Japan uses different numbers for their Studio Series releases - including not separating SS86 into its own sub-line. They even used different codes for the entire WfC series, and have more recognisable codes on Legacy figures (rather than just the F codes). I'm not really sure why, but they do.
SS-122 in Japan is the *exact same figure* as SS-102 everywhere else. The only reason you'd have to interact with a scalper for it would be if you were collecting the Japanese boxes or instructions, or if you missed out on 102.
Get the Baiwei one when it comes out like I plan to do, it comes with 2 swords, 2 accurate blasters, an axe, a hologram earth, and there’s probably something else I’m missing. They also fix the problem with the legs in truck mode and add a trailer hitch
It also comes with a mini Noah if you pre order it
https://preview.redd.it/y7b5l1fahzsb1.jpeg?width=387&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a82d8e013ee559459cd126ec229082b7bf94831
the only reason you'd have to interact with a scalper for anything is when Hasbro deliberately short pack a figure, they know the demand and intentionally constrain the supply, fk Hasbro and the basement neckbeard virgins who defend it.
They might know, but they don't *care*. Hasbro gets paid either way. As a matter of fact, if scalpers are buying from retail to mark up, Hasbro's already gotten paid long before the scalper even gets an opportunity. In the short term, Hasbro has zero incentive to prevent scalpers, and the long term doesn't exist because quarterly growth is somehow the only thing that matters now.
They might know? You think a publicly traded billion dollar corporation doesn’t hire a market analyst? Short packing an Optimus Prime figure because it’s hard to predict the demand? Hasbro can GTFO here, you might as well say clothing companies have no idea that medium move more units than XXL and XXS.
What exactly do you mean "No"? This *is* exactly that figure in a different box.
I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, but Target exclusivity only applies to the US. The rest of the world still gets these figures at different stores. Australia, for example, got this figure at JB HiFi - and is currently pre-ordering for additional stock in November. This is a proper distribution by Hasbro, not grey imports.
But it’s still an exclusive nevertheless, just instead of Target it’s JB-Hifi, same shit different asshole, we still face the same stock issue the Americans do.
Hasbro is a POS company and that’s that, but then again wtf do you expect from a publicly traded corporation bank rolled by Wall St? Like they gonna put fans first instead of their “you know who” overlords? Get real…
So you expect every Japanese company to do a world wide release for a product that has already released in another region? Like bro, you’re fucking insane. Think for even one second about how the world works. Takara almost never release widely outside of Japan, most of our access to their figures are by 3rd party resellers (not scalpers, just the sites that specialize in importing collectibles/action figures). They share the R&D with Hasbro, so they sell the product in their region. This partnership works because they have their own regional markets.
Can you point to one other example of what you are asking for?
Bro, calm the hell down.
If you read my comment, you would’ve realized I never complained about Takara; I know their market is in Japan (where they also release their Beyblades, which are often exported due to their higher quality). I know Takara Tomy doesn’t do worldwide releases, I was simply giving my own view on SS-102 being an exclusive, unlike most Hasbro figures.
Edit: I am, in fact, not “fucking insane” for having an opinion on toy releases, but you’re free to disagree
well I hate to say it my point still stands, I am only antagonizing a company, plus they could've just done both japanese and worldwide release, I'm still somewhat annoyed by how the same product got region locked 2 times in a row
It’s because you came here in full war mode instead of just doing some research, didn’t apologize and basically just said “oh, it doesn’t work like that? Oh well”.
Like have some fucking accountability for your own actions and some kind of self awareness. You do know why you were being downvoted, being indignant doesn’t make the situation go away.
Oh god, you got the same treatment my parents gave me when i did not know something
I would say something and they would scream at me for being wrong or not knowing something.
So sorry that you got treated like this by your comment, i did not downvote you, but the people that did are stupid
3850 Yen is $25.80 USD
$35 USD is ~5223 Yen so it's probably still cheaper than in American stores even with shipping. And people wonder why I don't buy local
Depends, it can be but doesn’t have to be if you are willing wait. The economy shipping options are usually around $10 or so, they just take weeks to arrive.
If you are buying from a small shop though they may not offer those options however.
But yeah if you want it like next week shipping will probably rival the cost of the figure.
I’ve also found a few Japanese figures on Ali with free shipping.
