I preorder mostly FP stuff, and anything else I have doubts about getting in a store. The Walmart around here sux for re-stock, and the nearest ones besides that one are 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes away. As far as Target and Toys r us, the closest ones are at least an hour away. So I preorder mostly to compensate for shitty stocking and co0nvenience........

 

I don't see a need to pre-order every figure but there are times when orders get cut which means that stores may not have extra to sell after filling pre-orders. That's happened to me a couple of times.

Also, it's sometimes good to lock in a price. MP Grimlock on TRU for $59.99 I would almost call a pre-order. Technically I think it was just backordered but I got in early and got the lower price with a coupon.

 

I only pre-order if it won't be released to a regular store. Except for a few end-of-the-line figures, I have never had any trouble finding figures multiple times in the store. Even most exclusives are easy to find. I might not find it right off the bat but within a few weeks, its mine.

 

For european collectors as myself, preordering ensures we get the figures we WANT, in certain cases a few months earlier, and for the almost the same price as buying in a store here. The thing is european market gets short-stringed sometimes, so we don't even see certain figures for sale that are common in US.

 

Put simply, things can sell out long before the actual release date. If you don't pre-order you will never get to own some figures.

I've seen stuff sell out in a matter of hours on some online stores.

 

I can't emphasise enough how true this statement is

 

Preorders can be a blessing or a curse. I preorder only things that are limited or exclusive for the most part. Today my Predaking preorder processed. What sucks is that I'm not sure I wanted the figure anymore lol. Lesson learned? Manage your preorder list.

 

Personnally, I prefere to pay for things early when I preorder them. Sometimes when something actually comes out, I don't have the money at that time. Also, if the store has my money, I can't spend it. If I were to set that money aside for something, it would probably get used on something else. Basically, what im saying is: I'm bad at saving money, so preordering does that for me.

 

Wait, Predaking is almost out? 

 

Pretty much this. More figures than not aren't worth preordering. The problem being every now and then something will be tough to find and you'll end up paying massive mark ups for it or not get it. Where the preorder usually locks the price in. Of course by the time you know which ones were worth pre ordering it's too late.

HA mudflap
concept BB (for about the first 4 months he was out)
HA Barricade (got him months before he was easily available)

These are all good examples. But realistically 9 out of 10 times the only real benefit to pre ordering is that I then don't have to waste hours haunting Wal Mart or Target and TRU to see if it shows up. It really is a comfort thing (combined with the ease of canceling pre orders at BBTS).

 

I know you guys have it worse there in Europe than I have it here. But I do have a lengthy list of Hasbro figures I kinda wanted (or was just aware of) that I've never seen here either. We tend to get things here much later, and not as much.

That is the biggest reason why I often pay extra for run of the mill Hasbro cheapy figures. It's the hassle of trying to find them here- and sometimes not finding them.

 

This is why i have begun to pre order as I can afford to do so. Also I did not want to miss out on the Seacons and Predacons reissues.

hold on here do you mean the seacons? or are you serious?

 

I try to avoid preordering as much as possible when it comes to TFs. I just don't like to be locked into any binding contract just in case I need to cancel.

With the Macross stuff I import it's kind of unavoidable. That stuff usually sells out fast so if I don't get in on a preorder I'll have a world of pain to try and track down another one. Plus, as mentioned before, most Japanese or HK places I buy from offer an early bird special when you preorder.

 

^^ THIS.

It never ceases to amaze me how often people completely set aside the fact that there's a world outside of the US...

 

I rarely preorder. Something has to be really awesome for me to do it, or hard to get.

First TFs I ever preordered were all of Wave 1 Encore from TFsource.
Then the Seacon reissues, because they were my first ever completed combiner, and I want them again really badly.
Hydrodive Bumblebee and Wingblade Prime are preordered, because, well, Animated is awesome.
MP Grimlock was preordered from TRU because TRU sucks and I didnt want to hunt every week
Finally, Predaking is preordered because Predaking.

 

That's what I was thinking.And a lot of times they get to the stores before your pre-order even arrives.

 

I normally only pre-order stuff I won't be able to find in stores. For example, the Seacons set, anything fansproject, and some overseas stuff (some japanese animated).

I'll hardly ever order anything that I know will hit my TRU in a month.

 

Because I don't like checking stores multiple times and walking out empty-handed. I'd so much rather have the guarantee of an online purchase, as early as possible. That said, I don't pre-order (or order at all) from mark-up stores like BBTS. HasbroToyShop and Toys R Us.com mostly.

 

Oh snap! My bad. I meant Piranacon... The Seacons. Not Predaking.

 

The only benefit I need is the assurance that I'm going to get it.