The price is insulting.

I have been a loyal customer for more years than I care to admit... but after seeing that these are NOT limited....BBTS can bite me.

EDIT: So there are a lot of shenanigans required to get these to US collectors... I can accept that.
Still... you guys who happily ordered these at this price are far more dedicated repaint hounds than I.

 

Wow. Do you not understand the situation?

TC and SW are both online Japanese only exclusives. You can't buy them in any country other then Japan, and only with a Japanese Credit Card and shipping address. Which means to get it, someone with aforemented attributes must order it, then have it shipped to them. Then, they must turn around and ship it internationally to the USA, who then ship it to you. In addition, both the Japanese orderer who fronted the money, reshipped it, and took the time to order it deserves a few bucks, and so does the USA seller. So, yes, it's $32 for the figure, plus international shipping, plus two domestic shippings, plus a small amount of recompense for those who were involved in getting it do you. Even if the people who fronted the money, and the USA distributor did it only at cost, it would still be around $90 to get it to an American domestic address (roughly).

Individuals who are doing it for the fandom are forced to charge ~$120 to get it to the US and are taking a small profit for all their time and effort in doing this, so BBTS's price seems quite in line with actual costs without taking a bath on it, which is a bit unusual, as noted in that there isn't a noticable markup on these.

 

I can't believe I'm sitting here actually considering spending over $150 inclusive of shipping on 2 figures I already have, nevermind another $50 or so on duplicates of the Henkei versions of Starscream & Ramjet as well. I must be out of my mind.

The only thing making me hesitate is whether or not we should anticipate Henkei versions of Thrust & Dirge too. Seeing as though Thundercracker just became fair game, these other 2 getting released doesn't seem that crazy anymore. If I knew for sure that we'd be getting all 6 in G1 deco, it would be a instant sell. Guess it could also justify unloading my BotCon '07 boxsets as well.

Decisions... decisions...

 

I would have ordered them, if I didn't already have Classics TC and SW, plus September is already going to be an expensive month with Guardian Robot and City Commander Armor coming out. So I'll have to pass.

 

ive just pre ordered mine whoop lol!

 

any set with classics style thundercracker as exclusive esp one thats only limited to japan is going to have a higher price. Personaly i think its reasonable, when it boils down to it if you want it bad enough you will fork over the dough. bbts is still at the end of the day a business that has to turn a profit and if they have already imported these at a cost they are going to have to make a profit on them. i love em both even tho i have the botcon thundercracker

 

Okay... I stand corrected... there is some justification for the cost that I didn't understand.

Thanks for explaining.  

 

The point is still there, getting them through Fan2Fan and Overdrive will probably be cheaper.

They're retailer exclusives, so Japan-based stores dealing with international customers have to buy them at retail prices (in this case 3000 yen), then they'll have to put some kind of profit margin on top of that to make the endeavour worthwhile.

American stores such as BBTS need to get these from a middleman in Japan who similarly puts a profit margin to make his ordering worthwhile, then BBTS puts a profit margin on top of that to cover their costs and to make a profit.

Nobody (except for the original retailers) are getting these at wholesale prices.

 

Regardless of opinions about the BBTS price, you could add 215 to your cart last night and as of this post, you can add 100 to your cart. It would seem these are on the way to a fast sellout.

 

hmmm I dunno I already set up my hook up with that guy. Nice to see BBTS on their job though.

 

I think that the price is absurd. Classics cost around $12. At the time I thought that was a bit much...$8.00 seemed to be fair for what they were. How and why the value of these are so great in some peoples minds is beyond me. It was probably the botcon box set that set the higher standard(was it $300?). Now they sell them for $140 and people think they are getting a deal. Its brilliant marketing, but they are taking advantage of the fans, and I think it is horrible.

 

Okay, thanks, I think I'll order up a T-cracker!

 

Sigh.
If you haven't got the meaning of the word "exclusive" by now, you probably never will.

