Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[peter]

Seller in China? 

Probably went straight to the factory, bribed the manager to sell him a bunch.

So much corruption there, I would be a bit surprised.  With so much demand for these things, I wonder how long before we start seeing 3rd party clones of these things.

[Bahamutzyro]

17 minutes ago, peter said:

Seller in China? 

Probably went straight to the factory, bribed the manager to sell him a bunch.

So much corruption there, I would be a bit surprised.  With so much demand for these things, I wonder how long before we start seeing 3rd party clones of these things.

Bandai should increase production or make them all web exclusives.

[sqidd]

40 minutes ago, Bahamutzyro said:

Bandai should increase production or make them all web exclusives.

They probably don't want to increase production. I imagine that there is actually a LOT of unsold stock out there. It's just in the hands of the scalpers. How many units would be available if you went on AmazonJP, eBay, YahooJP Auctions, etc and added them all up. I'll bet it's a lot. The problem (for us, not Bandai) is keeping them out of scalpers hands. How you accomplish that I don't know. Just about everything you put in place there will be a work around for. And why would Bandai be motivated to put any time and money into solving it? They sell all their units before they're produced every single run and they at least have the appearance of never having a shelf warmer (they're warming scalper shelves). Bandai is getting everything they want.

And as someone mentioned above those could be coming out of China pre Bandai. What says there aren't 10K extra units run that are sold directly to scalpers? How would Bandai even know without some sort of heavy duty audit? And that may not even be effective if the corruption goes high enough. It only takes one guy at the production facility to cook the books and Bandai would never know extra units have been produced.

We need to track down one of these scalpers that are getting them pre Bandai (if they exist) and make a deal to buy units from them in bulk. Or better yet get them directly from the manufacturer as if we are a scalper. Who here speaks fluent Cantonese and has ties to the Chinese mob? How many units go to MW members at the end of the day really? Is it even 200? That doesn't seem like a massive undertaking. When in Rome and all that.

Edited January 20, 2020 by sqidd

[peter]

1 hour ago, sqidd said:

They probably don't want to increase production. I imagine that there is actually a LOT of unsold stock out there. It's just in the hands of the scalpers. How many units would be available if you went on AmazonJP, eBay, YahooJP Auctions, etc and added them all up. I'll bet it's a lot. The problem (for us, not Bandai) is keeping them out of scalpers hands. How you accomplish that I don't know. Just about everything you put in place there will be a work around for. And why would Bandai be motivated to put any time and money into solving it? They sell all their units before they're produced every single run and they at least have the appearance of never having a shelf warmer (they're warming scalper shelves). Bandai is getting everything they want.

And as someone mentioned above those could be coming out of China pre Bandai. What says there aren't 10K extra units run that are sold directly to scalpers? How would Bandai even know without some sort of heavy duty audit? And that may not even be effective if the corruption goes high enough. It only takes one guy at the production facility to cook the books and Bandai would never know extra units have been produced.

We need to track down one of these scalpers that are getting them pre Bandai (if they exist) and make a deal to buy units from them in bulk. Or better yet get them directly from the manufacturer as if we are a scalper. Who here speaks fluent Cantonese and has ties to the Chinese mob? How many units go to MW members at the end of the day really? Is it even 200? That doesn't seem like a massive undertaking. When in Rome and all that.

It will probably have to be Mandarin, not Canto, lol!

 

[davidwhangchoi]

1 hour ago, sqidd said:

They probably don't want to increase production. I imagine that there is actually a LOT of unsold stock out there. It's just in the hands of the scalpers. How many units would be available if you went on AmazonJP, eBay, YahooJP Auctions, etc and added them all up. I'll bet it's a lot.

i agree with this

[FattyMoBookyButt]

The scalpers aren't the problem, they're a response to distribution and licensing issues. 

If Bandai ran pre-orders through Amazon.co.jp without destination restrictions or a limit to the (total) amount of pre-orders accepted, it would solve the core issue that most of us experience. The other part is how many extra units do you produce to cover people who don't pre-order and whose responsibility is it to store and manage that stock? A retail store? It's not Bandai. 

The problem right now is the scalpers exist in both scenarios. And they are only beneficial in the 2nd scenario.

We just need Bandai to produce on demand. We should be able to order any sku that every existed and have it delivered by submarines and drones.

[sqidd]

42 minutes ago, peter said:

It will probably have to be Mandarin, not Canto, lol!

