Online Stores Poll 2015!

[drifand]

My order of preference:

Nippon-Yasan - I know it was hard to fit them in the poll but I've had impeccable experiences with them. Pricing is generally the best of any of the Japanese sites. Can combine pre orders

Premium Collectables - have a couple Trypticons arriving today as my first order, also have Thundercracker on pre-order. Pricing is very good, communication on the boards here seems to be better of late. A shame that there is no Paypal option available given the need to prepay up to 6 months in advance. Seems receptive to feedback about packaging options. Will reserve further judgement until I've had a couple packages arrive.

I have to agree and disagree with some bits. One is that nippon yasan has a no cancelation policy and you could get away with it by getting a store credit.

The PayPal is actually charging you more than a regular credit card services. I found that out and is a rip off.

Nippon yasan also raises prices on new items, i have witnessed a nember here had his order cancelled and they raise the price and made it available., imo a bit of a put off.
Yes i still buy from them.

Premium collectable is again questionable in some extent as i have spent about over $500 but yet to get a single item as they are on pre order. My Hard line question is how many of you are even able to find any other place selling the current mp11 t thundercracker as no where else is actually having them? How are you going to risk one opportunity to ehobby if it turns out you cant get any from there?

The free shipping fiasco is a up and down thing as it is what draws customers like me to order local as it can be as cheap or cheaper than japan stores. The downside is the couriers are not Australia post meaning signature required and at times we are not home.

I am actually okay with no paypal as to me is what drive prices up.

[DaptoDog]

I have to agree and disagree with some bits. One is that nippon yasan has a no cancelation policy and you could get away with it by getting a store credit.

The PayPal is actually charging you more than a regular credit card services. I found that out and is a rip off.

Nippon yasan also raises prices on new items, i have witnessed a nember here had his order cancelled and they raise the price and made it available., imo a bit of a put off.
Yes i still buy from them.

Premium collectable is again questionable in some extent as i have spent about over $500 but yet to get a single item as they are on pre order. My Hard line question is how many of you are even able to find any other place selling the current mp11 t thundercracker as no where else is actually having them? How are you going to risk one opportunity to ehobby if it turns out you cant get any from there?

The free shipping fiasco is a up and down thing as it is what draws customers like me to order local as it can be as cheap or cheaper than japan stores. The downside is the couriers are not Australia post meaning signature required and at times we are not home.

I am actually okay with no paypal as to me is what drive prices up.

PayPal provide a 6 month protection so you are getting something of value, my credit card only offers protection for 3 months so the PayPal comes in handy when you have these long lead times for up front pre-orders. Obviously some care about this, some don't.

I should have clarified my point on NY pricing. For in stock items they can be expensive, but everything I've got from them has been a new pre-order item (eg Masterpiece or Unite Warriors). On pre-orders I've found them cheapest on average, particularly when compared to HLJ.

I just received my 2x Trypticon order from Premium Collectables this afternoon. When I was told they would just be sent in the case they came in (since there were two) I knew not to expect mint boxes and of course both of them had dents or crushes. To their credit they did put plastic protectors on the outside corners but this is not enough to prevent the crushing to other parts of the box. In fact the problem may be before they receive them from their distributors because I had the same thing happen with MP-22 when I ordered it from another Australian online retailer despite them using plenty of packaging material. At least purchasing direct from Japan, the package is bubble wrapped there before heading to Australia.

Despite my issues with packaging, I'm yet to see Thundercracker show up anywhere which is why I pre-ordered it from PC. They should be commended on their sourcing. I suspect on individual items their packing is good as seen in some of the store feedback here. I think I will continue to use PC in cases when their pricing (incl shipping) is much cheaper than alternatives and/or I can't find it anywhere else. Trypticon was going to be $400 at TRU, got them for $215 each from PC so you have to give them credit there.

I agree about the courier thing, luckily I was home today to receive it. Prefer AusPost, at least I can pick it up from my local post office.

[Bladestorm]

I voted for Robot Kingdom as they're the only store I've gone back to for purchases.
Everything I have ordered from them has been exactly what I asked for with boxes well protected and in mint condition. I have received my orders within a day or two of Japanese release date. The one time I have had to question them on a pre-order they responded promptly.

The packaging and speed of deliver is good however it annoys me they only work in US dollars. I'm in HK, they're in HK, but they refuse to budge on that. AND the big one for me is the shipping. They charge me for shipping locally what it would cost me to ship the same thing to Sydney so they are making money outright on shipping costs which really bugs me, particularly when they repurpose product packaging for their shipments.
However, as they have proven themselves reliable for the items I have ordered I will go back to them for the hard to find/unavailable items.

[MayzaPrime]

Robot Kingdom - Have been using them for years without any problems. I voted for them.

TFSource - Another site that I have been using for years without a problem.

Transformerland - Thanks to TFL I completed my G1 collection. Matt is fantastic to deal with and I still do pick up the odd figures here and there.

