I have been in the Warhammer
40k hobby for longer than I care to disclose, and over the years I have bought (and sold) multiple products. I am going to share with you my BEST and WORST experiences with you.
First let us start off with the BEST experiences. Where should you look first to buy bitz?
1. e-bay http://www.ebay.com
E-bay can be a treasure trove, if you know what you are looking for. Also, be sure to try 'alternate spellings' of what you are looking for as well as use the 'search' function to look for the item description. Sometimes people make splling errors (done on purpose) so that it won't show up on the first search, but a deeper search might net it for you. I've had some great deals this way.
2. Bitz and Kitz http://www.bitsandkits.co.uk/
These guys are my FAVORITE place to buy outside of e-bay. They have great deals from time to time, most recently 50% off on everything. But better than that, they have FREE SHIPPING for orders of about $25+. And if your order is less than that, the shipping is still paltry. Truly, this place is a gem and I've netted some great Forgeworld items from here as well.
The following is a 3-way tie for 3rd:
Model Bits http://www.modelbits.co.uk/
BitzBox http://www.bitzbox.co.uk/
Bitsbay http://www.bitsbay.it
These guys have decent shipping. I look around between them because sometimes one site sells one piece for lower than the other, while another sells for a little bit higher. Overall, they are great to deal with.
4. Games Workshop
http://www.gamesworkshop.com
Yes, ordering directly from Games Workshop. In the OLD DAYS, when you ordered directly, they would throw in a few random bitz as a courtesy. I haven't experienced that recently. However, there was a time when I ordered $250 worth of goods from
GW, and it never came. I contacted
GW and let them know, and they shipped out a replacement immediately. That is customer service! I received the items and was happy.
And this brings me to the WORST place to buy bitz:
The Bitz Barn http://www.bitzbarn.com
Initially, I ordered from them and received bitz alright. However, most recently I had placed an order for about $30 worth of goods, and they were never shipped. When I would check the status, it would show up as 'order processed.' I tried calling the number listed on the website: 770-490-5719 however, that number would go to a mailbox that was full.
I then tried the 'Contact Us' button and send an e-mail, however, I never heard anything. I wrote that I was working on a time-sensitive project (as I sell items, too), and that I needed them quickly. I did not hear anything, so I called my credit card company and cancelled the charge, and then ordered the same items from Games Worskhop (which all arrived).
This morning I received a phone call at 2
AM from Robert Schwinn, who called me from 770-843-9732, which is different than listed from the store. When I answered the phone, he hung up on me. Then I had a long e-mail discussion with them, culminating in me saying 'fine, I'll cancel the chargeback, because $30 isn't worth my time.'
Since then, they have changed their website so that if you click on 'Contact Us' there is no longer a message box that you click 'OK' to send a message to, but a direct e-mail address. Hopefully that will lead to better communication.
You can decide for yourself if you want to do business with them. As for me, I am never going to order from the Bitz Barn again.
