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01-28-2008, 04:17 AM | #1 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,018
|
Hi guys,
I have never been the type to do a lot of shopping on online toy stores for GI Joe but after purchasing certain figures for wave 1 and wave 4 online, I'm kind of figuring out a bit late that probably, maybe I should of ordered from a site like bbts.com or something and I would have saved more money. Part of the problem is that buying from eBay, it seems like a great deal when you buy it for near retail price...a little markup for gas and effort to pay, so really $7.99 or even $8.99, no big deal for me. It's just that with shipping, you're paying for shipping and then a figure, you can end up paying $20 individually for. (ie. Wave 4 - Destro). I realize that possibly for wave 4...just for the 4 figures I need (trooper, gung ho, scarlett and destro), I'd probably have done better buying a wave online at a store for $49 than paying $40-50 just for four figures. But then again, how bad is the wait for pre-ordering? Is that the caveat vs. buying something from eBay where you get it within 5-10 days as opposed of pre-ordering which there is a wait? So, for those of you who do a lot of online store shopping (excluding eBay as well as Amazon, tru and hasbrotoystore), what advice of online retailers do you recommend for price, care of treatment of the package sent and are pretty good in knowing when they will have a shipment ready. Also, I notice some of you mention canceling pre-orders at stores like bbts and others because you found the figures at a store. Is canceling easy with e-tailers or is it a pain in the arse? Thanks in advance!!!
__________________
-- **My GI Joe Collection** http://www.flickr.com/photos/kndynt2...7626757514074/ ***MY WANTED THREAD*** http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...ml#post3169515 |
01-28-2008, 04:26 AM | #2 |
Heat Viper Commander
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Bethalto, Illinois
Posts: 786
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I'd say preorder like crazy from BBTS or Entertainment Earth, but you have to be patient. I just got my confirmation email a few days ago saying that BBTS shipped my order and it will be here Tuesday, but keep in mind that I ordered November 17th! It's a long wait and most of the joes I got we're from Walmart and Target but no wave 5 here. This was the first time that my preorder came in before I found them at retail. You can cancel as long as it isn't in stock, but becareful because I had to let go of all my Toys R Us preorders because they hold your funds. I might preorder a few items but I'm hoping my friend comes through for me on the boards! I hope this helps.
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Loved by many, hated on by many more! |
01-28-2008, 07:13 AM | #3 |
Bovine Excrement Viper
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Location? Location!
Posts: 5,887
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I order by the case (or set when appropriate) from BBTS. I guess I'm rare in the collector's circle because while I like having a figure as soon as it's out, as long as I know it's coming eventually I don't really care. For example, all of my wave 5 stuff came in a while ago, and it's still there in my Pile of Loot... I'm waiting for some more stuff to come in and make it one big shipment to save on shipping costs. No stress over hunting and easier on the wallet than umpteen fruitless trips. As for the actual wait, it depends. BBTS had wave 4 available weeks before I saw any hint of them in stores, and I only saw one instance of w2 comics before BBTS got theirs in (and still haven't since). Some people of course had better distribution in their area and BBTS was therefore "late." It all depends on your perspective. I haven't had any issues with how they package stuff, and their customer service is top-notch. Price of course is going to start a shitstorm... $6-$6.25 a fig by the case seems more than fair to me (unless of course I could find everything I want at Walmart with no wasted trips... not likely to happen any time soon). Comic packs I got for $10 a pop with the exception of Copperhead/Shipwreck. Single items are usually priced more than that, which is where the bitching usually starts. If it's worth that price to you, great, if not, move on. If BBTS doesn't have what I want, my fallback for joes is usually smalljoes.com, or entertainmentearth for everything else.
*prepares for anti-BBTS flames* |
01-28-2008, 09:53 AM | #4 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Gloucestershire, England
Posts: 34
|
I've ordered from a few places for the 25th Joes I've got. The best service I've had was from Small Joes, who had the fastest and cheapest international delivery. The figures were sent in the Hasbro case and were in fine condition.
