My first AEG was a TM (SR16), and it was great. While other manufacturers have closed the gap with TM over the years few would argue that TM still offers the highest out of the box reliability of just about any other brand.

They might be mostly plastic, they don't shoot the hardest in stock trim, and they're expensive compared to other brands. But when you pick up a TM and pull the trigger you don't have to worry if it will work. It just does.

My first gun was a TM MP5 SD6... I had so many problems with it that I eventually just fixed it and got rid of it.

I've got a TM AK-47s and when I chrono'd it, it was shooting at 215fps which was rather disappointing. So my friend and I took it all apart and found that the cheap plastic piston and o-ring were hardly making any contact with the cylinder walls. The folding stock was broken on it too. But I did buy it for $225 so over the course of the year as I can afford it, it will undergo a big transformation that will include a metal body, wood kit (hmm... maybe Mahogany.lol), lipo battery, upgraded motor, metal gears, new piston, spring, a new cylinder with a proper cross hatch pattern. And best of all LOVE. lol

Hard on was right we have a bunch of Marui tank seized because it was made by Marui.
In general Marui despite what some would say about their lack of "goodies" are still by far the best AEG out of the box in my opinion, like Scopedog said you dont have to worry about it not working when you pull the trigger and lets not forget that eventhough the CA, G&P, KA etc. have better value or more goodies than Marui, they all copied Marui R&D sometime and I'm proud to say that I still use my Marui HK51.

well I will put this way, as much as I like the insurgents of clone airsoft. I would still love to have back my old ak-47, and I would almost give a pinky finger to have one of the m4 sopmod! and that new aks-74u is so beatiful I would ether. also remember that most pistols are clones of marui or based off off them.

I knew about the CSAB Banning the marui brand, and like it has already been said the damage has been done.

also side note the TM FAMas isn't junk its just very old design.

I think people don't like it because they don't know how to fix the creekyness and they can't stick a shitload of tacticool accessories on it or make it shoot at 399.99999 fps.

I loved my FA-MAS. Never should have sold it. I definetly want another one one day.

Edit:
Just checked the classifieds, out of the 30 posts on the first page, 13 of them are for TM guns. That's 43%. I think its safe to say TM is still quite popular.

FYI stock Marui in general shoot at 280fps, in 18 plus years in Airsoft i find that Marui stock V3 can take the most punishment especially in winter, I still have an original AK47 with mostly stock box with the exception of metal bushing, spring guide and a PDI 150% spring (330fps). the only thing to really fix your problem and make it a sweet AEG would just be a cylinder kit, spring and swap the original plastic bushings to a metal version

That's only in Canada, which is a very VERY small portion of the market. Like non-existent.

There are Marui-clone tanks out now, all over the place. Even up here in hillbilly-nowhere.

How ironic.

I'm willing to bet you $50 that a Marui tank will still get seized here in Toronto, the CBSA official in Toronto is an idiot

I wouldn't take that bet.

Just get a clone Tiger, and upgrade it!!

True, but I don't really give a shit about other markets.

The Heng Long Tiger is a pretty damned good clone. Not sure if it's cloned from the TM or Tamiya version though. And in the tank market, the prices here in Canada ARE $100 compare to $600... I'll go with the clone ;)

That's OK, because Tokyo Marui doesn't give shit about you (us) either :p

Exactly! No shared love there :p

It's business.

MPEGs retail generally for at least half of what a TM does, more when you add in the extras. MPEGs make sense for a new airsofter. The problem is many players never graduate beyond the MPEGs.

I have a theory that MPEGs have a higher profit margin then TM, and probably other premium AEGs do. If a retailer makes the same profit selling 1 MPEG that he does selling 1 TM AEG, his stock costs are at least twice the money stocking TM AEGs then stocking MPEGs. He is going to push the MPEGs because they are easier to sell (cheap), cost him less (higher profit) and if the player stays in airsofting is going to be back to buy another one (MPEGs break quickly).

It's business.