Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[Shizuka the Cat]

Just now, jenius said:

How does one get eBay bucks? Do you need like an eBay credit card or something?

No need for eBay credit card. You just sign up for free for the eBay Bucks program.

[dafob]

Just now, jenius said:

How does one get eBay bucks? Do you need like an eBay credit card or something?

It's been awhile since I've done it but I think you have to activate it in your profile.  You'll start getting 1% back for every purchase and every so often they'll have specials for 5-10% that lasts a day or two.

[Shizuka the Cat]

DX VF-1A listing on Rakuten Global Market. But.... at 28,728 yen.

https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/speedwagon/item/10002943/

[dafob]

19 minutes ago, fry said:

I sent the ebay seller an offer and he countered with $285.  Buy it so I don't. lol  You'll have $8 left to spend.

I went ahead and accepted the offer at $285.  I figured it was like found money w/ eBay bucks so even if he never sends me anything I didn't really lose anything.

oh, and @fry, you're welcome... LOL  

[jenius]

4 minutes ago, dafob said:

It's been awhile since I've done it but I think you have to activate it in your profile.  You'll start getting 1% back for every purchase and every so often they'll have specials for 5-10% that lasts a day or two.

Wow, signed up, seems like a slam dunk. Thanks!

[fry]

Thx! If I had a little more ebay bucks I would have done the same. Odds are I'm going to regret not doing it. I think you did well!

 

BTW, you can sign up for ebates and get another 2% back from ebay right now. I should have mentioned it before.

Edited April 10, 2019 by fry

[Shizuka the Cat]

1 minute ago, jenius said:

Wow, signed up, seems like a slam dunk. Thanks!

You build up a balance over the course of a quarter year. At end of the quarter, they issue you your earned eBay Bucks. You have 1 month to spend it, or you lose it.

I lost a couple of $10 accumulations because I either forgot about them, or could not find something to buy during the 1 month time limit to spend them.

Edited April 10, 2019 by Shizuka the Cat

[Grey728]

Thanks for the eBay bucks tip! I signed up as well. Seems like an easy discount I've been missing out on all these years..

[Checkmate]

47 minutes ago, dafob said:

I've got $293 in eBay bucks to spend by the end of this month.  What are the odds that POs will open up again somewhere for retail price before then.  

Hmmm... decisions, decisions...

Wow! Get me a Mospeada Yellow? :)

[nathans82]

Does Rakuten charge up front? They have a 1200 Yen coupon right now as well.

[dafob]

2 minutes ago, Checkmate said:

Wow! Get me a Mospeada Yellow?

LOL.  Sorry bud, I just blew the wad on the DX Max.

[no3Ljm]

32 minutes ago, fry said:

I sent the ebay seller an offer and he countered with $285.  Buy it so I don't. lol  You'll have $8 left to spend.

29 minutes ago, dafob said:

Hahaha.  He countered the same for me.

Who knows? Maybe that seller's a member here too. But I guarantee you guys it's not me. 

11 minutes ago, dafob said:

I went ahead and accepted the offer at $285.  I figured it was like found money w/ eBay bucks so even if he never sends me anything I didn't really lose anything.

oh, and @fry, you're welcome... LOL  

10 minutes ago, fry said:

Thx! If I had a little more ebay bucks I would have done the same. Odds are I'm going to regret not doing it. I think you did well!

Why didn't I get any thanks for posting that eBay link?  

 

[dafob]

Just now, no3Ljm said:

Who knows? Maybe that seller's a member here too. But I guarantee you guys it's not me. 

Why didn't I get any thanks for posting that eBay link?  

 

I was already watching that auction since yesterday (I'm one of the watchers on the list), but if it makes you feel any better:

"...Thanks @no3Ljm for the link.  You rock!!!..." 

[Alphahorizon]

Just now, dafob said:

I was already watching that auction since yesterday (I'm one of the watchers on the list), but if it makes you feel any better:

"...Thanks @no3Ljm for the link.  You rock!!!..." 

Lol. I'm one of the watchers as well. I assume that most of them are MWs. But, I secured one from NY a few days back. Just never deleted it from my watch list

[fry]

Ebay sent me a link before I saw it here. Also, is there a button to thank someone or do I just write it here? Thanks.

 

@Shizuka the Cat @dafob  @no3Ljm @Alphahorizon  

Edited April 10, 2019 by fry

[Alphahorizon]

Put an @ symbol before the name. It will pop up a list of similar names for you to selected from. Cool feature. Know it wasn't on the original MW website back in the day. Not sure if it sends a notification to that person or not.

[no3Ljm]

25 minutes ago, dafob said:

I was already watching that auction since yesterday (I'm one of the watchers on the list), but if it makes you feel any better:

"...Thanks @no3Ljm for the link.  You rock!!!..." 

No worries. We're all good here. Hahaha!  But thank you though.  

20 minutes ago, fry said:

Ebay sent me a link before I saw it here. Also, is there a button to thank someone or do I just write it here? Thanks.

@Shizuka the Cat @dafob  @no3Ljm @Alphahorizon  

You're welcome sir!

