Is Strada Sports Store still alive?

Hi

Just to know if anyone had news from Kevin at stradasportsstore.com lately?

I'm still doing shopping after 5 years of inactivity and I'm not sure if some webstore are closed for summer or abandoned. Still haven't got any email back in 2 weeks. Always had great service and price back in time.

Thanks

Last week I received part of an order (from 4 months ago). They are still in business, just a very slow turnaround.

Still around but a bit slow. :lol:

Kevin is still around. I did a inquiry on some items and got a response back this past weekend. He was out of town recently so best thing to do is email him first on what you are looking for to make sure its in stock.

Placed 2 orders recently. Got the first fairly quickly since both items were in stock.

However, the 2nd order I cancelled after 8 or 9 weeks b/c i got sick of waiting for the item to get in stock which it never did, and communication wasnt especially great. More than once it took 2+ weeks to get any kind of reply.

Not entirely sure if I'll order again or not.

Hi Eric!!

My recent experiences were not that great either. Had to wait several weeks for one of the orders, and got a somewhat rude reply for a stock inquiry, which I never expected from Kevin since I thought we had a pretty good relationship since I have bought many times from him in the past. Don't know what happened.

Still didn't get any reply, so.. ebay I went for my MFH kit.

Sad that most of the reliable place I once ordered went MIA.

and Hi Tonio. Nice to see all those older member still around ;)

I ordered from Kevin/Strada Sports for several years, and he always was able to get what I wanted, but it just seemed like it took longer and longer and longer to get anything.

He also got to be very vague about whether he had something in stock or if it was just "available" which meant you were going to wait!

It's a shame, I wish he was still keeping up with the business :(

I sent him an email to enquire about a few items and he answered the next day ��

I placed my last order with him on the 5 Oct 2011. He made a charge against my Visa on 6 August 2012. i have yet to receive any response to my emails let alone receive the order.

I sent him an email to enquire about a few items and he hasn't answered yet... ;)

ianc

I'm disappointed with this guy. Very poor communication.

It's frustrating when this happens. I've ordered a few items from Strada in the past and their communication and service was always excellent. Maybe it's just a temporary thing and will get better...

I've never had any issues. Kevin has always managed to get stuff out to me in a reasonable time frame if he has it in stock.

if he has it in stock

That is the key point. There is no way to tell, and he may or may not respond to your requests as to whether he has it or not.

If you throw caution to the winds and just order, you may be sitting there for months with your money tied up and no communication from him. I just cancelled ~150$ worth of stuff from orders that were months old and I could get no information from him on it.

Still have not heard back on the cancellation request though. Risky business...

ianc

I think a company should only make a charge to you once they ship your items. It's not fair to hold onto your money if they haven't got the stuff you ordered in stock...

I had the same issue when I cancelled my order. I sent an email every day for like 5 days in a row, before he finally replied back that my order had been cancelled.

That is the key point. There is no way to tell, and he may or may not respond to your requests as to whether he has it or not.

If you throw caution to the winds and just order, you may be sitting there for months with your money tied up and no communication from him. I just cancelled ~150$ worth of stuff from orders that were months old and I could get no information from him on it.

Still have not heard back on the cancellation request though. Risky business...

ianc

I placed my last order with him on the 5 Oct 2011. He made a charge against my Visa on 6 August 2012. i have yet to receive any response to my emails let alone receive the order.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for this order to arrive......

Well I guess I'm lucky he didn't reply to my email finally...

I spoke with Kevin two days ago. He is working 60-70 hours a week, and has not had the time to manage Strada Sports correctly ( He knows that). I know for a fact that Kevin NEVER charges people for their items before he ships them. There always seems to be one person that claims that. I believe there was a retraction the last time that that was claimed.

There may be some changes coming to Strada Sports.

I can tell you right now that he charged me for my item as soon as I ordered it, and then I finally said I wanted a refund after waiting 8+ weeks for it.

{snip}I know for a fact that Kevin NEVER charges people for their items before he ships them. {snip}

I know for a fact that Kevin NEVER charges people for their items before he ships them.

Sorry, absolutely untrue. I'll show you my credit card statement from months ago where I've been charged for merchandise I've never received.

I hope your surmise about changes coming to Strada are a little more accurate...

ianc

Sorry, absolutely untrue. I'll show you my credit card statement from months ago where I've been charged for merchandise I've never received.

I hope your surmise about changes coming to Strada are a little more accurate...

ianc
I have been charged as well for items that took way too long to come in. (Several months.) This is (or has been) the case.

I hope they keep their prices on some of their kits, as their pricing is pretty good.

