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Vendors And Sealed Kits (shrink Wrapped)

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So I have been trying to figure something out to no avail.

Why do some vendors sell kits that are sealed (shrink wrapped) and some do not? If I were to legitimately purchase a kit in my appropriate distribution chain (US retail) they are all sealed.

When I purchase from online vendors in the US and in HK, they seem to always be "opened" and it drives me nuts because half of those flea-bayers claim their product is "NIB" when it really isn't.

Is there some magical formula that I don't know about? I won't name names for the opened kits, but one awesome HK vendor, a website sponsor, Stellamodels, always seems to come through for me with sealed kits. But that seems to be it!

Am I just going to have to settle for paying 15-20% more purchasing at US retailers?

Thanks, ahead of time, for your input and info!

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I think most of the sellers outside of the US will open and inspect the kits due to high shipping costs (they don't want any returns due to broken/missing parts). If you ask them, I'm sure they have kits in shrink as well.

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TamiyaUSA wraps their kits, which is why US bought kits are wrapped.

Tamiya Japan don't wrap their boxes so everywhere else in the world they aren't wrapped, for example no Tamiya kits bought here in the UK are shrink wrapped. It doesn't mean they have been opened.

If Stella sells kits wrapped then they most likely do it themselves.

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TamiyaUSA wraps their kits, which is why US bought kits are wrapped.

Tamiya Japan don't wrap their boxes so everywhere else in the world they aren't wrapped, for example no Tamiya kits bought here in the UK are shrink wrapped. It doesn't mean they have been opened.

If Stella sells kits wrapped then they most likely do it themselves.

I stand corrected. I didn't know this.

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stella puts extra polystyrene in the kit boxes to stop stuff jiggling about in the post - good idea!

i have never had one "sealed" from stellamodels.

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tamiya factory does not shrinkwrap or seal kitboxes

all shrinkwrapping would be done either by your local distributor or the retailer to avoid pilfering & shelfwear

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Stella also likes to stash other small items like ball bearing sets inside the kit boxes, which can really confuse you if you aren't expecting it (as I wasn't). So if you get an order and it looks like some stuff is "missing," check the kit boxes thoroughly before you get all grumpy (as I did).

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riiiiigggghhht....

thanks to grumpy ppl like ye, some HK shippers are now taping up the boxes with stickers saying "other small parts inside this box"... and these stickers are stuck permanently fast, can't be removed without damage to the kitbox

might be a service for some (the blind & lazy-2-look?) but major PITA if one seeks for a perfect unblemished kitbox

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The only kits I've seen come out of Tamiya Japan that have been shrink wrapped are the TRF kits and some limited edition ones (F103 15th etc)

Antony

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^^^ that too is true, i said "tamiya factory" not "japan" above :)

my TB Evo5ms came (japan) factory shrinkwrapped with the unique label sticker on top the shrinkwrap :D

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So I have been trying to figure something out to no avail.

Why do some vendors sell kits that are sealed (shrink wrapped) and some do not? If I were to legitimately purchase a kit in my appropriate distribution chain (US retail) they are all sealed.

When I purchase from online vendors in the US and in HK, they seem to always be "opened" and it drives me nuts because half of those flea-bayers claim their product is "NIB" when it really isn't.

Is there some magical formula that I don't know about? I won't name names for the opened kits, but one awesome HK vendor, a website sponsor, Stellamodels, always seems to come through for me with sealed kits. But that seems to be it!

Am I just going to have to settle for paying 15-20% more purchasing at US retailers?

Thanks, ahead of time, for your input and info!

you should remove all the shrinkwrap from all your kit boxes, as it is not original :)

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I got a NIB "shrinkwrapped" Alpine A110 off ebay a while back. I've never opened it, so for all I know there could be a toaster inside!

I like the idea of shrinkwrapped NIB, but like I just mentioned, do you really know what is in there? :)

Cheers,

Skottoman

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so for all I know there could be a toaster inside!

could be a boxing glove on a spring!!

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I got a few shrinkwrapped Nib's myself sitting on my shelves I might open them up just to make sure now .Could end up with a waffle iron in the for sale section .

A boxing glove on a spring would be pretty cool could sell it on as a novelty gift after it punches me out for being such a tosser for buying it :)

I never really gave it any thought until this thread .

Its not like they are going to depreciate in value if they are opened .

Some say whats the point of owning a kit if you dont build it .

So whats the point of collecting Nib's if you cannot look at them a shrinkwrapped box does nothing for me .

Thanks for the advice guys .

Stuart

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Dang, now I'm gonna have to open that Alpine to see whats really inside!

Hahaha....

Cheers,

Skottoman

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Dang, now I'm gonna have to open that Alpine to see whats really inside!

Hahaha....

Cheers,

Skottoman

Well if its a toaster I hope its a new one .

Iam off with hobby knife in hand to open my suprises as well :)

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I believe that Paul (loaded) has gone to the trouble of using an airport style X-ray to confirm the contents of some of his 'vintage shrinkwrap' sealed NIB kits.

- James

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Stella also likes to stash other small items like ball bearing sets inside the kit boxes, which can really confuse you if you aren't expecting it (as I wasn't). So if you get an order and it looks like some stuff is "missing," check the kit boxes thoroughly before you get all grumpy (as I did).

I ordered a SuperStock RZ with my M04 and Stella had removed all the contents of the box and hidden it right at the bottom of the cardboard section! Also with my new Globeliner I ordered an Acoms shift gate and this was buried deep inside the MFU box - great service :(

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Well, thank heavens for the advice provided on this thread! So, I just bought a "factory sealed" TRF415 off ebay...

...and because of the comments on this thread, rather than keeping it sealed and throwing it into my collection closet, I opened her up to find that many of the parts were exchanged or missing! The entire kit was cannibalized! Whoever sealed it up tried to replace the original missing parts with loose Tamiya replacement parts! I'd say about half of the parts were not original! And about 20-30 parts were missing!

I'm not going to link the auction or berate the seller since I have yet to hear from him on a resolution. I have to give him a chance to make this right. In fact, I bet he was the one that was scammed into buying it - I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. But I'm not going to let him kick his problem down to me.

Ah...too many problems buying kits on ebay. Makes me realize how dishonest the world can be. From now on, I only buy kits from legitimate distributors/retailers.

I'm going to have to spend the night unwrapping and checking all my "sealed" kits :)

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That sucks :) It wasn't CTY300 was it? :) Hope you get it sorted either way.

I'm guessing some sellers are quite happy to pass these on in the hope that they will never be opened? In fact, I'm sure I saw a guide on TC in the showrooms where someone explained/showed just how easy it was to re-shrink wrap something. Genuine collectibles are an easy target for this type of scam I would think, as most people will be inclined to leave the wrapping on and never check in the belief that it will retain a higher value.

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"whats wrong?"

"Its like a thousand shrink wrapped boxes all cried out and then were silenced"

;)

And even if the contents are complete, there's no guarantee they're:

1) Not falling apart (blister packs)

2) Not scratched (lexan)

3) Not broken (plastics)

4) Not mouldy (plastics)

5) Not leaking (oils)

6) Not rotten (rubber)

Even kits that are open and sitting on shelves for years, need to be periodically checked to ensure that things like (especially) oils and liquids aren't leaking onto everything else.

cheers,

H.

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In the sellers defence,he might not of known it was like this,he might very well of bought it sealed and left it sealed,he has a very good feedback score,even if his stars have been nipped at a bit.

It`s a bit like buying a 1:1 ringer.

Best of luck you get an agreeable outcome.

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