Hey guys, i've been out of the transformers world for a long time and unsure how to get the best deals nowadays. Soundwave is my all time favourite transformer and he is getting the MasterPiece treatment as you may all know, so my questions are:

Where will he be on sale officially? (other than pre-order sites like bbts etc)

Does it usually go cheaper on the secondary market?

Do these usually sell out insanely fast like Masters Of the Universe Classics? Will there be reissues further on?

thanks in advance

 

1) Japan is where it'll be sold officially. Previous MPs (most of them, other than Megatron) have found some kind of release in North America, but it could be a long wait and a big gamble in terms of availability, and sometimes the quality goes down (even if the price does as well).

2) AHAHA no. The secondary market is almost always more expensive for these kinds of things, unless you're buying a used one from someone that just wants to get rid of it, or unless a new, better version comes out and there's tons of them left over. Masterpiece Megatron, for example, retailed for around 130 bucks from BBTS, and is selling on ebay for around 200.

3) Sometimes, yes. But they're usually available long enough that you can get your mitts on one without too much trouble, especially if you pre-order. They're produced in much larger numbers than the MOTU stuff, IIRC. There's often second runs of the production, or new versions, or recolors or remolds. There will almost certainly be SOME other version of the mold, but there may be differences that you either prefer or don't want.

 

1: Pretty much anywhere that sells imported Transformers. BBTS, Robot Kingdom, TF Source, Captured Prey, take your pick.

2: Oh sweet jesus no.

3: Not THAT fast. As Aernaoth said, you should be able to get one at about retail price if you just get it when it comes out.

Now, what you should keep in mind is that if MP Soundwave comes out stateside, it will be at most $100 and probably come with an extra cassette. That said, there's no guarantee that Soundwave will come out stateside.

Keep in mind also that some places like BBTS let you preorder and then cancel at any time without charging you a penny. If you want, you could preorder and change your mind.

 

Short answer: yes.  

 

To echo all of the aforementioned reasons, just pre-order it.

 

If you want this figure and have the spare money, then preorder it. It will only get more expensive.

 

just preorder it off BBTS already. if this were an item of a lower profile like a 3rd party toy that had been out for a year or two you could shop around and see which e-tailer had the best shipping or price, but as it stands youre going to get the same price across the board for Soundwave. the best you could do now is to shop around and compare shipping rates.

 

preorder it, it won't get any cheaper

 

I was debating the same thing, but I currently only collect Hasbro/US release MP figures. I'm taking a big risk/gamble here and waiting for a stateside release. But if you love him that much, I'd say go and pre-order jus to be safe.

 

Why would you not? Unless you don't have the funds for it right now.

 

thank you all for the answers, i will certainly pre-order this then   last question:

Is there any european store that will ship within europe? (customs are a serious pain here)

 

As a Canadian, I've found both TFSource and RobotKingdom to be good with the whole customs thing...

 

YES!

 

Ive been mulling over the idea of soundwave myself. It really is one of the most perfect representations of G1 Soundwave yet, but its price is nagging me too. Also, i now have green giant and the Project genesis Omega on my radar too so thats making things all the more difficult.
In any case, ive found that Robotkingdom is one of the best sites to get from.
Right now they have him for 159 or so. Their major thing is sometimes their shipping is quite high but thats due to packaging im assuming. They gave me a shipping cost of around 30 dollars for canada bringing the grand total to around 190.
Heres the thing, all the other places have soundwave AROUND $190 and thats WITHOUT shipping. So in the long run Robotkingdom is the best option. So far ive done 3 orders from RK and ive been quite happy with their service, Good sturdy boxes, fairly fast shipping too.
Also as you mentioned Europe, try looking at Kapow Toys. Theyre UK based if i remember right  

 

to the OP: good on you! you're not going to regret your decision.  

 

Pretty sure kapowtoys are offering pre-orders. Based in the UK.

 

What he said.

 

You can always try to get the TRU version when he gets release next year.

 

Thats what i'm hoping/waiting for!

 

I think anyone that considers G1 Soundwave their favorite Transformer (or even just fav 'Con) owes it to themselves to buy a Masterpiece Soundwave. It's unlikely that a better Soundwave will ever be made.