# At an LHS cross roads...



## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Firstly I must state most adamantly that this is not a swipe at Moebius because they have restored my faith in preserving my inner child... And also pre apologies to any who may take offense should this seem a bit of a rant.  So mods if you feel its in the wrong spot just do your thing. 

Why am I at a cross roads you ask??? 

Last weekend I went to one of the local hobby shops here in town to top up my supplies of paints. Whilst there I thought I’d check out to see if how or if their Moebius models had increased for one voyager and a couple of Dr Jekle & Hyde kits. Well it was the first time that I had seen Seaview on their shelves along with a Chariot and Pod. I have been tossing around the idea of maybe doing another big Seaview and then adding some after market parts that came along after I did mine. But at *$259 AU * I decided that it could stay a "maybe" idea for a while, as for the other kits well at around *$90.00 *AU each and the little monster scenes going for *$54.00 *AU I began to waver in my spirit of supporting the LHS community  when many of the more mainstream kits of similar sizes seemed no where near as pricey. :drunk:

I know the aussie dollar has coped a thumping :beatdeadhorse: and that there are "past" buy it now exchange rates along with custom and import duties not to mention that the only major distributor down here is on the other side of the country so there are certainly friehgt issues as well. Along with the fact that any good business must roll a profit as well as strong stock turns because I myself manage a strong and profitable business. Yet in light of that, it’s hard not to feel that the less mainstream and minority modeler must pay unduly. I might add that it is not just the locals but also the interstate stores who ask similar monies. In the past I have often felt a little guilty at getting my kits from overseas suppliers but when I can order a kit like the Seaview, pay for the freight and the exchange rate of the day yet still leave over a third of the above asking price in my bank?? Well I know how I will get my kits from now on with the guilt factor mollified considerably. Having said this however I will still use the LHS to source my ancillaries but they will sadly not see me forking out to much money for my beloved styrene kit fix and yes I know such thinking may seem counter productive. 

So when I read some post on these threads about the cost of what some of the new kits such as the J2 and BSG might cost the hobbyist in the US. I have to remind myself that it not their fault at a lack of knowledge about the wider global scheme when it comes to having a minority hobby, which sci-fi is down under and also living outside the states. That said I still have high regards and great respect :thumbsup: for many here on the BB for their talent, opinions, tips etc etc. Even if I don’t always agree…

Nough said... I am off to toss my soap-box in the bin now.

Cheers,

Alec.


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

you forgot to mention the price of oil.....which effects the price of plastic products.


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## Vindi (Mar 20, 2009)

AJ,

Would it be cheaper for you if you sent the money to someone in the states and then had that person buy it and then ship it to you?

Vindi


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## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

Solution to the problem.............

Move to the United States where you can buy your styrene models cheaper and still support your LHS! 

Then you wouldn't have to put yourself through all this guilt that you're feeling!

MMM


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

MonsterModelMan said:


> Solution to the problem.............
> 
> Move to the United States where you can buy your styrene models cheaper and still support your LHS!
> 
> ...


Exactly ! So simple a caveman could have thought of it ! :jest::lol:


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

Sorry to hear they're trying to rip you off down there! Maybe Moebius can arrange for more efficient local distibution channels.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Trekkriffic said:


> Exactly ! So simple a caveman could have thought of it ! :jest::lol:












Tell me I did _not_ just read that...


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

It sounds more like Aussie hobbiests are being made an offer they can't refuse. :dude::beatdeadhorse:


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

It's the same in England. Kits produced locally (Britain and Europe) are far less expensive than those made by U.S. companies. There are all sorts of taxes, and fees levied by the various governments, then there's shipping on top of that. I goofed filling out the shipping form the first time I sent a kit to my friend in Wales, (The PL C-57D) and Her Majesties' Tax Man collected amost the same amount in taxes (VAT) from my friend as I had paid for the kit!

Larry


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

As long as the likes of CultTVmans stays around then I dare say that moving to the States won't be an option :thumbsup: But were we given the nod n go I know my wife would move across the pond to Canada fairly efficiantly. 

But a holiday to say... take in wonderfest well that might work too


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

Alec, contact me offlist. I'm in Brisbane and I sell Moebius Models.
*End shameless plug mode* sorry guys...


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

If I'm not mistaken,many kit are either made in China,Japan and even South Korea.Since these countries are a lot closer to Australia than the North American continent,it would be just a matter of having a smart and caring distributor located in Australia that would take care of diverting,so to speak,part of the order that is normally directed to the North American market and have it shipped directly to Australia instead.Of course that might mean some delays in distribution since a distributor might first try to order a variety of kits to be finally shipped together in order to cut on shipping charges,but this would be a good tactic in my opinion.I thought we Canadians had it bad.Maybe you Australians should start manufacturing model kits yourselves.If Mobeius and Monarch can do it,so can you.You could start by reissuing some of the Aurora kits such as the Apache Warrior on Horse,Confederate Raider,and Gold Knight on Horse in original Box Art.Not necessary to acquire the Aurora logo.These kits are sure to be pleasers.It would be very interesting if you at least made a research on the viability of such a project and let us know about the results.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Alec, was it the Stafford or Mt Gravatt store? These kits are way too pricey here in Oz and I do all my kit buying from the US too. It'd be great to be able to pick 'em up here, but for the price of 1 kit I can pick up 2 from overseas!! I still buy my supplies locally (I usually get mine from Hobby One 'cause they're much closer to me), but I always look forward to a trip to Hobbyrama because of their much larger range of paints. They've started stocking the Vallejo paints so I'm making the trip this weekend....

