As we approach the hectic holiday season, we thought it made sense to once again point out where we stand in the collectible supply chain. Now celebrating our fifteenth year of doing business, some people often times think that, in addition to being an online retailer, we are both a distributor or a manufacturer. Ladies and gents, we are a RETAILER. This means that we work with a group of upstanding distributors who import product into our country from all across the globe. If we run out of an item, it usually means that our principal supplier has also run out of the item in question. So, we must wait until they receive their next shipment of the item before we can once again fill orders. For some inexplicable reason, some people aren’t grasping this basic concept. We don’t press a button and automatically get restocked the day after we run out of inventory.

Let’s look at the Panzerstahl T-28 super heavy tank as our prime example. We received this item way back in April of this year and I believe we ran out of it in early May. Based upon pre-orders, we did our best to forecast how many we would need using a formula and submitted our order accordingly. Now, some people decided to place their order days or weeks after we received our shipment, no doubt waiting to hear what other early adopters thought of the item. When we attempted to place a replenishment order, based upon growing consumer demand, our supplier indicated the next shipment was expected in June. June has since slipped into October, so that their next shipment could also include the manufacturer’s next two products in the series. Keep in mind that these items are shipped to our distributor by boat, not airplane, in order to reduce overall shipping costs and only after they clear customs and get checked in do they then get shipped to us.

During this time frame, we have received innumerable phone calls and emails asking about this item and why it hasn’t returned to stock yet. Guys, we are a RETAILER. We have to wait, just like you, for the item to arrive. We don’t like to disappoint, but the fact remains that if you do not order early, and dally with your purchasing decisions, then there isn’t a whole lot we can do about it except to explain this scenario over and over again. So please, order early and use a credit card. This way you do not get charged for the item until it ships out to you and you are more than likely going to get your prized collectible on the first go round instead of having to wait months on end, staring at that vacant space in your collection as it gathers dust. Capiche?

Maybe I’m dating myself, but the very first fully assembled replica caisson I remember purchasing some fifty or so years ago was a Roco Tank depicting the British Conqueror heavy tank. It was plastic, needed to be painted and could easily be trampled by the family pet, but still there was something about it that captured my heart and imagination. Needless to say, the keepsake has since gone the way of my baseball cards, Matchbox cars and comic books, but it nevertheless made an indelible mark on my childhood memories that I won’t soon forget.

It is therefore with some trepidation and a fair bit of anxiety that I await the arrival of Panzerstahl’s rendition of a  1:72 scale Conqueror. Constructed out of sturdy resin and bearing all of the hallmark details that have come to be associated with their highly successful World of Tanks line, the Conqueror, along with the Russian Object 704 heavy tank destroyer and restock of the US T-28 super heavy tank form an especially strong lineup for our October releases, and will no doubt be sought after this holiday season by collectors worldwide.