[webz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerpJerp

IT'S LEGIT! 100%

I wouldn't leave a review with 100%, irresponsibly.

I've had this thread as my bookmarked page for toyark for a long time. It was a reminder to leave the review when I had sufficient evidence of the company.

That being said, can you just take my word for it or do I need to provide tons of evidence? haha.

Evidence...so much work, it's one of the reasons I'm putting this review off. Tons of screenshots and blurring stuff out.
I'm just going to write it out and add pics later.
I'm dedicated to leaving this review for the collectors who are desperate to save more money. Also, I'd like to give back to this company because there is no reason to fear them and they are reasonable people that have added more toys to my collection because of the cheaper prices

Okay, here's an overview:
- I've made about 8 orders. Orders that ranged from just $50, to a big one of about $500.
- The website is very comprehensive. You can access all your current, future and past order information on their website. You can see the current status of your order there. Awaiting fulfillment, shipped, fulfilled.
- All the toys were authentic and unopened.
- The company uses a HongKong bank account to charge the orders and pre-orders through paypal. It will process the charge immediately. Unlike most pre-orders in America that charge you at the time of shipment.
- The company ships from Japan, not HongKong. I don't know why it's the two different places. That was very unsettling to me at first. But, it ships from Japan, and has a quicker ship time than China.
- Much like any toy, from any place on the world, there is the possibility of opening your new toy and finding a QC (Quality Control) issue. I haven't found the ratio of non-return to return different than any other toy seller. Of the many toys I ordered only 2 needed to be returned because of QC.
- If you return an item, they will accept exchanges, or give store credit. In an exchange, they will charge you for the return shipping to them, but they will pay to ship back the exchange. When using store credit, they charged me additionally to shipping "back" to me.
They also provide tracking numbers.
- Signature required upon delivery, no choice. If not there to receive, you will have to pick it up at your local post office, or whatever.
- Bandaionline/KuramaShop is almost always the first to post pre-orders for Japanese Brand toys before American retailers. In certain cases those pre-orders never even get to American retailers.

In my experience:
I received two toys in an order that had QC issues. As a test, I asked for one exchange and one refund. They did not grant me the refund but they offered store credit instead. Heres the other thing, unlike American online retailers, they were only able to fully approve the "QC issue" after sending the toys back to the manufacturer to have it approved by them and be given the exchange from them first. Then bandaionline/kuramashop sends that item to you.
Going that route was significantly more time than the American online retailers. Sending it to Japan took about 2 weeks, 2 more weeks to get manufacturer approval, another 2 weeks to finally get it home. I'm pretty sure thats being generous. Thats probably best case too.
Be aware, in addition to that time there may be general delays with the overseas shipping. The final shipping outpost in Japan might hold your package at the border for a week, or a month, and nobody has any control over it.
I've only had one delay like that. It's not bandaionlines fault. I could see with the tracking information they have shipped out every order immediately upon arrival, and where it may or may not get held up in transit.
Be aware again, pre-order shipments must be made individually if you want them to ship at the exact time they are released. An order with more than one pre-order will be shipped out when the last pre-order arrives. Like Megaopolis. BBTS does that too except they separate the orders automatically in checkout to help you, which is what every site should do....
Also, I live in LA, so anybody east of me should probably expect even longer ship times.

Let's see, ummmm, final points.

WHY BUY FROM HERE?
Here's the thing, it's not all just cheaper, some figures are actually more expensive than the American retailers. I think it depends on demand. Japan loves Dragonball Z more than americans so the figures tend to be the same if not more expensive, the opposite for Star Wars.
But you never know really. It's kind of a guessing game sometimes. You might want to jump on a bandaionline pre-order before it sells out because the american companies will then post their pre-orders at a higher price. Or not post it at all! SHF Pad-me...more on that later.
I've even had the opposite happen. Thinking a bandaionline pre-order would sell out and the american companies wouldn't offer it. Instead, the bandaionline price turned out to be higher when the American companies posted their pre-orders later. In this particular case, those american pre-orders sold out immediately, leaving me to only order from Japan again. Many situations in toy collecting can have unique twists.
BUT GENERALLY, hmmm, almost generally, the prices are lower than American companies, IF, things go well, which they have as much as with any other company.

Here's the other thing about "lower" prices. Let's say, you see $50 on bandaionline for a SHF Star wars figure. It pops up in America for $70. BBTS will cost $4 to ship. Bandaionline will cost $10. Still cheaper, but maybe not so much?
I still think it's good to me, every dollar counts in my book, but I may begin considering more.....
Think if you have to return it. It will be $14-18 to ship back to bandai and $4-7 to BBTS. That's around $78 for the bandai and $78 for the bbts.
Basically, you break even with the whole deal, maybe a touch less or more than the American companies, in this case, the most common. Buuuut, you had to wait a whooooole lot longer to have it everything corrected through bandaionline.

