Thinkway Toy Story Collection

[JDW1]

Having received the two Buzz Lightyears (with Utility Belt) that I ordered from a scalper in the UK, I'd like to write a follow-up to my previous post.

The seller asked 25 Pounds for international shipping, for a single Buzz toy. At that price, I was almost certain it would be something like EMS express mail (with online tracking and insurance), but it was in fact just regular air mail. Clearly, the seller profited off shipping charges too. As such it took a very long time for the packages to arrive at my final destination in California. And even though both packages were shipped together, they did not arrive together. The second package took two more days to arrive.

The first package arrived with a very beat up outer shipping carton. It even had a hole in it so you could see what was inside! Upon opening it, the next shock was that there was absolutely no packing material inside! Thankfully, the Buzz and Buzz's packaging was in pristine condition, having miraculously come through the postal system unscathed in spite of the horrific packing. I consider myself lucky. Don't consider yourself the same. If you buy from this seller, demand that he pack the Buzz well. It's not like he's making zero profit off you either.

The second Buzz arrived and the condition of the outer shipping box was better than the first, although it too lacked packing material inside. Even so, the second Buzz product and packaging was in very good condition.

Since I was purchasing two units at once, I asked the scalper if he would offer me reduced combined shipping. He then knocked off 5 Pounds total, charging me 45 Pounds for the two. He told me that was the best he could do since it would have cost more to ship the two units in a single box. Having lived overseas (in Japan) for 17 years, I call that poppycock! It's always cheaper to put two items in one box, especially at the size these toys are, simply because it will weigh less. So I am quite sure the seller lied to me just because he must have already had the items packed and he didn't want to repack.

All said, I am pleased I have a Utility Belt Buzz at last, but I am not pleased I had to get it from a scalper on EBAY. Thankfully it came through unscathed during the shipping, but that was no thanks to the seller, who packed it so badly it was almost like he wanted it to get damaged. As I said in my previous post, I must cast blame upon Disney for establishing such restrictive licensing terms for the sale of Toy Story toys, such that THINKWAY is banned from direct sales to end customers, which would resolve this entire problem of us not being able to find them in brick-and-mortar toy stores or even from Disney itself! Shame on you, Disney. And shame on your lawyers, who no doubt suggested these foolish licensing terms in the first place!

Please also know I am not a newbie to EBAY or UK sellers. Indeed, I am rather shocked by this experience. In all my years of buying things from sellers in the UK, this is the first time I've come across a subpar seller from there. True, he was a scalper. But I expect more from scalpers in the UK. Then again, it could be he's not even British but just lives there to sell merchandise Americans cannot buy anywhere else.

Your mileage may vary. Good luck to all here (excluding scalpers) who seek to buy ThinkWay toys at a reasonable price.

 

[Marcus Wright]

Having received the two Buzz Lightyears (with Utility Belt) that I ordered from a scalper in the UK, I'd like to write a follow-up to my previous post.

The seller asked 25 Pounds for international shipping, for a single Buzz toy. At that price, I was almost certain it would be something like EMS express mail (with online tracking and insurance), but it was in fact just regular air mail. Clearly, the seller profited off shipping charges too. As such it took a very long time for the packages to arrive at my final destination in California. And even though both packages were shipped together, they did not arrive together. The second package took two more days to arrive.

The first package arrived with a very beat up outer shipping carton. It even had a hole in it so you could see what was inside! Upon opening it, the next shock was that there was absolutely no packing material inside! Thankfully, the Buzz and Buzz's packaging was in pristine condition, having miraculously come through the postal system unscathed in spite of the horrific packing. I consider myself lucky. Don't consider yourself the same. If you buy from this seller, demand that he pack the Buzz well. It's not like he's making zero profit off you either.

The second Buzz arrived and the condition of the outer shipping box was better than the first, although it too lacked packing material inside. Even so, the second Buzz product and packaging was in very good condition.