Digital Toys are a nice alternative to BBTS, the only problem being that there's no ordering account system, you just pay through Paypal, so it's a bit harder to check up on orders and cancel them etc. The only real problem I had with BBTS is that the shipping took ages (although it was around Christmas) and it took a few days between them emailing me to tell me that my preordered item was in stock and them actually sending it. |
01-28-2008, 10:49 AM | #5 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: The T
Posts: 130
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by kndy
Hi guys,
I have never been the type to do a lot of shopping on online toy stores for GI Joe but after purchasing certain figures for wave 1 and wave 4 online, I'm kind of figuring out a bit late that probably, maybe I should of ordered from a site like bbts.com or something and I would have saved more money. Part of the problem is that buying from eBay, it seems like a great deal when you buy it for near retail price...a little markup for gas and effort to pay, so really $7.99 or even $8.99, no big deal for me. It's just that with shipping, you're paying for shipping and then a figure, you can end up paying $20 individually for. (ie. Wave 4 - Destro). I realize that possibly for wave 4...just for the 4 figures I need (trooper, gung ho, scarlett and destro), I'd probably have done better buying a wave online at a store for $49 than paying $40-50 just for four figures. But then again, how bad is the wait for pre-ordering? Is that the caveat vs. buying something from eBay where you get it within 5-10 days as opposed of pre-ordering which there is a wait? So, for those of you who do a lot of online store shopping (excluding eBay as well as Amazon, tru and hasbrotoystore), what advice of online retailers do you recommend for price, care of treatment of the package sent and are pretty good in knowing when they will have a shipment ready. Also, I notice some of you mention canceling pre-orders at stores like bbts and others because you found the figures at a store. Is canceling easy with e-tailers or is it a pain in the arse? Thanks in advance!!! When purchasing from eBay - I make sure the seller has multiple figures - and combines shipping. One seller I recommend is "ken_the_alchemist". The initial figure was $5.95 and each additional was $.75. |
01-28-2008, 10:59 AM | #6 |
Father of a little Viper
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Columbia Missouri
Posts: 12,942
|
I have been lucky in that most of my figures have been in retail. I did have to order most of wave 1, zartan, and the cobra officer online at amazon. They arrived fast, but with shipping charges it cost me about 109 dollars for 6 figures. Flint and Snake Eyes were about 15 to 18 dollars each...All of them came in very protective packaging and all of them arrived within 3 to 4 days. Now that is service...
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01-28-2008, 06:57 PM | #7 |
Sunsword = Fabulous!
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Portland, ME
Posts: 3,628
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I always snag pre-orders on BBTS as soon as they become available. It's a great way to cover yourself in case you can't find them at retail. I continue to check brick and mortar stores to see if I can get them with out shipping and the added joy of the thrill of the hunt (coupled with the disappointment of finding bare pegs). If I get lucky and find them at retail, I usually cancel my pre-order (which is "very" easy to do) and continue hunting. Wave 5 case is the only pre-order that I've actually waited to receive. Wave 5 was a ghost around here and I still haven't seen a snake eyes or destro anywhere at retail yet?! So it was worth every penny to get a set of wave 5 in the mail.
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01-28-2008, 10:46 PM | #8 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,018
|
Cool! Thanks again for replying. I have never been to entertainment earth and I know of Small Joes but haven't purchased from them, just bbts.com, TRU and Hasbro Toy Store that I've purchased GI Joes from (and of course eBay).
I'm curious, with pre-orders, do they charge for cancellation because I would figure that they would need to meet the demands of all the pre-orders and not get stuck with all these boxes of shipments to fulfill? I will say that it's so hard...because part of you feels that it shouldn't be so difficult to find at retail. But it's obvious that it is and if you want them, you got to hunt them down late at night or early in the morning. Early bird catches the worm and it was one thing to do it back then with the Toy Biz Marvel Legends figures but with the new line not just attracting collectors and scalpers but also older owners who once had these in their collections and want to share it with their kids or just to own a piece of their nostalgia. Anyway, thanks again!!!
__________________
-- **My GI Joe Collection** http://www.flickr.com/photos/kndynt2...7626757514074/ ***MY WANTED THREAD*** http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...ml#post3169515 |
01-29-2008, 01:37 AM | #9 |
Lexi Belle fan
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 4,210
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by kndy
I'm curious, with pre-orders, do they charge for cancellation because I would figure that they would need to meet the demands of all the pre-orders and not get stuck with all these boxes of shipments to fulfill?
if let us say you they have your order ready and you decide to cancel whatever that has been charge at you, they just give you something like "store credit." i think you should be at least at ease with sites like small joes, bbts, ee, etc. coz they don't charge you with crazy shipping. not unlike some eBay stores... heaven forbid.... they'll kill ye.
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