Let me think.... not 'everyone' buys abroad, there are certain things you just 'can not get reliably' in the UK, so you buy them where you can.
When people go on about this, you all 'assume' that we would go and buy these items in XYZ model shop, but it just isn't going to happen, like the music industry and pirating, they don't actually 'lose' money, they just are not having your money, as in reality, you would never buy it in the first place.
I use my Local Model Shop (which is in the next town along), and do try to support, but running Tamiya I have learnt to invest in spares than rely on the Distributor/shop to have stock. On my B4, I carry far less, as I know the car is supported and can get the parts within days.
So in the end, those Tamiya parts purchases were never destined for the UK at any real point in time (although I do search), so it isn't a purchase they lost, they just never had.
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