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bindarrian

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Posts posted by bindarrian

  1. Posted

    15 minutes ago, Wandy said:

    I've ordered one from RCJaz as they are still showing as in stock. Let's see if the order actually goes through eh?

    I'm pretty sure there will be a second batch of these though. In fact it feels like only half of the entire planned production run has actually been sent out. 

    Unless, Tamiya have decided to start releasing kits in the way that Nike etc release their limited edition sneakers, and make them stupidly limited to drum up hype around the company & RC scene.....which would, frankly, be appalling.

    Even with Nike etc, if you manage to get an order in and pay you get your goods. To get a reservation in on the day that they're first mentioned, followed up by a paid for order and not get your goods is below par.

  2. Posted

    54 minutes ago, futureworks said:

    I did the same (reserved via email as soon as they were announced on Tamiyablog).  I did follow up with Joanne at a Fusion about not getting one - spacer.pngMy message at the bottom, her reply. Seems like it was a system issue, but nevertheless bit of a let down 

    293D40D0-FE53-4CA6-BE16-91D61445DB35.jpeg

    This must have happened to my 6th August order too, and verbal confirmation on 21st July! Considering how many are now on eBay, surely they are not being sold by the enthusiasts and collectors that ordered early? There has to be a better system for this. 
     

    I ordered from Tamico too so I would have one to build and one to keep BNIB. Also ordered 47479 from them - had my reservation for the 934 confirmed and will be delivered with the Carbon Chassis. It seems so simple.

  3. Posted

    On 12/1/2021 at 8:18 PM, futureworks said:

    So that’s a bit odd as I emailed Joanne at Fusion on Monday checking on the order status, and had a reply yesterday basically saying they’d got a fraction of the expected  order and intimating that i would be missing out (on back order). Yet my order date was before yours, on 4th August!!!  I’m glad a decided to go for a contingency and order from Tamico as well, which I did in September, as I got my ‘shipped’ notification yesterday, but still, I’m left somewhat nonplussed now about Fusion. 

    Sounds like a familiar theme. I received a similar message when I contacted them. My order was placed on 6th August (due to the fact that it was the first day I realised you could actually place an order), however I was in contact with them on 21st July and asked to be put on the list for one, which was confirmed! This was the first day it was mentioned on the Tamiyablog! I've spent thousands with them over the years and to say I'm a little disappointed is an understatement. If they were a little more open with your place in the queue it would make it a lot easier to decide whether to order elsewhere too. Considering my verbal order was confirmed the day this car was first mentioned I didn't consider for a moment that I wouldn't get one from them. Although, looking back to the Limited Edition P34...

    • Sad 1

  4. Posted

    15 hours ago, moffman said:

    Does anyone know if this release again is going to be a short run or is going to be a general release?

    Who knows with Tamiya. Initially it was a Limited run for Japan only, but since it's been extended to the rest of the world I presume it's a larger production run. How large is anyone's guess - I didn't acquire one on the previous release so I wasn't going to miss out this time.

  10. Posted

    11 minutes ago, Snappy1 said:

    What does everyone think of Towers price?

     

    I have one on order with Stella, it will be interesting to see any differences in price,

    GT tuned and full bearings, can anyone read the Japanese? I suppose no ESC?

    Admin on the tamiya blog says about $200 - hopefully Towers price is on the high side.

  12. Posted

    I've noticed over the past week or so that some of the items I have in my eBay watch list from Stella and RCmart are now saying "does not ship to the UK". I contacted RCmart about this and they said use the website instead. I wonder if Tamiya has had a chat with other suppliers too?

    If so, someone really is stamping their feet! is this the end for cheap spares? Will it be eBay's Hobby Japan next?

     

  13. Posted

    On 8 August 2016 at 4:03 PM, Nobbi1977 said:

    Most of my cars have huge amounts of hop-ups because of Banzai. I can wait for the slow postage and the parts cost about what I would expect them to cost. If they cost more I will not buy them so Tamiya lose out. Tamiya is not a premium brand but I the UK we are charged as if it is.

    I often buy kits from Germany as the cost over here is usually more. I am happy to pay pennys more to support local but pounds is out my reach. 

