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  1. Reopening! 21st April.

    Posted on

    Our issues with Paypal are ongoing, however due to the 3D sales payments we are in a position to reopen now.

    However, there are changes.

    The front page seems to be broken and will have to be remade (I cant edit at present).

    Elhiem is now run as a part time venture. This means I only work some evenings and weekends.

    Costs have risen so high that prices have had to go up again (sorry, but, in order to keep Elhiem going it has to happen).

    I can no longer offer subsidised postage, so post in now going to reflect the real cost to Elhiem. 

    Wait times will have to increase as the only time I will get to sort orders is the weekend. This means waiting times of a couple of months may be necessary.

    No more SALEs. Another big one. The truth is although sales increased during a sale, any profits were negligble. All that happens was I increased my work load alot. I may work on cheaper bulk packs of loose figures that are easy to make or even a 'munition' style figure that is produced in bulk and then specialist figs at normal price.

    I am aware I will probably loose customers due to this move but, at this point thats not even a concern. At the moment, all that I want is to continue Elhiem and still make the models available. I just need it to self finance itself and if possible turn a profit.

    Thanks for all the support out there, you guys have been very kind :)

    Thanks

    Matt

     

  2. Elhiem Figures -Changes that need to happen.

    Posted on

    The following is not connected to the Temporary Closure. It was planned before that happened.
     
    The Future of Elhiem.com
    Due to rising costs in production and shipping (high prices and lots and lots of time filling out forms). Changes in Paypal practices (removing funds while disputes are dragging on). I have had to make the sad conclusion Elhiem can no longer operate as my primary income as it has for years.
     
    I ran a couple ofd sales since December and while they were hugely successful, the runing costs compared to sale price ended up only being marginaly benificial. If you count the hours of extra work getting orders picked and the time spent in post offices, it really wasnt sustainable :(
     
    Its alot of work to run Elhiem and the profits are no longer able to sustain the effort.
     
    I have accepted a full time job elsewhere and Elhiem will return to a part time hobby status for the foreseeable future.
     
    Elhiem will continue to run and have ranges added, however the slow turn around of orders will probably get worse until I can balance the work.
     
    One possible idea is to raise prices to their current day realistic level and true post costs, another is to only open for sales at weekends. Another is to only sell 3d models for a while. Maybe, maybe not. I'll try and keep prices down and will review the work / profit for the next few months.
     
    I just thought you guys should know what's going on.
     
    I would like to thank everyone for their support and purchases and the last 2 months sales (and talking to other figure company's I'm not alone,) I know everyone is feeling the pinch as inflation is crippling us all.
    Hopefully, things improve soon.
     
    New stuff is still worked on and will be released, Im about to release quite a few figures hopefully tomorrow,
    Matt

  3. Temporary Closure 6/4/24

    Posted on

    Bad News.
    As of 6th April 2024 we are closing Elhiem shop TEMPORARILY. It will reopen when the below is resolved. Unfortunately we are in the hands of the iternation shipping and customs.
    We have a Paypal dispute going on for a big order due to our slow service (very big order) it is posted and enroute.
    Paypal have effectively removed the money in dispute from our account effectively removing all of our working capital and put us in to huge debt.
    This is not the customers fault, its a lot of money and it has taken a long time to pick it.
    Elhiem is not in financial trouble, it is just in a  very unpleasant situation where we have done the work and are waiting on payment.
    The reality is though, we can no longer operate until the money is released. We used up the last of our metal making the order and cannot buy more. We cannot refund any orders as we are called as in debt. Even if we had our usual level of orders it would take weeks to clear the paypal debt. Which is why we cannot also just move money to clear the debt until it is cleared (yes it is that big of a debt). We cannot even post out any existing orders as we are over drawn.
    However, we will get any outstanding orders completed :) I have trays of castings that I will melt down to complete these and pay out of my own pocket to cover postage.
    Hopefully this will be resolved  quickly as we have new releases in the molds!