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Thread: to become a local TF seller?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    10th Nov 2009
    Location
    Diamond Creek, Victoria
    Posts
    620

    Smile to become a local TF seller?

    Hi guys,

    I have a serious idea/question to ask you guys and hopefully you can give me your valuable opinions. My question is, why there seems no local Aussie TF seller either with a physical shop or ebay shop? Is there some economic/legal reason that we can't have? or Can I become one?

    Here's background story:
    I started collecting TFs since 2009. While in Melbourne, I ordered from robotkingdom. Robotkingdom is good, but I just found myself paying so much air transport cost. I am from China, so I thought about to order directly from China, let the toys go by sea instead of air transport. However, the local sellers/shops, they just couldn't bother to stock my order into a T-chest case and call shipping companies for me.

    Once I also found a shop in Ascot Vale, Melbourne, selling several Japanese toys, action figures etc including a Encore Skylynx at 44 AUD while the same one was sold at 120 RMB (24 AUD) in Beijing at that time. The shop owner told me he can't sell Hasbro toys in his shop because Hasbro Australia only deals with Kmart, Target, not a small shop like his.

    For all those difficulties, I didn't take any action until recently, I got to know the boss who owns the UT and dx9 toy lines. So I start thinking again, if I import 3rd party toys directly from him and ship to Australia by sea, would you guys be beneficial? and am I going to make a profit?

    To be honest, selling transformers wasn't a big profit for Chinese shop owners. For an example in Beijing, population is roughly same as Australia, 24 ml + and there are only 5 sellers whose main business is selling TFs. Other than these 5, sellers are more or less lossing money or breaking even or combining other manga figures with TF in the shop.

    My business model:
    Very simple, contact the manufacturer directly, import from them by sea, and sell in AUD (not USD) only in Australia.

    I might only be able to sell 3rd party toys, maybe takara tomy boxes too, but not Hasbro stock.

    My target customers will be collectors only.

    Possible issues:
    Here I think some possible issues that I can't make it work:
    1. economic factors:
    right now I hardly see this is going to be an issue. importing from China mainland via sea transport, cost should be lower than paying USD and have them shipped by air.

    2. legal issues:
    3rd party toys could be thought as illegal in Aus? USA is selling them on amazon I think. What about Australia?

    Hasbro doesn't allow anyone to import Takara Tomy packaging toys? possible?

    3. warranty issues:
    as a collector, I am pretty sure warranty is always not smooth unless you buy the toys in Kmart or ToyRus. The official price of Hasbro Titan Return Fortress Maximus is similar to ToyRUs price in Melbourne (if they got that in stock), but only cost me 200AUD to buy yesterday. The problem is, I know there is next-to-none warranty on it. If any parts go wrong, the shop owner almost has no way to get it back. This is not a KO for 200 AUD i can explain later.

    3rd party toys can be better. Abundant spare parts. I can call them and say, "he the left leg is assembled wrong, send me another left leg pls". This is all a collector needs but it is still not Kmart type of warranty.

    Any thought/input will be appreciated guys. Even you tell me this is not gonna work and reasons.


    many thx.

  2. #2
    FatalityPitt Guest

    Default

    Hmm. Good questions. I'm not the most qualified to answer, but I'll share my perspective.

    I've sold Transformers before, but only privately on eBay. From memory, it wasn't a nice experience because it took me a long time to sell my items. I had to wait many weeks until customers became interested in my items, and I still didn't make any profit from the sale. If I remember correctly, I made a loss! That could be why few people are bold enough to open a shop that exclusively sells action figures..

    However, it can still be done. Don't get too discouraged. There are shops in Melbourne besides the big department stores (Myer, Kmart, Target, etc) that sell Transformers and other Hasbro toys, like Minotaur and LittleToyCompany. But I presume they buy their goods from a distributor rather than directly from Hasbro.

    I'm not sure if Hasbro only deals with the big department stores, like the shopkeeper in Ascot Vale told you. However, either way; I'm sure there is a local distributor who you can contact who could supply you with Hasbro toys.

    HOWEVER, since you would be ordering the stock from a distributor instead of Hasbro directly, there's an extra intermediary in the supply chain, and therefore additional overhead costs. So you might have to charge higher prices for the figures to make a profit. The advantage that Kmart, Target, and the big stores have is that they not only buy directly from the source, but they can buy in large quantities and benefit from economies of scale. This is why they can afford to charge lower prices. They also sell other products like clothes, white goods, etc; and profit from those sales can compensate for any losses made by their toy department.