Since I was purchasing two units at once, I asked the scalper if he would offer me reduced combined shipping. He then knocked off 5 Pounds total, charging me 45 Pounds for the two. He told me that was the best he could do since it would have cost more to ship the two units in a single box. Having lived overseas (in Japan) for 17 years, I call that poppycock! It's always cheaper to put two items in one box, especially at the size these toys are, simply because it will weigh less. So I am quite sure the seller lied to me just because he must have already had the items packed and he didn't want to repack.

All said, I am pleased I have a Utility Belt Buzz at last, but I am not pleased I had to get it from a scalper on EBAY. Thankfully it came through unscathed during the shipping, but that was no thanks to the seller, who packed it so badly it was almost like he wanted it to get damaged. As I said in my previous post, I must cast blame upon Disney for establishing such restrictive licensing terms for the sale of Toy Story toys, such that THINKWAY is banned from direct sales to end customers, which would resolve this entire problem of us not being able to find them in brick-and-mortar toy stores or even from Disney itself! Shame on you, Disney. And shame on your lawyers, who no doubt suggested these foolish licensing terms in the first place!

Please also know I am not a newbie to EBAY or UK sellers. Indeed, I am rather shocked by this experience. In all my years of buying things from sellers in the UK, this is the first time I've come across a subpar seller from there. True, he was a scalper. But I expect more from scalpers in the UK. Then again, it could be he's not even British but just lives there to sell merchandise Americans cannot buy anywhere else.

Your mileage may vary. Good luck to all here (excluding scalpers) who seek to buy ThinkWay toys at a reasonable price.

Why such a hate for scalpers? :
Do you guys know that its absolutely unfounded for whatever moral, legal or economical (there is actually economical benefit in this) basis.
Besides, its bad for your health.

P.S. I am not a scalper.

 

[JDW1]

Whether the previous poster is or isn't a "scalper" is not something that can be effectively proven in this forum. The only thing that can be proven is the previous poster's defense of scalpers.

The facts given in my previous posts stand. My previous posts showed contempt for scalpers but not "hate." I may dislike them, but for good reason. Even so, as anyone can clearly read in my previous posts, in the end I choose to purchase two Buzz Lightyears from a scalper because I could not find them anywhere else and because I considered the price acceptable in light of what THINKWAY told me about that particular Buzz no longer being manufactured (i.e., it will become a "rare" item unless they start building it again). I posted all this information in this forum for the benefit of others who later may follow in my footsteps. I hid nothing. And I only wrote what I myself would have liked to have read from someone else, helping me to better decide whether to purchase or not. My posts were not a means for me to "get back at scalpers." I was writing to and for the benefit of others in my shoes -- those who are not scalpers and who want to buy toys that are perpetually out-of-stock (often because of scalpers).

In the end, one must absorb the information one reads online with intelligence, then decide if they should purchase or not. No where in my previous posts can you ready anything that says "never buy from scalpers" or "scalpers should be killed" or "I wish all scalpers were dead." No! Had I written such, one could accuse me of "hate." And in such a case, my posts would also be nearly worthless. I am not one to waste my time posting worthless chit-chat. And I find it frustrating that I have to even defend my previous posts on this issue, as anyone can clearly see by reading them that I am not led by hate or vendettas. I seek only to find the toys and buy them. That's it.

Again, your mileage may vary. Be cautious when dealing with scalpers or any seller that wants substantially higher than the MSRP for these toys. They are after your money, so you should not assume they will be satisfied only by an inflated product price -- they may try to get you somewhere else, such as on shipping. And if you buy from the same scalper I purchased from, the fellow on EBAY located in the UK, just be sure you are aware of how he ships, and consider asking for better packing.

Best wishes.

 

[Marcus Wright]

Whether the previous poster is or isn't a "scalper" is not something that can be effectively proven in this forum. The only thing that can be proven is the previous poster's defense of scalpers.

