/toy/ - Toys » Thread #2939469

[112 / 14 / ?]

HOW TO BUY - JAPAN EDITION

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 08:52:59 No.2939469 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By:

New thread with final versions.

For the benefit of our guests from /v/ and anyone else who may seek to drain their wallets.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO Toy-Buying-Guide-2.png, 296KiB, 800x800

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 08:53:37 No.2939470 Report

Quoted By:

Second Part, with backup stores and Mandarake information.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO Toy-Buying-Guide-3.png, 117KiB, 800x800

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 08:54:18 No.2939473 Report

Quoted By:

Part 3 with exclusive purchasing.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO Toy-Buying-Guide-4.png, 106KiB, 800x800

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 08:54:51 No.2939477 Report

Quoted By:

And Addendum.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 08:55:20 No.2939478 Report

Quoted By: >>2939486 >>2939501

And the archived version.
http://archive xfiles to/toy/thread/2939469

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 08:57:02 No.2939484 Report

Quoted By:

Don't forget /a/'s buyfag guide, not as nice to look at though

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 08:57:06 No.2939485 Report

Quoted By: >>2939491

Can I ask a question here, or should I use the other thread?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 08:57:13 No.2939486 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939478
Neat.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 08:57:58 No.2939490 Report

Quoted By:

/a/ buyfag guide

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1Y1U5YDGrvgFW-5H_cBnDoHwCfWjPDaQ6p05-HJMcVh4&pli=1

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 08:58:25 No.2939491 Report

Quoted By: >>2939503

>>2939485
ask here, other thread is dead.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 08:59:33 No.2939496 Report

Quoted By: >>2939498

i'm banned from HLJ because i placed an order, had a family member die, and was too busy with that and never paid for the order when they sent the email with the payment request

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:00:15 No.2939498 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939496
That's an automatic system. You just have to send them an e-mail and they'll undo it.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:01:02 No.2939501 Report

Quoted By: >>2939509

>>2939478
>http://archive xfiles to/toy/thread/2939469
that lik doesn't seems to work

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:01:31 No.2939503 Report

Quoted By: >>2939516 >>2939527

>>2939491

How do you, in the depths of your heart, put up with companies fisting their consumers up the ass like this?

I just get mad when I hear about these limited runs and shit.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:03:22 No.2939509 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939501
Just put a . where the spaces are.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO IDU.jpg, 46KiB, 320x240

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:05:59 No.2939516 Report

Quoted By: >>2939520

>>2939503

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:08:40 No.2939520 Report

Quoted By: >>2939529 >>2939533

>>2939516

Maybe I'm reading into this wrong, but the companies purposefully create an extremely limited number of these to drive up demand and force you to BUY NOW, right?

Derringer !o9BVObgueE

Derringer !o9BVObgueE Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:08:52 No.2939522 Report

Quoted By: >>2939534

Oooh neat! And thanks for the little section at the end.

Though you know as an incentive for the U.S. and Canadian buyers, Bandai gets better sales data and feedback if you buy from a N. American store as opposed to importing from Ami-Ami etc. This is especially important as leverage for acquiring more licensed properties; i.e. all those web-exclusives and properties that have additional red tape.

I always see people complaining that companies don't know what the overseas consumers want...well that's because they get their data from overseas stores. We're a little better in that we also allow Bandai to see direct consumer feedback via our facebook.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:11:23 No.2939527 Report

Quoted By: >>2939545

>>2939503

Believe it or not, the current system is a huge, huge improvement over what it was a couple of years ago. Back in 2010 or so, Figmas went up for preorder in batches of a given amount (say, a few thousand), and if you couldn't get one, you were fucked. For most popular characters, this took less than five minutes. Now you actually have several months to place a preorder, and they determine the number of figures made by the number of preorders rather than the other way 'round. With Bandai stuff, they still use the designated-amount system, but they now have a US distributor, so if you miss out on a Figuarts or D-arts or whatever, you can just get it at an American webshop for roughly the same price.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:11:53 No.2939529 Report