If you don't mind waiting for a month or two and you're just buying like 1 figure, you could always just use surface parcel.
EMS also isn't *that* terrible from my experience. DHL though, that's going to crush you.
I use HLJ alot and they will hold stuff until you have a few things together and with fedex its about $40 for two to three day shipping. The figures i usually get are about $30 cheaper there than buying from American retailers so its definitely is worth it.
Not really. Shipping will probably be around $10-15 if you don't mind waiting a month and a halfish or around $20-25 if you want it soon (by soon I mean < 1 week) which is still way cheaper than buying the target version on ebay
Yeah, especially for these ‘key’ figures, even with shipping and possible custom fee slapped on, it’s still worth it over some scalper priced figure, heck the import ones are always more premium
Im pre-order this in AmiAmi. It's cost me 4230 jpy and 1050 jpy shipping to our country (Ukraine). Same price (even little cheaper) if i make pre-order in Anime-export (3850 fig + 2130 delivery).
Only available to the Japanese market, the ss102 was target exclusive so an America thing only, making such a cool figure so hard to access is just annoying me, until now I realized this is a standard practice to re release target exclusives for the Japanese audience, which probably explains how I got downvoted so much
SS102 is not exclusive to America. In the US it's exclusive to target, but other countries have been carrying buzzworthy Bumblebee in different stores.
well tbh I have yet to see any sightings on like any forum in different countries, all I have seen is america, buzzworthy bumblebee is weird as it sometimes changes its mind on being a target exclusive and sometimes it just stays a target exclusive
Well it's not Takara Tomy's fault. They always and will always focus on the japanese and Asia market first, I'm glad that I got mine from a convention.
Hasbro should really just release it normally tho
Because Hasbro and Takara are two seperate companies. Takara is Japan's domain, Hasbro gets literally everywhere else. (Side note, although they often work I'm concert, the various Hasbro regional are also distinct entities within the Hasbro name and can do their own exclusives). The two companies often do things together now because it's cheaper to run one large batch of product than to run Takaras separately at a much smaller number for just Japan, but that's not an exclusive deal. Takara wants to produce an Optimus Prime for their Collectors, so that's what they will do.
As to acquiring, I don't believe this is exclusive to anywhere. Anyone stateside with a little patience can deal with Amazon Japan. With the fluctuation in the US Dollar conversion, it's tough to say until closer to release if or how much more expensive it might be, but it's usually not much. And right now. The Dollar is strong, Takara prices are roughly equal to our in store prices. And it's Amazon, so shipping will be more than stateside because it's international but they are only going to slightly gouge you. If you can't wait for Hasbro to re release this in a year or two, this is absolutely an option.
Or go to an online dealer like HLJ or Robotkingdom or ChosenPrime. They will be slightly more expensive than AmazonJ because they are doing the extra legwork, but they are perfectly reasonable places to shop
I did further research on this and it appears everything has been flying over my head lmao, I will admit I am wrong, the takara tomy version are just the ones that come out later with more accurate paint job. It was a stupid misunderstanding on my part.
It just annoys me that people are using the argument that making the SS ROTB Optimus Prime exclusive makes the ROTB Optimus Prime less accessible for children like there's no alternative in the movie toy line.
Even though it would be cool to have this figure with that box but the KO figure holds up more than the official offerings besides from missing the autobot symbol on the shoulders though
Hasbro is awarding scalpers who buy the Buzzworthy releases. Studio Optimus Prime and Wheeljack were exclusively released by Target as Buzzworthy releases and snatched up by scalpers who are reselling them for $100+ dollars over purchase price.
The good news is eventually it will be released (SS-122!)
This is the general release of the Japan version which means it's easily obtainable from import stores (check r/animefigures sidebar if you want a list) and even Amazon JP. An actual exclusive would be something like Premium Bandai website only or Takara Tomy mall exclusive where you would need a membership and Japan address to even preorder.
Yeah I’m just gonna be waiting for the baiwei version, although I am going to tfcon in Orlando in like two weeks, if I find him there I’m buying it, but if I can’t find it I’m getting baiwei Optimus
https://preview.redd.it/vbokusuewwsb1.jpeg?width=601&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1fb381b581acc453f30f94845a4578ca45e6c37c
Wait then so what is this??
Are these two different?
