(New!) Online Stores Poll

[BigTransformerTrev]

I did this poll about two years ago, so thought would do a new one since quite a few of the stores have changed their policies or have come to/dissapeared from prominence. Also we have a lot of new Ozformers members with fresh opinions :)

I've written a short blurb about my experiences with each of these stores below. Please feel free to add your own as some of us may have had great experiences with stores while others may have had terrible ones.


Amazon - www.amazon.com/
Pros
Big range of new figures. They service lots of stores so you can usually but not always find what you want.
Cons
Many of the stores they service do not ship to Australia which you do not find out until you go through the checkout.


Anime Export - http://www.anime-export.com/
Pros
Fairly easy to navigate. Ok prices.
Cons
Not a massive range of TF’s. All prices given in Yen so you have to convert.


BigBadToyStore - http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/default.aspx
Pros
Huge range of stock including official, 3rd party and old stuff. Pile of Loot option with no time or size limit can be a great saving for getting stuff shipped to Australia. Easy to navigate site. Edit: Trent reckons there is a 6 month limit now
Cons
Their estimates for products arriving can sometimes be WAY off (still waiting for a ‘The Tick’ figure that was supposed to come in last December :rolleyes:). Sometimes they lose a POL item you’ve had sitting there for a while (AM Unicron and Alternators Skids for me :(). Prices can range from very good to charging top dollar, especially for imported stuff from Japan.


Ebay - http://www.ebay.com.au/
Pros
You can find almost anything you are looking for. Sometimes you come across a great bargain (Animated Wreck-Gar - $10 :D).
Cons
Sometime you deal with unscrupulous sellers. Many sellers charging top dollar for their items and it’s a haven for scalpers. Items not arriving as described or turn out to be KO’s. Ebay often does not help out with disputes as long as they have gotten their cut.


Etsy - www.etsy.com/au
Pros
Not a lot of toys but lots of cool misc stuff like old TF storybooks tends to crop up. Sometimes people who want to avoid eBay sell old toys on there at great prices.
Cons
Not a great deal of toys. Dealing with private sellers who sometimes are not fully honest.


Hasbro Toyshop - http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/
Pros
A good range of all the latest figures, a good place to find exclusive and limited release TF’s.
Cons
They do not ship to Australia :(. No old toys.


Hobby Link Japan - http://www.hlj.com/
Pros
If you get in early pretty cheap Japanese products (MP Ultra Magnus much cheaper than at BBTS for example) and a half decent range. Private warehouse lets you store items for up to 60 days.
Cons
Not a giant range and no old stuff to speak of. All prices given in Yen so you have to convert. Items that have passed the 60 day warehouse limit are automatically shipped so you have to keep an eye on your stash.


Robot Kingdom - http://www.robotkingdom.com/
Pros
Good range of official and 3rd party items. Many items cheaper than BBTS or TFSource.
Cons
While the webpage design is a lot better than it was it’s still not great and can be off-putting.


TFSource - http://tfsource.com/
Pros
Good range of official figures and a massive range of 3rd party stock, easy to navigate site.
Cons
Can sometimes be a bit pricey


TRU Online - www.toysrus.com
Pros
Decent range of what their particular store stocks and cheap shipping.
Cons
(US site) Many items not available for international shipping (remember the MP SW debacle :eek:). Many items that ARE marked for international shipping still won’t let you get them delivered to an Aussie address in the checkout which can be severely frustrating :mad:.



Other
Any store that sells TF stuff online: Big W, Target, Jay Jays, 80's Tees etc


More stores suggested by people: :)

Chimungchung (Itztru)
TFIDownunder (Trent)
CapturedPrey (Sinnertwin)
TheChosenPrime (Sinnertwin)
Transformerland (Sinnertwin)
Amiami (Gok)
Ehobbybaseshop (Omega Metro)
Ages3andup (unexpectedpanda)
ToyDojo (unexpectedpanda)
1999 (Tober)
Mandarake (Tober)
Nippon-yasan (Tober)
Actionrobo (Llamatron)

[ITZTRU]

Gotta get my hand up for Chimungmung :cool:

[Trent]

It's a shame that you can only pick one. As I would advocate HLJ, BBTS and Chimungmung. There is also TFI Downunder which is new. Also, it depends on what you expect from them.

