myk Posted May 1, 2013 Posted May 1, 2013 i didn't mean to say that higher priced figures don't appreciate in value. in fact, they are liable to reach even more absurd prices later on, and i can relate to your experiences of paying double (or more). but between an $80 figure dropping to $60, and a $150 figure dropping to $130, i've seen more of the latter. the thing is, once the initial excess supply (hence the markdown to $130) is depleted, then all bets are off. you see this often with HLJ. they would have a MegaHouse or GSC sale which would include some slow-moving figures (presumably because it was overpriced at release) get a nice enough discount. after that sale and when the usual webstores have runout, then the higher priced figures would command an even higher markup on ebay and YAJ than the average priced figures. in your example, the $150 is likely to fetch $300 (or more), the $80 might go up to $120 or $130 (except of course some really hot/rare items). same as you, i buy figures regardless if i know the character or not, and base my decision on the merits of its sculpt, paint application, pose etc. when i do know the character (and that is not quite often as far as my collection goes) then i do consider whether the figure is representative, rather than focus on accuracy. in Yamamoto's case, it's true that the figure has enhanced some of her proportions and therefore is not technically accurate to the anime. it might not also be in-character for her to be striking that pose and dropping that zipper. but to me, Yamamoto is a kick-ass babe, and that figure gives a kick-ass impression, ergo, insta-buy! anyway, just saw HLJ has now listed Yuki as discontinued. hope some of you guys managed to get yours. Dude, I can't thank you enough for giving us the heads up about HLJ getting a brief re-stock on the Yuki figure. Question though: how do I know if I got through in time? I've got an "open order" but I'm assuming they don't charge/bill you right away? I found that as sort of odd. Another wierd thing: I placed an order for 6300 Yen and as I kept looking back at the page the price kept going up until the figure was discountinued. How is it that HLJ was selling this figure for almost half as much as what other vendors are charging? Regardless, thanks again.... Quote
Major Focker Posted May 1, 2013 Posted May 1, 2013 having an "open order" reflected in your account page simply means you got your order in. whether you've secured stock depends on a number of things. if you have a paypal billing agreement in place or using a credit card, then as soon as stock is available to allocate to open orders then one will be reserved for you until they get around to automatically billing paypal or your card. if you're using paypal but without a billing agreement, then there's a chance you might not get any since available stocks are allocated to all open orders (not just yours) and is only reserved for you until it is paid. so if you receive the manual invoice and are not able to act on it immediately, you might lose out if others are able to pay before you. so to be sure, use a credit card or setup a billing agreement, which anyway can be easily cancelled and setup again at anytime. HLJ sells at SRP less their supplier discount which they pass on to customers (usually 5-20%). the creeping price could be automatic price adjustments in their system eg. they'll extend maximum discount until it reaches low stock status and a lower discount is applied, then maybe an even lower discount when it's down to last few pieces. mind, that's just my theory. i've personally not seen it on HLJ, but i see it a lot on Amiami. the SRP for Yuki is JPY7000, so HLJ is not really undercutting the price beyond the usual discounts. it's more likely that the other vendors you saw are scalping. Quote
myk Posted May 1, 2013 Posted May 1, 2013 ^^^I think you're right on all counts. Just to be sure, I switched payment methods to my "forbidden" credit cards because I don't want any issue when it comes to them wanting payment. I recently checked the order status and it says "processing for shipping," so I guess all is well. I must confess that at the price HLJ was selling Yuki for, I was considering buying one or two additional figures to sell; not for the $600 that some are asking on gouge-bay, but enough to pay for a 2199 blu ray or something... Quote
Major Focker Posted May 2, 2013 Posted May 2, 2013 then you might want to watch this space: http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/auc-terraformer/item/4535123814624/ you might have to go through a proxy service which will add fees and some additional shipping, but it'll likely still end up less than double SRP. or this: http://www.anime-export.com/product/13934 which is double SRP, but at least not triple or quadruple. pick your poison. Quote
Valkyrie Magnus Posted May 2, 2013 Posted May 2, 2013 (edited) Wow good point! Very tempting. Thanks for the heads up. I did buy it from AE. Edited May 2, 2013 by Valkyrie Magnus Quote
myk Posted May 2, 2013 Posted May 2, 2013 Wow good point! Very tempting. Thanks for the heads up. I did buy it from AE. Looks like we both owe Major Focker one... Quote
Valkyrie Magnus Posted May 2, 2013 Posted May 2, 2013 Looks like we both owe Major Focker one... Yes we do. This is best Yuki ever! Thanks again Focker! :) Quote
westfall Posted May 3, 2013 Posted May 3, 2013 Tim Eldred has reported on a bit of news on the artbook front. The upcoming book, set to be released in May 31st, was cancelled. In this case, however, this is good news. How? Because instead of one book we'll get TWO. The amount of material is so big for 196 pages that they decided to split it into EARTH and GARMILLAS sides. The one bit of actual bad news is that this has delayed the release but given we'll get more stuff, i'll fight through the pain. XD The EARTH book is already set for a July 31st release with a page increase to 264 pages and a price tag of 3.780 yen. As for the GARMILLAS book, it's set for a tentative release in September 30th and includes not only Garmillas files but also those related to Iscandar and Gatlantis. Both books are set to come with a slipcover. Quote
Dobber Posted May 3, 2013 Posted May 3, 2013 Hmm, now I have two more things to buy!! Lol Chris Quote