Chris.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

Guys if you are looking for the kits in Oz, my prices are a smidge lower than the retail. Unfortunately there are extra costs involved at the wholesale level that drive the prices up before they even make it into a retailers hands, so that usually means that we can't compete wit the American retail price and inevitably it takes longer to get the kits.

If anybody is interested in discussing pricing, please feel free to email me. If you are a member of the forum I might be able to offer an extra discount.

I'm in Brisbane and local pickup is available. If you want stuff posted I only charge actual postage plus $2.50 for packing material/handling. 

I've been selling models and movie collectibles for over 10 years now.

Cheers
Bruce


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

shipping and distribution arent the problem...
the same situation exists in the halloween and novelty industries. i was speaking to some australian buyers at a halloween trade show some time ago, and the tariffs/ duties/taxes attached to any import in those industries are enormous, regardless of the point of the products origin. as a result, its much cheaper for my australian e-bay customers to purchase from me and pay the shipping costs tan it would be for them purchase the same item at an australian store. 
there are only 2 solutions to this: australian hobbyists must petition their government to relax is protectionist policy, or to start your own companies to manufacture the stuff domestically (the latter being the reason for the the adoption of those policies in the first place).


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

razorwyre1 said:


> ...the tariffs/ duties/taxes attached to any import...are enormous, regardless of the point of the products origin...there are only 2 solutions to this: australian hobbyists must petition their government to relax is protectionist policy, or to start your own companies to manufacture the stuff domestically (the latter being the reason for the the adoption of those policies in the first place).


Just how large _is_ the Australian domestic plastic kit industry? When I was much younger, plastic kits were made in the U.S. I think Revell may have been the last one, and I don't even know when they quit domestic manufacture.


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

toyroy said:


> Just how large _is_ the Australian domestic plastic kit industry? When I was much younger, plastic kits were made in the U.S. I think Revell may have been the last one, and I don't even know when they quit domestic manufacture.


The mainstream stuff eg, cars, military, radio controlled, dolls house, railway and even diecast seems is pretty well established here and the games workshop side is still a good contender too. Try to picture a square divided into say 100 smaller ones well the sci-fi and real space would be almost one of those little squares  But that view is subjective by me based on the LHS and big local model expo we have here in town that I went to last year. Maybe the new trek, ironman and transformer franchises will reinvigorate sci-fi again.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

There are no domestic styrene kit manufacturers in Australia. The last kit company I'm aware of is Cavalier. They produced a couple of exquisite aero engines in 1/48, flexible zimmerit (antimagnetic paste used on German armour in WWII), and Aussie cars in 1/24. They were resin kits. The cars were curbside. I did the box art kits for the company. There's a few companies that do limited run aircraft kits (High Planes, OzMods), and some aftermarket stuff for aircraft, cars, and trucks (trucks are very big over here), but no scifi or figures that I'm aware of.....
Compared to the US and Europe, the model scene as far as figures and scifi goes is very small!! I get ribbed by my modelling buddies all the time- in good humour of course- but on the whole it's much better for the mainstream guys. As Alec says, the kits here tend to get very, very expensive here and scifi/figure modellers have a hard time even finding most stuff in our shops. Rare kits are thru the roof- if they can be found. As an example, an Aurora Comic Scenes Tonto kit averages $150-250 here and the knights average $100. If it wasn't for the great guys here on Hobbytalk who understand my passion, I couldn't afford my addiction....

Chris.


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Oops... Sorry Toyroy missunderstood. Maybe thats why people look at me and say "Just answer the question" 

I'd go for Chris's take on it for the industry down here.:thumbsup: I was reffring to the sales market in my former post... How does one confuse industry with sales...:freak:


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

AJ-1701 said:


> Sorry Toyroy missunderstood...I was reffring to the sales market in my former post... How does one confuse industry with sales...


No problem.  As important as I know it is, I struggle with the subject of economics.


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

Auroranut said:


> There are no domestic styrene kit manufacturers in Australia...As Alec says, the kits here tend to get very, very expensive here and scifi/figure modellers have a hard time even finding most stuff in our shops...If it wasn't for the great guys here on Hobbytalk who understand my passion, I couldn't afford my addiction...


Just for illustrative purposes, it would be interesting to know how much an Australian-manufactured Moebius kit would cost at retail(in Australia, that is!)


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