18 minutes ago, Alphahorizon said:

Put an @ symbol before the name. It will pop up a list of similar names for you to selected from. Cool feature. Know it wasn't on the original MW website back in the day. Not sure if it sends a notification to that person or not.

Not sure too. But I'm not getting notification about it. Would be nice though to see a notification on-the-fly while you're on the site so it's easy to click where you're being addressed to.  

 

[fry]

Not sure if this is allowed but I noticed there's a refer a friend program on ebates right now. If you use the link I get credit.

https://www.ebates.com/r/THEALL66?eeid=28187

If you sign up you currently get 2% cash back on ebay and 4% on Rakuten.

I use ebates all the time, it works on a lot of major stores and it's run by Rakuten. What's great about it is you get cash quarterly vs ebay bucks or Rakuten points. Lots of times it works in conjunction but some coupons make you pick to use it or ebates.

[kkx]

45 minutes ago, dafob said:

I went ahead and accepted the offer at $285.  I figured it was like found money w/ eBay bucks so even if he never sends me anything I didn't really lose anything.

oh, and @fry, you're welcome... LOL  

Nice, now you have two. Extra sweet when the second one is paid for with "found money".

[vlenhoff]

2 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Got this from my email. It says I viewed this eBay item when it was still at $349.99. Not it's $299.99. The pricing is as competitive as NY's shipped priced to the US. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BANDAI-DX-CHOGOKIN-VF-1A-VALKYRIE-MAX-ROBOTECH-MACROSS-vf-1j-masterpiece-1-48/254192964913?hash=item3b2f14d531:g:SjMAAOSwJzpcqxrJ

 

With a pre-order, i rather trust NY/HLJ/Amiami, than some random person on Ebay. Also because scalpers love ebay...

[Jwwu]

1 hour ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

DX VF-1A listing on Rakuten Global Market. But.... at 28,728 yen.

https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/speedwagon/item/10002943/

FromJapan has a 10% off Rakuten purchases promotion going on now. 

Separately, you can access Yahoo Japan auctions via FromJapan. The VF-1A Max from scalpers is currently around ¥26,000 shipped to FromJapan’s warehouse. Shipping to your location will be on top of that. The prices seem to be edging down slowly, like Amazon Japan 3rd party sellers.

I caved and bought from Yahoo Japan auction. 

[Duymon]

2 hours ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

How much did you spend on eBay to accumulate $293 in eBay bucks?!  HOLY COW!

If he took advantage of the 8% Ebay Bux days around 3600 ish USD.

This is why I stopped using Amazon for stuff I didn't need right away. TP getting low, order a week early on Ebay, get 8% back lol.

It Really adds up, and there's really no other rewards program that's give 8% before, even those tied to most credit cards :0

Edited April 11, 2019 by Duymon

[gingaio]

5 hours ago, vlenhoff said:

With a pre-order, i rather trust NY/HLJ/Amiami, than some random person on Ebay. Also because scalpers love ebay...

NY's the only one left out of those, and if it's priced the same--probably more--than that random guy's on eBay, then I don't know, I don't see the difference. I mean, I'm not the biggest fan of NY, so to me, they're scalping too, just as a business.

Only difference I see is that you can't use eBay Bucks on NY. Man, and to think that I didn't much of eBay Bucks before. Really pays off, I guess. 

Edited April 11, 2019 by gingaio

[Valkyrie23]

I just noticed NY closed their POs for the Bandai Dx 1/48 missle set. Guess I waited too long lol. Are any other stores still taking orders or will some most likely be available on release day? 

[Shizuka the Cat]

2 minutes ago, Valkyrie23 said:

I just noticed NY closed their POs for the Bandai Dx 1/48 missle set. Guess I waited too long lol. Are any other stores still taking orders or will some most likely be available on release day? 

WOW, I must have gotten really lucky with my missile order from them less than 24 hours ago. 

[Valkyrie23]

11 minutes ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

WOW, I must have gotten really lucky with my missile order from them less than 24 hours ago. 

Yup, that must have started the run on the missile sets, haha. Oh well, I don't display valks with the missiles too often. Hopefully can find a set, but it is more of a nice to have for me. 

[eggy99]

Bandai Online are still taking missile POs

https://www.bandaionline.com/dx-chogokin-missile-set-for-vf-1/

Edited April 11, 2019 by eggy99

[F360]

4 hours ago, moose said:

Did they send an email tell you they could not full fill the order and then turn around and sell it for a mark up on their website. I had it happen with another small time shop in japan.

I filed a claim when they failed to send me my eva metal build figure and sending me a tracking number that never pulled up anything shady stuff going around 

It’s awhile back , no contact until I ask them after release about my order and then they tell me they did not receive enough to cover all the preorders , but I did get a refund automatically.

I don’t recall them reselling for a higher price after .

 

[PteranodonMom]

3 hours ago, nathans82 said:

Does Rakuten charge up front? They have a 1200 Yen coupon right now as well.

It looks like they do. I just finished checking out at Rakuten and that 1200 coupon code got the price down to $238 before shipping. I'm waiting on an email for a shipping fee quote, then it looks like they'll charge me.

