Anyone who has been following the line for sometime now will tell you it's an expensive venture. Some folks out there like to wait for a good deal rather than paying the MSRP, or close to it, as soon as these figures are released. However, recent interest in Godzilla & Friends has led to figures selling out quicker. As some of you know, Tamashii Nations doesn't create figures like a normal mass produced toy factory. Whether it's a Web Exclusive or Regular Release, each figure only receives one production run and that's it, (Web Exclusives being much more limited in quantity). The end result, you've waited to long to get that figure, and now it's sold out at MSRP and the aftermarket has inflated the price. Then you're left kicking yourself...
To help those who like to wait, but don't want to miss out on a figure before it hits the aftermarket, I've implemented a tier system that will be updated every Friday. Now when you hover over a monster tile in the PAST RELEASES section, it will be color coded appropriately to its current availability. The tier system works like this:
- GREEN - Available: Bluefin Distribution still has a current inventory of these monsters and they are plentiful.
- YELLOW - Limited Stock: Bluefin Distribution no longer carries inventory of these monsters. Whatever is on the market is what's available, and depending on demand, could enter the orange tier quickly. Exercise caution with the waiting game.
- ORANGE - Almost Gone: Limited stock at MSRP or less, most if not all major online retailers stock have been depleted. If you've held off this long, now is the time to purchase that figure.
- RED - Out of Print: No longer available at MSRP, the aftermarket has inflated the price. Though not all hope is lost. Smaller online retailers, as well as your local comic shops, may still carry these figures at MSRP or less. There's also the option of importing from sites like Mandarake which generally sell items for less, (depending on Japanese demand or web exclusive figures). It's up to you to dig and find that deal.
It's easy to use and won't take more than 10 seconds to find out if you should act on purchasing that figure you've been waiting to get a deal on.
Site Updates:
- Updated the PAST RELEASES section with the Availability Tier system.
- Removed the silhouettes from the UPCOMING RELEASES section. Please refer to the MONSTER FORECAST for fun guessing of what's to come!
