Scalpers, man. They just suck all the fun out of the hobby.

It's not even scalpers, it's just how this line goes when it comes to a popular franchise or series. Ultramen always sell out immediately. SS Riders always sell out immediately. DBZ characters always sell out immediately.

THIS SH*T RIGHT HERE… I know of several dealers grabbing way more of these than regular folks.. regardless of the popularity of a character or demand, they just scalp it up on the aftermarket

Yeah I kinda have to think it’s scalpers at this point. Popularity can only account for so much; when it’s this consistent, scalpers have gotten worse with bots and these always end up on some ebay page for $200… I’m sorry but this is scalping companies

Out of curiosity I ran an api check via buyfriend a while back on some Rider SHF or other that was going up for preorder... If I have my numbers remembered right they only had about 150 pieces available, so it's not just scalpers and Amiami's ancient servers, Bandai also really underproduces a lot of stuff.

Remember when Base Form Ultraman Z was a retail release but also had limited numbers? Trust me, scalpers aren't the definitive answer.

THE DREAM IS REAL and my wallet is empty
Pre-orders open in 07/19/2021 8,800 yen
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E6eMdZZV...pg&name=medium

It’s probably due to every retailer only getting a certain amount and that amount just sells out way too fast. What I don’t understand is why Tamashii isn’t increasing stock to test out the demand. Because I’m pretty sure they could sell more if they wanted to. Although they might be content with the numbers at current, plus, production also has their limit.

For me that's alright, I always end up getting what I really want but the amount of hoops I need to jump through increased way too much over the years, so "might as well"-pickups really don’t exist anymore. I either need to go into pre-orders ready for war or don’t try at all.

On the positive side that means less spending, on the negative, collecting these figures has become a chore sometimes which definitely dampens the enjoyment this hobby should bring.

Oh, this is probably obvious to some of you; but Ultimate Shining Ultraman Zero can actually detach his Aegis Armour so it acts exactly like the previously release -- and it even still comes with the parts for X to use it! It's unfortunately low on accessories otherwise (just hands and colour timer), but it's nice that this essentially acts as a re-issue of both Shining and Aegis. Though both of them are in shinier colours than before, making the Aegis wearers even better!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E6eNn1VV...jpg&name=large

Oh, and a quick little comparison of Shining to its original release. Personally I think this one looks a little better with the metallic paint, but the difference is something you wouldn't see if they weren't side by side

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...24/unknown.png