 

I'm sure they don't want to get stuck with too many of one. Considering there are a lot more Target Skywarps than Botcon Thundercrackers, I'm sure there is more of a demand for Thundercracker - despite how beautiful Skywarp is.  

Remember that these figures retail for 3000 yen in Japan (1000 yen more than the retail Henkei Deluxe figures who retail for about $20). I'm getting mine for $45 each, so I'm not paying as much as others, but I'm still paying more than what they originally cost.

Randy

 

The ignorance of the situation is astounding.

NOT LIMITED doesn't mean what you think it does. They are taking PRE-ORDERS Before production. If you don't ORDER one or don't have someone in Japan pick you up one you don't get one. There will be no extras made to rot in retailers for months and to flood the secondary market. The second it hits June 20th there will be a limit and a finite number and no more.

Anyone who complains about not having a T-cracker after this gets *NO* sympathy. If you are part of the "I deserve a 9.99$ thundercracker" you are screwing yourself. No one at Hasrbo, FP, Takara or any importers are screwing you.

 

Oy. This is in Japan dude, not America.

The regular Japanese retail price for a Henkei Deluxe is the equivalent of $20US dollars at retail. This exclusive costs $30US at retail. As an exclusive NOBODY buying them to resell can get them at wholesale cost. They're buying them at $30 each, then putting a profit on top to make themselves some money.

BBTS has to pay dudes in Japan to get them for $30 + whatever profit margin the dudes in Japan are charging, then BBTS has to ship them from Japan, then BBTS needs to put some sort of profit margin on top of that so THEY can make some money.

 

Good lord.

You're telling me you honestly expect to purchase an EXCLUSIVE toy from an ONLINE store that sells to JAPAN ONLY that you have to obtain only through a MIDDLEMAN, and that you think you're only going to pay TWELVE DOLLARS??

First off, how you imagine that they're taking advantage of the fans is WAY beyond me. As it is fans were having to pay around 250 to 300 bucks to buy this figure from the secondary market. Now with the release of the Henkei version, the playing field is being significantly leveled, and fans are able to pay around 70 bucks a pop per figure. Lower price plus greater availability equals a SERVICE to the fan. I know, I know, they're not releasing it to Toys R Us here, but that was never the plan anyway, and now that Takara is throwing us a friggin' bone, party on!

Of course I'm wasting my typing on people like you, because I'm sure there's no way you'll ever truly understand any of this.

I'm one of the people who complained and wanted a Thundercracker before. Now I have the chance to have it, and I am taking that chance! All of you people who want to sit around and wait and see if the price comes down, when you miss your chance to own this, I don't want to hear ANY complaining whatsoever. (Similar thing happened to those who took the "wait and see" approach to Botcon 07.) This is most likely the lowest price you'll be getting these at, and when you can't buy it for $70 anymore, please don't come here whining.

I'm firmly with nkelsch (God help me) on this one: if you miss the chance now, there is no room for your belly-aching and whining, because you have your chance now. Don't cry later.

 

some ppl are just cheap guys..think everything will only cost a few bucks, ppl dont realize that we live in a time were collecting anything is costly and have exclusiv stuff.

 

Oh boy...here we go again! I missed out on BC Thundercracker, mainly because I didn't think he was worth the price, but now I see that there will be no mass retail version of him, and $30 a piece is more than fair. Unfortunately it is only in Japan, and you have to import the toy, so yes it will cost you more. People who are pissing and moaning about this again, need to get over themselves, take the bull by the horns and order him. I did, and I am not the least bit sorry I did. In fact, I have the Target Skywarp, but I love the coloring better on The Henkei version, so I got him too. Not only that, I have the Henkei version of Starscream because I liked him better than Hasbro's version, and now the three original seekers will match, and be mine...LOL!

 

You let us know when you see these at Walmart for $8. Until then, the rest of us will be happy with this.