No one is telling a tale of sorrow - yet .

Hopefully that will continue .

At the end of this weekend I'll post the consolidated list as a prototype .

Let us know if you prefer to buy figures from vendor "a" and PE from vendor "b" ,, paint from "c" , or stuff like that .

the finished list will be formatted for a quick eye-roll giving a direct link and the "pros" and "cons" of each vendor .
... and the "cons" don't necessarily need to be failings , just pertinent notes of the strengths or weaknesses of their inventory and ability to get out of stock items .

Cheers ,

And thank you very much to all who have contributed !

Keith

Bad guys out there

Cromwell Model - Azimut -

not sure now

blitz-kit france

Very good guys

hobbyeasy, resicast, koenig and sockelshop

Tell us why they're bad guys , please .

Thanks

I'll go back to the good guys column!

I don't think Hobby-Space has been mentioned yet - they are a really good, on line shop - competitive pricing on kits - a good stock of Voyager, ET and others for the aftermarket. A nice feature of theirs is they let me know via Email any relevant info quickly! (via real people e-mails not auto generated emails), such as stock status, when the item might be in stock, when they receive it, and when they have sent it to me - Wow!! I just received a note about some hard to find Voyager parts being sent to me yesterday! and, their delivery time is pretty fast - -

Other key sources of mine include:

Sprue Brothers - as noted, very prompt service! they are on the ball! while they offer plenty of many things, I go to them mostly for paints (Vallejo), detailing items and materials, and aftermarket items - Legend, DEF, etc etc -

BNA Model World - I've had nothing but good luck with BNA Model World - they have an interesting variety of products, good prices and remarkably quick delivery (that is, they are in Australia, and I'm in California - and things get here fast!)

Scale Hobbyist is another great source - also prompt service and if you look carefully good prices too-

Lucky Model - to the points made by others - many of their items are not in stock, and for whatever reasons, delivery can be slow - nonetheless, I they still have a deep inventory and I go back

Happy model buying and building!

cheers

Nick

Fantastic ,
Thanks Nick

Inside The Armour
Order placed and paid through Paypal May 5th
Notification and request for payment of shipping costs May 9th
Payment of shipping costs made through paypal same day May 9th
Since then
No acknowledgment
No shipping info
No shipping date
No ETA
Nothing
Nada
I got an order from Firestorm in Australia quicker than that.

Hey Steve ,
So - First - What is the vendor ?
" Inside The Armor " ? -- http://www.insidethearmour.com/

.. and the pay schedule was broken in two ? item and then shipping ?

Been just less than three weeks so no need to give up just yet

Did you have it shipped with any tracking ?

FIRESTORM is a new one to this list also , yes ?

Yes Inside The Armour is the vendor. I don't have any tracking because I haven't been told anything since I paid the shipping cost two weeks ago. I don't even know IF they provide tracking. I'm not sure but I believe ITA is a 'one man band' setup but even so.....

Firestorm Models in Australia were very good, both in service and quality.

...makes me glad I live in the mud along the Gulf Coast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0k-sAbetQk

Bna model world for people in Australia, they have great clearance deals regularly and a huge selection

Just received my order from Lucky Model -- exactly matching their ETA given for the order -- commendable .

So this certainly keeps them at the "top of the list "
I guess

Again - thank you very much to all who have contributed and I will have a prototype list up the end of Monday ,, Texas time .

Cheers -- and have a great weekend All !
Keith

Hey all !
I'm stopped for lunch and just posting to push this thingy back to the front to hopefully gather a little more input

I'll be pecking away with my two finger typing later this evening and get the consolidated list up .

Only questions I have right now are about the scant few " bad guys " that were submitted but with no details :

Azimut
Cromwell Model(s)
& Inside The Armour ..

So any additional info on those and of course anything more is greatly appreciated !

Thanks ,
Keith

Update on ITA.
Wednesday 28th now, almost three weeks since order placed and paid for. Still not a word nor any package.....Guess I shall be talking to paypal about a refund

Thanks , Steve .
I sent you a PM yesterday about this .

Unfortunate to say the least .
These are the things we need to know .

Maybe someone here will have some redeeming info about them........

Cheers

sorry, didnt see it, but you have the info you asked for now in my last post

Indeed & thank you again .
Do you say the PM did not reach you ?
Or , like me , you don't normally look up there to the top-right of the page ? LOL

Didn't see it...sorry. The stuff from ITA arrived today and at least it was decently packed....so no real beef considering its a small outfit but I would have liked to have been kept updated.

Thanks Steve ,
Good to know .
I'll add them to the consolidated list

I agree with the shipping. I placed a large order with Squadron once, paid a bunch of shipping, only to find I still owed $60 in customs, inspection, and courier fees. I should mention most companies that use couriers rather thn post - the courier co. is registered at customs as an importer/exporter and usually automatically put your package through duties and inspection. For Canada this means the extra courier handling & process fee, the customs inspection fee, the duty plus gst and pst on both the product AND BOTH inspection fees so you are basically paying tax four times plus a handling fee plus and inspection fee. As a result I now only do business with those who use the postal system. Think Hobbies are great - not a huge selection but they do have good deals plus lots of vintage items and they have a flat postal fee and free shipping on orders over a $100. A flat rate of only $10 applies to orders less than that. They also have a reward system and bonus gifts.

Hi all

Thanks to this post I become fan of Scalehobbyist.com !!!! I don't know about this store before.

Maybe I do some shopping in the future

Also found very usefull SprueBrothers.

For guys like me that live in the South, check

http://www.scalemodelsandparts.com/ nice selection and personal attention to customers.

http://www.megahobbyuruguay.com/ its the best store in my country.

Regards

Lots of customer complaints on both of these vendors, generally absymal (as in zero) communication once they get your $...many many threads on many forums ....

Thank you Julian ,
I did NOT add them to the consolidated list here : http://armorama.com/forums/222592&page=1
Since their only mention was negative

Keith

Think Hobbies are great, and have good specials. Just picked up a Tristar Panzer I for $15! Last time I ordered I got a free Dragon figures kit (Stuka zu Fuss rocket launchers w/ figures)..as for Inside The Armour, they have a good reputation, and Chris the owner is a constant contributor on Missing Lynx.

Squadron .:. Huge selection. I like that they carry so many varieties of supplies. They ship fast as well. They're pricing isn't always the best, but if you buy in on their deals you can save a lot.

Hobby Easy .:. A lot of selection, even rarer kits and what not. Pricing is good and the shipping is quick from their store in China. I highly suggest getting tracking on your shipments. My packaged was given a tracking number for China that was transferred over to USPS tracking once it was state side. Use the tracking number for both parcel services. You will need to sign for delivery.

JAC Hobbies .:. This is our local board member bf443 's store. I like to deal with Brian. He will order kits for you if its not in his store if his suppliers carry. His pricing is equal to every other competitive online store. If you order over $125 you get free shipping.

well..at least I didnt make the bad list
but I will say..its sad to see that noone mentions the little guys..even some of Armoramas members ,who are local shop & online vendors...the big guys get mentioned over and over..and all the while people b%^$ and moan because the shops are closing up ...the smell of hypocrisy is strong in this hobby