Takara Transformers
- Thread starter Bravestarr
- Start date
I still hope we get some pack with Ratbat instead of having to buy Soundblaster for it. I'd hate to spend so much just for a cassette.. but I guess we'll see.
I think it'd be a sign of good will if they included him with Megatron or Shockwave later down the road in a slightly different deco. I mean, they've put that small Megatron pistol in with like 3-4 figures now, and that's a fairly important accessory. So maybe?
Nope, it's a counterfeit.
It's not about keeping Takara afloat. They'll carry along just fine if the MP line dies. It's about keeping the fakes from killing the market.
Who are you supporting by buying the counterfeits? Will they be developing more MP figures independently of Takara?
So then buy them at around $50...?
http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljlist?SeriesID=3116
dense people said:
Buying one shipped from Asia all by its lonesome is still cheaper than buying from BBTS/TFS/etc. Buy two and split the cost with a friend; shipping will barely increase. Or you can sell the 2nd at cost plus the full shipping amount and still undercut US-based pricing. Someone will thank you.
These things happen with collector's lines. More will come in stock once each one is released and preorders are filled. Then they're gone until a possible re-release. Expecting long term mass-market availability is unrealistic. Basing purchasing decisions on that expectation is rationalizing.procrastinators said:
Nice strawman argument.
These are great if an informed consumer has them in-hand, or if the seller is up-front about what they have... and as long as the tells still exist. There's no reason to keep the tells going forward. It's clear from the effort put into duplicating everything to near-perfection that these are meant to dilute the market to the benefit of those making the copies and the detriment of those producing original product. Now that the concept is proven, expect the counterfeiters to spend the few extra cents per package and eliminate the tells. Also expect supply of obvious fakes to dry up right around the time Takara does the re-release of Sideswipe.
tl;dr I want Takara to continue the MP line. This becomes less and less likely the more sales get lost to counterfeiters. This is more important to me than Joe Schmoe saving $20.
Wow, I typed a page response and the refresh ate it. I'll sum it up real quick:
I don't think that 6" plastic car with crappy paint is worth $100 to get in this country, so I'll buy the better product for 40% of the price and spend the other $60 on ammo. That way I can stroke my nostalgia and do something for the good of my family at the same time, with the same money. Then when this circus of an economy we have completely crumbles, I won't cry when my original SS has to be left behind and I can find food to feed my family.
Why make such a big deal out of a stupid toy counterfeit? They have been doing it since we have been alive. People that buy them were never going to buy the real thing, so Takara doesn't lose a dime. You think any of those hoodrats with Gucci bags was ever going to buy a real one?
Now going out and selling a KO as real? You deserve to lose a hand for that.
I don't think that 6" plastic car with crappy paint is worth $100 to get in this country, so I'll buy the better product for 40% of the price and spend the other $60 on ammo. That way I can stroke my nostalgia and do something for the good of my family at the same time, with the same money. Then when this circus of an economy we have completely crumbles, I won't cry when my original SS has to be left behind and I can find food to feed my family.
Why make such a big deal out of a stupid toy counterfeit? They have been doing it since we have been alive. People that buy them were never going to buy the real thing, so Takara doesn't lose a dime. You think any of those hoodrats with Gucci bags was ever going to buy a real one?
Now going out and selling a KO as real? You deserve to lose a hand for that.
I think that's his fear, or at least how I'm understanding it. It's very easy for somebody to take these fake ones and sell them off as real. Especially if they correct the only issue they have right now with the Lambardo or whatever.
Yeah... The whole hologram and stamped # thing really irks me. Hell, the packaging as a whole is uncalled for. I just want the damn robot.
Eh? Did you miss all of the reports about the piles of paint chips and misassembled heads? Snapped side windows? It's a crap shoot, just like finding an original without a paint flaw. Which was pretty much the only issue the original had.
I also took the liberty of adjusting your numbers to reflect the cost for a US collector who was following what was going on instead of picking an arbitrary year-after-the-fact secondary market price. Just think, had this conversation happened 6 months ago you would have been tossing around $160 or so.
The econopocalypse is a whole other can of worms. Not saying I disagree with you, but once you pull that (or family responsibilities) into a conversation about buying toys everything else becomes a moot point.
Before, even. Lots of questionable activities of varying degrees of seriousness have been going on for millennia. Does that somehow make it all okay?
*facepalm* Please see below, I'm going to try to explain it again.
You lost me with that non sequitur. Why would a hoodrat with a Gucci bag buy one to begin with? And what does that have to do with, well, anything?
What other reason would there be for slavishly recreating the packaging? To dupe the uninformed. And there is no real reason to keep those packaging tells there at all, especially once the TT re-release is out and it can blend into the background (and, not coincidentally, drop the discount). And if (I say "if," but I'm thinking "when" is pretty damned likely) that happens, it most certainly will cost Takara money:
- They planned for X demand, made Y products, but instead there is now Y + Z on the market, indistinguishable from one another.
