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Thread: Overseas Sightings: Taiwan

  1. #11
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    Are they normally at the same time every year?
    From HK, Taiwan airfares are ludicrously cheap (often under AU$100 return) and hotels there are really reasonable so I would be tempted to rock across for a weekend if I could find out a wee bit in advance when an event like this was happening.. even just to witness it for myself! Although I'm pretty sure I'd be unable to resist the urge to buy.

  2. #12
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    Perhaps contact Prime Roller on TFW (the one who posted the news in that link above)... and see if he knows, or could give you some advance warning perhaps. (and post here for anyone else here who might be over there at the time)

  3. #13
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    I'm off to Taipei next week for a couple of days. Does anyone know of more recent recommendations of places to look for Transformers? And whether, given I live in Hong Kong, they may be cheaper at all?

    My time will be limited but I really would like to compare what Taipei has in relation to Hong Kong.

  4. #14
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    Taiwan seems to get things early... so you might find something that hasn't been reported yet.
    Not sure about pricing though, but when I've bought toys on ebay, items from Taiwan are usually on-par with items from HK.

  5. #15
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    So after hitting as many stores as possible in Taipei I am sad to report back that the Transformers availability there is nothing like that here in Hong Kong. Definitely nothing to compare with In's Point or even Wan Chai sadly.
    I was surprisingly disappointed by the lack of diversity and shocked that the smaller recommended stores had barely any recent toys... in fact one store had more DoTM figures than RID2015/Combiner Wars combined!
    On the plus side there was a lovely big warehouse sized Toys R Us with some "vintage" Kre-o and a small splattering of the more recent Kre-o Battle Changers. Also some nice freebies to be had at Toy World inside the department store next to Taipei 101.
    Every store I went in the Transformers were more expensive than Hong Kong with the exception of a sale where I got Rescue Bots Optimus Primal for my son for 1/2 the price he cost when he was available here.
    I'll add some details for each location I visited below but overall I wouldn't suggest making Transformers a significant part of your travel to Taipei as you won't find much you don't already have unless you are after DoTM figures.

    I will add pictures to this post when I have time to sit down properly and sort through the photos.

    Store list and comments:

    Underground Mall at Taipei Main Station - Barely a handful of Transformers spotted from Y13 to Y19. None were recent (only DoTM or Transformers Prime) and only in 3 of the many shops. Fake and real Kidslogic figures were more common however a lot more expensive than in Hong Kong.

    3 stores recommended close to exit Y13 above ground.
    1. 東東玩具百貨 located at No.54, Taiyuan Rd. Datong district, Taipei (台北市, 大同區, 太原路, 54號) - Had some Rescue Bots, those figures that fight (I don't remember what they are called as they look nothing like Transformers to me) and old AoE Kre-o. Also had the RID2015 plastic sword but it was expensive for such a small piece of grey plastic (around AU$40).

    2. 101 Toy Kingdom (101玩具王國) located at No.121 Chang'an West Rd., Datong district, Taipei (台北市, 大同區, 長安西路, 121號) - RID2015 figures, some Combiner Wars, Kre-o sets and lots of Micro Changers.

    Ironically just before you see this store there is a KO store which had fake Combiner War figures for Taiwanese$39 (AU$1.65) each. They looked terrible and the owner got quite angry when I took a picture of them but as he couldn't speak english and I didn't speak Mandarin he gave up and told me to go away (which I was anyways).

    3. 芃芃精品玩具批發 located at No.100, Taiyuan Rd. Datong district, Taipei (台北市, 大同區, 太原路, 100號) - probably the best of these 3 - loads of DoTM and Transformers Prime figures (pre-Beast Wars), some FOC figures as well as a couple of Combiner Wars/RID2015. However nothing from recent releases.

    Toys R Us, No.28, section 2, Xinsheng North Rd., Zhongshan district, Taipei (台北市, 中山區, 新生北路二段, 28號) - apparently the largest Toys R Us in Taipei and I'd believe it as it is warehouse sized and well spread out with a decent area dedicated to Transformers and a fun store to walk through in general (but maybe that's because it reminded me so much of the Toy Warehouse we had in Auckland when I was a kid). Not easy to get to via the train network - I had to catch a taxi to and from here as there isn't much else around.
    Had Combiner Wars (the same selection as Toys R Us HK - ie no Bruticus figures), Rescue Bots (something hard to find in HK), RID 2015 figures and loads of Kre-o both old AoE and more recent release RID/Battle Changers. Had YotM Optimus Primal (monkey, not dino) but he was REALLY expensive compared to HK. Had several of the AoE box figure sets still at full retail price (and again more expensive than HK). Also had things like Transformers candy and Transformers portable USB devices. Offered a free RID2015 Christmas carry bag when you spent over T$800 on Hasbro items.

    Toy World (DingMei Wanju 鼎美玩具), building A8, on the 5th floor (信義新天地 A8 5F) - Part of a massive multi building department store and very near to Taipei 101. - Small but nice Transformers section including a human sized AoE Bumblebee display. Lots of boxed AoE sets (however still at full retail price), Rescue Bots, Combiner Wars. Signs on display stated they had sold out of the Hasbro 3 step RID2015 Optimus & Grimlock and only had a small number of the RID2015 Kre-o (the underbite one was a "limited to 50 pieces" release). Was the only store to have Japanese Transformers. A few MP's and Black Arachnia.

