Hi from Hong Kong

[Bladestorm]

Hi Guys and Gals,

I'm Lisa (yeah - I'm a chick yo!), originally a kiwi, but consider Sydney home (lived there for over 15 years and still have a house waiting for me back there).
Due to husband's work we are currently living in Hong Kong which is the reason I started collecting. Always loved Transformers as a kid but parents would never let me have them. Then re-discovered them here in HK when my darling hubby brought me Year of the Horse Optimus a year or so back... loved the figure so much I needed to collect MORE!
I find it hard to walk past all the cool Transformers stuff I find here!
Because I could spend thousands of dollars in one day/store I do try to only collect Optimus (but admit I also have a real weakness for Ironhide and Jetfire as well).

I've been on TFW for a while so a few of you might know me from there...

Curious if anyone has ever relocated back/moved to to Oz and taken their MIB/unopened collections with them. Would like to know what I might be in for with customs/etc when the time comes...

Look forward to joining in!

[Dinkydarth]

Welcome! Man, a chick TF collector! A rarity! HK must be paradise for you! Last time I was there, I returned with 2 suitcases of TFs and gundams... mostly deluxe TFs, and didn't have any issues with customs. Not sure about the higher end stuff but I can't imagine it being an issue...

[drifand]

Well if it's megatron, it's going to be opened.

I am not worried about misb status, I only worry for my toy. I have brought most of my tf collection from Singapore to Perth .

[liegeprime]

Welcome to Ozformers!!

Other than gunformers (MP Megatron) most Transformers won't get stopped or detained by customs. You just have to declare properly when sending thru parcel boxes what's in it - e.g. Plastic transforming toys. otherwise they might open to check if you just put plain - toys. coz it could be wooden toys and that is a no no.

[kaiden]

hi and welcome to the forums - thats such a cute story :P

[griffin]

Most of the people I've known who have moved in or out of Australia, have ended up leaving behind their collection with relatives for when they can afford to ship it, or if they ever come back... as it would be an expensive process (and risky if you have rare and fragile items, that could get broken or lost).

As for Customs, only things you have to worry about is the gun-formers (like Megatron and Browning) and the declared value on your boxes.
If you insure them, you may need to keep the declared value on each box to below AU$1000, or else you may get taxed as if you were importing a purchase. So either declare less and insure it at that lower amount, or, don't pack too many expensive items together and declare/insure the full amount.
As for the Sealed items, there shouldn't be any need for Customs to open them unless they set off a drug detector or looks like replica weapons on the xray (like Megatron).

[Sam]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

My wife and I were from HK but moved to Australia and currently staying in Mongkok to see some relatives.

Can i ask where you get your TFs in HK from? I went to the Newtown Plaza TRU shop, Yata dept store, Sino, Siu Maan (CTMA centre) and In's Point but there's not a lot.

Only place I haven't been to are the Wan Chai shops which I prob won't be going to due to time constraints.

Enjoy your time on these forums.

[Bladestorm]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Dinkydarth - If I was back in Oz we'd be neighbours!
I don't have any gunformers in my collection (closest I come is a Kidslogic Megs which doesn't transform) thankfully.
I guess I am wondering if because I have a fair few never opened Transformers if I'll be hit with GST or something for importing them even though I will have had the toys for years and they won't ever be intended for sale...
When we move back we will be moving a whole household so they'll be shipped in a container along with everything else (including my kids own opened toys) as opposed to my suitcase (except for a handful of my more fragile/special figures).
I've been contemplating whether it might be easier to start bringing one or two figures back with me each time I visit Oz, but then I have to worry about storing them in my in-laws garage... first world problems ay?

I actually will open the boxes to display the figures eventually. It's just that here in HK space is limited living in an apartment and I'd rather keep most of them wrapped up until I can crack them open back in Oz.

[Bladestorm]

Hey Sam,

Welcome back to Honkers!

Hunting for TF's here kind of depends what you are looking for. CTMA is ok but unless you want Kidslogic stuff their TF's are thin on the ground. Marvel seems to be their flavour of the last 6 months.
Same applies to Sino at the moment too. I've found HK Island side seems to have a better range of TF's (and believe it or not cheaper(!!)) at the moment, although 12 months ago it was Mong Kok that had all the juicy stuff.
Wan Chai market has 2 shops that carry a decent range of authentic TF's. Freeway Toys - first toy shop on your left as you enter the markets from the MTR end has a lot of the newer stuff and Japanese imports. Problem is they inflate their prices a little (and if they know a figure is popular they inflate it a LOT) and don't negotiate. They know me by name and STILL won't come down in price for me!
Further down on the right is a set of 2 shops both owned by the same guy (can't remember it's name) - one of the shops is mostly cars, the other is a wide range of toys. They have some nice older TF's stuff but you have to look deep into the store and the glass cabinets to find the TF stuff as only the newer stuff is on the front shelves. They did have a few Encore TF's as well as some Alternators, Pepsi Convoy, etc, before Christmas. They won't negotiate on price either but are generally reasonably priced to start with given the vintage of some of their items. In terms of their modern stuff, their combiner wars were HK$20-30 cheaper/piece than Freeway toys for example.
Another place I've seen a few nice Japanese TF's at recently is animate in Wan Chai... they do have a store in Sino but I get the impression it is more books.
The problem is there are so many stores to hunt through here... my local toy shop for example has a nice range of the Japanese Go! collection on sale at the moment and a couple of the Metroplex's as well as a fair few Masterpieces, including Ultra Magnus at a VERY nice price compared to online.
TRU are pretty pathetic at the moment with their Transformers, although if you want Breakout Battle it was on sale for HK$599 at the Taikoo branch the other day. Hasbro tend to use the Causeway Bay store for most of their TF promotions so that and the Harbour City one tend to have the best range, but as I say - at the moment the pickings are pretty pathetic.
Pity you're pressed for time or I would say let me show you around a few of the worthwhile places. Maybe next time if I'm still here!

Good luck with your hunting!

Hi and welcome to the forums.

My wife and I were from HK but moved to Australia and currently staying in Mongkok to see some relatives.

Can i ask where you get your TFs in HK from? I went to the Newtown Plaza TRU shop, Yata dept store, Sino, Siu Maan (CTMA centre) and In's Point but there's not a lot.

Only place I haven't been to are the Wan Chai shops which I prob won't be going to due to time constraints.

Enjoy your time on these forums.

[Trent]

Hello and welcome