Squadron

[Liberator24]

and yet another 35 dollar order to Sprue.....they had the kit I wanted in stock....

Sorry.....um....ditto everyone else's comments.

-Jim

[Jef V]

Hi All

First of all we’d like to thank you for your honest responses. We really appreciate your feedback and are always striving to improve our service.

Just so you know, a year ago Squadron implemented price match. If you can show us a link where you find a product cheaper, we will honor that price. Also, last summer we have in store pick up. You can place an order online or call it in and pick it up at our location.

Regards,

Jef V.

[Joel_W]

Jeff,

you still haven't addressed the main issues that everyone has brought up: OUT OF STOCKS no matter what you call them, and sales with not enough merchandise to support them. And the biggest issue of all is your shipping policy. How many more posts do you need to see that your shipping policies are killing your business, even if you happen to have the merchandise in stock.

Joel

[Gary Busey]

Also, last summer we have in store pick up. You can place an order online or call it in and pick it up at our location.

Great! So if I don't want to pay $16 shipping for a package that weighs less than a pound, now I can drive all the way out to Carrollton, Texas from Malibu, California to pick it up! WOOOOOO-DOGGY! That makes all the difference in the world!

[beingthehero]

I echo Don's comments in that it's all "Selection, cost, availability, and shipping." I haven't ordered from Squadron in a while, but that's because my interests veered from World War 2 armor and figures towards Soviet/Russian fighter jets many years ago. That said, Squadron hasn't lured me in with any of those kits, either. That is when I too discovered the issue with out of stock items, when I tried to see if they had any of the GWH 1/48 MiG-29 kits in stock only to see that they were not.

I know nostalgia has never saved a business, but I'd rather not see Squadron go under. It's an American company, and if they die then that means a lot of American jobs will be lost, too. With the right strategy, I still have hope they'll bounce back.

Edited April 19, 2016 by beingthehero

[nspreitler]

Hi All

First of all we’d like to thank you for your honest responses. We really appreciate your feedback and are always striving to improve our service.

Just so you know, a year ago Squadron implemented price match. If you can show us a link where you find a product cheaper, we will honor that price. Also, last summer we have in store pick up. You can place an order online or call it in and pick it up at our location.

Regards,

Jef V.

That's great, but price match doesn't help when you don't have it. You advertise 300 1/48 prop kits, but only have 102 in stock. In comparison Spruebrothers has 108 just in the US category. I would shop at Squadron often if you had stuff in stock. If I want to buy 5 things and you have one or two of them but somebody else has all five, I'll shop with the company that has what I want even if it costs a little more.

[Skull Leader]

Hi All

First of all we’d like to thank you for your honest responses. We really appreciate your feedback and are always striving to improve our service.

Just so you know, a year ago Squadron implemented price match. If you can show us a link where you find a product cheaper, we will honor that price. Also, last summer we have in store pick up. You can place an order online or call it in and pick it up at our location.

Regards,

Jef V.

This is a classic misdirection. Im about to take you to task on this, so please listen.

You've completely ignored the 2 biggest problems your company faces (as echoed by nearly everyone in this thread) and said "but look what other services we provide!" failing to understand 2 things. #1, price match (which isnt very well advertised, btw) doesnt make you better than the other guy, only as-good-as... and im willing to bet that doesnt cover shipping either. #2, in-store pickup helps MAYBE 5% of your customer base. Seriously, how many of us live near your warehouse? Or even within an hours driving time? Its wonderful that you provide that service for those within a reasonable driving distance, but you cant exactly use that as a selling point when your (potential, and getting less potential by the hour) customer base is very international.

- in stock vs. Out of stock (and how well you tack these details

- level of stock, or lack thereof

- janky, bordering-on-obscene shipping rates

These are what it takes to even keep up with your competition. You need better tracking of whats in your warehouse, you need more of it, and you need a more honest set of shipping rates where you dont rob us blind.

If you honestly think you're doing the best you can in these categories, you should probably re-evaluate your decision to remain open.

[Viasistina]

I haven't shopped there in 25 years since they closed the DC (Maryland) shop and screwed the owner (Roy Dryer) on the way out.

