Is Hobby Link Japan or likewise really cheaper? Price comparison

When the 1/72 scale Fine Molds X-Wing fighters were first released, US sellers listed them at $40. I ordered straight from HLJ and received two of them within 30 days delivered to my door for $34 total including shipping. I've done the same thing with other Fine Molds Star Wars space fighters (Jedi fighter, TIE, TIE Interceptor). Fine Molds kits are Hasegawa quality models.

Another kit I got for a resaonable price was the 1/35 scale Batman Begins Batmobile. Here in the states it goes for around $50 if you can find it, but I got it for about $25 from HLJ.

HLJ is great for stuff that will be rare or hard to find in the US, but for stuff you can easily find at the local shop or online (eBay, Squadron, etc.), it's not always the best deal as you have found out.

i have noticed if you only buy 1-2 models at a time stay local or at least online local

but when buying 4-5 at a time over-seas  works out pretty good

Shellback wrote:

How is Hobby Lobby for selection,prices ? My son lives near a new H.L. and we will be visiting there soon, just currious .

Shellback wrote:

How is Hobby Lobby for selection,prices ? My son lives near a new H.L. and we will be visiting there soon, just currious .

Hey Shell.

I guess it varies from store to store.  I agree with what Rob said but our store, here in Fort Smith, also carries a very good selection of aircraft kits.  Hasegawa, Tamiya, Revellogram, Accurate Miniatures, Academy, MRC and others that I can't think of at the present time.  I haven't had my second cup of coffee yet!!   

Thanks Rob and Chopperfan . I'll have to wait and see how the selection is , cant wait !!!

SHL

Ron

for what I need, WAVE option parts and such and the Hase Tritools that you mention, HLJ is about my only outlet,so I have to make a big purchase just to justify the insane shipping and wait times to get my stuff.

Otherwise I get kits and stuff either local (about all we have is a lameass LHS and Hobby Lobby with a limited stock) or through Squadron Mail Order or other online/catalog shops.

 Rainbow10 has stock and they sell and ship paint unlike HLJ which does not ship paint the the US  as far as I can tell.

David 

I stay away from ebay like the plague. 

Just Plane Hobbies is a favorite as is Squadron.  My LHS is a good place, too.  He gets a discount when he orders from MMD (Squadron).  Some times I drive the 45 miles to Venture Hobbies to use my 20% card. 

Ranger2Seven wrote:

I stay away from ebay like the plague.  Just Plane Hobbies is a favorite as is Squadron.  My LHS is a good place, too.  He gets a discount when he orders from MMD (Squadron).  Some times I drive the 45 miles to Venture Hobbies to use my 20% card.

buff wrote:

For me, shipping charges often make or break the deal.  They often push the price over what I would pay at any of the local shops.

Yup.  I agree.

Plus, it never fails that one site has the kit but not the resin cockpit, so I need to order from two different sites. 

ths only way to save buying over-seas is in bulk 3-5 or more models at a time

if you only want 1-2 the shipping locally(in the us ) is cheaper

if you only buy 1 at a time the model,  the shipping for one ( go to the lhs give hime the extra 3-bucks ) and no wait time

 on the shipping charges - that is the thing that makes or breaks a sale for me. And some of these on-line sites make it almost impossible to know what those charges are until after you hit the "submit" button. How a site computes their shipping charges can be buried in the fine print, or written so it is absolute gibberish.

Which is another reason to pay with a credit card - it gives you some leverage. Case in point, I ordered a tool from an on-line site, and under Shipping Charges it said $7.50. Insane gouging for something that weighed 3 ounces, but I needed the tool and they are the only source, so ... when I got the invoice with the tool, the shipping charges had mysteriously increased to $12.45 because I had it shipped to a P.O. box instead of my home (where it would have sat outside all day for anyone to walk off with). Multiple e-mails were ignored, until I called my credit card company and slapped a hold on the charge. Then, surprisingly, came a response from said company, admitting that the shipping charges shown when you order could be misleading, but their policy was clearly spelled out elsewhere on the website. Maybe so, but it left a very negative impression on me and I doubt I will buy from them again unless they are the sole source for something.