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Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1


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3 minutes ago, drumondo said:

... and it's gone.

Two was sold. The seller added another two (I got one of the new two), and now it is gone.

He/She might add more. If anyone is keen, keep checking.

Edited by kkx
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Ebay and PayPal have a max duration for filing claim or report problem.

Since this will not be released till much later this year (I am sure it will be outside of their time window), does that means I will have no protection? :(

 

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3 minutes ago, kkx said:

Ebay and PayPal have a max duration for filing claim or report problem.

Since this will not be released till much later this year (I am sure it will be outside of their time window), does that means I will have no protection? :(

 

you have 180 days to file a claim

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15 minutes ago, F360 said:

you have 180 days to file a claim

I wrongly remember that I have to file a claim within 90 days.

So if there is no delay I might just get this in time (release date + 3 days for the seller to get item and ship + 3 to 4 weeks shipping to me). This might be cutting it quite close.

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29 minutes ago, kkx said:

Ebay and PayPal have a max duration for filing claim or report problem.

Since this will not be released till much later this year (I am sure it will be outside of their time window), does that means I will have no protection? :(

 

Use a credit card even if you use paypal. As long as you use a credit card to pay through paypal and not paypal funds, you are protected by the credit card company. Credit card companies will refund you if you don't your items.

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4 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Use a credit card even if you use paypal. As long as you use a credit card to pay through paypal and not paypal funds, you are protected by the credit card company. Credit card companies will refund you if you don't your items.

Luckily I did use a credit card. Phew.

I hope all will goes smoothly in Nov.

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Missile sets arrived.. I might explore alternate pylon options in the future, since these are so incredibly stubby.  TV clusters were my main goal though, and those are probably the best of the group.  All of them block the flaps from operating to a degree, but that's about standard operating procedure for Bandai. :p 

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6 hours ago, HardlyNever said:
 

This.  Scalpers aren't the problem, they are just responding to the what the market will bear.  I know they make easy scapegoats, and I'm not a fan of them either, but they aren't going away, even if you ask them really nicely.

There are people on this site right now selling the DX Hikaru VF-1J for more than a 50% markup (new in box).  But they aren't scalpers?  I'm not trying to call anyone out for doing that, just pointing out the situation.  The reality is that the line between "scalper" and "collector" is a hazy and subjective line, where everyone is going to have a different opinion, and they are going to draw that line where it is most convenient for them.  But this debate is as old as toy forums (probably even older), so I'm not going to say any more about it.

The reality with this hobby is you don't actually have one, until it is in your hands, regardless of where you ordered from.  I've never had HLJ cancel an order on me (not saying it can't happen, just that it is rare).  Other retailers have canceled orders before.  Stuff gets lost in shipping.  Lots of things can happen between now and release.  I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Hardlynever, I like your comments, especially that people don't like to judge themselves and drawing the line where it is most convenient for them.  Here's my 2 cents:

Scalpers are using unfair competition practices (bots, lining up to buy multiples when others are working, etc) to corner the market.  They are not "responding" to what the market can bear, but artificially manipulating the market like mini wolves of Tokyo.  They drive up the price on collectors who don't "mind" paying another $50-100 or even twice that.  

If the scalpers didn't do that, there would still be limited supply, but the collectors would have 100% of the stock at the MSRP.  Both the producer/retailer would have earned their fair share of the profits, and the consumer would enjoy the product.  The middle man is the retailer.  Both are unlikely to make 100% profit over cost, typically just a percentage.

In all business, there is profit with risk.  The manufacturer takes the risk to produce and sell to make a profit.  The retailer has to buy and sell these through its store which is built on reputation and service.  This is productive behavior.

The collector hands over his/her hard earned money for an item they enjoy.  This behavior promotes economy.  

The scalper doesn't produce the product or provide service/access to the product.  He denies access.  He corners the market .  He limits access and produces artificial demand to skew the price.  This is parasitic behavior.

There are those on this forum that wear 2 hats.  One a collector, one a scalper. 

