I'm pretty new to importing Japanese TFs. Does anyone know the best and cheapest place to preorder the Japanese versions of TF Classics? THANKS to anyone who posts!!
The cheapest place is always going to be somewhere from Asia. I know most people are tired of me preaching that, but it's almost always true. When you buy from somewhere in the US, you have to pay shipping to them AND shipping to you, as well as the price of the item. When you buy from somewhere in Asia, you pay shipping to you and the price of the item. It usually works out to be the cost of the item in a US-based store. I suggest www.fantofan.jp or www.hlj.com (HLJ is great if they decide they'll be stocking the item, as there's usually an early-bird discount of some sort)
Not sure about the cheapest, but I've always done my online Transformers importing through Big Bad Toy Store. Big Bad Toy Store I've been ordering from them for over 8 years without any problems.
I'm not going to order Japanese Classics Megatron from BBTS until we receive concrete notification that they will NOT be placing any sort of cap on it.
I understand where you're coming from, but don't blame them man. Blame our ******ed laws. I know they are in place to help protect people, but our society is too worried about capping toys instead of keeping REAL guns out of schools.
This guy knows what he's talking about. I've ordered from both and had no problems at all. Ages Three and Up is also a good place to shop from and has reasonable, and most times lower, prices. For instance, their Encore Omega Supreme is probably the cheapest I've seen. To the states with shipping: $105.48. As far as the Japanese Classics, A3U is also among the cheapest. And the shipping isn't as much as it would be from overseas.
www.superbeeds.com might. i just emailed him to see if they are. he's a great guy to deal with....i'll repost here once i get an answer... and yeah, usually buying from someone in asia is best. you'll pay less for the figure, but more for shipping. and you usually have to wait a whole lot longer. and since megatron is a gun, he could get nabbed by customs....so, theres lots of factors to look at...
Too bad no one believes me and is more interested in paying Joel's through-the-nose prices. Never does it take $10 to ship less than 1 pound. I'll vouch for Spencer (A3U) while I'm here... If there's a problem, he's very quick to fix it. If I do get Omega Supreme, it will be through him.
Yeah, his shipping for smaller orders is ridiculous. If you use Pile Of Loot, though, the convenience and savings definitely kick in. I avoid him now for a lot of things on account of other business practices, but I still use him for large import orders. Besides fantofan and HLJ, check out amazon.co.jp. You can order from them pretty easily in English, and they ship internationally for competitive rates. Me, I'm gonna try to pick 'em up in person when I get to visit Japan in May
I can understand why some people would want to use that, but I personally want my stuff when I pay for it and I rarely have enough spending cash to get more than 1-2 things at a time. High prices + high shipping = no. If what Vangelus said is true (he pretty much said there were no Transformers in Japan, and he looked), I would play it safe and order online. And Omega Supreme doesn't come out until late June.
Yeah, Pile Of Loot only works well if you order a lot and are willing to wait. Probably ninety percent of the stuff I've bought in the last three years is still boxed anyways, and will be until I graduate, so I've never minded waiting. Really? Shit. I was planning on spending a day or two hunting for both vintage and newer Takara stuff. That was about a third of my motivation for going. Dammit, I gotta go PM him.
I'm all about hlj myself, that's a very good suggestion I can't agree on the BBTS one, they're never the cheapest on anything as far as I can see
Directly from his "I'm back from Japan" thread. Considering all the kick-ass hauls people have brought back, I was pretty shocked by that.
Yup, I don't order toys from them, really. Only things I have on preorder right now from them are some statues and busts. And I would get those elsewhere, but all the sites mentioned so far don't carry them. The online stores that DO carry them are surprisingly higher than BBTS.
Dammit. I'm hoping I'll have some more luck--I have a friend who's from there who says she knows where a bunch of collectors-type stores that specialize in vintage stores are, and I was really counting on that. But now I'm not optimistic.
It's all about the name. It doesn't matter how the service or prices are, all that matters is a well established name. That's the way our society is. Wal-Mart, Paypal, Ebay, BBTS, the majority still insist on supporting them while any company that tries to give them competition doesn't have a chance in hell. I wish people would stop supporting Paypal, they always side with the buyer no matter what & their customer service is 100% incompetent. I won't bother with BBTS, the shipping prices are complete BS & most of the stuff listed is always out of stock. But stupid people still insist on buying from them so what can you do? They win cuz they've established a name for themselves.
I'm going to get torched for this, but ... BBTS. They're absolutely not the cheapest, but they're the most reliable. I'd sacrifice $2 or $3 here and there for the peace-of-mind they deliver. The shipping is fast and you get something in an expected condition. Packages from Asia are a mixed bag. With strict US customs, toys have been violated during inspection. (torn open, manhandled, etc)
Some Asia sellers don't even ship using a proper box! It's either a huge envelope or a make shift box with 10,000 rolls of tape. I would go with BBTS or AgesThreeAndUp....not sure about prices but you can be certain they will fix any problems that turn up. Other retailers probably wouldn't even email you back.
Fantofan and HLJ are completely legit packagers. I have a box from HLJ under my desk if anyone wants a picture. Thick cardboard, heavy duty. Everything I've ever ordered from Fantofan was expertly packed, too. I bought my reissue Soundblaster (was my grail at the time) from him and it showed up in better than case fresh condition. Sure, the ebay guys from Asia aren't the best, but Fantofan and HLJ do have reputations, and they sure as hell aren't bad ones (Ryan's was headed there, but it looks as if he's fixed everything)
HLJ is going to carry them. BUt they've already got the limit of pre-orders on Megs, Prime, and Grimlock. http://www.hlj.com/hljlist2/?Dis=2&SeriesID=3424 You can still get BB, SS, and Mirage.
