to become a local TF seller?

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Without wanting to get into a linguistic debate about Goktimus-ese VS common use, this thread probably should be moved to the Unauthorised section.

[griffin]

By legal definition all unauthorised toys are knock offs. They're not necessarily counterfeits, but they are knock offs. These toys are using the distinctive character likeness of a Transformer character without permission from Hasbro or TakaraTOMY. The term "knock off" is a broad umbrella term that covers a wide variety of intellectual property infringement, including counterfeits (copies designed to look just like the real thing), or original products that use the distinctive visual likenesses of someone else's intellectual property without their permission.

Note: I'm not looking to ignite a debate over this issue. I'm deliberately avoiding stating my opinion over this matter. I have not made any statement here showing that I am either for or against this. I am merely attempting to present or clarify facts. May I also respectfully remind folks to consult board rules 17 & 18. Thank you.

Debating semantics or technical definitions without answering the questions in the first post is off-topic. That sort of discussion needs to be conducted in other topics, so that the person asking the question can get the answers they are after without off-topic padding.

Discussion of "3rd party" items are permitted on this site in the designated section.

[drifand]

Nah skip KFC Magnus lol.

Bring on fan toys jetfire

If you are more focused on 3p I suggest bringing your topic there.
Avoid direct Ko product meaning complete duplication copy.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Now that we're here, yeah...what drifand said is right. KFC not-Magnus isn't a piece that's in high demand, or even one that was considered especially fantastic back in the day, and there are multiple other recent options for the character.

If you do end up trying to start an import/TF sales business, you're going to need to focus on things that people want.



If you don't mind my asking @langzixinxin, roughly how old are you? You come across as a bit on the young side is all - I've read similar threads to this before and usually they're started by young-adult/late-teenager TF fans who sometimes haven't really thought about all the details involved. Not meaning any offence - I think it's a great idea to get higher-end TFs to the Aussie market at better prices, it's just that other people have had the same idea previously and so far none of them seem to have really succeeded.
So, a few things to think about...

Do you have any previous experience starting up/running a small business? Any training in that area?

TFs alone are a bit of a niche product, especially high-end TFs. Would you be looking to cover other collectibles as well, or only Transformers/3rd-Party equivalents? How much do you know about other collectible lines, eg. Hot Toys? Play Arts? Figma?

Do you have storage space for stock, and/or enough start-up capital to see you through the initial period while you're (hopefully) getting established?
How long could you store stock that wasn't moving for? How much could you discount old stock for to sell it?

How much of your own time and/or money are you willing to invest into your venture? How much can you risk losing if it all goes bust?

Customs laws - let's say for example you find a great deal on some MP Megatrons. Are you aware of the regulations about importing/sending him to the various states and territories?

How about import costs - you know the government is trying to impose GST on all overseas sales to Australia, from a previous threshold of up to AU$1000, right?
Currency rates have an affect as well - 6 weeks ago the Australian dollar was worth ~77 yen, now it's down to ~73.3. Can you factor in stuff like that to your budget?

You say you've been assured that the KFC not-Magnus you're talking about aren't counterfeits/KOs. What would you do if you did buy stock and it was counterfeit? What would you do if you didn't realise you had counterfeit stock, and unintentionally sold it as genuine?

You'd be up against already established players, both international and (to a lesser extent) local. They have established customer bases and suppliers. How would you plan to compete with them?

It's been alleged that at least one local supplier undercut a competitor and effectively sunk their business when they started getting too successful for comfort. Whether that's true or not (I don't know anything about it personally and this isn't the place to continue that discussion), it's a known business tactic for bigger players to take a temporary loss/reduction in profit to remove competition - McDonalds/Woolworths/Coles/Starbucks etc. all do it. How would you deal with/prevent something like that?

There's a lot of things to think about is what I'm saying. If you're going to do something like this and make it work you'll have to consider all this and more.

[Megatran]

On the plus side, there is a sizeable portion of the fandom on this forum & elsewhere who really enjoy purchasing & discussing the many elements (engineering, aesthetics, articulation, etc) of 3P items. There is no better time to be a 'Collector' with so many 3P releases from the various companies. Do your homework & ...

GOOD LUCK!!!

Discussion of "3rd party" items are permitted on this site in the designated section.

That ought to be the 11th Commandment:

Thou shalt discuss, and permitted to discuss, 3rd Party items on Ozformers forum in the Unauthorised Transfomers Products section.

[langzixinxin]

Now that we're here, yeah...what drifand said is right. KFC not-Magnus isn't a piece that's in high demand, or even one that was considered especially fantastic back in the day, and there are multiple other recent options for the character.

If you do end up trying to start an import/TF sales business, you're going to need to focus on things that people want.


If you don't mind my asking @langzixinxin, roughly how old are you? You come across as a bit on the young side is all - I've read similar threads to this before and usually they're started by young-adult/late-teenager TF fans who sometimes haven't really thought about all the details involved. Not meaning any offence - I think it's a great idea to get higher-end TFs to the Aussie market at better prices, it's just that other people have had the same idea previously and so far none of them seem to have really succeeded.
So, a few things to think about...

Do you have any previous experience starting up/running a small business? Any training in that area?

TFs alone are a bit of a niche product, especially high-end TFs. Would you be looking to cover other collectibles as well, or only Transformers/3rd-Party equivalents? How much do you know about other collectible lines, eg. Hot Toys? Play Arts? Figma?

Do you have storage space for stock, and/or enough start-up capital to see you through the initial period while you're (hopefully) getting established?
How long could you store stock that wasn't moving for? How much could you discount old stock for to sell it?