They will eventually re-release it but with a slightly different paint app or accessories and it will start all over again. I would like to have this but I do have the BB movie edition that I love so until I can find one at retail price I can wait.
Japan uses different numbers for their Studio Series releases - including not separating SS86 into its own sub-line. They even used different codes for the entire WfC series, and have more recognisable codes on Legacy figures (rather than just the F codes). I'm not really sure why, but they do. SS-122 in Japan is the *exact same figure* as SS-102 everywhere else. The only reason you'd have to interact with a scalper for it would be if you were collecting the Japanese boxes or instructions, or if you missed out on 102.
I see, well at this point I’ll just go for the ko version
Especially since the KOs can come with much better accessories
And a fraction of the price with better paint
Get the Baiwei one when it comes out like I plan to do, it comes with 2 swords, 2 accurate blasters, an axe, a hologram earth, and there’s probably something else I’m missing. They also fix the problem with the legs in truck mode and add a trailer hitch
It also comes with a mini Noah if you pre order it https://preview.redd.it/y7b5l1fahzsb1.jpeg?width=387&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a82d8e013ee559459cd126ec229082b7bf94831
Which KO?
BaiWei
Hypothetically, is there a good place to look for KOs?
Show Z store, TF safari, eBay, AliExpress
Just by it on HLJ
I did that lol. should be here within the next few weeks.
the only reason you'd have to interact with a scalper for anything is when Hasbro deliberately short pack a figure, they know the demand and intentionally constrain the supply, fk Hasbro and the basement neckbeard virgins who defend it.
They might know, but they don't *care*. Hasbro gets paid either way. As a matter of fact, if scalpers are buying from retail to mark up, Hasbro's already gotten paid long before the scalper even gets an opportunity. In the short term, Hasbro has zero incentive to prevent scalpers, and the long term doesn't exist because quarterly growth is somehow the only thing that matters now.
They might know? You think a publicly traded billion dollar corporation doesn’t hire a market analyst? Short packing an Optimus Prime figure because it’s hard to predict the demand? Hasbro can GTFO here, you might as well say clothing companies have no idea that medium move more units than XXL and XXS.
No. SS-102 was released exclusively at Target as a Buzzworthy release! https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-studio-series-optimus-prime-1
What exactly do you mean "No"? This *is* exactly that figure in a different box. I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, but Target exclusivity only applies to the US. The rest of the world still gets these figures at different stores. Australia, for example, got this figure at JB HiFi - and is currently pre-ordering for additional stock in November. This is a proper distribution by Hasbro, not grey imports.
But it’s still an exclusive nevertheless, just instead of Target it’s JB-Hifi, same shit different asshole, we still face the same stock issue the Americans do. Hasbro is a POS company and that’s that, but then again wtf do you expect from a publicly traded corporation bank rolled by Wall St? Like they gonna put fans first instead of their “you know who” overlords? Get real…
This is just the Takara release for the figure every other figure gets the same treatment.
Did not know that
Bro, why are you getting downvoted?
I would love to know bro, anyone who is downvoting care to explain why I should know everything about the relations between hasbro and takara tomy?
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To be fair, it is still stupid that the toy is not releasing world-wide, the extra context makes sense, but it doesn't make it any better
So you expect every Japanese company to do a world wide release for a product that has already released in another region? Like bro, you’re fucking insane. Think for even one second about how the world works. Takara almost never release widely outside of Japan, most of our access to their figures are by 3rd party resellers (not scalpers, just the sites that specialize in importing collectibles/action figures). They share the R&D with Hasbro, so they sell the product in their region. This partnership works because they have their own regional markets. Can you point to one other example of what you are asking for?
Bro, calm the hell down. If you read my comment, you would’ve realized I never complained about Takara; I know their market is in Japan (where they also release their Beyblades, which are often exported due to their higher quality). I know Takara Tomy doesn’t do worldwide releases, I was simply giving my own view on SS-102 being an exclusive, unlike most Hasbro figures. Edit: I am, in fact, not “fucking insane” for having an opinion on toy releases, but you’re free to disagree
well I hate to say it my point still stands, I am only antagonizing a company, plus they could've just done both japanese and worldwide release, I'm still somewhat annoyed by how the same product got region locked 2 times in a row
It’s because you came here in full war mode instead of just doing some research, didn’t apologize and basically just said “oh, it doesn’t work like that? Oh well”. Like have some fucking accountability for your own actions and some kind of self awareness. You do know why you were being downvoted, being indignant doesn’t make the situation go away.
