preorders who's the best?

[TF76]

Hi guys probably not the right spot to ask but I want to pre order MP Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus. I used to use robotkingdom the toy price is fine but shipping is $70+ usd.

Is there better places to preorder from now.

[UltraMarginal]

I think it depends heavily on the shipping method used.

obviously some items have to use an expensive shipping method because of size and I expect UltraMagnus will be in that boat.

I used anime-export, I don't know how much shipping will be until I ask them to ship my collected inventory so I can't comment. I recall fort max being about $70 shipped from them(I think).

pros:
very good excellent pre-order price
they let you stack items that have come into stock
you don't have to pay shipping until it's calculated with items in hand

cons:
you have to pay up front for items
you don't know how much shipping will be
sometimes their response to customer enquiries just plain go unanswered.

for other Asian exclusive items they don't stock I tend to use robot kingdom but have also used HLJ and ami-ami.

for most Hasbro product I either go through amazon or BBTS


Except for special items like MP's I tend to try to order stuff in bulk to distribute shipping costs a bit more.

[CoRDS]

as i really only got into this stuff this year i am only new to pre ordering as well

i have 3 on pre order with tfiau . one with bbts and one with tfsource


that said i have bought 15 masterpeice(or equiv) figures this year alone (not including the 5 on preorder) from a mix of robotkingdom, chimungmung, bbts, toydojo, tfiau,tf-direct, tfsource . i have yet to have a bad experience.

everything has arrived safe and sound no packaging issues from any of them.

[edit:spelling. am delirious with fever ]

[Jigga]

I also only got into it this Year.

So far..
12x purchases from Chimungmung, BBTS, TFSource, Amazon (no issues at all so far, well packaged)

3x Pre-orders from TFidownunder (just paid for one today)

1x Pre-order from Robotkingdom (payment upfront)

I guess if you stick with the 'big', well known etailers you would reduce your risk of any dramas. As for prices, invest in the time to shop around the different websites. Price differences may be only small but will make a difference in the long run; if you are not loyal to any particular store.

[Sinnertwin]

HLJ for Masterpieces
BBTS for everything else
Robotkingdom only if it isn't available elsewhere

[GoktimusPrime]

HLJ <--- my personal #1 recommendation. :)
PROS:
* Highly reliable. I've preordered from them for 11 years now and I've never had a problem.
* Prices never exceed RRP, and preorders are below RRP.
* Toys are posted directly from Japan to you, no middle-man, thus relatively cheaper postage than from some dealers outside Japan.
CONS:
* Preorder discounts are not as generous as some other online stores (but they are still discounted)
* Site's search engine is useless. You're better off using Google to find stuff on their site.

Ami Ami
PRO:
* Extremely cheap!
CON:
* Gets booked out super fast.

Amazon Japan
PROS:
* Generous pre-order discounts.
* Occasionally gives exclusive bonus content
* Guaranteed free next day domestic delivery
* Will ship non toy items (e.g. books) internationally
CONS:
* Does not ship toys outside of Japan.
This option is only possible if you have access to a Japanese postal address.

[drifand]

Almost every Japanese store gets first dibbs for me, hlj as a backup being no discounts. Followed by Hong Kong online then American stores.

[GoktimusPrime]

HLJ do offer discounts on MPs if you pre-order from them.
e.g. MP22 Ultra Magnus;
RRP = ￥19440 (≈AU$205)
HLJ = ￥14400 (≈AU$155)
Amazon JP = ￥15907 (≈AU$170)
BBTS = US$190 (≈AU$220) <---above RRP! :eek:
Anime Export = ￥12600 (≈AU$135)
RobotKingdom = US$152 (≈AU$175)
Chimungmung = US$155 (≈(AU$180)
TFSource = US$190 (≈AU$220) <---above RRP! :eek:
Amiami = ￥14500 (≈AU$157)
etc.

HLJ's pre-order price is below RRP, so it's definitely a discount. :)

[drifand]

My apologies what I meant was hlj is normally top end for Japanese stores.

[Smint]

http://www.nippon-yasan.com/lang-en/387-figures-transformers

Nippon Yasan.

Fast, well packed, various shipping options, pay later option, generous pre order stock, ability to adjust pre-order price later if the price goes down.

I cant fault them at all. And i often wonder why people buy from rip off merchants like BBTS.

I pre-ordered Ultra Magnus and Bumblebee from them for 140 and 40 plus post. If i had pre-ordered in yen i probably would have saved even more.

[Sinnertwin]

Of course BBTS & TFSource are going to be more expensive; you're paying for the item to be shipped to the States & then back to you.

And Goki, i don't understand the inclusion of Amazon Japan -apart from you, Odie & Tets, that information, apart from a comparative point of view is of no practical use to anyone else here in Australia

[UltraMarginal]

I find BBTS to be great value for Western Hasbro Product. often cheaper than buying from an Asian store.

[drifand]

Of course BBTS & TFSource are going to be more expensive; you're paying for the item to be shipped to the States & then back to you.

And Goki, i don't understand the inclusion of Amazon Japan -apart from you, Odie & Tets, that information, apart from a comparative point of view is of no practical use to anyone else here in Australia

Probably because he can and we can't. Lol

[GoktimusPrime]

And Goki, i don't understand the inclusion of Amazon Japan -apart from you, Odie & Tets, that information, apart from a comparative point of view is of no practical use to anyone else here in Australia

Probably because he can and we can't. Lol
And kurdt_the_goat, and at least one other member (but he hasn't identified himself on the board as having this option, so I'm not going to identify him here as I don't know if he wants it to be known); there may be other members who, like this person, may have Japanese contacts, but simply don't choose to openly divulge it. I also personally don't know a whole lot about TF76's private life and whether or not he has access to a Japanese address (not that it's any of my business). Sure, it's unlikely that he might, but it's not impossible. And I did clearly point out the necessity of a Japanese address as a con. And I also listed as the last option, and my top recommendation was HLJ. I wasn't going to make any assumptions either way, but just put the option out there just in case (you never know). Most of the online stores I recommended are accessible from overseas. But if it offends you people so much, I shan't mention Amazon again. :(

[drifand]

Doesn't bother me, though I wish I had simliar contacts for amazon japan.

End of the day as long I can obtain one at pre order is good enough.
If anyone had waited till now to buy wheel jack they are paying premium price at this stage.

[GoktimusPrime]

IMO it's all good as long as you're not paying above retail price. I did end up paying premium price (which was actually the same as AU RRP :rolleyes:) for MP Alert though, because I didn't pre-order that toy. :o All my other Japanese MPs have been pre-ordered though (since MP1). ;)

[kovert]

Hi, I'm new here. Does the forum ever do group preorders? Would you get much of a shipping discount considering someone has to take delivery and then distribute? I ordered MP Wheeljack for AUD $83 shipped because he looked too good in the reviews on this forum. Just did some research and shops don't seem to be taking preorders for Bumblebee anymore. How switched on do you need to be?

[UltraMarginal]

Some members do, depending on the item, Fatbot and Griffin often do pre-orders for TFCC items.

There are sometimes group orders for things like masterpieces, but it's usually restricted to local area/state to make it worth everyones while. A lot of the smaller Asian web stores have pretty good value shipping charges which makes it harder to significantly reduce the cost of shipping with a group order.

You just have to keep your eyes peeled for group order posts around the time that pre-orders are going to go up.

[kovert]

Understood. Thanks UltraMarginal.