----One of the most frequently asked questions in Dakka's forums is 'Where can I buy (something)'. This article pools the knowledge and opinions of Dakka's community to create a list of anecdotally reviewed online stores from around the world.
Bitz Suppliers
Forbidden Gaming
Warhammer, 40k, Wargames Factory, & warlord Game bitz
Moderate ranges and competitive prices
UK based and ships worldwide
http://www.forbiddengaming.co.uk
Bitz Store
Warhammer and 40k plastic bits. Moderate range and reasonable prices.
Based in France and ships worldwide.
http://www.bitzstore.com
Bitz Galaxy
Based in ACT Australia and ships worldwide. Great owner and decent range, ebay store for now, a little pricey compared to UK but respectable for AUS with quick delivery (usually 3 days)
http://stores.ebay.com.au/bitzgalaxy
cheeky grot: Have used this place many times, never any issues with being supplied in full plus fast delivery makes this my "go to" place for bits.
Ths Supply Drop
Based in UK, ships worldwide for as little as £1
They offer large collection of bits and are cheap, also they offer miniatures and hobby supplies at great rates also.
http://www.supplydropzone.co.uk/
(redirects to bitzstore)
Wargamersworld
Purchased and redirected to Bitz Box.
The Combat Company
Based in Australia, posts worldwide
They offer products from Pig Iron, Gale Force Nine, Amera Scenery, Discount Paint Brushes and Rare Earth Magnets.
http://www.thecombatcompany.com.au/
[No longer offers any GW products aside from a small selection of paint.]
Battlewagon Bitz
Originally based in the US, now it has merged with the warstore.
The new URL is: http://www.thewarstore.com/battlewagonbits.html
Originally it could be found at: http://www.bwbits.com
Read the warstore reviews under 'General Stores' below to hear opinions of the new battlewagon bitz store.
Bits and Kits UK
http://www.bitsandkits.co.uk/ Based in the UK, ships worldwide, free postage worldwide on orders over £15/$30
http://www.bitsandkits.fr/
Moderate range and reasonable prices.
H.B.M.C.: I've bought 40K stuff from Bits & Kits UK, the best bitz site I've ever seen.
lord_blackfang: My fifth order was missing some bitz, and all my emails about it were completely ignored. Will not buy from again.
whatwhat: Got what I asked for with quick to delivery to UK adress.
cheeky grot: Placed 11 orders, 4 supplied with wrong parts, 3 short shipped, 1 did not arrive. Included flamers instead of meltas, razorback turret with no guns and the list goes on. Not one email reply and am in dispute with paypal. IMO avoid!!
Bitzbox
http://www.bitzbox.co.uk/ Based in the UK, ships worldwide
Warhammer and 40k plastic bits. Decent range, decent website.
InyokaMadoda: An excellent site for bitz from virtually all plastic kits. Free shipping in the UK for orders over £30. Would recommend. They were out of stock for a couple of items I wanted - a quick email and they topped their stock up for me! Will use them again.
Greebynog: I've used Bitzbox for plastic bits, fantastic, really quick.
Bit Kingdom
http://www.bitkingdom.com/ Based in the USA, ships worldwide.
Just 40k bits and limited range. Generally sell entire sprues rather than single parts from a sprue.
[Out of business as the link redirects to an empty domain.]
General Stores
Arcane Miniatures
http://www.arcaneminiatures.co.uk/ Based in the UK, ships worldwide
Large range of most products except GW, free shipping within the UK.
Chaos Mail Order
http://www.chaosmailorder.com/ Based in the US, ship within US only (48 states).
20% off most GW retail prices
Boss_Salvage: Out of Indiana, back when they gave you free shipping over $75. Now it's $100 and I find myself buying entire armies a lot less often, but when I was buying loads of stuff with my brothers everything came from CMO for us. I think their discount on PP stuff is a little better than most places, maybe 5% better or so.
ChaosOrc's Superstore
http://www.chaosorc.com/ Based in the US, ships worldwide.