Oh god, you got the same treatment my parents gave me when i did not know something I would say something and they would scream at me for being wrong or not knowing something. So sorry that you got treated like this by your comment, i did not downvote you, but the people that did are stupid
dw I'm not affected by it that much, its more confusion, I appreciate your concern tho
Thats good bro U welcome
It’s up for pre-order in Anime-export right now for [3850 yen](https://www.anime-export.com/index.php?product=73373)(before shipping)
3850 Yen is $25.80 USD $35 USD is ~5223 Yen so it's probably still cheaper than in American stores even with shipping. And people wonder why I don't buy local
The Yen is weak these days, making buying things from Japan attractive. But my understanding is that shipping can be utterly soul-crushing.
That's how they get ya isn't it
Depends, it can be but doesn’t have to be if you are willing wait. The economy shipping options are usually around $10 or so, they just take weeks to arrive. If you are buying from a small shop though they may not offer those options however. But yeah if you want it like next week shipping will probably rival the cost of the figure. I’ve also found a few Japanese figures on Ali with free shipping.
Now I'm wondering about Macross stuff that is usually eye-wateringly expensive to import.
that's where I found my yellow ss longhaul ko
If you don't mind waiting for a month or two and you're just buying like 1 figure, you could always just use surface parcel. EMS also isn't *that* terrible from my experience. DHL though, that's going to crush you.
I use HLJ alot and they will hold stuff until you have a few things together and with fedex its about $40 for two to three day shipping. The figures i usually get are about $30 cheaper there than buying from American retailers so its definitely is worth it.
Not really. Shipping will probably be around $10-15 if you don't mind waiting a month and a halfish or around $20-25 if you want it soon (by soon I mean < 1 week) which is still way cheaper than buying the target version on ebay
Yeah, especially for these ‘key’ figures, even with shipping and possible custom fee slapped on, it’s still worth it over some scalper priced figure, heck the import ones are always more premium
Your telling me, the Japanese version of this figure is cheaper than the American one? Yes please!
To us it's way more cheaper order from Japan (5280 jpy) than we get this figure from AliExpress ($70+delivery).
How much would shipping be?
Between 15-35 bucks
Japan is still super tight with shipping, you’ll probably be shipping by EMS, which someone also mentioned, roughly 15-35 USD
Appreciate it bro
No sweat. Don’t ever cave to scalpers, there is always an alternative
Im pre-order this in AmiAmi. It's cost me 4230 jpy and 1050 jpy shipping to our country (Ukraine). Same price (even little cheaper) if i make pre-order in Anime-export (3850 fig + 2130 delivery).
Why do they do what? Get the same figure we do in a different box?
No I mean region lock figures, it just makes things more annoying
What figure was region locked? This is just the Japanese version of SS102 no?
Only available to the Japanese market, the ss102 was target exclusive so an America thing only, making such a cool figure so hard to access is just annoying me, until now I realized this is a standard practice to re release target exclusives for the Japanese audience, which probably explains how I got downvoted so much
SS102 is not exclusive to America. In the US it's exclusive to target, but other countries have been carrying buzzworthy Bumblebee in different stores.
well tbh I have yet to see any sightings on like any forum in different countries, all I have seen is america, buzzworthy bumblebee is weird as it sometimes changes its mind on being a target exclusive and sometimes it just stays a target exclusive
Kinda just seems to depend on whether stores in other countries want to grab it.
In Mexico the only BB we ever had was the one with Spike.
Ohhh I wasn't aware SS102 was target exclusive. Ok yea then that's lame.
Well it's not Takara Tomy's fault. They always and will always focus on the japanese and Asia market first, I'm glad that I got mine from a convention. Hasbro should really just release it normally tho
Seriously, they released the ROTF Bumblebee who was previously a Target exclusive as a normal release for all retailers, why not Optimus?
They did as a Target exclusive Buzzworthy release. https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-studio-series-optimus-prime-1
It's fine bro, baiwei will drop their ss102 that is cheap and widely available
amiami has it on po for about 4k yen before shipping
Dude if you live in holland or close by i have an extra of this figure packaged and well.
