This was bound to happen...gray market VF's?

[seti88]

I dunno folks, am worried also the sellers may not be legit (esp since i have to guess half the time what the description means even with translated text).
Granted its not as expensive as a original, but its not exactly cheap either after the pre-order comes in.

The M&M's costs abt as much as a hikkie/roy HMR? Can someone confirm how much it is actually and are you getting one or 2 with swappable parts? I cant tell frm the description...

So m gonna wait and see, but gd hunting to everyone!
 

[Giantman]

 

3 hours ago, Lolicon said:

I think I'll try the M&M KOs since I never got the Yamato releases and the aftermarket prices are ridiculous (and not a single yen of it goes to Arcadia anyway). 

I'll still buy the official releases if Arcadia ever reissues them. 20k yen is a bargain compared to current prices. 

You have a point.  It's not as if the KOs are of a current brand which is marketing and selling their product.  Seeing as how Yamato is defunct the KO market for their items no longer in production  from a non entity is IMHO not really hurting anyone.  If the product stands up to the wear and tear of continued transformations then it's kind of a win win.  If and when the IP of Arcadia or Bandai gets the bootleg treatment it becomes a bit more convoluted.  I don't necessarily see harm in it if you have an original to display and use the KO for "playing" with.  The last thing, I think, any of us want to see is Arcadia losing ground to the KO market causing them to stop issuing new items thus defeating the need for the KO in the first place.  I need moral guidance, where is Superking when I need him? 

[barurutor]

Not everyone can afford KOs *and* new releases at the same time, so even if OOP valks are being KO'd and sold for cheap then that's less chance of Arcadia getting collector dollars.

[Lolicon]

I don't think a single person has said you *should* buy any of these KOs. If given a choice I'll take the official product. 

Right now, Arcadia's chances of making any money from collectors for the M&M valks are precisely zero.

[Xigfrid]

26 minutes ago, barurutor said:

Not everyone can afford KOs *and* new releases at the same time, so even if OOP valks are being KO'd and sold for cheap then that's less chance of Arcadia getting collector dollars.

If i can pay the premium price for higher quality, I will do it. The question is when the KO quality reaches and goes beyond the original product like the MPP-10... would I also buy the original MP-10 that looks too small but is licensed and costs 4x the better KO one?

Well the TF exemple is not a good one because the price difference also resides in the fact that the increase is due to local importer and resellers margins, that Arcadia doesn't have

[seti88]

I think barurutor's point is that getting KO's will hit the wallet.

The KO can be totally unrelated to any legit releases, but getting a KO will take funds away.

That translates to less $$ available for legitimate purchases, hence the risk to legit releases (even those not related to a KO).

Edited March 27, 2017 by seti88

[Lolicon]

Then don't buy it and save your money for the official releases?

2 hours ago, Lolicon said:

I don't think a single person has said you *should* buy any of these KOs. If given a choice I'll take the official product. 

Right now, Arcadia's chances of making any money from collectors for the M&M valks are precisely zero.

Those with the money to buy both aren't taking anything away from Arcadia and their hypothetical reissue.

[barurutor]

seti88 got it. Fans with constrained budgets are more likely to entertain the notion of maximizing their money's worth on cheaply priced KOs vs. Arcadia releases, all other things relatively equal.

I'm sure most members here and on other like-minded forums/groups reading threads like these would probably think twice about getting KOs, but there are probably a lot more people dabbling in these toys than we realize who'd pick up cheap KOs in a heartbeat.

[Sandman]

Yeah i think i'll be getting the max and mirya unless arcadia releases them or at least announces them before August. I've. already waited years for them.

[spanner]

690 yuan each is about $100 usd yes? so for both Max & Milia $200 usd is a smashing bargain even if the quality isn't quite as good.. 

And considering Arcadia has made no mention that they'll re-issue the M&M pair since they took over the line makes me feel a bit better about buying KO's..

Though im not buying for that reason but more so because im super curious to see how these KO's will turn out!

And like I mentioned previously, if they not up to par then I'll use them for customizing.

Edited March 28, 2017 by spanner

[spanner]

this might be easier for some than ordering from Taobao..

https://www.yoycart.com/Product/545076551181/

[treatment]

Kinda funny.

These bootlegs most likely won't hurt Arcadia.  People will still opt to buy their M&M if they ever issue them.

These bootlegs will only really hurt the scalpers, especially those currently pricing their second-hand M&M's thru the stratosphere.

The most obvious downside is that these same scalpers will then hoard all of these KOs and then scalp them for even more ludicrous pricings.

So, the only winning move is not to play...

 

[spanner]

59 minutes ago, treatment said:

Kinda funny.

These bootlegs most likely won't hurt Arcadia.  People will still opt to buy their M&M if they ever issue them.

