Tales of Transparency

It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times

We’ve been overwhelmed by the ground swell of support we’ve received since announcing our inventory liquidation sale on Monday. We thought we would close up shop due to an illness in the family — to be more specific my wife was diagnosed with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH). Naturally, I was overcome with grief and worried about our future when I heard the news, unsure what this sudden and potentially dire medical condition would mean to us.

Fortunately, we have a doctor in the family who immediately came to our rescue. She spirited my wife off to Dallas, Texas, where she lives and works and admitted her to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where my wife has been receiving extraordinary care. At its core, NPH means there is a build up of fluid in both the spine and brain, which can lead to all sorts of complications, from loss of balance to delirium and then some. To combat this, two procedures need to be performed – the first, draining of any fluid that has built up in the spine by performing a lumbar puncture, which was successfully done earlier this week. A second procedure involves inserting a shunt into the cranium, which then drains the head of any remaining fluid. The follow-on procedure is scheduled for early March and I’ll be flying to Dallas next week to be with my wife prior to and after the procedure has been performed.

Despite having a great 2024, I decided to announce my retirement and intended closure of our shop in 2025 after hearing the news. When I made that decision, several people indicated that it might be best to see how the second procedure turns out before going any further. That said, I reluctantly agreed, although I will eventually move our business, home and belongings to Dallas to be closer to our immediate family should anything else be required. I don’t know exactly when this will occur since this whole episode was unexpected and unplanned. I doubt it will happen in 2025 since there’s lots of moving parts and people to consider. Frankly, it isn’t the best time to either buy or sell a home. Our goal, therefore, is to change locales sometime next year, when I believe conditions will be more conducive to making a cross-country move. So, for now, our business will remain open and run as usual, even if it means having to fly back-and-forth to Dallas to see and be with my wife.

In the mean time, I thank you for your support and thought it made sense to share with you our present situation and how it may impact our business for the balance of the year. Its been a harrowing few weeks and hope we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel when this crisis is behind us.

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Tales of Transparency: Tariffs Part Two

With the recent imposition of a 10% tariff on goods coming from China, it remains to be seen how both manufacturers and distributors decide to pass along these cost increases to the trade as well as the consumer in both the near- and long-term. In my opinion, most will take a wait and see attitude over the next few weeks to see if these tariffs will either be rolled back or remain in place based upon China’s reaction. Bear in mind, its entirely possible that not only will the tariffs remain in place but they could increase further should the Administration feel it necessary to raise the stakes even higher if China doesn’t get the subtle message or decides to retaliate in kind. During his presidential campaign, Trump had threatened a 60% tariff so now that he’s in office anything and everything is on the table. Presently, its not clear if certain manufacturers — among them Hobby Master, Panzerkampf and a few others — will be affected by the tariff and whether or not companies operating outside China will pick up sales by being located outside the PRC.

Its entirely possibly that the new Administration will up the stakes even further by placing an across-the-board tariff on every country that currently does business with the US, all in an effort to demonstrate to the world that we mean business when it comes to concessions. Over the weekend, both Canada and Mexico, our nearest neighbors and close allies, saw a 25% tariff imposed upon them, so it isn’t a stretch that even more allies will get the same treatment should Trump feel its within his rights to push the bounds even further.

So, as we start 2025, things aren’t looking especially great in the commercial space unless something substantial occurs by one or both parties. Geo-political events being what they are, it could be a situation where one side is waiting for the other to blink before they can formulate a response to the US initiatives. It isn’t a pretty scenario and one that will undoubtedly lead to a scarcity of product and higher prices for what does come into the country.

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Tales of Transparency: Meta

At this year’s Consumer Electronic Show (CES) held in Las Vegas last week, Meta (a.k.a. Facebook) indicated that they had struck an agreement with eBay to host their listings on its Facebook Marketplace. Here’s a brief synopsis of the announcement.

“Shares of eBay closed up 9% on Wednesday as Meta said it will allow some listings to show up on Facebook Marketplace, its popular platform connecting consumers for local item pickups and more.