Also Trev, BBTS do put a limit on your PoL at 6 months ;)

[DELTAprime]

I selected HLJ. But I actually use 3 stores. HLJ is where I get Takara Tomy Transformers. BBTS is where I get Hasbro US Transformers and rate it equally to HLJ. And I get my Hasbro HK figures from RK, but would rate them lower than BBTS and HLJ.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Also Trev, BBTS do put a limit on your PoL at 6 months ;)

They did? Wow - mine must be ready to pop soon then :p


Sounds like I better put Chimungmung & TFIDownunder in next time I do this poll. I might go check them out later :)


Personally I put BBTS as I use them the most but I have started using HLJ for most of my Japanese items as they have very competitive prices ;):cool:

[5FDP]

Have always used RK and will continue to use RK until they give me a reason to go elsewhere.

[Zommael]

I'd say BBTS purely because they offer like of loot. If a Robot Kingdom did the same I'd vote them as it seems they have a wider range of stock and it's in stock a bit longer, but the lack of POL kills it for me.

[GoktimusPrime]

I use Amazon the most. Amazon USA for Hasbro stuff, and Amazon Japan for TakaraTOMY stuff, although I do still sometimes use Amiami and HLJ -- but Amazon is by far the one I use the most now for online stuff. One pro w/ Amazon JP is that their pre-order prices are very cheap (although you can find even cheaper prices on Amiami and Anime Export), and they occasionally offer free bonus content for MPs. The con is that they only ship to Japanese postal addresses (although apparently they can ship books internationally, but I've never tried this myself :o).

Also, doesn't Anime Export require upfront payment? That would be a potential con for those who don't have the money to pay straight away. I prefer other online stores that allow you to pre-order figures and pay for them when they ship, as it gives me time to save up. :D Also, some of these sources (e.g. eBay, RK) only accept payment via PayPal, right? If so, another potential con for non PayPal users (like me ;)).

[Sinnertwin]

I voted BBTS.

Another would be thechosenprime.com

https://thechosenprime.3dcartstores.com/mobile/home.asp

Much like BBTS; US based, no payment upfront preorders & Roller's Stash (PoL) option is available also.

Capturedprey.com & transformerland are also some good alternatives :)

[Omega Metro]

I voted BBTS mainly because of its POL service. And they are pretty good when something goes wrong.

My first order with Tfsource arrived today. Took exactly one week from postage to delivery! Was not expecting this til next week sometime. They have a system similar to BBTS POL but they charge the shipping when you want it shipped as opposed to when you buy it. Overall very good. I can't help but think these guys are the same company as BBTS.;)

My veeeeeerrrryyyyy sllllloooooooowwww Robotkingdom order came today also. Never had a problem other than water damaged/slow delivery.

I find Ebay a good source but you have to do your research.

I did my very first HLJ order a week ago. Their website leaves a lot to be desired. Had to log in 1000 times to complete my order and wait a day for my order to show up in my account. Very stressful.;)

Transformerland is quite good. Navigating their website is a bit dodgy also though.

Chimungmung is awful. Every time is buy something, that Tony guy refunds me saying saying he doesn't have it in stock.

TFI Downunder was great. No problems.

Ehobbybaseshop is good. Similar to RK.

TRU US is great also. My MP Grimlock arrived in reasonable time at a good price. A lot of people have had issues but not me.:)

Amazon is brilliant and cheap but not range choice.

[VERT]

Gotta get my hand up for Chimungmung :cool:

Ditto :D

[griffin]

I thought the other HK store Ehobbybaseshop was popular enough with members here... particularly those of us who've been burnt by RK to never shop there again.

I'd still vote for Amazon as the source of most of my imports, but EHBS is one that's mentioned here a bit (it would be my third source behind Amazon and BBTS... followed closely by Ebay).

[DELTAprime]

I thought the other HK store Ehobbybaseshop was popular enough with members here... particularly those of us who've been burnt by RK to never shop there again.

Never had a problem with RK myself, I take it a lot of others have had problems?

[Alpha Supreme]

Just wondering which online store everyone is using atm for their Transformer purchasing? Who offers the best value in your opinion?

[UltraMarginal]

Depending on the product and it's standard retail origin I purchase from BBTS, Robot Kingdom, anime-export, amazon.com and eBay.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Just wondering which online store everyone is using atm for their Transformer purchasing? Who offers the best value in your opinion?

