Kitlinx Newsletter - September 27, 2018
Hobby News!
THE NUMBERS:
SKUs in stock at Kitlinx.com: 4,816 (9.7%) became 15,523 (22.7%) - about 500 Schiffer titles still not entered
Available from US & European Suppliers: 49,692 (not including pre-orders), jumped to 68,326
Yes, you have heard right, Kitlinx is proud to announce its acquisition of Roll Models from John and Mary. Their inventory has moved from Minnesota to Utah. We received it last MONDAY SEPTEMBER 24th! (this freight company is awesome!) It was a BUSY week!
It means that 10,700 SKUs are added to the Kitlinx IN STOCK, SHIPPING- IMMEDIATELY inventory.
It also means that 19,000 SKUs are NOW added to our database - including 242 NEW Manufacturers! Most of these products are called "Special Orders" because they are sourced in Europe from several channels. Kitlinx.com will now have 70,000 products available to the modeler!! Our current rate of "availability accuracy" is about 99%.
Roll Models did a good job in sourcing some difficult-to-find lines in Europe, and with the speed of EMS, these orders just take about ONE week to cross the Atlantic! But since some suppliers sometimes "sit on the order" for a few days, we are stating that "Special Orders" take 2-3 weeks. That means, please be PATIENT if you decide to purchase ONE of these items along with other available or in-stock products
A local Schiffer book distributor heard of the Roll Models transaction and offered us to acquire its inventory. We are bringing home 537 titles of Schiffer books in the same trailer containing the Roll Models inventory! It is harder to import books in a database because their SKU is correlated to the ISBN, unlike models which have a THREE digit Manufacturer code and a numerical identifier. We cannot promise that ALL these books will be in the system by next week.
BE PATIENT, WE ARE ORGANIZING OUR WAREHOUSE TO BE MORE EFFICIENT
Here's some pictures to give you an idea...
LET'S TALK BUSINESS:
1. SHIPPING: The second most sensitive issue with a mail order business. UPS and FedEx have increased their prices TREMENDOUSLY since my old days at GreatModels.com. We are talking insane 30-40% increased prices, and 'dimensional weight' is also more stringent (dimension weight is when a package is so large that it follows the rules of L x H x W / 139, which makes a 10 lbs package rated at 25 lbs if it is large)
There is NOTHING Kitlinx can do about shipping rates, except lose some profit margin in a tight business environment. The automated system during check out takes the weight of each item, and calculates the shipping rate. Kitlinx will optimize this rate if the package can ship via USPS Priority Mail, which is only 2-day-shipping to the East Coast! Kitlinx currently use a "Freight Allowance" which gives the customer a 2% kickback above $300 orders
Automated shipping calculator is NOT ALWAYS accurate, so if you have some incomprehensible rates, just contact us loic@kitlinx.com
2. MEMBERSHIP: You might have noticed that Kitlinx REMOVED the Membership requirement. If you did shop at Kitlinx already, then you most likely benefited from MORE THAN $0.99 membership cost! If you paid for the Membership and never shopped, please contact us and we will refund you the $0.99 or put a credit on your account
This membership created some issues, so Kitlinx decided to extend the extra 5% discount when the product is NOT in stock
3. ACCOUNT CREATION: Many customers complained that the login and account creation did not work well. We've asked our programmers to change this process and make it smoother. Just remember: lower case characters ONLY for USERNAME. Passwords are case sensitive
