Buying your kite
If you are lucky enough to live near a good kite store, then you have no problem. They should have a good selection for you to choose from and be willing to order in what they don’t have. But if, like me, you live thousands of miles away from such a paradise, then the World Wide Web is your saviour. Here are some of the sites I recommend from experience, but you can find many others:
IN AMERICA:
www.intothewind.com is a very good website, with a great selection of quality kites, many of them exclusive to the company. Their service is good and delivery charges always reasonable, based on the value of your order rather than weight or size. There is a wonderful retail store, too, if you are near Boulder, Colorado, full of toys and novelties as well as kites. They have videos (made by me!) of all of their own kites on their YouTube channel and linked to the website.
www.pictureprettykites.com has possibly the largest selection of kites anywhere, from hundreds of items suitable for children up to the big show kites, and lots of line laundry too. Helen, the owner, gives very helpful and personal service from her Omaha, Nebraska base. Prices are very reasonable, and it’s always a great place to deal with. Lots of videos (made by me) on the website and YouTube channel.
www.gombergkites.com is owned by David and Susan Gomberg, who are renowned for flying huge kites at festivals around the world. The sister site www.gkites.com has their more basic range. Most of their products are designed by, and made for, them. A good source for tails and accessories as well as kites. They are also the American agents for the famous Peter Lynn show kites.
Other good dealers I know of are www.cobrakite.com and www.kitesandfunthings.com plus many I have no space to include. All of those are in the United States, but post worldwide.
IN CANADA the place to go for the best range of kites and top advice is www.kiteguys.ca Bud Taylor is the man to contact there, and he will send kites to just about anywhere, and help you make your choice if you’re unsure what’s best for your requirements.
If you are in the U.K. then you can try www.kites4u.co.uk and Kiteworld.co.uk I don’t usually deal with them as postage is too expensive from England to New Zealand.
Anywhere in Europe, and even outside, you can find a great range of products from the nice people at http://www.metropolis-
In Singapore: www.passionkites.com have a huge range of kites and send all over the world.
Here in New Zealand, for those really big show kites, at prices to match, we have the famous Peter Lynn factory www.peterlynnkites.com who will happily quote you a price delivered to your home anywhere in the world. The kites are fantastic in design and built to an extremely high quality (but not cheap, of course.) Many of the products are not really kites but line laundry, and require a big Pilot or other lifter kite to keep them in the air, so you’ll need to buy that also.
BUYING DIRECT FROM CHINA: Most of the kites you can buy are made in China, whether they be from companies based in America or Germany. They are, however, made to the standards of those companies, so you know what you are getting. It’s now becoming much easier to buy kites direct from China if you know what you are doing. Be aware that many kites sold in this way are copies of other people’s work (not good!), and in a lot of cases are inferior in materials and workmanship. However, if you are careful, there are some very good kites to be had that cannot be found elsewhere. Stunning soft (inflatable) kites like the Trilobite are examples of the latter (see my review, page 3.)
Ordinary airmail from China to most places can be very slow, often leading buyers to think they will never receive their orders. If you pay extra for EMS (the international Express Mail Service) then your items will arrive much more promptly and reliably. With smaller or lighter items, the cost is not much different, so it’s always good to check if EMS is available. A new postal system called e-
One site I have often dealt with in China is www.emmakites.com , where I’ve always found honest dealing and good value (see kite photo top right and second left.) I can thoroughly recommend www.kaixuankite.cn/ , a factory which makes some of Peter Lynn’s kites and is very reliable. The salesperson there I would suggest contacting is Monica Lou, [email protected] .
If you want to deal with Chinese companies other than (or including) the above, it’s easy to use the excellent http://www.aliexpress.com/ , which is a bit like a Chinese version of eBay, and the source of many of my purchases. It links to thousands of retail outlets, and among the millions of items on sale are many kites of all types. The AliExpress site is a very safe way of dealing, as it acts as a “middle man” between the buyer and seller and ensures that the goods are received before the money is handed to the seller, otherwise a refund will be made. Unfortunately, a lot of the English on the sellers’ websites is rather poor, but there are usually no problems getting what you want (check the ratings and deal only with the best ones.) Both the companies I mentioned above also sell through AliExpress, so look for their stores on the site, and it’s usually the easiest way to buy from them.
I used to think it was not good to buy from China, as it took away business from the American kite makers who have been responsible for giving us a great choice of well-
So you can always find a great choice of kites, wherever you are in the world and even if you never go near a kite store. Of course, the alternative is to make your own, and a lot of people do that, from simple designs to complex works of art. Me, I’m just a buyer!