I?m a backer, I think. Pre-ordered at Ohmyprimus. Now that I have secured a copy my only concerns are shelf space and it reaching 8000.
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I?m a backer, I think. Pre-ordered at Ohmyprimus. Now that I have secured a copy my only concerns are shelf space and it reaching 8000.
No, you're not a backer. Only people buying through Hasbro Pulse are officially backers and count towards the goal of 8000 orders. We as Australians are unable to be backers as Hasbro Pulse requires a US-issued credit card and a US address.Quote:
Originally Posted by danny-boy
Well lol yeah that?s pretty....... obvious.Quote:
Originally Posted by DELTAprime
If it crosses 8000, I?ll be backer no. 8XXX, hence the I?m a backer....I think.
Where do you think the stores we’re all preordering off are getting this?Quote:
Originally Posted by DELTAprime
Places like RK and Oh My Primus are getting their stock from Hasbro Asia, not from Hasbro Pulse. Do you really think they would be buying stock at $575 USD each from America and shipping it to Asia and selling it for exactly what they paid?Quote:
Originally Posted by Trent
I've successfully used my Australian Credit card to ship to a US address from Hasbro Pulse.Quote:
Originally Posted by DELTAprime
Ah Ok, I've never tried buying from Hasbro Pulse myself so I'm just going by what others have said.Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
That's a change from the Hasbro Toy Shop... as I couldn't order from there with a Credit Card that has an Australian billing address. (apparently it is easy to get your bank to put on a second billing address, and have your shipping forwarder be your American billing address, but I've never done it)Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
I've never done that, for the old Hasbro Toy shop I had a very trusting mate who let me use his cc details to ship stuff to him.
This order from Hasbro pulse I just double checked and I actually have my mates address down for delivery and card info. I guess they didn't check it against the card number.
What’s with the post on Facebook Griffin? Have Hasbro AU gotten back to you or are you just pulling ideas out of your bum?
I am still waiting for a response from Hasbro Australia, so want to see what sort of interest is actually in this country for this item, tagging in Zing/EB in case they weren't aware of this item, and maybe ask Hasbro about it. At least if they query the item, they will get a more prompt reply about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trent
I think it would depend on price for a lot of people. Zing aren’t known for their competitive pricing so there’s a lot of caution around committing.
Don't forget Hasbro's slice of the pie too. $900 in store is a pipe dream.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trent
I honestly think $1100 would be the upper end of acceptable. I wouldn’t be happy, but I’d most likely pay it. But being honest I doubt Zing could even do it for that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trent
ToysRUs were bad for having prices that were about double the price in Asia and Japan, making it significantly cheaper to import than buying from there... but Zing/EB have been really good for their Transformers exclusives (even their prices for their short-lived stocking of Titans Return toys were equal or less than regular retail).Quote:
Originally Posted by Sinnertwin
Zing/EB may be expensive for most of their licensed merchandise, but their recent Transformers items that they've been offering (from Hasbro Asia through Hasbro Australia) have been close to the retail prices in Japan and Asia, and therefore cheaper for most of us because of the pick-up in store option (no international shipping).
Their last five items that are coming from Asia...
MP-19+ Smokescreen - about AU$135 in Japan - AU$130 at Zing/EB
Optimus/Convoy set - about AU$160 in Japan - AU$160 at Zing/EB
MP-13 Soundwave reissue - about AU$220 in Japan - AU$220 at Zing/EB
MPM-8 Megatron - about AU$235 in Japan (it could be slightly different) - about AU$260 in Asia - AU$200 at Zing/EB
Ectotron - about AU$65 in America - about AU$90 in Asia - AU$80 at Zing/EB
TRU (and Myer) was never that good, compared to the retail prices in Asia and Japan.
If the online stores in HK and Singapore have so far been able to offer Unicron for a price that is similar to the US price, it means that Hasbro Asia are selling it to them cheap enough for them to sell at the Hasbro Pulse price and still make a minimum amount of money to cover their costs and profit. Obviously that cheaper price from Hasbro Asia to Asian online stores, than the Hasbro America price to their customers, must be due to the absence of shipping across the pacific, and that postage within America is a lot more expensive.
