Requiem Prime wrote:kirbenvost wrote:Downbeat wrote:oh dear lord I want this Cliffjumper
whyyyy didn't i think about pre-ordering him when he was first announced?
i mean, i'm only interested now thanks to the colors, but bluuuugh.
Cheapest I can find him for is 35 bucks.
That's standard price for a Takara deluxe nowadays. That's about as cheap as it's gonna get, I suggest you get it while you still can.
Do you mean for us or does that really equate to what they'd be in Japan? I just assumed it was a markup for importing.
It has to do with the value of the yen vs the US dollar. The cost in Japan has gone up itself in recent years, but the increase mostly comes down to exchange rates and import. Most western shops sell them for about that much. If you order straight from Japan (through HLJ/Amiami etc) the price will be cheaper, but then shipping costs are high.
Take, for example, a generic exaple of
Mechtech Bumblebee:
List Price: 2600 Yen (HLJ price 2080 Yen)
Shipping: Fedex - 1294 Yen, EMS - 1200 Yen (20% off), SAL - 680 Yen
So with today's exchange you are looking at:
List Price: $31.41 USD (HLJ Price $25.13 USD)
Shipping: Fedex - $15.64 USD, EMS - $14.50 USD (20% Off), SAL - $8.22 USD
So worst case scenario, paying MSRP you are looking at $47.05 for a single deluxe shipped by the fastest method or $39.63 for the slowest. Best case, due to HLJ's discounted prices, $40.77 for fast shipping or $33.35.
So not far off from $35!
Although I just found the listing for
Terrorcon Cliffjumper, and it appears the Micron Arms deluxes are somewhat cheaper, 2000 Yen / $24.16 USD or HLJ price 1600 Yen / $19.34, so you are still looking at a minimum of $27.56 and a maximum of $39.80.
So I guess if you can buy straight from Japan and get the cheapest, riskiest shipping, you might be able to save $7 or so, but with standard, more reliable EMS shipping it's still going to cost you $33.84.