Zactoman
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Posts posted by Zactoman
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Praying that you and the family are OK.
Please update us when you can...
Vancouver storm: A state of emergency has been declared in British Columbia
Vancouver Is Cut Off by Road, Rail After ‘Extraordinary’ Storms
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3 hours ago, chrispisme said:
Was that me?
Indeed it was. Thank you!
I'll try to have this ready to ship by Thursday.
On 10/17/2021 at 4:18 PM, Zactoman said:In other news, THE STORE IS NOW OPEN!!!!
🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
I am going to post a new announcement thread for visibility. Please make your replies on that thread to keep it on top (after 2 1/2 months I need the business!).
New thread here:
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15 hours ago, Zactoman said:
Tech support at Vendor A - You need to contact vendor B.
Vendor B - You need to contact vendor C.
Vendor C - You need to contact vendor A.
Vendor A - You need to contact vendor D
We're back in business baby!
I even received an order before I could post this!
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Tech support at Vendor A - You need to contact vendor B.
Vendor B - You need to contact vendor C.
Vendor C - You need to contact vendor A.
Maybe tomorrow...
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Looks like I'll need to wait until tomorrow. I need to contact my shipping provider during "regular" business hours to get the website working properly...
Sorry to those who tried ordering today.
I'll start a new thread once the site is up (and tested this time).
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And there's a problem... Murphy strikes once more.
I'm working on it and will post when it's fixed.
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On 10/14/2021 at 1:37 AM, Eastern said:
Nice to hear from you.
...
BTW, I eventually completed my Mig-29. 😉
Great to hear from you too Alexander. It's been far too long.
That MiG transformation is incredible. It's hard to believe that it was once a finished, painted Revell kit. It has truly earned the name "Franken-MiG".
Beautifully done...
In other news, THE STORE IS NOW OPEN!!!! 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
I am going to post a new announcement thread for visibility. Please make your replies on that thread to keep it on top (after 2 1/2 months I need the business!).
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New business license was approved today.
Temporary shop space is very close to ready.
Website and store should be updated and ready to open any day now. I'll make a new post when that happens.
Sorry for my lack of communication, both here and through email.
The move and things since then did not go as smoothly as planed... (Understatement of the year!!!)
Our plans to purchase a home got delayed and we are currently staying in a spare bedroom at my mother-in-law's house in Carson City, Nevada, with plans to eventually buy near here.
Our home buyer needed to move in quickly so our final packing (including my shop) was pure chaos. We ended up moving out 2 days late and tossing a bunch of unpacked stuff into the truck at the last minute, as well as leaving a bunch behind.
All of our belongings are scattered between three fully packed 10' X 10' storage units (no 10' X 30' were available, despite having "reserved" one) about 30 minutes from here.
Apparently "Fragile" and "This side up" labels were ignored, though I'm still grateful for the help we received doing the move.
My shop supplies ended up buried here and there between the units. After multiple visits of unloading and reloading, I still haven't found everything I need for the business.
My shop space is about half the minimum size I need to operate efficiently, so orders will likely take a few days longer than previously. Some products may be temporarily unavailable, I'm still determining that.
There wasn't enough room in the shop for a proper workbench, so there won't be anything new for a while, just existing products.
The internet here is painfully slow and my computer has been giving me fits. I think I need to re-install Windows but have been delaying because I haven't found the box with my computer supplies and software.There is some good news! The extreme heat and choking smoke from the fires is gone! Only to be replaced with freezing temperatures.
I've been out-of-business for over 2 months and I need a vacation...
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I'm currently packing up the shop and moving in a couple of weeks.
I'll do my best to get things up and running after the move, but anticipate setting up the new shop may also take a couple of weeks.
I'm hoping to be back in business by September 1st or sooner.
Contact me if you need something before then. I do have a few items in stock and will help if I can.
My apologies for any email replies I may have missed during the past few weeks/months. It's been hectic...
UK orders are still blocked due to their VAT regulations. I'm hoping to find a solution, at least for orders over $180, before re-opening.
EU customers will need to pay VAT and any fees due on delivery. I do not intend to sign up with IOSS.
Customers from any other countries that add taxes or fees will have to pay those taxes and fees on delivery.
I have a hard enough time keeping track of my own taxes and don't need the extra headache...
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2 hours ago, Waco said:
Everyone who read this thread is now dumber.
Not to worry.
In 2021 we (the U.S. CDC) will be spending $1,000,000,000 for vaccine confidence activities, to:
1. Strengthen vaccine confidence.
2. Provide further information and education with respect to vaccines.
3. Improve rates of vaccination throughout the US. -
31 minutes ago, ChernayaAkula said:
Do you have a source for that? Or did you overhear that in the Holiday Inn Express' lobby?
