Frequently asked questions

Site related - Payment related - Model related

What are your priorities?

Do you sell other aviation related products other than models?

Do you stock full ranges and are committed or just models that will sell?

Do you promote any manufacturers products over another?

Do you have a Club that offers discount?

When I view your website, everything is squashed up and I have to use the scroll to view it?

Some pages on your site state "Sorry, work in progress", why?

I Bought a model that stated it was in stock and now I have been informed that it will need to be ordered in, why.

I have seen a site in the UK with prices considerably below the average.

Do you have a guest book?

Question: What are your priorities?

Answer: Always the customer. Purchase satisfaction and customer care are always our highest priority.

Whilst other sites may claim to be number one and full of promotion, We know that we have two feet placed firmly on the ground and will never profess to be anything else.

This is reflected in our company motto "We are not number one, You are". We will always keep our customers fully informed, whether it be the latest releases, delays or bad news. As soon as we know, you will too.

Question: Do you sell other Aviation related products other than models?

Answer:   No. Whilst other retailers offer more than just models, we only sell models to collectors and travel agent markets, therefore we offer a 100% dedicated and knowledgeable service to our customers.

Question: Do you stock full ranges and are committed or just models that will sell?

Answer: Yes we are committed and therefore do stock full ranges. However, when introducing new ranges to our website they are not always immediately shown in full and if you are seeking a model from any of these new additions and can not find it, please contact us with your requirements.

Question: Do you promote any manufacturers products over another?

Answer: No. All of the manufacturers that we stock are carefully selected, treated equally and meet our customer requirements. Ultimately it is the customer that makes the purchase choice, not us and it is a decision that we will always respect.

Question: Do you have a Club that offers discount?

Answer: No.

Question: Why not?

Answer: Whilst other retailers run membership clubs that offer you a discount, you have to pay an annual subscription for that privilege. At Aviation Miniatures, all of our products are already discounted by 10% on the recommended retail price and more on some models? 

Question: When I view your website, everything is squashed up and I have to use the scroll to view it?

Answer:   Our website is designed for viewing at a screen resolution of 1280 X 1024 pixels. Recent research and surveys show that the majority of internet users have moved away from the traditional 800 X 600 monitors and are now using high resolution monitors. These monitors are set as standard to 1280 X 1024 and to cater for both resolutions this would mean running duplicate sites or making text etc smaller and harder to see, such as MSN.

Question: Some pages on your site state "Sorry, work in progress", why?

Answer:   Availability of models and manufacturers are always in a constant state of change. Sometimes it is easier to take a page off line and work on it, rather than keep publishing and confusing the customer.

Question: I Bought a model that stated it was in stock and now I have been informed that it will need to be ordered in, why.

Answer: Hands up to this one! it does happen on the odd occasion, due to the constant change in stock levels and the ability to keep track of 2000+ products on a daily basis. This is one of the reasons that we will never constantly publicise how many models we have on our site or otherwise and in the event that this should occur, we will always offer a refund immediately and not hold your money until new stock arrives.

Question: I have seen a site in the UK with prices considerably below the average.

Answer: As in any retail market, competition is always good for the customer and we maintain a constant price watch to remain competitive, our prices are based on the recommended retail price set by the manufacturer and around other leading retailers, not individual sites. 

There are a number of internet sites that use non relative & erratic pricing to attract attention and enhance sales. This can sometimes lead to slogans  like "Supermarket prices" and "Our Price".

A good point to Remember with a supermarket is. Firstly they buy in bulk and secondly what they take of the price off one item, they add it on to another popular item to recuperate the cost.

Ask any supermarket manager and if they are open, they will admit it. The "our price" motto is as always, to grab the attention of a customer and nothing more. We have seen this on some websites, where models are actually more expensive than we are. Yes we may not be the cheapest and it is always the customers choice where they shop, but ask yourself, how can a retailer make money with up to £4.00 off the RRP and continue to trade! This type of marketing raises order placement, fulfilment and security issues that any customer should be aware of.

As the world wide web continues to expand, anyone can set up a website which leads to back room and short lived businesses. Over the last year we have seen a number of new web sites offering identical products at substantially lower prices with all kinds of promises. These disappeared just as quickly as they appeared.

Because of minimal overheads and low profit margins, they sell at below average prices and the latter usually causes their demise, leaving their customers with no comeback. This type of site generally has their origin within auction sites and have no back up from the manufacturer etc.

A quick check list.

A PO Box? Although used by many large and well known companies that receive high volumes of bulk mail for different departments, you should be wary of any niche market websites that use them and request payment via them. There are no real reasons for using one unless they have multiple departments or something to hide. Mail is correlated in the same way for a normal address as they do for PO boxes so always check the contact page and make sure that a full verifiable address is available.

A mobile number? If the site does not contain a verifiable land based telephone number, you should avoid buying from them. You could be speaking to someone on a bus!

Question: Do you have a guest book?

Answer: No. On a retail based website, we believe that a guestbook has no place. Whilst we appreciate positive and negative comments from our customers via email, at the end of the day a guestbook is totally editable by the webmaster concerned and can be used for their own promotional purposes.

For years we have all seen testimonials within the advertising industry proclaiming that Mr H of Manchester was totally satisfied and would not look elsewhere, etc etc!

In a web based guestbook, a webmaster can easily create their own comments or remove those that do not show the website in good esteem. Therefore we do not utilize this available function.