NECA Mirage figures past, present and future

[Chris]

Originally Posted by TCRI

I was tempted on eBay. But the price put me off. I can't see these coming over to the UK. They'll be like Con exclusives of the past - we just miss out sadly, or pay daft ££££.

It's £70-100 for the blue or £35 for the red....

Yeah, I think you're right. INECA have totally screwed international fans with this rubbish. A few years back I'd have probably waited assuming they would sort something but the fact that the toon and movie lines seem to be drying up over here makes we think those days are done now.

[Meow]

Originally Posted by Chris

Yeah, I think you're right. INECA have totally screwed international fans with this rubbish. A few years back I'd have probably waited assuming they would sort something but the fact that the toon and movie lines seem to be drying up over here makes we think those days are done now.

I have spent way more money on ebay prices and import fees and taxes than what it should have been. And I do not see that this is going to change unless neca (and all the other ones) start global distribution - which I think is a license thing. And with this unfriendly and non customer oriented autot crap I'm out.

No wonder, right? Compared to the US fans the numbers of interest outside the US would probably not justify getting outside-US-licenses. If it's a license (or similar) thing.

[Otter]

I still don't understand the animosity to AutoT. If it were a Walmart exclusive like those in the past, we internationals would be just as out of luck as we always are.

At least with AutoT we can appeal to fellow collectors in the US who can just waltz up to any old Walmart checkout, scan a barcode freely available online, and voila, desired action figure is in hand three weeks later. Just needs to be shipped internationally.

[TCRI]

I'm no expert in UK customs and duty, but at least with eBay's GSP all tax and duty is included in the shipping - no nasty surprises.

That said, if I had a friendly US collector who sold me at cost price a figure - after sales tax, eBay fees and GSP, it'll still cost me around $80

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Otter

I still don't understand the animosity to AutoT. If it were a Walmart exclusive like those in the past, we internationals would be just as out of luck as we always are.

At least with AutoT we can appeal to fellow collectors in the US who can just waltz up to any old Walmart checkout, scan a barcode freely available online, and voila, desired action figure is in hand three weeks later. Just needs to be shipped internationally.

Speaking personally for me it's that we've had Wal-Mart (movie) and Target (toon) exclusive lines in the past that have had no issue being released internationally. Same with the specialty store game and comic lines, no issues. With NECA's online store we've even had access to con exclusives with fantastic shipping rates.

Even though the last wave of the toon line (Neutrinos, Usagi, etc.) doesn't seem to have made it to retail here we could still pre-order via NECA's store initially just like US fans.

But recently they've started screwing international customers. First with Target's Haulathon, where instead of using there own store for international fans they used Costumes.com/Haulathon site which charged like triple the postage and sold most of the international stock to US customers instead. But at least we could still buy stuff I guess.

Now with autoT they're not even offering any option for international fans. Like TCRI said, even if you find someone to sell to you at cost, international postage is killer. Even with no mark up at all it would double the cost of the figure. And that's before you factor in any customs or giving a bit extra for their time/fuel costs.

And, let's be honest, if NECA had done this the right way around and made the Mirage coloured Renet and Casey the main line versions (which are available here) and the IDW colours or B&W versions the AutoT variants then pretty much no one would have cared.

[Meow]

Originally Posted by Chris

Speaking personally for me it's that we've had Wal-Mart (movie) and Target (toon) exclusive lines in the past that have had no issue being released internationally. Same with the specialty store game and comic lines, no issues. With NECA's online store we've even had access to con exclusives with fantastic shipping rates.

Even though the last wave of the toon line (Neutrinos, Usagi, etc.) doesn't seem to have made it to retail here we could still pre-order via NECA's store initially just like US fans.

But recently they've started screwing international customers. First with Target's Haulathon, where instead of using there own store for international fans they used Costumes.com/Haulathon site which charged like triple the postage and sold most of the international stock to US customers instead. But at least we could still buy stuff I guess.

Now with autoT they're not even offering any option for international fans. Like TCRI said, even if you find someone to sell to you at cost, international postage is killer. Even with no mark up at all it would double the cost of the figure. And that's before you factor in any customs or giving a bit extra for their time/fuel costs.

And, let's be honest, if NECA had done this the right way around and made the Mirage coloured Renet and Casey the main line versions (which are available here) and the IDW colours or B&W versions the AutoT variants then pretty much no one would have cared.

You have Target and Walmart in the UK? Not sure if I misunderstood the first line of yours.

