EB Games and Zing Takara Premium Finish preorders.

[DELTAprime]

If you want to order the Takara Premium Finish figures from EB Games then here's your links.

Bumblebee EB

Optimus EB

Bumblebee Zing

Optimus Zing

[MayzaPrime]

$120 for Prime... ouch!

[Deano85]

Definitely cheaper to order elsewhere

[griffin]

$80 for a Deluxe and $120 for a Voyager... almost 3 times the price and neither appear to have much more paint than the scuff marks on Siege toys.

I pre-ordered at HLJ, which will be at the mercy of the exchange rate (they don't charge until release), plus charges GST and shipping... which could get close to the EB Games prices.
If they charged right now, Optimus (53336yen) would be about au$72 before postage, while Bumblebee (3500yen) would be about au$48 before postage... and I'm not sure how bad their postage costs are right now, but couldn't be more than au$20-25 added to each if shipped together. Bumblebee gets close to the EB Games pricing, but Optimus would still have a saving of at least $20.

It could even be more expensive if the exchange rate suddenly crashes... but then, if the exchange rate keeps going in the same direction it has been going in the last couple of years, it could be even cheaper.

I guess the thing is, if you can find a *reliable* source that charges up front to lock in the price, and shipping isn't too expensive, take that option.

Then again, are there even many people interested in these Premium Finish toys to care about promoting these or their various options? So far the first two moulds haven't generated much excitement on fansites (both toys have already been released several times), so even if these were released at the regular price-point, they would still struggle to sell.

There are 3 versions already of the VW Bumblebee, and 4 versions of Siege Optimus done so far... for these two to cost 2.5 times the price, they have to be something spectacular, but I just don't see that extra expense in what has so far been shown off.
(I think the anime deco Siege Optimus looked like it should cost more, but it didn't.)