Quoted By: >>2939545

>>2939520
You're definitely reading into this wrong.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:13:38 No.2939533 Report

Quoted By: >>2939545

>>2939520

Not really. It's more that they determine the quantity made by the number of preorders. This prevents them from having piles of unsold figures, but it also makes it hard to get a figure if you don't preorder.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO vile with bourbon.jpg, 35KiB, 453x640

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:14:04 No.2939534 Report

Quoted By: >>2939543

>>2939522
Just trying to make all the options known. It's partly to help people avoid paying ludicrous prices for the DBZ Figuarts and Vile, but yeah, I've been trying to shift as much as possible over to BBTS and the like partly for this reason. Tamashii Web Exclusives getting here easily is a lot of saved money on our part.

Wish we still had proper distributors for Kaiyodo stuff though that and Good Smile stuff would just make it so much easier.

Derringer !o9BVObgueE

Derringer !o9BVObgueE Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:19:18 No.2939543 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939534

Speaking of which I need to make this clear when Cell is officially announced.

All future DB Figuarts are now N. American exclusives. The only way you can get them outside N. America is via Tamashii Web. It's sort of an interesting reverse on the norm. Without U.S. market demand, there wouldn't even be enough demand to meet the minimum quantities to even be a Tamashii Web exclusive item.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:20:16 No.2939545 Report

Quoted By: >>2939547

>>2939533
>>2939529
>>2939527

So then... how do preorders sell out?

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:21:50 No.2939547 Report

Quoted By: >>2939549

>>2939545
They just lock them after a certain period of time so they can make the number that was ordered.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:23:12 No.2939549 Report

Quoted By: >>2939558 >>2939563 >>2939564

>>2939547

WELL

FUCK.

So, how awful of a markup am I looking at post-release for Samus?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:26:28 No.2939558 Report

Quoted By: >>2939565

>>2939549
Samus isn't an exclusive. While preorders are sold out now, after she releases you'll probably be able to get her easily.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO custom burger saber.jpg, 100KiB, 640x800

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:30:14 No.2939563 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939549
Within the first few weeks, you'll almost assuredly have multiple chances to get her. Hang around here until the end of the month. If you see any threads started by General Noodles (with some sort of pictograph in between his names) that says something like "GOOD SMILE DELAYS" you'll get a release date or "delayed to next month"

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:30:23 No.2939564 Report

Quoted By: >>2939577

>>2939549

Depends. My advice would be to trawl the fuck out of HLJ, Amiami, Hobby Search, and Mandarake in the week or so after she comes up. It's pretty common for even popular Figmas to pop up at least once or twice during that time. Back when Figma Kyoko (who was underproduced due to manufacturing difficulties) came out in April, everyone was freaking out about how they'd never get one and that they were being sold for buttrape prices second hand, but three days later, she was available on HLJ for the normal price for a good 36 hours. Just be patient and diligent, and you'll be able to get one.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:30:35 No.2939565 Report

Quoted By: >>2939577 >>2939584 >>2939586 >>2943420

>>2939558

WELL

COOL.

One more question, and this is completely honest:

How does one justify spending >$100 on a figure?\

I want this

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=FIG-MOE-5776&page=top%2Fsearch%2Flist%3Fs_original
title%3DPanty+%EF%BC%86+Stocking+with+Garterbelt%24pagemax%3D100%24getcnt%3D0%24pagecnt%3D1

But that's a lot of yens. How do I talk myself into it?

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO hnngh yukimura cute my heart chest.gif, 3MiB, 594x366

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:38:06 No.2939577 Report

Quoted By: >>2939589 >>2939740

>>2939564
>>2939565
Okay.

Guys. I didn't put this in the document because these people have enough server issues as it is, but here. Familiarize yourself with this. It has gotten me exactly what I wanted many times. It only doesn't work with stuff that sells out INSTANTLY like Figuarts pre-orders and the Super Best Kamen Rider Belts.
http://www.figinstock.com/

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:39:15 No.2939582 Report

Quoted By: >>2939588

Just want to add that HS's cancellation policy was changed awhile back and is a litlte stricter now. May want to update the original post.