Large stock and some out of production products too.
Really bad seller. They regularly send the wrong model and each time claiming it was the correct model but a different pose, and these are hero and lord models where there is only one version of it.
ancientsociety: Simply awesome. I order from them regularly. Great communication, quick shipment, always a pleasure to buy from.
skavenfreak: Ive use chaosOrc with ease before, but one time they did cancel an order and never refunded what I payed. It was only about 5$ and the items were loose metals, but its enough that I would rather use bartertown instead.
pombe: I also use ChaosOrc and have had absolutely no problems. Their prices are good and their shipping prices are astoundingly cheap. The best part is that they carry OOP items which can come in handy, like when I was looking for the older Razorback and 2nd Edition Devastators, which you probably cannot find except on eBay.
MagickalMemories: I'd like to throw my support in for Chaosorc.com. Never a problem with them.
carmachu: Ship fast, good communication. Have discounts on their models.
http://warmaster-fr.niceboard.com/modelisme-f8/chaosorc-site-de-vente-t184.htmSeveral French customers, over a dozen, report recurrent problems in ordering items from Chaosorc.com, from incomplete orders to missing items to paypal claims to refund refusals for orders never received (2009/06)
Cryonicleech: Haven't had a problem with these guys, ordered from them several times now and every time I do I'm glad I did. I'll admit that I'm in the US though, can't say much for their international situation.
Davo. I ordered some miniatures and it included $8 shipping to Australia. Then another Paypal request for an additional $6 dollars was added. This shop is dodgey.
Orthien: Ordered from Chaos Orc and shipped to New Zealand in 2 weeks for the quoted shipping cost. All items arrived as ordered and in good condition. (03/2011)
Gifts for Geeks
http://www.giftsforgeeks.org.uk/ Based in the UK, ship worldwide.
Heavily discounted (20-25%)
The Strange Dude: I've used them a couple of times from payment to having it in your grubby little mitts is around the week mark, and it's always worthwhile checking out the postage options (there is a break point where it becomes much cheaper to use courier). Having said all that they offer really good discounts all the time I mean £36.50 for a battleforce!
Total Wargamer
http://totalwargamer.co.uk/ Based in UK, ships worldwide.
Fairly decent discounts and supposedly a wide range of items. Will take upwards of a month to make deliveries, offering lies and excuses all the while.
Yep, good discount but absolutely diabolical service!
Great Canadian Miniatures
http://www.gc-minis.com/ Based in Canada, ships worldwide.
General wargaming supplies, mostly GW stuff. 25-30% off regular prices.
Tacobake: Great Canadian Miniatures. GW Retail product at a discount. Who I made an order to and never heard from again. So if you want to place an order, wait weeks and weeks and end up going to The Warstore or your local GW instead, this is the online retailer for you.
H.B.M.C.: If you don't mind a 4 month wait while one of their delivery guys walks to your house, or the stone-age billing options (last I heard they didn't accept Morse Code, but had added smoke signals as a new option). No paypal for international customers. And if you use a credit card they'll ask you to scan the front and back of it and either post or E-mail it in for international sales.
KittyLitterBox: Great Canadian Miniatures is a good to order from if you live in Canada, which I happen to. I have ordered from them a couple of times. A couple of friends have as well. Since it is a Canadian vendor I do not have as long of a wait time. I know GC Minis has already been spoken for. I wanted to give it some affirmation for a viable vendor.
Antryg: GCM is rather hit or miss. When I lived in the US, I used them and GCM always took forever to mail out the order. Mind you, this was during a time when it was good for someone from the US to order from canada, now its the other way around. My order generally took 2+ months to arrive, very bad communication. BUT I did get my order, and for cheap during that time, so not a huge issue.
Delemon: Great Canadian Minis - got order in 3 weeks (by normal mail) just before Christmas last year, all there, nicely packaged too. Email correspondence answered in 24h when I had a question about part of my order. I live in the same province though so YMMV on shipping.
