Ray's Kits Decals - Caution!

[Joe Lange]

Just a note of caution let you all know that on May 2nd I placed an order for some decals from Ray's Kits Decals.  Yes, they were on his site so they weren't 'custom'.

His process time states about 3-5 weeks, (+ shipping time).

It has now been 5 MONTHS, (18 WEEKS), and no word of decals.  He responded to one of my emails about 7 weeks later when I ask for an ETA.  Gave me some 'half-baked' answer, which wasn't clear and promised me 'something extra'.    Never responded to any email since.  No idea if I will ever see the decals.  ($42 worth)

This is not a trustworthy individual to deal with.   'Brick and Mortar' shop or 'Web-Based', you COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR CUSTOMER!  Whether it's good news or not!  

Be Warned!

[iamsuperdan]

I think you'll find that Ray is very well respected, and makes an excellent product. And being a one person shop, sometimes delays happen. Now admitted, 5 months is quite a delay. I would be shocked if he didn't try and make it right with you.

 

Here's another thread about Ray's Kits Decals.

 

[Mr mopar]

Ray's Decals are top notch quality , I've waited longer to get them ,you must remember he has to send the art work to the uk for printing and that takes a lot of time and them shipped back to him for QC  and Ray will deliver on the extra Bonus decals ! 

[1972coronet]

I was looking forward to receiving the set of 1971 Demon decals I'd ordered back in January , but Ray cancelled the order. 

I'd figured the decals would take about six months to arrive to my address in the U.S. - I can wait, no sweat - and when I'd enquired about the progress (print run, shipping, etc.) , Ray pro-offered  a 2nd decal sheet of my choosing ; this was due to the delay. 
I don't and wouldn't expect some largesse simply because there's a delay, and I mentioned that ; mentioned that he needn't "make up" for the delay. 

That was in April - my order was placed in January.

When I noticed that others' orders were being fulfilled  - in July - I emailed Ray again, and again enquired whether this batch was part of a shipment to the U.S. 
Ray apologised, then he refunded my purchase. This was before I could reply that I didn't want a refund ; that I was just planning my build , and wanted an ETA, and most importantly, only wanted what I'd ordered . 

It was too late. 

Now that decal set is discontinued.

With all of that being said... I don't fault Ray, nor do I harbour any distrust of him nor his cottage business. 

Should that 1971 Demon set be offered again, I'll buy one or two.  

[Mike 1017]

I know nothing about the decal printing business, but I do know logistics and inventory control. If it were me, I would keep a number of the products in stock. Keep more of my best sellers in stock. 

Mike 

[peteski]

Unfortunately many one-man manufacturers (cottage industry) of hobby items are just average-Joe modelers. Just like you know nothing about decals printing, they know very little about logistics and inventory control.  Since they don't have any employees, they sometimes get sick or have family obligations, affecting their business.  Yes, they should give timely status updates to their waiting customers, but sometimes that becomes lower priority than other urgent matters. I know it's not an optimal situation, but that's often the case. 

[Hondamatic]

It's too bad, his stuff is really nice and I follow him on FB, but this operation has a lot of moving parts and long lead time, so it was hard for me to pull the trigger personally. I do know, in this day and age, follow up on emails and messages os very important. Shops can live or die by it. Hopefully they can streamline things and work everything out

[Khils]

9 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

Should that 1971 Demon set be offered again, I'll buy one or two.  

 

6 hours ago, Mike 1017 said:

If it were me, I would keep a number of the products in stock. Keep more of my best sellers in stock. 

I'm very supportive of my former forum member (Ray) & only trying to help if I can....have any of you tried this guy here in the states...served me well.

[Can-Con]

6 hours ago, Mike 1017 said:

I know nothing about the decal printing business, but I do know logistics and inventory control. If it were me, I would keep a number of the products in stock. Keep more of my best sellers in stock. 

Mike 

Well, yea. His wife used to take care of all that for him, until she passed away suddenly a couple years ago. I don't think he ever really fully got over that.

[Exotics_Builder]

27 minutes ago, Khils said:

 

I'm very supportive of my former forum member (Ray) & only trying to help if I can....have any of you tried this guy here in the states...served me well.

I've used him to order Ray's decals and he takes care of all the hassles.  Knowing the time lags, I try to order well in advance of when my need will be.  But I have enough unbuilt on the shelves to keep me occupied.

