interest especially, resin figures. In fact they have never carried resin figures. Whilst Dragon produce some fine figures, from time to time you need something special. I also found that customer service when ordering items at the LHS (that I usually used) was in short, pathetic. Perhaps that is why they are now out of business. Where I can I will buy local but they (the new LHS) are making things harder. The loyalty factor needs to work both ways.

Cheers
Lee

G'day all,
I am trying to stay out of this one. But when you work in a hobby shop, sometimes it can be a little frustrating. For instance, when a local distributor has had back orders for months and the customer is saying, "where is my kit?" What do you say? Sorry I don’t know when it will be in, maybe you should have ordered OS. Well there goes my job. No customers means no cash flow, and no cash flow means no job. Sure we can order from OS as well, but when you prefer to keep the money here in Australia you order from your local distributor even if it means having to wait for the order to arrive "sometime in the future".
I will be the first to admit that I also order for myself from OS. But only if I can not get it from my normal distributor and or place of work. Now my wife will be testimony to this, “Why do you need it right now?. You probably wont build the kit for 12 months or for however long it takes to find the reference for said kit” (the ASLAV I have been working on now for years). True, but it is nice to have it in you hands a few days after seeing it on a site. Rolling around that fluted barrel between your fingers,,,mmmm new and forbidden.
But sometimes ordering from OS can also have its problems. Earlier this year we ordered a few modelling tools from an OS distributor. Orders had been taken from customers for this particular item. Almost 6 months later, still no tools. Numerous e-mails later and still no tools. The item has been shipped to us. ????????? So to keep the customer happy do we order more from said distributor. No. What’s the point. The money is now lost. And we can not prove if it was the distributor or the shipping company that has lost the order.
Luckily we have other product lines apart from model kits to keep us employed.
And it through these business is looking up. A few model related lines seen to have dropped off of late. Figures especially. Weather this is because of the ease of ordering from OS, prices, or the cost of petrol at the moment, I don’t know. Or maybe they just don’t like me. Either way this is a very competitive industry.
Well thanks for reading. I must take this time to thank all of our customers who are sticking with us. Your support and understanding is great. And to those new customers, G’day what can i do for you mate.

Cheers Jason

Jason,
thanks for your comments and your honesty. Notwithstanding, the customer has to draw a line in the sand at some stage. When I ordered a coulpe of kits from my former LHS, I wasn't ordering anything out of the norm, just a coulpe of Dragon figure kits. 8 months later I got tired of waiting for the LHS to produce and went to another LHS ordered them, and they had them in within three weeks!
I could only come to the conclusion that the former LHS owner just wasn't interested. I understand some distributors can be a real problem but in my case I think we can put it down to the LHS owner. Also, whilst I understand your wifes statement about the time it might take someone to getting around to build their new kit, its a mute argument. What the customer does once they finally get their kit is irrelevant.
Anyway, hope your custom prospers.

Cheers
Lee

Jason,
It is all well & good to say these things but there are unscrupulous retailers around too.
The best way to do buisness if doing mail order through Australia is to deal with reputable companies such as the ones I mentioned earlier & trust me if it costs less , the service is quicker & the people are helpful , why change ??

An interesting range of replies. Tanx to all taking the time. No, we're not a big hobby BUT when you look at some of the shops operating in regional centres you still wonder how they stay in business. There is a shop here (I haven't been into it yet) that specialises in diecast. If a shop that specialises in diecast can be supported by a population of 90K then I would think a decent hobby store could. One issue may be the distributor network rather than hobby shops. My limited experience with distributors has been that as a retailer if I want to deal with a distributor then I can only purchase products from them where they have exclusive rights for example if I want to setup a shop and deal with distributor X I can only buy the acme range of kits from him as he has exclusive rights. If he can't support my business I cannot go elsewhere ie OS on pain of no longer being able to buy from him.

While fair enough some might say, if I can buy direct and get my product, why do I have to deal with the distributor who may be waiting on his minimum order amount.

Thanks again for all the replies and (no offence intended) it's great to see the buy locally philosophy being upheld.

Cheers

If I need to buy anything, I can see Richier, not only does he know where to source what I'm after , he regularly buys from most companies , he gets a good discount & I can chip in for freight . People who live in the same area can get together & do the same thing .

The one thing I do buy on a regular basis from offshore is Evergreen plastic supplies and KS brass supplies. I put in a couple of bulk orders a year. Now even taking into account exchange rates and air post to me I regulary save 40% over buying the same things here.

