Modelzone feedback

[deank93]

Good evening all,

If it's ok I'd like to ask for some feedback from those that have heard of and experience of the national retail chain Modelzone, to introduce myself my name is Dean and I'm the area manager for Modelzone in the south of England, over the 5 months that i've been working for them the huge enthusiasm i had for RC and in particular Tamiya around 20ish years ago has retured, i used to race buggys as a lad....i'm now restoring my 1981 holiday buggy (i'll get pictures up detailing the whole story start to finish soon), have built myself a car park basher in the form of the gravel hound (it also helps knacker the dog out quicker on his morning walks) ,i'm also spending lots of time at local meets trying to learn as much as i can to help with the building of my stock saloon race car (i can't wait to get stuck in to that!)

Anyway, Modelzone are well established with brands such as thunder tiger Nitro, scalextric, buses and the various railway products we sell including the specially commisioned Modelzone exclusives we also have with a great mail order operation on these lines yet in my humble opinion i really feel that we could do more in terms of sevicing RC car enthusiasts, specifically specialist items, hop ups, one offs etc.

Over the last few months or so i have found myself spending lots of time researching and getting myself reasonably up to date with what is what and who is who in the RC car world ( i've still got a long way to go though) and we have lots of staff who are incredibly knowledgable on there RC cars, i've spent time on various forums, chatting to and looking at websites for lots of different independant model/hobby stores and i never seem to see or hear any mention of Modelzone. Granted i am biased but i find it suprising that the UKs biggest model/hobby retailer never crops up in conversation.

I guess what i'd like to know is why, what are people opinions/views on Modelzone? In the future what would make an ideal model store experiance? more consistant advice in store, better after sale service, extended ranges, bigger range of manufacturers such as scumacher etc, great website thats clear and easy to navigate, the lowest prices etc....i'd love to know what people think.

Thanks for taking the time to read my waffle and thanks in advance for your responces, good as well as bad.

Dean. 

[VonBlade]

The nearest one to me is in Eastbourne, not too far. Always pretty helpful. Website is easy to follow (although that red/black colourscheme is something huh []). Low prices? Not a chance on some things. Surprisingly good on others. The Frog rere particularly makes me think you need a mask and a horse. []

I think of you a little like Game or Virgin. Not always the best prices. Not always the most knowledgable staff. But it's a shop I can go in and get the current stuff. And walking into somewhere and walking out with a bag is always preferable to waiting for the postie Although my wife thinks if I window shop/dream outside much more I might as well give out leaflets.

My 2c. 

[bakaguyjean]

The Frog rere particularly makes me think you need a mask and a horse.

What does that mean? Im American,I know who Zoro is,but i dont understand that.

 VonBlade does the Modelzone near your house have RC races? Because a RC shop without races or a circut is just kinda boring.You can get parts about anywhere,but if a shop dosent do anything  except wait for customers then they are not doing enough.Even if a hobby shop only sells models they can put on shows and try to get people involved.

 Just my thought about hobby shops,Im spend most of my money at my LHS.i dont buy to much for the net,only used parts.

 so that my 2c also.

 

 

[VonBlade]

It's a Highwayman reference. D1ck Turpin and all that.

[MikeT]

Hi Dean,

Whilst i agree, MZ is great for paint, filler etc, but my local one ( Liverpool ) is to be honest, absolutely terrible! ( Not to put you down, but some people in there are none too bright! )

Hope you enjoy getting back into it!

Mike

[nzl60]

Dean,

 My closest MZ is central London (Holborn) and here are a few of my RC related comments about it  and assuming that it is a flag ship store considering its location.

Never EVER have I gone in there and found a decent stock of Tamiya paints, I understand that you stock others but the store does carry Tamiya and they always seem to be out of at the very least 10 plus colours and for some reason they are the ones I always want! Is it really that difficult to keep on top of stock numbers?

Spares for RC seem almost non existent as do even the most common hop-ups. There isnt even the ability to buy another motor without ordering and waiting weeks for it to arrive.

