Well I finished up my spending spree for now I think (since most of the tax return went into savings, I treated myself to a handful of these).

Since I'm relatively new to this... let me know how I did.  Up to this point I'd bought X-Wing Luke for $12 and IG-88 for $17, but those were special deals at a Suncoast clearance.  Watching auctions on eBay for about a week and a half, I'm guessing I did close to as well as I could have hoped for on these - but I don't really know.

Darth Vader (Clenched Hand Version) - $37.00 shipped
Darth Maul - $42 shipped
Boushh Leia - $37.50 shipped
Skiff Guard Lando - $42.50 shipped
Han Solo and Yoda (ESB) - $55 and change for the pair, shipped

About $215 for 6 busts - about $30 of which was for shipping on 4 of them (2 had free shipping).

Rob, I think you could have only gotten the BOGO deal on the repainted midsize vehicles at brick and mortar TRUs.  I checked online early Sunday morning and the only midsize vehicles they had online were the non-exclusive ROTS JSFs.  They also had the large wing TIE, Clone Wars gunship, and Dagobah X-Wing.  There were no Saesee Tiin's, Darth Vader Sith JSFs, or Hailfire and Droid Tank...  So you probably didn't miss out on those online unless they became available later.

Ah, well nothing lost then.  Although I did pass on the Clone Wars Gunship and might have picked it up if there was something else that I could have found to make it worthwhile.

But you could have definately gotten those last 2 TINs that you wanted.  They were all in stock when I ordered.

Argh!

I didn't connect those dots either Jesse... despite going halves on Banthas with Paul, it didn't occur to me that this would be a perfect opportunity to try to get deals on the repainted vehicles that I've been passing on - Hailfire... Droid Tank... Vader's Starfighter etc...

In her defense, people leaving NYC right after Toy Fair (and this happened to Paul) did get in weather trouble... flights were canceled and the other flights were all booked solid.  It took Paul 3 extra days to get home.

As for the laptop - I'm guessing she was being tongue-in-cheek about the weather having anything to do with it.

But either way...

If you're a lucky lottery winner and you get to buy an exclusive from the site, is it just one per customer?  I'm assuming it is - but if you can buy 2 or 3 maybe we could all pool our chances and scratch each other's backs should one of us be so fortunate.

Does this sale mean that TRU is going to load up on 30thAC stuff shortly?

Anyone know anything about the Babel 2-Disc?  It's listed in the Circuit City ad, but my local store didn't have any - neither did Best Buy (who's ad it is NOT listed in).

I haven't seen it yet and want to watch it before the Oscars... but I also don't want to get the bare bones edition.

Thanks for those replies guys.  Great info.  I signed up for the Premium Whatever-it-is with hopes that a) the free gift will be decent) and b) I'll be able to get my hands on convention exclusives in the future.

I'm going to keep my eye on eBay for good deals, the forums too - and Nick, that's a great suggestion about comic shops - we've got one called Zeus that I'm going to check into this weekend and see if there's anything they can do for me.

As for playing catch-up, I've got two things working for me.  First, patience, I'm not in a rush.  Second, I'm not intending to be a completist on these.  I'm not worried about the early ones with no arms, and I'm not spending $100 to $250 on exclusives.  I'll look for deals, pick up a few here and a few there, and I'll be thrilled about it.  My plan is to just be as current as possible on FUTURE exclusives, rather than break the bank on past exclusives.  We'll see how that goes.

So far I've picked up a pair of busts for under $80 with shipping (Maul and Vader), and I've got my eye on a few more.   No rush though.

Alright... so for the longest time I've had a pair of busts... X-Wing Luke, and IG-88.

Then my dad picks me up Chewbacca for Xmas.  Then I go to Toy Fair and see all the new stuff and get real excited about it and decide that I'm going to slowly start expanding my Mini-Bust collection.

A Vader and a Maul later... I'm starting to get hooked and I want to start playing catch-up, but most importantly, I don't want to miss out on the ones that are coming out soon and will be impossible to get down the road.

So, to save me from having to scrub through 94 pages in this thread - can anyone offer a newbie some fresh advice about getting on top of all of this?  I registered at GG's website and made a wishlist with everything that I'm missing... but that's only helping me get organized.

Tips for ordering from them without missing the boat?

Tips for getting in on convention exclusives when you can't attend?  Easier to find a friend to get one for you or easier to become a premiere member?

Can money be saved by NOT ordering when they're for sale on standard edition busts?  For example, I just got Maul for $35 and Vader for $39 - are edition size and exclusiveness enough to know whether or not one will cost more than or less than $50 later on?

Tips besides eBay for finding busts that are long since sold out?


Lastly... if anyone is unloading any for reasonable prices... let me know.