Besides this is very well sumarized. I don't see the necessity either for going "abroad", forcing people to sign up somewhere else and leaving them to deal with those other platform's kind of "innovative" methods. Neca online store always worked fine for me so far as simple as described by Chris above.

[AquaParade]

There was no way I was going to attempt to jump yet another hoop to get a NECA TMNT figure. It’s been hard enough these last few years to acquire the few I had to have.

Tbh, Neca’s poor distribution (which isn’t always their fault, granted) has saved me from a lot of impulse purchases.

Nothing will keep me from Mirage Return to New York figures though.

[Filespit]

Originally Posted by Meow

You have Target and Walmart in the UK? Not sure if I misunderstood the first line of yours.

No, the UK/Europe does not have Walmart/Target. I think what he means is that despite the fact that the Cartoon and Movie figures are sold exclusively at Target and Walmart respectively, international retailers have still been able to sell them over here in the past. The last wave of figures however, we're still waiting for them to become available.

[Chris]

Yeah, Filespit is right, we don't have Target or Wal-Mart here. The toon and movie lines here are specialty store lines here like the game and comic lines.

[Autbot_Benz]

Originally Posted by AquaParade

Tbh, Neca’s poor distribution (which isn’t always their fault, granted) has saved me from a lot of impulse purchases.

tell me about it I am still waiting for NECA to send Distribution of a Doc Brown BTTF figure to gamestop so they can Fullfill my order. I ordered it in April and I still don't have it yet.

[Chris]

Blue Renet is here and she looks fantastic. No regrets (at least until the bill hits )

[Meow]

Originally Posted by Filespit

No, the UK/Europe does not have Walmart/Target. I think what he means is that despite the fact that the Cartoon and Movie figures are sold exclusively at Target and Walmart respectively, international retailers have still been able to sell them over here in the past. The last wave of figures however, we're still waiting for them to become available.

Originally Posted by Chris

Yeah, Filespit is right, we don't have Target or Wal-Mart here. The toon and movie lines here are specialty store lines here like the game and comic lines.

Thanks for the information. Yeah, this I know and also in europe some retailers get hands on neca figures to then sell them to their customers, but it's not a wide spread of retailers, neither is it a consistent availability.

Does anyone know what's keeping neca from doing something simple like setting up a central warehouse in europe, shipping their stuff there and shipping from there to UK/EU customers?

[Chris]

I would guess they just don't sell enough here to justify it. So it's cheaper/easier for them to just sell in bulk to local retailers or direct to customers when they sell stuff on their site.

To use an example Sideshow used to have an EU warehouse that they supplied out of in the early 2000s but they closed it and just supply out of US now. They don't have to maintain the warehouse, some customers stay with them (with the customer now paying the international shipping and customs costs), others go through local retailers (who Sideshow may be a supplier of anyway).

[AquaParade]

Lately I’ve really been wanting to get my hands on the original Neca Mirage TMNT. I used to have them but have them away before they became so rare.

I would love if Neca could find a way to put these out again despite losing the molds for them. That said, are the bootlegs ant good?

[Otter]

Bootlegs are supposed to be good. NECA won't be reissuing these, but are due to release different versions of Mirage Turtles (which I like better, if I'm honest).

[deadsy333]

Saw Renet at Target. Didn't know that was a thing.

[Otter]

Red or blue?

[Last Ronin]

Seen Renet at Target and there were like 6 of them (Red), no Casey Jones though. Oh and I just bought a Mirage Slash from Wal-Mart...from freaking Wal-Mart which is like a huge deal where I live. I never seen it in person then bam it's just scattered in the Neca section. Box is a little beat up but luckily I'm an out of box collector.

[Otter]

Okay... so I'm not super impressed that battle-damaged Shredder is (what I presume to be) IDW colours. I suppose there will be a red-shirted one down the line.

I don't recognise the Foot enforcer though. And again, the colours aren't working for me. No nostalgia hit.

Seeing promo images for the ones we've already seen makes me excited for some pre-order news though.

[Tuxedo Moroboshi]

Originally Posted by Otter

Okay... so I'm not super impressed that battle-damaged Shredder is (what I presume to be) IDW colours. I suppose there will be a red-shirted one down the line.

As much as I'd like an unmasked Shredder, I think I'm gonna hold off on this one, as well, until they release a version with normal colors. And if it never gets released, it won't be a big loss for me, either.