Daniel

For those of you that say Kevin charged you, this goes against everything that I have experienced, and or been told. I have dealt with Kevin for 6 years, and I have never been charged for anything before it was shipped, or charged when something was ordered. You can't do that in this business (not good business practice). When people make an order, and you don't have it in stock, you don't charge until you get it and ship it (I'm preaching to the choir). Ianc I know changes are coming, that's all I can say right now.

For those of you that say Kevin charged you, this goes against everything that I have experienced, and or been told. I have dealt with Kevin for 6 years, and I have never been charged for anything before it was shipped, or charged when something was ordered. You can't do that in this business (not good business practice). When people make an order, and you don't have it in stock, you don't charge until you get it and ship it (I'm preaching to the choir). Ianc I know changes are coming, that's all I can say right now.

You are charged immediately if you use Paypal as the payment method.

You are charged immediately if you use Paypal as the payment method.

Yep, that's what I used earlier this week when I ordered my HRM GT40 detail kit.

I sent him an email today asking if it was in stock and when he thought it would ship.

I'll post on here when I get a response.

You are charged immediately if you use Paypal as the payment method.

Bingo.

I spoke with Kevin two days ago. He is working 60-70 hours a week, and has not had the time to manage Strada Sports correctly ( He knows that). I know for a fact that Kevin NEVER charges people for their items before he ships them. There always seems to be one person that claims that. I believe there was a retraction the last time that that was claimed.

There may be some changes coming to Strada Sports.

Oh dear I hope this isn't turning into another Thunder Valley (ducks and waits for the flak to fly).

And talking about Thunder Valley, the web site says they are resuming operations and hope to be shipping at the end of september.

I'm really looking forward to receiving the Mclaren M8 kit I ordered off them back in 2000 :rofl:

I'm really looking forward to receiving the Mclaren M8 kit I ordered off them back in 2000 :rofl:

Good luck :wink:

Good luck :wink:
Eh, on second thought... ;)

Okay guys, this thread is getting way off track. There's no problems discussing vendors and reviewing them, but bringing off-topic conversations in that we all know stirred the pot is unnecessary.

Keep it to Strada only, stating the facts, and no unnecessary bashing.

I never used Paypal for purchases at Strada Sports. I never saw a need to. I always called, or e-mailed with what I wanted, Kevin would get it and let me know when it was in so that I could pay for it. There are different ways to handle stuff. I would not be a big fan of Paypal with Strada Sports because the way the website is set up, you do not know what is, or is not in stock.

I never used Paypal for purchases at Strada Sports. I never saw a need to. I always called, or e-mailed with what I wanted, Kevin would get it and let me know when it was in so that I could pay for it. There are different ways to handle stuff. I would not be a big fan of Paypal with Strada Sports because the way the website is set up, you do not know what is, or is not in stock.
Many times I did email Kevin about getting something and if it was in stock. He told me to, "...Place an order though the site and do it that way." So I did.

That's the way it went for a long time. Then, the response times got longer and the replied got more and more vague as to the status of an item starting a year or two ago. Every single time I ordered something, I asked in the comments box to please let me know if something is not in stock. I would only hear something back after inquiring several times (after waiting an appropriate amount of time). And those emails often required follow up and more time. It was a very lengthy process.

Also, I liked the modicum of protection of my info that PP offers.

This is just my experience. As I said, I've been buying regularly from Kevin since ~2005, when I learned of his store.

I would not be a big fan of Paypal with Strada Sports because the way the website is set up, you do not know what is, or is not in stock.

That really needs to change for Strada to be viewed as a reliable first-line business...

ianc

That really needs to change for Strada to be viewed as a reliable first-line business...

ianc

I agree....

I guess I should state that I also used paypal for my orders, just so its known that's why I was charged for my item, whether it makes any difference or not.

I spoke with Kevin two days ago. He is working 60-70 hours a week, and has not had the time to manage Strada Sports correctly ( He knows that). I know for a fact that Kevin NEVER charges people for their items before he ships them. There always seems to be one person that claims that. I believe there was a retraction the last time that that was claimed.

There may be some changes coming to Strada Sports.

The next time you speak with him, try and convince him to take 10 minutes out of his day and update his customers. All we are asking for is a little communication, and I'm sure this thread is scaring away potential customers. If I had seen this thread prior, I know I would have ordered from a different vendor simply because of the comments on here about lack of responses from him.

Just my two cents.

Remember that with paypal, you have 45 days to dispute any charges. I know that I've used it on occasion, and putting a charge in dispute doesn't automatically cancel your order, but let's your credit card company know there may be a problem. In the 3 or 4 times I've had to dispute a charge, I didn't end up reversing it. I got my stuff.

Remember that with paypal, you have 45 days to dispute any charges. I know that I've used it on occasion, and putting a charge in dispute doesn't automatically cancel your order, but let's your credit card company know there may be a problem. In the 3 or 4 times I've had to dispute a charge, I didn't end up reversing it. I got my stuff.