Hill City Comics
http://www.hillcity-comics.com/ Based in Canada, ships worldwide.
For general wargaming and supplies, http://www.tabletopwargames.com/ for games workshop products and other table top wargaming products. Carries a full range of GW products including specialist games.
Le Grognard: Have ordered online from Hill City Comics in the past with no problems.
Infinity Games UK
http://www.iguk.co.uk/ Based in the UK, ships worldwide.
General RPG and miniature stuff, but very few GW products.
Miniature Market
http://www.MiniatureMarket.Com/
All GW except Online Only at 25% off. Free shipping of orders over $75 in U.S.. Also, stock various other model lines and supplies.
FAST response and shipping.
Contact Steve at; Service@MiniatureMarket.com.
Orlanth Miniature Market has agreed to depackage boxed miniatures on request in return for fee of 50c to $1 per box. This is useful for getting bulky and overpackaged items like AT-43 shipped internationally at a lower cost.
Miniatures By Post - Renamed to Dark Sphere
http://www.miniaturesbypost.com/ Based in the UK, ships worldwide
Now found at: http://www.darksphere.co.uk based in London (near Waterloo), ships worldwide
Large range of GW products with a heavy discount of 20-25% on most standard items. Discount in shop is 20%.
sleazy: Miniatures by post are a good company with some great deals and special offers.
Noble Knight Games
http://www.nobleknight.com/ Based in the USA, ships worldwide.
Specialise in general, out of print games and books. Not much GW stuff.
ancientsociety: I've ordered from them a few times. Prices aren't as good as ChaosOrc on GW but they have a larger selection (esp. OOP stuff). Being fairly local (WI), shipment is usually quick.
Oupi
https://oupi.eu/en/ is based in the France but ship to all Europe. They can ship outside the EU except for Games Workshop product. A wide selection of all Games Workshop products, Warhammer as well as all other games, with a good selection of products for model making.
OzHammer
http://ozhammer.co.uk is based in the UK but ship to Australia and New Zealand at UK prices. New website launched 1st Novemeber 2014
They can ship outside the EU. They sell all Games Workshop products with shipping from £6.00
Oz40k
https://www.facebook.com/OZ40K
Based in Australia, offers 30% off rrp and next day shipping. Run by gaming community members and offers prize support for tournaments, as well as regular give aways.
The Railway and Modellers Junction
http://www.railmodjunction.co.uk/ Based in the UK, ships worldwide.
Heavy discounts and a large range of wargaming materials including GW, Privateer Press, Flames of War, etc. 20-25% off retail prices.
sleazy: My current favourite online retailer. They have the best UK discounts for off the shelf GW stuff. their postage rates are reasonable and you generally have your items within a week. Note: they dont actually charge your card till the items leave them so keep this in mind, this nearly caught me out when I thought the money had already left my account.
The Supply Drop
http://www.supplydropzone.co.uk Based in the UK with Worldwide shipping and upto 25% off retail prices
Smoking Boots Miniatures
http://www.smoking-boots.co.uk Based in the U.K and currently ship to the U.K only.
Large range of GW miniatures specialising in 40k. Plus the full range of GW paints, tools, supplies and scenery.
Up to 20% off of retail prices.
Scrap Dragon
http://www.scrapdragon.com.au/ based in Australia, ships worldwide.
Wide range of products including Hirst Arts, Forgeworld and most GW games.
Lord Lankington: Has most GW products, plus stuff from Pig Iron, and other companies. 20-25% off in most cases also fast delivery, and order tracking.
Wargames Workshop
http://www.wargamesworkshop.com/ Based in the UK, ships worldwide
10-15% off retail prices. Very large range.
sleazy: wargamesworkshop are mega fast and quick to reply to emails, I have always had great service from them
Wargamersworld
From the UK
This site specialises in OOP figures, bitz and accessories although their bitz range is extensive (well it will be as they are currently filling their site) They are a new site but already are selling their bitz cheaper than most. Postage is super fast and can get a parcel anywhere in the world within 5-7 days. The sell Warhammer 40k & WFB, Rogue Trader, White Dwarf, Bitz, and much, much more.
http://wargamersworld.co.uk
Wargaming World
http://www.wargamingworld.co.uk Based in the UK, free shipping worldwide
Decent range of non-GW products.
