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Receiving kits in the mail


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This will be the first time I actually order a kit and have it shipped from an online retailer. I have ordered plenty of other items such as smaller aftermarket products, etc. with no issue. I do worry about kits coming damaged, not being the fault of the retailer but the carrier. Transit process, being tossed around, etc.  

 

What's everyone's experience receiving kits? Any complaints, damage? 

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If buying from an actual retailer, you should be fine - they should be experienced at packing kits properly...

....that said, I've bought lots of kits via eBay, some of which have turned up in nothing more than a plastic bag, and never had one that's suffered any major damage...

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Just like when shipping from factory to wholesaler to retailer, if the box has a rough ride some of the parts which are more delicately attached to the sprue might get jarred loose.

 

Also, depending on which package of what weight gets stacked where, and how the kit was packaged to ship to you, minor to major wrinkling of the kit box is potentially possible.

 

In the 4 decades I've mail ordered model kits I can remember only 2 of them have ever having actual physical parts damage from shipping.

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In my 20+ years of buying kits online I have had one go missing (1/48 Memphis Belle) and one come with a badly crushed box (Fantastic Voyage Proteus) with slight damage to the kit. The vendor offered to replace it, but I declined. 

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Never had any kit boxes that came damaged.. all were securely and tightly packed with the inner packaging being sturdy.

It maybe that some E Bay sellers  don't realise how a model kit is fragile especially  in transit when they post it.. and so don't package it securely inside and outside but that is a rare case I think.

A reputable company always makes sure you get your package very secure and undamaged..

Good Luck with yours.

👍

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Usually good experiences, some retailers "overpack" ; they got so much styro and bubble wrap they have to sit on the box like Lucy and Ethel packing a suitcase! Regular retailers know what they're doing, I've only had one ebayer throw several models in a box without proper insulation. Phoned in an order to The New Squadron Shop which I've done since 1972, arrived quickly no problems. It's a great era!

hth

 

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Oh, I forgot about some parts a guy sent me many years ago.  The numb nut placed a 1/32 P-40 spinner and a few more parts taped to a piece of cardboard in a standard mail envelope.  Not even a padded envelope. Spinner arrived flat after it was run through the mail processing machines for envelopes. 
Not the USPS fault.  Pro tip:  Never, ever, ever ship anything in a regular envelope but regular folded papers. 

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WTF? I've been having kits and other stuff delivered to my home since before the internet was a thing. If people could not reliably get their orders undamaged, e-commerce sites would not have put most of the local hobby shops out of business. Damage does happen, but it's so rare I can't remember the last time and I order stuff internationally and lately from war zones all the time.

 

Before the internet there used to be this thing called mail-order, where we got paper catalogs in the mail or saw ads in magazines. If we wanted something we had to pick up a phone, call a shop (toll free if you were lucky) and talk to another human about what you wanted, then you read out your credit card number over the phone. In about 5-10 business days you'd get a package. UPS, FedEx, DHL and USPS pretty much figured out how to ship just about anything anywhere in the world without damage before the internet existed.


 

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24 minutes ago, habu2 said:

... than I do about packaged being stolen off my front porch before I can retrieve them.

 

:hmmm:Okay, not complaining here... not at all.

My mother tongue is Afrikáans. I was taught English as a second language too, but what exactly would a packaged being stolen be? :gr_eek2:

The kit was securely/well/tightly packaged, right? It's a verb.

So how can a packaged be stolen? I got lost in translations.

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23 minutes ago, Gwen Phoenix said:

 

:hmmm:Okay, not complaining here... not at all.

My mother tongue is Afrikáans. I was taught English as a second language too, but what exactly would a packaged being stolen be? :gr_eek2:

The kit was securely/well/tightly packaged, right? It's a verb.

So how can a packaged be stolen? I got lost in translations.

 

Oh how I hate autocomplete when typing on a cellphone.....  🤬🤬🤬

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On 2/1/2023 at 8:25 PM, habu2 said:

Oh how I hate autocomplete when typing on a cellphone.....  🤬🤬🤬

 

Oh, I was just pulling your leg there, habu... 😆

But yes, I'll give you that the autocomplete feature on cellophane has sometimes got me nervous as well.

We refer the comms nuisance to as the mobile phone in Cape Town.

Incidentally; thanks a lot for your invaluable help identifying the wingtip rails in the Chilean F-16 MLUs.

Cheers,

 

Gwen 

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