See my prior comments on what I think makes a collector, and what makes a scalper.  Collectors collect, and over time, their collectible may appreciate or depreciate in price, but it's not what collecting is about.      

Collectors collect/hoard their collectibles because they enjoy them whether or not they go up in value.  Years later, whether the collector has space or has moved on or lost interest in the collectibles, they may sell.  It's very likely that another better product has already come along and made it obsolete.  Eg. Dx valk vs Yammie 1/48.  or the multitudes of Optimus prime and megatron etc.  If the collector sells at a profit, it's not because they sold at the highest price they could.  

The scalper is typically flipping a property in a short amount of time.  On preorder night, scalpers were flipping 1S they don't even own, and have never touched, the collectible isn't even produced yet.  I had one in my cart from 3 different sites.  Within seconds it was all gone.  On Amazon, the first page of resellers were asking starting at 39000Y, more than double the MSRP.  That prices many peeps out of the market.  That is not an open market, and not the fair market value.  Cornering a market when demand is high, there isn't much risk, and the gains are almost 100% or more for using a bot.  This is gaming the system, and ripping off your neighbors.

Some scalpers may hold onto and sell at a later date, because they think they can sell for astronomical prices as the supply gets smaller, but they bear the risk of losing their money.  If they are holding the items, it will cost rent, the items may deteriorate, etc.  At this point the scalper is acting sort of like a store front business.  Most don't do this as the profits are very unpredictable and most want their money now, not years later.  

Another member said they think you can't do anything about it.  Ticketmaster probably thought so too.  They're being investigated for their kickbacks from scalpers.  

Some collectors pointed out that for peace of mind, they don't mind paying extra.  While I appreciate their advice, I could otherwise have donated more money to charity than hand it over to people who parasitically feed off our hobby.  As another member here said, if I can't get it MSRP, then I don't bother.  I walked away from DX Frontier because of this.  I came back cuz peeps told me the 1J wasn't preorder madness.  

Some collectors on this board are pretty cool, supplying those who missed the preorder.  

I should point out that the collector/scalper is like the drug dealer who touches the inventory... 

And I got notice from HLJ, they could not fill my order.  Not the first time either.

I really like Macross and many of Shoji's art.  But the scalping has got to stop.  

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35 minutes ago, sjoebarry said:

24-ish hours since the PRESALE and we’re already seeing the scalpers post these guys for sale at markups. THAT is the problem right there. 

I saw Amazon jp resellers within seconds selling for twice Amazon's price.

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32 minutes ago, nathans82 said:

Got my missile pack in from Loopaza. Now to wait for the 7th to PO the Super/Strike Parts.

yes, and more info if you can swap the insignia marks as there are conflicting reports that it is exclusive only to Hikaru's VF-1S but can still use it on the other VF-1s.

My money is like the missile set - that we will have insignias that are swap-able.

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Well.. it might be a sloppy translation, and Bandai is hinting that you'll be able to use it on "other future VF-1 releases" without stating the obvious that you can also use the red markings on Hikaru's VF-1A.  They probably don't want to show their hand on which ones will be coming next.

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@beatsing, great post and points. I was foolish this time around and naive (despite my VF-1A experience) thinking I would secure 2 with the intention to sell the second to a MWer at MSPR. Knowing someone would get the short. Boy oh boy was I an idiot. 3 in different carts,and not 1 went through.

 

And ya know what happened to me? (luck of the draw and very thankful). A fellow MWer reached out to me, sent a PM to ask if I was interested in thier 1 extra at cost+shipping.  I wont put out thier name for respect to them, unless they want. 

 

I left collecting Macross in 2006 during Yamatos V.1 1/60 and 1/48s. Sold all of them here to pay for some.....well should have never married that one( live and learn). But, though I greatly missed a ton a great releases between late 2006 to early 2019, I didn't let it get to me then. And wont now. I'm more salty I cant access my old account (Rune) because the damn internet provider went out of business many years ago..Road Runner. And I honestly completely data dumped that password over a decade ago. 

