Bandai DX VF-31

[Kinzoku VF]

12 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

I don't give a flying rat's a** what NY or anyone else's excuse is. It's just not good business to take excessively long times to send out people's orders. 

Exactly 

[no3Ljm]

8 hours ago, TrickyCustomer said:

If isamu wanted to upgrade... 

 

Why does Isamu always get an upgraded FSW ride? He is indeed a likeable character, huh? But who am I to argue, still one of my favorite color scheme. If Bandai announced an Isamu version, I'm IN.

2 hours ago, Kanedas Bike said:

Anyway, I guess this type of thing is just one of the 'costs' of being in this hobby. I guess I'll practice mediation to help with my patience. 

-b.

Let's grab some coffee while waiting, B. Beats practicing your meditation.

1 hour ago, davidwhangchoi said:

i'm happy that they had one in stock as i ordered really late and grabbed their last copy.

'Grats David! I'm still waiting however for the only copy I have at NY.

58 minutes ago, spacemanoeuvres said:

But the demand for these things is outrageous and I don't think I'll bite on any of the aftermarket prices I've seen thus far.

Reminds me of VF-31J Kai. I know I want another one, but with the price it's going for, I'll just settle with one.

48 minutes ago, Mommar said:

What are the odds the CF was so popular Bandai didn’t realize how many batches needed to be made and they had to shuffle things around so distribution was screwed up?  Or maybe they were shipped via Hong Kong Post from the factories.  This is ludicrous.  I may actually get the three from CDJapan first.

Same as MB Gundam Astraea. It's not even in the series but still had 2 batches atleast of preorders. Bandai is just weird sometimes.

 

Edited March 27, 2018 by no3Ljm

[Slave IV]

30 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

I don't give a flying rat's a** what NY or anyone else's excuse is. It's just not good business to take excessively long times to send out people's orders. 

Even if it's because they didn't get their stock yet? Its only been a few days since the actual release counting a weekend too. Anyways, if some of you want let yourself be aggravated over it, that's your life. Why not sit back and have a drink while playing with the toys you already have instead?

I'll add to the complaints that I was not able to buy from a place that offers shipping by boat, which would have saved me some money. Oh well, I'll get them sooner which seems to count for a lot!

[Kanedas Bike]

1 hour ago, jrhudson311 said:

Paying for faster shipping is different than paying for expedited picking and packing.  People seem to get that confused a lot.

 

1 hour ago, Slave IV said:

All good and understandable but...

This. I highly doubt any company is sitting on anyone's stock and purposely not sending it out. There could be endless explanations for why it might take longer to ship something out. To me, it seems better on the nerves to just sit back and let them do their jobs. Less stress in everyone and you still enjoy the toy in the end. 

Hey guys, technically speaking you are right. Expedited shipping does not equate to expedited handling - BUT - there is a reasonable expectation of such. So much so that most stores don't differentiated between the two. This takes into account regular business hours or holidays and any other reason the business or store may be closed.

 

31 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Why does Isamu always get an upgraded FSW ride? He is indeed a likeable character, huh? But who am I to argue, still one of my favorite color scheme. If Bandai announced an Isamu version, I'm IN.

Let's grab some coffee while waiting, B. Beats practicing your meditation.

'Grats David! I'm still waiting however for the only copy I have at NY.

Reminds me of VF-31J Kai. I know I want another one, but with the price it's going for, I'll just settle with one.

Same as MB Gundam Astraea. It's not even in the series but still had 2 batches atleast of preorders. Bandai is just weird sometimes.

 

Yoooooo, I'm in for an Isamu custom VF-31 AND coffee (or tea). 

I also want another 31J Kai, and had the chance about a month ago but I opted to save my $$$.

And yes, I'm sure there are business reasons for some of the production decisions that Bandai makes, but I'm with you that some of them seem like real head-scratchers.

 

25 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Even if it's because they didn't get their stock yet? Its only been a few days since the actual release counting a weekend too. Anyways, if some of you want let yourself be aggravated over it, that's your life. Why not sit back and have a drink while playing with the toys you already have instead?

