The Energon Pub

[o.supreme]

TF fan Justin M reached out to let us know that Transformers MPG-03 Yukikaze is available on Amazon Japan which

What am I chopped liver? (See above from Monday). Anyway, I hope the price does come down. My base price is 16,290 Yen currently.

[william-james88]

My base price is 16,290 Yen currently.

No, it isn't. You didn't read the article, even though I put it all caps in bold.

[o.supreme]

I read the article, I just had the wrong screenshot. My apologies. But still a higher price than stated. I know shipping/ taxes etc will vary, but as you say, this is before all that.

[TF-fan kev777]

Amazon.jp doesn't ever show me the base price, even when I put it in the cart. I wonder if what they show differs from country to country for tax purposes.

[Bounti76]

I can't recall...I know Amazon US doesn't charge your card until the ítem ships.... does Amazon Japan charge right away?

[chuckdawg1999]

I can't recall...I know Amazon US doesn't charge your card until the ítem ships.... does Amazon Japan charge right away?

Nope, they don't.

[Bounti76]

I can't recall...I know Amazon US doesn't charge your card until the ítem ships.... does Amazon Japan charge right away?

Nope, they don't.

Ooh, thanks, Chuck!

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Yukikaze looks a little weird, but I like it. I really like the aesthetic of these figures. and that Raiden face is something I like.

I placed my preorder though Amazon JP. 15,731 yen base, 18,167 total cost, so right now about 135 shipped. Not too bad.

[TF-fan kev777]

I can't recall...I know Amazon US doesn't charge your card until the ítem ships.... does Amazon Japan charge right away?

Nope, they don't.

This is actually one reason I'm willing to give Deep Discount a try on this one since their base price for the pre-order is in USD and not JPY. The yen is at a pretty unusual low versus the dollar right now and I think there is a better chance of it going up by the time amazon.jp would start charging than there is of it staying the same or going lower.

By that same measure I'm really glad I locked in the first 2 in JPY with amazon.jp.

Playing the next 3 out will be interesting, especially if deep discount comes through with no issues on this one.

[chuckdawg1999]

I can't recall...I know Amazon US doesn't charge your card until the ítem ships.... does Amazon Japan charge right away?

Nope, they don't.

Ooh, thanks, Chuck!

Just don't use a debit card.

[o.supreme]

What is wrong with using a debit card?

[Emerje]

What is wrong with using a debit card?

Nothing, they do a card hold but it'll go away after a few days.

Emerje

[TF-fan kev777]

What is wrong with using a debit card?

Nothing, they do a card hold but it'll go away after a few days.

Emerje

Yes, however if that debit card is linked to your primary bank account and you are light on funds when you pre-order, it could screw you if other bills come in while the hold is on, whereas a credit card won't affect you in that way. The hold will be temporary, but the timing could be a disaster if someone didn't know and wasn't prepared.

[Emerje]

What is wrong with using a debit card?

Nothing, they do a card hold but it'll go away after a few days.

Emerje

Yes, however if that debit card is linked to your primary bank account and you are light on funds when you pre-order, it could screw you if other bills come in while the hold is on, whereas a credit card won't affect you in that way. The hold will be temporary, but the timing could be a disaster if someone didn't know and wasn't prepared.

Well yeah, but that's just a reason to be cautious, not a reason not to use it at all.

Emerje

[o.supreme]

I am aware that holds on debit cards are common, but I've ordered all 3 MPG from Amazon Japan now with my Debit card from a credit union, and never had a hold placed on my orders. Perhaps it depends on the individual financial institution?

[chuckdawg1999]

What is wrong with using a debit card?

Nothing, they do a card hold but it'll go away after a few days.

Emerje

Nope. They have a different policy for Debit cards. When the item comes in they charge it, as a temporary hold. By the time you actually get the item they put ANOTHER charge through on your card, it often caused me to have a negative balance in my PayPal account and I believe was one of the reasons that PayPal closed my account back in October.

[Emerje]

What is wrong with using a debit card?

Nothing, they do a card hold but it'll go away after a few days.

Emerje

Nope. They have a different policy for Debit cards. When the item comes in they charge it, as a temporary hold. By the time you actually get the item they put ANOTHER charge through on your card, it often caused me to have a negative balance in my PayPal account and I believe was one of the reasons that PayPal closed my account back in October.