I know, I just want my parts, and haven't even received a response as to whether he even has them in stock.

I'll give him until mid-week to respond, and if I don't hear from him that I'll take action.

I placed my last order with him on the 5 Oct 2011. He made a charge against my Visa on 6 August 2012. i have yet to receive any response to my emails let alone receive the order.

Just to update everyone that this order has just arrived on my doorstep.

While I'm happy to have finally received the order I'm disappointed in the lack of communication which has left me hanging since the beginning of October 2011

i've heard from other people (not just this thread) how slow service has gotten, some of upward 2 months for items not that exotic

instead of me starting a seperate thread, could you guys please say what is a good second option rather than stradasport?

i prefer to buy domestic (north america) than overseas, but open to suggestions

thanks

i've heard from other people (not just this thread) how slow service has gotten, some of upward 2 months for items not that exotic

instead of me starting a seperate thread, could you guys please say what is a good second option rather than stradasport?

i prefer to buy domestic (north america) than overseas, but open to suggestions

thanks

When I use to buy stuff it was either stradasport or mediamixhobby. Pricing and shipping time(a couple years ago) were very similar.

When I use to buy stuff it was either stradasport or mediamixhobby. Pricing and shipping time(a couple years ago) were very similar.

thanks
i believe mediamixhobby is singapore based? any issues recieving stuff into NA from them?
i wonder if the added shipping cost + customs makes thier pricing much different from a local store?

@JeremyJon:

I always had good luck with www.plastic-models.com (http://www.plastic-models.com)

They have Hasegawa, Tamiya, Fujimi and are US based. Their prices are much better than my local hobby shop and they generally have free shipping on orders over $25. And they also have an in-stock indicator that actually means something :) !

thanks
i believe mediamixhobby is singapore based? any issues recieving stuff into NA from them?
i wonder if the added shipping cost + customs makes thier pricing much different from a local store?

I haven't ordered anything lately but never had any problems. Only order pe sets & decals, shipping is usually around 10% of total.

I received a response from Kevin that the HRM engine kits are out of stock and he is waiting for more from them.

I responded by thanking him for the response and asked if he had an idea as to when he expected to receive the kits from HRM.

I'll keep everyone posted, but at least he is communicating with me.:bigthumb:

Well, he responded within a couple of hours and said the engine kits are a couple of weeks out.

Fortunately for me, I am having ZERO communication issues with him.

thanks
i believe mediamixhobby is singapore based? any issues recieving stuff into NA from them?
i wonder if the added shipping cost + customs makes thier pricing much different from a local store?

JeremyJon - not sure what You're looking for ?? Have you tried Mac's Modeling?? I use Mac and have had excellent experiences with him and his service - he almost always answers the phone if you call him at a regular hour - emails could take a few days to answer because I'm sure he gets a few hundred a day and reading and answering them takes a little longer than 10 minutes like someone earlier said Kevin at Strada should do. Anyhow Try Mac - Oh! be aware he is going away very soon or maybe already because he has a personal trip out of the country - hope this helps you - John http://www.macsmodeling.com/index.htm

I also use Kevin when appropriate and I just ordered a KA Models 1/12 GT40 deluxe super detail kit paid with paypal and then a week or so later a $110 or so order for Top Studio items -paid with Visa - I emailed before I placed the orders and Kevin told me his distributors had the items and he was placing orders with them within the next couple of weeks - Kevin has always done right by me and he has found and obtained some very rare and limited things that I requested. While I agree that maybe communication can be better always it is not something that worries me - both PayPal and VISA have a financial recovery and recourse system so the buyer is protected. Strada is not as good service wise as it was years ago when I used them exclusively but Kevin is a stand up vendor and has never cheated me - One thing to remember guys is that with todays economy most retailers are out of stock because product moves slowly with such an economy - sometimes I've had to wait for Kevin "Strada" to fill an order but I expect that when I order a very rare - limited release - or popular item. Be patient guys and remember if you don't patronize the USA retailers - THERE WON'T BE ANY - John

Talked to Mac this evening - He is leaving on the 12 SEP 12 and won't be back until 18-20 SEP 12 so if you see something you need get it in quick or be prepared to wait until he gets back in a week or so after the 12th - John

Be patient guys and remember if you don't patronize the USA retailers - THERE WON'T BE ANY - John

AMEN brother! :ylsuper:

I understand people are busy. No arguments there.
But, some communication would be appreciated. This does not have to be every day. This was my gripe. Over the course of almost a year, I had to continuously ask for updates on an order of 3 resin kits and got vague answers back. If a seller doesn't know, then he doesn't know, but how hard is it to clearly state the status of an order?

No gripe financially. Nothing unethical done there.