    The Transformers section had a non-listed/no signage 50% off Rescue Bots while we were there which was a pleasant surprise even to the cashier. On top of that we were also given an AoE Optimus Prime notebook, some RID2015 plastic gift bags and a RID2015 Christmas carry bag for free with no minimum spend (only requirement was a Transformers purchase) when we purchased Rescuebot Optimus Primal.

    In another section they had Herocross, Kidslogic Transformers and Hot Toys Optimus (Starscream version) at prices more expensive than Hong Kong retail. Also had Ultimetal Optimus Prime but I am not sure if he was just a display piece as he was in a display case with no price.

    As a side, if travelling with kids (we were kidless this trip) Toy World in 101 would be a great place to take them as it was designed for small kids to explore and have an interactive experience as well as get parents to buy toys.

  6. #16
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    I saw your posting on TFW, and was surprised it wasn't as good as I had thought it would be (based on the various things I buy and see on ebay from Taiwan).

    Maybe it's a sporadic thing like here, in that we sometimes get some items before America, but often it is after.

    Still sounds like you had a good time exploring Taipei, and it is good to have some details of where the toy stores are, in case others here go over there.

  7. #17
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    @Bladestorm, are we going to see pics? including the KOs?

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by griffin View Post
    I saw your posting on TFW, and was surprised it wasn't as good as I had thought it would be (based on the various things I buy and see on ebay from Taiwan).

    Maybe it's a sporadic thing like here, in that we sometimes get some items before America, but often it is after.

    Still sounds like you had a good time exploring Taipei, and it is good to have some details of where the toy stores are, in case others here go over there.
    I had the same impression that it would be a great place to explore given the Taiwanese online presence.
    I actually expected it to be on par with Hong Kong and with cheaper prices but was wrong on both counts (in Taipei anyway... I will have a look next time we go to Taichung in the south and see if there is much down that way).
    The independent toy stores were more like really small divey versions of NZ/AU Toy World.
    Interestingly anime is quite big. One Piece, Nurito and several other franchises featured quite prominently... One Piece even has its own store. The Y section mall under Taipei station was full of anime figures but quite sparse on Mecha... even Gundam wasn't very well represented.
    Transformers is definitely popular there as can be attested by all the gimmicky and free stuff (and the fact a few people were taking photos of my Transformers backpack) but perhaps it is mostly the main Hasbro lines and less geared towards collectors unlike Hong Kong that tries to cater to both.

    Will post pictures sometime tonight... promise!

  9. #19
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    As promised, here are some photos from my Taiwanese transformer hunting:


    Fake Combiner Wars. My husband says the white sign (the shopkeeper tried to rip it away before I took the photo) claims the figure is panda something (which in Chinese means it can combine with other things).


    101 Toy Kingdom (101玩具王國) front entrance

    101 Toy Kingdom Transformers window display


    Human sized Bumblebee @ Toy World (DingMei Wanju 鼎美玩具) near Taipei 101

    Toy World (DingMei Wanju 鼎美玩具) near Taipei 101 - Transformers section

    Toy World (DingMei Wanju 鼎美玩具) near Taipei 101 - boxed sets (apologies for the blurry picture)


    Front Entrance - Toys R Us, No.28, section 2, Xinsheng North Rd., Zhongshan district

    Kre-o stand @ Toys R Us, No.28, section 2, Xinsheng North Rd., Zhongshan district

    Transformers Aisle @ Toys R Us, No.28, section 2, Xinsheng North Rd., Zhongshan district

    RID 2015 @ Toys R Us, No.28, section 2, Xinsheng North Rd., Zhongshan district

    portable battery packs @ Toys R Us, No.28, section 2, Xinsheng North Rd., Zhongshan district



    Officially licensed Optimus Prime hard candies (my daughter hasn't opened them yet).

    Christmas Freebies:


    RID 2015 free Christmas carry bag - a Hasbro promotion - we were given bags at both Toys'R'us and Toy World



    Optimus Prime notebook (not quite A4 sized). free @ Toy World (DingMei Wanju 鼎美玩具) near Taipei 101



    RID 2015 Plastic folders/book covers?? My daughter and I haven't quite figured out exactly what these are yet. Also from Toy World (DingMei Wanju 鼎美玩具) near Taipei 101

    Some of the oldie but goodies I picked up for myself/my son:

    I got the last Transformers catalogue (as seen on TFW) in the store. Even my darling husband hunted high and low to see if they had any more but unfortunately they didn't .

  10. #20
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    One more thing I forgot to mention was this stall in the street markets at Ximen near our hotel.

    A lady was making wire figures with quite a few Transformers (Well - Optimus and Bumblebee) and Gundam.




    Peterbilt Optimus was Taiwanese$7000 (around AU$295)

    The Optimus in this picture was Taiwanese$30,000 (Around AU$1,267)

    Way too pricy for me to take seriously but nice to look at.
    I did check a couple of anime stores in this area too but no transformers to be found.

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