[kkx]

2 hours ago, PteranodonMom said:

It looks like they do. I just finished checking out at Rakuten and that 1200 coupon code got the price down to $238 before shipping. I'm waiting on an email for a shipping fee quote, then it looks like they'll charge me.

What is the coupon code?

There is also domestic shipping (estimated at 999) and fee (not sure how much this will be).

So final total is unclear.

[Anasazi37]

On 4/9/2019 at 11:58 AM, vlenhoff said:

Thanks guys! I have spent a hundred bucks in far less important things to me in the past. I can cry and make a fuss all day, but that really didn't resolve my problem. Its now done. No more nail biting, and i can focus on other things. I do maintain, bandai should do something about this. Sell it for more, but give us proper supply. Also websites selling 20 per customer are just inviting scalpers. In the end, this is not good for anyone. I had a moment of truth where i almost swore off this whole line. I am sure many have done it before as a result of this tasteless practice of limited supply, and or scalper favoritism. 

Total shipped was 304.54 usd for JP post airmail, registered, insured, and 1-3 weeks delivery.

So as Fry once said: "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY" 

This was the exact thought process in my head when I decided to buy a marked-up one from NY when I got home from work. Waking up in the middle of the night on Monday to snag one, only to get cartjacked on multiple sites, wasn't worth it. It wrecked my entire day and I definitely wasn't going to do it again on Tuesday. I would rather hand over $100 now and not stress about trying to get one for the next five months, probably miss out right after the release because I'd be competing with a lot of other people, then prowl sites like Mandarake for weeks/months until I find one and end up paying at least $100 over MSRP anyway. Bandai's at fault because they make far too few of them, a practice that will continue to alienate collectors and drive them away. Many of the online merchants are also at fault because they encourage and support scalpers by letting them reserve large quantities without having to pay anything up front, don't reward customer loyalty (I've given HLJ a lot of money over the years), and don't think about how their practices impact those of us who don't live in Japan. I've debated giving up on collecting Bandai valks multiple times over the past year because the stress and frustration simply isn't worth it. This is supposed to be fun, and if it continues to not be fun, I have far better things I can do with my free time.

[eggy99]

We keep blaming Bandai for not making enough or retailers for letting scalpers PO for the intent to make profit.

We need to solely blame the scalpers for the PO shortage.

Bandai only make enough for the local market. They're not producing Macross toys for Western markets.

Retailers can't stop scalpers from buying all the stock. Even with a limit 1 restriction, scalpers know how to circumvent this limit, in the same way they do it for con exclusives and bricks and mortar stores in Japan. 

Using a solution of making more units would work in the short term, but in the long term it would be a problem for Bandai. The first few times the scalpers all get burned because everyone is able to secure a PO, so they end unable to make significant profit from their investment. If the pattern continues the scalpers stop investing. Once this happens Bandai will end up producing too many units since scalpers aren't buying. They then scale back production numbers and the scalpers return once minor scarcity is the norm, and it just terrible cycle begins again.

I don't know why Bandai can't produce standard releases in the same fashion as TWE releases (made to order). Japan is so backwards in some things so it could even be logistical in nature.

[beatsing]

Greed.

Scalpers wouldn't make money if collectors weren't interested in paying the amounts they ask for.  

There are peeps who can afford and pay the $100 price hike the scalpers put up.  There isn't a lot of scalping for low margin items, like $10 toys at Walmart.

The transformers MP line has scalping, but it's not as bad as it was before, because the knock off companies started cashing in with low prices.  Sicne there are of cheap knock offs, a lot of buyers didn't bite on the high priced originals on ebay.  collectors get ripped off on fake "originals".   Scalpers' inventory sits.

The yamarcadia are dealing with some KO now too.  If the scalpers didn't drive the prices up, the knock off companies probably wouldn't knock off as much.  If Bandai produced enough quantity, the scalpers wouldn't profit.  

Bandai has done nice for Macross DX line, but just a matter of time what happened to the MP and yamarcadia is for Bandai.   There are already knock off Gundams.  The knock offs also lower the value of our originals.

Bandai has to sue the knock off company like it is now suing some company in China for the copyright.  That cuts in profits.

Peeps like me are priced out of these high end collectibles.  And I don't feed the scalpers.

That sucks for us collectors, and for Bandai, yamarcadia, Takara, etc. 

When we were kids, Macross valks or Jetfire were just toys, not commodities.  

Now we stress over a 2 second window or pay scalper prices.

Greed doesn't work.  all this behavior is reducing my enjoyment of such iconic art.

Is it just me?

 

[levzloi]

Scarcity can only be solved by Bandai, expecting every individual or group to altruistically act for your benefit instead of their own, is not realistic.  These Scalpers/resellers will only charge what people are willing to pay, if you pay them these outrageous markups, your only encouraging them to do the same in the future.  Prices will come down, and you will be able to get what you want without the current massive markup.  Just my five cents. 

[MikeRoz]

1 minute ago, levzloi said:

Just my five cents. 

Hey, MSRP on that was only two cents a few days ago! What gives?