are tamiya kits sealed....

[JOCKTHEGLIDE]

Lets lets it from the employees of tamiya here are the tamiya kits sealed from tamiya or are they sealed from the distributors? I know over at tamiyaclub everyone has said the kids from tamiya themselves are not sealed and that the distributor such as towerhobbies.com, ultimatehobbies.com, etc..seal their kits so that employees do not mess with the parts inside (rumor).

[McFig]

What I've heard, but I don't work for Tamiya, is that Tamiya Japan does not seal their kits and where ever Tamiya America has there kits put together does not seal them either. But Tamiya America seals them when they get here and then sells them sealed to the stores like Ultimate, Tower, etc.

[Mouton]

Perhaps this is used by Tamiya USA in order to spot grey market products (products that retailers have imported themselves rather than ordering from the official channel)? In most markets grey market products is frowned upon and in some the distributors stop dealing with such retailers altogether, which seriosly can impact the sales.

Claims that some products are sealed to protect them from being tampered with by the personnel seem like more like hot air than an probable explanation.

Products bought in Japan, Germany and Sweden are not sealed - that I do know from personal experience.

[janderson]

Tamiya Inc. does not seal kits. In Japan stores want consumers to be able to look inside and see all of the engineering.

It is up to each countries agents to seal there own kits. We here at Tamiya America, Inc seal all boxes except for very large ones (TNX. TANKS etc..) This is done per request of store owners so they do not have to worry about theft of what is inside the boxes, so you as the consumer are assured it is brand new and complete.

Some stores and distributors that yo mentioned may have sealers, but our boxes arrived to them sealed.

[JOCKTHEGLIDE]

Tamiya Inc. does not seal kits. In Japan stores want consumers to be able to look inside and see all of the engineering.

It is up to each countries agents to seal there own kits. We here at Tamiya America, Inc seal all boxes except for very large ones (TNX. TANKS etc..) This is done per request of store owners so they do not have to worry about theft of what is inside the boxes, so you as the consumer are assured it is brand new and complete.

Some stores and distributors that yo mentioned may have sealers, but our boxes arrived to them sealed.

Janderson,
thanks for the reply there someone tried to argue with me that all kits of his tamiya high lifts were sealed direct from tamiya themselves. I can recall a posting over at tamiyaclub (I believe you replied even there) that the kits themselves are not sealed and are only sealed at distributors. I know I ordered kits from japan and none are sealed, but when I order from towerhobbies.com they are sealed.