 

So 1st, thank you MWer who was and is kind enough to help where you can. That's what I have always appreciated about Macross World. 98% of you are awesome. But I have had my issues with a couple. But none since returning. I think now, what I intend ( and no i don't like it one bit) is put aside 10-20  per check extra knowing I will be better off getting the second iteration from places like NY and sleep the night away.

 

I still hate that they, NY seem to have additional stock even more then other places long after those others have sold out of thier stock. It is deliberate. It cant possibly be anything else. Are they as bad as the scalpers? They are scalpers IMO. Its predatory behavior towards those that love the series and nostalgia of it. 

Edited by Alphahorizon
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More good conversation here. The way I see it, scalper or not, these things will sell out quick. When there were lots to go around, collectors hoard. Collectors hoard period. I know, I'm one of the biggest hoarders around. It's because sooner or later, these things will sell out and I don't want to miss things. Then the rule of three that we joke about kicks in. Most of us who can afford to, will want at least more than one of these high end collectables because we know once they are gone, it could be a long time or never before they come around again. Having an extra MISB is a great feeling to a collector because it lets them freely play with their toy and know they have an extra "just in case". So the main point I'm trying to make is it is a race to get these things whether we are competing with each other or scalpers. When we can help each other, that is great but everyone who wants these things is going to do what they can to get theirs before they help someone else get one.

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I wish an MWer will reach out to me to sell me his extra copy, I will take that anyday, as for NY I stop using them for a while since the VF-31A fiasco, the price increase for NY in my opinion is that somehow buy copies at msrp and then sell it at a mark up to the fans, that in my books is scalper

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To me, NY is just using a different type of marketing strategy. Bottom line is they offer the lowest prices if you can get the initial preorder. If something is selling like hotcakes and they can offset some of the "loss" they incur for selling at the lowest prices, it makes market sense for them to do so. At the same time, it makes items available to collectors who really want it and discourages scalpers. They have plenty of items that don't sell as fast and they never raise the price on those. They actually end up lowering the price on many items. It is supply and demand. The economy and market we all endorse and support.

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3 minutes ago, Alphahorizon said:

@beatsing, great post and points. I was foolish this time around and naive (despite my VF-1A experience) thinking I would secure 2 with the intention to sell the second to a MWer at MSPR. Knowing someone would get the short. Boy oh boy was I an idiot. 3 in different carts,and not 1 went through.

 

And ya know what happened to me? (luck of the draw and very thankful). A fellow MWer reached out to me, sent a PM to ask if I was interested in thier 1 extra at cost+shipping.  I wont put out thier name for respect to them, unless they want. 

 

I left collecting Macross in 2006 during Yamatos V.1 1/60 and 1/48s. Sold all of them here to pay for some.....well should have never married that one( live and learn). But, though I greatly missed a ton a great releases between late 2006 to early 2019, I didn't let it get to me then. And wont now. I'm more salty I cant access my old account (Rune) because the damn internet provider went out of business many years ago..Road Runner. And I honestly completely data dumped that password over a decade ago. 

 

So 1st, thank you MWer who was and is kind enough to help where you can. That's what I have always appreciated about Macross World. 98% of you are awesome. But I have had my issues with a couple. But none since returning. I think now, what I intend ( and no indent like it one bit) is put aside 10-20  per check extra knowing I will be better off getting the second iteration from places like NY and sleep the night away.

 

I still hate that they, NY seem to have additional stock even more then other places long after those others have sold out of thier stock. It is deliberate. It cant possibly be anything else. Are they as bad as the scalpers? They are scalpers IMO. Its predatory behavior towards those that love the series and nostalgia of it. 

Thanks for your 2 cents. 

I don't scalpers are going to change their behavior with my post.  But it's good to share our views with fellow (true) collectors.

Sorry to hear your sad story.  Life is has too many lemons for scalpers to add on more salt.

The community here is pretty nice, and kudos to the MWer who reached out to you.  

As far as NY, I too think that they behave like scalpers, though less obvious.  They often undercut the competitors like Amiami and HS, who already offer discounts from MSRP, to generate interest.  But it's likely it's a form of bait and switch, where they only offer a teeny amount of product at the discount, but their competitors offer the discount to everyone.  Then after some time, like an hour or a few hours, NY brings out the scalper price.  Then after some more time, some ridiculous price.  

