Wednesday, July 31, 2013

VIDEO: 100 Subscribers Giveaway

We have reached 100 subscribers on YouTube and thought we would do something special with a giveaway. If you would like to participate, please watch the video below, follow the simple instructions and good luck :)

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Updated Wall Of Vinyls

With the latest addition to our "Vinylmation Museum" being our complete set of Muppets 3, it was time to redo our famous "Wall of Vinyls". Check out our updated picture below (click to enlarge):


Monday, July 29, 2013

VIDEO: 2013 San Diego Comic Con Haul

Thank you to our friend Daniel Jue, the owner of R2-DJ Toys and Collectibles, here is a video of our trade for some fantastic 2013 San Diego Comic Con exclusive releases!

Sunday, July 28, 2013

The Mouth of the Snowth

The latest blind box series from Disney is Muppets 3 which was released on 7/26/13 and retails at $12.95. A bit of exciting news is that an unannounced variant has been discovered and is definitely becoming a hot trade piece at the moment


The variant Snowth is the one on the right with the oval shaped mouth. A very subtle variant so please be sure to check your figure carefully as you would not want to trade away a potentially valuable one. These have also been confirmed to be two per case. 

We can't wait to unbox our case and of course post the video to follow! Wish us luck in getting the variant :)


Saturday, July 27, 2013

VIDEO: Muppets 3 Vinylmation Unboxing

Watch us unbox the entire case of Muppets 3 which is a blind box series that was released on 7/26/13. The extra set of 11 is for trade/sale if anyone is interested. Thanks for watching :)

Friday, July 26, 2013

She Go or No? Park Starz 2 Variant Carnotaurus

Scheduled to be released today is the Park Starz 2 Variant Carnotaurus. This variant comes in a tin with a limited edition run of 1,000 pieces and retails at $26.95. For those of you interested, this is available for purchase at both D-Street locations and online at the Disneystore.com. It is also the featured vinyl for this "She Go or No?" segment.

The first thing that we always look at is the price. We have been in this hobby for such a long time that price is always a factor first and foremost. This is our mindset because of all of the price drops that has occurred over the years that made us feel a bit foolish for not waiting. It has definitely changed our buying habits and will probably continue to do so going forward.

But anyway, looking at the price, it is definitely a fair one considering the tin, the limited edition nature of this variant and the fact that the Park Starz series have always been bigger and heavier than normal Vinylmation releases. They also tend to be a lot more detailed. We believe that this is one release that will be sold out before it would get a chance to drop in price.

Taking a look at the design itself, this is a million times better than the original! Making clever use of a clear body in some areas gives it a nice reflective look that stands out from the crowd and makes it very easy to identify for those of you collectors who open your tins. This makes it a fantastic display piece for any collection!

This variant release gets a "She Go" from us and we recommend you pick one up quickly before it sells out. 



Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Sneak Peek: Our Vinylmation Museum

Check out this sneak peek of our Vinylmation Museum :)

We will eventually do a video tour so hopefully this is enough to quench your appetite for vinyls!












Monday, July 22, 2013

VIDEO: Our Vinylmation Traders

Thank you so much for all of your messages and e-mails asking us what we have for trade. Here is a video of what we currently have and feel free to let us know if you need anything :)

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

A Very Manly Muppet

It's no secret that we were planning on buying a case of Muppets 3 on release day since we are going to try and obtain as many Mahna Mahnas and Animals that we can possibly get our hands on! But, the chaser has been revealed (pun intended) and this is definitely another fantastic figure!


Walter! The manliest Muppet of them all! I absolutely love this design and his spot in our Vinylmation Museum is already awaiting his arrival :)

Monday, July 15, 2013

PayPal Is Your Pal, Pal!

If you have ever bought or sold anything on eBay, chances are that you have a PayPal account. Outside of its usage for eBay, PayPal can be a very useful tool when collecting Vinylmation or any other hobby really.

The first and perhaps biggest thing that helps with PayPal is the fact that it is a record of your transaction. This helps to protect yourself against potential scammers because as all of us tend to learn the hard way that not everyone on the Internet is your friend! Having this record is your proof and is often the difference between you getting swindled or just having a minor disturbance of the Force.

But, our favorite part of PayPal is using it for shipping! The more you trade and sell, the more you will end up paying for both shipping supplies as well as the cost. Using the PayPal shipping tool, you will save on average about 30% of what it would regularly cost you by going to the post office! In addition to saving you money, every shipping label comes with a built in tracking number which is more than useful to both you and the trader or buyer on the other end.