If you look half way down the very first page of Kups section there is a whole thread complete with links about it, prob about 10 spots below this one

[Firestorm]

I've purchased from BBTS, Ebay, HLJ, AmiAmi and Robot Kingdom. of them all Robot Kingdom is easily my preferred site.
Prices are roughly the same as BBTS, stuff seems to get in stock faster, shipping is cheaper, and stuff arrives here faster they may not have a pile of loot but since I don't have a credit card I can't use POL anyway.
Never had a problem with RK at all and will continue to do my online purchases from them (that said I currently have products ordered on both BBTS and RK
My times dealing with HLJ and Ebay were pretty abysmal, sometimes you get a good deal on things on Ebay, sometimes not so much :/ and my order from HLJ came damaged in box and they wouldn't let me return it :( AmiAmi is fine though :)

[Starscream77]

Big Bad for me, the POL is just too convenient and they have a massive variety.

Chimungmung would be a second for me

Never really use the others unless i am chasing something uncommon

[1orion2many]

I voted other. Ehobbybase is my preferred online dealer, Not because they are cheapest but because they have always given me excellent service.:)

[unexpectedpanda]

It'll change depending on stock, shipping costs, how many products I'm shipping at the one time and origin of product. Here's some trusted stores I've bought from:

Chimungmung (http://www.chimungmung.com)
eHobbybaseshop (http://www.ehobbybaseshop.com)
Robotkingdom (http://www.robotkingdom.com)
BBTS (http://www.bbts.com)
Ages3andup (http://www.agesthreeandup.com/)

Others that have good reputation are Toy Dojo (http://www.toydojo.com) and Captured Prey (http://www.captureprey.com), although they tend to not be so kind cost-wise to us Australians.

I've also dealt with TFSource, but am wary of them after they didn't fulfil their original MP-13 pre-order. While they pointed the finger at Takara for not delivering, by the time they finally fessed up that things weren't going to happen the figure had become high demand. I had to opt for an $80 mark up from another store to acquire.

Of course it was eventually re-issued and is now shelf warming, making it much cheaper than it originally was ><

Customer service was spotty. One email went unanswered. Compensation for the late cancellation was a time limited $20 discount on other MP figures... meaning you had to buy more from them to take advantage. While they claimed that they had bought stock from other stores to try and fill orders, they were unwilling to say exactly how much stock they had procured and whether you'd be likely to get one.

They rest of the products arrived with no issue, but I've heard enough customer service issues from other people in terms of returns to make me cautious about ordering from them again.

[Smint]

I only collect MP's for for new release masterpieces nippon yassan. Cheapest prices, many shipping options, fast and well packed.

For the odd MP's i go to ebay. Various Taiwanese, HK or Korean sellers i find are very reliable.

I find the popular stores like BBTS or RK far too expensive. Like the markups on rarer MP's from these stores are utterly ridiculous.

[Tober]

For Japanese product:

Hobby Search (http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/) are excellent, although they tend to charge a bit more than HLJ. Had a problem with a missing piece from a premium figure, sent them photos, they sourced the out of stock item and sent me the piece.

Mandrake (http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/en/) is a second hand series of stores located across Japan that often have older MISB and MIB items for sale. They can be good for finding rarer releases. Excellent customer service too.

Nippon-Yasan (https://www.nippon-yasan.com/) are kinda similar to Anime Export. They can be cheap but if you have a problem they will ignore you until they hear from PayPal.

[DELTAprime]

As far as getting the best price goes you just have to goto a shop in the country the product is from. No use complaining about American sites prices on JP and HK figures. They have to pay a middle man, shipping and import taxes. Best just to order Takara products from Japan, Hasbro HK products from HK and Hasbro US products from the US.

[BruiseLee]

Does OCTA count? :D

I know that this isn't quite the right response but my best TF purchases for the year have come from the fine folk on this site. As everyone is a collector, everything is in great nick and at good prices. :)

[llamatron]

I'll generally use BBTS to pre-order popular Hasbro releases that I think I'll have trouble finding elsewhere. And some 3rd party stuff that isn't too expensive. PoL feature is the key here.

Amazon I use for as much as possible too. Insanely good prices and shipping costs. I don't care about packaging or box condition of new stuff so it's ideal for me.

