Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

william-james88 wrote:

mordhelm wrote:Holding out on us huh? How much did you end up paying for old Eric Idle? Those of us in the states with a WG nearby will likely have to wait till about November. Gotta love how US retailers do their distribution.

He was 25$ CAD at EB Games

So about $19.25 US (does Canada charge sales tax for purchases?) . TFSource pre-order is $35 plus shipping, so probably closer to $40?...

If I wasn't so confident that my local Walgreens would be getting these for the standard $18 + tax, I'd definitely pre-order the Takara one, it's more reasonably priced than any pre-order for the Hasbro version.

o.supreme wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

mordhelm wrote:Holding out on us huh? How much did you end up paying for old Eric Idle? Those of us in the states with a WG nearby will likely have to wait till about November. Gotta love how US retailers do their distribution.

He was 25$ CAD at EB Games

So about $19.25 US (does Canada charge sales tax for purchases?) . TFSource pre-order is $35 plus shipping, so probably closer to $40?...

If I wasn't so confident that my local Walgreens would be getting these for the standard $18 + tax, I'd definitely pre-order the Takara one, it's more reasonably priced than any pre-order for the Hasbro version.

Yes, Canada has sales tax and like the US is varies per province/state. My province (Quebec) is 15%.

So yeah, the price was fair(could have even gotten it cheaper if I had the edge card). But we have to compare apples to apples. EB Games Canada is the exclusive retailer for this toy in Canada, it is the only retailer getting this directly from Hasbro. In the US, the only retailer getting it directly from Hasbro is Walgreens so that is the only place any american can expect it for fair price similar to other POTP toys found at retail. Anyone who is not Walgreens in the US is getting it through a middleman or from another distribution network, usually an import (like buying from hasbro asia, where its the retailer who must pay import fees). So thats why its higher. It really is no different than me buying it for you in canada and then you paying me to ship it to the US.

william-james88 wrote:
Yes, Canada has sales tax and like the US is varies per province/state. My province (Quebec) is 15%.

So yeah, the price was fair(could have even gotten it cheaper if I had the edge card). But we have to compare apples to apples. EB Games Canada is the exclusive retailer for this toy in Canada, it is the only retailer getting this directly from Hasbro. In the US, the only retailer getting it directly from Hasbro is Walgreens so that is the only place any american can expect it for fair price similar to other POTP toys found at retail. Anyone who is not Walgreens in the US is getting it through a middleman or from another distribution network, usually an import (like buying from hasbro asia, where its the retailer who must pay import fees). So thats why its higher. It really is no different than me buying it for you in canada and then you paying me to ship it to the US.

This makes sense, and is understood. There are a couple of states in the U.S. that have no sales tax, but they may have higher taxes in other areas to make up for it (school, property, luxury etc...) But in California it's even more complicated, different counties can have different tax amounts on top of state tax. CA state is 6%, but then each county has it's own on top of that. Sacramento is 1.75% and Placer is 1.25%) I live near the county line so we try to shop in Roseville (which is Placer) as much as possible. a .05% may not seem like much, but it makes a little difference. Some Places like Los Angeles (3.5%) and San Francisco (2.75%) are crazy expensive, for obvious reasons.

my 15% included both state and federal tax on purchased goods. I was referring to the total sales tax.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:I may do the fix (once I get a spudger).

FYI - you really don't need a spudger (for this fix, still a good thing to have anyway). I too have sausage fingers and I was able to do it with my bare hands. It is really quite easy. The torso pries open very easily and you can slide the shoulder pieces off with ease.

Agreed. The bare hands method of doing the shoulder fix is the best and easiest to do. I wish I had known that before I did mine, as I used a small flat head screw driver to do mine. I did end up scratching the middle of the car hood doing so on my figures. Does anyone know if I can polish out scratches on this type of plastic with tooth paste? I've done it before on CD/DVDs and non-touch TV displays of various types.

Wolfman Jake wrote:I'll snap some pictures tomorrow if anyone is interested.

Pics please. Once I get Wreck Gar, I plan to use the same configuration you are, minus Bluestreak and Jazz in his place.

Wolfman Jake wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:I may do the fix (once I get a spudger).

FYI - you really don't need a spudger (for this fix, still a good thing to have anyway). I too have sausage fingers and I was able to do it with my bare hands. It is really quite easy. The torso pries open very easily and you can slide the shoulder pieces off with ease.