4. LETTERS, PHONE, PRINTED CATALOGS: Kitlinx does accept orders via mail, and takes checks. Just be patient for the mail to arrive and the check to clear the bank. We currently do not have a phone/fax line with a DEDICATED customer support. However, we are looking to implement these services SOON. Printed catalog is a service that John/Mary were offering to its customers. Kitlinx has its entire inventory listed online, but some of you want to TOUCH the extensive catalog... John's catalog is 188 pages... and Kitlinx will also implement a similar catalog after we figure out how to 'semi-automate' this process
5. PRODUCT LINES TO CARRY: Kitlinx received a LOT of inquiries about whether the awesome lines that Roll Models carried will be available at Kitlinx? OF COURSE! We are carrying all these lines, except that you will see through the months/years to come that we tend to increase our stock levels of the BEST SELLERS
6. THE NEXT STEP? Kitlinx is currently designing a custom program. It will ultimately include REAL-TIME ORDER STATUS, and REAL-TIME CONNECTION to its US and European suppliers. We are working tirelessly to have these critical features available before the Christmas rush
More numbers:
19,000 SKUs added to the Kitlinx database, mostly Special Orders from European suppliers (5,400 SKUs are in stock)
10,500 pictures of the above items added to our system - about 3,000 pics did not work properly, and we are working in fixing these pics
934 pictures that Roll Models had, which were not showing on our website, are now showing
Training our New Customers
There are FOUR ways to search in Kitlinx
- Home Page - New Items: Every day, we announce NEW ITEMS, listed by date. In stock is a little logo RED ROCKET, not in stock but available is a BLUE ROCKET
- Left Column SHOP - Search by Manufacturer, Pre-Orders, Sales, Discontinued, Books, Decals, etc... Most of these searches are sub-divided by scales or subjects
- Quick Search - top blue line, left box: Just type away! Put several keywords: 1/24 Lamborghini gives me 56 hits!
- Advanced Search - top blue line, next to Quick Search: You have many options, drop down, and check boxes
We welcome your suggestions!
Happy Searchin'
Aircraft Skies
IN STOCK!
Armor Mud
Book Worm
Welcome to JJ Fedorowicz IN STOCK at Kitlinx.com
WHEELS & CARS
- Auto World - AWD337 - HO - 4-Gear NHRA Funny Car Slot Car Assortment - Series #21 (12 Total)
- Auto World - AWD335 - HO - X-Traction Off-Road Slot Car Assortment - Series #24 (12 Total)
- Auto World - AWD32503 - HO - Route 66 Slot Car Racing Set
- Abteilung 502 - ABT709 - N/A - T-34 And The IDF: The Untold Story Book
- Italeri - ITA3925 - 1/24 - Freightliner FLD 120 Special Tractor Cab
- AMT/ERTL - AMT1113 - 1/25 - Piranha Drag Team: Dragster, Tow Car, Trailer
- AMT/ERTL - AMT1107 - 1/25 - Batman 1989 Movie Batmobile w/Resin Batman Figure
- Motorhead Miniatures - MOH776 - 1/24 - Tire Brigade Figures Set: Andie, Val & Derek w/Tires & Tools
- Motorhead Miniatures - MOH775 - 1/24 - Tire Brigade Figures Set: Meg, Gary & Michele w/Tires & Tools
- Motorhead Miniatures - MOH774 - 1/24 - Tire Brigade Figures Set: Meg, Val & Gary w/Tires & Tools
- Motorhead Miniatures - MOH773 - 1/24 - Tire Brigade Figures Set: Andie, Derek & Michele w/Tires & Tools
- Motorhead Miniatures - MOH192 - 1/24 - Tire Brigade Tool Set: Tool Chest, Box, Stool & Glider (Blue)
- Motorhead Miniatures - MOH191 - 1/24 - Tire Brigade Tool Set: Tool Chest, Box, Stool & Glider (Red)
- Fujimi - FJM11636 - 1/24 - Mechanic Figures & Driver w/Car Interior Accessories (replaces 11040)
- Ebbro Plastic Model Kits - EBB22 - 1/20 - 1966 Brabham Honda BT18 F2 Champion Race Car (New Tool)
Hot Pre-Orders Alert!
These are the hottest Pre-Orders coming in a few weeks!
Panda Hobby 1/35 M8 Armored Gun System coming in October
This kit from AMK: 1/48 F-14D Super Tomcat does not have a date of arrival yet. The manufacturer is still working the details
OCTOBER: HK Models 1/32 Lancaster supplier is now secured. This kit is coming October 20th, 2019. This kit is subject to MAP by manufacturer (Minimum Advertised Pricing). Kitlinx supports MAP as it protects your local hobby stores.
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