nightmareB4macross Posted September 17, 2020 Posted September 17, 2020 6 hours ago, Sandman said: My strike pack less release of the Roy's VF-1S wasn't PF. I think that was the only release that was standard. But all the rest seem to have all the armaments, armors, and tampo print. Quote
sjoebarry Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 On 9/15/2020 at 8:50 PM, Slave IV said: They are going to make I guess is more accurate unless someone knows different and got theirs already... So I took the bait and put an order in for this Angel Bird KO. Says it “should” ship by the end of the forth quarter. I’ll keep y’all posted. Quote
Corrinald Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) I am curious about these myself. Wouldn't mind the Cannon Fodder VF-1A if its tampo'd like a PF... but I can't navigate the Tabao site Edited September 20, 2020 by Corrinald Quote
nightmareB4macross Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 1 hour ago, sjoebarry said: So I took the bait and put an order in for this Angel Bird KO. Says it “should” ship by the end of the forth quarter. I’ll keep y’all posted. I hope you get. How did you set up a Tabao account. There are items there that I want but have no clue on how to get them. Quote
Slave IV Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 2 hours ago, sjoebarry said: So I took the bait and put an order in for this Angel Bird KO. Says it “should” ship by the end of the forth quarter. I’ll keep y’all posted. Cool! Yeah, I’m not worried about it but will be happy when they arrive. I’ve had a GigaPower Grimlock throne preordered for maybe a couple years now, lol. Not worried about that either. Quote
sjoebarry Posted September 21, 2020 Posted September 21, 2020 10 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said: I hope you get. How did you set up a Tabao account. There are items there that I want but have no clue on how to get them. Used this site: https://tbfocus.com/zoom/english-taobao-categories no clue if it’ll work but I gave it a shot. Quote
nightmareB4macross Posted September 21, 2020 Posted September 21, 2020 2 minutes ago, sjoebarry said: Used this site: https://tbfocus.com/zoom/english-taobao-categories no clue if it’ll work but I gave it a shot. Thanks for the link. I’ll give a shot. If it works my wallet Is about to experience pain like never before. Quote
sqidd Posted October 26, 2020 Posted October 26, 2020 19 minutes ago, seti88 said: chunky monkey-ish KO? The legs look like this really awful old school knock off I have, The Junky Money. Quote
seti88 Posted October 26, 2020 Posted October 26, 2020 you cant kill the junky! also weird they call it arcadia.... Quote
vladykins Posted October 27, 2020 Posted October 27, 2020 That is definitely a junky, but with different colors. Quote
nightmareB4macross Posted October 31, 2020 Posted October 31, 2020 On 10/26/2020 at 3:02 AM, seti88 said: chunky monkey-ish KO? Time to hunt down another one. KO vF-1S never go out of style. It surprises me that to this day these two entities still exist...Repos of the VF-1 1/55 and HappyWell. Quote
Photogirl Posted January 23, 2021 Posted January 23, 2021 I just ordered the Miriya VF, but can't find the stands in stock ANYYYYYYWHERREEEEEEEEEeeeeee Quote
kkx Posted January 24, 2021 Posted January 24, 2021 On 9/20/2020 at 8:23 PM, nightmareB4macross said: Thanks for the link. I’ll give a shot. If it works my wallet Is about to experience pain like never before. yoybuy.com have much better review on trusted pilot. I have not used any of these agent, but I am thinking about trying out yoybuy.com Quote
twich Posted January 24, 2021 Posted January 24, 2021 Has anyone heard anything new about this “Valkyrie Factory” they teased the release of all those VF-1A’s and a VF-31J and then nothing. I am not liking the fact that the VF-1J super sets have creeped north of $150 USD on eBay and sold out everywhere else......wouldn’t mind picking up a Premium Finish Valkyrie even if it is a KO. twich Quote
borgified Posted January 24, 2021 Posted January 24, 2021 Nothing new from Valkyrie Factory yet... We'll see something from them in due time. Quote
Slave IV Posted January 24, 2021 Posted January 24, 2021 I was just thinking about these recently. I’ve had a couple VF-1As (Brownie and Angel Bird) on preorder for quite a long time now with no peep about when I might get them. Quote
Sandman Posted January 25, 2021 Posted January 25, 2021 Considering how all of valkyrie factory's offerings have sold out. I'm surprised they haven't pumped up the releases. They should be at least doing VF-1 reissues and new paint schemes. Quote
jvmacross Posted January 25, 2021 Posted January 25, 2021 Maybe they got swept up in the recent alleged Chinese bootleg crackdowns.... Quote
Sanity is Optional Posted January 25, 2021 Posted January 25, 2021 Could also be COVID-related shipping issues. Apparently hiring containers going out of China right now is difficult and expensive. They might just be waiting for when they can ship things out without destroying their profit margin. Quote
jvmacross Posted January 25, 2021 Posted January 25, 2021 2 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said: Could also be COVID-related shipping issues. Apparently hiring containers going out of China right now is difficult and expensive. They might just be waiting for when they can ship things out without destroying their profit margin. That must be some profit margin!.....no costs in development, licensing, and most likely are paying sweatshop wages...lol Quote
Sanity is Optional Posted January 25, 2021 Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) 32 minutes ago, jvmacross said: That must be some profit margin!.....no costs in development, licensing, and most likely are paying sweatshop wages...lol Manufacturing isn't free, they do have costs. Eating $30 extra in shipping costs on every single unit isn't going to help things. Plus people may have noticed exchange rates are going down for the dollar, which would also be hurting them. Edited January 25, 2021 by Sanity is Optional Quote