I have not bookmarked sources, just read several accounts over time.
US CDC lists 1,107 reports of death ( https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html ) but does not necessarily categorize them as frail or elderly.
This is something I have gathered having read multiple reports. I recall reading reports from various locations in the US and Europe including Germany, France and Norway (possibly others) where elderly, frail and those with comorbidities died after receiving the vaccine. The gist was that they may have died whether they received the vaccine or not, but they didn't have data to back that.I have elderly relatives with various severe medical conditions that I would not approve of them getting the shot because the short-term side effects might be fatal for them. Their doctors concur.
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I don't want to quote anybody, because I'm not looking for a fight, but there are a few points I'd like to make.
While no deaths have been blamed on the vaccine, lots of recently vaccinated frail and elderly have died from the very same side-effects that the vaccine causes. The deaths have just not been directly attributed to the vaccine itself.
Several people have had adverse and life-threatening allergic reactions to the vaccine, so some are at risk by getting it. This isn't a problem for most though.
This is a new type of vaccination. Most previous vaccinations use a safe version of a virus or protein that causes your immune system to activate and produce an immune system response. This vaccination, an mRNA vaccine, causes you to produce a viral protein that triggers your immune system. It's a relatively new technology and the long term side-effects aren't known yet. There are aspects of this new technology that may be a concern, but if it works out it may help revolutionize the medical industry and hopefully help deal with more than just viruses (read: cancer!).
The Covid vaccines are designed to keep you from getting moderate to severe symptoms but don't necessarily immunize you or prevent you from spreading the virus. So all this talk of moral duty to get vaccinated to protect others may well be wrong. I say "may" because there have been no conclusive studies to prove that getting the vaccine prevents you from becoming infected and spreading the virus. Lets hope that that changes and it's proven to help stop the spread, otherwise you're just protecting yourself. In which case, many of those vaccinated may end up spreading even more as asymptomatic carriers than if they had symptoms and self-quarantined, and that may lead to further mutations that might be even worse.
I will eventually get the shot, though the longer it is delayed the safer I will feel.
No, I'm not worried about the microchip implant, the government tracking of every aspect of my life or the vaccine altering my genetic code (Stepford husband to the deep-state). I'll just feel safer when more conclusive studies are done (assuming the fake news MSM tells us the truth).
I do fear that Steve may be right in that "C-19 will be with us forever as it changes and keeps coming back as a new variant" and fear that we might become $laves to the medical deep state (which control the political deep state)...Recent customer at Holiday Inn Express.
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Bump.
Last Call for $47 price!!!Remainder will be sold off on eBay for a fair price (higher than $47!) starting sometime next week.Now listed on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/164695250300
These are new Kinetic 1/48 Su-33 kits molded after the sink-mark problem was fixed.
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On 1/29/2021 at 12:45 PM, Cliff C said:
Any chance there are new links for the Su-33 drawings? They appear to have been broken/removed with the updated web site.
Thanks!!
I created the page but haven't linked it on the NEW website yet (check out the site while you're there!). I will eventually be adding a tutorial/misc page on the website and this will go there.
https://zactomodels.com/su-33_drawings/
I updated the links at the beginning of this thread and edited the link in the Zactomodels sub-forum.I'm planning to sell off the remaining Kinetic Su-33 kits on eBay at a reasonable price which will be higher than the $47 I've offered here at ARC.
I should have the eBay offering up sometime this coming week (assuming no more crises interrupt me...).Picture of Kinetic box top - no longer hot linked - Thanks Photobucket!
Last call for anybody that wants them at $47 !!!Shipping cost pretty much limits them to US customers, but international inquiries are welcome. US S&H is $14.10 UPS Ground (or less depending on your location).Email me your zip code and I'll send a PayPal invoice. ( Zactoman@Zactomodels.com )
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14 hours ago, andyf117 said:
I forsee some of us going back to the old days, when if we wanted something 'from abroad', we'd ask family or friends there to get and send it to us...
I don't know the rules on this or shipping items as "gifts", but this might be a nice solution.
My current plan for UK purchases:
Under £135: eBay store. eBay charges customer the VAT and eBay does the dirty work of paying VAT to HMRC.
Over £135: Minimum purchase over £135 will be required on my website, assuming I can find a plugin or code snippet to make this work. If not then customers can email me a list and I'll send an invoice.
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10 hours ago, Dave Roof said:
You'll still have to go through that process on Ebay in order to sell to customers in the UK...
