Tower Hobbies: A Good Site for Models and Other Hobby Supplies
Written: Oct 29 '09
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In an effort to save money and free up extra time to enjoy the holiday season, my husband and I started Christmas shopping very early this year. We have already finished buying gifts for many of the family and friends on our list, and both of us are midway through shopping for one another. I tried to be creative this year, as most of my technophile husband's gifts consist of video games and electronics. He had expressed an interest in building model ships so I decided to buy him a few presents that would get him started in this hobby. I purchased his first model from Tower Hobbies and would definitely use the site again in the future.
Website
TowerHobbies.com sells supplies for building model ships, trains, aircrafts, and more. The site offers models of varying difficulty and the accessories needed to put them together. The site also offers media for these hobbies and others such as coin collecting.
The site's navigation is average. The products are organized into logical categories and subcategories, allowing you to browse for relevant items. It took me quite some time to browse the model ship category because thumbnails for each item were too small to see clearly. I had to open each model in a new tab to get a better view of them. It would help if the site displayed fewer products per page with larger thumbnails. I had similar problems with the search feature. All of the search result thumbnails are too small except for a few "most likely" search results. These appear at the top of the page and have slightly larger thumbnails. The search results were accurate, but search terms that are too broad yield arbitrary "most likely" results. For example, a search for "model ships" listed all of the model ship kits on the site, but a few random models were included as "most likely" results. A search for a specific model produced the pages of three different models with that name.
The product pages include medium-sized pictures of each item. It would have been helpful to have an enlarge option, especially since the details can be important when choosing model kits. The layout is a bit difficult to read. The product descriptions are not located at the top of the listing, near the pictures. The tech notes, which are located further down on the page, serve as the product descriptions. These provide details about construction of models, the difficulty, required materials, and specifications such as size. Links to the manufacturer page for each product are included, in addition to a link to all items the site offers from that brand. Some product pages have a link to a page with links for the items required to complete the pictured project. This is not consistent, as one of the items I ordered required several tools and no link was provided. The price and stock status are clearly shown on the page.
I encountered no errors or broken links while shopping on Tower Hobbies.
Order Experience
I ended up ordering a model ship (Constructo HMS Bounty Kit) with some basic tools. The checkout process was easy-to-follow. The site accepts many payment options, including "bill me later" and PayPal. I received an email order confirmation immediately after placing the order. An email the next day confirmed that my PayPal payment was processed. The order totaled $133.44, which included $9.99 shipping. I spent a few weeks researching available models and pricing, and Tower Hobbies had the most reasonable prices for the products. I also felt the $9.99 shipping was reasonable for such a large item being shipped using UPS ground. I was charged no tax for my order, which was shipped to New York.
I received an emailed shipping notice within two business days of placing the order. The package came three days later (only five days after placing the order). The items were well packaged and exactly as described. Now I'm even more impatient for the holidays to arrive!
Even as someone who knew nothing about model ships, I felt the website provided sufficient information in the tech notes for me to make an informed purchasing decision. I was able to choose a model that my husband would love (aesthetically) that was appropriate for his skill/patience level. I was also able to determine what tools I needed to purchase for him to be able to get started. I will definitely be using Tower Hobbies for future purchases!
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? model ship, basic tools
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Epinions.com ID:
noangels
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 in Online Stores & Services |
 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Jamilynn
Location: Staten Island, NY USA
Reviews written: 219
Trusted by: 41 members
About Me:
So glad to almost be done with Christmas shopping!
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