Aquacadet !MFDldCyNdk

Aquacadet !MFDldCyNdk Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:41:34 No.2939584 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939565
I just think about what I'd use that money for if I wasn't buying toys.

Don't buy a $100 figure if you can't afford it. And, if you can afford it, how willing are you to buy it over something like a new book or game you want? If you want the toy / figure more, I don't think there's a problem. Just as long as you have all your real world expenses covered, as with any hobby.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:41:39 No.2939585 Report

Quoted By: >>2939588 >>2945097

Okay, first time ordering through Amiami for a Japanese-exclusive item. (I know, no problem selling to me, just the Azure Rathalos)

Do I have to add money from my bank account to my paypal account and then pay them, or can I just do it directly without having to convert it myself through paypal?

Also, they just send you a regular invoice, right?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:41:44 No.2939586 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939565
>How does one justify spending >$100 on a figure?\

Do I want it?
Can I afford it?
Do I want it enough to pay that price for it?

If the answer to both is 'yes', I buy it.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO Toy-Buying-Guide-1.png, 118KiB, 800x800

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:43:20 No.2939588 Report

Quoted By: >>2939596

>>2939582
Minor change that I can deal with.
>>2939585
If you properly connect paypal to your bank or card, you can just pay directly.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO CatCry.jpg, 13KiB, 240x200

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:43:28 No.2939589 Report

Quoted By: >>2939601

>>2939577

You...

You're so nice to me

Thank you.

Do you want to know anything about video games?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:46:27 No.2939596 Report

Quoted By: >>2939601 >>2945097

>>2939588

Even though I have no yen to my name, Paypal will just pay send the payment and convert it to yen with NO problem on my end?

Cool beans.

And, yeah, I have my account and card connected to my paypal, though I only have a debit card right now.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO its so cool.gif, 996KiB, 320x240

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 09:55:54 No.2939601 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939596
Well, yeah, basically. When it's time to pay, you just go to the paypal payment screen and switch currency to yen, they'll show you how much that is after paypal's exchange rate (which has a 3.5% fee attached, I believe).

>>2939589
I'm pretty set on video games, but thanks for the offer. My steam name is hiro_suri, but I basically keep nothing regularly installed, so... yeaaaaah.
(Also, spoilers don't work on /toy/, as you may have guessed.)

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 11:50:10 No.2939740 Report

Quoted By: >>2939747

>>2939577
So recommend the alertbox add-on for firefox instead.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 11:57:09 No.2939747 Report

Quoted By: >>2939757

>>2939740
This sends you an e-mail when you're not on the computer. Has saved me many times on my phone.

Also, this may not be the case anymore but at one point was, AmiAmi started blocking IPs that were refreshing too many times in quick succession when items went up.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 12:06:50 No.2939757 Report

Quoted By: >>2939762

>>2939747
Really? Mine refreshes once a minute and I haven't been blocked.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 15 Jun 2012 12:11:45 No.2939762 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939757
Well, it wasn't permanent, it just seemed like you'd be more likely to see a whitescreen during updates and miss out on Figuarts.

And the other being some people were setting i to every 15 seconds during those times.

The point of this being, even if the entirety of /toy/ was using it, I doubt the server traffic would be anything like tossing a good chunk of /v/ on it.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 12:30:54 No.2939781 Report

Quoted By: >>2939786 >>2939790

Asking the experienced toy buyers: Is it bad news to buy expensive toys of characters you know nothing about just because they look cool?

