The phrase "Japan never got that mold" means "TakaraTomy never officially released it in Japan domestically". The Japanese collectors who would have bought them online would have had to import the Hasbro versions, which isn't the same thing as TakaraTomy releasing them over there themselves.Rated X wrote:The whole "Japan never got that mold" concept is getting kind of silly. Almost all serious collectors of Takara figures buy their stuff online. This seems to render the term "Japanese Exclusive" pointless.
American collectors say the same thing about things that Hasbro hasn't released in the U.S., and their getting them online isn't the same thing as Hasbro releasing them over here themselves.
Do BBTS or TF Source have Japanese branches? If not, then any Japanese collector would be far wiser to give their money to a more local online retailer like Hobbylink Japan or Red Mercury instead of the more expensive (for the Japanese) American websites.Rated X wrote:I just think it's silly to say "Japan never got that mold" when half of the collectors in Japan probaly obtained it online from BBTS or TF Source.
The $100 price comes from the American online retailers importing the figures from Japan to sell to us. For Japanese collectors to purchase either of these domestically would cost them about $50-$60 instead.Rated X wrote:Unless they are taling about Japanese kids not getting that mold in toy stores ? But $100 a figure, I dont think the target of the Cloud line is kids walking into an Asian toy store.