DX VF-171EX from Macross Frontier

[Lolicon]

Whew! Got my order in just in time! Was stuck in checkout for like 10 minutes!

[Valkyrie23]

WTH...sigh...

I'm just gonna go pre-order 2 or 4 VF-4G's from Yamato instead to make myself feel better

F Bandai and their gundam worshiping fangirls

Congrats to those of you who got in though!

Edited March 2, 2012 by Valkyrie23

[crasis]

I give up. This is utter madness.

[Mommar]

AE is out now. I was too late... again.

[Tober]

None of the HK stores have their orders up yet... Not that I've noticed anyway.

[ps99042]

I think those ebay preorders are starting to look tempting...

[eugimon]

I got my confirmation from AE so I'm pretty confident I got in on time. It freaked me out when I went to go pay via paypal and the whole site just crashed but I guess I got my foot in the door before they went down.

[Lolicon]

Thank goodness I was already registered with AE from my YF-29 order. If I had to stop and register as a new customer, I wouldn't have made it in time; preorder had been open for like 10 minutes before I got to my computer because I was busy showering.

That's right. I nearly missed out because I bathe daily.

[locidm]

Took forever to checkout. I barely got home when the preorder went up, was expecting later tonight but guess I was wrong. Glad I don't have to spend all night hitting F5.

[eugimon]

haha, this is fast turning into a "where were you when...?" conversation.

[Lolicon]

The Brutal Bandai Preorders of 2012.

[miriya]

The hunt is better than the kill?

[crasis]

So, ishop2go.com is the ONLY place left with this available. But they are already charging scalper prices. Anyone have any experience with them? This is easily the most frustration I've ever had trying to acquire a collectible. And I've been through Sideshow PPO fires.

[Mechamaniac]

Frak this, I'm holding out for the CF version. Maybe by then Bandai will have some sense and stop playing this ridiculous game.

[VF5SS]

haha, this is fast turning into a "where were you when...?" conversation.

back and to the left

[Kanedas Bike]

And...I just got this from AmiAmi w/regards to when they think they'll have more available;

Hello,

Thank you for your mail. Pre-orders for the item you are inquiring about are, unfortunately, sold out at the moment. Because of this our store cannot accept any further orders for it at this time. We currently do not know when or if we will be receiving restocks of that item, and as such are unfortuantely unable to give any information regarding that possibility right now. We do apologize for the inconvenience caused by this, but due to the fast-paced nature of the hobby industry many items are made in small quantities and quickly sell out.

We thank you for your kind understanding regarding this, as well as your patronage of our store. Please let us know if you have any other questions at all.

Best regards,

AmiAmi

So sad.

-b.

[Mommar]

So, ishop2go.com is the ONLY place left with this available. But they are already charging scalper prices. Anyone have any experience with them? This is easily the most frustration I've ever had trying to acquire a collectible. And I've been through Sideshow PPO fires.

But there's no telling if anybody is even looking at what is possible for them to stock/ship. If no one is paying attention they may just be running up huge numbers they can't possibly provide. Either that or they're too expensive for most people to give a go. They had that pre-order up since the day the 171 was announced. No telling how many people have tried to pre-order and just won't get anything.

[Graham]

I just hope we don't have to jump through so many hoops when/if the cannon fodder VF-171 is released

Graham

[Chronocidal]

Screw this. I fell asleep after getting home from work, and missed another one. I'm just going to wait it out and hope HLJ does what they always do, and add more orders later.

Bandai has to figure out sooner or later what a goldmine they have on their hands. When this many stores sell out their entire pre-order stock this fast, you'd think someone would get slapped for underestimating the demand so badly.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Chronocidal

[505thAirborne]

Bandai's reaction to today's insane sales & instant sell-outs!!

[jenius]

I still don't have a preorder in... I'll have to keep an eye out. In the end all the people who grabbed their pitchforks and torches will probably be able to find preorders while I'll consistently find myself late to the party. It'd only serve me right.

[pud333]

Thank goodness I was already registered with AE from my YF-29 order. If I had to stop and register as a new customer, I wouldn't have made it in time; preorder had been open for like 10 minutes before I got to my computer because I was busy showering.

That's right. I nearly missed out because I bathe daily.

This is why I register with every major online store. Always be prepared.

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

Screw this. I fell asleep after getting home from work, and missed another one. I'm just going to wait it out and hope HLJ does what they always do, and add more orders later.

Bandai has to figure out sooner or later what a goldmine they have on their hands. When this many stores sell out their entire pre-order stock this fast, you'd think someone would get slapped for underestimating the demand so badly.

The way scalpers are going... Bandai should produce more. Let the Scalpers get stuck with the overstock for buying everything out, lol.

