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snowman40k wrote:and an order through Combat Company on it's way from Queensland

Erm, Combat Company is located in Sydney - in NSW, NOT QLD.
(I know Russel, Spiro and the guys fairly well and have had no issues with them (good delivery times and communications) - apart from that one time that EVERYONE was out of stock on WM/H stuff due to an unforseen global upsurge in interest in it after the GW embargo.)

Though this conversation has dealt mostly with mini's....to respond to the OP, Battlefoam turnaround time sucks!!

I can understand them taking some time on custom foam, but they indicate still 2-3 weeks for non-custom orders. Romeo has got a great product, but his attitude of "well if you don't like it go somewhere else...." really is indicative of poor customer service.

Ashton

I used to go with Maelstrom for a long time, but their order to finally getting it time span takes forever so I switched over to a US(!) company called Miniature Market. Not cheap on the shipping, but their discounts and fast shipping however more than make up for this. One week tops from the US, regardless of parcel size versus the one month shipping Maelstrom had me put up with.

I will say, I've also dealt with the "tinies" in the UK and nothing but good service from them. Hasslefree, always swift service and usually candy thrown in for good measure. Crooked Dice, great service and when they forgot to include a mini they got on that as soon as possible.

Kroothawk wrote:Metal and plastic miniatures are not perishable goods. Doesn't matter if it takes 3 or 6 days until they arrive ... and join the pile of unfinished miniatures. And I accept that small companies in the hobby can't deliver the same high standards in service as a multi-million dollar business as Amazon. If you can't accept this, just order from multi-million dollar companies, including GW mailorder.

Not being Amazon does not preclude a retailer from having a reasonable amount of stock, nor from having a tethered website and sales database so that the level of stock is obvious to the customer at a glance. If I'm doing a commission project for a mate, I don't want to go to a website, order something generic like a box of Tactical Marines which are ostensibly in stock, then find myself waiting over a week to get the sodding thing despite paying for express shipping.

As for small companies, that's utter dross; I order my putty through Heresy Miniatures, I've also ordered tools and a few other bits and bobs from them; not ONCE did they list something as in-stock when it wasn't, and every single time my order has arrived within a couple of days. That's two guys, I believe, and they even managed to include a handwritten thank-you-note and a sweetie in every bloody order. There is no reason "small" should mean "crappy service".

Warweb.com is the worst e-tailer, hands down

No way to know whether an item is in stock or not, ZERO communication from them if your order is backordered/delayed, common dispatch wait times in the weeks. I almost didn't finish a FOW army in time for a tournament last year because they had backordered half the items. I had to contact them after almost 2 weeks of waiting just to find that out, and they only replying AFTER I had written them to cancel the order!

TMP is littered with complaints about them, so I'm not alone:
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=252014
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=237783

For Canada and the USA, I found a hidden gem called Meeplemart and they quickly became my favourite online game store. They stock GW, Warmachine, Hordes, Vallejo, Army Painter, Armorcast, you name it. Shipping is reasonable, website is easy to navigate, special orders are welcome, e-mails are quickly responded to. Highly highly recommended.

Redfinger wrote:Though this conversation has dealt mostly with mini's....to respond to the OP, Battlefoam turnaround time sucks!!

I can understand them taking some time on custom foam, but they indicate still 2-3 weeks for non-custom orders. Romeo has got a great product, but his attitude of "well if you don't like it go somewhere else...." really is indicative of poor customer service.

Ashton

I love BF bags, but I find this puzzling as well. Is each bag bespoke? Or are they setting us up for a long wait, only to pleasantly suprise us once it goes out sooner?

Back to the main point: as long as the company communicates with me honestly, and give me reasonable expectations, I'll be glad to deal with slow service. Poor service, however...

Once again I leap to the defence of wayland. I've placed around a dozen orders with them, and never had a problem with stuff turning up, usually 3 days after I ordered, which suits me fine. No, I don't work for wayland.

To the wayland guy or anybody else that may know: is the wayland factory open to the public? If it's located in Essex? Then I'm tempted to drive up there and order stuff on the spot (if it's allowed).

Wayland have a store i believe

@Valhallan42nd: Thats been my main problem with Wayland in my experience, and with the one problem i had with Maelstrom over some Micro Arts bases not being in stock. After 3 weeks of waiting i contacted then to find out what was going on. they were quick to apologise, refund the money and send the rest of my order.

Waylands responses usually in my experience with them boil down to Meh wait longer.

I will try Heresy Miniatures, and has anyone used http://www.arcaneminiatures.co.uk/ ?

Pitboy-

I suppose I'm spoiled by the Warstore. Neal is quick like a bunny at getting orders out, and has excellent communication.