forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => What's New => Topic started by: Dave W on May 11, 2016, 12:45:32 PM
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Just received this from Wingnuts- end of free shipping from mid June
End of free shipping in mid June 2016
Yes it's true, after 7 years of being able to provide you with free worldwide shipping this service will be coming to an end in mid June 2016.
We have been investigating numerous options to provide you with the most cost effective shipping available and we are pleased to announce that Wingnut Wings models will begin shipping from within North America, Europe and Hong Kong. Dave will continue to ship smaller items like decals, spare sprues etc and models from the warehouse in New Zealand.
Despite the very best of preparations, a change like this involving the integration of 3 new shipping locations, is bound to encounter unforeseen problems. We expect that there will be some down time from around 15 June 2016 when it will not be possible for you to place orders. Please do not be alarmed if/when this happens, hopefully it won't last longer than a few days but possibly it could be a week or even longer.
We will contact you again in early June when we have some more information.
Regards
Richard Alexander
Coordinator
[email protected]
Wingnut Wings Ltd
PO Box 15-319
Miramar
Wellington 6022
New Zealand.
Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
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Interesting solution they've come up with. I wonder what kind of distribution centers they'll be setting up in the various locations. Hmm..maybe they'll partner with Amazon. ;)
This should set off a small buying frenzy.
Eric
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I notice there is no reference to any sales/ distribution outlet in Australia so I have asked Richard whether Australian sales will continue to be done via NZ and if so, what will the postage costs be?
It costs at least $30 to send a kit from Oz to NZ so if the same applies from there to here and if Wingnuts bills in US Dollars (which it does for everything else) I can see Aussie customers baulking at a big price hike.
But lets give WnW the benefit of the doubt and I'll report back when Richard responds.
Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
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WNW postage costs will be at negotiated commercial rate with NZ Post whereas the cost you quoted Dave will be a standard retail rate.
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If the distribution is to be in Europe instead charge tax, will have to pay for shipping, I think that would be financially similar price.
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That's what I was thinking as well. If shipping within Europe means no more import fees, I am willing to pay at least $30 for shipping and still come out with a better price.
The customs office can be cruel at times, so avoiding that has a very big yeah from me!
We will have to see what the prices will be, but doen't look as bad as I was fearing.
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Richard Alexander has replied promptly to my question re postage to Australia and says:
"When everything is up and running properly we envisage that you will be able to select the most cost effective location to have your model(s) shipped from (depending on local availability of stock) when you place your order. This will possibly be from New Zealand or it may prove that Hong Kong might be more appropriate for your needs. "
It looks like the Wingnuts folk have implemented a global strategy to keep postage/ distributions costs to the customers to the minimum. Kudos to them for this.
Its sad that free shipping is ending but it looks like the postage cost thing wont be as bad as we feared.
Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
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I wouldn't be surprised to see Hannants here in the UK being one of the main distributors.... I HOPE!!!
vB ::)
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This should set off a small buying frenzy.
Eric
..... perhaps, although Europeans might regret doing so. As pointed out elsewhere, shipping from Europe might avoid customs charges and we might just possibly be able to buy the kits for less after June!
(Cup half full viewpoint.)
S
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That's what I was thinking as well. If shipping within Europe means no more import fees, I am willing to pay at least $30 for shipping and still come out with a better price.
The customs office can be cruel at times, so avoiding that has a very big yeah from me!
We will have to see what the prices will be, but doen't look as bad as I was fearing.
VAT will still be charged, but by WNW, not customs.
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If the distribution is to be in Europe instead charge tax, will have to pay for shipping, I think that would be financially similar price.
As regards your comment on tax - it doesn’t work like that.
The ‘import’ tax you currently pay when a kit arrives in Europe (EU countries at least) from WnW is made up from two taxes (plus in some cases a fee charged by the postal service).
There’s ‘duty’ which is a proper import tax – the percentage charged on an item can vary a lot depending on the product & sometimes where it comes from but on something like a personal purchase of a few WnW kits the amount charged will be generally be very little or none at all.
