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Bruiser 2012 (spy photo from Nuremberg Toy Fair 2012

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In stock at Stella later next week. $680. B)

Excited. :P

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That's a great price! ... how much is shipping?

They can't confirm yet as they don't know the actual weight of the kit. However, as mansellpants said earlier in the thread....

Well the box sizes quoted are the same size as my Scania R470. So i thought i'd go onto Stella's site and see how much they charge for shipping that kit at that size box. The quoted shipping price to the U.K. was $78.50 which according to their site is for up to 30kg in weight. Now i know the Bruiser is heavy but its not 30kg!!!!

So i would expect the bruiser to be around this figure.

Here's hoping

Colin.

So hopefully a total of $758.50. B)

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In stock at Stella later next week...

official release date is 17th March anyways... :P

New iPad March 16th - THE RACE IS ON!!! B)

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They can't confirm yet as they don't know the actual weight of the kit. However, as mansellpants said earlier in the thread....

So hopefully a total of $758.50. B)

That's still a good price.

If it's any help, the kit, including the outer brown box, weighs about 6 kilos (my bathroom scale isn't the most accurate). It looks heavier than it is though.

Hope you get yours soon.

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official release date is 17th March anyways... ;)

New iPad March 16th - THE RACE IS ON!!! B)

Easy decision IMO. Bruiser hands down - retina display or whatever :P

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In stock at Stella later next week. $680. B)

Excited. ;)

Got my email today also, i couldn't hit the reply email button quick enough :P . Next week can't come quick enough, and i hope the price of shipping is in the estimate that i posted earlier in the thread.

Colin.

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All fair points but mobias himself is on record as saying that RC4WD quality with regards to wear & tear leaves a lot to be desired.

Yeah that's definitely true or at least it is in my experience and judging from what I've heard from others its seems to be a commonly held view. I haven't bought from them in a while mind you so they might have improved their game. Someone who's built one of their more recent kits might be able to have a view here. I suppose people might argue that RC4WD are a much smaller much more specialised company so have to charge more for what they produce where as a company like Tamiya can swallow up costs more and therefore should in theory be able to bring down prices. My view on it has always been isn't it better to charge less for something and sell more of them rather than charge a premium and sell to relatively select few. Why can't the Bruiser be a 100 quid less than it is and perhaps Tamiya would sell many more of them? I guess maybe they don't want to. They want to produce a relatively small number of them and sell them at a premium.

My concern on this discussion would be that i get a little tired about justifying its (high-)price because we'll never get this for everybody sorted out.

Why just can't we take it as it is,all this discussion wouldn't change a thing on it anyway...

Tamiya was never meant to be cheap-and all those of us who expected the Bruiser to be cheap maybe are a little naive IMO (don't wanna offend anybody)

Whilst all that is true I think people have a right to voice their view on something especially if they disagree with it. Despite what some people here think Tamiya aren't beyond criticism and if you feel you're being ripped off by them then you should be able to say so. You're totally right in saying it'll make diddly squat of difference but its still something worth discussing and venting your steam over where needed.

I didn't think the Bruiser would be cheap at all but I do still think £750 (which seems to be about the average street price) is quite depressingly expensive. If you can indeed get one for nearer £500 then you've got yourself a bargain. Still a lot of dosh though and more than I would pay for something that's better suited to sitting on the shelf than is to running in my opinion.

Another thing I've often wondered is how Tamiya can charge $1,239 on their own US store when they know fine well places like Tower are charging $799? Is that not in the realms of them ripping people off?

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official release date is 17th March anyways... :P

New iPad March 16th - THE RACE IS ON!!! B)

About £490 delivered at todays exchange rates - a good price if you avoid import charges.

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$679 (£429) total, shipped to my door. Pretty good from Tower for those with the discount in the USA.

I don't think that's out of control.

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In stock at Stella later next week. $680. B)

Excited. :P

I'm in at that price.....still $200 too dear though.

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...

Another thing I've often wondered is how Tamiya can charge $1,239 on their own US store when they know fine well places like Tower are charging $799? Is that not in the realms of them ripping people off?

No, there is a very specific and good reason for why this is.

The TamiyaUSA store is not intended to replace normal distribution channels.

You are "supposed" to purchase Tamiya products from your local hobby store or from online stores like Tower Hobbies.

Tamiya USA purposely sells kits near or at retail price in order to not compete with the regular distribution channels.

There are very complicated selling agreements between TamiyaUSA, distributors (like Great Planes), online stores (like Tower Hobbies), and local hobby shops (like HobbyTown USA).

There are rules that are designed to prevent competition between entities that are not supposed to compete, like TamiyaUSA competing with your local hobby shop or an online store.

TamiyaUSA relies on those shops to make the bulk of the money for the company, so undercutting them would be, to put it bluntly, stupid. Biting the hand that feeds you and all that.

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$679 (£429) total, shipped to my door. Pretty good from Tower for those with the discount in the USA.

I don't think that's out of control.