NY also seems to hold onto a few items, like just one of each, for a long time.  They speculate on the dregs, and see if any "desperate" collector gives in to the dark side and pulls the trigger.  This behavior is still a form of scalping, but because they have to hold the product a lot longer, and store it somewhere, they take on the risk (that the product might not sell since other products can make it obsolete, or a re release can cut their profit) and the cost of the rent.  The long term speculation seems similar to business, but at the end of the day, they also scalp, only with a store front.

Also, NY doesn't have much aftermarket service.

I should point out that scalping/botting is not part of an open fair market in a capitalist system, although some seem to take the attitude that it is.   What peeps are willing to pay, depends on what is available in the market.  In a fair market, prices that are deviants/extreme don't compete in a fair market with competition.  By artificially reducing the supply, the scalpers drive up the demand and price.  In a bigger stakes game of stock market, there are many rules that stop this cheating because it is criminal.  

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10 minutes ago, tjdetweiler said:

Damn, nearly 400 USD / 42000 yen and this guys are the official distributor in my home country. Most expensive one I have seen of all the POs so far.

 

great toys.jpg

As I understand it, no one can officially sell this outside of Japan without permission/licensing from Harmony Gold.  So, the shops that are based out of Japan sell it pre-order from MSRP out to the world.  Any shops outside of Japan would essentially be purchasing from a shop in Japan as a wholesaler and then reselling to you with markup in order to gain profit.

Toy Dojo would be an example state-side:  https://www.toydojo.com/dx-chogokin-macross-1-48-scale-vf-1j-valkyrie-hikaru-ichijo/

They do great stuff with TF's, but when it comes to Macross they are forced to operate like the above.  I was actually in Austin last week chatting with the owner about this very thing.

Edited by DYRL VF-1S
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58 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

More good conversation here. The way I see it, scalper or not, these things will sell out quick. When there were lots to go around, collectors hoard. Collectors hoard period. I know, I'm one of the biggest hoarders around. It's because sooner or later, these things will sell out and I don't want to miss things. Then the rule of three that we joke about kicks in. Most of us who can afford to, will want at least more than one of these high end collectables because we know once they are gone, it could be a long time or never before they come around again. Having an extra MISB is a great feeling to a collector because it lets them freely play with their toy and know they have an extra "just in case". So the main point I'm trying to make is it is a race to get these things whether we are competing with each other or scalpers. When we can help each other, that is great but everyone who wants these things is going to do what they can to get theirs before they help someone else get one.

Hi Slave good points.  These things do sell out quick, but from what I heard, 1j didn't sell out in minutes, but longer.  I think it may be that the orders were mostly from real collectors, and scalpers didn't risk it until the reviews came out that this DX is good.  Even if these things sell quick, since Bandai has done their market research, most fans SHOULD have had a crack at getting their preorder.  

You pointed out that collectors hoard.  Do collectors here on this board hoard 3 because of the 3 modes to display in 3 modes without transforming the toy, or is it Saturday Night Live's skit: one to display, one in mint, and one just in case"?

I know what you're saying about breakage; I've had a yammie with the defective shoulder, so I regretted not buying another.  

If we're competing against each other, the manufacturer probably doesn't know that you're going to collect 3 of everything, and that another guy is collecting only 1.  They get projections of demand.  However, the scalpers (who aren't into collecting) are not planning on keeping the toys, so they skew the demand, since they take (most) of the product away from those that want it.  We compete against each other as collectors, but also against the scalpers.  If we were only competing against ourselves, look at Bandai's HMR line.  No preorder madness for years now.  Although the scalpers are starting to scalp some items though.  When the scalpers get involved, and bots, we humans can't compete with instantaneous buys.  this is anticompetitive and most first world countries have laws against it.  

This is a small segment, not like IPOs on the stock market, so it hasn't been looked at.  

last year, Bandai went after a KO company in China and arrested the owner, seized all the warehouse inventory.  So I don't think it's Bandai.  It's the scalpers (and maybe some Bandai employees who are enablers) who are parasitically feeding off of collectors.

