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Ended up paying about $43 each for Sunstreaker and Trailbreaker on Amazon. It’s the Ironhide/Prowl 2pack that has me concerned and angry. Managed to get Skywarp and Thundercracker for a great price. But it shouldn’t have to be so difficult and expensive to get these core characters. Luckily I’m only after Warpath from Kingdom wave 1. Oh and Thrust.Originally Posted by klystron
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I think i recognise that shelf at Takashimaya's toy dept, though i think it stocked Gunpla and toy cars in 2009.
I enjoyed their occasional toy mega clearance sales in the basement open area. Just boxes of toys piled up.
I would walk through some random alleyway in Singapore, and there would be a collectibles shop selling overpriced vintage toys.
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Its interesting seeing different countries having different set ups.I think i recognise that shelf at Takashimaya's toy dept, though i think it stocked Gunpla and toy cars in 2009.
I enjoyed their occasional toy mega clearance sales in the basement open area. Just boxes of toys piled up.
I would walk through some random alleyway in Singapore, and there would be a collectibles shop selling overpriced vintage toys.
I have a Takashimaya near me and its an expensive department store. I don't think they even have a section for toys.
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That's sacrilegious!Back in the golden age (the 80s), in Singapore, we had Isetan, Daimaru, Tokyu, Seiyu, SOGO, Yaohan, all of which had massive toy departments. Tokyu was the best, with a proper toy department selling children's toys, and a separate novelty item/mancave/party section. The European dept stores there and then, on the other hand, stocked only wooden toys and $60 miniature model trains.
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Tetsuwan, after thinking Taka in Japan was like the Singapore one, I was sorely disappointed when I visited Tokyo.
You know, High_Q, that red shelf/pillar in Singapore Taka has been iconic for TFs the last several years. The toy section used to be in another area of that floor many years ago. But TFs have been there since recent times, and above the TV is the locked glass cabinet where the really good stuff like Masterpieces and Japanese TFs are kept. Plus that red shelf is not the only shelf - there are 2 or 3 others next to it, all full of TF goodness. Ugh, so much selection compared to Aussie general retail shelves. I remember the 80s in Singapore too and the wacky thing is there were SO MANY G1s that I got disappointed as a kid because I couldn't afford them all. I had to choose carefully. If I were an Aussie kid going to Singapore now, it'd be the same! Seriously, that one shelf has a Netflix, ER wave 2, ER wave 3, Quintesson Judge voyager, Kingdom deluxes and leader, SS86 deluxes and voyagers, other SS, Gen Selects, Street Fighter and Top Gun, plus the cabinet:
Plus Chinese New Year sales coming! Plus Optimus Prime red packets!
Last edited by Skyfire; 18th January 2021 at 11:27 PM.
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Tetsuwan, after thinking Taka in Japan was like the Singapore one, I was sorely disappointed when I visited Tokyo
You know, High_Q, that red shelf/pillar in Singapore Taka has been iconic for TFs the last several years. The toy section used to be in another area of that floor many years ago. But TFs have been there since recent times, and above the TV is the locked glass cabinet where the really good stuff like Masterpieces and Japanese TFs are kept. Plus that red shelf is not the only shelf - there are 2 or 3 others next to it, all full of TF goodness. Ugh, so much selection compared to Aussie general retail shelves. I remember the 80s in Singapore too and the wacky thing is there were SO MANY G1s that I got disappointed as a kid because I couldn't afford them all. I had to choose carefully. If I were an Aussie kid going to Singapore now, it'd be the same! Seriously, that one shelf has a Netflix, ER wave 2, ER wave 3, Quintesson Judge voyager, Kingdom deluxes and leader, SS86 deluxes and voyagers, other SS, Gen Selects, Street Fighter and Top Gun...
This is moving from venting to discussion, but is there a cultural difference between Aussie retail and Singapore retail that they're happier to sit on stock for longer periods?
Or is it that we are comparing collectibles stores, which are generally happier to sit on stock for longer, with our general retail stores like Kmart that want higher turnover times.
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Sorry if my rant is getting long winded. This time of year I would sometimes be in Singapore enjoying all the TF goodness. And that's the thing, Takashimaya is just a department store, not a collectibles shop. It's the level of DJs - if Myer or DJs had stock like that, we'd all wet out pants! And the general and higher end toys seen recently at Taka can be found at TRUs and other (lower level) dept stores like Metro, OG and BHG. And then there's the Asia exclusives like 4-5 ER Thrusts just sitting there on some shelf (I kid you not).
I don't know how the retail works differently in Singapore, but they seem to have more stock generally and do re-orders more, maybe reflecting kids' (and kidults') greater interest in toys? At least our TFs are cheaper here.
Annoyance subsiding, wait for next year...
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Sorry - I was more commenting on my own enquiry and turning of a rant into a discussion - not yoursSorry if my rant is getting long winded
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Someone on FB is trying to sell their Unicron pre-order for $1600!!!!??? I have no words.
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Unicron is very unlikely to ever be re-released... so if there is demand from people who missed out, or couldn't afford it (or had to cancel their pre-order during covid), I think the secondary price might go up a fair bit when it gets released.
In America, most people had to pay during the pre-order period (for a really expensive toy they wouldn't get for over a year), which was just a couple months to save up all that money, so a lot of people would have had to skip it and then regret it later... for us and many other countries, we've had almost a year and a half to save up and pay it off, so it wouldn't have seen to be as much of a risk or burden for more of us who were interested.
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