[1972coronet]

3 hours ago, Khils said:

[Have] any of you tried this guy [ Ray's Decals USA ]  here in the states [?] 

I've perused his page / offerings, but it's a no-go with the 1971 Demon decals. 

[av405]

3 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

I've perused his page / offerings, but it's a no-go with the 1971 Demon decals. 

I would still get in touch with him and make your request. I've dealt with him before (I forget his name) and as someone else said, he has a direct line to Ray and takes care of a lot of the behind-the-scenes hassles. You've got nothing to lose at this point by doing so. Anybody from Canada or the US, go through the North American branch. It's a lot easier.

[catpack68]

I have at least 6-8 sets of Rays decals and I have waited 3 to 5 months before,but I always receive my product.Delays happen especially with him being a one man show.Plus,I have lots of unbuilt projects so I’m never in a hurry to get them,but his decals are always worth the wait?

[Joe Lange]

As I stated in original post, "His web-page clearly shows '3-5 Weeks".  If it's not...Change It!   You're misleading your customers!  If you are having production issues,....CONTACT your customers and explain and don't ignore customers messages! 

We are talking decals here, not a resin kit that is casted after the order has been placed, or a custom made metal, wood, etc, piece.  This is one of his 'stock' sheets, (which I'm sure), has been saved on a computer.  As far being out of the U.S.,..I have ordered many items from Europe, (Germany, France, UK, NL), from reputable people and it's never taken 3+ months.  AND they COMMUNICATE! 

Both my wife and I have small web-based businesses, so we know what it is like keeping up with it.  And we also believe in keeping up with our orders and communicating with our customers.

I suppose I'm a bit old fashion and I still believe in common courtesy and responsibility, something that the 'New World' generations don't think is very important.  Making excuses is so much easier.  Unless of course, it's them who are being 'stung'.

Also, after months of having my emails being ignored, I again messaged 'Ray' asking him if I should ask the folks on the 'Model Car Magazine Forum' if this was his S.O.P. for doing his business.  He replied in LESS THAN 10 MINUTES!   He apologized, refunded my payment, and told me I would be seeing a Tracking Number from PostNL for the decals 'tomorrow'.   

That 'tomorrow' has been several days ago.   

      

 

[av405]

4 hours ago, Joe Lange said:

I suppose I'm a bit old fashion and I still believe in common courtesy and responsibility, something that the 'New World' generations don't think is very important.  Making excuses is so much easier.  Unless of course, it's them who are being 'stung'.   

I completely empathize with your situation and agree that Ray's communication needs to be better. But saying this is a "new world" issue isn't accurate as I know of many "old school" aftermarket casters, both past and present, that carried on similar business practices or worse. I wouldn't call it a generational thing, just an individual issue that certain businesses will always have. 

As some of us mentioned before, you can  also go through Ray's Decals North America as that person is much more respondent since he is only a distributor. It's not an ideal situation, just trying to give you other options. The distributor's email is sunbird93racer@yahoo.com. 

[Scott Eriksen]

Have you tried STS and see if he can do them ?

 

[Joe Lange]

1 hour ago, Scott Eriksen said:

Have you tried STS and see if he can do them ?

 

Hi Scott,  I've used STS before, but only for decals that are listed on the site.  Nothing 'custom'.  Which is why I tried 'Ray's Decals'.  He already had what I was looking for listed on his web-site.  Which,(I assumed), meant the design was already loaded in a computer and ready to print. Might check out STS in the future for custom work.

Thanks!  

[Joe Lange]

3 hours ago, av405 said:

I completely empathize with your situation and agree that Ray's communication needs to be better. But saying this is a "new world" issue isn't accurate as I know of many "old school" aftermarket casters, both past and present, that carried on similar business practices or worse. I wouldn't call it a generational thing, just an individual issue that certain businesses will always have. 

As some of us mentioned before, you can  also go through Ray's Decals North America as that person is much more respondent since he is only a distributor. It's not an ideal situation, just trying to give you other options. The distributor's email is sunbird93racer@yahoo.com. 

Hi Alberto, yes, I agree every generation has its share of individuals with poor ethics, manners, and business practices.  It just seems that in today's world of more and more on-line businesses and less 'Face to Face', (Brick & Morter) shops, poor business practices are becoming more tolerated and accepted.  Really sad.