    It is pretty much the same for me. I only ever had bearings on my car. I pretty much gave up the hobby as replacement parts were almost impossible to source and astromically priced if you could find them. Overseas purchases, including eBay, have brought these parts down to a reasonable level so it sounds like we've all been filling our boots. If I couldn't get the hop-ups at the price international trade has brought then I probably wouldn't buy the models, or at least as many (I've bought a few in the last couple of years), for them to go on. However the final price is reached, local hobby stores generally charge too much for small parts. If that was my only option my interest in the hobby would probably fade again. I guess interest and subsequently sales in the brand are on the rise, no doubt at least in part to the availability of cheap spares, and the National Distributors/ Retailers want a share of that action - even though when it was left to them they nearly killed off the business over here before. Tamiya should be careful with how far they go with this as they could stifle the new business these prices have brought. And If I were Stella, RCmart et al I would be watching my back!

    • Like 2

  15. Posted

    2 hours ago, yogi-bear said:

    ok, as a person who has run a business both successfully and unsuccessfully I might as well throw my 2 cents into the ring, so some points come to mind in no particular order:

     

    1. firstly, just because a business makes say 50% on a product, that doesn't mean thats all profit. Out of that comes wages, insurances, rent, loss of stock, taxes, fittings and fixtures etc. Also many businesses have busy and quiet times, especially in retail, so there will be periods where the store is probably run at a loss. Plus not all items will have that profit margin, there may be loss leaders, popular items that don't make much but draw people into the store etc. In western countries wages and staff costs can be high. Here in Australia, we have to give 4 weeks holiday (of which many people get was called leave loading, so you pay more to them to holiday!), they also get super which is currently 9% of their wage paid into a fund for their retirement, plus workers insurances etc. I don't bemoan these costs, but they do add up. Retail leases in Australia I think are also incredibly high, with many shopping centres not only taking a weekly rent, but also a percentage of profit.  This is also partly why Australia, and indeed may other western countries have lost lots of manufacturing jobs.

     

    2. Maybe this isn't just about rc cars, I would wager Tamiya sell way more models than rc cars (anyone know for sure?) and they would be looking after those interests as well.

     

    3. Maybe Tamiya thinks its better to look after the bulk of their distributors rather than just one. Sure I bet Banzai where selling a lot, but there is also a lot to be said for going after less sales, but maybe by looking after the majority of the distributors they see this as a more consistent sales avenue. There is also a lot of physiology with price perception and customers, a person will quite often subconsciously evaluate a group of products based on the price ranges, which marketing then tries to reinforce. An example I've heard about in business school was Tager Watchs (I think), they made good watches, but couldn't increase sales, they ended up drastically increasing the price and ended up selling more, because they ended up being viewed as a premium brand. Price can drive market perceptions about a product, so if ends up selling too cheap, then the general perception of the product maybe lowered. So maybe Tamiya are trying to steer this a little.

     

    4. I dare say there is a lot to sticking to olds ways of doing business and looking after long term distributors (that wouldn't surprise me if its a Japanese way of doing business), which I think they will sooner or later they have to change. My last business failed because I couldn't contain costs and so I couldn't complete, a similar problem many LHS are finding themselves in. My old business was printing and there are two issues with printing industry at the moment - printing demand is declining and quite often can be had far cheaper from overseas. There have been in the last few years in Australia a lot of printers go bust, both large and small. Added to this now is that suppliers of print equipment are starting to compete for jobs with the people they sell the printers too! So for me to have kept my print business alive, I need to turn over a lot more print jobs at lower margin, and to do that I had to invest a lot of money in new machines to do work faster. So if you could stop a competitor selling cheaply wouldn't you try? So I wouldn't be surprised if some of the distributors or maybe a lot of small hobby shops complained.

     

    5. Which brings me to my last point, while we collectively have a memory as kids going to the LHS, buying things like that weren't always done that way. The way we shop has always evolved and will always continue to do so. Those that can't adapt will be left behind, a little sad yes, but a fact of life.  I doubt it the long run a small local hobby store can survive on a low margins like banzai can. Costs per item will be relatively higher than someone operating a large warehouse, so to stay afloat profit margins have to be higher. Some will survive by offering better local service, but many won't. I don't necessarily think this is good or bad, its just the way business operates, and a business will end if it can't be attractive to its customers or can't adapt to new technologies or new ways of doing business.

     

    I've tried to support the local hobby store too, but the cost is a lot higher and getting spares in can often end up taking a ridiculous amount of time, the worst was having to wait nearly 8 weeks for some hotshot parts, which at the time I could have gotten in a week or so from eBay (although in Australia we have the problem that hobbystores have to go through a local distributor whom isn't known for the best service). So in the end I feel guilty not buying at my LHS more often, but money will dictate and in Australia we have few options.