So I honestly don't see why we can't have Unicron offered here at Zing/EB for a similar price as Asian online stores, just as most of their other Asian Transformers exclusives.
The customer service contact said that they'd pass it onto their buyers to look into it. Hopefully the two pronged approach gets a speedier result as we need a definite yes or no without it being a last minute thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
With at least 30 people on our facebook page saying that they'd buy one, that's a guaranteed 30 grand of sales for just one item over just a week or two.
They'd better get their act together because I won't be leaving it to the last minute to order this, regardless of where I get it from.
Yep my finger is on the trigger to order from Ohmyprimus now that it's confirmed they only require prepayment of a deposit plus the shipping upfront. Works out to A$278 upfront which is reasonable.
It's mindblowingly gorgeous! I love that it's designed so you can leave it on the stand to transform.
I love that there are several elements of the transformation that mimic the film, on top of everything else we've seen.
Yep.Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
EDIT: Never mind, didn't see the thread in the Australian News section. Whoops!
Looks like Griffin's campaigning has had some results:
https://www.zingpopculture.com.au/pr...cron-27-figure
https://www.ebgames.com.au/product/l...cron-27-figure
The blurb says the pre-order hinges on the success of the crowd funding campaign and that orders through EB/Zing count towards that total. Between a very reasonable price and the option to click and collect from my local store, the choice became a no-brainer for me. Pre-order locked in.
I ordered with Zing last night, for pick up in about 2 years.
Can't describe quite how excited I am about this. I sure hope we hit 8000. I am pretty sure it'll happen if theyre counting international orders like this. I mean, they'd be nuts not to.
Any NZ people here??? Mightyape will sort you out
https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/...igure/31121619
And I spoke to a zing/eb store today. For web orders, you have to go to the store you chose for pickup to make instalments. If you picked delivery, then you are stuck waiting till the end.
Someone on TFW claims they are friends with an employee of one of the US resellers (BBTS, TFSource etc). Apparently that one reseller has already got 850 orders! If that is true it's in the bag.Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
I?m assuming if the store you chose to pick up from closes down then they?ll contact you about picking a different location?
I thought there was talk not long ago about EB not doing well financially... tempted to pull the trigger on two but don?t want to be left with none
Ok, so I asked Micheal Pachter who is a Wall Street financial analyst that covers video game companies including Gamestop (AKA EB Games) about Gamestop's financial situation. He said that if Gamestop did nothing and just let the business continue to lose money at it's current rate they still have about 7 or 8 years before they would be forced to shut down. So I figure they probably won't be shutting down stores in the next 18 months or so, especially since they have a potentially big financial win coming their way next November with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett launching.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joshy
That said they are making changes to their business so that they can survive longer than 7 to 8 years.
Joshy is correct. From what I understand, Gamestop recently had its share price drop to its lowest point in about 15 years. Together with sales revenue being down 10%, equity being down, there is talk about cost efficiencies that will be implemented which could include store closures as bricks and mortar are seen as one of their weaknesses at the moment due to the competitiveness of online stores. Now if that happens, it is likely to impact upon EB Games. If there are store closures, the EB Games website terms and conditions have some very interesting terms which, to paraphrase, let them cancel preorders at any time...Quote:
Originally Posted by DELTAprime
Do I think it will happen? Probably not. But then again a lot can happen in the next 18-24 months, especially with Trump sending the US economy (and global economy with it) down the toilet and talks of recessions being possible. I would not dismiss concerns based off the word of one analyst.
That’s quite interesting info - thanks for sharing man :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Raider
Sure, ignore what the actual financial expert says and spread some FUD.Quote:
Originally Posted by Raider
I work at a retailer that has had a ton of FUD spread about it by the media. What is actually going on vs what the media reports is massively different. Media today doesn't care about telling a story accurately, they care about getting clicks. Saying Big W is shutting down half its stores and thousands of people will be out of work was far more "newsworthy" than the reality of the situation.
