Hobby Search

[cteno4]

Yes same here in the us it’s over 4x the price to source through ebay from Hong Kong or japan. Us distributors don’t seem to carry it. Luckily Arleen’s tacky glue is pretty much identical and easily available locally.

 

jeff

[Yavianice]

Guess I was right then.

 

Fortunately enough KATO is not yet "mainstream" enough to do this with their products, and seem to be fine with controlling the market from Japan so far (toxically so, as SE-Asia proves) and still seemingly probing the european market.

 

@Cat better order fast then before Tamiya cracks down on them too 😉

Edited March 14, 2022 by Yavianice

[cteno4]

Who knows yet. Hs I saying it’s tamiya but maybe more to the spat. None data is needed.

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

Kinda strange really, it's not like Tamiya products are easy to get everywhere. Over here for example they have some kits and paints (usually a small selection), but finding anything not directly related to plastic kits is pretty difficult.

 

[nbobkk]

On 3/14/2022 at 10:22 AM, Yavianice said:

Guess I was right then.

 

Fortunately enough KATO is not yet "mainstream" enough to do this with their products, and seem to be fine with controlling the market from Japan so far (toxically so, as SE-Asia proves) and still seemingly probing the european market.

 

@Cat better order fast then before Tamiya cracks down on them too 😉

Hi!

 

Sorry, but what do you mean regarding the SEA point?

 

Thanks!

[Kamome]

I know my father had some issues finding even basic acrylic colours from Tamiya in the UK for his tank model.  Many of the hobby shops he visited no longer deal with Tamiya, apart from model kits and RC. It seems they have become increasingly difficult to deal with according to a couple of shop owners. Not sure of the reasons for this.

 

I’ve always been impressed by the quality of Tamiyas products. The range available domestically in Japan is far larger than the range i’ve seen in the UK but have still noticed a decline in availability, especially in their range of airbrushes and compressors amongst other things. 

[bill937ca]

Something new on Hobby Search's website.

 

2022/03/07    

To prevent programmed and unauthorized access to our website,
we have implemented Google's reCAPTCHA service in our ordering system.
Verification may be requested even in a standard usage,
so please follow the instructions given in such case.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/infodetails

[bill937ca]

I just got an email saying 300 HS points had been added to my account. Anyone else?

[Madsing]

Yes. I got that earlier this year.

[katoftw]

I got it about 3 months ago. I hadn't made a purchase in a while.

Edited March 24, 2022 by katoftw

[bill937ca]

2022/04/27    

Due to ever increasing surcharges, we are afraid we must increase the shipping cost of DHL.
Although we had not changed our shipping rates for DHL since January 2021,their fuel surcharges has been steadily increasing, from 14% back then, to over 32% for May 2022.
In addition, the "Emergency Situation Surcharge" had been introduced and this has also increased over time, from 10yen/Kg in most areas, to 120yen/Kg minimum, with some areas being 160yen/Kg or 320yen/Kg.

We had these surcharges included in the shipping cost based on January 2021 rates, and as we understood that DHL shipping was not cheap for many of customers, we have been covering the excess charges ourselves.
However, we are afraid the loss has become too much for us to bear, and have no choice but to increase the shipping cost.

This new price take effect as of: 1st of May, 2022 (Japan time GMT+9)

Please be noted that the price will be reflected on all shipments charged after this date. This will also affect backorders or any orders not charged before the date above.

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/infodetails

[bill937ca]

I had an interesting episode with Hobby Search.  I've had a list for some time but that had to wait until there was budget.

 

So I wanted to order 2 x 91084 https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10421246 a Tomix tram track set.  There is a sort of counter on many items which says, This item is limited to 1 per household.   What this really means this a low stock item. Track??? So I placed the order but to get two sets I faced two DHL shipments which is not in the cards.  Then I checked eBay and found a few sets, but at greater cost. I looked up Tomix and it is listed as being in stock.  I went back on Hobby Search and found the item sold out, but now the message saying This item is limited to 50 per household.  What?  So I requested to cancel that order because it was incomplete and I would incur a second DHL shipping  charge to complete my project.  