Radio gear is always hit and miss, for example I wanted 4 channel and for a store that sells a lot of aircraft there was none instock.

I have enquired about esc's and brushless systems and have been given a blank look in return, though to be fair I was given the name of another hobbystore where I could perhaps find out more information. (Helpful but not for MZ)

Prices fluctuate wildly but I did think that £299 for a Tamiya f350 was reasonable for a chain store with large overheads. I imagine there are a number of enthusiasts that would pay £10-£20 more just to walk out that day rather than buying online but not £100-£150 for some items.Oh and the days of 'all inclusive deal' seemed to have gone???

I think its the little things which make a popular hobbystore,  whether its the store having a stock of bearings or miscellaneous screws and clips, having a charged battery behind the counter to test a new comers RC car that they cant get right or just plain having a new built model on display so that it can be picked up and inspected. One thing that registers for me is back home in NZ I can take a model as old as the Bruiser into my local HS with a part that has broken and the person behind the counter will try and suss out a replacement part or a fix using something that is a modern available part. It may not always work but it beats the pants of someone staring at you going 'sorry they dont make parts anymore'.

It is sad but now I dont go in for any parts or sundries as I feel that I will just turn around and walk out again as they are not available.

 I hope the above helps, it shouldnt take anything away from what you are trying to do as it is refreshing that you are asking 'us'! I still enjoy looking at the other items you carry and I do still purchase from MZ but generally  it is nothing to do with RC. I look forward to when I do!

Good luck!

 

 

 

[Gruntfuggly]

I'm in Brighton, and I've been in Model Zone a few times. Again, I've only ever bought paint. My impression has always been that RC was very much secondary to static models, and Tamiya were a very small proportion of the RC selection. Last time I looked, two days before Christmas, the were only two Tamiya models in the window - one of which I couldn't even work out what it was, because of the other boxes surrounding it and on top of it.

I think the biggest problem any highstreet model shop will have (at least in the UK) is competing with internet shops - where you can usually order something cheaper than shops and it arrives within a couple of days.

Unless you've got a huge stock, a shop will never be able to compete with that, so as far as I see it, the best thing a shop can offer is 'expert' advice and customer service. Saying that, I couln't say whether the Brighton shop provides that...

Good to see you taking in interest in the 'vintage' area though - maybe you could arrange some sponsorship or something with the club?

 

[Fatal_Error]

I do go into my local MZ of Bromley and also somtimes Croydon, I only ever really by the tamiya paints however they are normally sold out of at least one colour that I wanted.

 The amount of cars stocked are also normally very few. Not many staff seem to know much about remote control in general, However some do and are very good to talk too.

[Petrolhead]

Hi Dean,

My local MZ is the Guildford one. Firstly, may I say that I am very impressed with the overall appearance of the new shop. It's much bigger, brighter and generally more pleasing to the eye. Also, it's positioned so that as soon as you walk in a certain entrance to that centre, it's right there infront of you with lots of glass and brightness. It's a very big improvement over the old one that was tucked away in a corner of the shopping centre, and it was small and dark. The new one seems to have more people in - being bigger helps but having more things on display does too.

Right, anyway. The stock doesn't seem to have changed, so I'll talk about the Guildford MZ branch, rather than the old shop compared to the new one.

 

To be honest, I've only ever bought a couple of things from MZ, which have always been 1/18 static model cars. I find the supply of proper, high level R/C cars/parts/accesories for enthusiasts very limited.

