Home News
Reviews The List
NYTS Links
Dictionary Gallery
Nothing like the smell of a freshly opened case of figures on the shelf in the morning! ...ok, maybe for some people, it's the smell of pancakes, but you toy fan-boys/girls know what I mean!!!!! There's something exhilarating about hunting through shops and finally finding that one piece you've been searching for! There is also nothing as ANNOYING as searching... and searching.... and searching... then finding out months later that the line was canceled. Here are a few tips for you hunters out there that have served me well and kept me from running around like crazy trying to find stuff.
1. The Internet is your friend, but don't over do it; Yes, Internet shopping is a wonderful thing; you browse at your leisure, no lines to fight through, you can shelp around in your under-wear and no one cares.... oops, too much information. But you get what I mean; it's soooooooo easy to shop this way. It can also be sooooooooooo expensive. Always remember that shipping and handling have to be thrown in on the stuff, and the retail price for on-line stores isn't necessarily better then what you get at the corner store. Just use common sense. Shop around, look for bargins. If the piece is something you've been itching to buy for months, you don't feel like waiting till it gets to your neighborhood toy-shop, and the s & h aren't something that will annoy you, feel free. I snagged my Ultra Jetstorm on-line. Yes, it was about $10 more this way. But I was drooling over it for MONTHS and I knew I wasn't going to see it for a while through the local store, so I jumped on it. I'm glad I did, as my gushing review in the archieve shows. However, if it's something pretty common, you might as well wait.
2. Information, information, information; Always keep informed through friends, magazines, web-sites, dealers, the works. You really cannot have enough information when it comes to toy hunting. This keeps you abreast of what's planned, what's coming in, and just as important, what's NOT coming out so you don't waste your time searching for it.
3. Be patient; Bugging your local dealer isn't going to get the stuff any faster and will annoy the crap out of them. I know, I said get tons of information. There's a difference between stopping in once a week to see what's in and calling a very busy store owner every day. The dealer is at the mercy of big companies who have to suck-up to even bigger companies. Just give it time, and if it's going to be out, it'll be out.
4. Check EVERYBODY; This is a recent trend I noticed with MSIA Gundam figures, and is growing to other specialty pieces like the Beatles figures from Todd Toys. These figures are popping up in computer and music stores, i.e. alternative fan-boy stops, as well as comic shops. Don't limit yourself to comic shops and major toy retailers. If you're in the mall, check out the computer store for a sec. You never know what you may find.