2005 Boards user G1 Evac brings us great news for fans in China since the Titans Return Siege On Cybertron Pack Was Officially Released By Hasbro China.
To make this even better, this incredible pack (which includes Magnus Prime, Tidal Wave, Metalhawk, Pounce and a Titan Master Thunderwing) is not exclusive to any retailers in China, so it can be bought from Taobao shops online who sell official Hasbro toys. It is priced 620 Yuan (93 Dollars) including shipping, which is a very nice price. The set has no noticeable differences but and extra set of instructions in Chinese.
Happy hunting for all China fans. You can check the pictures after the jump, and sound off what you think at the 2005 Boards!
triggerscold
just got mine in today! it is awesome! itll be a great gift for my grilfriend for xmas! so happy i could get oine without scalpers prices! thanks so much OP for posting this. i used jfbees for my taobao middleman since i was new to taobao and it is sketchy at best. but my figs came in an official hasbro box with hasbro tape etc these are legit. also the chinese instructions are cute ^_^
Fenrys
I felt like it was pretty reasonable
G1 Evac
Their fees look fair and affordable…
Fenrys
They do charge a middle man fee, some percentage of the purchase, I think on top of the cost of the figures I paid like $3 service fee, $3.50 domestic shipping to bhiner and then $8 international shipping
G1 Evac
$8?! My goodness, that is awesome! I only wish I could buy stuff from Amazon and have them shipped to me in China at shipping rates this affordable! How does bhiner make a profit if they don't disguise their exploitation in the shipping costs I wonder…
Fenrys
for the two deluxes i got through bhiner (ko devcon and punch counterpunch) international shipping was $8, but those were both unboxed figures
rdarkstream
One million dollars..!
Might be cheaper to just buy it in parts
cobra zartan
Wonder what shipping is going to be like on a box this size
Fenrys
Go through an agent like http://www.bhiner.com, it's pretty easy and painless to order from taobao through them and the middle man fees are pretty insignificant overall
rdarkstream
if i knew how to use taobao i would think about it
Rated X
I hear you. But I guess were gonna have to agree to disagree. Heres why brick and mortar sales do matter:
1. Decisions – Granted these sets dont have see through packages like most TFs, but if youre on the fence about a certain figure theres nothing like actually looking at it in hand to see if it really has that wow factor. Sure you can watch youtube videos, but nothing beats holding it in your hand and saying "do I really want this?" Quite recently I made a mistake buying the Takara Movie "best" line Soundwave thinking it was the elusive deluxe version with a premium deco. It ended up being the stupid human alliance version. Sure thats on me for not knowing my Soundwaves, but if I had the package in my hand for a second before buying, I would be $50 richer to this day. I opted to keep the figure as a novelty rather than pay return shipping for a mistake which was clearly on me.
2. Returns and exchanges – Have you ever bought a transformer that was missing a part, had factory damage, or had really crappy paint applications or poorly applied decals? I have plenty of times. And if im spending $100 or more, I expect perfection or close to it. I cant tell you how many times ive had to exchange bad figures. I even had to exchange Fort Max due to a really crappy Spike titan master that wouldnt align properly in head mode. I took that b**ch right back and showed the manager and he was cool enough to let me swap Spikes since everything else on mine was perfect. I didnt have to go find a shipping box, or take photos and send e-mails and wait almost a month to enjoy what I paid for. Ive dealt with both BBTS and TFsource exchanges and while they are both very helpful, it is downright annoying.
3. The hunt – Granted this factor is kind of irrelevant to me, but when I read on here about Hasbros horrible distribution to small towns in middle America, it makes me appreciate finding a figure that much more. When I do my grocery shopping at walmart, its nice to grab a figure to enjoy for the weekend. My TRU is about 5 miles away, but its right next to my favorite fast food joint (Arbys) so theres never a wasted trip, I always treat myself even if I dont find that elusive figure, lol.