There are a lot of Nikkos and the likes, but to someone who collects Tamiya they are barely worth a glance. I've always noticed a couple of Tamiya kits on the shelf, but they're always some of the most common kits, such as TT-01s and Baja Champs. I did however see a Midnight Pumpkin Chrome edition tucked away on a shelf which got me interested, but seeing as I already have one (bought off the internet, but not from MZ) then it wasn't worth looking at. At most, I've seen about 5 Tamiya kits on the shelf, defintely no more (the new shop is no improvement, even though there is greater shelf space). I can understand if you do not have any other kits in stock, but if you do I think putting them out on the shelf for the general public to see would at least get a few more people interested, and give them a much better alternative to the cheaper Nikkos. I did however notice in the new shop there was the glass cabinet with a couple of Thunder Tigers (I think) on display. I didn't realise you stocked that brand, and had a good look at them. Having them on display is a good idea I think, as I saw a lot of people looking at them in the cabinet, fascinated by the design of the chassis, compared to the 'Can't - take - body - off' Nikkos.

 Every time I've wanted a kit I've bought it online, simply because it's cheaper and can still arrive within a couple of days. (Online from other shops - not MZ. Infact, I've never been on the ModelZone website because I never knew it existed!)

Spares and accesories - in the old shop I once saw a set of wheels on the wall and a set of bodyclips, and that was it. In the new shop I didn't notice any form of spares at all. I did see a couple of radio sets, but they were the basic Acoms 2ch sets, so if someone wanted a different radio set - be it a pistol type controller or a 4/6ch set, then they would have to go elsewhere. So for spares of any sort, I've never even vaguely considered Model Zone. I've seen other people mentioning in this thread that they have bought paint from MZ, this might just be my eyesight, but I have never seen any paint cans in the shop. I have seen a few pots of the paint you use for small static kits, but never any for R/Cs.

Staff - to be honest, I've never really spoken to the staff or asked them for an advice as it's always been "I'd like to pay for this please - thank you - bye", so I can't really comment.

Prices - I the competitiveness of kit prices vary. There were a couple of kits that compared to other high-street shops were over the moon, and others which were pretty good. For example, I saw a kit for sale in MZ (can't remember which one, sorry) at what I thought was quite a high price, so I went down to Antics and found the exact same kit for about £25 less.

And to me, this is where the biggest problem on the high end R/Cs front in Guildford for MZ is - Antics. Antics is about a 2 minute walk down the road which is really no effort. And it's where I've been going ever since I first got my decent R/C. Kits on display - they normally have a minimum of 20 different Tamiya kits on the shelves for everyone to see. They have around 5-10 kits from other brands visible too. In the spares and accessories department, ModelZone comes nowhere near close. They have a wall full of spares and accessories for all type of R/Cs - whether they be Tamiyas, electric, nitro or trucks. And a full range of accessories too - wheels, tyres, shocks, a box full of Tamiya plastic parts trees, servo parts and too much too mention really. They also have a glass cabinet jammed with radio gear, speed controllers, motors and servos - and there's always a very big variety. Lots of different types of radio gear too. They also have a couple of models on show but with their body's on, so you can't see the chassis which is what matters. There's also hundreds of paints for R/C bodyshells, not just Tamiya but other alternatives. And there's constantly a shelf full of spare shells for one to browse through aswell. To be honest, the staff in there aren't particularly brilliant, but they're not particularly bad either. But, whenever I need a small part for my cars I'll pop along to Antics.

Sorry to be so honest and reading it back I may have been a bit harsh, but for me to start using ModelZone for my R/C needs, it'll have to be a lot lot more like Antics. I can understand that MZ don't specialise in the same sort of area R/C wise, but I think if there was just a bigger variety of kits and parts it would be much better. If I ever want a static model however, it's ModelZone everytime.

I hope I haven't ranted on too long for you to lose interest, but I feel that I should get my (many) views across.

