coolpop wrote:How are the prices in TW's TF toy market compare to the States? Besides movie line, how's availability of older lines like Classics, Cybertron, Binaltechs, Alternators & Reissues?
It depends entirely on where you go to get your TF fix. All department stores/mall shops charge pretty much the same prices. We pay 299NTD for a Scout, 499NTD for a delux and 799NTD for a Voyager. So it works out as roughly 10US, 16US and 24US for those three different sizes. Leaders are generally 1999NTD or 63US, depending on which department store/mall shop you are at. One thing to not is almost all TFs are the Hasbro releases.
However, if you go to smaller, family-owned-type hobby shops, you can usually get a better price. I paid 1200NTD for my Leader Prime instead of 1999NTD. On the downside though, the prices tend to vary widely at the little shops. For example, I paid 599NTD for the Japanese version of Bonecrusher at my local little shop and my dad paid 799NTD for the Japanese 08 BB at the same guy.
As for finding older stuff, sometimes you can run across the occassional Cybertron deluxe or Voyager, but the best places to look for older stuff is the little shops. My regular shop in ShuLin has a pretty decent stock of older stuff ranging from the odd Cybertron to a couple of BTs, a few TiTs, to a fair bit of Armada toys and even Beast Wars. Yes, he still has some Beast Wars toys, including the blue Transmetal Rhinox and Transmetal Rattrap.
Classics are still seen every now and then, but it's pretty much the same stuff wherever you go, ie: Prime and Magnus two-pack, Jetfire and Grimlock two-pack and the Constructicons.
One plus is that most department stores will also stock up on the Encore line up and any other specialty line that is currently running in Japan (with the exception of WST), so we get a fair amount of variety. However, the prices on the Japanese imports are, ironically, through the roof. I paid 1999NTD for my Encore Prime at a chain toy store while only 1200NTD at my ShuLin guy for Encore Megatron.
If you want to know anything else, feel free to ask.
Oh, and for sightings, I was at Global Mall yet again yesterday (Thursday) and saw at Toyland a lot of Nightwatch Primes, a couple Leader Megatrons, a lot of deluxes, including Stockade, Arcee (purple), and a lot of Voyagers, including Evac, First Strike Prime and Offroad Ironhide.
They also had a smattering of older stuff like Classics Prime and Magnus two-pack, the Constructicons, a few TiT Soundwaves, a lone TiT Magnus, a white MP Starscream, MP Skywarp (it is Skywarp that's the repaint right? I'm not a big Seeker fan), a couple Encore Megatrons and an Encore Starscream, about 6 Armada Red Alerts (I think it was Red Alert...it was the Japanese version. It looked like Red Alert, but it was yellow. The release number was MC-12) and even 6 complete sets of the Universe verson of Superion.
Almost picked up Superion until I saw they wanted 999NTD for it.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that all the TFs at the ShuLin guy are in near pristine condition and still MOC/MISB!!