[MHaz]

Jef,

Why doesn't MMD/Squadron use weight-based shipping like almost every other online store out there? You're using Volusion, which is the same cart that Sprue Brothers uses. Having set up a few stores online for other folks, I know how easy it is to set up weight-based shipping. If your web guys have properly entered your inventory, switching over should be a no-brainer process.

Since I'm a DFW local, I try to do local pickup whenever possible, but just for the sake of this discussion, I set up the identical order at both Squadron and Sprue Bros for comparison, using Caracal's Su-30MKK sheet in 1/72:

Squadron:

• 2x Caracal 72041 @ 15.00 each: $30.00
  
• Shipping to (FORT WORTH, TX): $9.95
  
• Total: $39.95 (NOTE: TX Sales tax excluded to make comparison accurate)
  

Sprue Brothers:

• 2x Caracal 72041 @ 12.99 each: $25.98
  
• Shipping to (FORT WORTH, TX): $4.02
  
• Total: $30.00
  

Do you happen to see the problems here? Not only are you more expensive per sheet ($2.01), but your shipping is better than double Sprue Bros', and Kansas City is rather more distant to me than Carrolton.

Here are the shipping options each site gives me for the above order:

Squadron:

• US Orders Orders $15.00 to $49.99 via Expedited Shipping (3-5 Days): $12.95
  
• In-Store Pickup
  
• US Orders Orders $15.00 to $49.99 via Economy Shipping (5-10 Days): $9.95
  

Sprue Bros:

• Sure Post by U.P.S.: $11.50
  
• Lowest Cost Available (Cost to Not Exceed): $7.25
  
• U.P.S. Ground: $14.53
  
• USPS First Class Mail (Air Method): $4.02
  
• USPS Priority Mail (Air Method): $7.85
  
• Local Pickup
  

So why can other vendors offer more and cheaper shipping options than Squadron?

Plus, if Sprue Bros overestimates the shipping cost, they refund any excess, so I end up never paying more than actual shipping cost.

Edited April 19, 2016 by MHaz

[Chris L]

I echo Don's comments in that it's all "Selection, cost, availability, and shipping." I haven't ordered from Squadron in a while, but that's because my interests veered from World War 2 armor and figures towards Soviet/Russian fighter jets many years ago. That said, Squadron hasn't lured me in with any of those kits, either. That is when I too discovered the issue with out of stock items, when I tried to see if they had any of the GWH 1/48 MiG-29 kits in stock only to see that they were not.

I know nostalgia has never saved a business, but I'd rather not see Squadron go under. It's an American company, and if they die then that means a lot of American jobs will be lost, too. With the right strategy, I still have hope they'll bounce back.

Well yeah, there's still those pesky little problems .... Apparently unimportant .

[Big Texan]

Jef,

Why doesn't MMD/Squadron use weight-based shipping like almost every other online store out there? You're using Volusion, which is the same cart that Sprue Brothers uses. Having set up a few stores online for other folks, I know how easy it is to set up weight-based shipping. If your web guys have properly entered your inventory, switching over should be a no-brainer process.

Since I'm a DFW local, I try to do local pickup whenever possible, but just for the sake of this discussion, I set up the identical order at both Squadron and Sprue Bros for comparison, using Caracal's Su-30MKK sheet in 1/72:

Squadron:

• 2x Caracal 72041 @ 15.00 each: $30.00
  
• Shipping to (FORT WORTH, TX): $9.95
  
• Total: $39.95 (NOTE: TX Sales tax excluded to make comparison accurate)
  

Sprue Brothers:

• 2x Caracal 72041 @ 12.99 each: $25.98
  
• Shipping to (FORT WORTH, TX): $4.02
  
• Total: $30.00
  

Do you happen to see the problems here? Not only are you more expensive per sheet ($2.01), but your shipping is better than double Sprue Bros', and Kansas City is rather more distant to me than Carrolton.

Here are the shipping options each site gives me for the above order:

Squadron:

• US Orders Orders $15.00 to $49.99 via Expedited Shipping (3-5 Days): $12.95
  
• In-Store Pickup
  
• US Orders Orders $15.00 to $49.99 via Economy Shipping (5-10 Days): $9.95
  

Sprue Bros:

• Sure Post by U.P.S.: $11.50
  
• Lowest Cost Available (Cost to Not Exceed): $7.25
  
• U.P.S. Ground: $14.53
  
• USPS First Class Mail (Air Method): $4.02
  
• USPS Priority Mail (Air Method): $7.85
  
• Local Pickup
  

So why can other vendors offer more and cheaper shipping options than Squadron?