Thanks for you time and I hope I have helped you,

Alle (I'm 15 by the way)

[max_crox]

Hi Dean,

First of all its nice to know that a person in to position that you are has a genuine and keen interest in the job. Always helps!! []

Not the south but in the midlands (Dudley/Merry Hill). The staff have always been friendly and genuinely know their stuff when I’ve asked (I think a guy from the Dudley store is actually a member on here). Now these is my point of view coming from a 26 year old who started with a Blackfoot then got into club racing with a friend with a Manta Ray and then purchased a Schumacher Cougar 2 Works and continued until I was 15/16. I have only got back into the hobby 2/3 months ago and I am now a club racer who dabbles with indoor touring car with a Tamiya TA02 and my first’ish off road race will be Sunday with a Dark Impact. So I have picked bits up but there is still soooooo much I don’t know and it will be, I hope, a fun learning curve. [] I like Tamiya’s and I would stick to racing with them!!

“i've spent time on various forums, chatting to and looking at websites for lots of different independant model/hobby stores and i never seem to see or hear any mention of Modelzone. Granted i am biased but i find it suprising that the UKs biggest model/hobby retailer never crops up in conversation”

One reasons for this is Tamiya its self (I know you sell some other brands but I’m ignoring that for the moment []) There aren’t that many serious racers  (don’t shoot me people!! [] ) out there that use Tamiya cars. Tamiya’s normally been the cars that get you into the hobby and as you progress you have to move onto different cars.. So, as the forums are normally used but the club racers who have normally been racing for a while you will probably find that a large majority of them don’t run Tamiya’s. And as ModelZone just seem to stock Tamiya’s you don’t really offer anything for them.

Ok, so for those people who have new Tamiya cars what kind of service/options/accessories do you offer to them after they initially purchased the car? Looking on the web site there are no listing for any options batteries, motors, spare parts, chargers, etc. From the outlook once the customer has a car it would appear that they have to go else where to get replacement parts, hop-up parts, etc. So you will never hear/see any one saying they got their parts from you/ they got great CS when they went in looking for a hotter motor. Now I know at the merry hill store they have got a little display of batteries (4 different types) ESC (maybe 2) and a couple of motors but where there are so many different ones available I don’t think this really is enough and a seasoned racer who spends a lot of money definitely wouldn’t find it enough. So again they won’t talk about the great service they had etc….

So I totally agree with you do need to do more in the RC Car department get more options/hop-ups, parts, Motors, etc. Ok you won’t be able to put all this in your store (maybe you could??)  but you could definitely put it on the website (maybe check out Modelsport’s, Timetunnel’s sites). How about producing an online catalogue that people could print out, put in their pit box and then go into the stores and order stuff with staff. This tied with quick next day or 2 day delivery where possible. This would be great for me. How about becoming a distributor for some of the other non-Tamiya manufactured parts that appear on eBay? (Again don’t know if it’s possible)

It may also mean branching out to different manufactures like Schumacher, TTech, Losi, and also supplying all the parts a person would need. Again doesn’t have to be in-store (unless a very common part that is known for breaking) but with quick delivery times straight to the customer or to the store. One of the first things you get told when you ask a question about what car to buy is what manufactures do your local store stock and can get parts for.

 

A web site is vitally important and it needs to up to date. I’ve noticed on your website that there are no new cars on their at all. What about the small tamtec kits. Dark impact, 501, Latest Touring cars. It doesn’t seem to have been updated in the last 3-4 months. Yet I know some of these are available in store, so why aren’t they on-line?? The physical store and online site should be one unit. As a customer when looking at peoples website it gives if I see that it has been updated it gives me confidence in that company/store. It gives me something new to read and if I know things are changing on a weekly/daily basis then it gives me a reason to go back there to see what’s changed. And if I go back there you have more attempts to sell me stuff!! []

If you do any of this then advertising the fact is a must. Regular adverts in the Model car mag’s is needed. you need to tell the people who don’t know about you who you are and what you do and the people who know about you what new stuff you now do. So get you name out there. Speak to the clubs in your area see what they would like you to do, stock. Maybe you could sponsor the championship they run. Get a club list up in the store so that once people buy the cars they have somewhere to use them.