I have purchased kits from Hobby HQ in Melbourne and had good service in the past as well.

cheers
Cliff

I would be much more interested in hearing from Brett what kind of markup they are able to put on imported items? Is it a case of small volume of sales so higher wholesale ?

Richie Jenny & Brett

I would also like to hear from you Brett about the costs that you bear (and distributor troubles) so as to better understand the "lot" of the LHS owner.



Brian

Righto guys, first off, let me simply state my opinion to the question Shane asked, i myself, prefer to order kits from over seas, asia only, why? Cheaper.
My LHS is not very "local" at all, so why spend 15 dollars petrol money, and then for the kit, pay double what i could get it for over the net on one of the Asian based Online stores.
As for keeping the money in australia, Jason mate, believe me, id love nothing more than to be able to do that, but when it costs me an arm and a leg to stay loyal, bugger that :-) If the mil workshop was truly local to me, im sure youd get my buisness mate.
As for shipping times, well when a hobby store doesnt get the kit in for 8 months dont blame the hobby store, i know my "lhs" takes forever to get kits in from many companys, eg Airfix, why? Because their distributer that they go through for Airfix is slow as all hell.
So more often than not, that factor is not the fault of the hobby store.
Cheers

Hi Guys (and Gals),
Now that test about which image to choose took me forever. Being from UK was thinking about Churchill but know how much Aussies love him so decided against him. He was robbed by Einstein for Time Man of the Century!. Then do you pick Monty with the implication people might think you imagine yourself a Field Marshall. So chose the historical guy and he looks like he could be from USA ! Now the rank one is a hard one too so just went for Private which is an accurate reflection of my modelling lack of skill.
Freely admit to not being a modeller so don't be offended. However having been in the model business since 1997 including producing figure kits, wholesaling and retailing a variety of products you might find some of my thought interesting (or not).
I will happily share some of my experiences and thoughts because the model industry in Australia has certainly been interesting and gets more so. Now don't all rush in with any complaints !
As some people have asked I will give some thoughts on pricing, importing and will probably go into a few other things which apply to not just my business but to others in similiar areas. I will be very general but hope it might be of interest.
However I will leave you with a few thoughts. In 1997 how many worldwide 1/35 figure kit ranges were there and how many aftermarket businesses creating say conversion kits for armour ?. Now compare to what is available now. I will pursue that line further in a later post but the theme is how big is the A$ model pie and how many traders here and overseas trying to get a part of it ?.

Welcome to the site Brett - I look forward to your input and insight into the model pie in Oz.
Brian

lestweforget, (I refer to my earlier post)
If a LHS takes 8 months or more to get a kit in stock I think there is a problem!
I don't believe the distributer can be held responsible for all these issues and if they are a problem for the LHS, why not change distributors?
Also, the LHS that I refer to was well known for poor service irrespective. Its reputation was renown with the local hobby club and you soon learnt to avoid it and order elsewhere. The proof is in the pudding that LHS, went out of business!I think I can and will blame that LHS owner.
The lesson here for all LHS owners should be that tacky service will result in a loss of custom. My current LHS is great, they bend over backwards to provide a great in stock and ordering service.
Anyway getting off the box!

Cheers
Lee

I know from experience that a lot of distributors have a minimum dollar value per order system. Lets for arguements sake say this is $500.

Now I go into this retail shop and I wish to buy Distributor A's product and they have a $500 minimum order value. You want kit XXX which is $50 and not in stock. To get it quickly the retailer has to order a further large amount of stuff to get your kit but what happens if he does not have sales for the other stock? What happens if he has to hold your order until he has the $ value to be able to order? Yes that's right a few months later and you may have your kit.

What needs to happen is the distributor needs to lower the minimum $ value so that retailers can order ...say just one or two kits rather them $500 worth. Maybe this way the retailer can fill orders quicker.

Just my 5cents worth.

cheers
Cliff

PS> or you just hunt around and find a shop with it in stock and buy from there.

Anything relating to the squabbles has been removed, let no more be said, if you have any queries PM me
Apologies to Jenny and Ritchie for the upsets.
Cheers
Lets get back to the discussion!!!!