     

    It does make me wonder where this will all head towards though. Free trade agreements have brought us cheaper products, and no doubt opened up markets for some businesses, but in the process we have lost a lot of mainly manufacturing jobs. 

    Fair points Yogi Bear. I have personal knowledge of Japanese working practices and they are very resistant to changing their ways. Whether this is good or bad is up for debate. I'm also unsure whether global trade will work in the long run due to the lack of taxes being paid globally. I guess finding the right balance is what we're all trying to achieve. My point with Tamiya's stance with Banzai is that it's discriminatory. If Tamiya don't like what's happening they should change the rules for all their suppliers, not just pick the most successful/ efficient. All the suppliers in the same territory as Banzai have the same opportunity. If it's fairness and support for the local distributors that Tamiya is really trying to achieve, shouldn't they ban all overseas sales? Restrict everyone's purchases to their own territory?

    Maybe we can have a poll: local retailers only versus any supplier? Can someone set this up?

  16. Posted

    2 hours ago, GregM said:

    Banzai may have a quick profit in the short run and with their prices, that is a quick gain for customers, true. But as I said, it will devalue Tamiya as a brand and their business in the long run. Tamiya has to supervise and control their market not only for the distributors they have under contract, but also to keep themselves alive and customers happy.

    Comparing a Japanese seller like Banzai to German based Tamico is like comparing apples with oranges. Banzai does not pay import duties and pays taxes in Japan, while Tamico's distributor Dickie-Tamiya has to pay import duties for freight and sales are taxed locally. Plus, I see many many Tamiya kits and parts available at Tamico and Seidel that are not even heard of at Banzai.

    If I had to restrict my purchases to Banzai, I wouldn't be a happy bunny. So again, you guys out there who have no other options, I feel for you. For others who do have and still complain, try to understand and accept how products are sold and how distribution networks function, even today.

    Absolutely Greg. I guess it's just a question of whether you want to function in a free market where price/ customer service are factors in the purchasing decisions, or whether you want the public to pay a premium to support the various parts of the industry? Remember we as the importer pay fees and taxes too and that still doesn't explain the huge difference from our local suppliers. I even buy parts, not just kits, from Germany and suffer the €10/ €14 shipping charge as it's often cheaper than the UK.

    Funnily enough, even before your reply I was thinking about Tamiya's distribution network and it doesn't seem to fit the global marketplace we are all now part of. Local distribution networks are just another overhead when all a business like Tamiya's should need is a multi-lingual customer service operation and decent shipping service. Maybe I'm wrong, but in my personal experiences I have never once considered contacting Tamiya or sending a part back. I use the internet for any information I need. I love the idea of the old, shelves stacked to the ceiling, hobby stores that we can wander around for hours but for most of us that is a dream long since past. The last time a visited my local hobby store was for a battery over a year ago - and they don't stock Tamiya!

    I guess it's just a question of whether 1) you want us all to pay a premium for having the local store, or 2) have the choice to buy no frills OR with local service.

    I'm just not keen when the excuse given is to protect local distributors when Banzai is the only one to suffer. What about Stella and RCmart etc - should they not have their supplies cut too to protect local markets? Their prices were the same (save shipping).

    Or what happens when say buyers switch to the next "best" supplier - do they get their supplies cut when they sell too much? Where does it end? Are we regressing back to the one local supplier only?

    It's all about freedom of choice. These are my last 3 kit purchases: Egress (Modelbau-Seidel), M05R (Tamico), TA02 40th (Fusion). I spread the love around. Whoever is selling what I need, when I need it at the right price gets my money. Is that not how it should be?

    • Like 2

  17. Posted

    1 hour ago, GregM said:

    Short story long: If there was no local hobby shop for Tamiya kits where I live, I wouldn't have gotten back into the R/C car hobby at all. If there was no steady local supply of spare parts, it would drive me nuts.

    There's next to no support for Traxxas in my region. I would love to get my hands on a 2WD Slash for years now, but all the time I refrained from buying that car, since the German distributor for Traxxas vehicles has little presence in Berlin's hobby shops.