Jazz is for Losers: I've found cheaper places for PP products in the UK but they all charged for delivery, and as the items I purchased were relatively cheap (£18 & £7) this was an ok option, both packages turned up within 2-4 working days.
The Warstore
http://www.thewarstore.net/
Based in USA, Ships worldwide
Very wide range, 20% off US retail prices for GW products. Carries most major manufacturer miniature ranges. "Does not sell GW Metal Bitz, Archive, Specialist Games, or Collectors Edition items. Those items are GW Mail Order direct only." GW products must be ordered over the telephone due to the GW policy of banning all Internet sales in the US.
Opinions from dakka users:
Darrian13: Smooth transactions and fast delivery. I highly recommend them.
Wayfarer: Good discounts, great customer service, and they carry just about every miniature company. Another place I can highly recommend.
Le Grognard: No problems.
RanTheCid: neutral. In the end I received everything I ordered, but took a lot of work to make it right.
budro: Service is just as good now as it was before Neal bought it
Wehrkind: They have a lot of selection, and I generally get everything in 2-3 days. I live <4 hours away from their store though, so that might help the postal aspect.
The one problem I have with tWS is they seem to have a breaking point of 10 items, after which things can get dicey. You might get what you wanted, you might get something else, you might get a bonus. To their credit though, they always make it right in a hurry, and even when they accidentally send you an expensive boxed set instead of what you wanted, they tell you to just keep it. If I wanted something in a hurry I might be annoyed, but over the long term their mistakes just help me.
Generally though, they are very nice to work with, and make very few mistakes. You do need to keep on them sometimes about items that were out of stock.
Jezrael: The warstore has been awesome for me in the past. So easy that my wife actually was able to order some of "those woodland elf guys" (her words) for me in secret with Neil's assistance.
However the price of their battlewagon (bitz) selection has become outrageous.
pombe: Neal at the Warstore has been totally, totally awesome. The only issue that I have had was when one of my orders was supposed to include a blister with a Tyranid Biovore w/ Spore Mines, but he accidentally shipped a blister of Tyranid Spore Mines. A quick email later and Neal not only shipped out the correct blister ASAP, but he let me keep the one he sent by mistake also. You can try to beat Neal's prices elsewhere, but you will never beat Neal's customer service.
Aduro: Made a bitz order over the phone, was quick and easy and got my stuff in less than a week. There was one mistake in what I got vs what I ordered, but that was fixed right away, so overall great service.
H.B.M.C.: Neal has also been quite good with the orders I've made. They forgot to include a Hatchetman 'Mech in one order despite charging me for it. I E-mailed them and less than a day later Neal E-mailed me back to say he'd throw it into the other order I had made that hadn't shipped yet.
Boss_Salvage: I use them for many of the reasons noted, and being close like Wehrkind is a plus. They do seem to confuse my orders from time to time but a quick call and things are made right, quickly. The amount of non-GW stuff in the online store is a real draw for me, and cheap set shipping is nice as well.
carmachu: Ship fast, good communication. Have discounts on their models.
Grand Preceptor: I've been ordering from the WarStore for I think 8 years now, with very few problems. Most of the other places I've ordered minis from have gone out of business, and I don't miss them anyway since Neal has always been much better.
Onnotangu: 90% of my online biz is with the warstore. I tried chaos orc but was happier with warstore in the end.
Void Fiend: I've emailed Neal with questions (and no order) on four occasions and received an informative response within the same day every time. I'll also add myself to the list of people with great experiences from the Warstore.
ancientsociety: Used to order from them years ago. I stopped after I clearly stated for them to send via USPS (as I can't pick up UPS where I live) but they still sent via UPS and then acted like I was an idiot because they didn't notice that I requested it sent a different way during checkout and a separate email. Neil did make it right but it was a hassle and soured my experience.
