Eduard "Limited edition" is limiting them right out of the market!

davecww1 · 7 October 2005, 04:48 PM

A couple of weeks ago I went to my local hobby shop and was looking for one of the new Eduard Fokker D.VII (OAW) kits. The guy there who is very knowledgable in the market told me that they had not ordered any, since with a retail price of $39.99 they would not be able to sell any of them. He got stuck with the Russian Nieuport 17 and Nieuport 16 limited edition kits still sitting on the shelf. I explained to him that the kit was an all new one with 2 fuselages, painted photoetched parts and was limited to only 3000 kits. May be worth the price, not just some new decals & photoetched parts in an old kit for twice the price!
So he said that he would order one.
Next week I went back and he told me that none of the local distributors are carrying the Eduard kits anymore, he had to get them through Squadron MMD (or whatever the distribution side of Squadron mail order is called). And with a minmum order of $200 it would be a while before he could place the order. This week he told me that Squadron said they were sold out at the moment. I cancelled the order and tried to place an order on the squadron web site, for a very reasonable price of around $29.00, but when my order arrived today it said it was a pre-order item, not yet in stock! so they must be out of their allotment. Anyone know if there are any more of the 3000 kits still to be sent to Squadron? If not this is a sure sign that Eduard is creating a shortage of kits to drive up the market price (which I was willing to pay in the first place) But by only being distributed to a small segment of the US hobby market, this takes away from the profits that could be had by having a wider distribution network (as they did with all of the earlier kits - all of the Albatros & Nieuport series were available at the local hobby shop). I think that the lack of people selling the kits will lead to 2 things - less people will be able to buy the kits, and the price per each will be increased by the limited distributors on future releases. So is Eduard a worldwide distributor in the likes of Tamiya/Hasegawa (the quality of the kits they make lead me to believe that they should be in that class) or are they trying to be a limited collectors niche manufacturer like Blue max/Pegasus?
Also a search on ebay shows none of these kits are on auction, one is being sold by an ebay store for $39.99 + about $8.00 shipping.
I think they should go back to the old way of distribution and let all of the local hobby shops get their orders of these kits when they need to!
Dave

Ross_Moorhouse · 7 October 2005, 04:50 PM

And I got mine off EBay.

HobbyEasy in Hong Kong has them. http://www.hobbyeasy.com/LoadProduct.do?productid=20597 They want $33 USD

I have order a lot of stuff off them and they are great...

buzz1941 · 7 October 2005, 06:01 PM

Eduard, it seems, discovered that the "profipack" editions of their kits sold better than the standard editions, despite the higher price. So all of their kits from now on will essentially be profipacks, sold in limited runs to ensure they don't have a warehouse of such items moldering away. Seriously, 3000 kits is not very many in the modelling world, but for WWI builders, that might be the market share.
They are whipping out a second run of the OAW kit, which sold out despite the $39.95 price. What does that tell you? I bought several myself. A new decal sheet or a couple of extra parts, and it will be marketed as the latest "limited edition" of the same kit.
Eduard, in most cases, have also demonstrated they're willing to constantly improve the product. They make models for adult builders, not for the pocket-money crowd, and recognizing your marketing limitations is simply good business. Identify your niche customer, then make him happy. It's good business.
Don't worry about these kits selling out. If there's still a market out there, Eduard will make more.

GregorySharp · 7 October 2005, 07:00 PM

I got 1/1000th of the run! Well the first run that is.

I didn't have any such problem getting mine. I had no idea to even look for a problem. I order them, they show up. I ordered one from Eduard and the other two from my hobbyshop.

I got to say though, Eduard did put a little fire under my butt with the "limited run" bit.

I love the Fokker DVII like I love the Albatros DV Profi, so I had to stock up.

I'm a helpless Eduard fanatic. A moth to flame and cat to tuna!

StephenLawson · 7 October 2005, 07:10 PM

GregorySharp; I swear man if you break out into a chorus of "Bad Case of Lovin You" I'll call 911.

Barker · 7 October 2005, 08:53 PM

LOL

y'gotta love it...

I still think Dave makes a good point:
Running these at False Rarity is a BS tactic.

Buzz is probably right: "Crunch all you want, we'll make more."

PeterL · 8 October 2005, 02:08 AM

Quote:

...all of their kits from now on will essentially be profipacks, sold in limited runs to ensure they don't have a warehouse of such items moldering away.

Which is exactly why I never bought a W4. I have too big a stash not to be choosy, and Eduard are making it easy for me.

The price of some of these kits now approaches those demanded by the old school limited run manufacturers, who have struggled for survival since Eduard first hit the market with plentiful, available and competetively priced kits about ten years ago. Someone has lost sight of the ball.

davecww1 · 8 October 2005, 07:22 AM

Peter, my point exactly. I bought the Blue Max Halberstadt D.II from Squadron for about $32.00, less than the price for the Eduard D.VII, and twice as rare, but a lot easier to get, since they had it in stock but not the D.VII. I think the limited production label has lead people to hoard the first run, buying maybe 1 to build now and 2 or 3 to sell at a later date.
Dave

buzz1941 · 8 October 2005, 04:17 PM

I think people are focussing on the "limited" rather than the "edition." Their business experiment is not to have open-ended runs of kits. Better to estimate demand, fill it, then move on. Particularly the D.VII -- think of the kit as software, and the first one was Version 1.0. Next up is Version 1.1. New editions will always be in the pipeline, but the core parts will be there. Stuff like decals can always be improved.

davecww1 · 8 October 2005, 04:52 PM

So I just ordered one on line. by the time I add in shipping it is about the $39.99 or so that I would have paid from the local hobby shop. But I like to think as the local guy as a buddy, and try to give him some business when I can. With eduard's new marketing plan it will still be available online but it hurts the little guy - the local store owner that cannot get a $200 order from Squadron every week will be shut out of the market for all of the new Eduard kits. My point was not that it was a good or bad idea to limit the amount of kits being made, just that the new distribution system leaves a lot to be desired, and while most of the online distributors are able to get their kits, it is the mom & pop shop that will be hurt in the long run, since when I order one online I will also order the Eduard photoetched seat belts & gauges instead of buying them from the local guy and waiting a week or 2 for them to come in.
Dave