08 - Transformers Goodbye Megatron Giftset

So I realize it's been a while since my last posting. While I've been busy acquiring some new pieces, unfortunately the majority of them have been your run of the mill figures both Hasbro/Takara and 3rd party ones. While they're all great, especially the recent MMC Vos figure, they have been reviewed by many other more prominent reviewers. 

That said I present to you the first vintage acquisition in months, Goodbye Megatron. 

Ever since I picked up the Goodbye Convoy set, I've been searching for a decently priced Goodbye Megatron set. Now, normally speaking, I prefer the set to be complete or at the very least near complete. This one unfortunately is missing all of it's paper work (including the all important poster!!) and it has a cut on the back of the box. The figures are in great condition, very tight joints although Megatron is missing a few pellets.

That said, I was very lucky to get this guy at a low enough price, so despite all that's missing, I still feel very good about this piece. Knowing how I collect though, there's a pretty good chance I will be selling him down the road for a complete one, but in the mean time, it makes for a nice placeholder in my collection.

Now I know a big focus of this blog has been to discuss where I get deals, specifically in Japan. This one has a pretty interesting story. A buddy of mine who lives in Tokyo was in Okinawa for Golden Week (national holiday in Japan). When he was there he ventured around town and came across a flea market type event (sorry I don't have much details on it, but if you're interested I can ask for more info). While he was there, he saw this guy sitting on a table for sale and although he knows next to nothing about Transformers, he's always been nice enough to take photos and or text me if it was something I was interested in.

Now mind you, there's nearly a 12 hour time difference between Japan and Toronto, so this was sometime around 3am that I received a text. To his surprise and (unfortunately) mine, I was awake finishing up some work. I took a look, sleepy eyed and all, and texted back, "BUY IT NAO". What do you expect? It was late so spelling mistakes were a given. 

After a little back and forth negotiating, he was able to settle on a price with the person who frankly didn't know exactly what he had. He knew it was old and a Transformer but that was it. He paid him the 10,000 yen while I danced around in my pj's. Roughly $100 for a Goodbye Megatron set, I'd take that any day of the week.