Buying kits online?

[Action Jackson]

Due to the fact that my LHS is nearly an hour drive from my house, I find it hard to ever get the chance to go there. Plus gas cost me around 20.00 round trip. Where is the best and cheapest place online to purchase kits and other items from.

[The Creative Explorer]

ebay, craigslist, hobbytown usa, modelroundup, amazon, towerhobbies, HLJ......

Do a search on google and you'll find many options.

[Eshaver]

I WILL NOT use Krak list , Evilist Bay or other forms of Bid media . However , I do find decent deals at Model Round Up ....... Ed Shaver

[62rebel]

i've dealt with Spotlight and Model Express and have been satisfied each and every time. Ebay, only twice, and i think i was lucky.

shoot, with my f150, it's twenty bucks to get to the corner grocery.... yikes.

[Erik Smith]

Model Express is my go-to online source. They are close to me so shipping is cheap and Dennis ships fast. I have also purchased from Jiminohio, Megahobby, eHobbies, HLJ, and Hobby Search with great service and no problems. I shop regularly on eBay and only a fraction of the sales have been less than desired - and they were remedied by the seller or eBay. I do search Craigslist but most of the time it's more frustration than it's worth ("what do mean my 1971 Barracuda in a misprint box isn't worth $50?").

Most online sources are good sellers - Tower Hobbies, Spotlight, Model Roundup (priced a little higher than others), etc.

[sjordan2]

The big question is, what kind of kits do you buy? New ones? Vintage kits? There are different answers. Erik's answer pretty much covers the territory.

Edited March 26, 2012 by sjordan2

[modelmike]

Ebay dude i buy 90% of my kits on ebay with my paypal account and very rarely have any problems i recently purchased a Paystar 5000 dumptruck that retails for almost $100.00 for 14.99 plus $8.00 to ship. "Can't beat that" you just need to be savy when shopping with ebay you can tell when a seller is crooked with ther high shipping rates..... and always read there feedbacks see if they have common negative feedbacks.... hope this helped?

Edited March 26, 2012 by modelmike

[Rob Hall]

I use eBay (I've been using it successfully for 15 years to buy mostly vintage kits, but some newer ones), Model Roundup, Model Express, Hobby Link Japan...I don't use Craigslist, never looked for models on there.

[Kaleb]

eBay, I've bought from jiminohio and I've used craigslist once. I've used eBay for years and lot of things

[mikemodeler]

I have bought kits from Tower Hobbies and Modelroundup with no problems. Tower Hobbies will run specials like $10 off a $50 order and with the cost of kits today, that is like free shipping on 2-3 kits, so it pays to wait to order kits in bulk.

Your best bet is to shop each site and see if they what you want and at what price. Some places will also ship paint and other supplies with your order so in the end you have to consider that as well.

[Scuderia]

yeah i think best advice is think about what ya like to build and then search all of em and go with the cheapest. also when i find one another site doesnt have i bookmark it and check every week til im ready. most of mine i get on the 'bay for 15 or less after shipping tho

[rel14]

I find ebay sellers want twice the price,, But my best deals come from Star Models, Big donkey resin, Dean's hobby shop, and all of you

[MikeMc]

Model Express is my go-to online source. They are close to me so shipping is cheap and Dennis ships fast. I have also purchased from Jiminohio, Megahobby, eHobbies, HLJ, and Hobby Search with great service and no problems. Most online sources are good sellers - Tower Hobbies, Spotlight, Model Roundup (priced a little higher than others), etc.

Good Sources.....find one you like...watch for the deals...they all have them...Like Tower, right now..$30.00 order..free shipping.

[martinfan5]

Pretty much all the place's that have been mentioned in here is where I buy kits from, I rarely buy kits from LHS, I buy about 95% of my kits from ebay, with zero problems . I buy from tower hobbies when I can use a discount code, like free shipping or $10 off, I just bought the Aston Martin DBS from tower, used the $10 off, so that made shipping free, and I used the easy pay option for the heck of it too.

I have not seen Amazon mentioned yet, but you guys should start looking on there as well, I was able to get Revells 2010 Camaro ss for $19. that included shipping, I check there now for kits I am wanting to get

[modelbuilder22]

i use jimnohio, hes a good dude and fast shipping

[PursuitGT]

if u want Japanese kits i use a site called www.1999.co.jp they have a large selection and great prices

[martinfan5]

if u want Japanese kits i use a site called www.1999.co.jp they have a large selection and great prices

Ebay can be cheaper then the Japan hobby stores, it just depends on the kit, but yes I agree that 1999.co aka hobby search and hobby link Japan are both good place's to buy them from

[RodneyBad]

LHS shopper for Domestic kits if the Prices are good.

Ebay for Import kits, Tokyo Hobby as been Very good for me..

[deja-view]

Model Empire used to be great, but I don't know if they are still inbusiness. ModelExpo, too...but I think they concentrate on ships now. Otherwise, mostly Ebay for vintage and OOP kits. It's a good selling marketplace, too, if you know how to play the game.

[W-409]

I've bought two kits from ModelExpress, and everything worked alright. The prices are good, and shipping was pretty fast, even if I'm here in Europe. Sometimes They have some older stuff as well.

[deja-view]

There's a new kit coming out from Japan that looks like a 1/12 BP Porsce 956 from the pics. My Japanese language skills have deteriorated since I was a kid so I can't read too much of it. If anyone can translate a little I'd lie to know more. Kind of expensive, but a great subject: http://www.1999.co.jp/10175999

Oh, wait. It's an RC car. Darn. What a great model this would be....far more interesting than old or current supercars with no real history.

Edited March 27, 2012 by deja-view

[Rob Hall]

I have not seen Amazon mentioned yet, but you guys should start looking on there as well, I was able to get Revells 2010 Camaro ss for $19. that included shipping, I check there now for kits I am wanting to get

Interesting...I hadn't looked into Amazon for kits...and if it's stocked by Amazon and not one of their third party sellers, I could get kits w/ free shipping (I have Prime).

[martinfan5]

Its hit and miss, some deals are good, some are not