Been wanting to do this a while ago. So we have lotsa toy shop review locally & overseas. How bout some small town toy shop? While these shop may not known by most, it certainly have their own potential.
Take note that this is my very own opinion & experience.1)
Kiroro (3rd Floor of Ipoh Parade)
Website: http://www.kirorohobby.com
This is the shop I usually gets my Gunpla & accs. Can't say I'm the regular customer since I only buy from them occassionally but definately the toy shop that I buy the most goods from. The owner is very skillful in Gunplas, painting, & pimping them. Won quite a few awards too.
Variety:
Selling mostly Gunplas & plastic model kits. Also selling many revoltechs & figmas also. Other than that, they also got bring in 12" figure from HT & Medicom too. Weak point is, lack of PVC's. They do have bring in some & take PO (order for you) thou even not bringing in but not guarantee can PO lol. Overall, for a toy shop located in Ipoh, this shop offer quite a lot of variety.
Price:
If you're talking bout Gunpla, then it's moderate. More or less, the same with other stores even in KL, except one so I say quite competitive prices. As for 12" they're more expensive. I would PO with them if their price is cheaper but I prefer to get in KL when it comes to 12". As for revoltech & figma, it's pretty much the same. Also, on the gunpla or plastic kits price, they pretty much follows market price but "some" kits a bit on the high side for like 15 to 20 bucks more compared to some shop in KL. Although you can say after we put in the shipping cost from KL to Ipoh is pretty much the same, but then, ppl in KL can bought their kits cheaper than me in Ipoh, pretty ironic rite?
Customer Service:
The boss himself is actually quite friendly but when he doesn't talk, he looks very cool. Also helping him is his bro I believe & also his (boss) woman. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with it since they answer my question from SMS in an instant LOL.
Overall:
Recommended if you want to get your Gunpla dose. This is the place for you! Also, I believe this is a shop to pay a visit if you're a toy collector. Gundam fans don't wanna miss this shop. One thing they need to improve is pricing really. I mean, Gunpla is not like PVC or 12", quite limited, so that you can sell it for 20 or 30 bucks more. Gunpla is kinda overflowing in the market especially 1/100 & HG 1/144. So, if one kit I saved RM10, I can get another 1/100 when I bought 10. I don't mind to wait. I just want to get my toys at a cheapest price possible. To be fair, Kiroro has the potential to survive or even grow bigger in the Ipoh Market since I really think their price is quite good among Ipoh stores but if they to break into outstation market, they have to be more competetive in prices. I just bought a 1/100 Exia from them for RM100, & yeah, it was the cheapest in Ipoh but KL available for RM85. So you can see the difference. I didn't say they're (Kiroro) expensive but their price is good enough for Ipoh alone but certainly not Malaysia.
2)
I-CUBE (?) (3rd Floor of Yik Foong Plaza)
A new shop located inside Yik Foong. I don't think the name of the shop is I-CUBE thou since the shop previously rent for clothing shop. Quite isolated. Normally ppl won't go there. Suprisingly enough, there's a gem inside a rock! This shop is small, but guess what, this shop sells S.I.C, Playarts, Figma's, Revoltech's, 12" Figures, Gunpla, PVC's (not much but rare) & some really rare stuff such as MG Sazabi Metallic Coating Ver, PG Wing Zero Custom & MG Unicorn Gattling Gun @_@. I didn't ask for price thou.
Variety:
As I already said, this shop sell a wide range of product. Even's not many but definately rare. More variety than Kiroro but seems like all is in limited quantity except plastic kits. Can't blame them thou since Ipoh market is rather small.
Price:
Didn't atrract me. They're selling MG Sinanju for RM300+ & my 1st impression was, @_@~!!! I don't know the price for other products thou since I don't bother to ask when I saw the price of Sinanju. Most of their item didn't have a price tag either.
Customer Service:
Don't know. They never served me. I went there few times already but window shopping only.
Overall:
If you want to hunt for some rare items, this might be the place for you. You might found some suprise here but price not guaranteed thou.