Knight26 Posted May 6, 2013 Posted May 6, 2013 I just mainlined the first 14 episodes, very cool, have the rest been released yet, or am I just waiting on subs at this point? Quote
Beltane70 Posted May 6, 2013 Posted May 6, 2013 No, you're caught up with what's been released on video in Japan. Episodes 15-18 aren't on home video in Japan yet (save for the very limited blurays that are sold in the theatres). Quote
westfall Posted May 6, 2013 Posted May 6, 2013 I just mainlined the first 14 episodes, very cool, have the rest been released yet, or am I just waiting on subs at this point? Upcoming Blu-Ray releases will take place in May 28th (Volume 5 - Episodes 15 to 18), July 26th (Volume 6 - Episodes 19 to 22) and September 25th (Episodes 23 to 26), roughly every 2 months with the remaining two movies released in theatres in between. This is a huge acceleration as we've had some loooooong waiting periods between the releases of the previous volumes. If you're waiting for the episodes to hit the usual P2P or online streaming sites, add a few more days to that. They've poped up as fast as 5 days and as slow as 2 weeks. Bandai Channel usually releases the movie edit around 10 to 15 days before the disks hit the shops. Quality is good (not HD, of course), doesn't have subs and is only available for 7 days after purchase (not downloadable, unless you know your way around that ). But for less than 900 yen it's a good way for those more impatient like me to just see the beautiful animation and get an idea of what is going on. Watching it with subs a couple of weeks later (wether via Blu-Ray or P2P file) is like watching the whole thing anew as you finaly get all the little details that the language barrier was keeping from you Wether Bandai Channel will keep that schedule, given that 10 day ahead of retail release would hit right after the theatre run comes to a close, is still an unknown, if they release any further volumes at all. I hope so. But given the faster release schedule and the fact they're now selling the individual TV edit episodes, we'll just have to wait and see. Quote
Dobber Posted May 6, 2013 Posted May 6, 2013 Tim Eldred has reported on a bit of news on the artbook front. The upcoming book, set to be released in May 31st, was cancelled. In this case, however, this is good news. How? Because instead of one book we'll get TWO. The amount of material is so big for 196 pages that they decided to split it into EARTH and GARMILLAS sides. The one bit of actual bad news is that this has delayed the release but given we'll get more stuff, i'll fight through the pain. XD The EARTH book is already set for a July 31st release with a page increase to 264 pages and a price tag of 3.780 yen. As for the GARMILLAS book, it's set for a tentative release in September 30th and includes not only Garmillas files but also those related to Iscandar and Gatlantis. Both books are set to come with a slipcover. Is the first art book on amazon.jp. I can't read Japanese and I just want to make sure I order the right thing. Chris Quote
westfall Posted May 6, 2013 Posted May 6, 2013 From What i've seen on Amazon and CDJapan, they still have the original book listed instead of the new ones. Check the release date as the first book, Earth, should be released in July 31st. If it says May 31st its the canceled book. Quote
myk Posted May 7, 2013 Posted May 7, 2013 Just got a shipping notice from HLJ for Yuki. How will I explain this to Mai Shiranui? Quote
westfall Posted May 7, 2013 Posted May 7, 2013 This beauty will be coming up at the official site soon. Quote
myk Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 Wow, thanks to HLJ and their speedy service, a 1/8 version of insterstellar Goddess Mori Yuki is now sitting in my office. Is HLJ usually this great to deal with? Future orders of this nature just might have to go to HLJ... Quote
westfall Posted May 10, 2013 Posted May 10, 2013 The Polmeria Class Astro Assault Carrier box art, by Hidetaka Tenjin Quote
Dynaman Posted May 10, 2013 Author Posted May 10, 2013 Just noticed, that ship is MIGHTY small to be packing that powerful energy weapon and all those fighters... Quote
westfall Posted May 11, 2013 Posted May 11, 2013 She looks smaller than She actually is. The longer tips measure over 350 meters which makes her longer than a Gaiderol. But they must have a rather effective storage system to carry those fighters. Quote
Valkyrie Magnus Posted May 11, 2013 Posted May 11, 2013 Wow, thanks to HLJ and their speedy service, a 1/8 version of insterstellar Goddess Mori Yuki is now sitting in my office. Is HLJ usually this great to deal with? Future orders of this nature just might have to go to HLJ... I got mine yesterday. Soo cooool Quote
myk Posted May 11, 2013 Posted May 11, 2013 I got mine yesterday. Soo cooool Right?! She's SO beautiful. I wish I could take good pictures to share... Quote
Keith Posted May 11, 2013 Posted May 11, 2013 Right?! She's SO beautiful. I wish I could take good pictures to share... I wish I'd have been online when they went back up for sale.....so much jealousy! Quote
UN Spacy Posted May 12, 2013 Posted May 12, 2013 Earth Book: http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=BOK-9767&page=top Quote
myk Posted May 13, 2013 Posted May 13, 2013 That's cute. Looking forward to more 'pics-thanks for posting.... Quote
Major Focker Posted May 13, 2013 Posted May 13, 2013 http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r102213010 Quote
Jefuemon Posted May 13, 2013 Posted May 13, 2013 Looks like you can get a Frame Out Models 1/72 scale Cosmo Falcon through Dengeki Hobby. Quote
antibiotictab Posted May 13, 2013 Posted May 13, 2013 (edited) That's cute. Looking forward to more 'pics-thanks for posting.... This sample model may be shown in Mega-Hobby EXPO 2013 on 25th, May. The exhibit is held by Megahouse. Yamamoto's one will probably be shown because one of the samples is already being shown at Volks Hobby Tengoku now. http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r102213010 I also went to Treasure Fest Ariake 9 last week, but I didn't watch this garage kit. I took some pictures of the garage figures there. Edited May 13, 2013 by antibiotictab Quote
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