RM model store - still a scam?

[diecastjets]

Hi all, recently purchased a model from RMmodelstore.com, however it's been a week and still no shipment. Only now am I doing some research (which I should have done before) on the shop and I'm learning it was probably a massive mistake of me to buy from them. Their website is still up and it looks legit. There are discussions about the store from 2022 with many 1:400 collectors stating they lost out on models, and filed fraud reports etc, have I lost out? If anyone has recently purchased from them please reply

 

[4438559]

A couple weeks ago they became active again, sending out emails about different sales. On ebay they sold a few models and received positive feedback. That being said, you can't fix a bad reputation - once a scammer always a scammer. I would not be surprised if he's back at it again after having revived his business and attracting new unsuspecting customers. Should be prosecuted imo.

 

[Jazajia]

I don't know much about the background of this store.

I will say this, many stores, especially small ones, seem to get overwhelmed occasionally. This can result in some orders never getting fulfilled, financial trouble makes it hard for the store to issue refunds and the ball keeps rolling. Some customers do lose money, but I don't think it is a case of someone getting into the business only with the intention of scamming people.

 

[JJ Skippy]

If I may pitch in my two cents re: this topic...

I've become fed up with these start-up model airplane shops lasting for only a year or two before everything implodes on itself. Most of these are started by young entrepreneurs, and while I appreciate the ambitions these folks have, the ones I've followed end up falling off after a while; not shipping out orders, failing to communicate with customers, storefront filled with listings of models listed as preorders from two years ago, etc.

Now I can't confirm why exactly these fall-offs occur. Part of me thinks it's something to do with school taking up much of their time, or perhaps some other conflict. Obviously, you can't work around school if that was the case, but at the same time, you would think to communicate this with your customers, notifying of an extended period of downtime due to this or some other conflict.

RM and Funny Models are two notable examples to this. Funny Models vanished as of a few months ago, initially deleting their storefront (not sure if they gave advance notice of this) but they kept an eBay store going, though they shut that down too.

Long story short, I don't think it's wise to start a business as a young entrepreneur, especially if it's an online store, and you have to worry about school taking up most of your time.

 

[Jazajia]

If I may pitch in my two cents re: this topic...

I've become fed up with these start-up model airplane shops lasting for only a year or two before everything implodes on itself. Most of these are started by young entrepreneurs, and while I appreciate the ambitions these folks have, the ones I've followed end up falling off after a while; not shipping out orders, failing to communicate with customers, storefront filled with listings of models listed as preorders from two years ago, etc.

Now I can't confirm why exactly these fall-offs occur. Part of me thinks it's something to do with school taking up much of their time, or perhaps some other conflict. Obviously, you can't work around school if that was the case, but at the same time, you would think to communicate this with your customers, notifying of an extended period of downtime due to this or some other conflict.

RM and Funny Models are two notable examples to this. Funny Models vanished as of a few months ago, initially deleting their storefront (not sure if they gave advance notice of this) but they kept an eBay store going, though they shut that down too.

Long story short, I don't think it's wise to start a business as a young entrepreneur, especially if it's an online store, and you have to worry about school taking up most of your time.

You are making me feel young . Only the thought of getting into the retailing side of the hobby daunts me. I seldom sell models, but recently sold 4 on eBay, yes only 4. And that was enough of a headache. From weird packaging requests to someone who wanted me to call the post office to find out where his package was...

 

[Irish]

If I may pitch in my two cents re: this topic...

I've become fed up with these start-up model airplane shops lasting for only a year or two before everything implodes on itself. Most of these are started by young entrepreneurs, and while I appreciate the ambitions these folks have, the ones I've followed end up falling off after a while; not shipping out orders, failing to communicate with customers, storefront filled with listings of models listed as preorders from two years ago, etc.

Now I can't confirm why exactly these fall-offs occur. Part of me thinks it's something to do with school taking up much of their time, or perhaps some other conflict. Obviously, you can't work around school if that was the case, but at the same time, you would think to communicate this with your customers, notifying of an extended period of downtime due to this or some other conflict.

RM and Funny Models are two notable examples to this. Funny Models vanished as of a few months ago, initially deleting their storefront (not sure if they gave advance notice of this) but they kept an eBay store going, though they shut that down too.

Long story short, I don't think it's wise to start a business as a young entrepreneur, especially if it's an online store, and you have to worry about school taking up most of your time.

I second this, and there’s a crap ton of competition already in such a niche business which doesn’t help at all.

 

[4438559]

I don't know much about the background of this store.

I will say this, many stores, especially small ones, seem to get overwhelmed occasionally. This can result in some orders never getting fulfilled, financial trouble makes it hard for the store to issue refunds and the ball keeps rolling. Some customers do lose money, but I don't think it is a case of someone getting into the business only with the intention of scamming people.

RM was a major retailer and he scammed countless of people, including on YouTuber of over $1k worth of models. He kept putting off the order with one excuse after another and never shipped ultimately.

 

[4438559]

If I may pitch in my two cents re: this topic...

I've become fed up with these start-up model airplane shops lasting for only a year or two before everything implodes on itself. Most of these are started by young entrepreneurs, and while I appreciate the ambitions these folks have, the ones I've followed end up falling off after a while; not shipping out orders, failing to communicate with customers, storefront filled with listings of models listed as preorders from two years ago, etc.

Now I can't confirm why exactly these fall-offs occur. Part of me thinks it's something to do with school taking up much of their time, or perhaps some other conflict. Obviously, you can't work around school if that was the case, but at the same time, you would think to communicate this with your customers, notifying of an extended period of downtime due to this or some other conflict.