3)
-INSERT SHOP NAME- (2nd Floor of Yik Foong Plaza)
LOL, another "no shop name". I never bought anything from there but mah friend did. What can I say bout this shop? Hmm..they sell PC Games, PS2 & XBOX (360) Games & Software. Also, they sell quite a number of toys too mainly Gunpla & S.I.C & some PVC's.
Variety:
Mostly S.I.C & Gunpla. Also, the only shop that selling many Neca & McFarlane figures, from very old to new. Same goes to Gunpla. I can even see Infinite Justice there :P
Price:
I think I will buy something from them soon, probably S.I.C or some gunpla that I missed. Not cheap as chips but not expensive either. Market price I'd say.
Customer Service:
Don't know either but the boss looks so arrogant.
Overall:
A good hunting ground for S.I.C fans since they always brings in new released S.I.C. Price is reasonable too. The only shop so far that has a wide selection for S.I.C. As for gunpla fans, this shop could pull out a suprise too, who knows?
4)
Revolution (The new shoplot in front of Tesco, opposite JPJ)
Website: http://www.therevolutiontoys.blogspot.com (it's a blog thou)
I paid a visit there last week & my first impression was, "WOW". The interior design of the shop is very nice & I really like the feel inside the shop. Small yet spacious.
Variety:
The strong point of this shop seems to be a lil difference than other. It's Transformers stuffs. Yeah, they've like Henkei series, Animated & also Masterpiece. Besides that, they also have a healthy amount of Gunplas. The variety almost same with Kiroro but they excel in Transformers & also Star Wars stuffs (lotsa them also). They do take order for 12" figure also which is a plus. Again, my only complaint was they don't do PVC's.
Price:
Bought a 1/100 Dynames there. RM109.90. A bit on the high side I say. Also, they're selling HG 1/144 00 Raiser for RM90+. No idea why so expensive. Kiroro only selling it for RM87.90. Got 10% discount sommore, means RM79. Not really paying attention to other prices but on the good side, they're still accepting PO for MP Grimlock & the price is RM430+. What a deal! I bet they must be having some good relationship with transformers supplier. Haha.
Customer Service:
Very good I've to say. Although they're trying to sell me their products, still I'm happy with it.
Overall:
Transformers, 12", Gunpla, Star Wars, & Revoltechs...thumbs up for it's variety but the price still needs a little fix not only to atrract customers outside Ipoh but also within Ipoh. In terms of pricing, they still lose to Kiroro by a bit especially for Gunpla. Maybe they make up for that by selling cheap Transformers thou. Still, a pretty well balanced store for me, be sure to visit it when you're in Ipoh.
SummaryOkay, 4 shop being reviewed & I noticed that none of the above stores specialize in selling PVC's (one of the hottest toy category imo). Maybe that's not a concern for you. Maybe the PVC market for Ipoh is too small...too many "maybe"s. Also the price never beat ANY (that I know of) toy shop in KL let it be Kiroro, who specialize in kits. The maybe factor come again, not ordering enough quantity to secure a better discount? Who knows? Okay, you might argue the rent for Kiroro & Revolution's expensive, but since when KL rent & salary become cheap? Also, the so-called "I-CUBE" shop located in Yik Foong but still sells expensive stuff. I think this is an issue that all toy boss in Ipoh have to take a look into. My mom always said, Ipoh what also expensive but salary never "expensive". I really agree on this one, not only toys but even a plate of economy rice is expensive.
In terms of variety, I understand they can't just bring in anything since they need to meet the demand but I really hope they can start bringing in PVC's, PlayArts, S.I.C & some Neca / McFlarane action figures as well coz all of them is quite popular nowdays. Lastly, pricing that does matter. Believe it or not, I'm buying more from oversea stores like PlayAsia or even stores in KL more than in Ipoh due to they lack of choices & also the not so atrractive so-called pre-order price. I believe the pricing can be better, don't be so greedy..hahaha!
Well, that's all for now. Yeah, that's only 4 toy shop so far in Ipoh so you all know how desperate for collector like me. I mean we can get daily dose of toys from the internet but the feel it's different if you can actually go & visit a toy shop. Unfortunately, only 4 for me to visit & fortunately enough, less poison! xD
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