...While my line is carried by Hannants, we're still not 100% sure how (or if) this is going to affect wholesale shipments. It sucks
I am reading things differently regarding eBay and may have found some good news for you regarding wholesale.
Please let me know if I am missing something here and provide links if possible.
There's a thorough article about all of this here: https://esellercafe.com/how-a-new-vat-rule-from-brexit-now-impacts-every-us-seller-shipping-to-uk-customers/
As for selling direct to customers, the problem is only for purchases under £135 (currently $183.44). Over that amount and the customer pays the VAT.
According to that article and links it provides, eBay takes care of VAT for items under £135:
QuoteThe good news for sellers is that when online marketplaces like eBay are involved in facilitating the sale, they will be responsible for collecting VAT directly from buyers. This means for packages of £135 or less, eBay will be collecting the VAT from buyers at the point of sale and remitting it to the UK tax authorities. For shipments worth more than this, eBay will not collect the VAT, and existing customs rules will apply - i.e. the buyer will be responsible for paying import VAT.
(from link on previous page: https://www.ebaymainstreet.com/news-events/new-value-added-tax-vat-arrangements-us-sellers-exporting-uk )
For your wholesale problems see "B2B" about halfway down.
From that section (assuming Hannants has their own VAT registration):
"If you sell products to a UK business with a VAT registration, you can avoid having to collect the VAT tax and make it the responsibility of the UK business to submit VAT on the order to the UK government."
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I got this wonderful news recently:
QuoteEffective Jan 1, 2021, value added tax (VAT) must be collected for all goods entering the United Kingdom (UK).
There will be a 20% VAT rate on goods valued up to £135 (about $180 USD), which you must collect unless your online marketplace (e.g. eBay, Amazon, Etsy, etc.) is already collecting it. Current procedures for goods valued over £135 remain the same.
To prevent your UK shipments from being delayed, held, or returned by UK customs in 2021, please take the following steps:
1. Register for a VAT number with the UK: https://www.gov.uk/vat-registration
2. Collect VAT at the time of purchase.
3. Make quarterly VAT return payments to the UK.
I decided to register my business with HMRC so that I could continue doing business with my UK customers.
About 2 hours into the frustrating and complicated registration process, ready to quit, I walked away from my computer to clear my head. When I returned the site had refreshed and started me over from the beginning, without having saved my info.
I quit.
I blocked payments from the UK on my website.
UK customers will have to order my products through eBay, as soon as I can get a Zactomodels eBay store up and running.
I'll try to have that done ASAP, but do have other obligations.
EU is coming next. They will apparently be requiring worldwide businesses to collect and pay them VAT fees starting in July.
Eventually small businesses won't be able to survive on their own and will be forced to submit to the mega-corporations...
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Have a look at my new website!!! https://zactomodels.com
A big thank you to the modelers whose pictures you'll see on my homepage.
A huge thank you to Marcel and Miro who took multiple pictures of their kits until the lighting and pose of the images worked together so that I could merge them for the hero-pic. Thank you for tolerating my AMS!My old website was cluttered, crowded, not mobile friendly and way beyond obsolete.
Not having a clue about building websites made this a real challenge.The site still needs a lot of work. I was mostly focused on making the homepage and store before going live.
The "about us" page and "shipping details" are temporary and will be filled in when I get the time.The "privacy policy" and "terms and conditions" are copy/pasted standard legal mumbo-jumbo that nobody reads or cares about.
I do plan to eventually add a customer build gallery and probably a few other pages for faqs, news, tutorials, etc. Just need more time...Please let me know what you think, if you find any problems or have any suggestions.
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Have a look at my new website!!! https://zactomodels.com
A big thank you to the modelers whose pictures you'll see on my homepage.
A huge thank you to Marcel and Miro who took multiple pictures of their kits until the lighting and pose of the images worked together so that I could merge them for the hero-pic. Thank you for tolerating my AMS!My old website was cluttered, crowded, not mobile friendly and way beyond obsolete.
Not having a clue about building websites made this a real challenge.The site still needs a lot of work. I was mostly focused on making the homepage and store before going live.
The "about us" page and "shipping details" are temporary and will be filled in when I get the time.The "privacy policy" and "terms and conditions" are copy/pasted standard legal mumbo-jumbo that nobody reads or cares about.
I do plan to eventually add a customer build gallery and probably a few other pages for faqs, news, tutorials, etc. Just need more time...Please let me know what you think, if you find any problems or have any suggestions.
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Email Joanna again and CC info@trumpeter-china.com explaining that Joanna hasn’t responded.
I had a customer do this after trying twice with no reply. When he did this he received a reply the same day.Good luck!
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I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving! 🦃
I'm taking the next few days off to be with family.