Kumakikai !!Ne/B76B9pFB

Kumakikai !!Ne/B76B9pFB Fri 15 Jun 2012 12:32:38 No.2939786 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939781
Not at all. We do it all the time. I've got plenty of toys of cool-looking dudes I know nothing about.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 12:37:58 No.2939790 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939781
That's the proper way to enjoy toys.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 12:40:05 No.2939792 Report

Quoted By: >>2939808

Just a quick question about amiami, is it worth combining orders by month? How is shipping cost calculated that way and does it increase the chance of custom/import fees?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 12:46:28 No.2939799 Report

Quoted By: >>2939808 >>2939996 >>2940153

Any fellow citizens of bagged milk land?
Do any of the shipping options besides Fedex (with which I know I am sure to be raped) charge ridiculous brokerage fees in Canada?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 13:01:10 No.2939808 Report

Quoted By: >>2939819 >>2940023

>>2939792
>Just a quick question about amiami, is it worth combining orders by month?
If you're patient and order a bunch of stuff each month, yes.
>How is shipping cost calculated that way
Well, going by my archives, a single figma is 1090 yen for registered sal, 2 is 1490, and 3 is 1790
>and does it increase the chance of custom/import fees?
If you're using EMS, yes.

>>2939799
I live in Canada and of the 7 EMS orders I've made I was hit by fees twice compared to none for the 12 SAL registered orders I've made.

I've never used FedEx or DHL so I can't vouch for those, but I hear DHL really rapes us canucks.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 13:11:26 No.2939819 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939808
Thanks a lot. Yeah time doesn't matter too much if it means saving some cash. Each of my monthly orders range from different figures, completes, nendos, figmas, so hopefully something similar to your example applies. And i always go for SAL unregistered, heard bad things about EMS. Again thanks.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 18:06:06 No.2939996 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939799

I've got hit with fees a few times using SAL, and a couple using EMS, but for the most part I haven't had much trouble. I prefer EMS due to the tracking feature and the speed of transit (though pretty much everything's slower than in the states).

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 18:31:17 No.2940023 Report

Quoted By: >>2940029 >>2940030 >>2940046

>>2939808
I live in the US. How bad of customs fees would I be looking at for EMS/RSAL?

∀nonymous !!3lJq8u66wnp

∀nonymous !!3lJq8u66wnp Fri 15 Jun 2012 18:34:24 No.2940029 Report

Quoted By: >>2940032

>>2940023

>US
>customs fees

Pick one.

Thankfully.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 18:35:25 No.2940030 Report

Quoted By: >>2940032

>>2940023
No customs fees in the U.S.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 18:38:43 No.2940032 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940030
>>2940029
Thanks for the quick response. What a relief.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 18:49:09 No.2940040 Report

Quoted By: >>2940042

Is it still possible to get rape face woody?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 18:54:39 No.2940042 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940040
He has become a bit rare and is usually hard to find at non scalper prices.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO no customs!.jpg, 267KiB, 443x659

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 18:58:34 No.2940046 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940023

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 20:33:15 No.2940153 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939799

i placed my first order yesterday using EMS. i dont know if this thread will be around by the time i get the shipment but i am curious if anything bad will happen. they already charged me something like 3500 yen so any extra fees will be a pain in the ass

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 21:38:56 No.2940226 Report

Quoted By: >>2940229 >>2940230 >>2950608

How much does the average figma weigh? Trying to estimate my shipping costs.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 21:41:23 No.2940229 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940226

HLJ has package weights on pretty much all their items (if you want a specific number), but it looks to be between 200-300g on average.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 15 Jun 2012 21:41:39 No.2940230 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940226
Just look at a listing that's already been released dumbass. They'll have the weight listed.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 16 Jun 2012 01:45:18 No.2940750 Report

Quoted By: >>2940755

Anybody know if AmiAmi lets you combine back-ordered stuff with pre-orders and/or in-stock items?