These bootlegs will only really hurt the scalpers, especially those currently pricing their second-hand M&M's thru the stratosphere.

The most obvious downside is that these same scalpers will then hoard all of these KOs and then scalp them for even more ludicrous pricings.

So, the only winning move is not to play...

 

LOL! Stratosphere.. I think mine were priced in low Earth orbit when I bought them! Pharrrking expensive they were! 

[seti88]

5 hours ago, spanner said:

690 yuan each is about $100 usd yes? so for both Max & Milia $200 usd is a smashing bargain even if the quality isn't quite as good.. 

And considering Arcadia has made no mention that they'll re-issue the M&M pair since they took over the line makes me feel a bit better about buying KO's..

Though im not buying for that reason but more so because im super curious to see how these KO's will turn out!

And like I mentioned previously, if they not up to par then I'll use them for customizing.

That sounds abt rite for the pricing of the m&m KOs, am not sure abt the pre-order mechanism of 50 yuan for both or 1 but thats just the details i guess....

...and with ref to the blues brothers car, remember not to slam the canopy too hard when you get em.. 

[spanner]

13 minutes ago, seti88 said:

That sounds abt rite for the pricing of the m&m KOs, am not sure abt the pre-order mechanism of 50 yuan for both or 1 but thats just the details i guess....

...and with ref to the blues brothers car, remember not to slam the canopy too hard when you get em.. 

I went with a seller who had the option to select one of each color being the red and blue. Im thinking I might also order the VF-1S.. 

hehe!  I'll be sure not to! though they can't be any worse than the original Yamato VF-0's! 

[chyll2]

4 hours ago, treatment said:

Kinda funny.

These bootlegs most likely won't hurt Arcadia.  People will still opt to buy their M&M if they ever issue them.

These bootlegs will only really hurt the scalpers, especially those currently pricing their second-hand M&M's thru the stratosphere.

The most obvious downside is that these same scalpers will then hoard all of these KOs and then scalp them for even more ludicrous pricings.

So, the only winning move is not to play...

 

good luck scalping the things China Produce

 

 

 

[Xigfrid]

1 hour ago, chyll2 said:

good luck scalping the things China Produce

 

 

 

Haha I can imagine the nightmare for the scalpers with thousands of M&M to absorb

[jvmacross]

4 hours ago, chyll2 said:

good luck scalping the things China Produce

 

 

 

That's what screwed Arcadia and countless other companies....everything is produced in china.....it's like handing over car keys to car valets who turn out to be car thieves on the side

[chyll2]

let me correct my statement, good luck scalping bootleg/KO products. There is no batch in producing it, as long as there is a demand, they will continue to release it. This is me speaking that buys third party MG kit and from what I saw, metal build 00 Gundam never run out of stock from both physical and online store here in my country.

 

As for the topic, who knows, it might be good for Arcadia since people will see the value of macross toy and will open the doors to more Macross collectors. This is exactly what happened to me 5 years ago when I bought a bootleg Red Frame Kai, in just a few months, I ended up buying Bandai stuff  (which led me to see some of the newer macross stuffs and made me decide to buy Macross Figures)

 

Buying Yamato toys is not really helping  Arcadia in anyway and people that exclusively buys bootleg products will never buy official merchandise.

 

 

[treatment]

3 hours ago, chyll2 said:

let me correct my statement, good luck scalping bootleg/KO products. There is no batch in producing it, as long as there is a demand, they will continue to release it.

The bootleggers will themselves be the ones scalping them, then...

[wm cheng]

Well I'd love to see the quality of the KO result.  It's not a bad thing necessarily. 

 

Lepin and LeLe did the same with Lego KO and its the only way I could afford the UCS Millennium Falcon that was going for $8K on the scalper market - in fact the KO quality is quite good.  If Lego ever releases that set again, I would still buy the original at MSRP, just not the scalper prices, so Lego doesn't lose out, just the hoarders. 

[ArchieNov]

On 3/27/2017 at 5:04 AM, UN Spacy said:

 

Yes but they're STEALING their molds. At least put their own effort into it. This is just  lazy and looking to make a quick buck. If you're backing this filth then you're part of the problem.

Making their own mold for products that are obviously based on Macross merchandise and IP is also considered stealing.

Not saying you're one of them, but I find it similar to how weird it is when people think 3rd party transformers are okay while KOs are not. Both are considered forms of stealing.

[jenius]

I don't know, unlicensed goods are a lot less wrong in my book than kos. Unlicensed goods are sometimes good for Fandom, like all the fun Star Trek stuff, but obviously it can go too far and be bad. For example,  if you made a Hover tank toy, HG would send ninjas to kill you in your sleep but no licensed company would ever make that toy so they would kill your project for no gain and their own fans would have nothing to encourage their continued interest. 