Now your staff… though about creating a Modelzone RC team in your area. Doesn’t have to be anything too formal but get them out into the scene if they aren’t already. Perhaps a little extra discount (not sure what discount they already get) to help them race. Enter local national competitions (note I know this might not be possible with the 7 day week opening times) but maybe they can go to club nights. I’m sure lots already do but let them know that’s what you want them to do. get them speaking to people and what their needs are Im sure it would be a cheap why to advertise to your local racing community

Ummm.. sorry I seem to have gone off on one… time to go home me thinks. It just seems to me that you are in the position to do quite a bit of stuff and I would find that quite exciting!!!

Now these are my views from a wanabe off-road racer. I didn’t mean to tread on anyone’s toes and I know I might have missed the point on some things so I’m sorry. But I hope its not too much bable!!!!! Well Its taken up my afternoon so Im happy!! []

Cheers

Mark

[Mud-Plugger]

So, I put modelzone into google and arrive at their homepage. Resisting from falling asleep, I glance at a couple of Batman items being plugged. This isn't for me, so I ignore the text in the blue panel (as I'm a bloke), and notice there's also a link for another company called TMC. So I think, that's not Modelzone so I suppose I'll click on the "Find Store" button and go shopping at that particular store. Well what do I find? A list of stores. O.K.. I'll click on those, see what's in stock etc. WRONG, not even able to see if there's a late night or Sunday opening.

Come back to the forum and read about some online shopping etc. "Strange, I didn't see that". Read the stuff in the blue panel and then realise you feel you want to be known as TMC. At long last I've found the online shopping stuff. Have a quick browse (10 seconds) and then find myself falling asleep.

None of this inspires me to walk into any of your shops. 

Mud. 

[VonBlade]

Although a proof-reader wouldn't hurt.

HC58328D GRAVEL HOUND DEAL

£159.99

High performance 4 wheel drive off

road buggy kit is simple to construct and designed for dirt biting

hjigh speed action in the rough. Deal includes Mains Fast Charger. 2

channel radio and 7.2 volt battery.

 

 

[deank93]

WOW...thank you for all the great feedback so far, this is exactly the sort of informationi was after!

As an enthusiast myself i realise that i am in a very fortunate position to be able to have a direct influence over these things, thats why it made sence to ask you guys, your the people we should be aiming at.

I have so many ideas of why and how we can improve and intend to use all this feedback and lots more things as part of a presentation to the national operations manager and the managing director. My intention is to cover off things such as kit range, i agree that we need to stock a more extensive range of Tamiya and dip our toe in with other brands too, for me hops-ups are key to retaining the customers we first sold to making them customers for life.

At the moment i feel we meet the requirements of the casual buyer be they young lads who are new to RC or people like me who were into them as a 10 year old and now have a little disposable income as they head into there 30s and beyond (where did all that time go!) the problem is that although we do a good job of recruiting people into RC we are not able to fulfill there requirements as they inevitably get bitten by the bug and and want to upgrade part so they end up going elsewhere....i see it as a real opportuniy for the business. 

I totally agree with the comments about product knowledge, before i joined the company and was conducting a little research i was suprised by the hit and miss service, some staff were great and others were poor at best, i have also experianced the blank looks and vacant stares. There is an idea in the pipeline that will hopfully go a way to address this in the form of product data sheets covering key info and back ground into each car, whats good, whats not so good, quick fixes, common problems, a "how to" guide, local club info etc, i'd be appriciative of any ideas you have on points that should be covered regarding product knowledge training.

The new store in Guilford is a real reflection of the way our stores will look going forward, big and bright, you should see the one at Lakeside in Essex its a real beauty! I'm glad that having cars built and on display was mentioned as this is something i've been promoting from day one and suprise suprise the stores i've has do it have reported increased sales.

I honestly don't think you'll ever see a MZ store with walls full of spares or display cabinets full to the brim with motors and radio gear as we wouldn't sell enough to warrant the sales floor space espectialy considering fact that we sell many other product lines ( Lakeside has a 7 ft terminator robot on display!......yours for only £7,000!) What would you think about seeing each store with a full range of paints and an in-store stock holding of the most common hop-ups?

