Hey im new. Been hooked on masterpiece reviews on youtube for a while now and keen to get into collecting. have a few questions that hopefully some of the seasoned collectors could help me out with. Like how often to takara or 3rd party pieces become unavailable? For instance ive been watching a few of the online sites like BBTS and chimungmung and a few figures are on like 2nd or 3rd issue. So like if my budget is low, so maybe enough for 2-3 pieces a year, would i be better off NOT to go straight for a mainstream item like MP 10 so i can pick up a figure that may not be available again next year like toyworld devy or those fanstoys insectecons etc? also is there a risk of purchasing an item from these stores but reciving a KO instead?
One thing I do is weigh how likely Takara will eventually release a character. For example, I'll likely get an Omega Supreme from Fantoys vs a Trailbreaker. I'm pretty sure Takara will someday release a Trailbreaker and Hoist. So that helps me budget. It seem like these days a lot of the 3rd party companies are doing rereleases too. So you might be ok. I will tell you this. If a 3rd party figure goes for crazy on the aftermarket = sell!!!! I had quake wave and I should have unloaded him for 800 when he was going for that. Toys typically come down. Also, join some of the Facebook groups for buying/selling Tfs. There are deals to be found.
Don't buy eBay if you don't want to risk getting KOs, but now KOs are starting to be better quality than Takara's for a cheaper price. BB7/Yes Model are perfect examples and are around $90 cheaper. If you're buying around two to three figures a year, you need to know what you really want. You can grab dinobots and insecticons from Fanstoys, the Grapple/Inferno molds from Takara, MMC or Maketoys, or whatever carbots or seekers. Look at different sites since they may have a sale or a bit of a cheaper price. These sites will give you what they advertise: tfsource.com thechosenprime.com toydojo.com bigbadtoystore.com captured prey.com tf-direct.com (Also sells KO. They let you know what which ones are) robotkingdom.com
Another way to save money will depend on your collection needs. If you like a particular 3rd party figure but news of a new Takara release for that same figure has come out, you might be able to get that the 3rd party figure on the cheap as other collectors unload that figure to get the official one. If you want a specific Takara item pre-ordering from a reliable overseas retailer is the best way, example the new MP-36 Megatron is ~$240.00 in the US but overseas you could preorder for $165.00+ shipping($30-$40) depending on retailer. I wouldn't rely on rereleases as only a handful of characters have been rereleased and some were due to the scale change that came with MP10.
Takara and most of the 3P companies do multiple runs of figures and will reissue them after a few years if there is demand. If you are trying to do it on a budget, I would prioritize which characters you want and stick to that. There are so many options these days that it's easy to go overboard.
Thanks heaps for the advice and replies guys. I never even thought about reselling figures or what bargins i might get throught the second hand market when a new version is released. And thanks for listing all those online stores, I didnt realize there was so many id only seen about a third of those. Ill definately check them out see if i can get some good deals. Really hoping to pick up a reissue FT grinder or TW devastator (with the purple barrell and g1 head as complete set) as my first purchace. also grapple with the solar power tower accessories is pulled straight from my favorite episodes i had on my VHS set as a kid, that and the birth of the constructicons were my favorite 2 part episodes. I reckon i must have watched them over 100 times each haha
wait for sales. especially big holiday sales.some figures have been on sale more often and at a bigger discount than others. -
Sales, KOs, and third party. These days, the KOs are often better than the official Takara products, and usually much cheaper. Benscollectables' youtube channel has some great comparative reviews to illustrate this point. However, if you aren't a fan of the latest Takara releases (I do not like the new aesthetic) companies like Fans Toys, Mastermind Collectibles, Maketoys, Toyworld and many others are putting out some excellent MP-styled designs, though I'd personally recommend checking out MMC's Reformatted line if you're just looking for some damn nice figures. As for sales, BBTS has a lot of the older car MPs for close to their original prices or lower, I've been tempted to pick up G2 Sideswipe at $50 for quite some time.
I agree with the sales. If you know a figure you want isn't a hot item, just wait for the holidays. For example, Takara Tomy Tracks and Shockeave was on sale for super cheap this past holiday. Otherwise, I say to just be patient and buy from a reputable seller like TheChosenPrime, BBTS, TFSource, etc. Don't go searching eBay or buy from Asia at the first available YouTube review of a figure that's finally hitting the consumers. All sort of weird things can happen and you'll end up frustrated seeing your package get lost, stuck in customs, etc. while the the figure is showing up in your domestic online shops. It'll be less frustrating when you received a defected toy, and deal with a store in your same time zone... or just a few time zones off Finally, the best advice is something we've all read from the big collectors out there. Have a end game. Stick to it. Some have said to keep your collection tight. I've strayed from that a few times here and there, but I'm selling off all my impulse buys and man, it feels great. Good luck, and have fun!