Agreed. The bare hands method of doing the shoulder fix is the best and easiest to do. I wish I had known that before I did mine, as I used a small flat head screw driver to do mine. I did end up scratching the middle of the car hood doing so on my figures. Does anyone know if I can polish out scratches on this type of plastic with tooth paste? I've done it before on CD/DVDs and non-touch TV displays of various types.

Armor All.

fenrir72 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:I may do the fix (once I get a spudger).

FYI - you really don't need a spudger (for this fix, still a good thing to have anyway). I too have sausage fingers and I was able to do it with my bare hands. It is really quite easy. The torso pries open very easily and you can slide the shoulder pieces off with ease.

Agreed. The bare hands method of doing the shoulder fix is the best and easiest to do. I wish I had known that before I did mine, as I used a small flat head screw driver to do mine. I did end up scratching the middle of the car hood doing so on my figures. Does anyone know if I can polish out scratches on this type of plastic with tooth paste? I've done it before on CD/DVDs and non-touch TV displays of various types.

Armor All.

Please, tell me more. I want to make sure I do this right.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:I'll snap some pictures tomorrow if anyone is interested.

Pics please. Once I get Wreck Gar, I plan to use the same configuration you are, minus Bluestreak and Jazz in his place.

Ask, and ye shall receive! Here is Elita Infin1te in full:



Now for some close ups of Wreck-Gar as a leg to show off weapon storage:




And finally, just for you, D-Maximal Primal, here is what Elita Infin1te looks like using Jazz as the other leg instead of Blue Bluestreak:



Here's hoping your PotP Wreck-Gar is in your hands sooner rather than later!

Wolfman Jake wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:I may do the fix (once I get a spudger).

FYI - you really don't need a spudger (for this fix, still a good thing to have anyway). I too have sausage fingers and I was able to do it with my bare hands. It is really quite easy. The torso pries open very easily and you can slide the shoulder pieces off with ease.

Agreed. The bare hands method of doing the shoulder fix is the best and easiest to do. I wish I had known that before I did mine, as I used a small flat head screw driver to do mine. I did end up scratching the middle of the car hood doing so on my figures. Does anyone know if I can polish out scratches on this type of plastic with tooth paste? I've done it before on CD/DVDs and non-touch TV displays of various types.

Armor All.

Please, tell me more. I want to make sure I do this right.

It protects dash boards and leather from UV exposure damage. Also cleans out dirt from plastics or leather. So a little dab on nicks and scratches will remove them. I did this on my ebay TFs that have slight scratches. Just be careful on "painted" surfaces.

fenrir72 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:I may do the fix (once I get a spudger).

FYI - you really don't need a spudger (for this fix, still a good thing to have anyway). I too have sausage fingers and I was able to do it with my bare hands. It is really quite easy. The torso pries open very easily and you can slide the shoulder pieces off with ease.

Agreed. The bare hands method of doing the shoulder fix is the best and easiest to do. I wish I had known that before I did mine, as I used a small flat head screw driver to do mine. I did end up scratching the middle of the car hood doing so on my figures. Does anyone know if I can polish out scratches on this type of plastic with tooth paste? I've done it before on CD/DVDs and non-touch TV displays of various types.

Armor All.

Please, tell me more. I want to make sure I do this right.

It protects dash boards and leather from UV exposure damage. Also cleans out dirt from plastics or leather. So a little dab on nicks and scratches will remove them. I did this on my ebay TFs that have slight scratches. Just be careful on "painted" surfaces.

Thanks for the tip! As long as it says it's safe for use on plastics, I'll give it a shot.

Good pics there of elita wolfman

Just receive Punch a few hours ago and got to fix his "shoulders" (yup, mine's misassembled too)

A variation of the current advise from the previous repair tips.

1. You don't need to poke a plastic or metal stick to pry the torso open. Just use you hands

2. Disconnect the arms

3. unfold the front hood from his back (as Punch)

4. Now push from the back (a non sharp pole/stick end if your pointy finger is too big or if you need leverage) while using your other hand to help pry open the chest.

5. Be careful not to stress out the hinge near the waist too much.

6. Once the joints are loose, switch them

7. Reassemble.

8. Enjoy!

Now back to the figure....

Punch features

1. He can't technically use the rocket pack if you correctly position his shoulders. There won't be any clearance

2. You can use the PotP fist/pack as either an imaginary BFG or bazooka. Sure the shoulders' ball joints can't really support it (his elbows have ratchets fyi)

3. You can cover up his Decepticon sigil on his back unlike in the original

4. I like his more anime inspired face and the flip the helmet up feature to reflect which is the dominant character

5. Oddity I noticed, his front hood panels that would be his shoulders, has an orange color stripe. Not sure if it is orange plastic painted over blue or blue painted over orange

Counterpunch features

1. Given how his shoulders are positioned, there is now clearance to play imaginary rocket pack and use his hand gun

2. Decepticon face equally intimidating, though I kinda prefer his Autobot face

3. You can also flip/hide hos Autobot sigil when he's a 'con

4. All other awesomeness is also applicable to him

What if..........?

