There's no need for seminars, there's a thread here on tfw2005 telling you which one is honest and not. I've bought items from Chinese sellers where the products got delivered after the 6 months Paypal Protection had expired. Then again I've bought from truly rogue ones. If you stick with people like Baba and Netclow though, you are 100% guaranteed to get your product. But as I mentioned in another post, eBay from now on will charge taxes, so ....

 

You will still get assessed tax. I live in New York and the law passed earlier this year to assess sales tax on all online purchases. obviously it's up to the retailer to comply and as a corporate entity, eBay complies. They even have a whole faq dedicated to giving you legal ways to avoid paying the sales tax... which means it's hurting them to an extent.

The last item I bought from baba was taxed. Scale that up to a large purchase, like terminus price level plus a combiner leader or 2, and that will be upwards of $30-$50 tax.

Ebay has historically been a boon to 3p collecting because you could buy from the Chinese sellers during a flash sale or eBay bucks drive, all while avoiding sales tax.

Now it makes no difference to an increasing amount of states.

Personally I'm seeing if I can get spoiler once Chinese retailers get them in stock.

 

It's the easiest thing ever. Look at the feedback, search for their name on this board.

Or just use the same reputable seller every time. You only have to spend 5 minutes checking up on them once.

But I guess it's even easier to be dismissive of other people's advice.

 

I already pay enough taxes for everything else as it is, can the government just leave online purchases alone... I want my darn no sales tax overseas purchases!

(Or at least don’t tax toys... maybe then we could slip by their defenses...)

 

It’s not that easy, speaking as a very careful ebayer who has never had a problem until last month. I bought from people with 100% feedback, lots of transactions and they were on the reputable list here. You never know when some good seller with years of experience is gonna go rogue. I agree Baba is always safe but the good sellers list has been getting shorter.

 

That word rogue is a little harsh and shouldn’t be applied to every seller. One never knows what exactly happened. They could have gone to jail, got robbed, life problems, or worse died. You are protected as a buyer through EBay.

 

Actually people that uses zeta's price as an argument are stupid, this is fanstoys totally different price and quality figures.

 

First of all, reading is a good habit, so you should thank me   Also the story is so interesting, you'll be like "what, it's over already?"

The XTB bots aren't that old, the first two were only released last year. There are many FT figures that are older and yet they've maintained their value in the secondary market. Sovereign, the Insectibots, etc. Name me one XTB bot that has maintained its value well. Also let's not talk about secondary market prices, BBTS earlier this year, cut the price of either Crackup/Flipout. Don't get me wrong, XTB bots are selling because X-TrollBots can always be counted on to fawn over every one of ibot's products, but the demand for their products is not at the same level as the demand for FT's products.

 

Your vote is the only way to change it. Good luck.

 

Taking the kid out for a nice afternoon stroll.

 

I'm going to guess DX9 is the father who's tired of hearing it? I can see it in his eyes... He's about to snap

 

Just transformed this guy.....and what an absolute treat he is. The transformation is fun and fluid. It's a bit tight at first but hey, better tight than loose (only talking about robots, honest). After loosening and unscrewing one or two things it becomes a joy to transform. If the remaining Stunticons are anything like this we are in for a real treat. Wow, all of a sudden from being glorified accessories for the brilliant FT-31A, these guys have actually been elevated to figures I want. Breakdown has a very nice weight to him. And most of all it feels balanced, very mature like FT have found the perfect balance for die cast and plastic.

For some reason I want to see what Drag Strip will look like, he was always the odd one in the group. I want to see what crazy engineering he'll have, maybe some RoadKing level engineering. Cant' wait. I'm really loving Breakdown, such a figure. I definitely agree with the consensus he's a bit skinny, more like flat from the back and front, the Taylor Swift of Decepticons, haha. But I understand why it had to be done. Had he been probably even a millimeter thicker it probably would be nigh impossible to have him compress to carbot size which is very crucial since he transforms into literally the same car as other Autobots. Stunning altmode as well. The transformation is efficient...something sorely lacking in TT products these days. I'm not naming any names!?

Anyway so proud of myself for getting the insignia split just perfectly as shown in the pics below.

Oh...fun tip, for those struggling to get the lights out in car mode, they can be pulled out during transformation into alt-mode, not ideal but much easier than trying to do so when in car mode.

 

Let me read the book first before I can send my appreciation   Where the hell did my hooked on phonics tapes go.

Without final production numbers, I'm not sure one is really winning over the other though. Secondary, 100% agree and certainly not trying to prove anything by my post. Just throwing out what I believe may or may have not helped XTB on their Stunticons.

In the end, I'm only after the best representation and quality of the characters being made and unfortunately, XTB lost me on theirs and where FT and DX9 has caught my attention instead.

 

FansToys actually got back to me first and wanted to know my address. TFSource wanted the whole thing back figure and box (as is noted in their FAQs but I already tossed the cardboard box it came in) Hoping that FansToys comes through with the piece.

 

Has anyone received theirs from TFS-Express?

 

Yeah, I got mine Monday

 

I agree, but it is the only reference we can really make as they are the ones that currently set the bar for how large combiners come together. I love Fans Toys, but stating that it could hit the $700.00 mark. But, if this comes to $700.00 it is still better than a $450.00 prime.

 

I did the same thing. Placed sticker and then used a sharp knife to cut down the middle. Looks exactly the same. Problem is I was using a letter opener to help un-wedge parts for transformation and accidentally scratched hood. I need to look to see if the red hood pieces snap off and see if I can put a spare part somewhere.