I would also like to suggest http://www.actionrobo.com/index/ for 3rd party and Asian releases. I've used them once and they were good.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys - have updated the list in the threads first post :D

[Lint]

I have the following comments to add to the below stores:


Amazon - www.amazon.com/
Pros
Big range of new figures. They service lots of stores so you can usually but not always find what you want. Shipping generally reasonable
Cons
Many of the stores they service do not ship to Australia which you do not find out until you go through the checkout. Quality of shipping has been atrocious in some past cases (i.e shipping Platinum Edition Predaking with it's own box as packaging)


Anime Export - http://www.anime-export.com/
Pros
Fairly easy to navigate. Ok prices. Preorders reasonably competitive
Cons
Not a massive range of TF’s. All prices given in Yen so you have to convert. Usually one of the last online stores to recieve/ship stock. Terrible customer service is there is a problem with your order (they basically just ignore you).


BigBadToyStore - http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/default.aspx
Pros
Huge range of stock including official, 3rd party and old stuff. Pile of Loot option with no time or size limit can be a great saving for getting stuff shipped to Australia. Easy to navigate site. Edit: Trent reckons there is a 6 month limit now . They deal with customer complaints quickly and professionally
Cons
Their estimates for products arriving can sometimes be WAY off (still waiting for a ‘The Tick’ figure that was supposed to come in last December ). Sometimes they lose a POL item you’ve had sitting there for a while (AM Unicron and Alternators Skids for me ). Prices can range from very good to charging top dollar, especially for imported stuff from Japan.

[Jilm101]

I used BBTS when i first started buying bulk transformers from there but now i use Chimungmung for those 3rd party buys and sometimes they have good specials

[CHILENO20]

For me it goes like this:

eBay
Transformerland
Captured Prey
BBTS
RobotKingdom

Special mention to our own forum here. Bought a fair bit of stuff from my fellow members over the years and its been even better when I have met up with them :D

[CaminusPrime]

is the postage from transformerland good? eg how much would the postage for small to large figures be?

[octopunchshotfisrt]

gotta put my vote in for TFsource. The shipping can be a little harsh, but their sales are not anything to sneeze at.

[drifand]

I have used ny, hobby search , ehobby once and rk once.
Have not used bbts due to final price is higher than the other stores.
Hlj have been used when they have sale or as backup.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Because of the myriad of issues I've had from the TRU US site (emailed them about the international shipping available items still not being able to be shipped to my Australian address. They said they would help and it seems all they have done is remove my Aussie address :rolleyes: so to get G1 Kreo Grimlock i've had to have it shipped to an American friend who will forward it on :mad:) when the 'Do yo do wish to do a survey about your experience' option came up I clicked 'yes' so I could give them a serve. 53 damn questions, many of them requiring that several boxes be ticked :eek:

I'm glad to see they haven't recieved any votes yet :D. So far it's like last time with BBTS leading the way and RK coming second (and I'll make sure to include the 'other' stores when I do this poll in another two years ;)). I really must give RK a go sometime :)

[BigTransformerTrev]

Does anyone know if ehobbybaseshop charge upfront for preorders or they operate like BBTS and only charge you once they arrive?

[griffin]

Not sure... I don't think I've ever pre-ordered from them. Maybe ask them.

[drifand]

Does anyone know if ehobbybaseshop charge upfront for preorders or they operate like BBTS and only charge you once they arrive?

Just realised my order was in stock with them so cant really say, I think you do have to pay upfront.

There are only a handful of stores that you pay only when items are in stock.
I THINK Nippon Yasan is the Only one that allows you to pay anytime before the item is in stock, working to your advantage if the yen is lower. The rest are suck in to whatever the rate of the yen is when the items are in stock.

[Tfiguy]

Hey mate, when is the new poll coming in?

[Tober]

Does anyone know if ehobbybaseshop charge upfront for preorders or they operate like BBTS and only charge you once they arrive?

They send you an invoice when the stock arrives.

[drifand]

They send you an invoice when the stock arrives.

good to know, I would consider them now over robot kingdom if that's the case. Unless rates on current were good.

[Alpha Supreme]

Just thought you guys should know I got a Scoria from TFSource and the wing piece was glued down (unbeknownst to me) thought it was a little stiff applied a little force and it snapped... I have been trying to get into contact with them via email and I have had no response. After customer care is zilch. Anyone else dealt with them?

[BigTransformerTrev]

They send you an invoice when the stock arrives.

Yeah, that seems to be the go, as I preordered MP Exhaust and Star Saber and have yet to be charged for either




Hey mate, when is the new poll coming in?

Dunno - I only do it every 12-18 months so maybe mid-year

[WeallscreamforStarscream]

I think the priority should be showing all the local dealers first!

[Tfiguy]

I think the priority should be showing all the local dealers first!

There needs to be a like button ;)