I've placed three large preorders with them over the last few months. The first two were PayPal pay in 4 so I started paying for those immediately, but their policy says PayPal orders are charged at time of order. You always have to check this, every store handles preorder charges differently. My third order for Skyfire and Yukikaze I put on my debit card. I placed the order, had a hold that day and it cleared Monday as it often does in these situations. I haven't experienced anything unusual in the way they handle payments. If they charge your debit as a bank card you likely won't have a hold (like with Amazon), but if they charge your card as credit based on the logo on it (Visa or Mastercard or something else) you'll probably see a hold.

Emerje

[o.supreme]

Some great pics of Shouki in Hand

https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7883718331

https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7884013706






I originally thought the combined mode would be about a head taller than CW/UW/PotP combiners, but with Shouki being around 7 inches in Robot Mode, I'm hoping he will actually be closer to CW/UW Dev/PotP Predaking height. Raiden would be the perfect rival for PotP Predaking if this works out.

[Emerje]

Seems very promising, but I'm not optimistic about the combined form being more than 12" when an entire leg is the height of the bot, unlike Predaking which had taller bots and longer thighs.





He gets a little more height from the hips, but not quite enough get him up to CW Titan height.

Emerje

[o.supreme]

The more I look at that silhouette of MPG Raiden, I wonder...where is Kaen? (the lower torso?), seems like he contributes very little/almost nothing to the combined mode, and that may make all the difference in the world. (Whereas Long Haul which serves the same purpose on Devastator is actually the largest bot)

While PotP Predaking leg bots (Headstrong and Tantrum) do have thigh extensions, Raiden (Like CW Dev) relies on 6 bots and still gets to the same height. Upper chest, arms & legs all seem about right, but its that lower Torso that is the real unknown right now, and will likely be the last bot revealed...Go figure.

[Emerje]

The more I look at that silhouette of MPG Raiden, I wonder...where is Kaen? (the lower torso?), seems like he contributes very little/almost nothing to the combined mode, and that may make all the difference in the world. (Whereas Long Haul which serves the same purpose on Devastator is actually the largest bot)

While PotP Predaking leg bots (Headstrong and Tantrum) do have thigh extensions, Raiden (Like CW Dev) relies on 6 bots and still gets to the same height. Upper chest, arms & legs all seem about right, but its that lower Torso that is the real unknown right now, and will likely be the last bot revealed...Go figure.

Pretty sure half of Kaen forms the "wings" (which are now huge blocks) at his feet. The thing about Devastator is Longhaul forms half the leg and the lower torso while on Raiden the leg trains form the entire leg up to the hip and Shouki is making most of the torso. Besides, we know the legs are roughly 7"-8" like a regular CW combiner.

Emerje

[Nemesis Destron]

...How uncanny that just minutes ago I was thinking about Raiden an his height versus other Titans combiners and where might he fall in with height and all. But for me it's no problem.....

[o.supreme]

Greetings all,

ok may need some assistance here. Looks like Amazon Japan just tried to charge my Debit Card for Shouki, they "rejected" the payment, not sure why as there is far more than enough funds. So I addressed the issue directly, I reentered my Debit Card information, and now am awaiting judgment (I guess? Things look ok on my pre order at the moment) Even if they put an amount DOUBLE the cost on hold, it will not adversely effect me right now. I just need to make sure they accept the payment method. Others have stated they've ordered from Amazon Japan with U.S. Debit Cards without issue, I hope this can be resolved, calling Amazon Japan customer service isn't really an option for me...

I've heard others say they ordered through Amazon Japan with Paypal? I'm not sure how this was accomplished as I dont see that as an option, otherwise I would have gone that route.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

I dunno how people ordered through amazon japan with paypal, I would prefer that route as well.

As for your main concern: every time I order from amazon japan, my credit card treats it as unauthorized charges. In my case, my credit card is set up so when I get charged, i approve the cost via text message and it processes. Not sure if you followed that route or not.

I haven't got the text yet, but my card is showing a pending charge for $131.99 from them, so I am guessing that is Shouki

[Emerje]

My bank doesn't let me use debit cards for foreign transactions unless I call them ahead of time to "open" the card for 24 hours which is a huge hassle so I just use a credit card and pay it off. I have had Amazon Japan decline my card before, but I use virtual numbers for security so I just swap in another one and it usually works fine.

My pending transaction is for $123.66. My card usually has bad conversion rates, but I recently upgraded it to a travel card so I wonder if the rate improved?

Emerje