BBTS - I have used them very rarely and found that they are more expensive than most sites.

eBay - I have picked up some rare items, but I hardly buy anything from eBay due to the blatant scalping.

Premium Collectables - I have put in a pre-order, depending how this turns out I will use them more regularly as I want to support local

TFI - Same as above.

TFCC - I have not had the same problem that everyone else seems to have with TFCC, the times that I have needed to contact them, they have responded quickly and resolved my issue with no problems. My only complaint is the price of shipping.

[drifand]

PayPal provide a 6 month protection so you are getting something of value, my credit card only offers protection for 3 months so the PayPal comes in handy when you have these long lead times for up front pre-orders. Obviously some care about this, some don't.

I should have clarified my point on NY pricing. For in stock items they can be expensive, but everything I've got from them has been a new pre-order item (eg Masterpiece or Unite Warriors). On pre-orders I've found them cheapest on average, particularly when compared to HLJ.


I agree about the courier thing, luckily I was home today to receive it. Prefer AusPost, at least I can pick it up from my local post office.

I am aware of it but because you are solely looking at transformers you may not have noticed ny did raise prices even for pre orders . One of our members had his order cancelled at pre order despite he paid and they raise the price and made it available.
That's where I hated them.

I am a very frequent buyer of ny and I do take a grain of salt to ignore certain bad things about them. Overall is a good choice if you don't want to pay up front but cancels are not allowed even though you paid Paypal which is why Paypal does no added value in this instance.

Tracks mp was the first mp I stopped buying from ny as shipping was expensive compared to PC

[DaptoDog]

I am aware of it but because you are solely looking at transformers you may not have noticed ny did raise prices even for pre orders . One of our members had his order cancelled at pre order despite he paid and they raise the price and made it available.
That's where I hated them.

I am a very frequent buyer of ny and I do take a grain of salt to ignore certain bad things about them. Overall is a good choice if you don't want to pay up front but cancels are not allowed even though you paid Paypal which is why Paypal does no added value in this instance.

Tracks mp was the first mp I stopped buying from ny as shipping was expensive compared to PC

I don't get value from cancelling pre-orders using PayPal. The value I get is the buyer protection. With relatively new businesses like PC I'm cautious in making large upfront payments 6 months in advance. These are one man Internet operations. Obviously PC seems to be doing well so the risk of them leaving you high and dry is increasingly being reduced.

Also as discussed in the NY thread by paying in the local currency (in Yen) you avoid the big rip off PayPal expenses since the currency conversion is done by the credit card company at the standard rate. I'm not sure why you think it costs extra to use PayPal? There is an extra cost by offering PayPal that the seller needs to wear though.

I haven't noticed the increased pricing yet on pre-orders but will keep an eye out for it thanks. I always still check HLJ and AmI Ami. The latest pre order I made with NY was Unite Warriors Devastator for 17,180 Yen vs 20,000 Yen at HLJ. The shipping costs across the Japanese sites all appear comparable too.

I ordered MP Tracks from NY and the high shipping was annoying but they were just going off the box size they had been given.

[Starscream77]

I think some are losing sight of what Trev's poll is about.

It is which online store do YOU prefer/use, I don't think there is a need to challenge other peoples preferences here. Let's stay on track.

I use BBTS as it is convenient for what I like to buy and the POL and their customer service keep me using them even though I know I could save a few bucks here or there going elsewhere.
And the sales yard here of course is always great... Except that dodgy Sinnertwin bloke

[drifand]

I think some are losing sight of what Trev's poll is about.

It is which online store do YOU prefer/use, I don't think there is a need to challenge other peoples preferences here. Let's stay on track.

I use BBTS as it is convenient for what I like to buy and the POL and their customer service keep me using them even though I know I could save a few bucks here or there going elsewhere.
And the sales yard here of course is always great... Except that dodgy Sinnertwin bloke

I used nearly all. PayPal isn't a reason why for me. I had disputes in Paypal that eBay refused to admit their mistakes.

There isn't a solid one shop as you find exclusive toys may not be available and that's why you change to another shop.

For example mp blue streak and the current mp thundercracker isn't available in hlj or any store at times.

[M-bot]

I voted for BBTS, as the majority of my stuff has come from them in the last 2 years, without ever having a single problem. Sadly, the Aussie dollar is killing buying from overseas.

I would like to more business with Australian retailers. Bricks and mortar stores are too unreliable for me sadly. I've tried a couple of the new online retailers recently, an Apollyon from TFI which came just fine, albeit a bit delayed. I've had one delivery from Premium Collectibles, which was great, and I have a couple of preorders with them too.

The Aussie online retailers have had some teething problems, but I'm hoping that they grow, which will hopefully mean ironing out some of the kinks in their business models and also mean better deals for us locals.

[DELTAprime]

Stupid question... How do I unsubscribe from RK's news letter?

Oh and my account on the site already says I'm unsubscribed.