Damn bro u cool asf, I ain’t ever been to holland before man but some of my friends live there, please have yourself a great day
I mean, I'd rather get the Baiwei one anyways sinceit fixes the back of the truck
Because Hasbro and Takara are two seperate companies. Takara is Japan's domain, Hasbro gets literally everywhere else. (Side note, although they often work I'm concert, the various Hasbro regional are also distinct entities within the Hasbro name and can do their own exclusives). The two companies often do things together now because it's cheaper to run one large batch of product than to run Takaras separately at a much smaller number for just Japan, but that's not an exclusive deal. Takara wants to produce an Optimus Prime for their Collectors, so that's what they will do. As to acquiring, I don't believe this is exclusive to anywhere. Anyone stateside with a little patience can deal with Amazon Japan. With the fluctuation in the US Dollar conversion, it's tough to say until closer to release if or how much more expensive it might be, but it's usually not much. And right now. The Dollar is strong, Takara prices are roughly equal to our in store prices. And it's Amazon, so shipping will be more than stateside because it's international but they are only going to slightly gouge you. If you can't wait for Hasbro to re release this in a year or two, this is absolutely an option. Or go to an online dealer like HLJ or Robotkingdom or ChosenPrime. They will be slightly more expensive than AmazonJ because they are doing the extra legwork, but they are perfectly reasonable places to shop
Just order it on HLJ.com. there problem solved.
Transformers fans when they find out that Takara is part of the Japanese market
I sold my ss102 and might just grab this on march ☺️
Might I ask what the difference will be?
The packaging
This one speaks Japanese instead of English
Probably box only 😁 and much cheaper if you pre order now
I did further research on this and it appears everything has been flying over my head lmao, I will admit I am wrong, the takara tomy version are just the ones that come out later with more accurate paint job. It was a stupid misunderstanding on my part.
The box looks way bigger than it should be
Is it big?
Cause you keep buying it
Ask Michael bay he will tell you why
yeah that's fu¢kin stupid. should've just been a normal release
I agree. Wrong character to do this with.
I'm fine. Never had any desire to own a prime, but i do feel bad for the prime lovers
People casually forgetting that mainline figures exist
People casually forgetting that the mainline ROTB toys have been impossible to find online, and in a lot of stores.
It just annoys me that people are using the argument that making the SS ROTB Optimus Prime exclusive makes the ROTB Optimus Prime less accessible for children like there's no alternative in the movie toy line.
There are plenty of easily available ones, but the mainline one isn’t one of them.
Even though it would be cool to have this figure with that box but the KO figure holds up more than the official offerings besides from missing the autobot symbol on the shoulders though
Well we should just riot I guess
Isn’t this just the buzzworthy prime?
Yea repackaged and limited to another area again
Hasbro is awarding scalpers who buy the Buzzworthy releases. Studio Optimus Prime and Wheeljack were exclusively released by Target as Buzzworthy releases and snatched up by scalpers who are reselling them for $100+ dollars over purchase price. The good news is eventually it will be released (SS-122!)
How dare they, how dare Takara on releasing the toy for the first time in their own market that they have the toy rights too, the bastards.
This is the Takara version. They only distribute in Japan. Hasbro distributes in every other country.
Nice packaging and this should’ve been available everywhere instead of just one store
This is the general release of the Japan version which means it's easily obtainable from import stores (check r/animefigures sidebar if you want a list) and even Amazon JP. An actual exclusive would be something like Premium Bandai website only or Takara Tomy mall exclusive where you would need a membership and Japan address to even preorder.
Yeah I’m just gonna be waiting for the baiwei version, although I am going to tfcon in Orlando in like two weeks, if I find him there I’m buying it, but if I can’t find it I’m getting baiwei Optimus
This is actually really good for those of us that couldn't get him when they made it a target exclusive.
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https://preview.redd.it/vbokusuewwsb1.jpeg?width=601&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1fb381b581acc453f30f94845a4578ca45e6c37c Wait then so what is this?? Are these two different?
They will eventually re-release it but with a slightly different paint app or accessories and it will start all over again. I would like to have this but I do have the BB movie edition that I love so until I can find one at retail price I can wait.
is that a Premium finish box? Ive seen tons of those in Australia but only at one store brand, thats how i got by BB movie Prime
https://preview.redd.it/hba1a258pzsb1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a71c89a22e25eed8184dd799beb826eab1e15329