Get’em while they’re still in business that is. You favorite retailer that offers ultra low discounted prices and free shipping might be a thing of the past. Several companies which used this method have closed their doors in recent months and it leads me to believe others will soon follow.

Hobby retailers who sell a kit with minimal markup attract a lot of business, but is their plan viable? Lets take a recent release that retails for $60.00. The retailer  slashes their margin down to where they are just netting a $5.00 profit. Now $5 doesn’t buy much these days, not even a decal sheet or even much more than a jar of paint. So how does the retailer plan on remaining viable? Oh lets not forget to that they are including free shipping!?!

This kit has some size and weight to it, so we can safely say that it costs $6.00 or more to mail it to the customer’s location. In my ciphering that is a net loss of a $1.00 which doesn’t cover a cup of coffee in most places.

Here is the bottom line, many of the retailers who have used this business plan have failed or could fail. When this happens and it has, customers end up without the items they ordered and no refund from the retailer. Doors are closed, locked and the principle is AWOL. Now you might think this is a line of pure prop wash, but one can find easily the names of the companies who are no longer in business and the long list of consumers wanting answers and refunds for the item they purchased but never received.

So what do you do besides pray?  Use your credit card, not a debit card when making payment for purchases from these discount driven retailers. A credit card offers more protection, if you don’t get satisfaction, call the card company and file a complaint. Chances are they’ll make the necessary adjustments and tap the retailers account to recoup it. PayPal also provides the one spending the money a great deal of power in a financial transaction. Keep an eye on the companies website to see if they have been regularly updating content. Keep abreast of the discussions about the retailer on the various forums. If you have any questions or doubts, call the company. Note the date, time and the person you spoke with. If something goes south, this information will help your claim later on. If they don’t have a published contact number and don’t responded to emails…RED FLAG!!! Why are they and what are they hiding?

In the past 12 months there were over 100 brick n mortar hobby retailers who closed their doors. How many virtual retailers closed up shop? I don’t have an exact number it takes just one to create a mess for you when you’re the one left with nothing to show for your expenditure. If you are in the middle of just such an experience let us know…in the meantime pray that all resolves positively.