EBay stock reached its highest level since November 2021.

The rollout will begin with a test in Germany, France and the United States, where buyers will be able to view listings directly on Marketplace and complete the rest of their transactions on eBay, Meta said in a release.

The partnership could provide a boost to eBay’s marketplace business, which has struggled to compete with e-commerce rivals like Amazon, Walmart, Temu and even Facebook’s own marketplace platform that lets users buy and sell items.

EBay has recently embraced niche categories like collectibles and luxury goods to try and keep buyers and sellers returning to its site. CEO Jamie Iannone told CNBC in an October interview that shoppers were coming to the site, known for its used and refurbished goods, as they sought out discounts amid a rocky macroeconomic environment.

Meta’s move is an attempt to appease the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, after the regulator fined the company 797 million euros ($821 million) in November for tying its Marketplace product to the main Facebook app.”

Curiously its not clear when this arrangement will take effect, whether or not eBay will share part of its commission with Meta and which listings will be shown on Meta’s far-reaching platform. Thus far, we are awaiting information from both companies concerning further details that will undoubtedly impact our business. According to the announcement, a test phase will be introduced that will enable buyers from the US, Germany and France to be able to view and purchase our products, although its not clear if special overseas shipping rates will be integrated into the system. We are assuming that parcels bound for international destinations will first be sent to eBay and then on to the customer. Its highly doubtful that anything will be sent to Meta. Moreover, arbitration and returns will likely be handled by eBay should a problem develop and messaging between the parties will almost certainly be handled through eBay rather than have Meta get involved.

With the announcement, rumors began circulating online that Meta was interested in purchasing eBay outright as a means of keeping up with certain dominant players in the e-commerce sector. If so, this would have a dramatic impact on the reach and selling capabilities Facebook has long sought to bring to its platform. It would also create a viable revenue stream that made use of both Instagram and What’s App in increasing their overall appeal, reach and marketing power.

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Tales of Transparency: Tariffs

With President-Elect Trump set to take office later this month, its unclear how his assumption of power will affect certain segments of the business world that currently import products from China. As part of his electioneering and political campaign, Trump had repeatedly promised to place a tariff on certain countries that he believes take advantage of the United States. China is one such country Trump has targeted, claiming they are ripping off our intellectual properties and underselling US-based companies for years on end.

Many of the companies that we do business with are located in mainland China so it doesn’t take a genius to realize that said companies will undoubtedly be adversely affected by tariffs. Many companies could see as much as a 60% charge levied against them unless the Chinese government decides to play ball with the US. Other companies we do business with are located in Bangladesh and Mexico so its unclear if these companies will be affected by tariffs or by how much.

One of our distributors has already indicated that they will be passing along any additional charges they may incur to their clientele until the tariffs have either been scaled back or removed entirely. If this occurs, we will make an announcement indicating that the pre-order price for such-and-such line will be increased, then pass along these costs to our own clientele in line with the revised MAP. We’re sorry to have to make this announcement and/or increase the price for certain lines but hope you understand that we play no role in these potential cost increases which could take effect later this month.

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Tales of Transparency: The Checkout & Pre-Orders

Astute customers may have noticed that our checkout process has changed dramatically over the past couple of weeks thanks in part to an update rolled out by our web hosting solution as well as some follow-up calls from yours truly explaining why the update broke some important features, most notably shipping. In any event, after spending some time on the phone with various technicians, the shipping options are now integrated into one drop down menu and includes all three major carriers we use along with different delivery options.

In hindsight, I’ve learned a long time ago that while technicians are great at performing functions such as rolling out highly technical updates, they need to be reminded of the fact that certain commercially important factors — such as making available differing shipping options — need to be present at checkout, particularly at this time of year when some customers may need to receive their parcels in quicker fashion to avoid holiday-related delays.