The Military Workshop here. Hopefully will give a different perspective on some aspects of the model business. We are basically two small shops in Brisbane with one shop having more kits than the other. Have been going since 1997. We have produced our own figure kits, imported kits, wholesaled model related items, and sell some of the main brands. Have always tried to specialise in figure kits. I had a quick count just now and think I have product from about 50 different suppliers (ie. across all product types).
Could probably write a book on the subject but I think there are a number of themes that are of interest which I will go into. Pricing/Discounting &
Ordering/Availability/Stock already covers a lot of potential.
I will give examples in some cases but will not mention names or busineses.
Firstly it does appear forum members do understand it is not that easy for the hobby retailer. Particularly
ones that might be in smaller towns. Many shops would be more of a toy shop than a hobby shop and quite frankly they have little chance to satisfy a modeller looking for that little extra. Every shop has to make decisions as to what lines to stock and major factors would be profit margin, turnover and ease of supply. For me it is a matter of thinking where do I spend my money next for the best and quickest return.
I will be quite honest and say modellers as a group are a hard customer base to serve. One of the problems is the sheer number of products now available (I feel sorry for the ship modellers calling looking for figures). We are talking 10's of thousands of potential items that they might be interested in. As the specialist selection (ie etch, figures, resin etc) increases the demand for the ranges stocked in hobby shops, if any, goes down. Think Verlinden 10 years ago compared to the competition today. Compare this to say the diecast industry and the number of model related items is massive and growing every day. In many cases the model item could be relatively low value but the time and effort to service that demand could be the same as ordering a $300 child's swing which may have a better margin.
Paint is often used as an example and I have the classic shop example from 2 years ago. A customer wanted to buy $18 of paint and wanted a 10% discount. Probably spent $100 in my shop in the previous year. However in same conversation he mentioned he bought a large kit from Melbourne for $154 incl P/H. I had same kit for $159 and would have happily matched $154 had he asked. I have not re-stocked my one brand of paint since March 2004.
The bigger type kits are a hobby shops bread and butter. It is difficult to keep track of everybody's pricing buy I think a fair tactic is to say I can get this landed for a certain amount from such and such and at least give your local guy a chance to match it. What he does is up to him.
Will expand upon this further but will leave you with the fact that come January 2006 4 hobby shops in the SE Qld area will have closed down in the previous year. If I was a pure hobby shop I could have joined the list. Luckily in our case we have several other non hobby areas of product.
Till the next time.

AndyD’s post higher up basically recommended buying from overseas and he gave a specific example of Hornet figures in which I have dealt for about 6 years. Please note I don’t know Andy but I could not let his comments go without responding as it as a classic example on pricing.
No doubt some readers will have thought $25 a ridiculous price compared to A$12. He mentions getting 5 Hornet figures for A$12 each plus A$13 for postage from USA and the cost in Oz being A$25 (ie. our price). He says he got at 60% of RRP. I would strongly dispute that A$12 is possible. I have discussed this with Roger Saunders of Hornet and he is very interested to know how it is possible.
The RRP for a Hornet figure in USA is US$19.95 (ie about A$26) and Roger Saunders sells them for 9.60 pounds in UK (ie about $24 but not factoring in shipping to Oz). If he said US$12 possibly but that is not RRP available to all. In any event his claimed landed cost was A$14.60 per item. The use of Hornet as an example should be read in conjunction with Andy D’s previous post on Hornet on 3 August which read
“I actually stock a large number of hornet figures and heads and arms.
I am in the process of getting them up on my ebay store -
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Cold-Steel-Models
Was there something in particular you where after?”
And this is where the maths gets interesting. I had a look at his Ebay store and I think there were 5 Hornet figures listed at $20 at that time. Lets assume GST being paid (to be fair to me and my pricing). The maths goes like this :
A$14.60 cost GST $1.81 Ebay fees $2.14 = $18.55 with Profit $1.45 ie nearly 10%. At 10% margin if he got in 10 he must sell the 10th one to make a profit !
However I noted last two of those Hornet figures sold for $15.99
A$14.60 (Forget GST) Ebay Fees $1.92 = costs $16.52 and loss of 53 cents.
However if his real cost was US$12 (ie A$16 + P/H $2.60) the situation becomes far worse and a price of $25 might be looked at in a different light.
He currently appears to have no Hornet product in his Ebay store.
This should not be taken as a personal attack but it is an example AndyD himself has provided.
I will let you be the judge as to whether AndyD is going to be able to continue to stock Hornet at those prices but do recommend his store for great bargains..