Your buying experience from model stores - the good and the bad

[LorenzoLommus]

That is both online and retail stores

Which one do you think is good and which one is the worst?

This might be an edgy subject, but still like to hear fellows here about your buying experience of your lovely models. Which model store(s) treated you the best in terms of service, that includes packing, responsiveness, customer service if there's an issue with the order like broken or defective item, fair pricing, etc. Who's your favorite and why?

Here's my take:

The good or okay - I really don't have a good one to praise, so maybe the Airplane Shop (NJ). Most of their items are on the expensive side though, but the past few times had discounts applied so the pricing was okay. The packing was also okay, the first order was exceptional in terms of materials used. Model condition, it's like hit or miss. A couple times the model and packaging were exceptional, another time arrived defective. They were not the fastest to respond but at the end it was resolved.

Can't think of the best one at the moment, if I can think of one will update.

The worst - Waffle Collectibles. I don't think I'll need to describe about them, as many of you should already know.

PandaFox Toys. They used to be okay to good. Offers free shipping and unbeatable pricing on some of the in stock items, particularly their eBay store. But recently I think their service has gone down to drain. The web contact form on their site is bogus. If you have an issue with your order don't expect to hear back from them. Their stock items condition are also so so. Some okay some could be so bad.

 

[bakejobb_23]

I had an awful experience with DGPilot. Basically, took them forever to get my preorders in which isn't really their fault (ordered in october, contained October 2024 NG preorders turned into a well after Christmas delivery...with 2 day shipping at that!) but it took many many emails asking for any sort of update other than some generic bull**** that addresses part but not all of my questions in the email. That mixed with days, if not weeks, between emails and the avoidance for simple questions until I threatened to talk to my card company (emailed within 30 mins after that one though!). To put the cherry on top, one model that wasn't even a preorder at the time (NG America West 757), they told me the literal day before it shipped out they actually didn't have any in stock anymore, and that they could source me one but would take a while. What a joke. Just got my money back for it and got the rest of the order eventually. I understand preorders take a while, especially from NG, but the lack of communication and total avoidance ruined that all for me. Never going back there again I think.

Every other person Ive bought a model from whether a retailer or ebay has been nearly 100% perfect and any problems haven't really been due to retailer/seller issues thankfully.

 

[Irish]

Midwest Model Store was my go to before that got turned over, thankfully Jetcollector is just as great and will always go there unless it’s something on eBay, etc.

 

[Purpleplane]

I've been very fortunate....I've dealt with Waffle, Jetcollector.com, Aeroclassicdirect.com, Airplanereplicas.com, Squatchy's, Prairie diecast. and Eztoyz. I've never had a bad experience with any of them. Every one of them have had great customer service.

 

[British Airways fan]

The Good - Squatchy’s, Prarie Diecast, West Coast Diecast, Jet Collector, MV400, ARD, Bedfordshire Diecast, and Waffle Collectibles even had an issue with an order from Waffle and it was handled very professionally

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

I've bought from many stores -

My Hobby House
Bedfordshire
Jetcollector
Wings400
Aircraft Model Store UK
Aircraft Model Store NZ
Airmail Flugzeugmodelle
PandaFox
Prairie Diecast
Threshold (RIP)
Aviation Megastore
Scalemodelstore
Arcunia
Real Flight Airplane Models
West Main Toys
Waffle
Aeroclassics Direct

In most cases, a relationship with the store via their owners / managers / employees developed and in a couple of cases - even though I'm not their regular customer - a fantastic sense of camaraderie and of course, great support and assistance.

Irrespective of our history online, I must say that on a couple of orders, I received prompt email responses from the owner of AC Direct

Waffle I've never received a reply to any email - and I order with trepidation - I'd once shared here a pic of the Aeroflot il-86 I received which came severely damaged and with pieces apart because there were no protective bubble or foam wrap, nor fillers in the packaging - the model was tossed about in its long journey here

With Midwest Model Store, I never ended up placing an order, as the entire exchange with the then owner (Ali iirc) was, to put it mildly, weird and antagonistic.

My go-to stores now are MHH & Bedfordshire. Tee and Simon respectively are a joy to work with and are great with support and am really happy with them and I feel it's a privilege to be able to find warm folk like them. VJ from Wings400 is too and another great person to work with and I keep buying from him whenever there's something of interest.

Rising exchange rates over the past couple of years have meant that US & EU stores are now less favoured by me - otherwise Jetcollector has been amongst my top stores to buy from and Dave is just a super affable, helpful, and warm person to engage with over email. Other stores I remember having fantastic and warm exchanges with are Threshold, Airmail, Arcunia, Real Flight, Prairie, AMS and AvMgS.

Currently, if I'm forced to look for a 3rd or 4th option, I turn to Arcunia - John is fantastic and it's a modest family owned business as far as I understand, and I'm always in favor of supporting small passion-fuelled businesses over the megastore. Which is also why I keep picking up interesting stuff from Prairie too - and Adam is as always extremely supportive and helpful.

Many of the complaints I read regarding many of the stores I love buying from, often relate to stuff that has nothing to do with the store itself - either it's the shipping handling, or the delays from the manufacturer - and thus blaming a store is silly and downright absurd if not hilarious.

And a lot of customers are also downright rude and entitled - 'Karens' or whatever the male form of that is called lol - and this is also conveyed to me by store owners themselves relating specific incidents, and thus it's not solely based on social media.

In this hobby, patience is an important virtue.
Long note Hehe, but if you've made it to here - cheers!

 

[Jazajia]

I've bought from many stores -

My Hobby House
Bedfordshire
Jetcollector
Wings400
Aircraft Model Store UK
Aircraft Model Store NZ
Airmail Flugzeugmodelle
PandaFox
Prairie Diecast
Threshold (RIP)
Aviation Megastore
Scalemodelstore
Arcunia
Real Flight Airplane Models
West Main Toys
Waffle
Aeroclassics Direct

In most cases, a relationship with the store via their owners / managers / employees developed and in a couple of cases - even though I'm not their regular customer - a fantastic sense of camaraderie and of course, great support and assistance.

Irrespective of our history online, I must say that on a couple of orders, I received prompt email responses from the owner of AC Direct

Waffle I've never received a reply to any email - and I order with trepidation - I'd once shared here a pic of the Aeroflot il-86 I received which came severely damaged and with pieces apart because there was no protection in the packaging - the model was tossed about in its long journey here

With Midwest Model Store, I never ended up placing an order, as the entire exchange with the then owner (Ali iirc) was, to put it mildly, weird and antagonistic.

My go-to stores now are MHH & Bedfordshire. Tee and Simon respectively are a joy to work with and are great with support and am really happy with them and I feel it's a privilege to be able to find warm folk like them. VJ from Wings400 is too and another great person to work with and I keep buying from him whenever there's something of interest.

Falling exchange rates over the past couple of years have meant that US & EU stores are now less favoured by me - otherwise Jetcollector has been amongst my top stores to buy from and Dave is just a super affable, helpful, and warm person to engage with over email. Other stores I remember having fantastic and warm exchanges with are Threshold, Airmail, Arcunia, Real Flight, Prairie, AMS and AvMgS.

Currently, if I'm forced to look for a 3rd or 4th option, I turn to Arcunia - John is fantastic and it's a modest family owned business as far as I understand, and I'm always in favor of supporting small passion-fuelled businesses over the megastore. Which is also why I keep picking up interesting stuff from Prairie too - and Adam is as always extremely supportive and helpful.

Many of the complaints I read regarding many of the stores I love buying from, often relate to stuff that has nothing to do with the store itself - either it's the shipping handling, or the delays from the manufacturer - and thus blaming a store is silly and downright absurd if not hilarious.

And a lot of customers are also downright rude and entitled - 'Karens' or whatever the male form of that is called lol - and this is also conveyed to me by store owners themselves relating specific incidents, and thus it's not solely based on social media.

In this hobby, patience is an important virtue.
Long note Hehe, but if you've made it to here - cheers!

Excellent down to earth summary! I have never bought from Arcunia, but I’ve known of their existence for a long time and got to meet them at AMS 2023, very nice folks.

I also agree with you on that sometimes customers are the issue and not the store. It takes time to learn how this hobby works. I remember the first time I bought a lengthy pre-order I got a bit nervous when the third month went by I had not heard about the model. Then I got impatient when the store didn’t reply to my emails. Eventually I found a phone number and Kam (Eztoys) simply told me “it will ship when it gets here, bye.” Well, it did. I love Eztoys by the way, it is one of my favorites stores along with JetCollector. I seem to happen to know how to work with Waffle also, he is no longer among my first choices for new releases (well now I days I am my first choice ), but I know what to expect from him.

I see pre-orders tend to create a lot of issues between retailers and customers in this hobby. Guys, you need to understand that when you pre-order something there is actually no guarantee whatsoever that you will get the model ever. Retailers get shorted from manufacturers all the time, and manufacturers seldom meet an ETA. You increase your chances when you buy from big stores (JetCollector, Eztoys and Waffle in the U.S.), but even those retailers can’t do anything when manufacturers cancel a model altogether (which happens).

@bakejobb_23, you were saying that you paid 2-day shipping for a pre order at DG Pilot, I recommend choosing a non-expedited shipping option since there is no point to pay a premium to try and hurry up a pre-order. By the way, the experience you described with DG Pilot could have happened with just about any store. Sounds like DG could have been more upfront and communicated better, but again, read what I wrote about pre-orders above. It is how it goes, and it is aggravating, yes, but I think this hobby wouldn’t work otherwise. Back in the beginnings many manufacturers had a booking system, when many models were made in Europe. Pre ordering seems to be the modern version of booking to go along with Chinese mass production capabilities.

I could write a book about this stuff

 

[UALFan1994]

Excellent down to earth summary! I have never bought from Arcunia, but I’ve known of their existence for a long time and got to meet them at AMS 2023, very nice folks.

I also agree with you on that sometimes customers are the issue and not the store. It takes time to learn how this hobby works. I remember the first time I bought a lengthy pre-order I got a bit nervous when the third month went by I had not heard about the model. Then I got impatient when the store didn’t reply to my emails. Eventually I found a phone number and Kam (Eztoys) simply told me “it will ship when it gets here, bye.” Well, it did. I love Eztoys by the way, it is one of my favorites stores along with JetCollector. I seem to happen to know how to work with Waffle also, he is no longer among my first choices for new releases (well now I days I am my first choice ), but I know what to expect from him.

I see pre-orders tend to create a lot of issues between retailers and customers in this hobby. Guys, you need to understand that when you pre-order something there is actually no guarantee whatsoever that you will get the model ever. Retailers get shorted from manufacturers all the time, and manufacturers seldom meet an ETA. You increase your chances when you buy from big stores (JetCollector, Eztoys and Waffle in the U.S.), but even those retailers can’t do anything when manufacturers cancel a model altogether (which happens).

@bakejobb_23, you were saying that you paid 2-day shipping for a pre order at DG Pilot, I recommend choosing a non-expedited shipping option since there is no point to pay a premium to try and hurry up a pre-order. By the way, the experience you described with DG Pilot could have happened with just about any store. Sounds like DG could have been more upfront and communicated better, but again, read what I wrote about pre-orders above. It is how it goes, and it is aggravating, yes, but I think this hobby wouldn’t work otherwise. Back in the beginnings many manufacturers had a booking system, when many models were made in Europe. Pre ordering seems to be the modern version of booking to go along with Chinese mass production capabilities.

I could write a book about this stuff

If a pre-order is severely delayed and tying up other models on a several hundred dollar purchase, customers have every right to worry. The overall frustration comes from the lack of communication.

 

[bakejobb_23]

@bakejobb_23, you were saying that you paid 2-day shipping for a pre order at DG Pilot, I recommend choosing a non-expedited shipping option since there is no point to pay a premium to try and hurry up a pre-order. By the way, the experience you described with DG Pilot could have happened with just about any store. Sounds like DG could have been more upfront and communicated better, but again, read what I wrote about pre-orders above. It is how it goes, and it is aggravating, yes, but I think this hobby wouldn’t work otherwise. Back in the beginnings many manufacturers had a booking system, when many models were made in Europe. Pre ordering seems to be the modern version of booking to go along with Chinese mass production capabilities.

I could write a book about this stuff

Yes, I do agree that it was kinda silly of me to pay for the expedited shipping there. Haven't done that since and I feel its a better way to buy for the hobby in general. Again, the main issue was the lack of communication as a whole that ruined it for me. It was a big (in my opinion) 400$ order, waiting well over a week multiple times for responses to questions or whatever it was being discussed rubbed me the wrong way eventually. Especially when I eventually threatened to call the card company and then got responses right away for a good day or two and then right back to normal soon after. I don't expect a daily text on when things come in, of course. But, when I was told to expect them in early December and heard nearly nothing 2-3 weeks into that month with little response and avoidance of any questions, just ruined the whole process for me.

 

[squatchys_diecast_hangar]

We will not do preorders at all, just for the fact that it could take a year or more. Case in point is that we are now getting the InFlight releases on A300’s that were placed a year ago. So we would rather not take folks money up front, or promise any model for that fact. It just gets messy and the fact that a customer may have or be disgruntled because of it, and then possibly not buy from you again.

 

[Jazajia]

If a pre-order is severely delayed and tying up other models on a several hundred dollar purchase, customers have every right to worry. The overall frustration comes from the lack of communication.

I’m going to have to disagree to some degree here bud.

Yes, when there is quite a bit of money involved, and the delay becomes excessive, we have the right to worry, and checking here and there to make sure the order has not fallen through the cracks is very reasonable (this has happened to me actually).

However, anyone who has been collecting consistently for 2 years or so should be familiar with release timelines, and how certain model combinations on the same order could cause the tie up.

In 400 scale JC Wings is particularly notorious for excessive wait times (more than a year is not uncommon), especially when the models are labeled as “future releases.”

Aviation400, Panda and Patriot also have ETAs that are effectively undefined.

Phoenix and NG are still somewhat predictable, but keep getting worse.

Gemini does have some “future” releases, but in many case it’s not an issue with them as they are not buyable until a realistic ETA can be provided. The wait for their regular releases has been consistently short for a long time.

I think most engaged collectors should be familiar with the timelines explained above and plan accordingly. If you order an in-stock item, or a release of the month from GJ, PH, NG and place a JC/Panda/Patriot/AV400 pre-order on the same order, by design the entire order will be tied up for quite a while even after the majority of the models are in stock.

 

[Jazajia]

We will not do preorders at all, just for the fact that it could take a year or more. Case in point is that we are now getting the InFlight releases on A300’s that were placed a year ago. So we would rather not take folks money up front, or promise any model for that fact. It just gets messy and the fact that a customer may have or be disgruntled because of it, and then possibly not buy from you again.

I didn’t want to mention InFlight since this is the 1:400 section of the forum, but yes… IF200 wait times are right there with JCs. IF just cancelled some releases recently too.

I hear you Scott, pre-orders ate complicated for everyone, but they are a necessary evil in this hobby.

As a collector, when a holy grail is announced my order usually goes to the first retailer that puts it up for pre-order. That’s how Eztoys has gotten many pre-orders for YV- subjects from me (mostly 1:200). In the past Waffle also got many pre-orders from me by being the first to list many of my NG holy grails (AA752, 738…). And with Dan basically all I did was pre-orders.

