Hellscream9999 wrote:Alright, I really don't keep up with the foreign sites since hts is pretty convenient for me; everyone here seems to pimp amiami so much, and no other japanese site (seemingly), and from the way people talked about it, that it was some special secret. So I guess the ~$40 difference to that and bbts and such is for fees and profits?
I only ask, as I legitimately am out of this loop (but for an equivalent price, you are still getting gypped by TT
)
The whole deal with pricing and cost and how the two could be different or interchangeable can really create a headache so I can totally understand how it can seem confusing. I just know you are a smart guy who likes being well informed so I wanted to bust that myth about Takara prices (also, someone above said that Takara is not always better than Hasbro, which is also true, like with the whole Prime line)
Yeah people pimp amiami but there are others. HLJ.com is one of them and
animeexport as well. That's where I bought my Takara Devastator for only 141$ US (plus shipping).
And yes, for the equivalent price, you are getting less paint apps (except for Motormaster), no argument there
.
BBTS charges more to cover their higher cost. Now it has been argued (rightfully so) that both Takara and Hasbro toys are made in the same factories (which has been proven) and are thus both imported into the country and thus the travelling and importing fee doesnt really add up to the Takara toys costing more. That is sound logic. And I dont think BBTS is too greedy either. I think they are either taxed more of subject to a higher cost per figure due to the japan exclusive distribution of these toys. What I mean is that Takara distributes to local Japanese stores (ex: Toysrus) but not to BBTS. And thus, a third party Japanese company must buy from Takara and then sell to BBTS (which needs to have this shipped to them from Japan instead of the asian country of the toy's production factory). So that increases the price (since every party needs a cut). By buying from amiami or hlj or any other Japan retailer, you are buying from someone who bought straight from Takara, hence the cheaper price. For the Hasbro products (which also need to be shipped from asia to america), since they are Hasbro's product, I am pretty sure that Hasbro deals with the shipping cost and distribution starts once the product is in the states. So BBTS doesnt need to deal with that extra cost.
All I mean to say is that what BBTS charges is reflective on their cost and not the figure's inherent price in its country of initial distribution. For americans, its a nice service they do since you have all your figures under one roof and you dont have to fear of them selling out right away and the shipping is minimal. But for the rest of the world (especially europe and australia), buying from BBTS would be nonsensical due to the huge shipping cost. So it makes more sense for them (and me) to go through the japanese retailers where they can at least get the figures for their actual price and deal with the extra costs themselves without another party coming in between them and their toys.