Well, I made my first order from HLJ, and it was great! I ordered the new Tamiya Marder III, the new (at that time unreleased) German winter figures, and some other goodies and Achtung Panzer for the Pz III. My order took a while to fill (unreleased kits will do that!), but I could check the site any time to see the progress of my order. It shipped from Japan to Rochester NY in about a week!! I still haven't been able to track the package, but it was in the living room of my house last night!!

The DML T26E3 is selling for cheap, and overall I paid $100 for some ModelKasten accessories, two armor kits, two figure kits and a book, including shipping. An excellent transaction!!

Cheers
Andy

You are so lucky !
I'd love to buy from HLJ but I can't... In France, if you buy from HLJ, you get clobbered by the tax when you receive the parcel !

I agree HLJ is great. They have great prices and the shipping is not that bad.

I know it! I'm a Canadian living in the US, and it's much better ordering into the US than elsewhere!
The drag is shipping from the US! It seems you can ship from anywhere to the US for less than the return trip!?

Cheers
Andy

I must say, I was a little nervous when I ordered from them, but my fears were squashed when I got my books in about a week. Great stuff!

Yes, I've ordered from HLJ several times and have been satisfied overall. If you catch them when we have a favorable exchange rate, you can get some awesome deals. You guys got your orders much, much faster than I ever got mine, though....I waited an average of four weeks for in-stock items. Of course I've waited longer than that from US companies as well.

I had to watch things on my list go in and out of stock several times as I waited for the new Tamiya figures to be released! You could tell they knew when to expect them though, because everything but the new figures was in stock for about a week before they shipped! What I couldn't believe is it took less than a week to get here!!! :-) :-) :-)

Cheers
Andy

i have been very happy with HLJ and their prices

Chris Pig no.1

I did order from HLJ a while ago. Unfortunately, the product was backordered but thanks to their helpful account system, it was easy to cancel the order. My point is that they have a good system worked out and I hope to do business with them again.

Andrew

Has anyone from the UK ordered from this company? I am tempted to place an order but am not sure whether I'd have to pay tax on it or not.Does anyone know how they work it out.
Robbo

Hello Robbo
I've ordered from HLJ many times, mainly tools, supplies and one model. Unfortunately you've got to keep the value of the order below £18 (this includes shipping costs). I found this out on my first order which came to £20 and the post office held my parcel hostage until i coughed up a further £7(it work out at about a +25-30% charge on the value of the goods). So if you want to order small items/models its great but i wouldn't even think of ordering anything big, or the great british tax man will get you.
regards
lee

Robbo, I'm not sure what Lee said about keeping the cost down is quite right. I've ordered loads of items from overseas, some cheap, some not so cheap. In my case I've found it is very hit & miss whether I get stung for duty/VAT or not. Incidently guys, I've just ordered a kit from a UK source and have now discovered that even with the cost of postage, it would be cheaper to get it from Hobbylink Japan.

Hello geoff
I got most of my info from the Customs&excise site

http://www.hmce.gov.uk/forms/notices/143.htm#P93_6615

(3.2 Do I have to pay duty or VAT on goods sent to me from outside the EC?
Most goods arriving in the UK from outside the EC are liable to any or all of these charges:

Customs Duty;
Excise Duty; and
VAT.
These must be paid whether:

you purchase the goods or receive them as a gift;
the goods are new or used; or
the goods are for your private use or for sale.

3.3 Can I get relief from duty or VAT on any goods?
Yes. EC agreements allow relief from charges on certain imported goods if they:

have an intrinsic value of £18 or less although this particular relief does not include alcohol, tobacco products, perfume or toilet waters which are covered in paragraph 3.4. The intrinsic value is the actual value of the goods excluding postage, packing and other miscellaneous costs; are gifts worth £36 or less which comply with the rules shown in paragraph 3.5; or
are entitled to any other relief, as explained in paragraph 3.7.)

From my few experiences in ordering from HLJ i have tried to keep within these guidelines, although it would be great if i didn't. And i agree with you on the value for money, some models can be had for half the UK price even with shipping charges.

Hope the info is useful
regards
lee

Ok Andrew, what did the Canadian taxman ream you for?

What method of shipping do you recommend/use and how long to ship?

Happy Holidays (:-)

Michael