jvmacross Posted January 25, 2021 Posted January 25, 2021 3 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said: Manufacturing isn't free, they do have costs. Eating $30 extra in shipping costs on every single unit isn't going to help things. Plus people may have noticed exchange rates are going down for the dollar, which would also be hurting them. Of course, which is why I mentioned "sweat shop wages"...perhaps it was too subtle for you?.....but you obviously missed the point.....their "profit margin" is completely based on not having had fronted any of the real costs of getting these toys produced in the first place......sorry, but why would anyone have any sympathy for whatever "hurt" they may be feeling these days...covid or not....especially since their profits have been ill-gotten from the start Quote
Sanity is Optional Posted January 25, 2021 Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) 4 minutes ago, jvmacross said: Of course, which is why I mentioned "sweat shop wages"...perhaps it was too subtle for you?.....but you obviously missed the point.....their "profit margin" is completely based on not having had fronted any of the real costs of getting these toys produced in the first place......sorry, but why would anyone have any sympathy for whatever "hurt" they may be feeling these days...covid or not....especially since their profits have been ill-gotten from the start In case you didn't realize, they're probably paying similar sweat shop wages as Bandai and Arcadia do. Maybe a bit lower due to the lower quality/tolerances of the finished product (which means lower rejection rates), but the worker wages are likely quite similar. Don't delude yourself to thinking that anyone manufacturing in China is paying a decent wage. Edited January 25, 2021 by Sanity is Optional Quote
jvmacross Posted January 25, 2021 Posted January 25, 2021 23 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said: In case you didn't realize, they're probably paying similar sweat shop wages as Bandai and Arcadia do. Maybe a bit lower due to the lower quality/tolerances of the finished product (which means lower rejection rates), but the worker wages are likely quite similar. Don't delude yourself to thinking that anyone manufacturing in China is paying a decent wage. Again.....the bit about the cost of production, via labor was alluded to at the end of my initial post....where am I "deluding" myself about any other company's more generous wages? yep, no where...... You totally are just pulling that one out of your arse......the bottomline is that the major costs in developing the Yamato/Arcadia VF-1 were already incurred by Yamato/Arcadia, thus the profits are immediately gained since they are just skipping all that and going right into just producing them and getting them to market.....not sure how else you could try and spin that...the KO team is skipping development, licensing and to some extent marketing and going straight to just manufacturing and selling.....how can that not be as close to 100% profit as you can get? Again, I am not absolving any other producer from not taking advantage of cheap Chinese labor, that was never the point.....I'm just saying there should be no tears lost for Valkyrie Factory for "losing out" on profits that they do not deserve in the first place Quote
Sanity is Optional Posted January 25, 2021 Posted January 25, 2021 At this point I'm just going to assume you have a hate-on for greymarket stuff and are only replying to this topic to vent it at anyone who doesn't share your opinions. You're also significantly underestimating the cost of actual production if you think that they're raking in 100% profit. Plastic costs money, molds cost money, injection costs money, hiring people to assemble and paint cost money. Despite your assumptions, the cost of production is a much larger factor than the cost of development when it comes to these figures. Just look at how Arcadia's costs have gone up on designs where they already have both designs and molds! Quote
F360 Posted January 25, 2021 Posted January 25, 2021 Also please keep in mind that even though KO do not need to spend the other cost associated with a official product (Yamato/Arcadia ).. They do still need to sell it at a lower cost than the official product. The higher the selling price the higher the profit, right?? But since they sells these close to $100 less than the official product . their profit cant be that great. Official VF-1S Hikaru Premium Finish = 28,380 yen before shipping KO VF VF-1S Hikaru Premium Finish = $164 Shipped Official VF-1J Millia Premium Finish = 28,380 yen before shipping KO VF-1J Millia Premium Finish = $130 Shipped That's around $150 difference in selling price.. Quote
jvmacross Posted January 26, 2021 Posted January 26, 2021 2 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said: At this point I'm just going to assume you have a hate-on for greymarket stuff and are only replying to this topic to vent it at anyone who doesn't share your opinions. You're also significantly underestimating the cost of actual production if you think that they're raking in 100% profit. Plastic costs money, molds cost money, injection costs money, hiring people to assemble and paint cost money. Despite your assumptions, the cost of production is a much larger factor than the cost of development when it comes to these figures. Just look at how Arcadia's costs have gone up on designs where they already have both designs and molds! Nope, happen to own a Valkyrie Factory item.....I just have no sympathy for them or any other KO outfit for "losing out" on sales during covid or any other time.... Again, you are just speaking out of your arse...if you had any comprehension ability, you