Consumer Affairs

I really needed a stock up of a lot of items.  My nearest real proper model shops are 50 miles away and are mainly radio control , railway , and some plastic kits , they don't carry a number of items I would buy from them if I could. I do try to support them when I can, but in reality the on-line trade now gets almost all my hobby funds with some odd purchases at shows. I wonder now how we would cope without the internet providing us swift and easy access to a whole range of suppliers , there seems to new ones appearing all the time.

I have been making a number of purchases with the "hobby" fund over the last week,so I thought I would rate the offering and "customer experience".

So I am interested in your "customer experience" Who are your favourite suppliers? and what frustrates you most about ordering on line?

Marks of 10  - 0 is p@ss poor ... 10 the dogs bollox
Website - ease of use - pictures etc
Order & Check out process
Communications
Packaging
Speed of Delivery
Would use again rating

All of these orders were placed on Thursday 27th Feb

Warbases
Purchased - MDF laser cut bases , sabot trays.
Website  I find it does not display properly sometimes on my tablet device with some links overlapping which makes it a little more fiddly than it could be. But in no way a show stopper   - Score 9/10
Order & Check out process - has a registration process - and I have had issues getting a password reset meaning I have two accounts. Score  7/10
Communications - on ordering and on shipping - 10/10
Packaging - Well packaged - 10/10
Speed of Delivery - given this was sent as "second class" it arrived on the 1st of March! 10/10
Would use again rating - Most definitely 10/10
Total score - 55/60


E-model
Purchased , Aerosol varnish , and paints "hazardous" substance for delivery
 Website - plenty of pictures, good range and search options - 10/10
Order & Check out process - Registration process  and shopping cart worked fine 10/10
Communications - on ordering and on shipping and from carrier with delivery time slot- 10/10
Packaging - Given the "hazardous" nature I expected a bit more than a jiffy bag - but it did the job..8/10
Speed of Delivery - Arrived on Monday the 3rd of March exactly on its notified timeslot - 10/10
Would use again rating - Most definitely 10/10
Total Score  58/60

Antenocitis Workshop
Purchased , basing material , tufts. glues.
Website - ease of use - pictures etc - I don't find it the easiest to use and the drop downs did not work at all well on the tablet which made it a bit slow. Good pictures of the products , and "In stock" label - 6/10
Order & Check out process- Registration process  and shopping cart worked fine 10/10
Communications - on ordering - but not on on dispatch  6/10
Packaging - decent cardboard box with a large "do not crush" sticker on it. 10/10
Speed of Delivery - 2nd class recorded - it arrived on Saturday 1/3 - 10/10
Would use again rating- Possibly 7/10
Total Score 49/60

Historex Agents
Purchased , 54mm figures

Website ease of use -Its certainly not the best - its seems ok just if you know what you are looking for. It does have a search option. I don't find it the easiest to use. Pictures of most products  6/10
Order & Check out process- Registration process  and shopping cart worked fine 10/10
Communications - on ordering and dispatch. 10/10
Packaging - decent jiffy bag , figures were in cardboard inside too. 10/10
Speed of Delivery - 1st class royal mail  it arrived on Friday 28th , they are incredibly good at turning orders around. - 10/10
Would use again rating- Possibly 10/10 
Total Score 56/60

Bicorne Miniatures
Purchased , 28mm figures
Website ease of use -It has to rank as one of the worst out there. You need to know what you are looking for.Pictures of limited number of  products 2/10
Order & Check out process- Registration process  and shopping cart worked fine 10/10
Communications - on ordering and dispatch.  10/10
Packaging - decent jiffy bag , figures were in bubble wrap inside too. 10/10
Speed of Delivery - 1st class royal mail  it arrived on Thursday 6th March, overall this felt really slow compared to the other others - but it was still only a week! - 8/10
Would use again rating- Possibly 7/10 
Total Score 47/60

Cheers
Dave