As for the web site i have had a look at loads over the last few weeks and in my opinion others make ours look a little confusing and difficult to navigate, with improvements and in an ideal world i'd love to see a great home page with links to your desired product be it 1/18 cars, hornby trains, RC cars, planes etc, nitro, charracter figures etc, the RC section would be the place to order from a full range of hop ups and spares.

I've got a few other bits to add in a bit but the wife in bugging the life out of me to pop out to the shops with her so i'll leave it there for the moment, thanks again for everyone input, keep it coming.

[deank93]

So, I put modelzone into google and arrive at their homepage. Resisting from falling asleep, I glance at a couple of Batman items being plugged. This isn't for me, so I ignore the text in the blue panel (as I'm a bloke), and notice there's also a link for another company called TMC. So I think, that's not Modelzone so I suppose I'll click on the "Find Store" button and go shopping at that particular store. Well what do I find? A list of stores. O.K.. I'll click on those, see what's in stock etc. WRONG, not even able to see if there's a late night or Sunday opening.

Come back to the forum and read about some online shopping etc. "Strange, I didn't see that". Read the stuff in the blue panel and then realise you feel you want to be known as TMC. At long last I've found the online shopping stuff. Have a quick browse (10 seconds) and then find myself falling asleep.

None of this inspires me to walk into any of your shops. 

Mud.

Good honest feedback, thanks. what would you expect to see when you click onto our website.

Just as a footnote i'd like to say that I realise that forums can be emotive and any critisim obviously isn't taken personally, constructive critisism is exactly what i'm after, i want to know what you would want to see on line and in store, Thanks again. 

[VonBlade]

What would you think about seeing each store with a full range of

paints and an in-store stock holding of the most common hop-ups?

 

That's as much as anyone can realistically ask. Definitely would need plenty of paints. And lots of PS1 White.

I'd suggest : 

1) A few different tyres. Off-road, on-road, 2.2" etc. I think the important thing to remember is most non-pros have buggies, trucks etc because of their dual-purpose nature. Rather than just some slick touring car ones.

2) Some dampers. About the most common hop-up and we all need pukka dampers.

3) A few motors. Covering maybe the three broadest ends of the spectrum. Sport Tune, Hi Torque and something mental like an 11 turn. Saves having vast space taken up. And by demonstrating the more extreme ends of the spectrum it helps people ask if there is something between the Sport and the 11T. Hence getting a sale on an order you might not otherwise have got. If all people see are the basics they assume you can't do the high-end stuff and so go elsewhere.

4) Bearings. Definitely the most common hop-up. Small shelf-space (if any), small stock space, not overly priced. Easy to keep. Everyone wants them.

Much more than that and I'll have to start charging a consultancy fee!! (Feel free to email me my price reduction voucher [H]).

VB 

[Petrolhead]

I'd suggest : 

1) A few different tyres. Off-road, on-road, 2.2" etc. I think the important thing to remember is most non-pros have buggies, trucks etc because of their dual-purpose nature. Rather than just some slick touring car ones.

2) Some dampers. About the most common hop-up and we all need pukka dampers.

3) A few motors. Covering maybe the three broadest ends of the spectrum. Sport Tune, Hi Torque and something mental like an 11 turn. Saves having vast space taken up. And by demonstrating the more extreme ends of the spectrum it helps people ask if there is something between the Sport and the 11T. Hence getting a sale on an order you might not otherwise have got. If all people see are the basics they assume you can't do the high-end stuff and so go elsewhere.

4) Bearings. Definitely the most common hop-up. Small shelf-space (if any), small stock space, not overly priced. Easy to keep. Everyone wants them.

 I'd have to agree with VonBlade on this one. Only other thing I could add is a selection of a few different types of batteries, some cheaper less powerful ones and a couple of higher power ones. Say 3 or 4 different types at most should cover it pretty well.

