EX vs non-EX???

[shorty2434]

I'm very new to this whole figure collecting thing. I am interested in buying at least 1 figure, but I have been checking out other threads here, and I keep seeing people using the words "EX" or "exclusive". What exactly does that mean? So if I decide to buy a figure from a local shop, I gather it wouldn't be exclusive?

What I'm getting at is, what makes it exclusive? Is there something that would come with the figure? Are there extras if you buy direct from SSC? Or is it just knowing you bought it direct, and not from a store?

Or am I totally misunderstanding what EX means?

 

[Chargersfan57]

EX's basically always come with something extra. Be it a COH (Change out Head), change out weapons, altered costume, base or paint job, extra accessories or even a fine art print, etc.

In order to get an EX, you must order from Sideshow directly. Plus the ES (Edition size) for an EX is always smaller than the ES of the Reg version. (There may be an instance or two where that last part might be different)

Also EX's usually always retain their value whereas Regulars can usually be had for cheaper later on.

 

[Devil_666]

In order to get an EX, you must order from Sideshow directly.

Actually that depends on the product and where you're located. For instance, if you're talking about Hot Toys, ALL the exclusives SSC sells from HT are also available in Hong Kong (first) through Toy Hunters. Which is a physical store.

 

[Chargersfan57]

Actually that depends on the product and where you're located. For instance, if you're talking about Hot Toys, ALL the exclusives SSC sells from HT are also available in Hong Kong (first) through Toy Hunters. Which is a physical store.

You are correct. To rephrase,

... To get SSC Ex's one must order directly with SSC

 

[PopCultKid]

Here's examples shorty. On these listings you see the gold Sideshow EX badge. In the gold box under summary, the EX extra accessory is listed in bold.

https://www.sideshowtoy.com/?page_id=4489&sku=1000571&ref=HZ1_062912_1000571

https://www.sideshowtoy.com/?page_id=4489&sku=9018901&ref=learnmore_9018901

The non EX listing(Joker),no gold badge or extra accessory:

https://www.sideshowtoy.com/?page_id=4489&sku=901890&ref=learnmore_901890

On these thumbnail style pages you can see the EX's in red on the bottom corner of the product pic. Non EX's are plain.

https://www.sideshowtoy.com/listing.php?manu=Hot Toys&ref=HZ2_BbM_Hot Toys-Feature

 

[shorty2434]

The figure I really would like to get is the 1:6 Loki from Avengers. There are a few others I'm interested in (Captain America, old and new, Iron Man and possibly also Hawkeye and Thor), but the one I'm mainly after is Loki. So it would be better then to get the one from SSC directly?

I was reading other threads, and I saw one that mentioned Toy Square (Toys2) that sells 1:6 figures in Markham, Ontario, but their price is $210, which seems really cheap to me, considering it would be a lot more if I bought it through SSC due to shipping and duty charges. I'm not sure how much more, but that price is already $10 cheaper than SSC.

So then the "exclusive" would be something that isn't in the photos for the figure then, right? It won't be like if I do buy it from say, Toys2, that something in the picture would be missing, right? Also, would SSC mention what the exclusive is? Or would it only be mentioned in the boards by people who pre-ordered it and got it in the mail in December?

 

[PopCultKid]

It's not a surprise, it's an extra . Read my last post. I gave you a play by play, broski. Everything is pictured.

When something(figure, statue, whatever) is EX, that means that it comes with something extra that the regular version doesn't have. Usually it's an accessory.

Look at the links I posted. Bossk EX comes with the extra "snarling" head sculpt(regular does not). Joker 2.0 comes with detonator and Grumpy clown mask accessories(regular doesn't).

 

[shorty2434]

Thanks PopCultKid, I saw your post right after I posted mine. That clears things up, and now I know the figure I want isn't an EX. I don't know what I was thinking...I thought that EX meant that all items sold by SSC were exclusives, and if you bought it at a store it wasn't. lol. So very wrong. ha ha.

So the figures not bought from SSC directly, those are safe to buy? I'm asking because I see a lot of them seeming to come from Hong Kong, and I don't want to spend so much money on something that might not be legit. I believe the one from Toys2 is coming from Hong Kong.

Sorry if that sounds like a stupid question, but like I said, I'm new to this whole thing. I've seen a lot of the Hot Toys figures on ebay, most of them being from China, and well...I don't want to spend so much on something, and then find out it's not legit, or not the same one I would have gotten from SSC.

 

[Devil_666]

There is no "exclusive" Loki figure. So it's up to you, you can go for the cheapest price or you can go through SSC (for their customer service).

PopCultKid pretty much explained it but just to make it easier:

Hot Toys MMS165 - Spider-Man (Regular Version)

Hot Toys MMS165 - Spider-Man (Exclusive Version)

The difference: The Exclusive version comes with an interchangeable "meteor hammer" hand for the Sandman base.