I'll add to the complaints that I was not able to buy from a place that offers shipping by boat, which would have saved me some money. Oh well, I'll get them sooner which seems to count for a lot!

Probably just a function of how haphazard this release has gone. Orders 'appear' to be getting shipped from some stores in no discernible manner, you have at least one instance of an order being cancelled, the 31A hasn't shown up on Mandarake and the prices for the item have gone up sky high on YJA.

So beyond the anxiety of having spent at least $ 300 for one copy, even if you were to get a full refund it does not appear likely that you'd be able to get one at or around that price, at least no time soon.

And I'm right there with you on going back to items currently in my collection, my 31J and VF-19 Advance have both been getting a lot of attention pending what I hope is the arrival of my 31A's. 

-b.

[Slave IV]

15 minutes ago, Kanedas Bike said:

 

Hey guys, technically speaking you are right. Expedited shipping does not equate to expedited handling - BUT - there is a reasonable expectation of such. So much so that most stores don't differentiated between the two. This takes into account regular business hours or holidays and any other reason the business or store may be closed.

 

Yoooooo, I'm in for an Isamu custom VF-31 AND coffee (or tea). 

I also want another 31J Kai, and had the chance about a month ago but I opted to save my $$$.

And yes, I'm sure there are business reasons for some of the production decisions that Bandai makes, but I'm with you that some of them seem like real head-scratchers.

 

Probably just a function of how haphazard this release has gone. Orders 'appear' to be getting shipped from some stores in no discernible manner, you have at least one instance of an order being cancelled, the 31A hasn't shown up on Mandarake and the prices for the item have gone up sky high on YJA.

So beyond the anxiety of having spent at least $ 300 for one copy, even if you were to get a full refund it does not appear likely that you'd be able to get one at or around that price, at least no time soon.

And I'm right there with you on going back to items currently in my collection, my 31J and VF-19 Advance have both been getting a lot of attention pending what I hope is the arrival of my 31A's. 

-b.

That's what I'm talking about! As for the fear of not getting one at all...that is REAL! I nearly flipped my lid when I saw that I missed the preorder opening at NY. Luckily, people pointed out other options even though they are more expensive. I got one shipping notice today so at least I'm covered. Hopefully, my other order will also come through. 

[Master Dex]

I'm really glad to see people are getting their CDJ shipping notices. I also got my shipment confirmation message today. I wish I knew why they were keeping me informed faster than others like Spanner, but at least they are moving for others too now.

I don't know if I'll avoid any particular sellar in the future though... I figure get what to can from wherever.... but this is likely my last VF-31 purchase. I never intended to get a lot (I have a 31F, a 262, and now this 31A). I might be tempted by 31A super parts, don't care about armored personally. We'll see. I skipped on 31F supers due to price point so I don't know. Plus the 31 is beautiful without supers, and with it is mostly the battroid I like.

[Slave IV]

I think the world collectively broke Mandarake by continually refreshing frantically in hopes to nab a 31A!

[Kanedas Bike]

1 hour ago, Slave IV said:

That's what I'm talking about! As for the fear of not getting one at all...that is REAL! I nearly flipped my lid when I saw that I missed the preorder opening at NY. Luckily, people pointed out other options even though they are more expensive. I got one shipping notice today so at least I'm covered. Hopefully, my other order will also come through. 

Ah, gotcha. I got an order in back in November and I still have that fear - lol

 

22 minutes ago, Master Dex said:

I'm really glad to see people are getting their CDJ shipping notices. I also got my shipment confirmation message today. I wish I knew why they were keeping me informed faster than others like Spanner, but at least they are moving for others too now.

I don't know if I'll avoid any particular sellar in the future though... I figure get what to can from wherever.... but this is likely my last VF-31 purchase. I never intended to get a lot (I have a 31F, a 262, and now this 31A). I might be tempted by 31A super parts, don't care about armored personally. We'll see. I skipped on 31F supers due to price point so I don't know. Plus the 31 is beautiful without supers, and with it is mostly the battroid I like.

Yep, sometimes it's just luck (or lack thereof depending on your perspective). 

And buy moar toys. It's a prerequisite for being able to post in the Toy section. 

 

1 minute ago, Slave IV said:

I think the world collectively broke Mandarake by continually refreshing frantically in hopes to nab a 31A!

I stayed up late Friday and Saturday trying to find one, then every time I tossed and woke up Sunday I checked as well (kept my tablet in the bed). But as of my last search this morning around 7 AM eastern not one 31A has shown up on Mandarake yet.

-b.

[spanner]

9 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

my order finally shipped from cdjapan too.

nice! congrats David! hope it arrives in good time! 

9 hours ago, IXTL said:

https://twitter.com/MHXX1919/status/977824377390620672

WOW! that looks quite hefty doesn't it! 

8 hours ago, CrossAir said:

I received no shipping info from CDJ yet. But just checked my account there and the status changed to "in shipping process". It seems CD Japan customers don't have to worry about not receiving there VF-31As any more 

Still no shipping notice but I did see that the order status changed to "in shipping process" rather quickly after I sent them the shipping charge adjustment approval.. so I'm pleased the ball has actually started to roll with my order! 

4 hours ago, Kanedas Bike said:

I empathize with you Spanner, and glad to read that people's orders are starting to trickle out (from CDJ). I also feel you about N-Y, I really don't like them as my first choice, but they're hard to beat for exclusive items.

Thanks KB, glad to see movement for this item for those who purchased from CDJ. But I still can't help but feel they were holding back on the stock for a sometime before shipping them out for what ever reason.. Perhaps knowing that Bandai dropped production quantities they wanted to sit back and see how things went first. I'm also wondering if their shipping charge adjustments are means of generating a little extra profit on them knowing of the short supply?

Just a theory.. I could be completely wrong. 

3 hours ago, Slave IV said:

I don't get this must have now or never mentality. Did you have these items the previous decades of your life? No. Will you eventually get them if you paid for them? Yes. What difference does it make if they come the next day or next year? You still end up with something you wanted that you never had before. 

To be honest I'm quite surprised how uneasy I got with the delay in processing my order with CDJ.. I can really only speak for myself but for me personally this Valkyrie feels like "the one to have" or the one every body actually wants compared to the other variants. Even when I initially purchased three of the VF-31J I wasn't this excited for it.

Yes, Whether they arrived in our lives today or next year isn't such a huge deal but the reality is I might not wake up the next morning or be hit by a bus (hmmm I work for a bus company..) and I'd hate to miss out on this particular Valkyrie! Probably a silly way to look at it and I know that material possessions aren't everything in life but..... sometimes they just are! 

Edited March 27, 2018 by spanner
price I pay for posting with the mobile phone..

[Chronocidal]

Yeah, NY is never quick about these things anyway.  I'll be relieved when I see a preparation notice, but I'm also not going to start panicking that there aren't any available.  They're well known for taking their (sometimes excessive) time getting orders posted.

If they wind up failing to get the orders they placed?  That will be another story, and there will be fire and brimstone spewing from the internets at Bandai (again) for their questionable production decisions.  But even if that happens, I'm going to have to accept that this is in the hands of Japanese customers to carry the backlash to Bandai's doorstep, because we all know how many flying rats' asses they give about this market.

[Kanedas Bike]

3 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

Yeah, NY is never quick about these things anyway.  I'll be relieved when I see a preparation notice, but I'm also not going to start panicking that there aren't any available.  They're well known for taking their (sometimes excessive) time getting orders posted.

If they wind up failing to get the orders they placed?  That will be another story, and there will be fire and brimstone spewing from the internets at Bandai (again) for their questionable production decisions.  But even if that happens, I'm going to have to accept that this is in the hands of Japanese customers to carry the backlash to Bandai's doorstep, because we all know how many flying rats' asses they give about this market.

Bandai gives 0 of them.

I'm sure there's a way to express that mathematically, but that's not my forte.

-b.

[davidwhangchoi]

2 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

'Grats David! I'm still waiting however for the only copy I have at NY.

thanks noel, hope NY ships, i know i had to message them as i had a super part sit for 2 months!!! once i e-mailed they shipped it. 

5 minutes ago, spanner said:

nice! congrats David! hope it arrives in good time! 

thanks spanner. lolol i like the might be hit by a bus example

[Slave IV]

4 minutes ago, spanner said:

To be honest I'm quite surprised how uneasy I got with the delay in processing my order with CDJ.. I can really only speak for myself but for me personally this Valkyrie feels like "the one to have" or the one every body actually wants compared to the other variants. Even when I initially purchased three of the VF-31J I wasn't this excited for it.

Yes, Whether they arrived in our lives today or next year isn't such a huge deal but the reality is I might not wake up the next morning or be hit by a bus (hmmm I work for a bus company..) and I'd hate to miss out on this particular Valkyrie! Probably a silly way to look at it and I know that material possessions aren't everything in life but..... sometimes they just are! 

I get that! As for getting hit by a bus...I have no regrets. Enjoyed what I have in life thoroughly. But since you bring it up, I would be curious about how my family's reaction to getting continual shipments of all kinds of toys months after my departure would be. 

[TheLoneWolf]

4 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Loopaza forces you to use the pricey shipping then sits on the package. If you're going to make me wait weeks for something anyway, might as well let me pay less for a cheaper shipping option. This is my first time buying from them, and it is not inspiring me to give them further business.

My experience with Loopaza was completely different; my order was out their door in less than 48 hours. My guess is that their outgoing packages are picked up once a week and I managed to hit the sweet spot through dumb luck.

[TrickyCustomer]

My three are here now but looks like I'll have to pay the government some ransom money so they can release my valks to me. Hope everyone gets there 31a's soon so we can get back to actually talking about them and not shipping times and costs 

[TrickyCustomer]

@no3Ljm because it's Isamu dude come on lol seriously though it would be cool to have another "isamu custom" even though it's probably less likely to happen with the 31. 

[no3Ljm]

18 minutes ago, TrickyCustomer said:

@no3Ljm because it's Isamu dude come on lol seriously though it would be cool to have another "isamu custom" even though it's probably less likely to happen with the 31. 

That's what I'm sayin'.

Since he's uber cool, by now, we should have seen some VF-1 Isamu Custom done by modelers. Which by the way we haven't see for some weird reasons. Does it really need to be a FSW plane first? I mean, he rode the VF-11B back then and that's not even a FSW.

[Mommar]

51 minutes ago, TheLoneWolf said:

My experience with Loopaza was completely different; my order was out their door in less than 48 hours. My guess is that their outgoing packages are picked up once a week and I managed to hit the sweet spot through dumb luck.

That isn’t it.  I ordered mine the day before you and it’s STILL sitting in frakking Hong Kong.

[TrickyCustomer]

36 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

That's what I'm sayin'.

Since he's uber cool, by now, we should have seen some VF-1 Isamu Custom done by modelers. Which by the way we haven't see for some weird reasons. Does it really need to be a FSW plane first? I mean, he rode the VF-11B back then and that's not even a FSW.

True and fair point, the vf-11b battle at the start of the series was a highlight for me in Mac plus.  But I guess because he is always going to be known mostly for flying the yf-19. He is stuck with that style of valk and even that paint scheme. I would like to see another vf-11b release because he was eagle 107 and kicked ass. 

[jrhudson311]

My two orders from loopaza are sitting as accepted in Hong Kong and my other one from NY has not moved.

I'm like "whatever".  I'ma get my birds, or my money.

[NUNS]

Good to hear cdj is starting to show movement. NY is about to open so hopefully we'll see some movement with them as well, though I'm not getting my hopes up by any means.

[spanner]

4 hours ago, TrickyCustomer said:

My three are here now but looks like I'll have to pay the government some ransom money so they can release my valks to me. Hope everyone gets there 31a's soon so we can get back to actually talking about them and not shipping times and costs 

LOL! government ransom money! that's brilliant! and spot on! I've had a few items held for ransom in the past! the b@st@rds!

And you live on the Isle of Man! that's madness! I visited there for the first time back in 2016 and loved it! Missed the bike racing though.. would love to go back!