[bakaguyjean]

 Ive never been to a Model Zone,but i think VonBlade has some great ideas.

I couldnt help but notice that deank93 in another thread said something about going on Ebay and getting some parts.I dont know if its for his old cars or not,but i see a problem with a worker at a Hobby shop having to go to Ebay to get parts.That might be a problem.

[deank93]

 Ive never been to a Model Zone,but i think VonBlade has some great ideas.

I couldnt help but notice that deank93 in another thread said something about going on Ebay and getting some parts.I dont know if its for his old cars or not,but i see a problem with a worker at a Hobby shop having to go to Ebay to get parts.That might be a problem.

I've been on ebay picking up parts for my holiday buggy although i have been looking at different racing chassis to get me started.

[deank93]

"thought about creating a Modelzone RC team in your area. Doesn’t have to be anything too formal but get them out into the scene if they aren’t already. Perhaps a little extra discount (not sure what discount they already get) to help them race. Enter local national competitions (note I know this might not be possible with the 7 day week opening times) but maybe they can go to club nights. I’m sure lots already do but let them know that’s what you want them to do. get them speaking to people and what their needs are Im sure it would be a cheap why to advertise to your local racing community"

This is something i've been thinking about actually, lots of the lads that work in our Bluewater branch race in the Kent area (i've been bugging the badword out of them asking for advice over the last few months) i think getting involved in local and national meets is a step in the right direction, the team could be in MZ shirts and have MZ branded shells, a great way to spread the word.

[max_crox]

I think it would work great for motivation as well. []

you could supply the odd battery here and there or motor every so often. Yes you could ask them to wear tops and /or stickers. But these guys will be advertising to other club/regional/national racers so you have to make sure that the stores had something to offer these people other wise there really isn't a point. Well your staff would be happy so I guess that would still be a plus!! []

[KEV THE REV]

Hi Dean , i shop in the Romford Essex branch , usually for such things as filler, Milliput, acrylic paint etc. I also bought a Tamiya Lunchbox from there recently and over the last couple of years i have also bought a few Amercian classic car static models. I have to say , although the shop is small it is crammed with fantastic models of TV / film vehicles , vintage road cars/ bikes and lots more besides, but i find it is sadly lacking when it comes to the R/C section. In my opinion i would like to be able to buy Tamiya spares, parts and a full range of paints etc from there as Romford, and Essex in general, is not abundant with Tamiya stockists, so if your Romford branch ,and probably others were to offer this service , both over the counter and maybe online then i'm sure many Tamiya collectors and enthusiasts alike would be only too pleased to buy from your company. Nevertheless i have found the staff in the store to be generally very helpful albeit with a limted stock to sell. cheers, Kev

[deank93]

Hi Dean , i shop in the Romford Essex branch , usually for such things as filler, Milliput, acrylic paint etc. I also bought a Tamiya Lunchbox from there recently and over the last couple of years i have also bought a few Amercian classic car static models. I have to say , although the shop is small it is crammed with fantastic models of TV / film vehicles , vintage road cars/ bikes and lots more besides, but i find it is sadly lacking when it comes to the R/C section. In my opinion i would like to be able to buy Tamiya spares, parts and a full range of paints etc from there as Romford, and Essex in general, is not abundant with Tamiya stockists, so if your Romford branch ,and probably others were to offer this service , both over the counter and maybe online then i'm sure many Tamiya collectors and enthusiasts alike would be only too pleased to buy from your company. Nevertheless i have found the staff in the store to be generally very helpful albeit with a limted stock to sell. cheers, Kev

 

I'm glad to here you like the Romford store and that staff are helpful, i quite agree with you that the Romford store is lacking in RC, through no fault of there own the staff are not particually knowledable regarding RC cars and as a result its overlooked and not given the sort of focus MZ would like.

Again, its great to get this sort of input and hopefully this sort of info will help us make steps in the right direction. Modelzone have lots of staff both in store and within our offices who are massive enthusiasts on rail and buses and generally we are considered the place to go for related products from beginners to long term fans, my hope is this is where RC to be.

