The Energon Pub

News Credits: 2 · Tue Feb 15, 2011 10:14 pm

I'm just jumping into the organized collecting a little bit ago, I am not sure how to go around to buy the Stunticons set. The Botcon website sends me to the TFCC, and I can't find any answers there. As far as I have figured out, there is an attending and a non-attending package. I would need the non-attending one. Can someone please explain to me how to do this?

News Credits: 14 · Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:25 pm

Its still too early. Once they've revealed all the figures they'll set the price, and start taking orders. All information regarding the packages will be made available closer to the actual convention date.. But you'll have to wait for a while.

Botcon Website wrote:We are diligently working on all of the BotCon details.
You will be able to register for attending and non-attending sets soon.

Be prepared to drop a lot of dough on them.

News Credits: 20 · Wed Feb 16, 2011 6:22 am

Botcon sets have been just over $300 the last two years. I'd budget for $350 or so just to cover shipping and if there's any price inflation.

News Credits: 2 · Wed Feb 16, 2011 1:50 pm

Over $300 for the set? Really?

I guess I am not ready to shell that kind of money. Man. I guess I'll have to try for secondary market prices and hope inflation doesn't go through the roof.

News Credits: 7 · Wed Feb 16, 2011 2:19 pm

TheStrategist wrote:Over $300 for the set? Really?

I guess I am not ready to shell that kind of money. Man. I guess I'll have to try for secondary market prices and hope inflation doesn't go through the roof.

I'm afraid this might be hit or miss: the past few BotCon sets have either gone slightly under the original price or have massively inflated (Seekers, Shattered Glass). I think last year's Generation 2 set is still available for around the original asking price, but considering BotCon sets are limited in production, the chances of a significant price drop are low.

News Credits: 12 · Wed Feb 16, 2011 2:53 pm

TheStrategist wrote:Over $300 for the set? Really?

I guess I am not ready to shell that kind of money. Man. I guess I'll have to try for secondary market prices and hope inflation doesn't go through the roof.

You'll probably end up paying even more on the secondary market, and then you'll wish you had got it for $300 when you had the chance. Some people buy the Botcon sets at Botcon and immediately list them on eBay with a markup before they even leave the show.

News Credits: 14 · Wed Feb 16, 2011 4:31 pm

I have to agree with the guys, Botcon sets rarely if ever go down in price, so your not likely going to find a better deal in the secondary market.

If you really want the set, get it through Botcon.
Its a 5 figure set in great-looking-foamed-interior collectors package.

You are also getting a couple of unique head-sculpts in the figures not featured anywhere else but the set.

News Credits: 241 · Wed Feb 16, 2011 4:43 pm

Overcracker wrote:I have to agree with the guys, Botcon sets rarely if ever go down in price, so your not likely going to find a better deal in the secondary market.

If you really want the set, get it through Botcon.
Its a 5 figure set in great-looking-foamed-interior collectors package.

You are also getting a couple of unique head-sculpts in the figures not featured anywhere else but the set.

Don't even start thinking about those heads finding their way in regular retail: the new head molds are destroyed after the production run.

News Credits: 12 · Wed Feb 16, 2011 4:54 pm

Yeah, you better suck it up now and buy the set when it's readily available.

Example. I bought 2 2009 boxsets and traded one for a 2008 boxset. The 2008 is now worth $1200. They don't go down in value. It's only up from there.

There are the occasional price fluctuations which make it cheaper, but you have to really watch the market for that. I'd recommend going for the boxset now. You won't regret it.

Really at the point of having Botcon stuff, your collection changes from the average toybox type collection to something a whole lot more. Botcon figures are a whole other world compared to the rest of the TF toys.

News Credits: 12 · Thu Feb 17, 2011 3:55 pm

I've only been collecting for a few years, but there's one lesson I learned quickly:

If you want a figure, buy it immediately. They only go up in price; never* down. And the more rare the figure, the faster the price goes up and the higher it goes.

*There may be rare exceptions in the case of something that's overproduced, but certainly not a convention-exclusive.

News Credits: 1452 · Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:58 am

This set.. is definitely going to rise in the secondary. Alot of hardcore 'con goers aren't exactly Animated fans, and likely won't maintain their sets.. selling the set to get some money back on the $$$ spent on the trip to Cali. The only sets that are bland and are low cost is the 05 set, in which I believe the TCC just got rid of their last remaining stock of the set a few months ago, and the 2009 Elite Guard, where I think I could have got the set for $150 at one point in time. Landshark and the other two names I don't care about are pretty boring and the only selling point in the set at the time was Scourge and Kup, but now that both are in Generations and United, it's like..

...LOL, what's the point...

..but still the set is at the $350-400 range at the moment.

Anyways, back to this year's set. Animated is quirky and it's a hit and miss thing for most fans, but there isn't going to be enough sets to accommodate the fans that like Animated. Plus, you can't supplement the characters we're getting with anything else. It's a special one of a kind thing..And it's like..

your so called complete Animated collection ain't complete without it

...and it's unique. Like the 06 Beast wars tribute set. The 07 set might have half of it's contents released by both Has and Tak in retail over the years, but Dreadwing is still a fetching beauty and so is Bugbite. 08 is Shattered Glass which is ridonculous popular and there's no way that's ever going down. 09, like I said before, sort of boring, and the only gem was Scourge and Kup... the figures are both being replaced by their GenUni incarnations this year anyways. But it is still expensive. '10 was bland for me, but there are no replacements for any of the characters in the set.

So point is, buy it when it's first released. Sure it's expensive, but that's the fun I find in collecting. Or if you're liking single figures, there's going to be dozens of Seibertron.com members getting rid of singles or even sets are prices that are going to be kind than the ones you'll see on Ebay.

Or you could totally skip and miss the set entirely. But that's not very manly. :grin:

News Credits: 8 · Fri Feb 18, 2011 4:02 am

Trust me man.. Get the Non-attending package, you'll be kicking yourself afterwards. If your not even a remote fan of the animated series, get the set, see if it wears on you . If it doesn't then you can re-sell it to recoup the losses. Wether or not you try to make money on it or just break even is up to you

Hooking up a fellow collector feels alot better than ripping one off

News Credits: 1 · Fri Feb 18, 2011 4:33 am

hmm i wonder how long the packages will be available for?
I probably wont have the available funds til may...

News Credits: 2 · Fri Feb 18, 2011 6:34 pm

Wow. First of all, thanks for all the responses. I am pretty excited about the possibility of getting the set. Definitely going to try to go for the non-attending package.

I only wish I would have been aware of this early enough to put aside some cash. This "in-between jobs" stage has carried on for far too long. #-o