Is Gamestop in a good financial situation? No. But are they shutting down tomorrow? No.
The big three-quarters of a billion-dollar loss that we all freaked out about was just a one-off accounting thing where they had to write an investment down as a loss. It had no impact on the day to day operation of the company. If it wasn't for that accounting issue they would have made a small profit.
Don't go by media reports, it's not "fake news" but it is written in a way to get clicks instead of properly relay the facts in an easy to understand manner.
Ok I was just trying to elaborate on the issues. You seem to have taken it personally and had a go at me and assumed i read "fake news". I actually read the published company financial statements (I'm a commercial lawyer/accountant) together with the company's legal documents. Together with my knowledge of business structures and potentially failing business (i specialise in insolvency), i think i know - more so than you - what I'm talking about.Quote:
Originally Posted by DELTAprime
Perhaps my Trump comment is what really got you going given you are parroting his signature phrase.
No, it's not you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Raider
It's the assholes trying to tell me every single week that I'm out of a job because "my store is closing down" because of some idiots in the media that cares more about getting clicks than telling the truth.
While I do not research Gamestop shares, I am a Portfolio Manager and a large institutional shareholder of JB Hi-Fi, EB's main Australian competitor.
I see truth in each side of these perspectives. I wouldn't second guess Raider for a second. Likewise, there are some reasons to explain Gamestop's current malaise that may prove transitory. The main one is that we are at the end of the current console hardware cycle. When Sony and Microsoft release their next gen consoles, that will naturally boost the games retailers. Rumours are the PS5 will be released end 2020.
Also, my understanding is that EB Australia makes good money in Australia. If anything were to happen to its parent Gamestop, it would likely be sold assuming it remained profitable. This is a big difference to TRU in Australia which was running losses for years (therefore no-one wanted to buy it).
Fortunately it was only a $100 deposit, so the financial downside is fairly limited. Missing out on Unicron all together though would suck, no doubt about it. Unfortunately there is some level of risk going with any retailer in this situation. The lowest risk would be to order from Hasbro US direct, but it will be significantly more expensive than the local alternative.
Couldn't agree more mate. I thought you would be best placed to chime in on this subject. Risk is low but still there. Not enough to concern me though. As you point out, this is not a TRU situation.
Next time I transform my toys i'm putting on a tuxedo =)
Thankyou again to eveyone here for bring this primal God to our shores!!!
For what its worth and not wanting to derail the thread, I don?t believe EB Games/Zing is going bust anytime soon. At the very least they have expanded their business model by going into pop culture merchandise, they are pretty aggressive with their sales and their second hand games/hardware business gives them a slight edge over competitors (who are cheaper, but EB easily price match).
Their woes I think are those faced by every other retailer and/or brick & mortar store right now - a sluggish economy with high overheads costs not being met due to reduced consumer spending. A massive, majority shift towards digital downloads is what I believe could be a mortal blow to EB games. But as long as we continue to have crappy internet, then physical copy gaming, at least for consoles, will continue to survive.
But ultimately if you?re afraid of EB games /Zing going down the tubes, then just put down the $100 deposit and wait until pickup day before you pay off the rest. Losing $100 would suck, but not as much as $848.
Not sure I understand the logic of voluntarily paying off the cost in installments prior to release. That money is better off with you until you go in and pick up Unicron.
It's like a forced saving account I guess. It prevents the money being used for another purpose. Not everyone can afford an expensive item like this in one hit. Wouldn't want to come time to pay and not have the funds.Quote:
Originally Posted by llamatron
Some people like me might find it too tempting having that money there to spend on other things so might prefer to have someone else "look after it"... and it won't feel like a big expense when picking up the toy... almost like getting a pre-paid present.Quote:
Originally Posted by llamatron
I like the ability to pay off preorders ahead of time and having the money in my accounts makes it too easy to spend it on things I haven't budgeted for. That said I have about a year and a half to pay off Unicron so I'm not exactly going to be rushing to pay him off.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin