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Sold out.... everywhere


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A question for Gordon and other online shop owners

 

I was poking around my favorite online hobby shops recently and noticed that a lot of kits are sold out. Im curious how much of this is due to broken supply chains, how much is due to lame importers not knowing how to work with things changing, and how much is just due to the many new modelers that seem to have appeared just buying things out?

 

As with all complex things, I'm sure the answer consists of many factors. But I'm curious what the view from inside is like.

Edited by RKic
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As a follow-up; I went to my local Hobby Works shop and they didn't have DIDDLY!!! They never had much in terms of selection, but today there were maybe a dozen models to chose from.

 

 

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I had a conversation with my lhs owner last week about this exact thing. he said that from europe (das werk kits) shipping has tripled. so what would normally cost him $500 to get a bunch of kits shipped , was now 1700. I can wait

the biggest reason for this is a lack of the scheduled passenger flights. most passenger flights carry at least some cargo, and the overseas stuff carry a LOT of cargo.

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3 hours ago, gkwan said:

Can you be more specific regarding what brand(s) you are referring to?

 

I'm not trying to accuse you of running your site poorly.  I've been noticing more (SOLD OUT) notices at your site, and at several others others, than when I would go on-line shopping pre-corona. So I'm just curious how the virus has been impacting the system.  It feels like on Spruebrothers, the sold out stuff is largely from China. I was trying to pick things up for an upcoming Vietnam War group build at another site. 

 

I don't recall my full list of things I looked up, but among them 

 

Hobby Boss A-6A 1/48; A-4E 1/48 and 1/72, as well as A-4F 1/48 and 1/72; Mig-17F in 1/48
Airfux MiG-17 1/72
Meng F-102 1/72
Trumpeter F-105D 1/72


 

Edited by RKic
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2 minutes ago, Wolfgun33 said:

I noticed that as well. A lot of things that I wanted to get were sold out at several models sites.

Yeah, and I'm wondering if its more people buying stuff or less stuff being imported. 

 

If you go on social media, there appears to be a LOT of new modelers out there. Everyone being stuck at home might have been a boon for the hobby. So I'm wondering if these folks are just cleaning out the shops, and or if the suppliers aren't able to ship in high enough volumes.

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I read that there are a lot of people that got into the hobby because of the quarantine. My boss at the hospital is one of them. I sold him some kits that I had no plans of building.

 

I also wonder if the continued issues with China/US relations are a reason why some stuff (Hobby Boss and others) aren't available.

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39 minutes ago, RKic said:

I'm not trying to accuse you of running your site poorly. Its just that I've been noticing more (SOLD OUT) notices on your site, and others, than pre-corona. So I'm just curious how its been impacting the system.  It feels like on Spruebrothers, the sold out stuff is largely from China. I was trying to pick things up for an upcoming Vietnam War group build at another site. 

 

I don't recall my full list of things I looked up, but among them 

 

Hobby Boss A-6A 1/48; A-4E 1/48 and 1/72, as well as A-4F 1/48 and 1/72; Mig-17F in 1/48
Airfux MiG-17 1/72
Meng F-102 1/72
Trumpeter F-105D 1/72


 

 

Of the 4 brands listed, we only import Meng.  The rest are imported by others.  See below for our comments on the 4 items listed:

 

Hobby Boss A-6A 1/48; A-4E 1/48 and 1/72, as well as A-4F 1/48 and 1/72; Mig-17F in 1/48 - HB is imported by the worst model importer in the US right now as they are just about bankrupt (need money to buy inventory,).  This is about the change imminently as a new importer has been established who just told us this AM that we have 5 pallets of HB enroute to us this week.  I do not believe there are any A-6's on this shipment but should be some on the next one in a few weeks.


Airfux MiG-17 1/72 - should be soon.  Airfix has always been slow getting their stock to North America


Meng F-102 1/72 - Not available at Meng right now

 

Trumpeter F-105D 1/72  - Two US importers one of which is the one described above.  Our guess is that this one is currently not available at Trumpeter

 

 

When it is imported by others, we have no control over how much they order or how often they order.

 

What I can say is that we import over 50 brands right now including Meng, Takom, Rye Field, Eduard, Hasegawa and many others.  We have really not had any problems, in general, getting stuff.  There are always items that are out of stock at the manufacturer, even pre-COVID, so that has not changed what so ever.

 

All we can do is order what we are out of, but unfortunately, ordering and receiving are two completely different concepts.

Edited by gkwan
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Gordon, 

23 minutes ago, gkwan said:

 

 

 

What I can say is that we import over 50 brands right now including Meng, Takom, Rye Field, Eduard, Hasegawa and many others.  We have really not had any problems, in general, getting stuff.  There are always items that are out of stock at the manufacturer, even pre-COVID, so that has not changed what so ever.

 

All we can do it order what we are out of, but unfortunately, ordering and receiving are two completely different concepts.

Thanks for the insight, Gordon. 


I do hope the influx of new modelers has been good for your business. 

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6 hours ago, RKic said:


Airfux MiG-17 1/72
 

 

Freudian slip ???   :rofl:

 

While I admire Gordon for not naming names it isn't hard to figure out who is "just about bankrupt"...  :coolio:

 

.

Edited by habu2
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1 hour ago, habu2 said:

 

Freudian slip ???   :rofl:

 

While I admire Gordon for not naming names it isn't hard to figure out who is "just about bankrupt"...  :coolio:

 

.

 

I'm curious, what is your favorite fighter SQUADRON? 😄

Edited by Darren Roberts
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15 minutes ago, dylan said:

are you guys shipping to Canada again? or are we still having scrounge stuff from Europe?

 

We have never stopped shipping to Canada.  The only thing that has really changed during COVID-19 is that it takes a long time to get to you (international shipping has been severely impacted) unless you go with FedEx Express International shipping.   What used to take around 2 weeks can now take 60+ days.

Edited by gkwan
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48 minutes ago, gkwan said:

 

We have never stopped shipping to Canada.  The only thing that has really changed during COVID-19 is that it takes a long time to get to you (international shipping has been severely impacted) unless you go with FedEx Express International shipping.   What used to take around 2 weeks can now take 60+ days.

well... I had an order cancelled on me earlier this year without any notice. then when I went to re order I got an email stating that there would be delays. (which I completely get) buuuut. after that order was "processing"  for 2 weeks, I decided to just cancel it myself.

was it something I said?

the usps is completely a mess right now, but it has to get out the door first.

 

please do not take this as a rant or a smear on SB, I have been getting stuff from Sprue Brothers since the beginning. in over 100 orders I have had exactly 1 bad experience that was due to UPS being.. well UPS.

cheers

 

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3 hours ago, habu2 said:

 

Freudian slip ???   :rofl:

 

While I admire Gordon for not naming names it isn't hard to figure out who is "just about bankrupt"...  :coolio:

 

.

Hmmm. I missed it but now I don't want to fix it. 

 

When it's them or 15% undersized fuselage alternative (dragon/Zvezda) I'll make a concession.

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2 hours ago, Darren Roberts said:

 

I'm curious, what is your favorite fighter SQUADRON? 😄


There was a time when my favorite Squadron was the only mail order game in town.  But after many changes of command they have all but retired their colors. 
 

Having said that the Squadron does still get some of my business. I just picked up a stack of their In Action books during one of their frequent fire sales. At $2-$5 a pop they are hard to resist and, being local, I can pick up my order and avoid shipping costs. Though I can’t remember the last time I bought a kit from them...

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On 8/17/2020 at 9:58 PM, gkwan said:

 

We have never stopped shipping to Canada.  The only thing that has really changed during COVID-19 is that it takes a long time to get to you (international shipping has been severely impacted) unless you go with FedEx Express International shipping.   What used to take around 2 weeks can now take 60+ days.

 

LOL!  Here's one for some gear at work we ordered.  I'll just type info in.  But it was a FedEx delivery.

Shipped out from Redmond, WA on 8/03 to South Carolina

8/4 - Troutdale, OR

8/5 - Tremonton, UT to Gothenberg, NE

8/6 - Whittington, IL

8/7 - Kennesaw, GA  (It's getting close!!)

8/8 - Kennesaw, GA

8/9 - Kennesaw, GA

8/10 - Kennesaw, GA

8/16 - Tracy, CA  (Oops! How did that happen??)

8/18 - Tracy, CA  - Departed FedEx Location.....

 

I ordered an O Scale transformer off ebay last month.  Started in PA, to TN, NC, my USPS hub in Columbia, SC and then back to PA straight delivery and then next day straight back to my hub here in town and then to my local PO for delivery. 

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5 hours ago, Mstor said:

I've had USPS shipments make it to my local post office and then for whatever reason turn around and head out of state. No logic to it at all. Go figure.

Same here they are scanned at my mail office as received  just need to be put on vehicle for delivery. Yep then the next scan is 200 miles away. But overall I have had really great service from USPS.

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