The facts given in my previous posts stand. My previous posts showed contempt for scalpers but not "hate." I may dislike them, but for good reason. Even so, as anyone can clearly read in my previous posts, in the end I choose to purchase two Buzz Lightyears from a scalper because I could not find them anywhere else and because I considered the price acceptable in light of what THINKWAY told me about that particular Buzz no longer being manufactured (i.e., it will become a "rare" item unless they start building it again). I posted all this information in this forum for the benefit of others who later may follow in my footsteps. I hid nothing. And I only wrote what I myself would have liked to have read from someone else, helping me to better decide whether to purchase or not. My posts were not a means for me to "get back at scalpers." I was writing to and for the benefit of others in my shoes -- those who are not scalpers and who want to buy toys that are perpetually out-of-stock (often because of scalpers).

In the end, one must absorb the information one reads online with intelligence, then decide if they should purchase or not. No where in my previous posts can you ready anything that says "never buy from scalpers" or "scalpers should be killed" or "I wish all scalpers were dead." No! Had I written such, one could accuse me of "hate." And in such a case, my posts would also be nearly worthless. I am not one to waste my time posting worthless chit-chat. And I find it frustrating that I have to even defend my previous posts on this issue, as anyone can clearly see by reading them that I am not led by hate or vendettas. I seek only to find the toys and buy them. That's it.

Again, your mileage may vary. Be cautious when dealing with scalpers or any seller that wants substantially higher than the MSRP for these toys. They are after your money, so you should not assume they will be satisfied only by an inflated product price -- they may try to get you somewhere else, such as on shipping. And if you buy from the same scalper I purchased from, the fellow on EBAY located in the UK, just be sure you are aware of how he ships, and consider asking for better packing.

Best wishes.

I don't understand why you complain if the buzz you got was mint :
Besides, scalpers are more good than bad. (for you at least)

Think of this. If there where no scalpers, most people would buy Buzes for themselves, and although it would be sold out later, the chances of you finding one would be significantly lower as most people would just keep the buzes for their personal collection. (as they didnt buy it to resell in the first place).

And because of this, supply would be super short, and if somebody did sell it, you would have to pay super-high price.

 

[JDW1]

The points made by the previous poster are still highly defensive of scalpers. That doesn't make the previous poster a scalper, but it does say that he stands in strong defense of them. For others who come after reading this, I really need to say nothing else beyond that.

However, I must take strong issue with one point. The previous post lauds scalpers, claiming that if they didn't exist it would be hard to find some items later. I disagree with that profoundly. If scalpers didn't exist, people could buy many of these THINKWAY Collection toys at the retail price of $50. Right now, despite the fact many of these toys are still being manufactured, scalpers are buying them up and putting them on EBAY at no less than twice the retail price. And because no one can find them in their local stores in the US because they scalpers have bought them up, many people (even parents buying birthday gifts for their kids) out of desperation often resort to paying the scalpers for the toys they should otherwise be able to buy at the not-cheap-anyway retail price of $50. This is a fact about scalpers that cannot be denied.

Now, as to people being able to buy things that are "no longer manufactured," there would still be garage sales and sales online to make those items available to the masses. Just because someone sells a product online or in their garage does not make them "a scalper." A scalper is someone who is profiteering off an item that is, most of the time, still being manufactured or actively sold in brick-and-mortar stores -- with the seller charging substantially higher than the set retail price for the item. Scalpers are not just your average seller. Scalpers do all they can to corner the market on a given set of products, then squeeze people who want to buy those items.

I'll provide an example. I purchase vintage Mac computers on EBAY. Most of the time, I get machines that I consider to have high value. Even so, the price I pay is still less than what those machines originally sold for. These machines are no longer made, nor have they been in years. But most vintage Mac sellers are not trying to corner the market on these items. I therefore do not consider most of these sellers to fall into the category of "a scalper." Hence, I disagree strongly with your contention that "without scalpers, your chances of finding XXX would be lower." Not everyone selling vintage Mac stuff is "a scalper," yet I can find the vintage Mac stuff I want quite easily.