Because of this (judging by my own behavior as a collector) I try to keep up with pre-orders, but it is way too hard… I dread it when we get those large sets of pre-orders (JC and InFlight). It takes way too much work to list them all up quickly and usually the effort is futile. Only the well-established stores have the customer base to get something out of pre-orders. I’m still trying to figure out a good compromise that works for me.

 

[swagninja84]

If all the retailers are saying an item has arrived but you are not getting a shipment update, it doesn't hurt to ask. Recently NG just forgot to send the DL LA28 to WCD which held up an order.

For all the complaints of Waffle, they have sent some items in a preorder with an order that was ready once they were in stock.

My recent order with Texan Airplane Store will be my last. Worst experience ever.
Order placed on 11/29/24, yes there were pre order items
Attached on the invoices it said it was inspected 12/4/24
Around Christmas an email went out saying everyone with orders would get an update about their order within 48 hours.
Never received an update.
Multiple emails not responded to,
Finally received the order on 2/14/25
One of the items says "refund" written next to the item on the invoice without any communication or explanation.
No sign of a refund on the credit card statement.

 

[squatchys_diecast_hangar]

I didn’t want to mention InFlight since this is the 1:400 section of the forum, but yes… IF200 wait times are right there with JCs. IF just cancelled some releases recently too.

I hear you Scott, pre-orders ate complicated for everyone, but they are a necessary evil in this hobby.

As a collector, when a holy grail is announced my order usually goes to the first retailer that puts it up for pre-order. That’s how Eztoys has gotten many pre-orders for YV- subjects from me (mostly 1:200). In the past Waffle also got many pre-orders from me by being the first to list many of my NG holy grails (AA752, 738…). And with Dan basically all I did was pre-orders.

Because of this (judging by my own behavior as a collector) I try to keep up with pre-orders, but it is way too hard… I dread it when we get those large sets of pre-orders (JC and InFlight). It takes way too much work to list them all up quickly and usually the effort is futile. Only the well-established stores have the customer base to get something out of pre-orders. I’m still trying to figure out a good compromise that works for me.

You as an online retailer will find what’s best for you and your customers. Actually for us not taking preorders, we tend to be the only retailer that will have a so-called ‘hot’ release available, when they do actually hit the street, therefore not lasting very long when we do finally get them. Also the few of us brick and mortar stores would actually like to have those ‘hot’ releases on the shelves, because a lot of our in store customers don’t shop outside of us. So having them when they do hit the street, and available for local customers is what we prefer as a business model. Online I kinda get it, because you don’t want a lot of boxes sitting in your house, or wherever. You can package them up and away they go. So there is a difference in how online, and the very minority brick and mortar do things.

 

[Jazajia]

Time to share some personal stories.

If all the retailers are saying an item has arrived but you are not getting a shipment update, it doesn't hurt to ask. Recently NG just forgot to send the DL LA28 to WCD which held up an order.

It never hurts to ask. The one time that asking for an update saved me from potentially missing out on a holy grail was with the Aeroclassics Viasa DC-9-30. It was the last model I ordered from the now-defunct AdamJets. I saw the model available at every other retailer, but my order with AdamJets was not getting shipped. I asked about it and got a standoffish response along the lines of "Be patient." After about two more months I emailed them again, and being way more polite than I should have been, I asked for another update and gave them ample context as to why I was so concerned.

Turns out they had made a mistake and thought I was waiting for an Aeroclassics Viasa DC-8 in 1:200 scale, instead of a 1:400 DC-9... Luckily, their system was working properly and my 1:400 Viasa DC-9 was set apart and waiting to be shipped to me in their warehouse after it was sold out at every other retailer . Close call...

So yes, it never hurts to ask, and even though nowadays I rarely buy from other retailers, I will still check on some pre-orders just to make sure...

