Any shops in Sydney worth looking at ?

[nsm034]

will be heading to sydney in november for a mates wedding and wanted to know if there was any special shops worth looking at while in the area

Cheers

[BruiseLee]

I like heading up to Hobbyco at the top of QV Building (next to Town Hall station in CBD) when I'm in Sydney. Nothing really TF related there but lots of Gundam stuff and other geeky collectables there.

[Trent]

No.

[liegeprime]

Kings Comics, but TFwise, not much there. if any at all...but if your after comics and other geeky stuff, might be worth a look...

[GoktimusPrime]

Not really. All the good specialty import stores closed down years ago. :(

[kup]

No.

The sad truth

[GoktimusPrime]

Import stores in Sydney pretty much nosedived after the GFC in 2007-08. But even if they hadn't, quite a few of them were already shutting down before then. And I don't know if they'd survive in today's market now with the widespread popularity of online shopping.

One thing that worked against brick and mortar import stores was the trade protection stuff that the government imposed; import taxes, duties, levies etc., which effectively made the toys approx. double what you'd pay in Japan at RRP. e.g. MP Ironhide (RRP 10,000JPY) would cost about $250 at an import store. Compare this with say paying about $85 from an online source like PC or HLJ etc. It wasn't the retailers' fault, their prices were just being driven up by all the stuff that they had to pay the government, and thus pass the costs onto the consumers.

Nowadays if you want to purchase a Japanese toy at marked up prices, you can just go to Toys R Us. :p ;) The difference is that TRU's toys are exempt from government import duties since they're locally distributed by Hasbro. :rolleyes:

[nsm034]

ahh that sucks, is there anything else worthwile seeing appart from the obvious main touristy things. What's the best shopping centre to visit etc

[GoktimusPrime]

Would you be interested in just having a small fan meet and just hanging out with local collectors and having a yarn, say at a food court or something? :o

[UltraMarginal]

ahh that sucks, is there anything else worthwile seeing appart from the obvious main touristy things. What's the best shopping centre to visit etc

that really depends what part of Sydney you're going to be based at.

[5FDP]

There is Anime at Abbotsford. I've bought a few things from there in the past (truth be told, about 6-7 years ago). Not sure how they're going lately.

[CBratron]

There is Anime at Abbotsford. I've bought a few things from there in the past (truth be told, about 6-7 years ago). Not sure how they're going lately.

Their main store is still there and they opened a city store in Haymarket. As with all specialty stores here, they're a bit pricey but great for a browse.

Whenever I drop into Kings Comics I usually also go to Books Kinokuniya. It's a bookstore but has a nice manga/comics section. They don't sell singles, just trade paperbacks.

Another book shop worth looking at is Galaxy and is on the other side of the Queen Victoria Building.

[GoktimusPrime]

Kinokuniya is bloody expensive (because their stock is imported), but good for finding new/current titles and they can custom order in stock if they don't have it. I prefer to buy my manga from second hand places like Hondarake (http://fullofbooks.com.au/) and Furuhonya (http://happysydney.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-597.html), but admittedly their range is more limited. But WAY cheaper, like some manga can sell for $1~2 per volume or less (especially if you purchase a complete set, it can work out to be about 90c a book).

[Seraphim Prime]

Kinokuniya is bloody expensive (because their stock is imported), but good for finding new/current titles and they can custom order in stock if they don't have it. I prefer to buy my manga from second hand places like Hondarake (http://fullofbooks.com.au/) and Furuhonya (http://happysydney.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-597.html), but admittedly their range is more limited. But WAY cheaper, like some manga can sell for $1~2 per volume or less (especially if you purchase a complete set, it can work out to be about 90c a book).


I'm not into manga, so can't speak to those prices, but I've found that Kino's TPB prices are pretty competitive with Kings Comics, Phantomzone, and even online retailers. They're in fact my go to supplier for TPB's since I signed up to their club and get 10% off all purchases.

[nsm034]

Would you be interested in just having a small fan meet and just hanging out with local collectors and having a yarn, say at a food court or something? :o

can try, but wil be on the move a fair bit. We will be around the bondi area, thats where my mates wedding is at

[UltraMarginal]

Bondi Junction has Kmart, Target, Myer and a Big W (I think), it's been a few years since I lived out that way. there used to be a comic store there but I think it closed down years ago.

[GoktimusPrime]

Close to Bondi is the Moore Park Supa Centa which has a TRU. Ya know, in case you feel like buying overpriced Masterpiece toys (but they come with smexy English instructions! :p).

[liegeprime]

Close to Bondi is the Moore Park Supa Centa which has a TRU. Ya know, in case you feel like buying overpriced Masterpiece toys (but they come with smexy English instructions! :p).

shameless indirect plug there. lol:D:p