 

46 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

To me, NY is just using a different type of marketing strategy. Bottom line is they offer the lowest prices if you can get the initial preorder. If something is selling like hotcakes and they can offset some of the "loss" they incur for selling at the lowest prices, it makes market sense for them to do so. At the same time, it makes items available to collectors who really want it and discourages scalpers. They have plenty of items that don't sell as fast and they never raise the price on those. They actually end up lowering the price on many items. It is supply and demand. The economy and market we all endorse and support.

NY isn't using a different marketing strategy.  I just described their behavior in a prior post; it's not different from the many ebay resellers.  It would have better made items to collectors if it sold it upfront at MSRP like the others did.  But since they've decided they want to play the scalpers game, they aren't providing it to collectors, but selling it at a high mark up to the collectors with the most cash and are willing to pay.  I think there are other fans "who really want it" too, but can't afford it - buying a set of these with the parts is a smartphone, or a student's rent.  

NY does have other items that don't sell as fast - they set the scalper price too high, and they eventually lower it to reflect "actual" market prices.  

Again, scalper behavior is not the open fair market (denying access is artificially reducing supply), and it is not endorsed by competition laws in many of the First world markets.  Just because they get away with something doesn't make it legitimate.

Edited by beatsing
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5 minutes ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

As I understand it, no one can officially sell this outside of Japan without permission/licensing from Harmony Gold.  So, the shops that are based out of Japan sell it pre-order from MSRP out to the world.  Any shops outside of Japan would essentially be purchasing from a shop in Japan as a wholesaler and then reselling to you with markup in order to gain profit.

Toy Dojo would be an example state-side:  https://www.toydojo.com/dx-chogokin-macross-1-48-scale-vf-1j-valkyrie-hikaru-ichijo/

They do great stuff with TF's, but when it comes to Macross they are forced to operate like the above.  I was actually in Austin last week chatting with the owner about this very thing.

Very informative information, thanks!

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4 minutes ago, beatsing said:

NY isn't using a different marketing strategy.  I just described their behavior in a prior post; it's not different from the many ebay resellers.  It would have better made items to collectors if it sold it upfront at MSRP like the others did.  But since they've decided they want to play the scalpers game, they aren't providing it to collectors, but selling it at a high mark up to the collectors with the most cash and are willing to pay.  I think there are other fans "who really want it" too, but can't afford it - buying a set of these with the parts is a smartphone, or a student's rent.  

NY does have other items that don't sell as fast - they set the scalper price too high, and they eventually lower it to reflect "actual" market prices.  

Again, scalper behavior is not the open fair market, and it is not endorsed by competition laws in the First world markets.  Just because they get away with something doesn't make it legitimate.

I'd have to agree with beatsing. Sometimes, people justify NY's behavior, but NY's doing the exact same thing a scalper does, just with a lot more inventory and with wholesale purchasing costs (i.e., they're making more than a scalper does). When you're jacking up the price minutes after listing it, it's essentially just scalping with a storefront. Either that or you'd have to say scalpers are just 'doing business.' 

I'm fine with either terminology. It's just part of our capitalist world. But you can't really have it both ways, as far as how you think about NY. 

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If NY is going out there and buying up all of the other shops' inventory on PO night only to resell and jack up the price, then they are the same behavior as scalpers. 

If they are taking their inventory allotted to them by Bandai and choosing to do a wave of pre-order competitively lower than anyone and then introducing second and third waves much higher, that is called capitalism.  It's not the same.  An MSRP is a suggested retail price.  The only way to drive down price is to increase inventory in an open market.  If NY had competition at those inventory levels where several other shops were selling the same amount or more quantity cheaper, then they would remain low cost.  As it stands, that doesn't appear to be the case.  Bandai needs to spread the inventory around in a more competitive fashion in this scenario.  It becomes an issue at distribution.

Edited by DYRL VF-1S
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8 minutes ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

If NY is going out there and buying up all of the other shops' inventory on PO night only to resell and jack up the price, then they are the same behavior as scalpers. 