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 16 Jun 2012 01:46:07 No.2940755 Report

Quoted By: >>2940771

>>2940750
(And by pre-order, I mean stuff that comes out later the same month)

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Sat 16 Jun 2012 01:49:33 No.2940771 Report

Quoted By: >>2941116

>>2940755
Absolutely, no guarantee the backordered stuff will come in by the end of the month, though.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 16 Jun 2012 04:51:15 No.2941116 Report

Quoted By: >>2941677

>>2940771
Of course. I just wanted to know if they did come in before, thanks.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Sat 16 Jun 2012 09:28:46 No.2941677 Report

Quoted By:

>>2941116
Any time.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 16 Jun 2012 09:58:44 No.2941714 Report

Quoted By: >>2941720

just requested my link figure be changed to SAL

FUCK EMS no way am i paying out the ass

I doubt it will get lost or damaged

First time ordering from Amiami I messaged their email AND went to the contact us button and made sure that I did everything correctly.

so will the link figma be able to be shipped with SAL or RSAL? It didn't say the weight but I doubt it will be that heavy.

What is the average price of SAL shipping?

Jequin !!Odk0ssRAUT/

Jequin !!Odk0ssRAUT/ Sat 16 Jun 2012 09:59:30 No.2941715 Report

Quoted By: >>2941721

what if you live in hong kong?

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 16 Jun 2012 10:01:04 No.2941719 Report

Quoted By:

After years of EMS, I have decided to develop a bit of patience. SAL it is from now on.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO Shipping Addendum.png, 57KiB, 1120x500

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Sat 16 Jun 2012 10:01:16 No.2941720 Report

Quoted By: >>2941728

>>2941714
680-800 yen for normal SAL should do it, RSAL is the same but automatically tacks on 300 yen, I think. Maybe I'm wrong on that.

And no, Link will probably only weigh roundabouts 200g and the weight limit for SAL is pretty reasonable for figures.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 16 Jun 2012 10:01:51 No.2941721 Report

Quoted By:

>>2941715
Then go out into the streets and buy this stuff.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 16 Jun 2012 10:05:21 No.2941728 Report

Quoted By:

>>2941720
alright excellent I will gladly wait the extra weeks if needed

so if i buy 2 (one to keep) how much would people eat it up on ebay? Enough where I could keep one and get back what i spent in profit?

If i could get one free in the long run that would be awesome.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 16 Jun 2012 10:11:32 No.2941740 Report

Quoted By: >>2941744

>>2941733
Oay butt hurt bro , this is my first time doing this and i can't find the answers to some of my questions at the FAQS

I noticed the shipping price after I asked while the weight for Link was unlisted

Also the faqs will not answer my ebay questions either as I am relying on help from people with experience.

Sorry if I come off as some sort of brainless leech.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Sat 16 Jun 2012 10:14:58 No.2941744 Report

Quoted By:

>>2941740
For future information, check HLJ listings for older products of similar size. Most figmas are roundabouts the same size, but stuff like Charming Drossel and the Black Rock Shooter stuff is bigger and heavier.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Sat 16 Jun 2012 10:28:40 No.2941758 Report

Quoted By:

>>2941754
You did phrase it a bit harshly, but I see your good intentions there.

Normally I try to explain where I'm getting my information to help people along with exactly that, but I've been forgetting to do that lately.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Sat 16 Jun 2012 10:34:21 No.2941762 Report

Quoted By:

>>2941760
Not exactly? Just a little bit in that I can understand why someone else took it the wrong way.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 16 Jun 2012 10:38:39 No.2941764 Report

Quoted By:

>>2941760
Not when it's accurate. You done nothing wrong, keep doing what youre doing.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 16 Jun 2012 20:26:39 No.2942243 Report

Quoted By:

Bumpo

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO actual fuck.jpg, 69KiB, 270x540

Anonymous Sun 17 Jun 2012 02:19:09 No.2942846 Report

Quoted By:

I guess this is useful.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 17 Jun 2012 07:56:25 No.2943420 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939565
Here's how I justify that.
1) See the item you want
2) See the price, get either irrationally mad or sad
3) Realize that very few Japanese toys see much of a re-release(and when they do, it's usually somewhat different if it matters to you, and/or part of a HYOOOGE franchise)
4) Imagine the same price from #2 jacked up violently a couple of years later when the "collector's market" kicks in, as you snoozed and therefore lost.
5) Most important part of the question: is it still worth it to you?