The second tax (the main one) is VAT which is really a sales tax not an import tax. The rate varies depending on the EU country you live in but it’s generally around 20%.
It doesn’t matter how a WnW kit is sold in the EU – whoever imports it will be charged VAT & possibly some ‘duty’ tax. If they are a distributor then they will pass this on to the final customer.
What you will save on is any fee the postal service charge for handling the collection of VAT but if you import 2 or 3 kits at a time it doesn’t work out at much per kit.
The bulk shipping costs from NZ to a European distributor will be lower (per kit) but potentially wiping out that advantage would be the cost of shipping from the distributor to the purchaser.
This is ignoring the profit margin the distributor would have to have - perhaps that can be absorbed by WnW?
If WnW can take care of their distributors profit margin then I’d expect the price of a WnW kit as delivered to your door to be a little bit higher than now.
Regards
Russell
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As usual with Wingnuts an announcement raises more questions than it answers!
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I wouldn't be surprised to see Hannants here in the UK being one of the main distributors.... I HOPE!!!
vB ::)
I think you could be right about Hannants Bob but I can't quite share the enthusiastic sentiment though.
Regards
Russell
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I wouldn't be surprised to see Hannants here in the UK being one of the main distributors.... I HOPE!!!
vB ::)
Hannants would add their margin on top!
WNW are doing the shipping - they are not using retail distributors, you'll still order from the WNW website but a single warehouse will serve Europe.
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Hannants would add their margin on top!
Aren't they doing that already?
S.
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If distribution from within Europe would result in less customs issues, I expect it will be a good thing.
I do not hope that Hannants will become the distributor as it might be a nice solution for the UK, but not for the continent as the exchange rates between the GBP and the euro are still not very attractive at the moment (it has been the other way around in the past: I could order kits cheaper at Hannants than at the Aviation Megastore in the Netherlands). Ordering a kit in New Zealand and taking into account custom charges, VAT and postage services would sometimes amount to over 40 USD in the Netherlands for a single seater WnW kit. Still then it is a cheaper solution than the Hannants corridor :) .
regards,
Ivo
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Should Hannants become the European distributor I should hope the price won't be the seemingly current US $1.00 = GBP £1.00 that it appears to run at currently :D
I imagine though WNW will keep a watchful eye on whoever they appoint where ever they set up their distribution points. Delivery times should reduce too hopefully.
Keith
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Over on this side of the world, I imagine the N.American distributor will be
in the US, which should be not too bad for our American cousins, but speaking
greedily, those of us in Canada will probably be nailed for I figure about $40USD
postage. With our wounded dollar, that is quite an addition. :(
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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I suspect that since the kits will be bulk shipped to the 3 points, much of the shipping will be in the price of the kit, then add cost to go from the local point to the doorstep. I am in the US, so my experience has not been the same as other countries.
I suspect they will keep a tight reign on the 3 distribution points. Hopefully, they will not go with a mega wholesaler. In my opinion, a smaller outfit such as Pacific Coast Models would be ideal. Large enough to do it well and small enough to maintain discipline.
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I am happy to see that this day has finally come. We have a company that produces quality kits (like other manufacturers), has raised prices to the level of other manufactures, does not provide free shipping (like other manufacturers). Can we now see substantial discounts to Manufacturers Suggested Retail Prices like other manufacturers?
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Over on this side of the world, I imagine the N.American distributor will be
in the US, which should be not too bad for our American cousins, but speaking
greedily, those of us in Canada will probably be nailed for I figure about $40USD
postage. With our wounded dollar, that is quite an addition. :(
Cheers,
Ernie :)
At $35 USD for postage and $89 USD for their cheapest kit that's around $160 Canadian, the price is definitely going up! Other then the Camel and maybe a BE.2 if they release one I think I'll work on reducing my Stash!