RM and Funny Models are two notable examples to this. Funny Models vanished as of a few months ago, initially deleting their storefront (not sure if they gave advance notice of this) but they kept an eBay store going, though they shut that down too.

Long story short, I don't think it's wise to start a business as a young entrepreneur, especially if it's an online store, and you have to worry about school taking up most of your time.

Sometimes smaller retailers offer the best customer service and unique deals. Imo its fine and should be encouraged, but communication is absolutely key. These are models we pay our hard earned money for. That being said, many big retailer suck too like Waffle

 

[JJ Skippy]

Sometimes smaller retailers offer the best customer service and unique deals. Imo it’s fine and should be encouraged, but communication is absolutely key. These are models we pay our hard earned money for.

I’ll agree on that part. It’s more about the commitment and dedication you have to the business while you’re getting your education, and the two retailers I initially mentioned failed to fulfill that in the long run. Texan Airplane Store has been solid though, only a few hiccups as he’s going through school right now but it hasn’t been a complete meltdown or complete shutdown unlike RM or Funny Models.

I second this, and there’s a crap ton of competition already in such a niche business which doesn’t help at all.

Also valid, too many options for a small community like us doesn’t end well for both the retailer and the consumer/collector. I’ve had several friends switching stores every few months because of either a bad experience or they stopped having good deals. Hard to commit to one or a small group of stores because of how many there are.

 

[SmallTimeAviation]

At least your favorite online store didn't sell to a large media company who then turned a great, reliable small business into a shadow of its former self.

 

[Irish]

I’ll agree on that part. It’s more about the commitment and dedication you have to the business while you’re getting your education, and the two retailers I initially mentioned failed to fulfill that in the long run. Texan Airplane Store has been solid though, only a few hiccups as he’s going through school right now but it hasn’t been a complete meltdown or complete shutdown unlike RM or Funny Models.


Also valid, too many options for a small community like us doesn’t end well for both the retailer and the consumer/collector. I’ve had several friends switching stores every few months because of either a bad experience or they stopped having good deals. Hard to commit to one or a small group of stores because of how many there are.

Me and Ray have had terrible luck with Texan, bought a bunch of models that all came with issues, paint chips, issues, etc. And funny enough, one of the models had febreeze just all over the dang model!

 

[Irish]

At least your favorite online store didn't sell to a large media company who then turned a great, reliable small business into a shadow of its former self.

Talking Midwest Model Store right?

 

[SmallTimeAviation]

Talking Midwest Model Store right?

 

[Irish]

Yeah everything went downhill when Ali left, prices skyrocketed and I stopped purchasing from there. I believe he went to pursue another career!

 

[JJ Skippy]

Me and Ray have had terrible luck with Texan, bought a bunch of models that all came with issues, paint chips, issues, etc. And funny enough, one of the models had febreeze just all over the dang model!

Dang, sucks that Texan hasn’t played well for you and him. How in the world did the Febreeze thing happen? Was it like you could smell it very well or was it literally coated with Febreeze substance?

I get there’s weird things that can happen with secondhand items (assuming the Febreeze model was bought secondhand by Texan) but that’s too much.

 

[pommy80]

Yeah everything went downhill when Ali left, prices skyrocketed and I stopped purchasing from there. I believe he went to pursue another career!

Out of curiosity, I looked at their website to see the prices and couldn't believe what I saw. Almost double what I pay elsewhere....

 

[SmallTimeAviation]

Yeah everything went downhill when Ali left, prices skyrocketed and I stopped purchasing from there. I believe he went to pursue another career!

I helped him a bit at the start with some of the site and he did a great job with it. And I had high hopes after the sold it and even had a conversation with the new owner, but its just pitiful now. But thats ok, Jetcollector gets all my money now.

Out of curiosity, I looked at their website to see the prices and couldn't believe what I saw. Almost double what I pay elsewhere....

Yea, its really bad. They offer almost no discount it seems. And thats assuming that the site is even up to date.

 

[Irish]

Dang, sucks that Texan hasn’t played well for you and him. How in the world did the Febreeze thing happen? Was it like you could smell it very well or was it literally coated with Febreeze substance?

I get there’s weird things that can happen with secondhand items (assuming the Febreeze model was bought secondhand by Texan) but that’s too much.

I’m not sure if Ray had gotten a refund or whatever yet, however yeah it was literally coated with it. However that one was fine with it being cleaned off. I should check in with him to see what the plan is still.

 

[Irish]

Out of curiosity, I looked at their website to see the prices and couldn't believe what I saw. Almost double what I pay elsewhere....

Looked almost like GJ MSRPs!

 

[YesterAirlines]

The margins in diecast models aren't high, the competition is strong and both of those factors mean it is a volume business. The proliferation of these little stores run basically as hobbys by teenagers is interesting but hardly likely to be sustainable. If they are offering amazing deals they are probably not making any money from them and are trying to gain marketshare, which evaporates as soon as they are forced to charge sensible pricing again. Putting your trust in someone who is still at school or college doesn't sound like a particularly sensible idea most of the time. They simply are unable to put the effort in to keep it going, don't take it seriously enough and don't have the financial backing to make it work in the long run. You are likely to get burned eventually, not always but that is the chance you take.

It hasn't helped that several of these new stores have been promoted heavily by Youtubers, who are barely adults themselves. Obviously they get kickbacks for that, which is fine but is it good for their customers in the long run? It is hard to know who to trust - just look at how I got burned by Ali. He was very entreprenuerial but also betrayed my trust at the first sign of anything requiring some moral fibre and sold off his business and MAF after only a short period of time. Clearly Midwest wasn't making any money at all. Ultimately he was just another chancer that couldn't be relied on.

Inciedentally, the current status of Midwest doesn't bode well for the longevity of this forum!