 

Well if that's the only hurdle we can skip the steal underpants step completely!

[sqidd]

1 minute ago, FattyMoBookyButt said:

 

If Bandai ran pre-orders through Amazon.co.jp without destination restrictions or a limit to the (total) amount of pre-orders accepted, it would solve the core issue that most of us experience.

We just need Bandai to produce on demand. We should be able to order any sku that every existed and have it delivered by submarines and drones.

What is the upside for Bandai in these situations? If there is no upside for them they're not going to put the time, effort and money into it.

[no3Ljm]

So... when is the next preorder? Hope it’s Hikaru’s VF-1A. 

 

[sqidd]

10 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

So... when is the next preorder? Hope it’s Hikaru’s VF-1A. 

 

Hikaru has gotten enough love. It's Roy's turn.

[derex3592]

If Roy's not next then I dunno. Max DYRL?  I don't think ANYONE on earth can predict Bandai.  I mean just look at HM-R. Jeeeeez...That line has all but stopped for all intents and purposes. 

 

where's the rest of my Destroids Bandai FFS...

[FattyMoBookyButt]

32 minutes ago, sqidd said:

What is the upside for Bandai in these situations? If there is no upside for them they're not going to put the time, effort and money into it.

Upside is they get to produce, sell and deliver their products to their customers. But yes, there are ridiculous amount of real-life reasons why we can't have (all the) nice things.

[sqidd]

Just now, FattyMoBookyButt said:

Upside is they get to produce, sell and deliver their products to their customers. But yes, there are ridiculous amount of real-life reasons why we can't have (all the) nice things.

I don't think they care about us. They sell everything out every time. 

[crackpot]

3 minutes ago, sqidd said:

I don't think they care about us. They sell everything out every time. 

That's the thing. It sells out either way so what's the benefit of Bandai moving to produce on demand. Sure it helps collectors and hinders most of the scalping but hey, they're getting the money they want so why bother.

[Pontus]

1 hour ago, sqidd said:

They probably don't want to increase production. I imagine that there is actually a LOT of unsold stock out there. It's just in the hands of the scalpers. How many units would be available if you went on AmazonJP, eBay, YahooJP Auctions, etc and added them all up. I'll bet it's a lot. The problem (for us, not Bandai) is keeping them out of scalpers hands. How you accomplish that I don't know. Just about everything you put in place there will be a work around for. And why would Bandai be motivated to put any time and money into solving it? They sell all their units before they're produced every single run and they at least have the appearance of never having a shelf warmer (they're warming scalper shelves). Bandai is getting everything they want.

And as someone mentioned above those could be coming out of China pre Bandai. What says there aren't 10K extra units run that are sold directly to scalpers? How would Bandai even know without some sort of heavy duty audit? And that may not even be effective if the corruption goes high enough. It only takes one guy at the production facility to cook the books and Bandai would never know extra units have been produced.

We need to track down one of these scalpers that are getting them pre Bandai (if they exist) and make a deal to buy units from them in bulk. Or better yet get them directly from the manufacturer as if we are a scalper. Who here speaks fluent Cantonese and has ties to the Chinese mob? How many units go to MW members at the end of the day really? Is it even 200? That doesn't seem like a massive undertaking. When in Rome and all that.

What happened to supporting a free market Sqidd?  Seems like quite a conspiracy theory for a simple, free market, retail business practice.  I highly doubt any reputable Japanese seller (the only ones I would buy from for the cost) really needs to get involved with the Chinese mob to make money.  They probably simply have a vendors license in Japan that entitles them to pre-order in bulk.  The MSRP is a "suggested" retail price.  Bandai doesn't care what you sell it for.

You all call them scalpers as if they were the scum of the earth, but this is just a normal retail business practice that every retailer does to make a profit.  They take the risk by buying in bulk and selling internationally, why shouldn't they expect a profit from their investment and risk?  They lost their butts on the Max VF-1A which is now going for only a little over cost.  Honestly, without resellers buying from Bandai in bulk and keeping them at higher than "suggested retail prices" until sold, there wouldn't be nearly as big a demand, Bandai would make less of them and thus wouldn't continue to make them, they wouldn't be available for years after release, and many of us wouldn't even get these toys.  I know I wouldn't have much of my HMR collection since I started collecting well after they were released.  And many of YOU would be selling them for much higher prices for the relative rarity, but we don't call you scalpers for it.

