Recently?

Hasbro won a court case in Dec 2018 and the two small-time perpetrators were jailed. I presume no one dared to do it after that. (Fine is not a problem, but being jailed is serious.)

If not, need to keep a keen eye if buying original on TaoBao.

 

Recently there's word floating about of SIEGE Jetfire and Omega Supreme "厂货". They were released within a month of the originals at half price.
【图片】围城大力金刚的批次问题，3C和厂货？？【变形金刚玩具吧】_百度贴吧
But like some posters there say, it might be running change or batchwide issues, since 3C releases are done in separate batches from international releases.

There is this video showing that the Jetfire KO is missing the blacklight printing on the packaging but I've yet to see anyone else back this up.
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av66953529/

Yes, buying originals can be shady on taobao. All your Jiangs are kinder in comparison, at least they put their label on the KOs. (And they are all 3C approved...)

 

Mine just arrived with a lot of other items yesterday. Goose had been sitting in the warehouse for 10+ days before consolation but surprisingly it is still sealed!

 

My last package was delivered yesterday, on the eve of CNY. It was really a race against time.  

It beat the shutdown in China by a couple of days (shipped out last Fri, reached warehouse on Sat), and it reached my shores two days before CNY.

I thought I would get it after CNY for sure.

Update: the MST Reflector + MST seekers add up to 0.95 kg. Unfortunately, I bundled it with a DVD and that brought the total to 1.01 kg. Argh, paying 10 yuan for that 10 grams.

 

Hmmm. Has the Zhongshan warehouse that ships to the USA turned over a new leaf and no longer inspecting package contents? And is just with FT Goose for some reason?

 

It's the Chinese New Year period.  

(Probably reduced manpower.)

 

When's the next likely sale period? The 15 or 20 yuan off per 200 yuan type sales? Thinking of getting a Zeta Superitron

 

I'm not certain about any upcoming sales but I can say this:
I attempted to buy Zeta Silver Arrow almost exactly this time last year. Due to Zeta's excessive box size and excessive foam packaging, I got hit with the more expensive volumetric shipping charge instead of actual shipping charge like I normally get with FT items. The grand total came out to be the same price ShowZ was selling it for. I had the warehouse return in to the seller for a refund minus the return shipping cost. Needless to say that was the beginning and end of me attempting to buy Zeta products on Taobao. The warehouse ships to the USA but since your warehouse ships to Australia you may not have to deal with volumetric shipping on items whose volume amount exceeds the actual weight amount. I ended up going with ShowZ. At least that way it was guaranteed that it wouldn't be opened for inspection.


I also ended up getting the FT Aerialbots (at least the ones released so far) from Taobao at much better pricing. I can honestly say that the FT versions blows Zeta out of the water.

 

Zeta won't be a problem for us in Australia. I've shipped Gabriel and Bruticon with no issues.

And agree on Fanstoy's looks, just not sure on combined mode stability. And being pricier than Zeta I can't quite justify it

 

Trust me, FT's quality more than justifies the price, at least for myself and many others. The Zeta versions will always be readily available but FT availability dries up quickly due to their popularity. I'd grab it while you can.

 

Totally agree. I have my fair share of FT's so I know the difference. The diff is maybe $50+ between Zeta and FT limbs, that's $200 over arms and legs. Too much for me unfortunately.

For me, Zeta will do, as my main focus is 86 movie and season 1 cartoon characters. For those, I have FT where it's available. Superion falls into my discretionary bucket so not too fussed here. If I like it, I'll buy it. Doesn't have to be the best cartoon rendition.

 

My opinion is that ZT's Superion look good enough. If you keep them in plane or combined mode 90% of the time, ZT is good enough.

FansToys seem very expensive to keep in combined mode. For me, at least.

 

For me, I need them to look good in all 3 modes. The best option will always cost more.
Thankfully FT items are a lot cheaper to buy on Taobao than any other retailer.
Not to mention ZT Superion does not include the G1 toon chest. The FT version is simply better overall.

 

The box set Zeta does to some extent. It has an add on U piece that probably clips on.

Better execution I think than a home made one ZetaToys Kronos (Masterpiece Superion/Aerialbots)

 

Seems more like a shameless cash grab. Something that should have been included in Silver Arrow's ridiculously oversized box is now only available in the boxed set.
Too bad those that bought the initial individual set are screwed over and didn't get the G1 toon chest.
Again, FT for the win.

 

Next big one is 618, June 18. There may be smaller sales before that for post CNY, Valentine's day, etc.

 

Thanks. A while away then. I'm not in a rush so it's all good.

 

Seems like Taobao warehouse extending their closure until 10th Feb due to the virus.

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