S.H.Figuarts Thread: V3!

[Dark Kabuto]

I normally love BBTS but they are not really the first place I'd recommend for toku stuff. They usually don't get these items in stock until months after several other places.

Their prices are absolutely ridiculous too....seriously, it's almost like how much local import stores over here charge for Figuarts

 

[Fujishig]

Their prices are absolutely ridiculous too....seriously, it's almost like how much local import stores over here charge for Figuarts

I wonder how much of it is markup and how much of it is their price from their distributor. They seem to have switched to the domestic distributor, BlueFin (at least, my Figuarts Zero I got from them a few weeks ago was from Bluefin, and with a Funimation sticker showing that One Piece rights in the US are owned by them).

They have ridiculous markups on exclusives, but that's probably understandable. Some of their stuff is semi-reasonable (less than retail price + shipping from Japan would cost; like Kamen Rider Black, retail 2500 yen, selling for 29.99), but not always comparable with HLJ or amiami which give discounts from retail. Some of their stuff is ridiculous, and I assume is somewhat based on popularity (Super Robot Chogokin Shinken Oh is 75 bucks!). The good thing is that they have a reliable distributor, and if you missed the ever-shortening order windows for HLJ or amiami or whatever, you can pay a premium and get stuff a bit later.

 

[Baltan II]

The easiest way to see what is or isn't worth your time is simply doing a price comparison, same as with purchasing anything else. For BBTS, multiply their price by 80 and you'll have an estimate of the current cost in yen (for greater accuracy, use the current PayPal exchange rate, since that's what many of us use). Compare to the leading stores/middlemen and now you know if you're being ripped off or not.

The Black and Black RX preorders? Cheaper than Hobby Search and only around 300 yen more than AmiAmi or HLJ.

 

[Burkion]

Do we know if they're going to fix the Kamen Rider Black sculpt any?

 

[Dark Kabuto]

I wonder how much of it is markup and how much of it is their price from their distributor. They seem to have switched to the domestic distributor, BlueFin (at least, my Figuarts Zero I got from them a few weeks ago was from Bluefin, and with a Funimation sticker showing that One Piece rights in the US are owned by them).

They have ridiculous markups on exclusives, but that's probably understandable. Some of their stuff is semi-reasonable (less than retail price + shipping from Japan would cost; like Kamen Rider Black, retail 2500 yen, selling for 29.99), but not always comparable with HLJ or amiami which give discounts from retail. Some of their stuff is ridiculous, and I assume is somewhat based on popularity (Super Robot Chogokin Shinken Oh is 75 bucks!). The good thing is that they have a reliable distributor, and if you missed the ever-shortening order windows for HLJ or amiami or whatever, you can pay a premium and get stuff a bit later.

Yeah, I suppose BBTS at least offers a nice fall back point if all else fails...

 

[ShukuenShinobi]

Do we know if they're going to fix the Kamen Rider Black sculpt any?

No, it is a straight up re-release, they usually don't fix things except for some QC issues, like the Kabuto Mold's bowl legs that one time...but what was wrong with it?

 

[DarthPrime27]

I normally love BBTS but they are not really the first place I'd recommend for toku stuff. They usually don't get these items in stock until months after several other places.

1) Like Ped/Baltan said, they aren't that much more on regular releases. I'll give you that on the exclusives they jack them up to stupid eBay-esc prices.

2) If you are buying one at a time, the cost of shipping one from Japan (in my experience even using SAL) isn't any kind of savings. I'm a regular at BBTS so the savings on shipping with using the POL really add up. I've had tons of new orders/preorders that shipping was less than $1 or free to add an item to my POL. That right there already offsets the cost (most of the time) of shipping one Figuart at a time from Japan.

3) For grown-ass adults like myself, this is usually our only choice. I live in Ohio (EST), have an 8-5, M-F job, and a family. I can't camp out AmiAmi or HLJ every night until the wee hours of the morning to preorder some of this stuff. Usually, BBTS is my only choice. At worst, they are usually a month behind on getting Figuarts in. Patience is a virtue after all.

4) If we keep buying Figuarts from BBTS, they'll have a greater demand which will help them keep their prices down. I don't know about anyone else here, but I am all for American sellers of Toku toys.

 

[DarkRanger99]

Want a figuarts BladeBlade? Only $929!

http://cgi.ebay.com/S-H-Figuarts-Ta...028?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb51b58ac

 

[DarthPrime27]

Want a figuarts BladeBlade? Only $929!

http://cgi.ebay.com/S-H-Figuarts-Ta...028?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb51b58ac

Now there's a slice of ridiculous.

 

[Dark Kabuto]

Want a figuarts BladeBlade? Only $929!

http://cgi.ebay.com/S-H-Figuarts-Ta...028?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb51b58ac

WTF am I looking at?! :sly:

I'll laugh...laugh HARD at whomever pays for that price.