Yes, Tower does very well to compete with HK sellers. The shipping from HK usually makes a kit cost more than buying from Tower. Definitely true for the Bruiser.

I have two on order.

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official release date is 17th March anyways... :P

New iPad March 16th - THE RACE IS ON!!! B)

Im going for bruiser, will how goodnew ipad is compared to current when it hits stores. I am sure I will want if it is anything like going from 3g screen to iphone 4, its still an amazing screen and i think its still got more pixels per inch than the new ipad!

Back to topic im hoping i am inline for bruiser from stella!!

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No, there is a very specific and good reason for why this is.

The TamiyaUSA store is not intended to replace normal distribution channels.

You are "supposed" to purchase Tamiya products from your local hobby store or from online stores like Tower Hobbies.

Tamiya USA purposely sells kits near or at retail price in order to not compete with the regular distribution channels.

There are very complicated selling agreements between TamiyaUSA, distributors (like Great Planes), online stores (like Tower Hobbies), and local hobby shops (like HobbyTown USA).

There are rules that are designed to prevent competition between entities that are not supposed to compete, like TamiyaUSA competing with your local hobby shop or an online store.

TamiyaUSA relies on those shops to make the bulk of the money for the company, so undercutting them would be, to put it bluntly, stupid. Biting the hand that feeds you and all that.

So why do they bother selling at all? Surely they'd be better off just saying 'find your nearest hobbystore. Plenty of other companies do that. I'd be a pretty disgruntled customer if I bought from them only to realise every single other shop in the world is way cheaper.

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So why do they bother selling at all? Surely they'd be better off just saying 'find your nearest hobbystore. Plenty of other companies do that. I'd be a pretty disgruntled customer if I bought from them only to realise every single other shop in the world is way cheaper.

Good point, and one that I cannot answer with authority.

Back in the 80's it was MRC (Model Rectifier Corporation) that imported Tamiya into the US. MRC never sold directly to the end customer, only to mail-order (like Tower Hobbies) and dealers (local hobby shops). Every kit came with a sheet that said "Take this to your dealer and use these stock numbers to order replacement parts." If you needed a part, you ordered through your local hobby shop or called up Tower on the phone. MRC made tons and tons of spare part bags over the years for all Tamiya kits. You still see thousands of them for sale on eBay today. Back then I think the rules were different: If a hobby shop wanted to sell Tamiya, they had to stock spare parts, too. It was part of the deal that MRC made with all hobby shops. The problem with that was the shops had thousands of dollars worth of spare parts that were like dead weight and they weren't selling. Business-wise, the shops couldn't afford it in the long run. I think a lot of dealers learned a hard lesson: Don't order parts until the customer needs them, except for common and often-replaced parts.

Nowadays it is a bit different. Tamiya opened their own US distributor called TamiyaUSA and MRC went away (from Tamiya). TamiyaUSA bags parts just like MRC did (white bags with clear plastic instead of clear bags with yellow), but hobby shops are not required to carry parts, at least I think this is the case. So you don't see nearly as many spare parts around as in the old days. Sure, some shops will carry Tamiya spares, but a lot of them don't. Even Tower Hobbies doesn't sell all Tamiya parts. And since Tower gets its stock from Great Planes, which is one of the largest distributors in the US, and a lot of hobby shops also get their parts from Great Planes, you can see how getting spares could be a problem. Now, it could be the case that a hobby shop is allowed to order a part from Great Planes that we, the end customer, cannot order from Tower Hobbies because they don't offer it for sale. I don't know why this would be the case, but I suppose it could be true. Anyway, I think the reason TamiyaUSA is allowed to sell parts to end customers like us is because you can get parts from them that nobody else carries. You might pay more, but at least it is available. For kits, many times TamiyaUSA's web site will say "check your local dealer" instead of showing a Buy button and a price. They really do want you to get your stuff from the dealers. If you don't do your due diligence, then yes, you might pay too much for a kit or part. As always, buyers should check local prices first before ordering.

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So why do they bother selling at all? Surely they'd be better off just saying 'find your nearest hobbystore. Plenty of other companies do that. I'd be a pretty disgruntled customer if I bought from them only to realise every single other shop in the world is way cheaper.

It’s basic Retail versus Wholesale. Tamiya’s website is a Retail Website and contains items at Full Retail Price. As Champ85 stated, this is done so that Tamiya is not competing with its distributor chain. Distributors purchase items from Tamiya at wholesale (usually 50% off) , mark it up and sell it to us to make a profit. This in fact shows Tamiyas commitment to the local hobby stores and online hobby stores. If they decided to sell items at “street price” they would be cutting out the local distributors.

1. So why do they bother selling at all? There is an advantage for Tamiya selling items on its site. Often distributors are out of stock. In this economy, most business runs with very light inventories. So if you are in a hurry to purchase a part, you can buy it direct and pay full retail. Otherwise you can, ask an LHS to special order the part for you.