[borgified]

Scalp or not to scalp, that is the question...

In which interns to lead with this from SW: ANH

Edited January 20, 2020 by borgified

[505thAirborne]

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

If Roy's not next then I dunno. Max DYRL?  I don't think ANYONE on earth can predict Bandai.  I mean just look at HM-R. Jeeeeez...That line has all but stopped for all intents and purposes. 

 

where's the rest of my Destroids Bandai FFS...

While my Wallet is a bit light right now, if it were a Max VF-1S I'd go for it! 

[Pontus]

Just now, borgified said:

In which interns to lead with this from ST: ANH

Star Trek; A New Hope.  My favorite in the series.

[borgified]

1 minute ago, Pontus said:

Star Trek; A New Hope.  My favorite in the series.

Yep...

And corrected after your post. Memory relapse there.

[crackpot]

21 minutes ago, Pontus said:

I know I wouldn't have much of my HMR collection since I started collecting well after they were released.  And many of YOU would be selling them for much higher prices for the relative rarity, but we don't call you scalpers for it.

I see your point but I differentiate it when the intent of preordering is to resell it immediately for a higher price. That's scalping. The members I've seen selling their DX VF-1S here recently have been at cost plus fees. Nobody was blatantly scalping. I can imagine when the stock has dried up from YJA or online sellers months or years after and somebody here decides to sell the extra copy they supposedly kept for themselves at the current market price. I wouldn't call that scalping either. 

Edited January 20, 2020 by crackpot

[treatment]

I think even more people nowadays are just mind-boggingly idiotic enough to actually buy/pay the scalpers' pricing on these toys.

Regardless if its Bandai or Yamarcadia valks.

 

[sqidd]

47 minutes ago, Pontus said:

What happened to supporting a free market Sqidd?  Seems like quite a conspiracy theory for a simple, free market, retail business practice.  I highly doubt any reputable Japanese seller (the only ones I would buy from for the cost) really needs to get involved with the Chinese mob to make money.  They probably simply have a vendors license in Japan that entitles them to pre-order in bulk.  The MSRP is a "suggested" retail price.  Bandai doesn't care what you sell it for.

You all call them scalpers as if they were the scum of the earth, but this is just a normal retail business practice that every retailer does to make a profit.  They take the risk by buying in bulk and selling internationally, why shouldn't they expect a profit from their investment and risk?  They lost their butts on the Max VF-1A which is now going for only a little over cost.  Honestly, without resellers buying from Bandai in bulk and keeping them at higher than "suggested retail prices" until sold, there wouldn't be nearly as big a demand, Bandai would make less of them and thus wouldn't continue to make them, they wouldn't be available for years after release, and many of us wouldn't even get these toys.  I know I wouldn't have much of my HMR collection since I started collecting well after they were released.  And many of YOU would be selling them for much higher prices for the relative rarity, but we don't call you scalpers for it.

I was suggesting that Chinese "scalpers" were buying them from the Chineese production facilities thus being outside of the Bandai loop. I doubt very many Japanese people have an inside track to Chinese corruption.

I have taken the tack of the board and refer to these people as scalpers. But (and I'm probably about alienate a ton of people within this statement) I have no ill will toward them. They have found a way to buy low and sell high. It's Free Market Capitalism. You're either a Capitalist, or you're not. I don't think you get to choose what or what is not Free Market Capitalism based on how it effects you at the moment. I chose Capitalism. So I'm in even for the stuff that doesn't go my way.

Now, when laws start getting broken is where I have an issue. I don't know if there is any of that going on. Just defining my own personal line in the sand.

[sqidd]

22 minutes ago, treatment said:

I think even more people nowadays are just mind-boggingly idiotic enough to actually buy/pay the scalpers' pricing on these toys.

Regardless if its Bandai or Yamarcadia valks.

 

People that don't collect toys would say we're all mind boggingly idiotic for buying toys at any price. It's all about perspective.

[Grey728]

Well let's all agree on the primary issue we all have here: The 5 second or less window to purchase at MSRP and the 200%+ markup immediately after. If any Macross toy took a month to sell out and the price rose steadily from $200 to $500 in a month or two. Those that invested early on the piece would be pleased with their purchase while the rest of us purchasing late would tolerate the markup more as the new market value.