 

I got the cancellation this evening.  I went back and checked the message again and it was reset to  This item is limited to 4 per household.  So I reordered the full order including the 2 x 91084 I wanted and there will only be a single DHL shipment.  😁 😄 I wouldn't be surprised if I have to wait for additional 91084 sets to come from a supplier, but that is OK and I think I have a little more insight into what that little message means.

 

Full disclosure: I have been a Hobby Search customer since April 2007 and  I have not placed as many orders since shipping went haywire.

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by bill937ca

[katoftw]

That is a weird one.  I have previously though have found their limits too restrictive.  I dont have specific examples from the past.  But I do remember shopping elsewhere due to these limits.

 

I just checked that item you linked, and now I get x2 limit.

Edited August 22, 2022 by katoftw

[bill937ca]

51 minutes ago, katoftw said:

I just checked that item you linked, and not I get x2 limit.

 

Because I ordered two tonight. That brought it down from 4. So it is real time too.  Until this time I would have assumed those messages were static limits.

Edited August 22, 2022 by bill937ca

[Giugiaro]

It's a bit annoying considering how you have to diversify the order to dilute the shipping costs.

 

So instead of buying what you actually need, you either buy small amounts at a time and have shipping become your highest share of the costs, or mix in stuff you don't exactly need but have to add to justify the order.

 

By now I'll be relying on Hobby Search for the Casco cases and Poppondetta foams. I've found cheaper and with stock elsewhere.

[cteno4]

Hmm that is an odd one bill. I’ve never noticed a limit on anything I’ve ever ordered that was restrictive. But I can see a higher one on track would be needed. Maybe they just don’t inventory a lot of track, but that seems odd as that’s an evergreen product that most everyone orders! I’ve always wondered about their logic behind the limits and if it was to make sure a couple orders coming in at about the same time didn’t break their inventory or it represented stock on hand some or just cachet of being something hit with a low limit.
 

Covid has also upset the Apple cart in so many ways in production, supply chains, inventories, shipping and how business have had to function it’s easy so see how odd quirks can erupt in the usually very smooth Japanese businesses we are use to dealing with.

 

jeff

[disturbman]

@cteno4 that's because you never look for it, it's usually stated on the first line of the item description. Train sets have it; it's set at 12 max. I just never noticed it was going down in relation to stock/pre-order availability. I think Ami usually has a limit of 6 that is dynamically updated to reflect stock availability.

[cteno4]

Yes I do notice it all the time, I just never follow it for a specific product over time to see if it follows stock or just a funny limit.

 

jeff

[bill937ca]

Jeff - it's been there a long time. Definitely before Covid. I just  never realized it was real time until last night's order.

 

When it first appeared I though it to prevent dealers from cleaning them out and then reselling at much higher price when the source in Japan was out of stock. But apparently not.

Edited August 22, 2022 by bill937ca

[Brennan91]

Is there a thread for shipping options? I’m going to order some Japanese aircraft models off of hobbysearch and wondered which shipping option would be best for me. There are four items and all of them have the “small packet” tag. I live near downtown Orlando in Florida so most shipping shouldn’t be a problem.

[bill937ca]

Shipping has been disrupted since Covid cancelled most of the international airline service.  At the least the two options are small packet SEA or  DHL.   If you  go to an order screen your available shipping options for your country will come up on the second page of the order form. 

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/faq/104#shpsm

[Brennan91]

18 minutes ago, bill937ca said:

Shipping has been disrupted since Covid cancelled most of the international airline service.  At the least the two options are small packet SEA or  DHL.   If you  go to an order screen your available shipping options for your country will come up on the second page of the order form. 

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/faq/104#shpsm

Yeah, but I know you guys have talked about issues with orders being lost or rerouted with different services so I just wanted to check before I bought them.

[cteno4]

I don’t think Sal has started back up to the US. Last order from hs a few weeks back it was DHL, EMS, or surface (ie by container ship, probably 2+ months). DHL still seems the cheapest with EMS price hikes that happened last year. Some vendors offer FedEx that cna be cheaper than DHL.

 

SAL was a great option for the US, being about 2 weeks and usually cheaper than priority mail packages w.in the US!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[brill27mcb]

Yes, I miss old SAL...

On the other hand the USD/Yen exchange rate is really advantageous right now.

 

Rich K.

[cteno4]

Yes takes some of the sting out of express shipping!

 

jeff