Harry Wilson Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Hi, I've been ordering parts by mail order for a model I'm in the process of building and it has occured to me that whilst I'm focussed on getter the best price I am also busy moaning (to my wife mostly) about the service I'm getting. You see I've somehow got it into my head that price and service are not (and should not be connected)...I should be able to get low prices and excellent all-round service. Let me give you some examples. I've found an overseas company (the details not important) with a reasonable website who can ship from an "International" warehouse. Prices were great, goods were dispatched quickly on the face of it, but from where I was not sure. In the end it turned out they were comming from Hong Kong! Delivery was to be fair stated to be up to 45 days...I guess customs and all that was the aticipated potential problem. In fact I've just done a 50 km (I live in Germany) round trip to rescue my package from a custom's warehouse because of some difficulty with the import paperwork. The goods by the way, now I have them, look great so no complaints there. Contrast this with some bits I got from the UK. Pricing was competitive but not the lowest. The goods were dispatched same afternoon from the address I expected them to come from. They took a little longer to arrive than expected but they arrived at my home address. OK, nothings perfect but my point is this... We get in general what we pay for, and should connect price with service because it normally works that way; cheap price means probable hasle. I for one am going to be prepared to shell out a little more to keep the smaller local traders in business because they are the ones that actually deliver the best price/service mix I think. Food for thought, Harry Wilson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Wilson Posted September 4, 2012 Author Share Posted September 4, 2012 Hi, Well I guess this reflects the fact that we are all human. Somehow, I suspect if you survived to retirement Tom, you did, on balance, deliver a higher level of service than it might have felt like at the time Other views; is Service Dead and Price King? Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 This is what I posted in another thread, on a similar subject, a couple of weeks ago: Perhaps we should be a little more philosophical about this subject. Shopping in Tesco or Lidl, I don't expect the same level of service as when I shop in Harrods (went once, bought some crisps, got the bag..........). By shopping at GS, HK or other outlets where I'm saving 30-50% on costs, I accept that their supply/service may fall short of expectations from time to time and whilst it can be a bit irritating, I really have no cause to complain. The good UK stores and LMS's who hold the stock and deliver promptly earn their premium, IMHO, but they must keep on top of the game. Horses for courses, really......... My views haven't changed! Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garbo Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Harry there are lots of suppliers in Germany who will supply you great products at great speed at a great price. Check out Lindinger they supply German versions (Planet Hobby) of the YT models at 70% of the price. But they wont send them here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Wilson Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 Hi, Yep...we pays our money and takes our choice In many ways we are lucky to have the range of choice that we do have today. Thanks for the hint re German suppliers Garbo. I've dealt with a few and will take a look at Lindinger too. Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I think this was part of the point I was making here. OK the batteries are cheaper from HK, but by the time you have factored in customs, postage and the wait the deal doesn't look quite so good anymore. I suppose it depends how good you are at planning as well. If you know that you will need an item 5 weeks in advance then great - but from Hong Kong and it will schedule in nicely. But if like me you suddenly realise that the you are out of "x" and need it now - well then you're going to need to pay a little bit more. BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Garnell Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Hi Tony I also live in Germany and use Parkflieger.eu for most of my stuff and found them to be very good in service and price. The new owner took over the shop I think about a year ago and it is now full to the ceiling with stock. Most of their business is via the internet. Take a look at their website. They are situated a short distance north of Frankfurt. Regards Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Garnell Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Hi Harry Where did I get Tony from. Sorry. Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony K Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Posted by Andrew Garnell on 05/09/2012 12:06:36: Hi Harry Where did I get Tony from. Sorry. Regards Who knows? Anyway, I live near Cologne and use Derkum for most of my modelling stuff. Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prop Nut Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Sorry, Harry, but I couldn't disagree more. Service is a state of mind, not a function of price, and it's not inevitable that we should accept poor service just because prices are low. I expect good service from anyone I spend my hard-earned with. I recently needed an item that was out of stock with the distributor in the UK, so had no choice but to get it from the US. The price was a third less than the cheapest shown on UK retail web sites (still listed, despite the item not being available here!), and postage was only 50 pence higher. I ordered it on Friday and it arrived on the following Tuesday, with no additional charges. I have suffered poor service in America, on occasions, but I have more often received good service because that's what their customers demand. If you expect and accept bad service that's what you get. I don't patronise my two local model shops because of poor service, but I do buy mail order from other LMS in the UK and get sharp prices and great service from many. They are the ones I return to. I tend not to buy from the far east because of