Plus, if Sprue Bros overestimates the shipping cost, they refund any excess, so I end up never paying more than actual shipping cost.

I have often wondered this truth, and being a resident of Texas, I do my ordering from Sprue Bros for the most part, because of what you illustrated above. The only time I buy from Squadron, is if the item is on sale at a really good price. Don't like paying high shipping nor Texas taxes, they get enough of my dough as it is! Thanks for pointing this out! Maybe, hopefully, the guys that work at Squadron will see this!

[Crash Test Dummy]

Since Sprue Brothers became more than an ebay store, Squadron can be no better than my second choice and they are starting to fall behind e-bay. I'm close enough to SB that their cheapest shipping ends up being overnight most of the time. Convenience wins for me even if SB were more expensive which is rarely the case.

Over the last decade or so I have only ordered from Squadron if Sprue Brothers didn't have an item I wanted in stock. Lately, if SB is out of stock it's almost guaranteed that Squadron will be out of stock as well. It's been 3 years since my last order from Squadron which was a bunch of Warpaint books which I don't think SB even carried at the time. I checked today and Squadron had exactly 1 listed while SB had 109 titles.

Today I was looking for a 1:48 F-16A vertical tail with a parabrake housing. There's one in some Wolfpack conversions, but SB was out of stock and Squadron doesn't even carry the brand. Red Star got the order for a KASL tail. I've never used them (Red Star or KASL) before, but it was what was available when I wanted it which is really what matters to me.

It really seems like Squadron has run into the dilemma that led to the demise of a lot of brick and mortar shops in that they can't afford the comprehensive inventory to compete on the web.

[skyhawk174]

I know we will never know but it would be interesting to find out how many international buyers they have lost. I know 5 guys right here in my city (Canadian) that no longer buy from Squadron because of shipping. I also know a couple of other friends further east in Ontario who no longer have Squadron on their list.

Dollar exchange beside the point it is the shipping that gets me to not even go looking for stuff there.

Also, as others have said, I am looking for the aftermarket stuff. Being in the hobby for so long, I don't need another kit as my stash is big enough but those Quickboost, Aires (sometimes), Eduard (sometimes), Vector and the like are what I am after. If it is not available I cannot buy it.

[habu2]

You can place an order online or call it in and pick it up at our location.

I challenge you to place and successfully complete an order online, on your own website, for pick up at your location. The order process insists on the customer selecting a shipping option, no matter how many time you select in-store pickup. As long as in-store pickup is selected you cannot complete the order.

Yes, I can "call it in" - just like I used to do in the '80s - but then what's the point in your online presence?

Go ahead, try it.

[Scott Smith]

The last two or three kits I bought new were from Squadron. I usually watch their online sales like a hawk. Some great deals can be found, even with shipping. But this alone is not enough to keep a business afloat. I agree that the shipping price structuring needs to be addressed.

It's rare for me to buy new when so many great deals can be found on forums like this one. As long as I don't have to have the newest kit out to sit in my stash to collect dust, I can save lots of cash. I think the only time I have jumped on this bandwagon was with the new Kittyhawk T-28. And now it sits while I make up my mind how I want to build it....

I've been watching the 1/200 Trumpeter Missouri for some time now. A couple weeks back it dipped down into the $250 price point. Great price, but I had just purchased the T-28 and a few other kits from members on forums, so the cash was low and the credit was high.. And convincing the wife I needed yet another kit for the stash wasn't going to happen. I just wish they took PaypalI can sneak that one past the CFO. :rolleyes:/>

Edited April 21, 2016 by Scott Smith

[LanceB]

And to think, Squadron's big problem used to be that they had too much inventory:

(Squadron's first ever ad in FSM, FWIW)

Oh my. I did not know that was Squadron's first-ever ad in FSM.

But I do know those were the first-ever kits my parents purchased for me from Squadron when I was a boy - because I saw that ad in a magazine at the druggists (I think it was Scale Modeling, not FSM, as FSM would have been new at the time and the only store that carried it was the hobby shop 30 miles away) and convinced my mother that this was a Great Deal!

