Justin Porter Posted January 3 Author Posted January 3 1 minute ago, 1930fordpickup said: Justin do you also sell online or strickly just at your shop? Great information. I tried to offer the local Hobby Town a chance to sell older kits from my stash but he was not even interested. I didn't want to put them on the shelf just get a want/wish list from shoppers. I have a website that I sell through alongside of my shop as well as I attend a handful of local model shows as a vendor. I personally avoid out-of-production kits for inventory. While certainly there's a great potential to buy out collections for possibly less than the wholesale cost of new kits, there's also the very likely probability that these kits will go into the hands of casual builders rather than experienced hobbyists. If that happens and there's any defect with the kit (aged decals, missing parts, tire marks on the plastic) then the customer has typically no recourse for manufacturer support and I end up eating the return and the defective merchandise PLUS any potential negative that the customer could choose to voice through social media/online reviews/etc. 3
webestang Posted January 3 Posted January 3 Wow....three Mustang's. Cool. Might have to get that 007 kit and make an original Eleanor.
mikemodeler Posted January 3 Posted January 3 6 hours ago, Justin Porter said: Not only more popular but also more lucrative, to be absolutely blunt. I sold 456 Gundam/Sci-Fi kits to 402 cars. Average price per Gundam was $40.76 while average price per car kit was $30.37. The most popular Gundam kit in my shop for 2024 was perennial favorite Bandai #2204932 - the Master Grade Sazabi ver Ka. Seven of these monsters left my shop this year, and that's about typical for sales of this kit. Whenever older modelers gripe about how "There's no young people in the hobby" it's my Gundam sales that I instantly point to as proof that no statement could be further from the truth. Young people are absolutely modelers, but they're not typically classic American car modelers. Is it safe to say that the higher selling price and quantity also translates into a higher GP for you? I have never been one to build models of figures/monsters/sci-fi, but I do know those that do and I can see where they can be fascinating to build. 1
stavanzer Posted January 5 Posted January 5 On 1/2/2025 at 5:39 AM, Justin Porter said: Two units sold through the year while the Ertl-tooled '71 Duster sold three units. Forum hype for Round 2 kit revivals doesn't generally translate to actual sales over my counter. We on the Forum forget that what we like, may not always be what sells to the casual Builder. And the Body Proportion issues that spawn the dreaded, "Once I see it, I can never un-see it", Kiss O'Death for us, does not matter to the casual Builder. And, Face it, they purchase a heck of a lot more models than we do. 2
Justin Porter Posted January 5 Author Posted January 5 On 1/3/2025 at 4:54 PM, mikemodeler said: Is it safe to say that the higher selling price and quantity also translates into a higher GP for you? I have never been one to build models of figures/monsters/sci-fi, but I do know those that do and I can see where they can be fascinating to build. That's definitely safe to say given that the wholesale discount rate is right about the same when comparing Bandai to the likes of Revell or Round 2 through my distributors. Volume sellers in any category become critical building blocks of the hobby business because they keep that steady stream of folks coming through the door and give the opportunity for "add-on" sales. But I would definitely say that the engine that keeps my doors open is paint and supplies. As a for instance, one hundred and twelve jars of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement left my Tamiya rack last year! 1
Matt Bacon Posted January 5 Posted January 5 … and I guess 112 jars of Tamiya Extra thin only take up as much shelf or warehouse space as a couple of car kits! best, M. 1
Ulf Posted January 6 Posted January 6 Very, if not incredibly interesting, but a little surprising that no pickup truck is in the top ten.
Justin Porter Posted January 6 Author Posted January 6 Also as a bit of a fun aside, model car kit #1 sold of 2025 was Fujimi #39848 Nissan Silvia S15 Veilside which actually did sell on New Year's Day.
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