Cheers,
Lance
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If purchasers in Australia still order from Wingnuts in NZ I think the postage will be kept to a minimum, probably around $20, but we will have to see what postage prices are like if we order from Hong Kong, this could be the cheaper way to go.
This all comes as no surprise, we have all known about the free post ceasing mid year for some time now and there was talk of having worldwide distributors a long time ago, so even though it may be new news it is definitely old news revamped and verified.
The release of their new Camel may coincide with the end of free post, around the 15th June, this will give the new distributors something to get their teeth into and to offer good deals with the brand new kit, competition between distributors will be a good thing.
Des.
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The release of their new Camel may coincide with the end of free post, around the 15th June, this will give the new distributors something to get their teeth into and to offer good deals with the brand new kit, competition between distributors will be a good thing.
Des.
The announcement doesn't actually mention distributors as such, rather the integration of three shipping locations.
They may retain centralized ordering on the usual website, with a choice of which location to be shipped from along with relevant shipping cost. Maybe along with stock availability in each location. Don't know how the tax element would be dealt with. We'll see in June.
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As a Canadian living on the west coast, Hong Kong may prove cheaper to use than going thru the U.S. It will depend on who is the distributor, but I found I could get stuff cheaper from Hobbylink Japan then thru the states, as an example.
I am wondering with this change, WNW will not make many obscure aircraft and focus on making "mainstream" kits starting with the Camel. I am disappointed that they did not make the Camel available now, and I am thinking it will be sometime, probably not till near Christmas before we see a new kit as they will be sorting thru the shipping changes. I had just order another Albatros and may pick up some more kits before the changes are implemented
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Luckily I have really all that I want, and realistically all I'll ever build, so I'm not as concerned as others seem to be. I can't foresee making any further purchases from their existing catalogue. I'll buy one or two Camels, so cost won't be too prohibitive. But at any rate, these changes are going to make significant changes to the total cost to those of us in Canada and many other parts of the world. This will force me to be more selective as to which future releases I choose beyond the Camel. I've got plenty of great kits from them already and likely won't be tempted by much other than Dr. 1's, Nieuport 17's, and perhaps some Spads. Simple economics dictates an increase in price will result in a decrease in demand. Some people will have a higher price elasticity than others. Only time will tell how these changes affect the future success of WNW. I'm not so sure that they will be going to a distributor system, especially those already associated with the hobby industry, such as Stevens, Borgfelt, Hannants, Squadron, etc. Likely just be a drop ship warehouse service. WNW will give a percentage of the sale to company, and they pack and ship the box. No responsibility, no after sales service from the shipper, all that will still come from NZ. I also expect standard shipping rates per kit to each country, rather than a exact cost for your specific kit to your exact location. Argue if you like, but I don't know any less than you do. So only time will tell.
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If purchasers in Australia still order from Wingnuts in NZ I think the postage will be kept to a minimum, probably around $20, but we will have to see what postage prices are like if we order from Hong Kong, this could be the cheaper way to go.
This all comes as no surprise, we have all known about the free post ceasing mid year for some time now and there was talk of having worldwide distributors a long time ago, so even though it may be new news it is definitely old news revamped and verified.
The release of their new Camel may coincide with the end of free post, around the 15th June, this will give the new distributors something to get their teeth into and to offer good deals with the brand new kit, competition between distributors will be a good thing.
Des.
There won't be competition, the distributors are simply warehousing and sending kits on WNW's behalf. WNW will remain the only place you can buy the kits, with the distributors just distributing, not selling themselves.
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Somehow I'm getting the impression that we are missing an essential item in the free shipping discussion. Although shipping was free, somebody had to pay for it as postage has never been for nothing. So WnW payed the shipping, but had to recover their cost somehow. I assume that the only revenue must have been in the kits they sold, so shipping was included in the amount WnW asked for their kits.
Apparantly something has changed. Their income based on the prices in USD has diminished (so they indicated based on the exchange rates between USD en NZD) or their costs have increased so they have to do something with the kit prices. They did, but it wasn't enough so now they are also ending their "free shipping'' policy.