Now, on to a separate matter that has mushroomed over the past year or so. We’ve decided that after twenty-five years of doing business in the ether we can no longer accept pre-orders without accepting payment first. In the past, we typically had to contact the customer to obtain their billing information so that we could obtain a new authorization code, which then allowed us to get paid for the transaction. We’ve found that sometimes the customer was unwilling to provide their CC information either by phone or via messaging protocol, so we were, in effect, stuck with laying out money for an item(s) without getting paid. Now, I can understand a customer’s trepidation with giving out their information outside of a secure means of payment but from our vantage point, this issue was becoming problematic and was no longer sustainable from a financial standpoint. So, going forward, customers will be billed at the time their order is being placed not upon the date it is being shipped out. We recognize this could be an issue for some but hope you also understand that we can no longer lay out money for a customer in the hopeful event that we will one day get paid for the transaction. Other dealers may feel differently, so we fully understand if you can no longer place your pre-orders with us.

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Tales of Transparency: eBay International Shipping

Ebay will soon be expanding their international shipping service to those countries we may not have serviced in the past. While we may not ship to certain countries around the globe, eBay feels that they have more clout when it comes to international shipping and is willing to protect both the seller and the buyer should problems arise, thereby reducing the so-called “friction” that can occur with an international sale.

Essentially, after the buyer has made a purchase, we are responsible for boxing up the item then shipping it to their international shipping hub in Chicago. Upon its arrival, the parcel may get inspected by eBay to ensure that it doesn’t contain hazardous material and that the item arrives intact and without any damage. Afterwards, it is then sent on to its final destination with tracking information provided to both the buyer and seller. Naturally, it may take a bit of time before it actually arrives at the buyer’s stated location. Please note that this service will begin on November 11th. The accompanying video, prepared by eBay, does a fine job of explaining the service in greater detail.

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Tales of Transparency: Ship to Shore

Please note that we have no hand in either the production nor the distribution of the products we sell. While we may offer advice to several of the model makers we work with so that they have a better understanding of what our clientele may be requesting, our affiliation goes no further and we have no financial stake in any of the companies we deal with. Moreover, anticipated dates of delivery are just that — anticipated. Release dates are subject to change and can oftentimes lag far behind the original intended date of release projected by either the manufacturer or distributor. Vagaries in the supply chain can and, on many occasions, slow the arrival of shipments by lengthy periods of time.

In summation, the companies we work with are relatively small as compared with far larger corporations in the toy industry yet are looking to serve a global if niche marketplace that continues to grow both here and abroad. So, while product may show up in eastern and southern Asia where many of these manufacturers are located, it may and oftentimes can take longer before said product makes it to our shores and is then available for general sale. As a result, it may take us several months (and in certain cases years) before we can fill a pre-order. Please bear this in mind if you have your heart set on a newly introduced item and choose to pay us up front for an order using debit payments such as PayPal or AmazonPay.

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Amazon Enters the World of 3-D

I’m all about advancing the hobby whenever the opportunity presents itself. When we first started out nearly 25 years ago, I remember several e-commerce businesses that sold models by listing them in a tabular format without any accompanying images or text. Instead they provided the SKU, a quick description and its price, sometimes showing the item’s anticipated date of release, if you were lucky. How they got by is anyone’s guess and, as you might have guessed, most of them have since folded, victims of old world marketing, lack of computing skills or laziness.

Needless to say that as the hobby has evolved so too has the tools used to promote the merchandise. Gone are the days of simple text, garish colors and oddly formatted graphics that neither entice nor excite. Instead, most companies are able to take advantage of the latest technological achievements that have come to the fore, all in an effort to make the customer as at ease as possible by enabling them to shop from the comfort of their phone, computer or tablet.

With this in mind, Amazon recently announced that merchants can now upload 3-D models to certain product listings/categories to showcase products from all angles and give customers more information that can help drive sales. Apparently, there’s no need for the wearing of special glasses, 3-D-enabled storefronts or any other modern-day contrivance that might spring to mind to give these products added spark over the more traditional 2-D images we’ve been used to over the last two decades. Spectacular, yes?

