I became very careful about my money, especially with the unnecessary spending. Since I come from a middle income family, I don't ask much from my parents. All the money I put into the hobby are purely from efforts of my own. Yes, my parents do not know about the hobby. I live in a hostel far away from my home and I'm on my own. Well, they have to give me a monthly allowance for my food and rental of course. The best thing is, they don't know about how successful I've ran this business since last year. I plan to surprise them one day of course. I also work as a motivational coach from time to time. From there, all my money would go to GW. :P
What is this business all about? I stock and sell the miniatures and hobby products from GW, Privateer Press, Avatars of War, Warlords, Gale Force 9 and even The Army Painter. I'm looking to be involved with those companies directly and am also looking to have ties and connections with even more.
Why am I doing this?
It all started when I was just a beginner at the hobby. As we all know, the cost of this hobby is phenomenal. So I looked for alternatives to attain my hobby needs. This includes ordering online. My friends started to hop into my orders and we'll make a bulk purchase. The reason I became the one who made the purchase is simply because I live in a hostel and all the parcels that arrive would always be received even if I'm not in and it will always be secure until I get it. My friends of course, paid me a little fee for all my troubles of making the orders and sorting them out. Whilst ordering in a bulk, I would receive a little discount, which is a bonus. Those little earning I made contributed a lot to my hobby funds.
I've also seen lots of retailers out there who take advantage of the gamers. Simply because they look "rich" and they can "afford" this hobby. Some times the orders are just messed up and takes months and months to arrive. In Malaysia, we don't have a GW outlet, so we have to rely on the gaming stores here.
At that point of time, I vowed to help the fellow gamers to get hold of what they need and want at the lowest possible price in Malaysia in the minimum waiting time while maintaining a little profit for the hobby. I also do my best to help new gamers and guide them to do the right purchase. I just don't want to see anyone's money being wasted. This is the reason why I do my best to write reviews on certain products I find useful for my readers.
With that said, I would like to thank Webster for starting me off with the business back in October 2008. Ivan who made me realize of the potential in the business and took this next step. Nahri who gave me lots of advice because he wants to see me open a proper physical shop for everyone. Radin who educated me a lot on the GW side of things and taught me to play WHFB. All the gamers who pitched in to support me on making this business bigger (I'm talking to you guys in CM, I promise I'll give back something in a different form to our community). My parents who are always worried about my health (I get sick easily). My sister who quietly supports me. My friends who I talk crap and laugh with a lot. And of course to Kim for listening to my ramblings about my ups and downs and for being there for me through thick and thin for the past few years.
Let's make this a good one!
Alvin