Thanks for the suggestion about Ray's North America, and Sunbird93.     

[av405]

28 minutes ago, Joe Lange said:

Hi Alberto, yes, I agree every generation has its share of individuals with poor ethics, manners, and business practices.  It just seems that in today's world of more and more on-line businesses and less 'Face to Face', (Brick & Morter) shops, poor business practices are becoming more tolerated and accepted.  Really sad.

Thanks for the suggestion about Ray's North America, and Sunbird93.     

Joe, I will respectfully disagree that poor business practices are becoming more tolerated and accepted. Many online vendors are top notch and just by perusing this forum, you will see that those vendors are acknowledged for just that. I'm lucky to have an old-school hobby shop near me. I don't shop there much, but occasionally show my support. The thing about the owner is that he's a bit of a BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH. As a 33 year old, I appreciate a guy who can run a brick and mortar shop and like having a physical place to stop by for "emergency" purchases. But I definitely prefer the professionalism I get from certain online vendors I frequent. Anyhow, tangent over.

I hope your experience with Ray's Kits North America is as pleasant as I have found it to be. 

[Scott Eriksen]

12 hours ago, Joe Lange said:

Hi Scott,  I've used STS before, but only for decals that are listed on the site.  Nothing 'custom'.  Which is why I tried 'Ray's Decals'.  He already had what I was looking for listed on his web-site.  Which,(I assumed), meant the design was already loaded in a computer and ready to print. Might check out STS in the future for custom work.

Thanks!  

Understood Joe ,, STS did the decals for my Reid Whisnant Duster

Edited September 13, 2024 by Scott Eriksen

[Joe Lange]

Wow!  Nice job.  Thanks for the lead.  I'll check it out.

[Can-Con]

16 hours ago, Joe Lange said:

Hi Scott,  I've used STS before, but only for decals that are listed on the site.  Nothing 'custom'.  Which is why I tried 'Ray's Decals'.  He already had what I was looking for listed on his web-site.  Which,(I assumed), meant the design was already loaded in a computer and ready to print. Might check out STS in the future for custom work.

Thanks!  

 

3 hours ago, Scott Eriksen said:

Understood Joe ,, STS did the decals for my Reid Whisnant Duster

I've had STS make up decals for me too. Very happy with them.

He originally forgot 3 more colors that were supposed to be on this sheet but did them up and sent them along as soon as I e-mailed him.

Edited September 13, 2024 by Can-Con

[catpack68]

23 hours ago, Can-Con said:

 

I've had STS make up decals for me too. Very happy with them.

He originally forgot 3 more colors that were supposed to be on this sheet but did them up and sent them along as soon as I e-mailed him.

STS has made some drag decals for several projects I have planned.I’m very pleased with his work?

[echoxrayniner]

Well suppose I may chime in here. Kiiiinda was inevitable and very much deserved, though part of me is glad that it's a mere "caution" instead of "avoid" or something in that vein! The optimist in me's glad that it's less a hard hell-no but I gotta and will be treating it as what it is; a hell of a wake-up call if anything.

The long and short of it is that stuff is utterly ****ed as of late. Timetables went from hours to days, weeks to months and from a tidal wave of work rolling me flat into the floor boards I won't deny that just about every angle of my organization has either been screwy or flatout destroyed. My communications skills are admittedly horrid, especially as of late where the daily email quota has surpassed the 20 to 25 a day. With my day job being nine to five, dinner and taking a thirty minute power nap the decal work's been squeezed into a four hour window. Packing, shipping, customer contact, maintenance, creating the print files, all of it's been squished into either weekend work or those couple hours in the evening.

Thanks to Joe Morgan of the above mentioned Facebook page, the business grew massively in a short amount of time. Like, holy **** levels of massive. That guy is a treasure, a bear and dang near a father figure to me nowadays but for customers and model enthusiasts; he's all that folks have mentioned here and then some. He's offered and for as far as I can tell successfully taken a handle of talking to folks, handling well over three quarters of any client contact, setting meets and the whole kaboodle while I get to play with my pretties on the other side of the Atlantic. Though he can't solve everything for me, nor should he; like I mentioned I somehow, someway got to be a victim of my own success. February, March, April and May saw more orders hit me than I had... ever. Like, hundreds more. Hell by March it had already tripled my annual numbers. Good problems yeah but in hindsight I had no idea the cartload of work that'd join it, to this date it's always been a simple process of get the order, process the order on file, send file for printing and when the prints are made and returned to me I Q.A. 'em, pack 'em all individually and get to creating the packages one by one.

