Is hobby easy legitimate?

I am looking to order some kits from hobby easy as I noticed some of them are like 65% off what local
stores are selling them for. However this always makes me suspicious. Before ordering I wanted to confirm they are legitimate to order from, I’ve been burned before by letting my desire overcome common sense.

I’ve ordered once or twice from them in the past…no problem. Here’s one visitor’s review and opinion of visiting the company: http://www.kiwimodeller.com/index.php/forum/13-general-modelling/32192-visit-to-hobby-easy
:smiley:

I have ordered from them many times and never any issues.

I’ve ordered from HobbyEasy over 100 times over the past 15 years without 1 problem. I always get what I order, in a timely manner, in perfect condition. Their prices and selection can not be beat. Their customer service is fast and courteous. Very highly recommended.

1 Like

Fantastic good to know. They seem to have amazing prices. The F-16 I wanted is $80 locally and $30 there, using the savings to add some PE and another kit (having a hard time deciding) to make shipping more worth it

As per the other guys, never had a problem with them other than when trying to use an ‘online gift card’ from a 3rd party supplier that I had been given at work. Tried to use it as a credit card and it kept rejecting. I messaged HE and they suggested to use the pay pal option and put the card number in that way - it worked perfectly.

Once I ordered something and they sold out prior to my order being processed. They emailed me immediately and asked what I wanted to do, and gave several options. I chose to substitute and there was no problem with the order or any delay in receiving the order.

They package well and although on a couple of occasions the outer packaging box has looked like it was used as a football by handlers on the way here, I have never had any damage to the contents. Only issue at the moment is Australia is not accepting airmail from Asia due to Covid.

Thanks for the recommendations. I just packed an order. Shipping was a little pricey, but that’s probably me being used to Amazon free shipping. Still got two nice kits and some PE for about $50 savings so no complaint

Welcome to buying from Asian suppliers. The prices in local hobby shops are ridiculous because everybody in between wants their cut. I don’t buy anything but supplies at my local hobby shop anymore. I want to support them, but just can’t justify the crazy prices they charge.

I’m starting to do the same. Pre shipping the F-16, PE and a F4U Corsair kit were cheaper than the F-16 locally. Can’t justify buying local for that difference. I do justify it by knowing that I don’t have a lot of the colors the Corsair and F-16 call for so I’ll buy those local

There are also several Chinese vendors with their stores on ebay with excellent prices, and sometimes free shipping. Their best prices are on the domestic Chinese brands.
:smiley:

What are their shipping costs?

To me and it may be a Canada issue, it was $40 which seemed a bit steep considering my order was $80. However I still saved over buying local but shipping out a huge dent in my savings

I think that is part of the trick… for the last years the shipping costs of these companies have raised a lot -even for ground transportation, so while the base price is low, the total cost is quite different. Still lower than many other shops, but not as much as it used to be

When I compare the price of the 2020 Tamiya KV-1 kit from Hobby Easy (EURO 29,75 and about EURO 16 shipping costs to the Netherlands totals to EURO 45) to the prices from Dutch webshops (between EURO 54 and EURO 91!! ex. shipping costs) it is an easy choice for me. Except maybe when I am in a hurry.

Nowadays when ordering somewhere I am trying to create ‘bulk’ orders to prevent shipping costs and it’s a good excuse to buy more. :wink:

Same Tamiya 2020 KV-1 is at 51,50 euros on AK-interactive shop, if you add a similar kit you get free shipping to Europe.
Maybe still cheaper at Hobbyeasy, but worth to check before ordering… That’s why I said the difference is not as much as it used to be.

1 Like

Yeah for sure the shipping was quite the shock. However I still saved for sure just not as much as I thought i would. My total order with shipping was cheaper than the two kits cost in Canada plus I got some photo etch for that price as well, but paying a lot of shipping definitely hurts especially in the era of being used to free shipping

Your actual shipping will likely be cheaper. Hobby Easy initially bases shipping on the highest possible way. You will later get an email with the actual shipping cost which is usually much cheaper.

1 Like

Oh that’s good to know! If this is the case I’ll buy from pretty frequently. I don’t mind around $20 for shipping but anything more and I feel like I’m getting screwed a bit

Ordered sunday, order has been in “request seller confirm” status ever since.

I know they sometimes need to check supplies to make sure they have it before confirming orders. Is that what this status means or do I need to do something on my end?

Usually that means they sent an email with the correct shipping total and you reply that the cost is acceptable. You may want to check back with them.