I hope nobody has believed in the past that WnW shipped their kits for free. It has always been included in the kit price. All in all it is just a general price raise based on their rising costs.
Just my two cents,
Ivo
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I hope nobody has believed in the past that WnW shipped their kits for free. It has always been included in the kit price.
Hmm....where have I heard this before? Oh that's right, I said that. Glad to see I am not alone in thinking that. :)
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Somehow I'm getting the impression that we are missing an essential item in the free shipping discussion. Although shipping was free, somebody had to pay for it as postage has never been for nothing. So WnW payed the shipping, but had to recover their cost somehow. I assume that the only revenue must have been in the kits they sold, so shipping was included in the amount WnW asked for their kits.
Apparantly something has changed. Their income based on the prices in USD has diminished (so they indicated based on the exchange rates between USD en NZD) or their costs have increased so they have to do something with the kit prices. They did, but it wasn't enough so now they are also ending their "free shipping'' policy.
I hope nobody has believed in the past that WnW shipped their kits for free. It has always been included in the kit price. All in all it is just a general price raise based on their rising costs.
Just my two cents,
Ivo
They did say they were ending free shipping before the price increases, they just never gave a date.
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This is great, can't wait to get the new kits really fast.....what could be better. Best models in the world now delivered even faster, truly glorious!
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This is great, can't wait to get the new kits really fast.....what could be better. Best models in the world now delivered even faster, truly glorious!
I was impressed with how fast I received my orders before but what makes you think the process will be quicker?
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This is great, can't wait to get the new kits really fast.....what could be better. Best models in the world now delivered even faster, truly glorious!
For me, living in Germany, shipping took four to six weeks (usually), eight weeks (sometimes), and once the model was even sent back to NZ for some unknown reason! (But Wingnuts were so very kind to send it a second time - free shipping twice for that one, then!)
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This is great, can't wait to get the new kits really fast.....what could be better. Best models in the world now delivered even faster, truly glorious!
Do you then start building the kits straight away or put them in the 'stash' for a while?
Regards
Russell
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Do you then start building the kits straight away or put them in the 'stash' for a while?
Russell
It's the same principal as we have here in the Scottish Highlands for deer, pheasant, grouse and haggis - you have to hang the game for a while to let the taste develop before consuming!
S
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It seems to me that WNW is going through great effort to make this as painless as possible to all of us. I have repeatedly noted that since I only buy Kits that I am interested in and intend to build, the change will not really have an effect on my 1 or 2 kit purchases made yearly. For those who have purchased every kit WNW produced will this make a difference? I think not because they obviously have relatively deep pockets to begin with ;D
RAGIII
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Do you then start building the kits straight away or put them in the 'stash' for a while?
Russell
It's the same principal as we have here in the Scottish Highlands for deer, pheasant, grouse and haggis - you have to hang the game for a while to let the taste develop before consuming!
S
LOL! That is the best reply to such a question that I've ever seen. :)
Eric
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This is great, can't wait to get the new kits really fast.....what could be better. Best models in the world now delivered even faster, truly glorious!
I was impressed with how fast I received my orders before but what makes you think the process will be quicker?
Normally things shipped from within North America arrive faster to my door outside Chicago than things shipped from the other side of the planet....
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This is great, can't wait to get the new kits really fast.....what could be better. Best models in the world now delivered even faster, truly glorious!
Do you then start building the kits straight away or put them in the 'stash' for a while?
Regards
Russell
Depends on how stoked I am for the subject.....
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This is great, can't wait to get the new kits really fast.....what could be better. Best models in the world now delivered even faster, truly glorious!
I was impressed with how fast I received my orders before but what makes you think the process will be quicker?
Normally things shipped from within North America arrive faster to my door outside Chicago than things shipped from the other side of the planet....
I suppose. My first order was at my door 5 business days after it was shipped. I was impressed. The second was not much longer but they did wait to ship it for what seemed like 2 weeks.