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 17 Jun 2012 09:28:27 No.2943558 Report

Quoted By: >>2943564 >>2943688

Anyone have any opinions on Noppin vs Shopping Mall Japan?

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Sun 17 Jun 2012 09:30:32 No.2943564 Report

Quoted By:

>>2943558
I used Noppin when it was still Crescent Shop and the fees were a bit much, but they got me everything I needed.

Have never paid more for shipping than with them, but hey, mahjong sets are heavy.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 17 Jun 2012 10:55:32 No.2943688 Report

Quoted By:

>>2943558
Shopping Mall Japan is ok but they are not good for rush orders due to their deposit system.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 17 Jun 2012 21:22:50 No.2944201 Report

Quoted By:

Bamp

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 18 Jun 2012 06:27:53 No.2945097 Report

Quoted By:

>>2939585
>>2939596

This guy again, I just thought of something.

I don't need to have any money in my Paypal account, do I? I have money in my checking, obviously, but do I need it in my actual Paypal account?

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 18 Jun 2012 13:52:04 No.2945917 Report

Quoted By:

Oh hey, about shopping services to get exclusive items, have any of you guys tried buying from Mio Boutique Tokyo (mbttoys.com) or Big In Japan (biginjap.com)? They may be worth adding to the list.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 18 Jun 2012 15:26:32 No.2945943 Report

Quoted By: >>2945945

This seems to be the thread for questions, so I will try here.

Is ordering from Amazon.com trust worthy? Please forgive me if this is a stupid question but I have only ever ordered from HLJ and AmiAmi before.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 18 Jun 2012 15:28:35 No.2945945 Report

Quoted By: >>2945946

>>2945943
>if this is a stupid question
It is. But it's ok, we're generally the forgiving type here. Amazon is perfectly fine and legit. And in the chance something goes wrong, they have pretty good customer service that should help you sort things right out.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 18 Jun 2012 15:29:56 No.2945946 Report

Quoted By:

>>2945945
Much appreciated, thank you.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 18 Jun 2012 15:59:19 No.2945958 Report

Quoted By: >>2946237

How safe is it to buy second hand? I see stuff go at half price, listing the box is damaged but unopened. Can the stuff inside be damaged just from the box being damage?

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 18 Jun 2012 21:00:05 No.2946189 Report

Quoted By:

>>2945977
Well, they would, but only if it was something very old and almost unheard of in good condition.

Most anything anybody around here would care about was probably made after 1980 and wouldn't be relevant to this.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 18 Jun 2012 21:46:32 No.2946237 Report

Quoted By:

>>2945958

What the Japanese consider damage, and what Americans consider damage, are two completely different things. I got my Nasca and Skull Figuarts from Mandarake and they were both listed as 'opened, box damaged' and marked down decently and the only damage I can find on Skull's box is that some of the silver in the letters came off with the tape the first time it was opened. I can't even find damage on Nasca's box.

Trust me, you'll be fine.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Jun 2012 06:07:15 No.2947090 Report

Quoted By: >>2947096

How bad is HLJ pre-order system? I preordered a few things, one of which being the Moe Moe Zcune from Akibaranger. Are there going to be issues?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Jun 2012 06:10:21 No.2947096 Report

Quoted By: >>2947099

>>2947090
As the system is now, they don't group pre-orders by month and they will sell it out from under you if you don't hit "ship my stuff now" when it's in stock.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Jun 2012 06:15:14 No.2947099 Report

Quoted By: >>2950448

>>2947096
Wait, so they don't automatically ship pre-orders? Or like, if I stay up and click "ship released shit now" as soon as it comes out, I'm like sure to get it?

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 20 Jun 2012 08:02:23 No.2949613 Report

Quoted By:

BUMPO

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 21 Jun 2012 01:03:08 No.2950448 Report

Quoted By:

>>2947099
You'd probably get it, yes.