- Assuming X was accurate, after demand is met there are now (Y + Z) - X = A product sitting idle.
- Takara does not meet sales projections. Depending on how much of A is theirs, this could be negligible, or financially catastrophic. We'll take the middle road and call it concerning.
How is any of that good for fans?
Meanwhile, whatever upstanding business entity responsible for diluting the market will merely count their yuan and move on to the next no-effort enterprise once there's nothing left to leech off of. Plenty of fish in the sea.
After all of that, I think it's fairly safe to say that you don't care about any of it. And that's fine. I do. I would much rather see Takara succeed and keep the line going in the direction it has been than see a (meticulously recreated) wrench gum up the whole works.
Thanks for getting it.
I'm betting there's a loophole somewhere in local law that reads something like, "Nope, spelt different. Not a copy. GFY."
BUT NONE ARE IN STOCK!!!!!!
Already covered, debunking the price myth.
FWIW, all of the Datsuns were up for preorder a couple of weeks ago, though I put my orders in months ago. I'm expecting to ship 2x Prowl and 2x Bluestreak next month sometime. And I'm expecting to pay about $20 in shipping. So about $210 total depending on exchange rate. TFS price? $320. Same price plus shipping for BBTS.
Theoretical waiting-for-Hasbro/TRU price? $200 + tax. Theoretical wait-for-the-KO price?
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$160. Or, you know, $200... since that's what the KOs were going for before they ramped up production and flooded the secondary market.
Not seeing what the lure is to playing the waiting game.
Hellion?
Nope. Was workin. There's security footage, even. Rock-solid alibi'd!
Yeah, the Faux-Tigertrack I bought yesterday has been removed from ebay. Although ebay says I will still likely receive the item. If not, I'll just ping ebay for a refund. Still, I've had that happen in the past and always got what I bought. Fingers crossed.
His rating was 99.5% with over 8000 items sold. Sucks he pulled of the the auctions because he was the only honest seller who included KO in the description.
Yeah. he wrote me this morning and let me know that there would be no issue with my order. Score!
Debating contacting him to grab one. Multiple other sellers for about the same price, but for some reason I trust him.
High-res pics:
http://www.seibertron.com/transform...ipe-and-mp13b-soundblaster-with-ratbat/28340/
I really would like to have Ratbat, but I think the gem of this... "wave" is the G2 Sideswipe. I may buy him and deco him up as a Decepticon using Reprolabels. Not sure why I like him so much, but that mold looks awesome in black with those red windows.
http://www.seibertron.com/transform...ipe-and-mp13b-soundblaster-with-ratbat/28340/
I really would like to have Ratbat, but I think the gem of this... "wave" is the G2 Sideswipe. I may buy him and deco him up as a Decepticon using Reprolabels. Not sure why I like him so much, but that mold looks awesome in black with those red windows.
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His feedback is noticeably better than the other sellers, and he did state that it was a ko, so he wasn't trying to scam anyone; so yeah, I guess I do too. I'll bet that he'd be happy to hook you up.
WTF is up with his face? His expression looks like a mean kid is trying to melt him with a magnifying glass...
New Uranos combined set:
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TFC10039&mode=retail
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TFC10039&mode=retail
That needs to either come down more or include the wings of Uranos set or both...both would be better...
Robot kingdom has the set for $450...but shipping would be higher, but probably still cheaper in the end...
http://www.robotkingdom.com/services/eshop/main.php?action=details&CatType=&II=TFCU&lang=us&CatID=
http://www.robotkingdom.com/service...on=details&CatType=&II=TFCU008&lang=us&CatID=
Robot kingdom has the set for $450...but shipping would be higher, but probably still cheaper in the end...
http://www.robotkingdom.com/services/eshop/main.php?action=details&CatType=&II=TFCU&lang=us&CatID=
http://www.robotkingdom.com/service...on=details&CatType=&II=TFCU008&lang=us&CatID=
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He's pretty awesome, but I am not into the Aerialbots enough and I don't have enough space for them, so I guess I'll have to do without...
$522.55 is the total for the set from RK to US...
Wonder what shipping is from BBTS?
EDIT: it's almost $12...so BBTS is cheaper by $10
Wonder what shipping is from BBTS?
EDIT: it's almost $12...so BBTS is cheaper by $10
Why the yellow eyes to begin with?
If you take apart the head, it's a chrome piece and then a clear yellow piece over it. I found that the clear piece was not needed at all and just painted the chrome with Tamiya clear red for a nice reflective shine. I'm confused why they made the extra colored part to begin with.
If you take apart the head, it's a chrome piece and then a clear yellow piece over it. I found that the clear piece was not needed at all and just painted the chrome with Tamiya clear red for a nice reflective shine. I'm confused why they made the extra colored part to begin with.