would have understood that "as close to 100% profit as you can get" does not mean 100% profit...duh! But...but...Arcadia and all legit licensees also have the same, if not higher, production costs in addition to all the process and associated costs that goes before they even get to that point....again....you fail to see the fact that the bootlegger just has to concern themselves with the making and shipping part of the entire process.....not sure how to make that any clearer for you....in the bootleg scenario...the profit will be purely incumbered only by production/shipping costs and perhaps some marketing..... nah....costs are up because they are making way less of them now than ever before.....and that in itself does not help them if they also have to lose out any potential sales from bootlegs.... I have no "Hate-on" for "grey market" items.....I just don't feel bad if they lose any "profits"...However, I do feel bad for legit licensees if their sales are hurt by KOs....there has been no proof that 3P would care to produce Macross in the absence of companies like Arcadia or Bandai......you can probably count all 3P Macross releases in one hand... Quote
Sanity is Optional Posted January 26, 2021 Posted January 26, 2021 Yeah, as someone who works in manufacturing, you're not making sense. Perhaps if you used fewer hyperboles and exaggerations. Also, maybe knock off the attitude? Quote
jvmacross Posted January 26, 2021 Posted January 26, 2021 Not sure what part of manufacturing you work in, but apparently it has not given you any special insight into it. I am not surprised you are getting butt-hurt. Quote
Sanity is Optional Posted January 26, 2021 Posted January 26, 2021 (edited) $130 VF-1 $13 of that is eBay fee ~$10 of that is shipping (or at least used to be shipping, based on ShowZStore Prices) How much do you think it costs to produce the injection molded runners? How much for the metal parts? How much for the assembly? The painting? The packaging/stickers? The QA? (Even these will have some minimal level of QA/parts rejection just due to things that can't be assembled) The manufacturer's profit margin, as it's unlikely they're using in-house manufacturing? I'd guess the per-item cost would be at least $40 to Valkyrie Factory, that's before accounting for the NRE (molds, generating CAD files/drawings). They're not 1:1 recasts of Yamato/Arcadia, at best they might use a few cast-off runners. They're a business at the end of the day, and as a KO factory they'll absolutely shut down if they're not making money rather than eat a loss in the name of customer service. If the profit per unit dips too far, of course they're going to delay release, or just outright cancel. They're in this for the money. Anyone who thinks their profit margin on these is more than 50% should do some research on what it costs to commission manufacturing/assembly runs. Edited January 26, 2021 by Sanity is Optional Quote
sqidd Posted January 26, 2021 Posted January 26, 2021 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said: $130 VF-1 $13 of that is eBay fee ~$10 of that is shipping (or at least used to be shipping, based on ShowZStore Prices) How much do you think it costs to produce the injection molded runners? How much for the metal parts? How much for the assembly? The painting? The packaging/stickers? The QA? (Even these will have some minimal level of QA/parts rejection just due to things that can't be assembled) The manufacturer's profit margin, as it's unlikely they're using in-house manufacturing? I'd guess the per-item cost would be at least $40 to Valkyrie Factory, that's before accounting for the NRE (molds, generating CAD files/drawings). They're not 1:1 recasts of Yamato/Arcadia, at best they might use a few cast-off runners. They're a business at the end of the day, and as a KO factory they'll absolutely shut down if they're not making money rather than eat a loss in the name of customer service. If the profit per unit dips too far, of course they're going to delay release, or just outright cancel. They're in this for the money. Anyone who thinks their profit margin on these is more than 50% should do some research on what it costs to commission manufacturing/assembly runs. I'm with Sanity on this. My company designs and manufactures from a idea to final product. I can assure you that even if I had a product to copy (short of the original CAD drawings) it will not impact by bottom line final per unit cost that much. And even with "stolen" CAD drawings you're still not looking at a massive savings. And if I were to copy something else than charge far less........you're not talking about fantastic margins. I would be shocked if VF's retail is double their dead nuts cost. Shocked. And double is what you shooting for as a minimum margin. Less than that you have to question why you're in business at all. Unless your selling zillions of units. Which in this example is not the case. Edited January 26, 2021 by sqidd Quote
Sanity is Optional Posted January 26, 2021 Posted January 26, 2021 My day-job mostly consists of doing design work. Most of that design work isn't coming up with the initial CAD model, it's doing the tolerance analysis and putting together the drawing packets to actually produce something from the CAD models. I might spend a day modifying an existing assembly for a new project, and then 3x as much time making the drawing packet for the modified parts. If I were to copy an existing part, sure I can get the basic model into CAD, but I still have to do all the tolerance analysis and drawings regardless Quote
sqidd Posted January 26, 2021 Posted January 26, 2021 5 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said: If I were to copy an existing part, sure I can get the basic model into CAD, but I still have to do all the tolerance analysis and drawings regardless Bingo Quote
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