They still have to pack it up and people buying the in-stock items might snatch it. To put it plainly, if you buy it while it's in-stock on the site, you're getting it. If you pre-order, you are less likely to get it and it's honestly possible to never be informed it was ever in stock.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 21 Jun 2012 02:51:21 No.2950608 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940226
Got around to weighing some unopened figures:

Figma 095 Kos-Mos (big box): 340g
Figma 032 Cheerleader Haruhi (normal): 200g
Mobip Mugi: 260g

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 22 Jun 2012 00:07:15 No.2952435 Report

Quoted By:

Shit.

I think I need to update it because of HLJ's revised policy.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 22 Jun 2012 00:57:23 No.2952485 Report

Quoted By:

Can anyone explain their "ship all when available" status to me?

Does it mean "when everything is available we'll ship it all" or does it mean "we'll ship everything here that's available right now"?

Because I can't see how the former is helpful if you have preorders going out for months.

And if the latter, will this pick up preorders that are due out around now?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 22 Jun 2012 01:19:36 No.2952525 Report

Quoted By: >>2952539

I ordered something from madarake with SAL (possibly registered i forgot), i live in Virginia, and according to the tracking it has been in New York for 9 days. Is this normal?

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 22 Jun 2012 01:27:41 No.2952539 Report

Quoted By: >>2952549

>>2952525
How long was it between when it shipped and when it got to new york?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 22 Jun 2012 01:30:10 No.2952549 Report

Quoted By: >>2952559

>>2952539

3 days

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 22 Jun 2012 01:35:41 No.2952559 Report

Quoted By: >>2952566

>>2952549
That's actually pretty normal then. It's frustrating but how it works, a lot of the time.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 22 Jun 2012 01:39:41 No.2952566 Report

Quoted By: >>2952570

>>2952559

ok, thank you. I knew SAL could take up to a month, it's just annoying that it's a one day drive from new york to virginia. but I'm sure they know they have time to spare so it's low priority or something ://

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 22 Jun 2012 01:41:24 No.2952570 Report

Quoted By: >>2952575 >>2952588

>>2952566
Here's a related question, how long does it take for preorders to get from japan to BBTS, and then how long till they ship?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 22 Jun 2012 01:43:34 No.2952575 Report

Quoted By: >>2952578

>>2952570
2 months.
Though I don't know why anyone would buy Japanese stuff from Big Overpriced Toy Store...

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 22 Jun 2012 01:45:56 No.2952578 Report

Quoted By: >>2952588

>>2952575
Come on now, be serious.
Also I'm buying them there, because I got a sweet deal, and it evened out to pretty much everyone else's prices. More expensive by 5 or so dollars.

I just wish Joel would get back to selling things at slight mark up, if any. He still does on certain toys, until he realizes the popularity, and it skyrockets.

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 22 Jun 2012 01:49:24 No.2952588 Report

Quoted By: >>2952595

>>2952578
>>2952570
>>2952578
Depending on the items, he is being serious.

If it's stuff distributed by Bluefin (Figuarts, D-Arts, SRC and stuff) then it's the middle of the next month. If it comes out June 1st or June 30th, it'll be at BBTS around July 17th or so. Figmas can take much longer.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 22 Jun 2012 01:52:39 No.2952595 Report

Quoted By: >>2952603

>>2952588
It's bluefin, and it's vile+venom which are both tamashii exclusives coming out in a few days, and then there's juzo, who is already out.
So what , early next month then?

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk

Suri !!lEgt1p6znEk Fri 22 Jun 2012 01:57:46 No.2952603 Report

Quoted By:

>>2952595
Tamashii's stuff ships from Japan on the 1st of the Month and arrives at the 15th. Give it a few days from then to arrive at BBTS.

Not sure on Juuzo, since he's not being distributed by Bluefin. Super Sentai rights being with Saban and all.

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