Hordini: I've purchased miniatures from the Warstore several different times since 2005. I have always received speedy service, and the few problems I have had (a mis-packed blister, which wasn't Neal's fault, and a mis-packed boxed set) were quickly fixed. In the case of the 170 point Urban War boxed set that I ordered during the last holiday sale, Neal gave me the 300 point boxed set instead for no extra charge. I would absolutely recommend The Warstore for anyone's online wargaming needs.
Wayland Games
http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/
Based in UK, ships worldwide.
High discounts. Depending from which country you (shopping to most EU countries is a 10 poud flat fee) shop, this may amount up to 50%. Does not stock all items, deals in both Fantasy and 40K, as well as Vallejo paints. Seems to expand towards Victrix, Warlord Games and Army Painter.
Opinions from dakka users:
Tierlieb As of 2/2009, I've purchased four times from Wayland Games. Since I am from Germany, with the different retailer discount policy of GW UK compared to GW Germany and the lower VAT, I could get up to 50% discount, compared to German shops.
Equipment or Supplies
Antenociti's Workshop
http://www.barrule.com/ Based in the UK, ships worldwide
Very wide range of terrain and plasticard supplies. Some nice looking buildings.
Dickblick.com
http://dickblick.com Based in the US, ships worldwide.
Huge range of general art supplies, good for getting anything that you would not find easily in a local hobby shop (sheet styrene/plasticard, winsor and newton series 7 brushes, etc).
Wayfarer: I've purchased a myriad of items from this discount art store over the years (too many times to count) and I've always been satisfied. They ship fast, they offer a huge range of art supplies, and they offer huge discounts. And by huge I mean 25-50% off everything, always. I highly recommend them.
Foam by Mail
http://www.foambymail.com/ Based in the US, ships worldwide.
Provide a large range of foam for terrain or storage projects.
Antryg: Foam By Mail is great for cheap foam if you make your own figure cases. Fast shipping even to Old Blighty.
Gaussboys
http://www.gaussboys.com/ Based in the US, ship worldwide
Stock a wide range of magnets usable for modelling.
budro: Great. Good communication, quick shipping.
Hirst Arts
http://www.hirstarts.com/ Based in the US, Ship worldwide
Very popular terrain manufacturers. They are famous for their terrain molds that you can use to make dozens of walls, floor tiles, etc.
RanTheCid: fast delivery and quality products.
biztheclown: You should check out hirst arts for terrain projects.
K&J Magnetics
http://www.kjmagnetics.com Based in the US, ship to limited international locations.
A decent range of tiny, powerful magnets useful for modelling projects.
Grand Preceptor: Our local group has ordered magnets from K&J Magnetics and liked how it turned out, but it was only once, so that's very anecdotal as far as quality of service.
Wehrkind: I have ordered from K&J about 6 times, and had a good experience every time. I usually buy their clearance stuff, which comes at a really good price, and have gotten periodic sample baggies of magnets as a bonus. All in all I really recommend them.
Magcraft
http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/
Based in the US (Vienna, Virginia) but sell overseas as well (see their contact info).
JB: I have placed two successful orders with Magcraft. They ship quickly and I like their unique packaging, which makes it easy to store the magnets until I'm ready to use them. Unfortunately they don't sell really tiny magnets (1/16 of an inch) so I buy those from K&J Magnetics.
Mainly Trains
http://www.mainlytrains.co.uk/acatalog/index.html Based in the UK, ship worldwide
A large range of plasticard and other general supplies.
Greebynog: I get my plasticard from mainlytrains, a little pricy, but huge range and lightning service.
Modulor
http://www.modulor.de/shop/ Based in Germany, ship all across Europe
Large range of architect and modelling supplies.
Tierlieb: One-stop-shopping for, well, everything a modeller might want. Quick service, too.