Think of it this way, if you have spent $100 on regular shipping with USPS, you would have saved $30 with PayPal ship. Spent $1,000, and you would have saved $300. Or if you are a lifelong collector like we are, spent $10,000 and PayPal ship would have potentially saved you $3,000!!! These savings add up over time to both more money in your pocket, more money to purchase more collectibles in your various hobbies, or of course a better profit margin for all of you business minded folks out there :)

PayPal is definitely your Pal!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Ballin' On A Budget

There is no such thing as a cheap hobby! The more involved you get within it, the more your wallet will begin to cry!

Being a Vinylmation collector is no different! Collecting all of the 1.5", 3" and 9" figures that you want can get very pricey in a hurry! So, as a staff, we thought we would share some helpful tips with you on how you can be a baller on a budget.

The first way is to be alert and always look out for sales. There are numerous sales each and every month at both your local and online at the Disney Store. Of course, we recommend you grab whatever is available that you want while it is on sale in your store as it saves you a lot of money rather than having it shipped to your house. With the Disney Store online, there are often many free shipping codes out there once you hit a certain spending threshold and that always leaves you with more money to spend on the actual vinyls rather than just the shipping.

Applying for and using a Disney Visa card is another way to save money especially in stores. Anytime you spend over $50 on qualifying merchandise (we have yet to not get this discount on Vinylmation purchases), you receive 10% off your entire purchase. Having one of these will allow you to plan your Vinylmation purchases in store so that it can become 10% cheaper which adds up to be huge savings the longer you participate in this wonderful hobby.

It is assumed that if you are a Vinylmation collector, it is because you love Disney! And it is impossible to love Disney without picking up your favorite films on both Blu-Ray and DVD. Any time you purchase a Disney Blu-Ray or DVD, it comes with a Disney Movie Rewards code on the inside. Using this codes have gotten us vinyls in the past such as the Halloween Minnie. Our advice is to save these codes until they have double points days, or you can find a bonus code that will add even more points to your account. There are also a few days here and there where entering a certain amount of codes (generally 3), gets you a free bonus Blu-Ray and all you pay is the shipping ($3.95)!

D23 is the official Disney Fan Club and joining it has its perks as well! Besides being able to access a cool members only website and having exclusive offers and discounts, our favorite thing about the D23 membership is the ability to purchase exclusive Vinylmation figures that the general public does not have the same access to. The D23 Expo is set for August of this year and you will be able to see all of the fantastic exclusive merchandise soon!

Last, but certainly not least is if you became an Annual Passholder. If you and your family go to the Disney Parks often, this is definitely a must have! Not only does it save you money for your frequent visits but you will be able to get 20% off your Vinylmation purchases there as well! Definitely another way to save money in this hobby and combine it with the magic of visiting a Disney Park and having another great excuse to go :)

Until we win the Powerball lottery, this is how we save money in this hobby whenever we possibly can and thought these would be some helpful tips for everyone as well! Happy Collecting :)

Thursday, July 11, 2013

She Go or No? Park Starz Pirates of the Caribbean Variant Set

For this installment of "She Go or No?", we bring you perhaps the longest Vinylmation name ever with the Park Starz Pirates of the Caribbean Variant Set. 


Scheduled for release on 7/12/13 at both D-Street locations, this sepia-toned variant set is a limited edition of 2,000 and will retail at $49.95. It is unknown currently as to how these will be packaged but our assumption is that they will be in some sort of open edition display. 

I have always been a fan of the Park Starz series and this is a very interesting color scheme with the sepia. But, for these two particular vinyls, I cannot seem to justify the price tag! Although by being connected to the Pirates franchise, there are a ton of different possible display options here within our "Vinylmation Museum" set-up should we ever obtain these. 

Unless there will be a price drop on these and I don't believe there will be, this set gets a soft "No". 

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

They're Baaaccckkkkk!

Multiple reports have been pouring in about the Park Starz 1 series resurfacing at D-Street Florida. This is fantastic news for all of you who still want to add this to your collection or are missing a few pieces needed for the complete set.


There is no real timeframe for how long these will be available so we definitely recommend getting them as soon as possible. These retail at $18.95 per tin.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

A Baker's Dozen

This exciting picture has surfaced today which shows off a fantastic preview of the Vinylmations that will be released on Friday 7/12/13.


Nothing makes us more giddy than the mysterious, yet open edition Bakery Series that is shown across the bottom of the display. Once the news broke that both Stitch and Little Green Men would be included in this set, we were sold. Those are two of our favorite Disney characters and our mission has always been to get every release that they are featured in. 

Friday cannot come quick enough!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Summer Days Driftin' Away

Today marks a fantastic release at Tokyo Disneyland of the Summer Fun Mickey and Minnie. These vinyls are open edition and currently Japan exclusives but we are definitely keeping our fingers crossed that we will get to see these stateside at some point. The retail price on these vinyls come out to roughly $12.25 which would lead us to believe they would be $12.95 if they arrive at the US Disney Stores.


