Missed out on Tomy Gacha

[The Mage]

Somebody was selling some Tomy Gacha machines in eBay.  A total of 8 for $135 each, and implied free shipping if a person bought at least 5 of them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230446666804&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I contacted the seller to make sure that if I bought 5 the shipping would be free, and he said they all sold, and he needed to cancel the post.

Oh well.

[cavity]

Here's just a tid bit of info on the Tomy Gacha machines I found: 

I figure the name came from "CAPSULE TOY"(they dropped the capsule and added an M) TOMY, and GACHAPON(GACHA) = TOMY GACHA MACHINES.

Gashapon (ガシャポン?) or gachapon (ガチャポン?), also referred to as "capsule toy", is a Japanese onomatopoeia, made up of two sounds: "gacha" for the turning of a crank on a toy vending machine, and "pon" for the sound of the toy capsule dropping into the receptacle. It is used to describe both the machines themselves, and any toy obtained from them.

Gashapon machines are similar to the coin-operated toy vending machines seen outside of grocery stores and other retailers in other countries. While American coin-operated vending toys are usually cheap, low-quality products, sold for a quarter or 50 cents[dubious – discuss], Japanese gashapon can cost anywhere from 100–500 yen[dubious – discuss] (approx. $5) and are normally a much higher quality product. They are often constructed from high-grade PVC plastic, and contain more molding detail and carefully painted features. Many gashapon are considered collector's items, with rare ones fetching extremely high prices.

Gashapon toys are often based on popular character licenses from Japanese manga, video games, anime, popular icons and a few American entertainment licenses. These highly detailed toys have found a large following among adults in Japan, and the trend is filtering to the West with other popular culture influences such as anime and manga. It is not at all uncommon to see sets based on licenses explicitly for adults, with figures of naked or near-naked women, which costs a little more than other capsules.

Row of gashapon machines in JapanVirtually all gashapon are released in sets - each series will have a number of figures to collect. They are, by nature, a "blind purchase"; people insert coins and hope to get the toy or figure they desire. It may become frustrating, as one risks obtaining the same capsule repeatedly.

Most collectors will buy sets from gashapon stores in places such as Tokyo's Akihabara or Osaka's Nipponbashi (Den Den Town). Depending on the store, the sets are usually cheaper than buying them randomly out of a machine.

[jayhawk22]

Mage.  I may be pulling a Tomy from a location in late March.  I am in Salina, KS & could probably meet you near the border if you are interested in buying 1 or possibly 2 of these.  Delivered I would probably want $200 each.  Let me know if you are interested.

[The Mage]

That is possible, I will think about it.  PM me when you are going to pull them.

[ricjo vending]

I might sell my tomy machine for $75.It needs cash box locks.You pay for shipping from Phila,Pa area.

[s.weir]

If anyone is looking to sell one or two Tomy Gacha Capsule Machines at a decent price and is willing to ship them to me in September (I would pay a down deposit in the mean time) PM me and we can work out a deal.