[treatment]

4 minutes ago, sqidd said:

People that don't collect toys would say we're all mind boggingly idiotic for buying toys at any price. It's all about perspective.

 

Perspectives from people who do not collect toys are not and do not get included in this type of discussion...

 

 

[Pontus]

1 hour ago, crackpot said:

I see your point but I differentiate it when the intent of preordering is to resell it immediately for a higher price. That's scalping. The members I've seen selling their DX VF-1S here recently have been at cost plus fees. Nobody was blatantly scalping. I can imagine when the stock has dried up from YJA or online sellers months or years after and somebody here decides to sell the extra copy they supposedly kept for themselves at the current market price. I wouldn't call that scalping either. 

Isn't that the intention of every seller?  I'm not calling anyone here a scalper, I'm just saying that scalping is just a vendor seeing an opportunity just like every other vendor.  Is that not what every retailer does, see demand and order product with the intent to sell at a higher price?  Why is that so awful?  If it's not worth it to you, don't buy it.  And these "scalpers" aren't even intending to sell "immediately".  They are storing that product until it sells, sometimes for years at some cost and risk to themselves.  I have appreciated that.  But someone graciously selling their toys on this website for their cost does not fill the need for the general public, and if that was my only option, I'd never get what I have.

52 minutes ago, treatment said:

I think even more people nowadays are just mind-boggingly idiotic enough to actually buy/pay the scalpers' pricing on these toys.

Regardless if its Bandai or Yamarcadia valks.

 

And I'm just calling for people to have a little more respect for the market, but this is an outright insult to me as someone who has paid scalper prices (I'm not upset or anything yr entitled to your opinion).  I wanted the toys and paid what I felt it was worth on the open market for a limited run toy, which was usually the same price or close to what you guys charge from what I've seen.  Most people reference ebay or other sellers for values.  Sure, I could have done the Mandarake thing, but after shipping, it's usually close to the same price.  I could waste a heck of a lot of time finding the right price, waiting for someone to sell here, maybe be the first to PM someone and get it... but my time is worth more than the little extra cost from a quick, easy sale on ebay.  Does that make me an idiot?  I don't think you're an idiot for wasting hours finding good prices and undervaluing your time.  If you find it fun, then it was worth it, but I want the thing I want now without any fuss.  I wouldn't have a DX YF-19 (or some HMR) if it wasn't for scalpers, or if I did, it'd be for the same price as I have seen here, and/or I would have had to check the for-sale section (or other sites) religiously to catch it. 

 

Edited January 21, 2020 by Pontus

[crackpot]

12 minutes ago, Pontus said:

Isn't that the intention of every seller?  I'm not calling anyone here a scalper, I'm just saying that scalping is just a vendor seeing an opportunity just like every other vendor.  Is that not what every retailer does, see demand and order product with the intent to sell at a higher price?  Why is that so awful?  If it's not worth it to you, don't buy it.  And these "scalpers" aren't even intending to sell "immediately".  They are storing that product until it sells, sometimes for years at some cost and risk to themselves.  I have appreciated that.  But someone graciously selling their toys on this website for their cost does not fill the need for the general public, and if that was my only option, I'd never get what I have.

A retailer has a contract with the manufacturer and gets it at bulk pricing. They not only buy the popular, best- selling items but they also have to buy the shelf warmers and not so popular items and meet a quota of units purchased from the manufacturer as well. A scalper only needs to buy a popular item at PO pricing with significantly less risk compared to a retailer. So it's not the same. 

The members that sold their copies at cost here got them at NY's scalper prices (Yes, NY is a damn scalper and a retailer at the same time). Sure it doesn't fill the general need of the public but they didn't get it at PO nor retail either. 

[Shawn]

Just got my Fast Pack set. I like the details, but the level of tampo printing seems a little excessive (my opinion). Securing the legs in fighter mode was a little stressful, the tolerances are quite tight when pushing the legs armor into the male pins form the plane.

I am a bit disappointed on the Fast Pack attachment slider-under-the-backpack mechanism, there is a lot of sliding and slight bending of parts where i can see some tampo on the backpack getting rubbed off. I personally like the simple 'slot the fast pack into the backpack' idea like the Yamato 1/48, but the DX could not do that because there is no lock to keep the back packs up (like the Yamato with the little clip that spins and secure on top). Minor gripe.
Taking off the engine cover to change out the skull insignia was also a bit scary. Everything is just so damn tight.  Overall I dig the fast packs, but feel they are grossly overpriced for non home market people like myself (I got mine for $110, and that felt $50 too much for what I got).

