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Siclick33

Tamico Prices

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Despite being in the UK, I have ordered several times from Tamico. They tend to stock some models that have long since sold out locally and their prices can be very good, even after adding UK VAT and shipping.

One thing I have noticed is that their prices change fairly regularly. Aside from the 'offer of the week', even their normal stock prices fluctuate.

For example, over the last 2 weeks, their (before VAT) price of a Black Edition Clodbuster went from about 250 Eur, down to 210 Eur and is now back up to 235 Eur. A week or so ago, the Toyota Tundra high-lift was around 300 Eur and is now nearer 250 (again, before VAT).

I have now got into the habit of checking what the prices are every couple of days. If there is anything that I have my eye on but don't need immediately, then I'll keep an eye out to see if it drops to a price that I can't miss.

Their 'offer of the week' often isn't their only discounted price available at any one time and there are often other 'bargains' to be had.

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Yep, I've noticed this too.

What I've also noticed is that the UK importer seems to be pricing the latest releases much closer to Tamico's prices.  For example the upcoming Super Astute re-re is around £239 on pre-order in the UK.  Tamico have it for €225.67 shipped, which is £188 at the moment.  Add 20% VAT and the £12 ParcelForce handling fee and it's £238.  So unless you're buying several models and can save a little on shipping it's no cheaper than the UK.  This isn't the case on some models e.g. the Avante and Egress variants, but it used to be cheaper to buy pretty much everything from Tamico.  Not any more it seems...

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2 hours ago, Siclick33 said:

One thing I have noticed is that their prices change fairly regularly. Aside from the 'offer of the week', even their normal stock prices fluctuate.

I've seen this too - especially the Clod Buster price. But the Kyosho stuff is also fluctuating a bit - the Optima Mid is (or was, when I looked yesterday) 335 and the Dirtmaster had crept under 200, and so on. Perhaps it has to do with the currency exchange or inventory levels, no idea.

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€210 is good for the CB black edition, when you take into account the P&P, Customs and Handling fee.  

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Prices here in the USA just go up, lol. Naw, some prices went down, but they went up first. The holidays be like that.

235 eur seems cheep to me converted to 252 usd, but you do have that 20% VAT so the price is similar to what we have in the USA of 302 usd from Tower, which also seems a bit down too. Very weird the similarities are.🤔

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I am pretty sure, that the Tamico prices vary with their inventory. IE in 2023 the price of the Fighting Buggy crept up to nearly €400 once only a handful were left and other shops were already sold-out. When the FB re-appeared earlier this year the price was down to €299 again. I think they are a good supplier, lots of inventory and really helpful if one asks a question.

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I also noted this.

I ordered an Porsche 956 a week ago at 168 euro.

Today i see it cost 178 euro.

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On 11/9/2024 at 12:13 PM, donfilippo said:

I am pretty sure, that the Tamico prices vary with their inventory. IE in 2023 the price of the Fighting Buggy crept up to nearly €400 once only a handful were left and other shops were already sold-out. When the FB re-appeared earlier this year the price was down to €299 again. I think they are a good supplier, lots of inventory and really helpful if one asks a question.

And of course the fx rates. 

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8 hours ago, matisse said:

And of course the fx rates. 

Well, not in my case, as I live in Germany.

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5 hours ago, donfilippo said:

Well, not in my case, as I live in Germany.

But Tamico don't get their kits from Germany, so the amount they pay per kit in Euros will depend on the exchange rate, and this could affect what they sell them for.

I've thought about this before but in the example of the Clod, it was showing as 'in stock' throughout all of the price changes. Usually when they get to less than about 10 in stock it shows the exact number. It could still be that they purchased more kits at a different exchange rate, which leads them to change their prices, but who knows.

These fluctuations are good and bad. I'm happy to have got a Clod for 210 Eur, but I'm holding off pre-ordering the Porsche 956 because I've seen them selling it for less in the past. As long as people are aware that the price could go down, and you only pay what you are happy to pay, then it's all good. I certain can't complain about some of their prices.

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1 hour ago, Siclick33 said:

But Tamico don't get their kits from Germany, so the amount they pay per kit in Euros will depend on the exchange rate, and this could affect what they sell them for.

I've thought about this before but in the example of the Clod, it was showing as 'in stock' throughout all of the price changes. Usually when they get to less than about 10 in stock it shows the exact number. It could still be that they purchased more kits at a different exchange rate, which leads them to change their prices, but who knows.

