S.H.Figuarts Upcoming Releases

Here's my unpopular opinion: If you think BBTS is expensive, then you probably arent making enough money to justify collecting these figures. If you also dont like putting down a very small deposit for pre-orders through other websites, then you probably arent making enough money to collect these figures.

Seriously people, if an extra couple of dollars for the total price of the figure or for a deposit breaks your bank then you need to reevaluate your priorities. I can understand wanting to buy from the cheapest place possible, but some of the statements I hear from people regarding pricing are ridiculous.

i dont know why people bash BBTS, i just ordered for the first time through them and they were 35 bucks a pop. thats the same as amazon but they charge shipping. If you are ordering from over seas distributors wouldnt you also pay a higher price due to international shipping? but if you are upset about a 5 dollar difference perhaps the opinion stated above is correct. Most of us have paid ridiculous amounts for some figures and i wouldnt see 5 dollars being a make it or break it decision..

Here's what I think happened, it's a culmination of things.  But we're not the only ones to take notice, a lot of people are hitting up Bluefin's Tamashii Nations page and asking what is happening between them and Amazon.  Essentially, it looks like Amazon is no longer first-party carrying Tamashii Nations Products.

First thing to keep in mind: Amazon takes Shipping/Delivery dates VERY seriously.  It is one of the top pillars they have modeled their business on.

1.  The West Coast Port Strike hit and lasted longer than anticipated.  This disrupted EVERYONE!  But believe it that businesses lost money because they weren't getting their product.  Broly and Android 16 were coming out around this time and their delivery dates got screwed up because of it along with Bluefin's distributed products.

2.  Broly and Android 16 don't make their estimated Amazon "Shipping" dates...even after being adjusted a few times.  My guess is that Bluefin was NOT giving Amazon a clear date because I think honestly even they didn't know.  Even though there were still ripples from the Port Strike, Amazon doesn't like not providing an estimated shipping date.  I believe there was back and forth between Bluefin and Amazon at this point on when all the product was going to arrive to Amazon warehouses.  Strike 1.

3.  Vegetto also arrives a little later than expected but somewhat around the common Amazon "arrival" time.  However, Amazon also exhibits some strange behavior with the re-issue SSJ Gohan.  Amazon does not choose to carry him, which is surprising at the time considering they have carried the constant re-issues of SSJ Goku and even Piccolo.  I believe that Amazon was not too happy with possible shipping dates with SSJ Gohan and decided to pass.

4.  Seems like business is back to normal...Amazon posts up pre-orders for SSGSS Goku, Golden Frieza, Ultimate Gohan, the new Figuarts ZERO Goku and Vegeta, and eventually Super Warrior Awakening SSJ Goku.  But Amazon also chooses to pass on re-issue SSJ Vegeta...which matches their previous behavior of passing on re-issue Gohan.

5.  Rumors that Bandai has changed their pre-order and possibly their own sale-to-distributors/retailers policy.  It seems like Bandai wants to invoice retailers quicker...possibly well over a month before the product is supposed to ship.  Bandai also begins using a new "low availability" reasoning to retailers to explain lack of stock?  What's going on?  Strike 2.

6.  Amazon receives news on Ultimate Gohan's delay.  However, instead of pushing their date back, I believe Amazon looked at their (what I believe to be low) pre-order numbers, reflected upon Bandai and Bluefin's past delays and just decides to CANCEL their Ultimate Gohan orders from Bluefin.  This was an easy decision given that Ultimate Gohan is basically another standard "Goku figure" and the pre-order numbers were probably low.

7.  Bluefin notifies Amazon of Bandai's new ordering policy, which I believe Bluefin has to reluctantly pass on to their retailers because they will likely lose money from it too if they can't pay for those large, bulk orders.  Bluefin also tells Amazon they can't "promise" making any shipping dates because Bandai isn't very reliable with shipping product out to the West.  Coupled with the "new" ordering policy, Amazon can't rely on a vendor whose shipping dates have been unreliable as of late and don't line up with their business model.  Strike 3, you're OUT!  Amazon makes the decision to wrap up their last Bluefin orders under the "old" policy (including figures such as SSGSS Goku and Golden Frieza) and cancel all upcoming orders such as Awakening SSJ Goku.  The business relationship between Amazon and Bluefin is over and as a cause, we'll no longer see Amazon carrying Bluefin distributed products.

emm if you can't afford lets say rent because you can't afford 50 extra in your budget every two months....well thats just not a discussion meant for this forum I would say. BBTS is more expensive but as far as most reliable and omg a far better ordering system set up on their website. I still order from other sites but I can definitely understand why people would order from them.

I shop at bbts. Mai ly because it's the first site I started getting my dragonball stuff at and since I haven't used any other site I kinda just stood loyal cause I'm familiar with how they do things

I only don't use the, m because the postage to UK is a killer lol. The figures prices themselves are fine. 
The figures themselves don't actually seem that expensive (except some of the old ones but that's a different story lol) 
as for preordering I prefer to pay in full rather than just a deposit, then I all I have to think about is when they turn up on my doorstep lol