How much of your own time and/or money are you willing to invest into your venture? How much can you risk losing if it all goes bust?

Customs laws - let's say for example you find a great deal on some MP Megatrons. Are you aware of the regulations about importing/sending him to the various states and territories?

How about import costs - you know the government is trying to impose GST on all overseas sales to Australia, from a previous threshold of up to AU$1000, right?
Currency rates have an affect as well - 6 weeks ago the Australian dollar was worth ~77 yen, now it's down to ~73.3. Can you factor in stuff like that to your budget?

You say you've been assured that the KFC not-Magnus you're talking about aren't counterfeits/KOs. What would you do if you did buy stock and it was counterfeit? What would you do if you didn't realise you had counterfeit stock, and unintentionally sold it as genuine?

You'd be up against already established players, both international and (to a lesser extent) local. They have established customer bases and suppliers. How would you plan to compete with them?

It's been alleged that at least one local supplier undercut a competitor and effectively sunk their business when they started getting too successful for comfort. Whether that's true or not (I don't know anything about it personally and this isn't the place to continue that discussion), it's a known business tactic for bigger players to take a temporary loss/reduction in profit to remove competition - McDonalds/Woolworths/Coles/Starbucks etc. all do it. How would you deal with/prevent something like that?

There's a lot of things to think about is what I'm saying. If you're going to do something like this and make it work you'll have to consider all this and more.

thx mate, for all your questions, really helpful to go through them. My answers,
1. i m 40 years old. my own business, as starting up one as well, Investment Consultant for Chinese investors. I used to be a fund manager, but i guess i really want just work for myself.

2. My motivation to do this: 1) support my hobby; if better it is a good training for my son if he knows how to run a business to support his hobby; 2) i export some small volume aussie-made stuff to China, therefore want a easy way to convert those RMB back to AUD.

3. I don't have a high expectation to think this business can let me earn big money, my time and energy is also limited on this too. But at least, breaking even will be gain for me. the currency conversion benefit.

4. I don't really know anything other than TF.

5. I have a not-too-small garage, can put two landcruisers in. stocking should be fine, how 3rd toys can hold in value is my concern though.

6. I believe I won't be able to add too much margin on the sale. so discount sale will always be cut-loss sale, instead of break-even sale.

7. I won't be starving if I go bust, but I won't commit too much money either. Maybe I will add some my own collections too to sale.

8. GST will be added in though. if this thing can get rolling, I will have something from China to here and something from here to China at the same tie frame, so currency rate should cancel out.

9. the rule in Chinese TF community is, official, non-official, 3rd, 4rd, KO stay in harmony and go on their own way. If I walk into TF shop in China and say I want one real MP ironhide, 1 KO rachet, the seller will grab them and calculate the price accordingly. If I pick a KO ironhide, they will tell me, mate you got wrong one, the real one is on that shelf. much less concern than buying from ebay. Also, those KO factory owners, they are not some kind of mysterious persons, they have phone number if I really want i can track down. their intention is not really wanting to make something cheap to cheat for higher margin. There are lots of TF fans in China today but on something lower than 500 AUD monthly salary. KOs are for their demand.

10. I don't want aggressively to compete with anyone. I don't want, for example, sell to Singapore as that's more or less Robotkingdom's territory. I just think paying USD and high transportation cost for Aussie collectors is too inefficient. If someone constantly cut the TF price down in Aus, isn't this we should be celebrating? I will go and buy stuff from them too. The problem is, Target and Kmart they are not competing on TF. sad. lol

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Sweet, it sounds like you've got a better starting point than a lot of the people who have come and gone before you. Australian TF fans get a bit of a bad deal on both prices and distribution, so I hope you can make it work!

It might be worth finding out about a few of the other high-end toy lines as well - Australia's a very small market numbers-wise so just TFs might not be enough to make it worthwhile.

Other than that, good luck!

[kup]

It is always good to keep in mind that the value of both official and 3rd party toys over time is always unpredictable. You can make educated guesses on what will become rarer in the future and yet continue to have demand but that is all what it will be, a guess.

[langzixinxin]

hi guys,

thx for help. Finally, I just put one on ebay, x-Transbots "cyclonous". Don't know if I am allowed to post the link on the forum though.

The only thing I cannot do perfectly is that, I can help with part replacement, for example, if you found a hand or a leg missing after opening the box, this is easy to communicate with the manufacturer, but you may have to pay the postage for that tiny parts being sent from China to here.

I also would try not to resend any items coz sending one more time will break me even, twice will put me to broke.

I set 20 AUD flat rate for transport for now coz I don't have much experience calculating the postage yet. But for local pickup i guess I can refund that part.

anyway, lets see if it works.

Xin

[Gen Jay]

hi guys,

thx for help. Finally, I just put one on ebay, x-Transbots "cyclonous". Don't know if I am allowed to post the link on the forum though.

The only thing I cannot do perfectly is that, I can help with part replacement, for example, if you found a hand or a leg missing after opening the box, this is easy to communicate with the manufacturer, but you may have to pay the postage for that tiny parts being sent from China to here.

I also would try not to resend any items coz sending one more time will break me even, twice will put me to broke.

I set 20 AUD flat rate for transport for now coz I don't have much experience calculating the postage yet. But for local pickup i guess I can refund that part.

anyway, lets see if it works.

Xin

Just saw this thread. As a fellow melbournian, its really exciting to see more options in obtaining 3p figures. I may have to PM you in the near future