So...stupid question, what the heck is the deal with the little rubber o-ring type things on the leg attachment, and why do they need to be rotated between fighter and battroid?
What purpose do they serve? Are they simply filler so the leg 'axles' don't look so long in battroid mode? In fighter mode there is already a u-clip for the axle to snap into. Just can't figure out why they exist. Maybe a better attachment to the stand?

Thanks!

Shawn

[crackpot]

25 minutes ago, Shawn said:

So...stupid question, what the heck is the deal with the little rubber o-ring type things on the leg attachment, and why do they need to be rotated between fighter and battroid?
What purpose do they serve? Are they simply filler so the leg 'axles' don't look so long in battroid mode? In fighter mode there is already a u-clip for the axle to snap into. Just can't figure out why they exist. Maybe a better attachment to the stand?

Lol! I don't know. I always used the flat part of the ring as a guide to know when the legs are aligned for fighter or battroid mode when transforming. It does lock in to the clear part that is used for the stand when setting it up while in battroid.

[sqidd]

32 minutes ago, Shawn said:

 

So...stupid question, what the heck is the deal with the little rubber o-ring type things on the leg attachment, and why do they need to be rotated between fighter and battroid?
What purpose do they serve? Are they simply filler so the leg 'axles' don't look so long in battroid mode? In fighter mode there is already a u-clip for the axle to snap into. Just can't figure out why they exist. Maybe a better attachment to the stand?

Thanks!

Shawn

 

3 minutes ago, crackpot said:

Lol! I don't know. I always used the flat part of the ring as a guide to know when the legs are aligned for fighter or battroid mode when transforming. It does lock in to the clear part that is used for the stand when setting it up while in battroid.

I just think of it as a thing that does a thing and left it at that. Someone smarter than me will figure it out someday, and I'll draft off them.

[DYRL VF-1S]

4 hours ago, sqidd said:

People that don't collect toys would say we're all mind boggingly idiotic for buying toys at any price. It's all about perspective.

 

4 hours ago, Pontus said:

And I'm just calling for people to have a little more respect for the market, but this is an outright insult to me as someone who has paid scalper prices (I'm not upset or anything yr entitled to your opinion).  I wanted the toys and paid what I felt it was worth on the open market for a limited run toy, which was usually the same price or close to what you guys charge from what I've seen.  Most people reference ebay or other sellers for values.  Sure, I could have done the Mandarake thing, but after shipping, it's usually close to the same price.  I could waste a heck of a lot of time finding the right price, waiting for someone to sell here, maybe be the first to PM someone and get it... but my time is worth more than the little extra cost from a quick, easy sale on ebay.  Does that make me an idiot?  I don't think you're an idiot for wasting hours finding good prices and undervaluing your time.  If you find it fun, then it was worth it, but I want the thing I want now without any fuss.  I wouldn't have a DX YF-19 (or some HMR) if it wasn't for scalpers, or if I did, it'd be for the same price as I have seen here, and/or I would have had to check the for-sale section (or other sites) religiously to catch it. 

Yup. And, we all have a line in the sand when it comes to paying for these. For some it’s based on discretionary income, and for others it’s the hunt. It also depends on how bad you want something. For me it’s the hunt when talking new items. I like to pay MSRP or PO prices. But on items that I was late to the party on, I don’t mind paying a fair price at current market value even if it is absurdly more than original MSRP (I.e SDF-1, VF-31C, VF-31A etc.) I can afford it and enjoy collecting what I want. Nothing idiotic about that.

[no3Ljm]

Ok... so when is the next preorder? I'm really hoping that it’s another Hikaru’s Valk, his VF-1A. 

 

 

 

[Bolt]

Bandai has us on the slow drip..

[DYRL VF-1S]

8 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Ok... so when is the next preorder? I'm really hoping that it’s another Hikaru’s Valk, his VF-1A. 

 

 

 

Hah. Ninja. Dude I’d be happy with anyone from the DYRL squad since I bought all those damn SSPs. 

[no3Ljm]

1 hour ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

Hah. Ninja. Dude I’d be happy with anyone from the DYRL squad since I bought all those damn SSPs. 

I hope so. Since I’m already planning on ordering extra SSP just in case.