So you are looking at this in black and white and im looking at this in vivid color. Since BBTS is a US company you consider this a US release. For me, all online purchases are the same regardless of where the retailers warehouse is physically located. Whats the difference between this set and some Japanese Wonderfest exclusive that BBTS scalps a box full? To me really nothing. You cant hold it in your hand and make a decision or return it quickly if its defective. You have to use your credit card and risk compromising your personal info (hello Funpub) and add it to your stack or pile of loot with everthing else and pay shipping and Florida sales tax (BBTS only) Meanwhile the guy in Canada is doing his happy dance with the set in hand at his local TRU. Last time I checked, isnt Hasbro an American company? And look how they did us. Some ass kisser at BBTS got a huge payout and now TFsource is scalping the sets for $150. Only in America…
My set arrives today. If something is defective what are the chances of me getting an exchange on an item thats sold out? Sure they'll email hasbro and get me the part in a month or two, but dammit Canadians dont gotta deal with that, why should we?
Fenrys
well glad the chaos on velocitron set was so easy for you to get, one toys r us in my area of va (there are 4 or 5 toys r us' in my area) got 3 sets. thats it. this set was easier to get, provided people paid attention. and what does it matter that bbts also sells import figures? it doesnt. do you know why? how much does the set cost from a retailer that you would have to import it from? heres a link
Transformers Generations Titans Return “Siege On Cybertron”. Available Now!
$150, before shipping.
at bbts i paid $103.99 shipped, so yes, regardless of the fact that bbts sells import figures, this IS a us release. doesnt matter that you cant walk into a brick and mortar bbts store to get it, it doesnt matter that your area apparently got lucky and was inundated with velocitron sets, because at the end of the day bbts is still a retailer based in the us
Rated X
Dude I shop online like crazy. Mostly TFSource is how roll. Im in the camp that bought the 1st run of Ginrai and godbomber. I didnt complain about why cant Hasbro make one….I bought it cause it was worth the money to me. I also bought this set from BBTS.
But youre missing my point. All the people who buy from BBTS had access to buying Ginrai way before this set was announced. The majority of the people who didnt buy the Takara Ginrai were either under a tight budget or flat out cheap f**ks.
Canada and China got a proper release of this figure where any casual fan can buy them in stores. We didnt get that. We had to buy from the same guys who sold us the Takara version so whats the point of the Hasbro version? (Other than appeasing a small group of cheap collectors and one or two weirdos who admire the blue crotch)
Were the only country in the world that has to get this set online because sombody at BBTS kissed major Hasbro ass. The Chaos on Velocatron set was available in every TRU in Miami when they came out. And they recently got a restock because I saw one last week and my boy on the other side of town saw one in his TRU 2 days ago. This set should be the same. Every other country has it as a TRU exclusive so why not us? Is someone at BBTS is sleeping with a Hasbro executive? Wtf…
Viewfinder
I've been checking BBTS for the last few days myself as well, and finally the "Sold Out" went back to "Pre-Order" as of tonight.
Hopefully my order won't be cancelled!
**EDIT**
It's now back to being "Sold Out" so that didn't last long.
For those still wanting one keep checking because I heard that some people are cancelling their orders which is the reason why it keeps changing back and forth from "Sold Out" to "Pre-Order" from time to time.
**EDITED AGAIN**
So 15 minutes later it's now up for "Pre-Order" once again.
**EDITED FOR THE LAST TIME TONIGHT**
Oops spoke too soon. It went back to being "Sold Out" about a minute after my last post. Good luck to those still looking for one, and keep one checking because it seems as if this might keep happening for the next few days.
Fenrys
Is bbts a us company? Are their imported figures more expensive due to being imports? Pretty sure the answer to both is yes. I'm sorry you have something against online shopping but there's nothing technical about it, this is a us release
jamarmiller
anyone that doesn't want their metal hawk LMK
Rated X
If you wanna talk in "offical" terms, you are correct. But when you have to go through the same online middle man that is selling Takara ginrais how much of a "US" release is it really? Canada got a proper "Canadian release" because it is available in brick and mortar TRU stores. All the US got was an import in American packaging. An import that you have to go through the same import company that imports your Takara figures. The bottom line is a small amount of online shoppers who were too cheap to buy a ginrai alone for $90 got a better deal for waiting. Thats about it.
But even if they got a great deal on ginrai, they got screwed on Godbomber. He is sold out now, unless you wanna pay ebay prices.
Fenrys
There's currently no plans for a us release of godbomber
Scubamatics25
I\'d like just to get Ginrei or what Hasbro is calling him Magnus Prime, I wonder though if we would get a US release of God Bomber
Fenrys
Except it absolutely is a us release since this boxset is released by hasbro not takara and barely costs more than super Ginrai did. People are buying this set for Magnus prime just as much as they are buying it for the other figures