    I believe you can open a shop and sell Transformers and robots (Gundams, Evangelion, etc), but you need to do some research and observe other similar shops like LittleToyCompany. You should then start small once you're confident and have enough information. When starting any new business or endeavor, you usually end up learning by trial and error as you go..

    Good luck!
    Last edited by FatalityPitt; 29th March 2017 at 11:27 PM. Reason: Fixed up one of the links, and rectified some grammar and spelling mistakes.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    19th Dec 2008
    Location
    HK
    Posts
    3,250

    Default

    AFAIK there are one or two (I forget the names), but for the most part it just comes down to money. Australia's a high-cost country to do business in and is geographically close to Asia where a number of established TF/collector stores are based, so it's hard to compete with them. Especially as a start-up/new business, especially if you want to have a physical store. Plus it's a lot of work running a small business, especially for a niche market like Transformers collectors, and most people who have the same idea as you maybe don't really anticipate how much of your life it consumes, especially at the start.

    If you want to step up and start another one, good luck to you. I really hope it succeeds and you can offer lots of Aussie fans a decent range of TFs at less extortionate prices than we currently have to put up. But before you do, be aware that other people have tried it before, and make sure you do your research and know what you're getting into.

    Good luck!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    22nd Feb 2014
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,931

    Default

    Firstly welcome to the boards! Great to hear that you re-found your love for TFs.

    The others have posted some good comments on this so won't go any further there. I've dabbled with online selling of toys (not TFs) and it does take a lot of time depending on how you go about it. It wasn't my day job but research is and if you're looking to start up I do recommend looking at some of the other players in this market.

    Hasbro TFs: Aside from the major retail chains, the below also stock Hasbro TFs. Hasbro Australia do supply to independent toy shops but its usually to those who have a bricks and mortar store. It's also a volume thing so a smaller store will have higher wholesale price than a large chain.
    * Premium Collectables
    * The Little Toy Company
    * Gundam Universe

    Takara Tomy:
    * Premium Collectables

    3P:
    * Premium Collectables
    * Collectors Drift
    * Just Bots

    These are the local ones I've either bought from or know of through various posts around here so I may have missed some. Have a Google of them to see how they go about these things. A couple of them are only on Facebook though.

    As you can see, Premium Collectables is the largest online store for Australia though as you will notice in the feedback thread here, there are issues which they seem to be attempting to address now.

    There are a few options for TF fans in Australia at the moment but the more the merrier especially if you have ties to specific companies.

    A few things to consider:

    1. For importation, have a look into the upcoming lowering of the GST free threshold for goods from overseas. You may have to factor this into your pricing.
    2. Try to consider what kind of model you will go for. Most of the above work on a pre-predominately pre-order model. This does require building up trust though so you may have to offer payment options which will generate higher fees to you like Paypal.
    3. Shipping by sea is totally fine but if you do, be upfront about this. Communication with your customers is key.

    If you decide to go ahead, good luck and I wish you all the best with this venture!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    27th Dec 2007
    Location
    Sydney NSW
    Posts
    37,637

    Default

    Just be aware that according to the board rule 17 we cannot advertise, promote, sell, advocate or show support for illegal activities, such as unauthorised third party knock offs.

    Under the Copyright Act, 1968 it is an offence to knowingly import, possess, sell, distribute or commercially deal with an infringing copy. Penalties include fines of up to $117,000 for individuals or $585,000 for corporations with a possible term of imprisonment of up to 5 years.

    Reference: Counterfeiting and piracy: Criminal Liability - Copyright

  6. #6
    Join Date
    11th Dec 2012
    Location
    Perth
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    2,916

    Default

    Do you like customer service? If yes, that's half the battle won. There's a lot of idiots out there that will test your patience on a daily basis.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    27th Dec 2007
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    Sydney NSW
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    Default

    Have a look at other Australian based online toy dealers. Analyse what has worked and hasn't worked for them because you can learn from the successes and failures from others, then try to replicate that success and avoid their failures. Definitely not easy though.

    IMO as an end consumer I look for two things:

    1/ Price. As others have pointed out, it's really easy for people to order directly online from dealers based in Japan like AmiAmi, HLJ, Amazon JP etc. and pay the same RRP or pre-order discounted prices that online shoppers in Japan pay.

