Oh, yeah sorry. Mike and I did get a reply but it sounds like Ralph is winding down on making hulls because of UPS fees, etc. and from what Mike and I could tell, it sounds like he's not really aware of the level of interest in his hulls. Mike sent another email trying to convince him, but we'll see where it goes.
I don't know why Ralph doesn't promote his hulls on a regular basis or participate on this or the IRCWCC forum. He usually asks friends who are on the forums to post information for him, but I keep suggesting that he access the forums himself and regularly if he wants to sell more hulls. Ralph expresses disappointment about not getting orders but I'm sure he would if he was more active in advertising. He has some excellent hulls including USS Texas, HMS Valiant/QE, HMS Indefatigable and many others but has sold relatively few of each. High UPS and Fed Ex prices are a hindrance, so he's felt compelled to charge less than US hull makers. However, with Strike out of business he has less competition south of the border, and he makes hulls no one else sells. He told me 2 weeks ago that he's found a cheaper way to get hulls to the US. I think several people got together years ago and made a bulk order for hulls, which was cheaper to ship from Canada.
A bulk order would be a great idea, if BC or somebody wanted to knock on that door. I think it might be a matter of communicating the market available and doing so in a way that doesn't overestimate. I'd consider building a second Texas off of one of those hulls, I want at least one Wind, and I can't even imagine what other plugs he has knocking around in the shed
He’s mentioned he might have a way to get the hulls into the states and into the postal system and reduce his costs. I hope it works out. A bulk order might just convince him to pull the trigger. If I ordered 10 or so hulls and flipped them on here. It would: 1) Make him money up front. 2) Prove there is a market. 3) Light a fire in him to take a strong step forward? I wouldn’t really try to make money. Just get compensated for time/gas to run to post office. Notionally, $1000 of hulls, $200 in shipping to me, sell each hull for $130-140 plus shipping (all notional and depending on size of hull of course). Sounds like enough “profit” to buy a nice pork shoulder when it is all said and done or just “Friday night tall boy and chill with the kids” money for a few weeks.
Sent a follow up email after giving him some time to handle some things in life that are more important than model boats. I propositioned to buy an array of hulls from him when the timing is favorable for him. I will probably keep a few and resell the rest. Hopefully he understands my stated motives of: -getting his name/products out there and visible (most of his hulls I’ve never even seen a picture of) -make him some money in a way that reduces risk to him. I offered to buy at full/regular price. -consolidate shipping costs by using Fedex freight It’s 95% charity and 5% beer money on my part. I hope it opens a door for him. We will see how he responds in the near future.
Good luck. From a FB post I saw today he might have quit his job; if so he'll be in need of $$ from hull sales.
He replied and showed a passing interest in selling some molds but hasn’t really bit on the “distributor” idea. Hope things shape up for him.
Ralph dropped in this afternoon to show me 2 of his new Fiji/Swiftsure/Superb hulls - 3 subclasses of royal Navy light cruisers that varied in beam: 62', 63'. 64'. Nicely done hulls with transom sterns.
I've had that discussion with him several times but as of today he wants to concentrate on completing his first combat model in a decade, rather than make hulls to sell. He might be willing to make a batch after Mogami is finished. His preference is to sell his molds and let someone else do the hull producing.
No idea; Ralph's never given me an explanation. I've lost count of how many times in the last 20 years I've told him he should be active on the site and promoting his products. He wasn't active on the IRCWCC Yahoo site either.
Ralph dropped in yesterday to get some motors for his Mogami and check out the finished Hawkins Class cruiser plug. He's sold a few hulls this week and is getting low on stock but won't be making more hulls until the end of September. Too busy with work and wants to get the Mogami built before cold weather arrives.
