My box from Berliner Zinnfiguren arrived this morning. All in good order … good value, reliable and delivered within a week.
I bought a new 'blank' chariot, some used, painted, Immortals and some vintage Prussians for my display cabinet. So, new, used and antique.
I know BZ's process seems a little clunky and many are still wary of 'overseas' purchases – so here's how it has worked for me (and has left me a satisfied customer)
PRICE/AVAILABILITY
Not all flats manufacturers run 'shopping cart' style websites .. BZ do, and plenty of it is in English. Their stuff is often pricey but the place to look is in the Flea Market where bargains can be had. They regularly discount the prices, and I think anything under 1.5 Euro is a good price (especially if the figures are rare and/or painted) – my consignment ended up at less than that average including postage. Keep looking and return periodically.
PROCESS
… is clunky compared to the wargame figure market: you buy into the cart and when you check out they send you an acknowledgement and an invoice which you can pay via a paypal link (that's the option I take) … it works fine. The first time I did it my service put the invoice email in the spam folder (which added a delay – so first timers need to watch out for this) ..
QUALITY
'Standard painted' is actually quite good
I'll tart them up a bit but I'm quite happy with this as a basic standard.
DELIVERY
Came by Royal Mail signed-for delivery this morning … as noted, less than a week (I started putting things in the online cart last Tuesday evening) ..
SATISFACTION?
Yes, I'm happy and I hope this mini-guide will help any fellow enthusiasts who find the whole 'buying flats' thing a bit daunting.
As far as I am concerned you can buy with confidence from Berliner Zinnfiguren though, as above, I'd say look for bargains …
Phil
