Apocabitz Now

I'm all for supporting the local game store and all that good stuff, even though I don't game in those places. I'm lucky in two departments in that I, first, have a rather large base of friends to game with, and secondly, I have a spouse who let's me keep a 8x4 game table permanently set up downstairs. I still pop in at the local Hobbytown (I know, I know, it's a chain), or Nord's Games (regionally local) to buy stuff from time to time however.

Having said all of that, I also buy online just as much. If you look at percentage of dollars spent, online sales actually get most of my money. My post here, and I don't do this very often, is to laud the online 40k store, Apocabitz Now, with some praise.

I've got some ideas cooking for a 5150 solo campaign to report on regularly here, and I wanted to center it around two characters. Well, you don't have to look further than GW's line of Space Orks to find some very flavorful models. I don't play Orks, I have no intention to start, but there's always a model or two that just grabs you and makes you want to paint it. In my case, I like to espouse my loathing of painting in general, but I still found not one, but two models I fell in love with from that line. Boss Snikrot is one of the character models, the other being the leader model (Nob) from the Komando boxed set. This last fig is in a boxed set...for thirty bucks. I like the model, but not that much, in this case though, I wanted that very model! I wasn't about to pick up the whole box just to have four extra Orks lying around, plus it'd jump my '2009 totals' up too, haha!

That's where Apocabitz Now comes into play. They have a very easy-to-navigate site, broken down into categories by codex army and furthermore by troop type (elite, HQ, fast attack, etc.). They sell more than just bits, and it looks like the regular 40k stuff is always at 20% off. They also offer Forge World items, hobby supplies, and gaming supplies. Overall it's a pretty comprehensive place.

Well they had the Komando Nob I wanted, in pieces, well everything except the head. Also, I didn't think the Snotling-riding-the-backpack was rather silly, so I picked up a regular Komando pack instead...this one much cooler. The head however was a no-show, this makes sense because it's a very distinctive piece that I'm sure gets snatched up a lot; goggles on the forehead, stogie stuck in one corner of the toothy maw...it's nice. Well I emailed them to see what they could do. In less than a day I received a response saying that had just a handful of that particular head, and that they could accommodate me, even though the part wasn't even listed on their site. I took care of the transaction through PayPal, which is always quick, and more importantly, secure, and in less than two days time I received another email telling me my order had been shipped via USPS (shipping was $2.99, orders over $75 are free).

So far so good, but when I got my package in the mail the other day I was amazed at the care in which it was put together. It was just a padded envelope, but inside every individual piece was placed within its own single, miniaturized ziplock bag of heavy plastic. Not only that, but each part was labeled with a printout with its name, part number, and price. This packaging was the kicker, making for an overall good experience.

Their service was incredibly fast, from placing my order to receiving it. Communication was excellent too, informing me when the package shipped out and keeping me in the loop along the way. It was handled through PayPal, so easy and secure there. When the package arrived, it professionally packed with obvious care, they want your gaming stuff to get to you in one piece. Last, but not least, they quickly found me the part I needed that they didn't even list on their site, and got it out to me as well. All in all, kudos to them, they'll certainly get my business again, and if you're looking for 40k bits, or complete figs, they should get yours too.