Vintage Toy Shopping in Hong Kong

[samurainoir]

Would you say the prices are comparable with Japan?

I would say so if converting from USD right now, from Canadian it's a bit of a premium.. The one thing that I hadn't taken into account in the sticker pricing is the cultural difference... in Japan it's firm, while in Hong Kong, they expect you to haggle. Being so "Canadian" in my thinking, I didn't even twig to that fact until my Irish/French Canadian wife stepped in and started bargaining with the guy and we got a better price for the Leopardon. I'm going to try to bring my bargaining pitbull Auntie along if I decide to make another big purchase.

[samurainoir]

ip6.jpg

ip7.jpg

ip8.jpg

ip9.jpg

ip10.jpg

[starsky]

yeah i didn't even think about that! i personally hate haggling myself. lol keep those pics coming! really enjoying them. i'm planning a trip to asia soon as well.

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

I would say so if converting from USD right now, from Canadian it's a bit of a premium.. The one thing that I hadn't taken into account in the sticker pricing is the cultural difference... in Japan it's firm, while in Hong Kong, they expect you to haggle. Being so "Canadian" in my thinking, I didn't even twig to that fact until my Irish/French Canadian wife stepped in and started bargaining with the guy and we got a better price for the Leopardon. I'm going to try to bring my bargaining pitbull Auntie along if I decide to make another big purchase.

I tried negotiating in Japan on a couple of Secret Base Henshin sets. The guy asked my girlfriend if I was American

[MIB41]

yeah i didn't even think about that! i personally hate haggling myself. lol keep those pics coming! really enjoying them.

That's pretty much me. I equate haggling too much with a business scenario, like I'm buying a car or house. When it's my hobby, that's more like comfort food for me. I don't want to work for it. Just give me a price I can live with and I'll grab it and go enjoy it.

[cjefferys]

Two things I hate are haggling and figuring out how much to tip for a service, I'm always happy that both of those things don't exist in Japan!

How much was that sweet Jumbo Red Baron, Ed?

[samurainoir]

Two things I hate are haggling and figuring out how much to tip for a service, I'm always happy that both of those things don't exist in Japan!

How much was that sweet Jumbo Red Baron, Ed?

didn't have a price on it... another big difference with In's Point and Nakano Broadway... you often need to ask, and again, I think this is part of their haggling culture.

[starsky]

hahaha and i hate asking for prices.

[samurainoir]

ins11.jpg

ins12.jpg

ins13.jpg

ins14.jpg

ins15.jpg

[cjefferys]

Sweet Christmas, so much goodness in those pics!

hahaha and i hate asking for prices.

Me too, I hate it when I'm at a toy show and they don't have prices. Why the games? That's what I like about toy shopping in Japan, no games, no haggling, everything is clearly priced.

[starsky]

wow, love those popys! still need to pick up one of those jan coogo popy figures.

yeah that's what i like, everything is priced clearly!

[samurainoir]

So not much chance to go off on my own while on a tour through China, but from what I can figure out, there is not much of a toy collecting culture here compared to Hong Kong. So far I've only come across a handful of bootleg transformers, Disney and Ultraman, and most places that sell toys seem to be very generic.

Also many sites are blocked in China, including social media platforms such as Facebook, and search engines like google (although I can access them via my phone and roaming)

I'll post more Hong Kong pics when i get back to Canada..

[Neutron X]

I'll post more Hong Kong pics when i get back to Canada..

I'll be looking forward to it!

[samurainoir]

On my last day in China, I found two really good contemporary toy stores in Shanghai. Both in high traffic tourist areas (Old Town and Nanjing Road). They contained a great deal of collectible product that you'd find in Hong Kong, with a smattering of interesting bootleg items. Manga/Anime characters seems the most prominent (Astroboy, One Piece, Doraemon, Ultraman, Slam Dunk, Gundam) in these shops, although Star Wars and Marvel/DC were well represented. I'd say these are really aimed at tourists rather than locals given their price point and where the store were located. There is a Hot Toys store located in Disneytown adjacent to the Shanghai Disneyland, but I didn't make it out there. I'd assume it would be very similar to the Tokyo and Hong Kong Hot Toys showrooms, again aimed at tourists rather than locals.

Bootleg Minions mashed up with Marvel and Star Wars characters seemed quite popular. They even had a guy in a costume dancing out front of the Nanjing store to attract customers.

sh2.jpg

Bootleg Pop Vinyl knockoffs
sh1.jpg

Spider-Man candy
sh3.jpg

sh4.jpg

sh5.jpg

[samurainoir]

okay, back in Canada. Hugely jet lagged, really behind on my deadlines. BUT... happy to chat about toy shopping in HK.

If you can only visit ONE place, In's Point in Kowloon off the main street of Nathan Road is THE place for amount of concentrated vintage stores. Especially if you are into japanese vinyl, die cast, chogokin etc. Giant Robot, Kailua, Sentai, Ultraman, and Kamen Rider fans would not be disappointed by the vast selection. Folks who want frightening realistic gun replicas, lego, gashapon, 1/6th figure custom gear, and contemporary asian toys will find some stores in the maze-like second the third floors of this shopping arcade.

Prices: seems comparable to Japan's pricing if you are exchanging from USD. In Canadian dollars, sticker price becomes a bit of a premium unless you start haggling.

In terms of haggling, it can't hurt to ask if they can do better on the price... my impression was that just about everyone was willing to knock at least ten percent off the top with a simply inquiry. You can stop there or get a better price if you wanted to get a bit more aggressive. If they don't speak english, you can communicate price via a calculator, which every shopkeeper is equipped with.

here's just a sampling of the Jumbos available.

ins21.jpg

ins22.jpg

ins23.jpg

ins24.jpg

ins25.jpg