I must be looking in all the wrong places >.>

So um black and gold ultimate daibouken, $165 shipped a good price for it?

no one? not even Den-O *sadface*

Anime Island just put up pre-orders for Red and Green Ranger!

VERY fair price man. Very.

The only time I found the Black Ultimate Daibouken was for $220 at the lowest, not including shipping, so I'd say go for it.

Do middleman services usually save money? Or are they more for selection/convenience?

Or does it get better when buying multiple items?

I personally don't think you save money from a middleman, I use them if I think the aftermarket value will be high and the item scarce. There's a ton of web exclusive SHF on Mandarake that go for below what you would have paid a middleman.

So basically, just use them if you think you're not going to be able to get one otherwise. You only save money through combined shipping, and some middlemen will hold things for you for a while to help you take advantage of that.

For me it's more of a convenience thing. Based on experience, a lot of figures I want end up being ridiculously expensive on the after market. And even if they're not, I'd rather use a middle-man to get it right away since prices won't drop on exclusives until a while after they release usually. Some US based online retailers will get them, but they usually have mark-ups that end up being more expensive than middle-man services after shipping.

If you don't REALLY want something, I'd wait to see if you can find a good deal on the after market.

So have any Deka Greens showed up on Mandarake yet? I just ordered Blue, and was hoping to be caught up by May in time for Yellow and Pink, but I haven't seen any show up so far.

I've seen them around. They just don't stick around for long. Keep stalking!