I've stumbled plenty before, when my girlfriend Vicky passed away in November 2022 it quite literally took half of the business out right there and then. Like @Can-Con accurately mentioned, I uh... Yeah, that hole is just impossible to fill. Doesn't help the gal had a ten year background in customer service and a degree in communications, leaving the hole ever bigger. She did the stock, lovingly, which I'm still blown away by given it was a thirty two year old woman accurately identifying the most obscure-ass decals for the website. She did the contact, she set up the system, the whole ordeal. Effectively, aside from me maintaining the webshop and the backend, I was a fry cook on the line and she did the front of house entirely. Being the introverted people pleaser dumb**** I am, I never quite found a happy medium between simply chatting and giving half my customers a full refund and still ship the stuff on my dime.

Then just after the largest influx of orders I've ever had, my dad got a cancer diagnosis in May to boot. And I'll very shamelessly admit that when he started to take a nose dive, I couldn't give a dang for the decals, my life's work, my actual job, you name it. He was dying and I had three weeks to make the most of being with him, so I did. Of course, there's something to be said about had I communicated a single thing, that would've been known buuuut catch-22. So that put another month long hole in an already pressing time where I desperately needed 37 hours in a day that only had 24.

Essentially, before I spend another three paragraphs on it: everything became a "tomorrow then" thing. Got thirty emails? Do ten today, twenty tomorrow. Don't have to repeat that cycle to see how that can go wrong, and it did and still does but at the end of the day I'm plowing through as much as I can handle. I don't wanna fault myself for finding every aspect of the business equally important, and to a degree everything suffers due to it but it means that the ball stills rolls albeit slowly. I've put precautions in place, like a hard cut-off on orders so I don't ever get as overwhelmed as I have gotten to this very day. When all the hundreds of 'em are finally out and underway, I hope to finally get back to actually being able to reply to people properly again instead of just a fraction, that sort of stuff. Does that mean I'm immune to the what-ifs and all the should've's? Hell no, I'm absolutely not looking for sympathy or empathy, y'all paid for a product and communication and most importantly said product are the things that matter most.

And while I'm yapping like a nutter here, I figured I'd also address two more things. It is a little disingenuous to assume the simplicity of any market, no matter the background one might have. Not trying to smackback here but it really, really isn't as simple as 'I got the files, so I print' in my experience. ALPS printers are few and far inbetween and cost prohibitive(not to mention, creatively, as they're... not especially awesome), so I rely on an outside source. Fortunately, this source has an ALPS and a full-color OKI and offer the most important thing of all: individual page-by-page designs. Normally, one would just get several thousand of one item printed, or a few across. This place lets me run nuts with everything, get all I want without having to pay more for wanting individual designs every single time. This is a very nice niche to have, as I'm too small for a commercial printer of my own without having to invest my whole life but too large to rely on companies to want to run individual pages for me.

Every single sheet is made to order, custom or not. Yeah this has the downside that nothing is in stock, and sometimes they are and I've tried to stock up on the most popular ones time and time again but they just... sell out faster than I can print them aside from the orders made. The upside is that not one single sheet remains the same, it allows me to keep adding, growing and fumbling with the designs to have all that one could desire and more. I've got a few examples that I'll list;

Five years ago versus today, slowly over time

Or this one;

 

It's a little benefit to an otherwise not great situation, especially with the wait times as of late. Kinda-little-bit fortunately, this is often not a very time limited hobby but its true, that still doesn't excuse not even half of how I've run this business for the last nine months to put it mildly. Hope that more or less clears up just a smidgeon of it all.

[1972coronet]

I can empathise and sympathise with your personal turmoil , @echoxrayniner. Thank you for addressing concerns and for explaining - expounding upon - the "twigs and berries" of offering cottage industry business. 

When you get your affairs organised , I would love to purchase a set of the 1971 Demon 340 decals (please add the Sizzler hood decals, hein ? The MPC kit's decals leave a lot to be desired - including the lack of a template for the centre portion of the aforementioned Sizzler decals ( the 1:1 was a full decal, IIRC...) in addition to the full complement of decals fitting of the '71 Demon).

Thanks !