 

[PopCultKid]

No worries shorty, rookie mistake

Yea look at Devil's pics, another example of an EX extra accessory.

As far as where to buy and who to trust, well that depends. What country do you live in?

 

[shorty2434]

I live in Canada. That's why I might just go with Toys2.net (I believe that's the website) because they're based here, and I won't have to deal with duty fees like I would if I bought from SCC. Has anyone here used them? Their website is pretty barebones, but I want to make sure the website and store are real before I give out my info. I've also heard some horror stories from people who bought something from the US and by the time everything was said and done, it cost them nearly twice the amount of money to get the item, thanks to shipping and duty & customs fees. And I don't want to spend $400 on a figure that's $220.

I've seen a lot of figures up on ebay that I'm interested in, especially the sold out older Captain America figure from the movie, but a lot of them are from China or other asian countries, and well, from my experience as well as others, a lot of stuff from China isn't legit. Not saying you can't buy authentic stuff from there, but I'm hesitant to spend that much money on something that could possibly be fake. If I buy something from China, it's usually fairly cheap.

I actually wanted to buy some Disney movies used off ebay once, and I found some for cheap from China and I contacted the seller and asked if they were authentic, and they were actually honest with me and told me they were bootlegs, but they had the same packaging and everything.

 

[PopCultKid]

Someone from Canada can advise you better cause I don't know about duties and all of that. I can tell you this; I never dealt with Toys2 but I see a lot of people here swear by them. Like we said before you can only get EX's from SS. You have to decide if the EX extra is something you want for the extra $$. If you can pass on it, then get the regular from a secondary source(Toys2, whatever). The upside in buying from SS is you accrue points that translates to $$.

If you get a good local shop that can give you a good discount and good customer service, then that aces. My local shop has a great rapport with SS. He does like 30-50 of each figure that comes out. If I have a problem, I can bring it back to him and he takes care of it.

As for worrying about fakes, it's not rampid like you think. There have been knock offs(Wolverine) in the past but it's a pretty rare occasion. It's very hard to duplicate Hot Toys to a passable standard(packaging, head sculpt, clothing etc). And just because it's sold out of china doesn't necessarily mean its a fake. Try to find brand new ones still in the brown "shippers".

But if your worried about that, this is a good seller that I've used before. He's in Cali. He has a Cap at a decent price compared to what else is happening on eBay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HOT-TOYS-C...ultDomain_0&hash=item2572301b5e#ht_9601wt_922

 

[shorty2434]

Well the figure I want (Loki from Avengers) isn't EX. Also with the points, I see for the Loki figure, I would get $11 in points, but it would also cost me more in the long run due to shipping and duty fees. If I get it from Toys2, the price I was quoted was around $248 with shipping and taxes. The figure from SSC, from what I've been told, is roughly $288 ($220 figure price, $10 FedEx handling, $25 shipping and taxes), and there may be duties on top of that. So I might just go with Toys2. I'll look around for other people who have bought from them though, or I could always call them or drive to the shop. I'm sure there are some reviews of the store online.

And that's good to know about ebay. There's that big stigma that everything from China is fake, and when I see that most of them are selling the figures for around the same price as SSC and other retailers, it sounded weird to me. And it doesn't help that the pictures in the auctions are from Hot Toys/SSC, and not the actual item in-hand. I will check out the seller you suggested, although I think I might just buy Loki for now, and get the others over time.

 

[PopCultKid]

Cool bro. Good luck and welcome to the game

 

[shorty2434]

Well...I just pre-ordered the Loki 1:6 figure from Toys2...and dammit, I saw that they also had the Captain America First Avengers 1:6 figure for $180 (just under $214 with taxes and shipping) and I couldn't resist it. I got the last one too, it's now sold out. Can't believe I just spent nearly $500!!

 

[Darth Snoopy]

Can't believe I just spent nearly $500!!

to this hobby!

 

[persuazion]

Well...I just pre-ordered the Loki 1:6 figure from Toys2...and dammit, I saw that they also had the Captain America First Avengers 1:6 figure for $180 (just under $214 with taxes and shipping) and I couldn't resist it. I got the last one too, it's now sold out. Can't believe I just spent nearly $500!!

Just a drop in the bucket for whats to come.......

 

[Kaijuboy]

Well...I just pre-ordered the Loki 1:6 figure from Toys2...and dammit, I saw that they also had the Captain America First Avengers 1:6 figure for $180 (just under $214 with taxes and shipping) and I couldn't resist it. I got the last one too, it's now sold out. Can't believe I just spent nearly $500!!

Run you fool!!!

Get out of this hobby while you still can!

You're a new member, there is still hope for you!

Do not join the rest of us poor damn souls!