Using the latest in rotoscoping technology, 3-D models will enable would-be buyers to zoom in on an item from any conceivable vantage point, something they are unable to do using static imagery. In the case of an aircraft, customers can get a better close-up image of the model’s cockpit or rotate the product so they can see underneath an aircraft to view its weapons load out. While 2-D imagery can provide the same viewpoints, 3-D modeled products are more suitable for this type of scrutiny since you can zoom in or out using a singular vantage point.

We’ve sent this announcement to several of the hobby’s leading modelmakers to see if they can begin creating 3-D models for all of their upcoming products. While we recognize there’s a learning curve involved with new technology, we also realize that both the hobby and e-commerce are continuing to move forward, no longer bound by institutions and technology that pre-date the Internet. Its a brave new world out there and those companies still working in the past with outdated tools and technology will be the first to tell you they should’ve kept up.

The end result for several upcoming items could look like this:

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Tales of Transparency: Be On the Lookout

We’re issuing an all points bulletin for Hobby Master’s recently released HA9801 as well as their HG0116. In case you’re wondering, the former is a 1:72 scale Israeli Defense Force Dassault-Breuget Mirage IIICJ “Shahak” Fighter – Yoram Agmon, 101 Squadron, Hatzor Air Base, Israel, July 1966, while the latter is a 1:56 scale German Early Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Heavy Tank – “Red 131”, schwere Panzerabteilung 504, Panzerarmee Afrika, Medjed el Bab, Tunisia, North Africa, April 1943. Apparently, in the hand off from one distributor to the other earlier this year, neither received these models, thereby making them extremely rare on this side of the pond. Its not clear why they never made it over to our shores, and its doubtful they ever will, unless the manufacturer decides to find or make some more. So, if you’re hard up for either model, we suggest you nab them while you can because it doesn’t appear as if any of the US dealers will get them any time soon. Just saying…

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Tales of Transparency: Delivery Delays

We understand how frustrating it can be to place an order only to have to wait months on end for its arrival. That said, we play no part in the manufacture nor the distribution of any of the items we sell. While we may offer advice to several of the major players in the hobby regarding what to produce based upon our prior selling experience, we are simply a retailer based in Florida. We do not visit the manufacturers, many of whom are either located in Hong Kong or Bangladesh. We have no affiliation with any of the manufacturers or distributors we work with despite what some may tell you.

From time to time, we ask the manufacturers and distributors when we can expect to receive an item. If they tell us February, then its February, and we post it to our web site. If it slips to April, only to slip again for several months running, then we update our site accordingly and go from there. Again, we have no control over their inability to properly forecast when an item will return to stock. Sometimes customs can slow down the arrival of a shipment. Sometimes cargo ships get re-routed for whatever reason. Occasionally, a distributor may hold up a shipment so that they can consolidate merchandise with other merchandise that may have just been completed, thereby reducing their shipping costs.

Bear in mind too that this is a relatively small industry as compared to say the toy or video game industry. These are collectibles made in relatively small batches for worldwide consumption and as such are handled by a relatively few distributors faced with their own set of challenges. These aren’t GI Joe figures made in the hundreds of thousands or video games that can be uploaded to Steam then downloaded around the world in the blink of an eye. In many ways, the distribution of said products are handled in the same manner as they were decades ago, shipped to retailers such as ourselves via UPS or FedEx who face their own set of daily challenges that can include inclement weather, work stoppages and traffic issues.

Remember, you are always free to contact the manufacturer and/or the distributor yourself if you feel you are getting the run-around from a dealer. Its 2024, and most of the companies have web sites that include a Contact Us link, where you can message them directly. While some are located in Asia and occasionally their English may need tweaking, these companies make it their business to respond professionally with whatever information is at hand. They want to make you happy but oftentimes they themselves may be working with old or outdated data. Be mindful of the fact that they are 12-hours behind us — or 12-hours ahead of us, depending upon your outlook.

So, as we start to head into the back half of the calendar year, please be mindful of the fact that patience is a virtue and everyone in the supply chain is doing their utmost to get product into your hands in the most expeditious manner possible. Yes, it can be frustrating, but its oftentimes just as frustrating for us as we do our best to provide you with accurate and timely information. Thank you.

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