[Charles_Xavier]

If you check NY’s site you will see that all the bandai Web limited items for March are already in stock. The only item that has not been listed “in stock” is the 31A. 

I suspect NY probably took in too many pre orders and are now trying to secure sufficient stocks from the secondary market before they start shipping. 

This happened for my YF-29 Ozma so I’m not surprised if this is the case again this time 

Edited March 28, 2018 by Charles_Xavier

[OzmaLee74]

My 31A is now in San Diego. For those who ordered from Loopaza, I think that maybe your valks just haven’t been scanned as much as an EMS shipment would be. Mine should be here tomorrow. Hopefully all of yours do too or at least within the next couple of days.

[orindlt]

Got shipping notice on first one from NY. Haven't got prep notice on second one. First one ordered at 20:07 on 6/10, second at 20:34 on 26/10. So they are doing them in order, just looks like they are going to take a while to clear the backlog. Interesting the Mirage Premium VF-1J is due on the 30th, so wonder if they will be done with the 31A's by that time.

[Slave IV]

6 minutes ago, orindlt said:

Got shipping notice on first one from NY. Haven't got prep notice on second one. First one ordered at 20:07 on 6/10, second at 20:34 on 26/10. So they are doing them in order, just looks like they are going to take a while to clear the backlog. Interesting the Mirage Premium VF-1J is due on the 30th, so wonder if they will be done with the 31A's by that time.

Interesting but just going to point out that because they did yours in order doesn't mean anything other then it happened that way for you.  Need more data to make a reasonable conclusion. At least people are getting their beloved 31As!

[GabrielV]

Mine is currently showing as processed through Chicago with a projected delivery date of the 2nd.

[Chronocidal]

I ordered on Oct 7th, so if I get my confirmation between those two separate orders, it'll at least be one data point.  

[Slave IV]

4 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

I ordered on Oct 7th, so if I get my confirmation between those two separate orders, it'll at least be one data point.  

This is true! Make sure to post the time you ordered so we can make a graph based on the time between @orindlt 's first order and yours so people can use it to determine exactly when they should expect their orders to ship!

[chyll2]

34 minutes ago, orindlt said:

Got shipping notice on first one from NY. Haven't got prep notice on second one. First one ordered at 20:07 on 6/10, second at 20:34 on 26/10. So they are doing them in order, just looks like they are going to take a while to clear the backlog. Interesting the Mirage Premium VF-1J is due on the 30th, so wonder if they will be done with the 31A's by that time.

Ordered on Oct 28th. Still no notice, so I would know I'll get mine when you receive your second order

[sh9000]

42 minutes ago, orindlt said:

Got shipping notice on first one from NY. Haven't got prep notice on second one. First one ordered at 20:07 on 6/10, second at 20:34 on 26/10. So they are doing them in order, just looks like they are going to take a while to clear the backlog. Interesting the Mirage Premium VF-1J is due on the 30th, so wonder if they will be done with the 31A's by that time.

Ordered my VF-31A from NY on 10/6 at 21:07:25 so maybe I’ll get a preparation in progress email later tonight or sometime tomorrow.

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

ordered my two from NY 2017-10-06 21:22:09

[CharlesXavier]

Ordered on 26 Oct. No notice from NY yet.

[ArchieNov]

Guys, I don’t think N-Y follows any particular order when shipping things out. I placed my order on 10/10. It went into Prep in Progress and shipped out same day last Monday 3/26. I’m expecting to receive it today unless UPS botches it, and in that case I’ll have to wait until next Monday due to our local holidays starting tomorrow.

One thing that I have recently observed though is I think they may prioritize UPS shipments. I’ve been using only UPS saver ever since it became available at N-Y. I seem to recall an instance seeing one of my prior orders have a status called “Processing Priority Package” or something similar for a short while in between Prep in Progress and Shipped. Or maybe it was before it went into Prep in Progress? Can’t remember exactly.

Edited March 28, 2018 by ArchieNov

[MikeRoz]

54 minutes ago, orindlt said:

Mirage Premium VF-1J

Don't scare me like that, man.