Even though I have said all this, the fact remains that the previous poster is excessively defensive of scalpers, so I doubt my words will have much meaning to him. But what I wrote previously in this thread is for the benefit of others seeking THINKWAY toys. Best wishes to those of you who are. I stand behind what I have written.

 

[Marcus Wright]

The point made by previous poster is highly scalper non-favourable, just a fact. It doesnt make you a scalper hater, but it does indicate that you are standing strongly against them.
There is nothing wrong with that, as well as that I defend scalpers and each one of us is entitled to his own opinion, but still, there is something I just have to say.

Scalpers are not only bad, even the biggest scalper hater has to accept that fact.

What is scalping? It is a secondary market.
Can they artificially inflate prices? Not unless they are highly organized and even if they are, there is no way to make sure that none of them violates the existing high price and undercuts the price to sell for lower profit but be more liquified.

So, what is happening. The second market is essentially acting like the first market after some while. Suppliers start chasing buyers to sell staff and can drop prices as a result considerably.
So, only thing happening is a time-line shift of purchases from today to tomorow.

Even though I have said all this, the fact remains that the previous poster is excessively offensive of scalpers, so I doubt my words will have much meaning to him. All I want to say is that people don;t decide to not buy smth only because its on ebay.

 

[darkknight]

Looks great!

My TRU recently got a restock of the normal Buzz Lightyears and Lotso bears. So the poster who said something about them not showing up anymore... keep checking.

Mines too, I saw 2 on the shelves but when I was checking out someone had purchased 1. Seems like he is still selling well.

 

[Animal Mother.]

My TRU received Buzz, Jessie, and Bullseye a few weeks ago. They seem to rotate too because a month or two before that they had a case of Woody's.

 

[greygoose]

Is Thinkway continuing this line then?

 

[Kyle]

They are. This was the most recent response to an email by a guy over at pixar planet forums.

Dear Brian,

We have a few Toy Story Collection items planned but unfortunately we cannot release any information until they are ready to market.

Regards,

Jenny Sze

Again, still planned for sometime in the fall last we heard.

 

[Bluecamelguy]

I was in TRU yesterday and they had Hawaiian Vacation versions of Buzz and Woody. They had far fewer sayings than their full TSC counterparts so these are closer to the Playtime ones, however they looked GREAT! I would also note that they had at least two each of the TSC Lotsos, Bullseyes, Buzzes, and R C 's on the shelves, thus proving a hypothesis of mine that no matter the drought on TSC items you can be reasonably certain that theyll stock up around any excuse of a Toy Story event; be it new movie, dvd release, or five minute short.

 

[budafett]

Hey guys amazon.com has the complete Toy Story on blu-ray 10 disc combo pack for $44.99 today in their golden box deal! I just grabbed one!

 

[JoseNilsonJr]

Today I watched the short Havaiian Vacation Toy Story, is really cool and fun and also very funny. I'm happy to release cars 2 in Brazil today.

 

[Coheteboy]

Today I watched the short Havaiian Vacation Toy Story, is really cool and fun and also very funny. I'm happy to release cars 2 in Brazil today.

And with that said, I went to TRU today and saw that they had the Hawaiian Vacation Woody, Jessie, and Ken & Barbie 2pack.

 

[JoseNilsonJr]

I wanted them to manufacture one of chuckles and a trixie havaiian vacation and the character I most want to have.

 

[Coheteboy]

So, any idea when wave 3 will be coming?

My guess would be the Fall.

 

[Kyle]

That's what they've been saying all along, fall.

 

[greygoose]

Zurg, Zurg, Zurg!

 

[OlivusPrime]

Zurg, Zurg, Zurg!

Here, here!

If anything, Zurg and Stinky Pete are definite must haves. They round off the Woody and Buzz collections and they haven't been released properly before.

EDIT: If Thinkway keep to their promises, perhaps we'll be seeing preorders and images soon.

 

[hunabku_777]

Hi dudes, this is my ts collection, I made some customs. I need finish the prospector from mcdonalds: