Collecting Japanese Figurines - Part 01: Overview

[OriginalRen]

Hey all,

As many of you may be aware, I collect a lot of Japanese goods. Originally this began with me collecting smaller items, which actually started when I was initially playing visual novels, but over time I eventually expanded my horizons into figurine collecting. This in turn led to wanting even more items in my repertoire, thus leading to very expensive character good purchases among other things.

Now, let me start by saying that figurine collecting (regardless of if you do it in Japan or outside of the country) is expensive. Any hobby can be expensive. The main thing to remember here though is how well you understand appropriate values. Let's be honest, ordering from AmiAmi or buying figurines from Sofmap doesn't always mean you're going to get the best deal. In a way, figurines are a lot like stocks - market fluctuation, demand of a certain character, and the rarity of said character will vary drastically depending on a lot of different factors. These factors can include, but are not limited to:

• Seller of the Figurine - As a general rule of thumb (and to avoid any sort of racism with this remark), the continent where sellers originate from are a great way to give you a ballpark estimate on prices for figurines. Generally speaking, sellers who use the Euro as their pricing method originate from Europe and will generally charge the full amount in yen converted on a 1:1 cost basis (i.e. = 10,000 yen -> 100 euro), whereas Asian sellers not originating from Japan (China, Indonesia) charge a lot less (sometimes as much as 80% off the principal amount).
• Discounts - If you see a discount on a figurine from AmiAmi or another site, I can guarantee you that the price is the same in Japan. After comparing prices of initial figurine launches in Akihbara to prices on leading websites, I started to realize that the discounts mean nothing. Since most figurines will always remain at those discount amounts (and slowly become lower depending on how rare the print of the figurine is), they essentially mean nothing in the long run. Companies only attract you with discount prices because they want people to purchase their items. In reality, you really aren't saving any money. Keep in mind though that this only pertains to new releases, since overtime prices will change depending on the figure.
• Rarity - It goes without saying that the rarity of a figurine affects its price. If a figurine is in high demand and sells out quickly, you can expect reprints on occasions (generally very common with Nendoroids/figma purchases), but not always. If a reprint is not being made, you can expect a jump in figurine prices by more than 200%! It's a little bit ridiculous, but can make your purchase that much better in the long run if you decide to sell somewhere down the line.
• Company - Of course a company's quality determines the price of a figurine and how much PVC from them costs. As with stocks, it generally helps to use an index when comparing figurines from multiple companies. Good Smile Company is a group which has the most subsidiaries and is a great comparison tool for a lot of other companies out there, but it isn't the best company for your specific needs. In other words, GSC is sort of the "middle" ground when it comes to comparing prices. Ques-Q and Broccoli (anime/visual novel figurines) charge an arm and a leg for a 1/8 scale, but also are the best group when it comes to comparing high end prices. Because the quality is not as great from these companies, you can use them to gauge what a good price is for what you think is appropriate for a 1/8 scale. Since most figurines are scaled at 1/8, it's a good comparative tool.

Now normally a lot of buyers assume the prices based on where you live is a fair price, but what a lot of them fail to realize is the exchange rate of a 1:1 ratio and the shipping cost of the figurine outside the continent. 100 euro is a lot more than 10,000 yen, and that isn't even including the shipping cost. On the contrary, Chinese sellers are almost 100% of the time bootleggers, meaning research is extremely important when it comes to looking up the price of a Japanese figurine. In fact, it's honestly important for any Japanese otaku purchase. At the end of the day, knowing what an item is priced at can help you find the best deal. It's important to consider a lot of things when it comes to figurine purchases, more so otaku purchases. Like investments in a retirement plan, being knowledgeable and knowing when its appropriate to ask questions is helpful.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

[Fiddle]

Will prolonged contact with semen cause my figures to deteriorate over time?

[Dergonu]

Awesome post

I´ve been meaning to buy some figurines to spice up my room but its kind of confusing to navigate without any knowledge on the subject.

 

I have a question, to start of I´d like a hatsune miku figure. Do you know if its possible to find a hatsune miku infinity figure in the range 150-200 dollars?

[OriginalRen]

You know, I really wish the posts I made were taken somewhat seriously.

[SilverLi]

I like figures. But the shipping to Europe and tariffs in my country are killing me. Let's say I buy stuff for 100 euros. Add additional 50 euros for shipping and tariff. A not planned raise of ~50% every time is ridiculous. A nice post anyway Ren.

[Thomas]

very good post Ren

1 hour ago, SilverLi said:

I like figures. But the shipping to Europe and tariffs in my country are killing me. Let's say I buy stuff for 100 euros. Add additional 50 euros for shipping and tariff. A not planned raise of ~50% every time is ridiculous. A nice post anyway Ren.

Yeah this This is stupid, everything you buy outside the borders of EU is taxed like hell.  If you pay more than 100 dollars or euros they jump on it and you have to pay sales tax and

allot of other fees, so if anyone know any good shops in Europe please tell me

[Monmon]

3 hours ago, Thomas said:

so if anyone know any good shops in Europe please tell me

have u tried https://otakumode.com/shop ? They have free shipping if you purchase any items over 100 usd. I`m not sure about europe but it works for customers in Australia.

[OriginalRen]

42 minutes ago, Monmon said:

have u tried https://otakumode.com/shop ? They have free shipping if you purchase any items over 100 usd. I`m not sure about europe but it works for customers in Australia.

The problem with free shipping is the atrocious amount of time it takes to arrive without tracking. Waiting an entire month for a single item is completely ridiculous in my opinion. That, and you have no way to determine if the item is even safely in transit.