[big F]

HG have a whole department devoted to deploying Ninja teams and typing up part filled in Cessation notices ready to send to anyone who even thinks of making anything Macross.

[Chronocidal]

Honestly, the thought of HG foaming at the mouth and trying to prevent these products getting sold in the US is the best part of this situation.  Best part is, they'd be fighting to defend Big West's IP.

Or my personal best case scenario?  HG starts importing the bootlegs to sell on Robotech.com.  I don't know if the legal system works this way, but in my personal fantasy, it would be gloriously satisfying to see Big West step in and destroy HG for supporting the illegal reproduction and sale of their licensed property.

[2cents]

On Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 7:51 PM, spanner said:

im just keenly curious to see if they have actually made any improvements to the original design! Which I kinda doubt anyways.. So maybe I'd pick up one for that reason. And or maybe to customize.. 

I'm sure it will be a straight knockoff with no improvement whatsoever. These kind of companies don't care if the product breaks in a week they just want your money initially

[Slave IV]

10 minutes ago, 2cents said:

I'm sure it will be a straight knockoff with no improvement whatsoever. These kind of companies don't care if the product breaks in a week they just want your money initially

Who are "these companies"? Because if you know anything about the companies KOing MP Transformers, they seem to care a lot about improving the figures and making changes that appeal to collectors (like more/better paint detail, features, etc.).

[treatment]

18 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Who are "these companies"? Because if you know anything about the companies KOing MP Transformers, they seem to care a lot about improving the figures and making changes that appeal to collectors (like more/better paint detail, features, etc.).

That's not really true.  At least, ime.

The KO/bootlegs I bought out of curiousity some years ago were all definitely crap.  There's nothing good with any of it other than it was just lotsa cheaper than the official ones. 

Some people were saying their KOs of Prowl, Tracks and whatever were "good", but I really really highly doubt it.

Those MP KOs/bootlegs were rather quite relatively simpler to bootleg than a regular 1/60v2 VF-1.

 

[jvmacross]

When the Makurosu came out.....I was hoping it would kickstart a wave of other 3rd party releases.....instead, we got the sheety SD VF-1's that no one wanted except HG.....sadly, that failure (starting and continuing with SD versions) has lead to what may have been interpreted by the 3P shops in China as a lack of intetest in original Macross releases......so here we are instead at the new age of Macross KO's...

[Slave IV]

14 minutes ago, treatment said:

That's not really true.  At least, ime.

The KO/bootlegs I bought out of curiousity some years ago were all definitely crap.  There's nothing good with any of it other than it was just lotsa cheaper than the official ones. 

Some people were saying their KOs of Prowl, Tracks and whatever were "good", but I really really highly doubt it.

Those MP KOs/bootlegs were rather quite relatively simpler to bootleg than a regular 1/60v2 VF-1.

 

Well, I have KO MP-12T (Tigertrack), MP-20 (Wheeljack), MP-21 (Bumblebee) and the OS KO MP-8 (Grimlock). All of mine are as good or better than the originals. So I'll take my own word for it. Not trying to convince anyone to do anything but I'm curious for myself how these Macross KOs turn out. If they are as good as the TF KOs I have, they will be worth the money to me for sure.

[Sandman]

21 hours ago, spanner said:

690 yuan each is about $100 usd yes? so for both Max & Milia $200 usd is a smashing bargain even if the quality isn't quite as good.. 

And considering Arcadia has made no mention that they'll re-issue the M&M pair since they took over the line makes me feel a bit better about buying KO's..

Though im not buying for that reason but more so because im super curious to see how these KO's will turn out!

And like I mentioned previously, if they not up to par then I'll use them for customizing.

How hard was it to order?

 

20 hours ago, spanner said:

this might be easier for some than ordering from Taobao..

https://www.yoycart.com/Product/545076551181/

Is this site reliable? 

[Sandman]

Oh yeah they have this classic:

Battlestar Galactica skeleton fighter transformers toys 1 72 Macross VF-31j bombing aircraft models

http://www.yoycart.com/Product/538146807888/

[Sandman]

15 hours ago, spanner said:

I went with a seller who had the option to select one of each color being the red and blue. Im thinking I might also order the VF-1S.. 

hehe!  I'll be sure not to! though they can't be any worse than the original Yamato VF-0's! 

But will it be Arcadia pink-white?

 

[locidm]

On 3/26/2017 at 0:14 PM, Loop said:

Looks like it may go beyond the VF-1?

From what I can tell they are planning the YF-19,YF-21 & VF-22 possibly the VF-19, not sure about the VF-19 though.

This is actually talking about the fold booster that would fit the "19, 21, 22", not about planning of the YF-19, 21, and 21. The post also says March 2017 release.

[seti88]

2 hours ago, Sandman said:

But will it be Arcadia pink-white?

 

.. KO white-....green/blue/red!

Edited March 29, 2017 by seti88