For all the complaints of Waffle, they have sent some items in a preorder with an order that was ready once they were in stock.

Yes, this has happened to me too, and I have also done it a few times during my short life as a retailer.

About half a year ago I placed an order with Eztoys for an in-stock Aeroclassics Viasa 727-200 in 1:400 scale and the same model in 1:200 scale by El Aviador. The 1:200 model was a Pre-Order and I knew it was going to be a long wait. But by now I had 100% trust in Kam so I didn't even think about asking for an update. I just knew that Kam was going to ship the model whenever it got there or give me a refund. I had no worries other than potentially missing out on a holy grail, but I knew in the 1:200 world I had a few more options left (turns out I was actually able to get some stock of this model for retail... I still honored my Eztoys order..)

Well, in the meantime I placed another order from Eztoys (Viasa A300) and he sent me the 1:400 727 that was being held by the 1:200 727 in that shipment.

Recently someone placed an order for 3 items in my store. Two were in stock and the 3rd one was the Patriot SCA (pre-order). Without thinking twice about it I dispatched the two items I had in stock. It made more sense as I needed the space and honestly, who knows when the SCAs are going to arrive...

I also had an order that included a Patriot DC-10 and a JC MD-90 pre-order. The customer inquired about it, so I just went ahead and delivered the DC-10 (it is a local order), and will just ship the JC model when it arrives.

My recent order with Texan Airplane Store will be my last. Worst experience ever.
Order placed on 11/29/24, yes there were pre order items
Attached on the invoices it said it was inspected 12/4/24
Around Christmas an email went out saying everyone with orders would get an update about their order within 48 hours.
Never received an update.
Multiple emails not responded to,
Finally received the order on 2/14/25
One of the items says "refund" written next to the item on the invoice without any communication or explanation.
No sign of a refund on the credit card statement.

This is bad.

To be fair, "auto-refunds" are not uncommon in this hobby when an order can't be fulfilled. But you are saying the money was not refunded? That is serious, and issuing that refund should be the number one priority for any retailer.

Like I have said before, when Nick was living in Houston, we got along quite well and saw each other fairly regularly.

I had one issue with his store though. One time a pre-order could not be fulfilled (speaking of...). I was not mad and just swapped the model for another one. However, I identified the issue as a limitation of smaller new stores (like mine is right now ). Dan can probably tell you how annoying and picky I was when ordering from him after my experience with Texan.

I still bought several models from Nick in person at the Houston show, but certainly, it became harder for me to become loyal to his store, as much as I wanted to.

 

[swagninja84]

But you are saying the money was not refunded? That is serious, and issuing that refund should be the number one priority for any retailer.

Correct.

 

[pons399]

A few experiences with foreign retailers, because my local ones don’t apply to everyone else here…

MHH is generally reliable, but they’re hard to contact and slow to stock new releases. The PH KAL 333 I ordered shipped a month or so after other shops had it stocked, and my messages requesting clarification went unread.

ARD’s site is… interesting. I had to cancel an order from them because what I’d bought (listed as in stock) had actually been out of stock. Super annoying.

AMSG’s physical store has a good selection (not just because I’m an SQ fanboy, there are a ton of 1:200s, old ACs and military stuff as well), and they allowed me to inspect the models before paying. However, their weekend-visits-only policy is inconvenient.

 

[danwashere]

Pre orders are a touchy subject

I have a lot of connections overseas to actually oversea some production and have an estimated time.

Lots of customers ask when ETA is and at this point only people who is reliable is GJ. NG all depends on release times and the time of year.

AV400 I have people waiting for them for a year already for the 777s which is just entering production with huge numbers.

If I can fulfill a Pre Order I always reach out and mention it as early as I can.

I really dont think an order has fallen through a crack in a while. I check all the current open orders about once every 2 weeks in case I missed anything.

Yes there are people who have complained about certain items (damaged items mostly) and so on