This practice is not limited to the RC industry. It is quite common in multiple industries. I myself run a retail store which is a single brand. Our brand however is sold in departments stores. Department stores have sales and at times offer deep discounts, where as I am not able to. However, having the store lends stability to the brand, because we have a presence in major markets.

Back in the 80s there was no TamiyaUSA. You had to depend on MRC to import the parts. Having a site and offering parts for sale on the site, shows their stability in the US market.

2. I'd be a pretty disgruntled customer if I bought from them only to realise every single other shop in the world is way cheaper. If you are not savy enough to know that you’re paying full retail by buying directly from the manufacturer, you deserve to be disgruntled, for lacking common sense and not knowing how to better utlise your spending power.

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Good point, and one that I cannot answer with authority.

Back in the 80's it was MRC (Model Rectifier Corporation) that imported Tamiya into the US. MRC never sold directly to the end customer, only to mail-order (like Tower Hobbies) and dealers (local hobby shops). Every kit came with a sheet that said "Take this to your dealer and use these stock numbers to order replacement parts." If you needed a part, you ordered through your local hobby shop or called up Tower on the phone. MRC made tons and tons of spare part bags over the years for all Tamiya kits. You still see thousands of them for sale on eBay today. Back then I think the rules were different: If a hobby shop wanted to sell Tamiya, they had to stock spare parts, too. It was part of the deal that MRC made with all hobby shops. The problem with that was the shops had thousands of dollars worth of spare parts that were like dead weight and they weren't selling. Business-wise, the shops couldn't afford it in the long run. I think a lot of dealers learned a hard lesson: Don't order parts until the customer needs them, except for common and often-replaced parts.

Nowadays it is a bit different. Tamiya opened their own US distributor called TamiyaUSA and MRC went away (from Tamiya). TamiyaUSA bags parts just like MRC did (white bags with clear plastic instead of clear bags with yellow), but hobby shops are not required to carry parts, at least I think this is the case. So you don't see nearly as many spare parts around as in the old days. Sure, some shops will carry Tamiya spares, but a lot of them don't. Even Tower Hobbies doesn't sell all Tamiya parts. And since Tower gets its stock from Great Planes, which is one of the largest distributors in the US, and a lot of hobby shops also get their parts from Great Planes, you can see how getting spares could be a problem. Now, it could be the case that a hobby shop is allowed to order a part from Great Planes that we, the end customer, cannot order from Tower Hobbies because they don't offer it for sale. I don't know why this would be the case, but I suppose it could be true. Anyway, I think the reason TamiyaUSA is allowed to sell parts to end customers like us is because you can get parts from them that nobody else carries. You might pay more, but at least it is available. For kits, many times TamiyaUSA's web site will say "check your local dealer" instead of showing a Buy button and a price. They really do want you to get your stuff from the dealers. If you don't do your due diligence, then yes, you might pay too much for a kit or part. As always, buyers should check local prices first before ordering.

Well put!

Like Tamiya HPI has a strong distributor chain and sell parts on their site as a back up source at full retail. Even though Kyosho does not have a strong distributor chain, they to sell full retail on their site.

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$679 (£429) total, shipped to my door. Pretty good from Tower for those with the discount in the USA.

I don't think that's out of control.

That's incredible. And I thought Stella's price was good. B)

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$679 (£429) total, shipped to my door. Pretty good from Tower for those with the discount in the USA.

I don't think that's out of control.

Does a discount automatically apply when you purchase the Super Saver Membership ? Or did you receive a coupon ?

I ask because I fiddle with my Tower Purchases with a USA shipping address sometimes B) (Haven't joined super saver yet but just might now !)

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Does a discount automatically apply when you purchase the Super Saver Membership ? Or did you receive a coupon ?

I ask because I fiddle with my Tower Purchases with a USA shipping address sometimes B) (Haven't joined super saver yet but just might now !)

No, standard US tower club members receive a maximum discount of $50 on purchases off $300 or more. International receive a discount up to $600.. Not sure of amount off. Tower Club Gold members receive higher discounts.. I become one, you have to be invited by Tower.. And that's done by spending $$$$ at tower .

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No, standard US tower club members receive a maximum discount of $50 on purchases off $300 or more. International receive a discount up to $600.. Not sure of amount off. Tower Club Gold members receive higher discounts.. I become one, you have to be invited by Tower.. And that's done by spending $$$$ at tower .

Thanks !

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Do we know if this is a limited edition kit?. I have enquired at a few stores that i regularly purchase from and none (in asia) seem to offer pre order, just notify when available.

I would hate to miss out as this one looks really interesting.

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Do we know if this is a limited edition kit?. I have enquired at a few stores that i regularly purchase from and none (in asia) seem to offer pre order, just notify when available.

I would hate to miss out as this one looks really interesting.

No this is not a limited edition. The only thing is that you get the Tamiya Toothbrush with this kit for the first batch. Subsequent batches will not have the colorful item.

From my understanding, the stores stock smaller quantities because of the high cost of ordering and shipping the kits.

I suspect they may not want to pre-order until they ascertain what the demand is like.

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