What do you think about these? We have a special place in our hearts for all of the Japan releases and this one is no different. These two were an immediate add to our wants list :)

Sunday, July 7, 2013

She Go or No? Park 12 Country Bear Jamboree

In this installment of "She Go or No?", we take a look at the upcoming July 12th release entitled Park 12 Country Bear Jamboree




This three figure set will be an open edition with a limited run of 1,500. It will retail for $39.95 and will be sold exclusively at both D-Street locations. 

One thing that is wonderful about having your own blog is getting the opportunity to be brutally honest when called for and this is one of those times. You know how when you were in elementary school, the teachers always preached "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all"? I really just wanted to post a picture of these vinyls with the word "NO" in big bold letters. But, it would not have been right to not post the release information for all of those interested.

With all of that being said, this gets a definitive "No" from our staff and can see this set sitting on the shelves at D-Street for quite a while. 



Saturday, July 6, 2013

She Go or No? July 2013 Poster Art

Today marks the start of our new series of posts that we will be calling "She Go or No?". These posts will be reviews where we take a look at the newly released vinyls and share our thoughts about them.

Here in the islands, the term "she go" can mean a wide variety of things such as okay, great, yes and etc... And by popular request for us to add a little more local flair in all that we do, this seems like a good place to start.

The July 2013 Poster Art Vinylmation was just released on 7/5/13 at both D-Street locations and is an open edition limited run of 2,013 that retails for $14.95


As with the rest of the 2013 Poster Art series, this one has many collectors on the fence as to whether or not they should pick it up. On first glance, we see the number 13 which has been significant on all of the Poster Art series vinyls mainly because of both the year and limited edition amount of pieces made. Definitely do not mind this as it helps to easily identify the vinyls for all of the out-of-the-box collectors.  The rest of this vinyl seems to have an Independence Day/4th of July feel to it but just seems to fall flat for us. 

Unless July is your birth month or you do like the design of this vinyl, this one gets a "No" rating from us.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

If Only Money Grew On Trees...

When the first of each month arrives, it has become a traditional to check out our notes and see what Vinylmation releases will be coming and which ones we will want to purchase. Generally, certain months are expensive due to the sheer amount of releases but this month will be a bit different...

Looking at our notes and calendar, there are three releases that have really caught our eye; Mystery Bakery Series, Disney Afternoon Series 2: Ducktales and Muppets 3. With the plans we have for each one, we are definitely glad that we have been saving our money!

The Mystery Bakery Series is a very unique concept! Although they are being touted as Open Edition vinyls, they are actually more of a blind box series. There will be 6 different characters and 3 different designs of each one making this a set of 18. What is so unique about this particular set is that all of the characters look the same from the outside but taking off their cupcake hat is the only way to reveal which design you actually have purchased! Our plan is to get one of each character to display in its Open Edition glory within our "Vinylmation Museum" and then multiples of the Stitch and Little Green Men in an attempt to get each different design.



With the Disney Afternoon Series 2: Ducktales set, taking one look at it should say it all. Anyone who was an 80's child can tell you stories about rushing home from school to turn on the TV and catch as many of the Disney Afternoon cartoons possible before starting their homework. The feeling of nostalgia is so high with this release and of course, anyone who tells you that they do not know the words to the Ducktales theme song is covering up their secret love of Scrooge McDuck and the gang!




And last but not least, the Muppets 3 blind box series! The only thing that really needs to be said is...MAHNA MAHNA! 



Tuesday, July 2, 2013

That Darn Cat!

The longer you stay in a hobby, the more likely you are to meet a few people who share the same interests as you. While we definitely do not think we have been collecting for very long, one of the people we have been blessed to meet is Catherine Liu.

Catherine Liu is not afraid to admit her love of all things Disney. And to further share her experiences with everyone out there who may feel the same, she has created both a blog and a YouTube channel dedicated to her "obsession"


Cat's blog: http://bit.ly/14K7jN6

Or if you are not the reading type, her YouTube channel features many videos that you will not be able to find on her blog. Definitely worthwhile to check out both

Cat's YouTube: http://bit.ly/19Roov3


Remember to show her some love with a like, subscribe or even a comment. She has been known to not only respond to everyone but amaze them with her incredible knowledge of Disneyana!


Monday, July 1, 2013

Spellbinding Sorcerers

Can you believe that it is July already? Time has been absolutely flying this year and we hope that it will continue because D23 is lurking around the corner and our anticipation and excitement is only growing!

With the full previews of the D23 specific vinyls being released, this series of three was the first to catch our eye! Designed by Caley Hicks, these D23 Sorcerer's Logo will be a limited edition run of 2,000 pieces and retail at $16.95 a piece.




Such a simple yet elegant design that just screams out for you to collect them all as if this were Pokemon! We are quite optimistic that we will be able to get one of each color and already have it planned out for where it will sit in our "Vinylmation Museum" :)