If they are taking their inventory allotted to them by Bandai and choosing to do a wave of pre-order competitively lower than anyway and then introducing second and third waves much higher, that is called capitalism.  It's not the same.  An MSRP is a suggested retail price.  The only way to drive down price is to increase inventory in an open market.  If NY had competition at those inventory levels where several other shops were selling the same amount or more quantity cheaper, then they would remain low cost.  As it stands, that doesn't appear to be the case.  Bandai needs to spread the inventory around in a more competitive fashion in this scenario.  It becomes an issue at distribution.

How is scalping not part of capitalism or not intrinsically capitalistic in nature? It's not illegal. My point wasn't the semantics of it (so yes, it's not technically scalping), but just that they're essentially similar behavior. NY is intentionally holding back stock to inflate the price, frequently cutting people's orders midway to do so; they're actively interfering, just as scalpers do. 

Edited by gingaio
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5 minutes ago, gingaio said:

I'd have to agree with beatsing. Sometimes, people justify NY's behavior, but NY's doing the exact same thing a scalper does, just with a lot more inventory and with wholesale purchasing costs (i.e., they're making more than a scalper does). When you're jacking up the price minutes after listing it, it's essentially just scalping with a storefront. Either that or you'd have to say scalpers are just 'doing business.' 

I'm fine with either terminology. It's just part of our capitalist world. But you can't really have it both ways, as far as how you think about NY. 

This.  

"Doing business".  Is crime a business? Serious question from my econ prof.  Large organizations like Mafia run like businesses.  But the main difference is that a legitimate business adds to the community/market/society.  Scalping doesn't provide, but rather denies in order to reduce the supply and artificially create demand.  NY doesn't provide collectors with something they couldn't already get at another store for MRSP.  The only reason it *seems* like they are providing a service it that they carry stock that is long gone in the open market.  Because they are speculating on the product to increase further in value, and scalp some more.  They've been wrong many times, that's why they had to lower their prices when recently Berserk reissued their figures at MSRP.  

I am really liking the DX VF1 line since I got to handle one, but this stuff just turns me off.

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2 minutes ago, gingaio said:

How is scalping not part of capitalism or not intrinsically capitalistic in nature? It's not illegal. 

Fair statement and thanks for the correction.  It's probably better articulated by just saying the behavior is quite different even if it has similar outcomes.  A shop in the states that needs a wholesaler is no different in the result - a higher price - but it is also different behavior.  And all three scenarios are capitalism as you pointed out.

But honestly, this is probably somewhat off topic other than the cause for people's sting in not getting POs.  I'm not an economic analyst.  Just thought it was worth pointing out that these are different practices being discussed.

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Nah, I appreciate the discussion. To me, BOTH the behavior and results are similar. NY's actively interfering with its own sales to jack up the price, often cutting people off midway through their ordering process to hold back stock, just as scalpers interfere with collector's access to the items by simply snatching them up.

Anyway, I'll stop on that topic.

Looks like I'll be keeping an eye out for a 1S (and Strike Parts) when I head to Japan later this year. Hopefully, I'll find something in the 25,000 Yen range or less. 

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Yeah it's all good conversation and always great to hear differing views. Do I think it is ridiculous that grown folks with the money to buy the toys they want have to stay up in the middle of the night, frantically hitting f5 on multiple browser tabs in hopes of getting what they want? Absolutely. Is it caused by scalpers AND other collectors wanting the same things? I think so. In the end, it's all for luxury entertainment and not a big enough deal to get too upset over. Irritated a bit? Maybe. I just know I don't blame scalpers or other collectors if I don't get something. It's just the way it goes and sometimes you get assed out. Behavior is dictated by society and our society puts profit over all else so it is no wonder any of this is happening to me. 

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I'm just in awe of the people who managed to snag BOTH the 1S and Dairugger. Ballsy move.

I only had time to go after one. 

If this were the Roy 1S, I would have no problems paying the Iron Price for it. 

Edited by gingaio
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