PET PEEVES VOL. I

[David C. Clarke]

Pet Peeve A-- I go to my local modelling store, say once every two or three weeks. One day I notice a certain model, there are six of them, so I put off buying . Next time I go to the store, the same six kits are there. This continues for about four months. Then, I decide to go ahead and buy the kit. I drive to the store, look on the shelf--and they're gone.
Was it my psychic vibrations? So, I start hunting the kit on the net. I'd say offhand I deal with about ten netstores for kits. Well, guess what--everyone's out of this particular kit.
Hmmm. How many times did I walk past those six kits?
Pet Peeve B-- I internet shop at a certain store with a great website. I find a set of books there, all are listed as "in stock". Price isn't anything to write home about, but the store supposedly has them at least. I order books. Three weeks later, I check my account status only to find that the books are "on order". Six weeks pass. Two months pass, the order status remains unchanged. I finally say enough and cancel the order. Four days after canceling the order I receive an e-mail saying that the store attempted to process the order but my credit card was "declined". So I call the company, tell them to go ahead and send the order and repeat the same credit card information they had on file for two years. Two weeks later I receive the books. Apparently there wasn't a problem with my credit card this time. And apparently they did, eventually, get the books in stock.
So, does anyone else have any pet peeves. Cheers, D

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

Well, I once had to buy a early production Tiger II from tamiya. I too saw it in the store a lot of times. I saved up a bit of money (I wasn't as old back then, so it was quite an expense...) - I go to the store (the trip is about 20 minutes by train...), only to find that the kit is out of stock at the store. Wel, I tell them to order it home. Time goes by, and nothing happens (Denmark is hopelessly behind in modelling aspects), for about 2 months - apparently, Tamiya had decided to give the molds a rest - well, I just found the kit back on the helfs, so I bought one a couple of months ago - but Murpheys law is valid, very much indeed...

[Erich]

David :

A suggestion on internet book shopping.......check all sources......ok.........now get together with one or two outfits that know you by your first name. With credibility like this they shouldn't B.S. you. If they do then fire em !

E

[David C. Clarke]

That's good advice Erich! The problem really is that my tastes are not consistent. I mean it could be WWI today and Korea tomorrow, so I'm always prowling for different books and kits. Sometimes I catch a good break, sometimes I can't find what I want for months. On the book set I mentioned, I gave myself plenty of lead-time and cancelled when I was certain they were jerking me. Then they must have realized they were going to lose a big order and got busy. The whole credit card thing was nonsense, they just wanted to make sure I still wanted the books. So, ultimately, I got the books and learned not to trust the outfit. All's well that ends well I guess. Very Best Regards, David

[Zapfenstreich]

Hey Gang

Here's a place that has always been pretty reliable. I've done a lot of mail order business with them. Check it out and let me know what you think.

http://www.modelexpoinc.com

Z

[MadJim]

Squadron Shop in Texas was famous for advertising something either that:


A "they hope would come in"
B "they had in stock - but only a few and now its out"
I dont know how many times I made up an order "around" a specific item o- only to get the good news that the main thing I wanted was out of stock- but they sent the other crap!

I found my self prowling stores in 3 differnt states to get my fix. I am currently going cold turkey.

[David C. Clarke]

Hi MadJim, I've dealt with Squadron for at least 10 years and they definitely have some games they play. Supposedly their updates, the monthly supplements are mailed out the last week of the month. Well, I'm still waiting for mine. Luckily I have a friend in NYC who told me what the specials are. I think that if you don't call by the 1st or 2nd of the month, the real deals, like the $16.00 Dragon SU-100 will be gone. On the otherhand, when they say they do have something in stock, you can believe them, unlike some other companies... Cheers, David

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

I don't know if this is the cas ein the US, but if a commercial is adressed to you, and it doesn't have any statue of limitation on it, you are entiteled to recieve the good as advertised, no matter hwat - so they would have to buy the item again ASAP, and then send it to you at the price advertised.
US law is much different than European, but try consulting some legal aid - maybe you can get a lot of things you didn't expect...!

Christian

[David C. Clarke]

Hi Christian, interesting point, but I think it is a matter of state law in the US and most states allow for disclaimers such as "while supplies last" or "limited quantities". Strictly as a practical matter, a person living in NJ, as I do, really wouldn't have too many legal options against a Texas company. As least none worth the time and expense. Cheers, David

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

But do they write it on the advertisement? Else, it doesn't matter... (so read it thoroughly next time - you'll never know when they screw up

Christian