    What is left in most hobby shops here is either Tamiya, REELY* or some chinese brands you likely have never heard of before. Other reputable brands (LRP, Traxxas, Kyosho, Associated, Losi, etc.) are often restricted to online/mailorder sales. Trying to get spare parts for those models can be troublesome. For Tamiya, there's always somebody in town who has the parts you need right now, and at fair prices. Even vintage parts for vehicles that are now 30 years old. E.g. I bought vintage Monster Beetle spares locally at Tamico three years ago, before the announcement of the re-release (they don't list ALL their vintage spares online, but rather give them to recurring local customers if being asked).

    Why is that? Because the distribution model still just works fine here and does both customers and sellers a favour, IF the customers are willing to cooperate.
    As soon as sales steadily wander off to other countries, we all can see how bad this affects our local markets and kits/spares supply. If the sellers sell less, they get less discount from the distributor, and thus the prices rise. This puts the customers off even more aaand BANG! Eventually local distribution may close its doors permanently.

    I guess I am spoiled, am I not?

     

    *rebadged chinese R/Cs sold at Conrad Electronic, usually low quality.

    I guess you're spoilt Greg. We wouldn't be having this discussion if we all had local hobby shops that sold parts at reasonable prices. And why only Banzai if we're talking about protecting domestic markets? Shouldn't all exporters have their supply cut? Tamiya are punishing Banzai for being efficient on their postage charges, remember others charge the same for parts. If we're talking about protecting domestic markets, that means Tamico shouldn't be able to ship abroad either. Do you want us all to shop at our local hobby store and be restricted to only the goods that they have, and pay the price they demand, whatever that may be? Reminds me of the eighties!

  18. Posted

    43 minutes ago, GregM said:

    Short story long: If there was no local hobby shop for Tamiya kits where I live, I wouldn't have gotten back into the R/C car hobby at all. If there was no steady local supply of spare parts, it would drive me nuts.

    There's next to no support for Traxxas in my region. I would love to get my hands on a 2WD Slash for years now, but all the time I refrained from buying that car, since the German distributor for Traxxas vehicles has little presence in Berlin's hobby shops.

    What is left in most hobby shops here is either Tamiya, REELY* or some chinese brands you likely have never heard of before. Other reputable brands (LRP, Traxxas, Kyosho, Associated, Losi, etc.) are often restricted to online/mailorder sales. Trying to get spare parts for those models can be troublesome. For Tamiya, there's always somebody in town who has the parts you need right now, and at fair prices. Even vintage parts for vehicles that are now 30 years old. E.g. I bought vintage Monster Beetle spares locally at Tamico three years ago, before the announcement of the re-release (they don't list ALL their vintage spares online, but rather give them to recurring local customers if being asked).

    Why is that? Because the distribution model still just works fine here and does both customers and sellers a favour, IF the customers are willing to cooperate.
    As soon as sales steadily wander off to other countries, we all can see how bad this affects our local markets and kits/spares supply. If the sellers sell less, they get less discount from the distributor, and thus the prices rise. This puts the customers off even more aaand BANG! Eventually local distribution may close its doors permanently.

    I guess I am spoiled, am I not?

     

    *rebadged chinese R/Cs sold at Conrad Electronic, usually low quality.

     

  19. Posted

    Speedy, Chris, excellent comments on the global trade situation. Local industry protection is of course important to everyone worldwide, but where does it end? How far are the public/ consumers supposed to go to support (pay extra) to support those industries? In the UK we have (had) the coal industry which we funded, then it was (is) the steel industry. I guess it just amounts to when you're willing to accept the changes in global tradIng conditions, and how far you're prepared to go to fund these industries. That said, International distributors would (all things being equal) get the same price as domestic distributors. Adding in taxes and transportation still doesn't account for the excessive markup on most locally sold Tamiya products. Remember that Stella, RCmart et al also sell at the same discounted prices but can't or won't charge postage at the same rate as Banzai. I guess Banzai have a more efficient distribution setup and as such, in my humble opinion, deserve all the business they get.

  20. Posted

    12 hours ago, speedy_w_beans said:

    I have to laugh at Banzai for their attempt at sarcasm; the few times I tried to order from them their inventory was inaccurate and I had to place followup orders with other hobby shops just to get a complete set of parts.  Not exactly great service when your web site doesn't show accurate inventory.

    Take a look at Tamiya USA's post on "grey market" sales and service:

    http://www.tamiyausa.com/articles/feature.php?article-id=665#.VwV7dGgrK73

    Ignore the fact Tamiya USA is posting this; for the purposes of argument consider if you are living in a particular country where "Importer A" exists, but you buy product from another country where "Importer B" exists, and then when you get your kit you approach "Importer A" for a warranty claim or to get some other customer service.  Your purchase with "B" is not funding the service you're requesting from "A", so "A" takes a loss if they're generous, or they ultimately set an official policy that service comes from whoever you purchased from.

    For a deeper explanation, read Black Hole Sun's page on trademark registration and the legal implications of importing "out-of-territory" product:

    http://www.blackholesun.fr/en/39-en/tamiya/26-tamiya-the-company?start=2

    Basically, the distributors are supposed to have exclusive access to their territories, but the reality is the Internet and international shipping make it possible for someone to buy a Tamiya kit from several locations.  When a distributor's sales start to go down, and when people start to approach that distributor for service on kits they haven't sold, that's a clear indication their territory isn't being protected.  So the complaints come in, and Tamiya has to crack down.  Otherwise the prospect of running a distribution company doesn't look that profitable, it closes, and the manufacturer loses presence in that country.  It's in Tamiya's best interest to police the territories, and it's in the best interest of the distributors to service their territories with a good stock of kits and parts.  But you can't police it too hard otherwise you alienate the end customers too, so there is some balance between hard core policing and supporting end customer enthusiasm for product.  The biggest offenders see the crackdown first.  What was it they say in "Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift?"  "They have a saying in Japan -- the nail that sticks out gets hammered."

    Bottom line, bucks dictate.  Customers will spend their money where they see the most value.  Distributors will complain and point to their legal agreements to protect their turf and maintain cash flow.  Tamiya will condone or condemn based on how it impacts their total revenue.  It's the way of the world.

    Do you work for Tamiya USA, or another Tamiya distributor, or are you in the business where you have exclusive territorial rights to your customer base? It seems you're very anti competition/ international trade. I understand trade barriers, import tariffs etc and sure, trying to obtain support or a warranty from a supplier you didn't purchase from is a bit much. I accept that. But we're not talking about that here. How many of us have actually used Tamiya support, or had an item replaced under warranty? If so, what percentage of your total purchases with Tamiya would that be? This is purely about supply at the cheapest price, no strings. Banzai's current 25% discount is in line with many other retailers - it's purely their customer service and low postage rates that put them ahead.

    With regards to the accuracy of their inventory - in my experience maybe 1 in 30 items is not as displayed, however you are made aware of that by the checkout. You can click a notification to be informed when it is in stock. In my last 40 purchases, maybe 200 items, only once have I been emailed to say the item is not in stock prior to despatch. You can choose to either cancel the item or have them send it when it's in stock. Perhaps I've just been lucky.

    And I can get an item shipped from Japan for less than I can from my own town - it's a no-brainer. Maybe Tamiya should complain to the Japanese postal service and demand that they increase their postage rates?

  21. Posted

    It's just about local distributors being able to maintain their (ridiculous in many cases) margins. That's it. All this talk about warranty and support is hogwash. Offer me the part at a cheaper price with no support (although most offer replacement anyway) and I'll take it every time. As I've said previously, I still buy the kits locally but this is more to do with price. We are in a global marketplace and have been for some time. These antiquated businesses need to keep up with the times.

    We are after all only talking about plastic model kits here, not high end automobiles or specialist medical equipment etc that may require significant support. I have never sent a Tamiya part back or required any support in more years than I care to remember.

  22. Posted

    I got the same response from Banzai. For them to be able to initially do a 40% discount on Tamiya products suggest Tamiya provide a lot of margin to their retailers. Banzai reduced this to 25% because of the "complainers". Now even this isn't good enough, even though there are several other distributors offering this discount. For me, I used Banzai because of their efficient and low postage costs - they didn't try to make extra money off you through the shipping charges. I don't know of another shipper whose costs start at 180yen! I think this is just a case of greed - a big distributor putting pressure on Tamiya. Are Banzai then supposed to charge more than other retailers? For us in the UK it was handy to get small parts at a reasonable cost, rather than paying 3 times what it should have cost when you buy from a local retailer. No taxes below £15 goods value here. I still buy my kits from Fusion and Tamico/ Modelbau- Seidel generally. I'm going to contact Tamiya and complain and I hope you guys do too.

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