1.He had a black gun weapon to contrast between too personalities

2.He was Voyager size

3.He had shoulder ratchets

4.He has molded blue shoulders the way his box art portrayed him with the red colored side vents

The best part?

Thank you Hb/Takara for finally giving him this modern version from an already amazing concept back in the tail end of the original toy run

So, why the hell is PotP Optimal Optimus still one freaking hundred dollars on amazon?[/grumpy old man ranting]

Ironhidensh wrote:So, why the hell is PotP Optimal Optimus still one freaking hundred dollars on amazon?[/grumpy old man ranting]

Greedy third party sellers.

There are sellers on eBay that have both the Takara & Hasbro release for around $70 U.S. (some with free shipping)....it is odd that the U.S. will be pretty much the last market to get this figure, but complaining about US distribution is like beating a dead horse at this point (not that I'm going to stop)... . But we all understand the point.

I'm actually glad my son wanted the Throne exclusive. One less thing I have to constantly look for and be disappointed its not at stores.

Ironhidensh wrote:So, why the hell is PotP Optimal Optimus still one freaking hundred dollars on amazon?[/grumpy old man ranting]

Because it still has yet to appear in the US.

I don't think this is going to happen but...what level of outrage do you think there would be among fans if last years "fan-vote" ended up not getting a proper U.S. release (like some TLK toys), or being extremely limited like TR deluxe wave 5.

o.supreme wrote:I don't think this is going to happen but...what level of outrage do you think there would be among fans if last years "fan-vote" ended up not getting a proper U.S. release (like some TLK toys), or being extremely limited like TR deluxe wave 5.

Now we all know who to blame if this comes to pass.

At least with Optimal Optimus, the original toy (being a Beast Era toy) wasn't a primitively designed brick. *glares at G1 Rodimus Prime*

Part of the delay might be shelf crowding - the Studio Series Leaders aren't shifting well at some stores, there's the shiny new large Cyberverse figures stealing the buying teams' attention and getting stocked first... And some stores still haven't pawned the lingering shelfwarming Turbo Changer Dragonstorms off to Ross or wherever yet, though they've at least finally had the sense to put the waste of plastic on clearance.

Haven't you heard? Optimal Optimus is going to be an Ollie's exclusive in the US.

Emerje

o.supreme wrote:I don't think this is going to happen but...what level of outrage do you think there would be among fans if last years "fan-vote" ended up not getting a proper U.S. release (like some TLK toys), or being extremely limited like TR deluxe wave 5.

More fuel for the "Warden & Friends don't care about Beast Wars" claims?

Ironhidensh wrote:So, why the hell is PotP Optimal Optimus still one freaking hundred dollars on amazon?[/grumpy old man ranting]

That ticked me off too. I was keeping track of the listing for what felt like a month, but I gave up and ordered one off of eBay (it was one of those 15% days or something, so I got it for only $60). It's a good deal looser than my Throne version, but still a nice figure regardless.

Autobot N wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:So, why the hell is PotP Optimal Optimus still one freaking hundred dollars on amazon?[/grumpy old man ranting]

That ticked me off too. I was keeping track of the listing for what felt like a month, but I gave up and ordered one off of eBay (it was one of those 15% days or something, so I got it for only $60). It's a good deal looser than my Throne version, but still a nice figure regardless.

I like what you did to MP Shockwave

On Optimal Optimus being MIA in the American market, izzat news? He does seem to sell out quite fast in toy stores everywhere.

fenrir72 wrote:

Autobot N wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:So, why the hell is PotP Optimal Optimus still one freaking hundred dollars on amazon?[/grumpy old man ranting]

That ticked me off too. I was keeping track of the listing for what felt like a month, but I gave up and ordered one off of eBay (it was one of those 15% days or something, so I got it for only $60). It's a good deal looser than my Throne version, but still a nice figure regardless.

I like what you did to MP Shockwave

On Optimal Optimus being MIA in the American market, izzat news? He does seem to sell out quite fast in toy stores everywhere.

Walmart stopped carrying Leader Class, my Targets are stuck with Wave 2 with the occasional regular Rodimus. I won't be seeing Optimal Optimus any time soon.