lengthy delivery and problematic customs charges, but recently had problems with an expensive item from a German supplier. I e-mailed them twice, in German, and have still received no response after eight weeks - guess whose products I won't be buying again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I am not sure what is meant by service. I can see the attraction of face to face purchases. These vary from the corner shop, where I go each morning for a newspaper, to Asda (or nay other supermarket) where it is face to face, with a different person each time, where speed is more important than the interaction of, "thank you for waiting" and "do you need help packing". There is much to said for buying on the Internet, I do not need to set outside the door, I do not need to make the time to actually go to the shop. In many cases I will receive my Internet purchases faster than going to the MS. For example BRC, GS, HK (UK) will deliver next day, at a price which is less than driving to the MS and often much faster than finding that time. If I am price conscious and want choice the Internet wins hands down. As to the service, or time to the door, it all depends where the trader is located and how much you want to pay in postage As for the hazzle of customs, does this not say a lot about bureaucracy and the desire for maximum tax? My six year old granddaughter made me laugh last week. Some one on TV was advocating increasing tax, as this would boost the economy, and get people out of poverty etc. She said Granddad, "why do not African countries increase taxes and stop all the poverty, in their countries"? Edited By Erfolg on 05/09/2012 12:52:58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Wilson Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 Hi, More good input on possible German supplier's, great thanks all. BTW I wasn't looking for agreement really just other points of view. With the demise of Galaxy (for example) and given the options open to all of us to trade globally via the Internet, you have to wonder where things will end up. People just need to be alert to the complications of buying from the big players especially when their marketing machine creates the impression that they may be more local than they really are. If you know what you are getting into (and can wait/put up with the customs hassle) all well and good. Harry (or Tony) I'm in Munich by the way...think about fitting skis to my next model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Most discussions of this type, although heart felt, will probably have little if any impact on how retailing develops. I personally was of the opinion that Internet sales would get nowhere, as I saw them as being no more than a VDU Littlewoods catalogue. I was very wrong. At the same time I do not regret the passing of the corner shop, the reason being my mother and father worked hard to provide the shop keeper with a middle class life style. The costs were very much higher than supermarkets as they developed. Unfortunately the LMS is expensive, even it does not provide the life style of the corner shop to the proprietor. It also suffers from a low range of choices. Very much reliant on the charisma of the shopkeeper to make the experience special. Without charisma it is like going to Tesco without the choice and keen prices. Yet the biggest losers were the multitude of wholesalers, who either ceased trading or chased bigger lower margin contracts. I expect that again the biggest looser will be model middlemen, who need to adapt to a changing world of retailing. Yet I remember a Germany where shops closed at midday on Saturday, Sunday did not exist for shoppers other than bread shops. If Germany's retailing remains unchanged, then perhaps things can be held in Aspic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cantwell Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Posted by Garbo on 04/09/2012 21:59:58: Harry there are lots of suppliers in Germany who will supply you great products at great speed at a great price. Check out Lindinger they supply German versions (Planet Hobby) of the YT models at 70% of the price. But they wont send them here Lindinger import 3 times as much as YT, even though we have a great hand in the design of most of them, therefore, they can buy in bigger bulk, and buy cheaper, test emails are sent every now and again to check them out, they will only supply with our permission, when we do not have stock, seeing as we have a huge say in the factory in China, it works well for both parties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony K Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Posted by Garbo on 04/09/2012 21:59:58: Harry there are lots of suppliers in Germany who will supply you great products at great speed at a great price. Check out Lindinger they supply German versions (Planet Hobby) of the YT models at 70% of the price. But they wont send them here Probably not important but Lindinger is an Austrian company. In their magazine advertisement they state that, for orders over 90 euros, postage is free to all EU countries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary davies-jones Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 A motorcycle breaker near us has sign up states that prices and levels of customer service are liable to fluctuation due to customer attitude. Just a thought doesn't really apply to faceless budget suppliers on t'internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garbo Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Posted by Tony K on 06/09/2012 12:19:19: Posted by Garbo on 04/09/2012 21:59:58: Harry there are lots of suppliers in Germany who will supply you great products at great speed at a great price. Check out Lindinger they supply German versions (Planet Hobby) of the YT models at 70% of the price. But they wont send them here Probably not important but Lindinger is an Austrian company. In their magazine advertisement they state that, for orders over 90 euros, postage is free to all EU countries. Yes I have picked up some stuff from them, but as Alan has mentioned there appears to be a gentlemans agreement that their cheaper versions of YT models are restricted to some mainland European countries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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