If you buy multiple toys you have an even better chance of saving money. The shipping cost for bandaionline will go up the more you add, but not by much. Let's say three storm troopers at $50, $20 shipping. Thats about a $45 something savings if everything goes right and there are no returns. There is a great chance of that happening.
With a purchase order of about $500 I saved like $120 compared to American prices. Unfortunately, I had to send two of those figures back from that order, it took a long time, but I still saved about $70. The two toys that I returned were the biggest boxes (SHF GAMERA, TETSUJIN CHOGOKIN) so return shipping for me was like $50 in that case. Take box sizes into account when thinking of returns.

I still saved, but, it was a long process in that situation.
From the first time it was sent out to the time I actually had the final non-broken toy in my possession, was like 3-4 months. An american company would have been at most 2 weeks for everything.
All for a $70 discount in the end. Best case, it would have been a month and a half with a $120 discount though.

Most of my orders have been smaller, and, best case scenario. So I'm saving money and buying more toys with it haha.


OVERALL!
I'll just wrap it up. There's probably a lot more I could say but the bottomline is...
It's legit and you could save some money, or you could not. In a rare case you could lose money if you're hasty and buy it for a higher price than the american companies, possibly return issues, etc.
If you are looking to save by buying overseas like this, chances are, you are already an intermediate to expert "toy buyer", so, I'd recommend using your knowledge to be careful about what you purchase and when you purchase it on bandaionline.
But there is nothing wrong with the company, just the situational stuff from toy collecting overseas.

Here's a great example....
I purchased an SHF Star wars figure for $71 on bandaionline, it cost about $120 on the American retailers. For whatever reason, this is one of those SHF star wars toys sold way higher than $70 in America. Limited production is most likely.
The point is, this is one of those really significant "discounts", that make or break buying the toy. It has a month and a half wait attached. Maybe an extra month and a half after that, if you need to return. Imagine a third return is needed? I've never had that happen but it's a possibility. Keep that in mind. Is that discount worth all that?

It is for me in a case like that, and in many cases, but I don't always take the risk, I have more than not.
It's a game, with a great chance of winning, that's it.

Personally,
More often than not, I'm ordering from the American companies because prices are similar. But, I reallllly need to save as much money as I can for toy collecting. I find just enough discounts from bandaionline to have purchased a decent amount. They are nice people with pretty good communication. It's good enough from my experience.
After the SHF Pad-me came out on bandaionline for $85, I didn't order it and waited for it to come out in america, then it didn't, and the bandaionline pre-order sold out, and it finally arrived on ebay for about $250. I realized, once again, you have to be on your toes with this toy game. Could have got her on bandaionline for $85.....damnit. Paying $250 for Padme was crazy...unless you look up what she is worth now.

You've been informed. I hope!!!! You all benefit from this. Nothing is worst than that eventual ebay price stab to your gut.

Maybe I'll post pics of all the evidence later, I'm tired. If that doesn't seem like an honest post, I don't know what would be. I don't work for bandaionline or american companies. Just a Joe collecting Joes.
I can finally change my bookmark for toyark to land on the homepage now like a normal person!!!!!!

Wow...wait...this is not a joke. The doorbell just rang and its a package from bandaionline finally arriving. And it's the example I just used, $71 vs $120.
Making the ship time on this package exactly....May 10 to June 3, less than a month this time!
I will open the package literally right now and tell you if there are any QC issues and what my gain/loss will be....this is amazing seriously guys. Ultimately I'm putting all this work into the review to hopefully give you confidence that allows you to save money, hopefully put more toys on your shelf, be happier, and give back to you like I have be given. Toyark has been a great resource for me...blah blah blah okay you don't want my toy story.
That delivery was a good reminder too. They require signature on arrival. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've actually been home to sign for it and not have to go down to the post office, woohoo. It is signature required whether you like it or not and I don't think it indicates that on the site when you order.

Final tally, all three toys, no QC issues. It was three figures of the same make and model, total $230 from bandaionline. Total for american retailers, around, $350.
I saved $120. Of all the orders, that is the highest discount with the lowest investment.
All orders total, I haven't lost any money, I have saved a significant amount in discounts.
That's a good deal and situation if you really want those toys but couldn't otherwise afford them. That's me. I started ordering from kurama out of desperation. It was a risk based on the previous reviews. But thats what desperation will do to you.

Now that I have informed myself completely, I want to pass it on. You don't have to fear the company. Technically, you only have to fear the manufacturer of the toy you order. Consider that company and their QC success rate.

That's it for now, I'm tapped. BEST OF LUCK GUYS!

Fantastic! Very informative! Bookmarked.