[pud333]

The way scalpers are going... Bandai should produce more. Let the Scalpers get stuck with the overstock for buying everything out, lol.

Unfortunately I don't think companies like Bandai or Hasbro care about scalpers. At the end of the day, a unit sold is a unit sold, whether it's to a scalper or a fanboy. They would only care if the goods were stolen, then sold.

[Chronocidal]

Bandai's reaction to today's insane sales & instant sell-outs!!

Uh, no, that will be them when they finally realize how many people want these. For now, they're sitting on whatever piddly pile of money they made from the tiny preorder count.

And really, if they're going to be this stingy, I'd prefer a web exclusive order. At least in that case, you have a stated deadline to get in an order, not this stupid "Oops, you blinked, sorry, sold out!" crap.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Chronocidal

[moose]

relax people you know they gonna milk the mold

[Chronocidal]

Actually, no, that's exactly the problem. Bandai doesn't do that. Look at the YF-29, and see the situation with it, and you'll know why everyone's so up in arms over this.

While Yamato loves to reissue things with all sorts of repaints over time, Bandai has recently made one production run, and then pretty much killed production. They don't produce in large numbers, and it's a complete mystery if they'll ever even make a second run.

This is in spite of how popular the items are. While I'm sure they have their reasons for turning down all that money people want to throw at them, it certainly makes them look stupid in cases like this, where they either decide they'd rather be famous for making rare collectibles than make money, or they have a complete lack of faith in the market to actually buy things they make.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Chronocidal

[Kurisama]

The '29 has one colour scheme. The VF-171 has what... 3 or 4 colour/config variants? I think that's what they mean by milking the mold - I'm hoping I can at least get a CF VF-171... I was able to see the 'add to basket' on amiami (last night, in the mad scramble) - but every time i clicked it it'd give me a page load error - so angry!

[pud333]

Here's my take: I understand creating a frenzy, but this isn't an SDCC exclusive or anything where the whole point of it is to cause controversy, get attention to the brand and the toy line. This is an entire toy line they're doing like this. What it tells me is that Bandai is risk averse. Risk management is necessary in anything you do, but risk avoidance is unhealthy. Companies need to take advantage of the opportunities as they arise, and this is a big money making opportunity for Bandai. Not capitalizing on opportunities can hurt a business, just as much as terrible business decisions. It's not enough to keep the company afloat, you have to make it profitable enough to grow. If the company isn't growing year after year, it's going backwards. Why? Because your overhead continues to grow. Inflation, wage increases, etc: Simple as that. Believe it or not, some risk is good. I invest money for a living for a financial institution, so I know what not taking any risk at all does. (Not taking any risk is a risk in and of itself, just a different kind of risk.) But what do I know? Bandai has Gundam so whatever. I just think if they are so worried about overstock, etc., then they should make Macross made-to-order. Keep the order window open until a certain time, then make only what was ordered, and a few extra.

Edited March 2, 2012 by pud333

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

The '29 has one colour scheme. The VF-171 has what... 3 or 4 colour/config variants? I think that's what they mean by milking the mold - I'm hoping I can at least get a CF VF-171... I was able to see the 'add to basket' on amiami (last night, in the mad scramble) - but every time i clicked it it'd give me a page load error - so angry!

Well... if Bandai's definition of milking the mold is like what they did with the VF-27 (tamashii exclusive for the green one)... then I guess it's going to have some more people happy/pissed, lol.

[IXTL]

I was able to see the 'add to basket' on amiami (last night, in the mad scramble) - but every time i clicked it it'd give me a page load error - so angry!

Haha. I experienced the same thing with Hobby Search yesterday.

I'm throwing in the towel. It's not worth it. If Bandai doesn't want my money, I'm more than happy to send it Yamato's way.

[pud333]

The '29 has one colour scheme. The VF-171 has what... 3 or 4 colour/config variants? I think that's what they mean by milking the mold - I'm hoping I can at least get a CF VF-171... I was able to see the 'add to basket' on amiami (last night, in the mad scramble) - but every time i clicked it it'd give me a page load error - so angry!

What browser do you use? I use Chrome, and I have never had any problems putting an order though. Yes, once or twice I get some big delays, but it works fine for me.

[moose]

Exactly dfferent color variations and a possible re release as they did with the yf29

[charger69]

You sleep you miss! Missing AE's preorders makes me sad!

[Kurisama]

What browser do you use? I use Chrome, and I have never had any problems putting an order though. Yes, once or twice I get some big delays, but it works fine for me.

Normally I use chrome, but due to internet outages in my area - for the last 4 days and who knows how much longer - I've been using Dolphin HD on my Android.

Le sigh. I'll throw in an extra $50 AUD ontop of what anyone paid for one on pre-order, assuming u have a spare one