In several of my last posts I’ve brought up that Tamashii Nations appears to be changing the way their “web exclusives” are sold to the public. It was looking very much like the process would echo Japan’s; meaning that “Premium” branded merchandise (often called web exclusives) were in fact exclusive to the web and would only be sold online via the Tamashii Nations / Bandai website.

Well, apparently that’s exactly the case. Tamashii Nations took to social media today to post some Tweets explaining how this process is meant to work. This will be cutting out “middle men” retailers, causing the buyer to go directly to the manufacturer for the purchases.

Tamashii Nations Laying Down the Law of the Land

Beyond this, they made a video and uploaded it to their YouTube channel to iron out any confusion, as the pre-orders for Super Saiyan Blue Vegito and Zamasu are opening up tomorrow. The video is pretty vague and doesn’t explain key points, like how you will need to register for an account at their website in order to facilitate a pre-order. Additionally, they’ve left out whether or not you pay for your pre-order immediately, or if they charge you once the item is ready to ship.

By the way, if you plan to pre-order those figures tomorrow, register for an account with them today. That way you wont risk missing out on the drop because you’re busy registering for an account. Remember; this pre-order goes live April 2nd at 6pm PST.

This is a pretty seismic shift from what North American collectors are used to. I think there will be some growing pains that come along with this process and I’m curious how it will affect the S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ball market moving forward.

But I’m curious to hear from you guys too, do you look forward to this change or are you dreading it?