(New!) Online Stores Poll

[BigTransformerTrev]

I did this poll about two years ago, so thought would do a new one since quite a few of the stores have changed their policies or have come to/dissapeared from prominence. Also we have a lot of new Ozformers members with fresh opinions

I've written a short blurb about my experiences with each of these stores below. Please feel free to add your own as some of us may have had great experiences with stores while others may have had terrible ones.


Amazon - www.amazon.com/
Pros
Big range of new figures. They service lots of stores so you can usually but not always find what you want.
Cons
Many of the stores they service do not ship to Australia which you do not find out until you go through the checkout.


Anime Export - http://www.anime-export.com/
Pros
Fairly easy to navigate. Ok prices.
Cons
Not a massive range of TF’s. All prices given in Yen so you have to convert.


BigBadToyStore - http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/default.aspx
Pros
Huge range of stock including official, 3rd party and old stuff. Pile of Loot option with no time or size limit can be a great saving for getting stuff shipped to Australia. Easy to navigate site. Edit: Trent reckons there is a 6 month limit now
Cons
Their estimates for products arriving can sometimes be WAY off (still waiting for a ‘The Tick’ figure that was supposed to come in last December ). Sometimes they lose a POL item you’ve had sitting there for a while (AM Unicron and Alternators Skids for me ). Prices can range from very good to charging top dollar, especially for imported stuff from Japan.


Ebay - http://www.ebay.com.au/
Pros
You can find almost anything you are looking for. Sometimes you come across a great bargain (Animated Wreck-Gar - $10 ).
Cons
Sometime you deal with unscrupulous sellers. Many sellers charging top dollar for their items and it’s a haven for scalpers. Items not arriving as described or turn out to be KO’s. Ebay often does not help out with disputes as long as they have gotten their cut.


Etsy - www.etsy.com/au
Pros
Not a lot of toys but lots of cool misc stuff like old TF storybooks tends to crop up. Sometimes people who want to avoid eBay sell old toys on there at great prices.
Cons
Not a great deal of toys. Dealing with private sellers who sometimes are not fully honest.


Hasbro Toyshop - http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/
Pros
A good range of all the latest figures, a good place to find exclusive and limited release TF’s.
Cons
They do not ship to Australia . No old toys.


Hobby Link Japan - http://www.hlj.com/
Pros
If you get in early pretty cheap Japanese products (MP Ultra Magnus much cheaper than at BBTS for example) and a half decent range. Private warehouse lets you store items for up to 60 days.
Cons
Not a giant range and no old stuff to speak of. All prices given in Yen so you have to convert. Items that have passed the 60 day warehouse limit are automatically shipped so you have to keep an eye on your stash.


Robot Kingdom - http://www.robotkingdom.com/
Pros
Good range of official and 3rd party items. Many items cheaper than BBTS or TFSource.
Cons
While the webpage design is a lot better than it was it’s still not great and can be off-putting.


TFSource - http://tfsource.com/
Pros
Good range of official figures and a massive range of 3rd party stock, easy to navigate site.
Cons
Can sometimes be a bit pricey


TRU Online - www.toysrus.com
Pros
Decent range of what their particular store stocks and cheap shipping.
Cons
(US site) Many items not available for international shipping (remember the MP SW debacle ). Many items that ARE marked for international shipping still won’t let you get them delivered to an Aussie address in the checkout which can be severely frustrating .



Other
Any store that sells TF stuff online: Big W, Target, Jay Jays, 80's Tees etc


More stores suggested by people:

Chimungchung (Itztru)
TFIDownunder (Trent)
CapturedPrey (Sinnertwin)
TheChosenPrime (Sinnertwin)
Transformerland (Sinnertwin)
Amiami (Gok)
Ehobbybaseshop (Omega Metro)
Ages3andup (unexpectedpanda)
ToyDojo (unexpectedpanda)
1999 (Tober)
Mandarake (Tober)
Nippon-yasan (Tober)
Actionrobo (Llamatron)

[ITZTRU]

Gotta get my hand up for Chimungmung

[Trent]

It's a shame that you can only pick one. As I would advocate HLJ, BBTS and Chimungmung. There is also TFI Downunder which is new. Also, it depends on what you expect from them.

Also Trev, BBTS do put a limit on your PoL at 6 months

[DELTAprime]

I selected HLJ. But I actually use 3 stores. HLJ is where I get Takara Tomy Transformers. BBTS is where I get Hasbro US Transformers and rate it equally to HLJ. And I get my Hasbro HK figures from RK, but would rate them lower than BBTS and HLJ.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Also Trev, BBTS do put a limit on your PoL at 6 months

They did? Wow - mine must be ready to pop soon then


Sounds like I better put Chimungmung & TFIDownunder in next time I do this poll. I might go check them out later


Personally I put BBTS as I use them the most but I have started using HLJ for most of my Japanese items as they have very competitive prices

[5FDP]

Have always used RK and will continue to use RK until they give me a reason to go elsewhere.

[Zommael]

I'd say BBTS purely because they offer like of loot. If a Robot Kingdom did the same I'd vote them as it seems they have a wider range of stock and it's in stock a bit longer, but the lack of POL kills it for me.

[GoktimusPrime]

I use Amazon the most. Amazon USA for Hasbro stuff, and Amazon Japan for TakaraTOMY stuff, although I do still sometimes use Amiami and HLJ -- but Amazon is by far the one I use the most now for online stuff. One pro w/ Amazon JP is that their pre-order prices are very cheap (although you can find even cheaper prices on Amiami and Anime Export), and they occasionally offer free bonus content for MPs. The con is that they only ship to Japanese postal addresses (although apparently they can ship books internationally, but I've never tried this myself ).

Also, doesn't Anime Export require upfront payment? That would be a potential con for those who don't have the money to pay straight away. I prefer other online stores that allow you to pre-order figures and pay for them when they ship, as it gives me time to save up. Also, some of these sources (e.g. eBay, RK) only accept payment via PayPal, right? If so, another potential con for non PayPal users (like me ).

[Sinnertwin]

I voted BBTS.

Another would be thechosenprime.com

https://thechosenprime.3dcartstores.com/mobile/home.asp

Much like BBTS; US based, no payment upfront preorders & Roller's Stash (PoL) option is available also.

Capturedprey.com & transformerland are also some good alternatives

[Omega Metro]

I voted BBTS mainly because of its POL service. And they are pretty good when something goes wrong.

My first order with Tfsource arrived today. Took exactly one week from postage to delivery! Was not expecting this til next week sometime. They have a system similar to BBTS POL but they charge the shipping when you want it shipped as opposed to when you buy it. Overall very good. I can't help but think these guys are the same company as BBTS.

My veeeeeerrrryyyyy sllllloooooooowwww Robotkingdom order came today also. Never had a problem other than water damaged/slow delivery.

I find Ebay a good source but you have to do your research.

I did my very first HLJ order a week ago. Their website leaves a lot to be desired. Had to log in 1000 times to complete my order and wait a day for my order to show up in my account. Very stressful.

Transformerland is quite good. Navigating their website is a bit dodgy also though.

Chimungmung is awful. Every time is buy something, that Tony guy refunds me saying saying he doesn't have it in stock.

TFI Downunder was great. No problems.

Ehobbybaseshop is good. Similar to RK.

TRU US is great also. My MP Grimlock arrived in reasonable time at a good price. A lot of people have had issues but not me.

Amazon is brilliant and cheap but not range choice.