These fluctuations are good and bad. I'm happy to have got a Clod for 210 Eur, but I'm holding off pre-ordering the Porsche 956 because I've seen them selling it for less in the past. As long as people are aware that the price could go down, and you only pay what you are happy to pay, then it's all good. I certain can't complain about some of their prices.

The problem is that I have an inbuilt tendency to buy my kits when they are most expensive! Thankfully I am not an investment banker! :-) 

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On 11/11/2024 at 12:58 PM, Siclick33 said:

But Tamico don't get their kits from Germany,

How do you know that? Are you assuming that or did they tell you directly?

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15 minutes ago, Aurigarius said:

How do you know that? Are you assuming that or did they tell you directly?

They might buy them from a European distributor but the kits aren’t made in Europe so, ultimately, their kits come from overseas.

My point was that fluctuations in the exchange rate could affect the cost Tamico sell their kits for, even in Europe. Various entities (the distributor or Tamico themselves) might suck up some of the exchange rate costs but it could be a factor.

I used to run a very small website selling a few RC products, and I recalculated my unit cost every time I had a new delivery of stock. This meant that the price I would sell at would fluctuate, even for UK buyers paying me in pounds.

IMG_7726.jpeg

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Wow, hadn’t heard of Tamico before seeing this thread. Very glad i did.

The tank prices are very low. Always wanted the Sherman but missed the last release. It was relisted this year but at nearly £900.00. Double what it was 3 or 4 years ago i couldn’t justify it.

So, Tamico, today I’ve just ordered from them the Sherman at what i believe will be a landed price after VAT and costs of about £490.00. They listed it at €457.00.

Thats nearly £400.00 cheaper than the lowest priced UK retailer.

Crazy saving if thats correct.

 

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1 hour ago, ASL2013 said:

Wow, hadn’t heard of Tamico before seeing this thread. Very glad i did.

The tank prices are very low. Always wanted the Sherman but missed the last release. It was relisted this year but at nearly £900.00. Double what it was 3 or 4 years ago i couldn’t justify it.

So, Tamico, today I’ve just ordered from them the Sherman at what i believe will be a landed price after VAT and costs of about £490.00. They listed it at €457.00.

Thats nearly £400.00 cheaper than the lowest priced UK retailer.

Crazy saving if thats correct.

 

Plan for a small customs clearance fee (£12 if it comes in with Parcelforce) but, yes, that looks correct.

 

And in line with this thread, the Abrams was about 815 Eur a week ago and is now 715 Eur and doesn't show as a 'special'! I think it's really worth checking fairly frequently for fluctuations on models that you're watching but don't need immediately.

 

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Rather than starting another thread about Tamico, I thought I'd just add here for anyone that wasn't aware, they're currently running 'advent specials'. It looks very similar to their 'deal of the week' but each one only lasts one day, with a new deal the following day.

The day 1 deal was the Fast Attack Vehicle, and today it's a ESC. For UK buyers it might not be worth it (there's no mention of being able to combine shipping with items bought on different days) but it might be if any of the high value items go on sale.

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An update. Parcel is now on it’s way via Parcel Force having paid the VAT and handling fee.

Final landed cost £514.00. Saving £375.00.
It would have been a little better had I not used the credit card I did, got caught for a ‘non-sterling transaction fee’ at £12.12.

I’ll use a different card next time that I know has no such costs and better exchange rates too.

Many prices are similar to those in the UK but some of the savings are astronomical and not just among the tanks.
 

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On 11/11/2024 at 2:11 PM, donfilippo said:

The problem is that I have an inbuilt tendency to buy my kits when they are most expensive! Thankfully I am not an investment banker! :-) 

Sounds like the story of my life! 🤷🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️

On 11/30/2024 at 3:15 PM, Aurigarius said:

How do you know that? Are you assuming that or did they tell you directly?

Even though I might be late (as always these days) I would like to contribute a little bit:

Exclusive importer for Tamiya in Germany is the Simba-Dickie-Group (owner of Dickie Toys which started importing Tamiya kits for Germany in 1986 and has been acquired by S-D-G in 1993), they are distributing the kits in Germany (and maybe some other european countries) and I am sure there is no Tamiya kit that is produced in Germany. Maybe repacked and altered, but not produced.

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