Sabol
http://www.saboldesigns.net/home.html Based in the US, ship worldwide.
Popular army carrying case manufacturer.
budro: Great. Good communication, quick shipping.
Zuzzy Miniatures
http://www.zuzzy.com/ Based in the US, ships worldwide
Harsh international shipping rates (up to 85% of the price), but a great range of resin products. Their rubber gaming mats are often highly commended if you dont have the space for a full size table.
Specialist Sculpting / Miniatures
Hasslefree
http://www.hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk/ based in the UK, ships worldwide
Offers a good range of custom miniatures, decals and brass etchings.
Miguelsan: The best was Hasslefree, they were fast and emailed me when they received the order to confirm the goods I wanted and again when sending the stuff.
Models For Sale
http://www.modelsforsale.com/ Based in the UK, ships worldwide.
General model store, and have a very large range of paints and modelling tools.
legoburner: Have the full range of Vallejo paints and a fast turnaround. No complaints from me.
Old Crow Models
http://www.oldcrowmodels.co.uk/ Based in the UK
They sell an interesting and varied collection of 6mm, 15mm, and 25mm science fiction vehicles, buildings, guns, and figures. Some 25mm pieces are useful for converting IG models.
See Flinty's P&M blog to see how he used Old Crow parts to kitbash his IG Hydras.
Old Glory 15s
http://oldglory15s.com/catalog/ Based in the US
Sell a large amount of independent or smaller stockist miniatures.
RanTheCid: Lightning fast turn around on order. Responded to an updated order and still set the shipment ASAP
Pig Iron Productions
http://www.pig-iron-productions.com Based in the UK, ships worldwide
Offers a lot of imperial-guard style tanks and troops. Some of their best offerings are their alternative 28mm heads which will give you a good, custom imperial guard army very easily.
Miguelsan: I ordered some heads and everything was ok, but less communicative and slower sending stuff than hasslefree (20 days vs 6 from Hasslefree)
Privateer Press
http://www.privateerpress.com/ Based in the US, ships worldwide.
Major manufacturer of miniatures, paints, etc. Better prices on their products can be found through other stockists.
ancientsociety: Ordered some bitz from them once. REALLY quick shipment, easy to navigate, a lot like how GW.com used to be.
Rattlehead Games
http://www.rattleheadgames.com Based in the US, ships worldwide
Carry most minor manufacturers including pig iron productions and Hasslefree.
Gitkikka: Rattlehead Games is another great site to order from. Great selection, competitive prices and Brandon will solve problems quick.
Reaper
http://www.reapermini.com/ Based in the US, ships worldwide.
Major manufacturer of miniatures, paints, etc. Reasonable prices.
The Tin Dictator, Inc.
http://www.tindictator.com Based in the US
Stock a small range of esoteric miniatures such as EM-4.
ancientsociety: Ordered some EM4 minis. Took over a week for them to let me know when they shipped and told me the entire order shipped however, when I got it, 2 items were backordered with no expected shipdate. Subsequent email told me they were shipped USPS first class last Tuesday however I'm still waiting for them...
Closed Stores
The Dropzone
MagickalMemories: TheDropZone is someplace to avoid like the plague
Antryg: The DropZone is likewise thankfully dead.
Newwave
Antryg: Newwave is thankfully dead, even though they operate CoolMiniOrNot.
Auction or Trading Sites
Bartertown
http://www.bartertown.com/trading/ Based and ship worldwide
General online message board where people can barter for products. Similar to ebay but with no listing fees, more risk and fewer products. You can find some gems though.
pombe: I have used Bartertown and have had all successful purchases and trades. It's a good place to use, but you'll need to patient to set up the ideal transaction, such as those where you are offering specific miniatures and are only looking for specific miniatures in return. It's a great way to save money, but I wouldn't recommend it if you need something with a deadline for a tournament or something.
Ebay
Ebay is complicated enough to require a guide in itself, so feel free to check out A Guide to Buying on Ebay written by dakka's range of users.