    2/ Service. Low prices won't guarantee repeat business if your service is no good. This includes:
    * Toys being released around the same time as they come out in Japan. This is to give you a competitive edge with your Japanese-based competitors as many consumers may wonder why they are using an Aussie based business just to receive the toy months later if they can just get it sooner straight from Japan, even if it costs a bit more.
    * Prompt replies to customer queries, and as Omega Metro has pointed out, this may test your patience.
    * Transparency with customers. They may be more forgiving of say slower release times if you're more up front as to why your products' releases are being delayed. Although customers may still become fed up if this becomes a regular trend (as your explanations may be viewed as 'excuses').

    Bear in mind that many customers are more than willing to pay higher prices if it means faster and more efficient service. Ultimately don't do what Toys R Us are doing and pretend that overseas online competition doesn't exist. Overseas and other domestic dealers are absolutely your competition so you need to think about what can give you a competitive edge.

    As for Hasbro stock, have you actually tried contacting Hasbro Australia yourself rather than believing what other people are telling you?!?
    https://www.hasbro.com/en-au/customer-service

  8. #8
    Join Date
    28th Oct 2016
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    227

    Default

    After already being burnt by two local stores (tfidu and pc)i wouldn't waste time with a local store again. Having bought directly from taobao before they changed their rules, I've seen just how cheap figures can be sold for whilst maintaining great service and communication.
    The only other local retailer i trust is collectors drift, but their prices are too steep and just bots is just an amateur.
    So I'll be sticking with HK china and Japan from now on, reasonable prices with great service and communication.

    Also, paying more for a toy elsewhere than pc isn't paying a higher price. Buying from robotkingdom or bigbadtoystore is paying a higher price. Buying from hobbylink japan, amiami, toyer city is paying a reasonable price.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    10th Nov 2009
    Location
    Diamond Creek, Victoria
    Posts
    620

    Default Thank you for your inputs

    Thank you guys!

    It seems I would just leave physical store for future, just an ebay one from start.

    I don't know anything other than transformers, not Marvel or Gundams at all, so I guess this is a problem.

    Price is the key, I will further research on it. If I can't even get myself a better price for my own collection, there is no point going further isn't it?

    Customer service is fine for me. My idea is holding local (Aus) inventory, instead of sending by air parcel from China. If sending directly from mainland China, there is 100% sure delays
    and lower price can't justify that frustration.

    The copy right issue does sound scary. Anyone who have both legal and transformer knowledge can elaborate on that? It sounds like I broke the law the day I order fansproject city commander from robotkingdom?

    On the other hand, https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-...+optimus+prime

    this is being sold on Amazon US site, surprised me a lot.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    4th Jun 2016
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    nil
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by langzixinxin View Post
    Thank you guys!

    It seems I would just leave physical store for future, just an ebay one from start.

    I don't know anything other than transformers, not Marvel or Gundams at all, so I guess this is a problem.

    Price is the key, I will further research on it. If I can't even get myself a better price for my own collection, there is no point going further isn't it?

    Customer service is fine for me. My idea is holding local (Aus) inventory, instead of sending by air parcel from China. If sending directly from mainland China, there is 100% sure delays
    and lower price can't justify that frustration.

    The copy right issue does sound scary. Anyone who have both legal and transformer knowledge can elaborate on that? It sounds like I broke the law the day I order fansproject city commander from robotkingdom?

    On the other hand, https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-...+optimus+prime

    this is being sold on Amazon US site, surprised me a lot.


    Im my opinion you would be far better off with a retail website and purely online sales, otherwise, why would anyone buy from you rather than say Kmart? you've got to be either cheap and/or convenient if dealing with mass market items, or nobody will shop there.

    Whatever people are on about two things ultimately matter more than ANYTHING else (from a customer point of view)
    *Prices
    *Customer service

    How many stores have I never returned to because of rude staff, bad customer service etc, every business lives and breathes by it, if you happen to have the cheapest possible prices in the entire market, maybe you can get away with bad customer service.......for a while. But enough people get burned and will about it, and no good business person wants that.

    As a "seller" I would say develop a formal business plan for your first two years with projected financials, which includes all the boring legal mumbo jumbo, restrictions, research on competitors, how you will differentiate yourself in the market, advertising costs etc, before you go ahead with anything, otherwise, it's just wishful thinking/daydreaming, rather than an actual executable systematic plan.

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