New orders received will be dealt with next week, after the Thanksgiving weekend.I recently made some price updates on my website. For the most part the price changes benefit you, the customers:
I raised and lowered some product prices, mostly lowered.
I increased US S&H to match current rates. International shipping is still the same.
I did a big S&H decrease on certain items I decided were safe to ship in padded envelopes rather than boxes. This will benefit both US and international customers.
UPS is now available for those who prefer it over USPS. In some cases UPS ground is the cheaper option. Contact me before ordering if you want a quote or if I determine it's a better option I'll contact you after you order.
Su-33 kits using UPS ground will save East coasters a bunch!
Due to COVID-19 slowing international deliveries, I have been using GlobalPost and having much better results than with USPS. While some packages still get delayed most are arriving in around 3 weeks rather than 3 months. Using GlobalPost does not increase the S&H cost. Padded envelope rates do not apply and will be shipped USPS.
A new website is coming soon!!!
It will have real-time shipping quotes and options as well as combined shipping.
Until then I ask that you contact me before ordering for combined shipping and I'll send a PayPal invoice.
I have been mostly absent from the forums for the past several months and I apologize for that.
I've had a few distractions and interruptions including an old back injury that keeps flaring up. This makes it difficult to sit at the computer (or workbench). My back is currently doing pretty good (dreading the thought of snow shoveling in the coming months...).
When I have had time on the computer, I've mostly been learning how to build a website.
My current website was started 15 years ago as a single product page by my old room-mate. We eventually added a second and third page and re-made the homepage. Since then I've been on my own, not knowing what I was doing, cloning and editing more and more pages while piling more and more on the homepage. It's a mess.
I'm excited about finally updating the website and hope to launch it very soon.
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I'm still here.
Aliens didn't abduct me (we've become good friends).
The Secret World Government has made a few attempts at mind-controlling me but jello is surprisingly delicious.I've been distracted with other projects and my old back injury has flared up a few times which makes it difficult to sit at the computer. When I am at the computer I haven't found much time to more than browse the forums while learning to code.
I am still taking and filling orders with little or no delays.
I have been answering business related emails and doing my best to reply to non-business ones. If an email has gone unanswered I apologize and ask that you try again.I updated my old website a few days ago after USPS raised their rates.
I lowered many product prices and raised a few.
I raised S&H where I had to, but lowered it for some items that I determined could be safely shipped in padded envelopes rather than boxes.
I'm now offering UPS for the Su-33 kits and larger orders, saving customers money.
International shipments were taking as long as 3 months to deliver due to COVID-19 delays, so I am now using GlobalPost and having much better results (for the same price) with packages arriving in around 3 weeks.Thanks for checking up on me and thanks for the support!
Back in business!
in Zactomodels
Posted · Edited by Zactoman
Zactomodels is now open again and it's good to be back!
During our move last year I injured my right shoulder. After months of living with it, I finally had it checked. I was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, but it turned out to be really bad bursitis with bone spurs.
The MRI was excruciating because I had to hold my neck cranked to the side. A week later my neck was aching, my left arm began falling asleep and my left thumb tip was completely numb. I went almost 2 months like that before I found a chiropractor that was able to help.
I was almost healed but kept re-injuring myself doing small tasks. Spending almost two weeks in bed with COVID was just what my body needed to recover. Another couple of weeks to take care of things and now I'm ready to go!
My apologies to those who have had emails go unanswered. I've done my best to reply to anything related to orders that were placed, but skipped almost everything else...
No new products for a while. While the casting area is temporarily set up (still in the dining room and not the garage), my office/modeling room is in-progress.
The new home is quite a drive from the Post Office, so orders will be shipping on Mondays and Fridays only.
UK is still blocked from purchasing due to VAT regulations. Does anybody know of any small business that has successfully signed up for VAT or found a way around this?
EU can order but you'll have to pay your own VAT when your package arrives.
Australia and New Zealand are both back after COVID restrictions.
Russia and Ukraine are blocked from ordering due to the war.
AIM-9X Sidewinder is in limbo until I can get more MV Lenses (or find a replacement).
F-16 MCID (large mouth) intake will not be available until after the garage/shop is up and running and I re-engineer the mold.
I will be doing a short run re-release of the Revell MiG-29 correction and combo sets in the near future. I'll be casting sets until the current molds wear out and then it's gone. Contact me if you are interested in reserving one.
Su-27 and A-7 canopies are not available, but I do plan to re-release them early next year after moving my shop to my garage, even if the parts aren't "Perfect" (I've realized I was too much of a perfectionist when rejecting minor flaws).
Chris