Automaton Toys now carrying SH Figuarts

[Nemesis Predaking]

That right Toku fans. Mario & his team at Automaton Toys are now stocking SH Figuarts including Kamen Rider, Saint Seiya, Godzilla and Dragonball items.

Pop by the Automaton Toys Facebook page as well, as Mario & his team are looking for ideas on other figures & lines to carry, should things go well.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001822636740

[JTCh]

That's pretty cool that we finally have a Canadian place for Figuarts. But the prices do seem a bit high considering that I only paid $65 total for Trunks shipped from Legends Action Figures. Although I do like the fact that they have their "Order on Hold" option which might offset the price differences.

[pud333]

Agreed. Very cool you guys carry it, but the prices are a bit offside. I think I got Godzilla from HLJ even after exchange and shipping cheaper than what is listed there. Though the OOH option is a good one. Also, no duty would be paid, and it is supporting a Canadian retailer. I'll have to see what else you guys get, but it's now on my radar.

[Exillion]

Hi Everyone!

Mario here. We really need your help on this one: please pick 2-3 SH Figuarts products on our website and tell us what you be a decent CAN$ price that would make you jump and buy the item. :-)

As of now, our profit margin on those products is very low, but again, we are now looking for other suppliers for those products. Wholesale prices are the key words. We will do the impossible to stock this line.

But so far, and again, being an importer in Canada is not easy: especially with japanese products these days. We are not dealing with the same parameters as our US competitors,sadly.

You can also write directly to us at info@automatontoys.com with your suggestions for figures you would like to see.

Thanks in advance!
Mario

[pud333]

I'm not that familiar with some of the stuff there, but from what I can see, here are a couple suggestions. Bear in mind that I have absolutely no idea what margin there is on these things, as I am not in the industry, and can only give comments based on purely a consumer's perspective, so please don't laugh if these suggestions are ridiculous, lol. I guess I just laughed, so you could laugh now too.

Trunks - It's awesome you guys are getting him, but when Legends is asking for $48.99, it's an easy choice to go with Legends. I think if you dropped the price on Trunks by a couple bucks, it would go a long way. $54.99 is a better price at the very least. (I can't remember if Legends is Canadian. Their contact info says Quebec, so I guess they are?)

Godzilla - I paid $80 total for Godzilla from HLJ. I think if you drop that by a few bucks it would help bring it in line with the $75 tag at Legends.

By the way, I'm not affiliated with Legends in ANY way. I have never ordered anything from them. Just trying to find a comparison from a shopper's point of view here at AFN. It's easy to compare when the links are right next to each other in the sidebar. Took me 30 seconds to compare prices between the two sites. So anything you can do to make it more in line with the fellow competitors here, it would help.

Money is so tight for everyone these days, so every bit counts. Trying to justify to my girlfriend why I need to spend $200 on an import toy gets tougher and tougher the closer we get to having kids.

Typical conversation:

GF: ANOTHER JET?!?
Me: Um... yes.
GF: Why do you need another one? That one looks EXACTLY like the one you bought last time!
Me: Wrong. This one has green and black trim. The other one is blue and black.
GF: ...
Me: Uh... I'm... sorry?

[pattycakeman]

pud speaks the truth... its tough with kids.. I have 3 so my budget is very limited so EVERY dollar counts. So i shop around for the best possible price and take into account everything from exchange rate to shipping costs to possible custom charges.

My example is this, I pre-ordered SH Figuarts Vegeta, Trunks and SS3 Goku from BBTS.

Vegeta cost me $39.99 USD plus shipping with was $10.89 for a total of $50.88

Trunks is $48.99 and Goku $54.99.

Lgends pricing is similar and their shipping for one item is $9, if i didnt already have Vegeta in my pile of loot i would have canceled the other two and went with legends, just mainly to avoid a possible customs hit. Since the pricing will end up being very similar. But would have kept shopping around if the prices i saw were $5-$10 more than other places.

I also picked up Piccolo from HLJ for $35 on sale plus shipping so it ended up being around $45, much cheaper than any other store i saw. Which was a good experience for me.

This is all just my opinion and personally purchasing taste. For us with kids its all about money. When customer service and buying experience are similar saving money is what it comes down to.

[Exillion]

Mario here.

Thanks already for those comments and suggestions.

Obviously, we must search (and switch) for a another more competitive supplier if we ever want to stock (and sell) those figures. Legends is offering DragonBall Trunks at 48.99$: we are not competive at all and the profit margin we do on the item is already VERY thin. If they're offering that retail price, they surely not feed at the same supplier as our.

The items listed on Automaton Toys right now are basically a market test: we are looking to position ourselves with this new line. We heard you.

We must adjust prices down, wich is not an option for now(based on the wholesale prices we have at hand). Unless of course, all we want as a retailer would be to transit merchandise from supplier to customers for free.

We will let the listings up as they are for now, in the hope that we can lower the prices in the next few days.

Stay tuned!

Regards,
Mario

[JTCh]

My main source for Kamen Rider Figuarts is Amiami, but since I usually order a whole bunch of other stuff along with my order, I don't really notice the price per figure with them. I would say I pay around $40 per figure from them. Even though their prices are discounted, I usually end up using EMS which is very expensive (because usually the EMS option is only a few bucks more than SAL for my order size).

I just ordered several figures from Toyarena from the states and they come out to about $44 per figure after shipping.

So I'd say on average about $45 would be a decent price per figure (at least most of the newer ones).

[Exillion]

Mario here.

Great news folks! We have already reduced the prices on 4 remaining figures advertised on our website: we have taken down the other listings only to upload new ones this evening. It was a matter of timing some newer items with upcoming preorders available at our suppliers. Another fresh start if you will!

Take a look! And please stay tuned!

Mario and the team at Automaton.

[JTCh]

Hi Mario, what's the maximum time for OOH?