Buying From Hong Kong On Ebay

[Ruffgeezer]

Hi,

I'm uk based and lately a lot of tamiya kits have been cropping up on ebay but located in hong kong. Now ridiculous postage costs aside, has anyone had any dealings with any of the traders who list there? (forum rules permit me from linking to their auctions)

How were your experiences? Good? Bad? Did it arrive ok or did it require a dustpan and brush to get it all together?

Cheers!

RuffG

[skip665]

In the past year I have bought many kits and many parts from Hong Kong and Asia - never any problems at all...

If its kits you are after you cant go wrong with Stella Models www.stellamodels.net

[Gruntfuggly]

Yup - never had a problem with and sellers from the far east, but as ever, there are some sellers to watch out for. Have a good trawl through the forum...

[Ruffgeezer]

Well this is a closed auction, but this is what i was looking at:

Delta Shell

They also do a kit, so I'm not sure what to get, if either. I miss my old TA-02

[amp0873uk]

i have ordered from stella models and recieved my order from them in 6 days so not bad if you buy a kit from them tell them to under value the kit when they post it as then you wont get customs charges no probs with stella models but other hong kong sellers on ebay i,m not really sure about them good luck

[Olly_Lunchbox]

Well this is a closed auction, but this is what i was looking at:

Delta Shell

They also do a kit, so I'm not sure what to get, if either. I miss my old TA-02

I've bought from that seller with no problems at all.

I've had about half a dozen components things from them on different occasions, stuff always comes. Never had anything that size from them but my guess is it would be ok so long as you tell them to ensure it is packaged well

A lexan body coming all the way from Hong Kong could well be pancaked!

[spencem875]

I use RCMart alot, just ordered some bits today

[irenL]

I've dealt with several HK based seller with no problem as well..

a sentence of caution though: if the price of the body set is super low, it's possible that it came out of a kit box (such is the case of my golf GTI and SX4 bodies), and as such, it comes with pre-drilled body holes (quite an inconvenience since both bodies came off a TT01E kits, with the odd antenna hole location, especially when fitting to older chassis).

However, body sets that comes in the brown boxes (TA03, TL01, and earlier years) will always have pre-drilled body holes.

[namfreak]

I've only ordered some Tamiya tools from HK as yet. Weren't available in UK, so got them from an HK based ebay seller. Been waiting 2 weeks so far, so i'm hoping they turn up this week!

Just had a look at Stella Models website - are there substantial savings to be had by purchasing relatively high value items (i.e kits). Will it work out cheaper, after shipping is paid for, than buying the same kit here in the UK?

[retroman]

I got my Frog re-re from Hong Kong, on Ebay, with no problems. I think it turned up in around 10 days.

I thought about doing the same with my King Hauler, and Pole Trailer, but I thought i would have a word with my local hobbie store keeper. It only worked out about 15 GBP to order it off him.There would have been nearly 90 quid postage for the truck and trailer from Hong Kong! not forgetting if customs got hold of it, and sent me a bill..........

Just remember, when you go to your local model shop, the price on the box doesn't have to be the price you pay. By supporting my local shops, i find that I can get a good discount. besides, they seem to have noticed that when I walk in, they're going to do well!!

[ilmax]

I use RCMart alot, just ordered some bits today

RC-Mart is my favourite Tamiya pusher

I also bought kits and parts from other HongKong based eBay shops; never had a problem with.

I suggest even another very affordable shop, not on eBay: www.unitedhobbies.com No Tamiya parts but a lot of tools, radios and batteries at nice price.

Otherway, here in Italy there are many online shops but few are competitive with U.K. and H.K. ones.

[vanisle]

Ive ordered from rcmart.com a bunch of times in the last few months... always good service. usually takes 10-15 days to reach canada, but the postage is cheap

order direct from the website... the shipping is way cheaper than if you buy from him via ebayy