Late to the party?

[Deception]

Originally Posted by Protoman

Being late pays off. Trust me.

+1

better to be late then never! the pros about being late? more figures are available to you and since you like animated a whole line waiting for new figures to come out, especially the ones you want is a pain

[Shockwave 75]

I suggest you pick up Mech Ideas Bluster & Trench, they're awesome!

I just need a few figures to complete my Animated collection, I love them.

[Metroplex79]

Originally Posted by Protoman

Being late pays off. Trust me.

For the most part, yes. Nothing is ever 100%.

I passed on those old 4 waves of Japanese Micron Boosters (the Mini-Con repaints blind packed, for those who don't know) back when they were released (2003-2007).

I had hoped they go down in price like all blind packed stuff....remember SCF PVCs?

Nope. They're more rare and more expensive now. The X-Dimension ones are less expensive, but I still find it tough to swallow at $10 a Mini-Con.

Most of the really large figures are also easier to get, but at higher prices. The big Cybertron-Optimus Prime. Sure I can pay $100 for it anywhere. But I'd rather pay $50, which is close to what retail was.

But as for the OP, you can get most of the BW figures you want at a reasonable price. There might be a couple that are a little pricier, but not insanely. As for Animated figures...Ultra Magnus seems to be the one that's pricier than the rest.

[positivelyken]

I will say that it's been fun to track down the TFA figures I want, and rewarding to finally add those prizes to my collection. Less expensive than retail, though? Not always. I favor MISB/MOSC items if I can get them, for the sake of completeness, and those can be a bit more pricey on the secondary market. On the other hand, I did find the odd loose/complete figures that were in great condition and at a fair price.

Considering I'm the kind of collector who just wants to have figures I want, and I'm not just in it to flip it, I should probably get over myself.

[Rodimus Prime1]

Yeah, I was late to the party with animated, didn't watch the show until it was online, then got hooked with season 3. But I have managed to pick 95% of them up loose and at about 50% off retail, over the last couple of years. The most expensive one was blackout

The hunt for them is a good experience too!

[Vorahk]

I was late to getting foc bruticus and now cannot find swindle at a decent price. I always said "oh I will get them later" and now my bruticus has only one leg.

[Wheeljack Off]

From what I've seen, at least the animated line is one of the least expensive on the aftermarket.

[Shockwave 75]

I was a little late on Animated. I only really started getting the figures near the end of the show. But I lucked out and found a Walmart that had restocked all the wave 1 voyagers like Starscream and Blitzwing and got them cheap. I got a discount on a Lugnut who's box was trashed, and a great deal on the Allspark for voyager Bulkhead (I don't like the leader), and my local Zellers had the two Sunstorm/Ratchet and purple Shockwave/Bumblebee two packs.


Bluster & Trench not pictured. I have to update some pics.

[The 12th Prime]

Originally Posted by Vorahk

I was late to getting foc bruticus and now cannot find swindle at a decent price. I always said "oh I will get them later" and now my bruticus has only one leg.

Swindle is out there just like the truth! I picked up a Takara FOC Swindle MOSC for $20 at TFCon just because it was Swindle, so I'm sure there's a Swindle out there for the price your willing to pay with your name on it just give it time.

Just remember going to the party is the important thing, if you don't go at all then you're missing out. Like a dealer room take a look around first, see what's available for what prices and then make a smart informed buy.

I once thought I was late in '06 when I saw the Classics and Alternators lines on the shelves and I couldn't buy them at the time but not buying them then led me to discovering the Henkei and Binaltech lines later on when I did have money which I appreciate more. Funny though I still haven't bought any Binaltech's yet.

My word of advice for anyone collecting is hit for average, not home runs. If you can get a deal most of the time on figure's then treat yourself on those figures that you may want that's a little more pricey or harder to find. In the end it's all about balance.

[jjwankenobi]

TFA is a great late pass to the party. The toyline and show are both lightning in a bottle. Sold off my small TFA collection partly because they are such great toys to play with whereas I'm a 'posed dramatically in my Detolf' kinda guy so they weren't getting the hands-on play they deserved.

Have fun and...choose wisely.