[Mud-Plugger]

So, I put modelzone into google and arrive at their homepage. Resisting from falling asleep, I glance at a couple of Batman items being plugged. This isn't for me, so I ignore the text in the blue panel (as I'm a bloke), and notice there's also a link for another company called TMC. So I think, that's not Modelzone so I suppose I'll click on the "Find Store" button and go shopping at that particular store. Well what do I find? A list of stores. O.K.. I'll click on those, see what's in stock etc. WRONG, not even able to see if there's a late night or Sunday opening.

Come back to the forum and read about some online shopping etc. "Strange, I didn't see that". Read the stuff in the blue panel and then realise you feel you want to be known as TMC. At long last I've found the online shopping stuff. Have a quick browse (10 seconds) and then find myself falling asleep.

None of this inspires me to walk into any of your shops. 

Mud.

Good honest feedback, thanks. what would you expect to see when you click onto our website.

Just as a footnote i'd like to say that I realise that forums can be emotive and any critisim obviously isn't taken personally, constructive critisism is exactly what i'm after, i want to know what you would want to see on line and in store, Thanks again. 

O.K. The homepage, You need to see and be able to navigate instantly to the section which interests you most. Pictures of a Train, Die-Casts, Static Kits and RCs etc. Then when you've found your page of interest, the same again, RTR, Kits, Parts, Accessories. The reason having this hierarchical structure means that people will never get frustrated by perhaps missing out on various pages if there are a number of routes leading to the same point. Antics does this very well, although their "search"  is abysmal, but because they have excellent hierarchy, you will always find your product, and, a "search within a topic/manufacturer" is always a bonus. Above all though, if you are daring enough to stock all spares and Hop-ups at good prices, then you are on to a winner, as yet, I haven't found anyone stocking something simple as a full range of Tamiya paints. My LHS pushed the boat out this Christmas and stocked up on some Tamiya paints (4 cans of PS16!!!) of which I purchased 2.

As for the High Street store, I really believe that the stock should mirror the On-Line stocks, there's nothing more frustrating than seeing something on a shop's website, going down to the store and finding it's sold out. Maplin is "fantastic" at this, you can even ring them up to confirm they have an item in stock, and when you get there, they still don't have it, so a live, accurate, stock level display is essential, there's absolutely no excuse for not having one. When I chat to my other RCers, much of the conversation goes like "have you seen any of these around", "oh try Wothisname Ltd, he MIGHT have some" I don't think I have ever said "Wotsisname WILL have it in stock" everyone just seems to keep just a little of what they should sell between their wholesaler's visits. It's simple, if you have a full product range at the right price, there is no excuse for shopping anywhere else, and try, try, try to become an importer.

Mud. 

[BigBlackBull]

Hi,

Good to se you enjoying yourself back in RC world, and even better result being paid for it...

Anyway... enough i hear you say..

ModelZone... never heard of it, and being based in Bristol, 5th largest city in uk, and largest city in S/West and S/Wales, would be interested to know when you are setting up a store.. wouldnt take much to beat Antics as they are positively rubbish!..

But you can keep some of the prices you are chaging for your london customers, as salaries up there are much higher than the rest of the country so they can afford it....!

food for thought at least!.

[deank93]

"Good to se you enjoying yourself back in RC world, and even better result being paid for it"

Ain't that the truth, i look forward to work every day (how sad)

For those that don't know MZ we are the UKs largest model/hobby retailer, we currently trade out of units in great places such as Lakeside, Bluewater, Trafford, Meadowhall, Croydon, Guilford and lots of other places, 24 stores now with lots more to come.....Bristol is no doubt on the list.

I realise that i keep saying but thanks for your input, i'm sitting here at almost 1am starting to draft together my presentation, i tried going to bed but my head is full of ideas and i just can't sleep thanks to your feedback.