Big Kahuna - I'm not sure what resin items you were after, but in my experience with limited release resin stuff the buyer is always at a disadvantage - the suppliers are very spotty with filling orders and many times the vendor doesn't know what is really going on - the supplier will claim it's ready for shipping when they haven't even produced the parts yet. Most resin manufacturers don't make the kits until they are ordered because they don't want to get stuck with product. Also same thing goes for a resin kit that sells better than expected - the supplier can't keep up with demand. - I've given up on resin because of crap like that - John

John (18d),
I was chasing the 2003 Bentley LM winner, and a couple of Audi LM (R8) winners too.
The website did not reflect what was going on with LMM when I ordered them. I got bugger all communication back from SS and was somewhat frustrated. If it was beyond his control, fair enough, but it would have been nice to know without me chasing it repeatedly over the course of almost a year.

I'm over it. I didn't get charged(nothing unethical there). Just poor communication.

and no rare kits now......

Big Kahuna - I understand - I have 2 LMM cars the Mazda MX-01 and the Jaguar XJR14 - both full detail versions and I had to wait forever for those. LMM is one of the worst for Modeling - the French are in no hurry. I didn't even bother to try to obtain a Bentley Speed8 - I new that it was such a popular design even in curbside form that it would be a case of frustration - Like I said "I gave up on resin" because of this. For what you pay for a kit you'd think the people running the business would be more professional. There's not a large profit margin on something like that for Kevin. There's a guy on eBay selling resin all the time - seller is called "speedman" and I've bought a few from him, but it is pricey - there are no discounts with him. If you want the link next time I'm on eBay I'll get it and PM it to you?? - John

Communication is always bad in this hobby - if you buy from the Asian market the commo is even worse and most of the time they don't do English well - also phone calls are out of question - Kevin has gotten worse with his communication over time - I acknowledged that previously, but in my experience communication is a two way street. If the person making contact gets obnoxious would you want to answer?? Also with most people the longer they don't hear a reply the more frustrated they get and anger comes into play - that's all normal personallity traits - we all do that we as humans get persistent. When I order from Kevin now I try to order with a 3-6 month window - until then I don't bother him once I place the order. For items I want quickly - I use Mac at Mac's Modeling - see link in previous postings - John

John:

Be careful, the wheels and tires are terrible in the MXR-01 kit, and the Jaguar kit. The front suspension does not fit correctly either.

Ok now back to the topic. Backing up what John said about the LMM kits. It took me three months of direct, and constant e-mails to LMM to get them to send me new wheels and tires for my MXR-01 kit. I only received two e-mails in response, the whole time. I don't think you can blame Kevin for his lack of communication on an LMM kit. Would you have believed him if he would have told you that he was not getting any response from LMM?

John:

Be careful, the wheels and tires are terrible in the MXR-01 kit, and the Jaguar kit. The front suspension does not fit correctly either.

Ok now back to the topic. Backing up what John said about the LMM kits. It took me three months of direct, and constant e-mails to LMM to get them to send me new wheels and tires for my MXR-01 kit. I only received two e-mails in response, the whole time. I don't think you can blame Kevin for his lack of communication on an LMM kit. Would you have believed him if he would have told you that he was not getting any response from LMM?

Russell - don't tell me that - I'm going to have to pull them out and look again - I bought them for the day my skills would be good enough to make a pair of nice scale replicas - I always liked the XJR14 even though it wasn't that successful with the Ford 3.5 V8 that was put in it - I preferred the sound of the V12s of the earlier cars XJR5-9 but the 14 was a swoopy car which from my knowledge a chassis was reconfigured into the Mazda. - John

forget about strada sports for ordering, in over 12 items ordered I only ever got 2 of them, and no reasoning for not receiving the balance other than I presume they didn't have in stock, and these were not more difficult items or kits just detailing items, at least only the delivered parts were charged to me, but that's not the point
since their site doesn't bother with any updating or indication of what "is" in stock, then there is no way to know
3 email and 2 weeks later, still no response from that business, so they will never have any from me, absolutely lousy business service, and complete non-sense to deal with, honestly not good to deal with at all

I said it here and I'll say it again... DON'T WAIST YOUR TIME WITH STRADA, GET IT FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!!!! You will get better results and faster shipment using anyone else than Strada!!!!!!

I DON'T WAIST MY TIME ANYMORE WITH KEVIN!!! and I'm very happy dealing with others!!! Never had a problem with any other stores in USA, even in Europe and Asia. I have even gott stuff from Australia and I get it sooner than Strada ever did for me!!!!

Delete the word "Strada Sports" from your vocabulary and you will live longer!!!!

I used stradasports way back in the day, at least 4-5 years ago and had no problems.
But lately i have had the same problems with response. I also ordered a bunch of times from mediamixhobby and from a company from australia with no problems. Shipping is a little high but thats expected. Scale production is also a reliable source.