[RCAFFAN]

Was in a local shop today and they were doing an order with MMD...Of the 60 item order (recent releases) only 20 were in stock with 40 back-ordered. That's not going to make you popular with anyone.....

Edited April 21, 2016 by RCAFFAN

[niart17]

Not to keep BUT I just got ANOTHER e-mail with a "sale" ad. Granted, some of the sales prices are good deals (provided they are in stock) but really I've come to look at these as mere nuisances now. When you have a sale every time the clock rolls over it no longer seems like a deal but rather a gimmick. Offer lower prices on everything you have and you won't have to have sales to "hook people" but maybe once or twice a year. If you think that the exposure gained from an e-mail flyer is what's getting you customers, then have something else other than sales. ANYTHING else. Don't show items that aren't in stock (unless it's short term out of stock). Your catalog of inventory might not LOOK as impressive with less item but I'd rather know that you don't have an item by it not being listed at all. These are pretty basic business practices. Sale what you have at a good price, try to get a good selection on hand, offer competitive shipping and honest fast service. I mean it's not really rocket science. Comon', you're a Texas company for Pete's sake. This should be second nature to you guys.

Bill

[Model-Junkie]

Does anyone know whether 'out of stock' / 'in stock soon' sale items can still be ordered? If the items can still be purchased and Squadron is willing to honor the sale price when the items come back in stock then that is great. That said, their current sale only seems to show in stock items.

Although they seem to have sales often (for example they had a 5 day sale last week and they started another April Sale yesterday) just means that I've learned to only place an order with them during their sales.

I also want to throw it out there that Squadron still offers free shipping but the minimum order total to qualify is now set at $200 whereas in the past it was $150.

[ziggyfoos]

Does anyone know whether 'out of stock' / 'in stock soon' sale items can still be ordered? If the items can still be purchased and Squadron is willing to honor the sale price when the items come back in stock then that is great.

....

I also want to throw it out there that Squadron still offers free shipping but the minimum order total to qualify is now set at $200 whereas in the past it was $150.

No way. Can't order anything unless it is in stock. The sales always have a "limited to quantities on hand - no back orders" disclaimer.

I thought a few years ago free shipping was $100 and over, maybe I'm misremembering though.

[GEH737]

Jef -

I've been a Squadron customer for over 30 years, and I've spent untold thousands of dollars there. Lately though - for all the reasons listed above, you're not my "go to" online hobby site. One of the biggest things for me was the change in shipping charges. When it was free for orders over $100, I was easily able to add something in to get to that amount (sometimes, it was just the 99 cent insurance). Last month, I had around $180.00 in the cart - but walked away when the shipping was $18.95. There just wasn't anything else I wanted - and to me anyways, it seems like I should be rewarded for spending more, not penalized. Even though I'm fortunate enough to have plenty of disposable income - that really bugs me. For example, Amazon Prime gets me stuff quick, and free (even though I'm paying the yearly fee - it pays off quickly, and I've wound up buying a lot more from Amazon (including kits and hobby items) because of it, and I refuse to support someone trying to pad their profit with shipping on eBay. Availability is certainly an issue with any online vendor - but my wife and I are always swayed by shipping charges, and that often tips the decision - no matter what the product.

I'd suggest re-evaluating your shipping charges, look at the items you carry (maybe ask your customer base what they're interested in - honestly, to me, you carry so many weird items at such high prices, I can't for the life of me figure out who's buying it. But that could just be me.) Better pricing, real time inventory and quick, reasonable shipping will go a long way to being competitive with so many options available these days.

And to be fair - I've never had a single problem with Squadron in the past 30 years, the service has been great, and I will continue to be a customer.

Hitch

[Don]

You read this thread and there have been some really good suggestions that are, in my opinion, realistic and easily within the realm of possibility for not only Squadron to implement but any online hobby shop. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Squadron...

[habu2]

And to be fair - I've never had a single problem with Squadron in the past 30 years, the service has been great, and I will continue to be a customer.

I'd like to echo this comment. On the (very) rare occasion when there was a problem with an order, Squadron's customer service always promptly resolved it to my satisfaction. Can't fault them in that area.