Figure collecting help

C

callumj

Completely Average High School Student
Ive recently started picking up some modern anime figures
Could anyone recommend some shops/online store? also places to avoid? (fakes, bootlegs etc)

Some stuff that i want to pick up are the One Piece Figuarts Zero (main crew), Hunter x Hunter figma figures, Yu Yu Hakusho figures, Magi figures (not sure if there are any yet)
 
This video might assist http://myfigurecollection.net/blog/16625

He mentions all the big official Japanese sites that are safe.

Infact http://myfigurecollection.net/ is a great reference site, items with known bootlegs are flagged on their page with examples of the fakes.

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As for UK based stuff

United Publications are good, but you need to ideally pre-order as soon as it goes up as they can't always get stock otherwise

I've used Eye on Asia and they were good for in stock stuff, another user has mentioned a pre-order that never seems to have gone into stock though

Ixudeviance - http://www.ixudeviance.com/ - are good, I've bought 3-4 things off them now. Prices are good (higher than buying from Japan, but lower than when that parcel from Japan gets hit by customs) and they seem to have a decent range available, a backorder item was also fulfilled within a week.

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As for UK sites to avoid, the only one I've heard bad things about is Tokyotoys

For ebay watch for Chinese version or 100% new (because it should be 100% official/authentic)

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Edit

Looking at the Figuarts Zero line, those figures came out a few years ago, which in the figure world makes them tricky to pickup. You tend to have to pre-order or buy as soon as things come into stock as otherwise you end up being reduced to scanning ebay or similar.

http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/en/ is a reliable source of 2nd hand figures
AmiAmi also offer 2nd hand stuff with a reliable grading system

If you want new, they are out there, but then it becomes a game of scanning ebay and trying to find real ones
 
Rosencrantz said:
As for UK sites to avoid, the only one I've heard bad things about is Tokyotoys

For ebay watch for Chinese version or 100% new (because it should be 100% official/authentic)
Click to expand...
Tokyotoys is only bad for stocking fake goods, but figures are a different matter.

There's also a club on MFC dedicated to bootleg discussion with a thread that lists all the known bootleg sellers on eBay.
 
From my experience, short compared to some resources above (I buy quite a few figures)

I've had good experience from all Japanese sites I've used. that consists of CDJapan, amiami, hobby search. Customs charge is most likely but not always. I've only ever used SAL (cheapest shipping) and they arrive between 3-6 weeks.

I've also had good experience from ebay, there are good sellers on there but there is a lot of fake stuff, often they use real photos. having seen my first fake in a shop recently of a figure i own the original to, the quality difference is HUGE. If your after older figures sadly ebay may be your only option so be careful.

UK. ive only used eyeonasia, i've had about 5 pre orders come through in past few years and no cancellations however i am still waiting on one which is well overdue, and they claim to be having email trouble at the moment. their range has got smaller lately (or i just buy obscure ones) and their communication is quite bad in that they never update you of date changes. im not trying to put you off them though, as overall i have been happy with them.
 
thanks for the help guys, i guess importing from Japan seems to be the best option

Just a few questions is there any postage you would recommend and avoid?
also for import tax chargers does it have to be worth over a certain amount like £20? or is it just standard on most orders?
as I've imported stuff from the states before and only ever got charged import tax when the item was over £40 (haven't got anything in the last year so that may have changed)
 
callumj said:
thanks for the help guys, i guess importing from Japan seems to be the best option

Just a few questions is there any postage you would recommend and avoid?
also for import tax chargers does it have to be worth over a certain amount like £20? or is it just standard on most orders?
as I've imported stuff from the states before and only ever got charged import tax when the item was over £40 (haven't got anything in the last year so that may have changed)
Click to expand...

Stuff over £18 iirc is charged 20% VAT, plus a handling fee.

In my experience SAL has a chance to make it through untaxed, while EMS always seems to be hit.

As for postage to recommend/avoid, SAL is your cheap postage that can be quite variable in delivery time while EMS is pricey express mail service
 
From the HM revenue and customs website.

£0.01 to £15
No customs duty
No Import

£15.01 to £135
No customs duty
Import VAT due

£135.01 and greater
Customs duty due, but waived if the amount calculated due is less than £9
Import VAT due
 
Emulsion said:
From the HM revenue and customs website.

£0.01 to £15
No customs duty
No Import

£15.01 to £135
No customs duty
Import VAT due

£135.01 and greater
Customs duty due, but waived if the amount calculated due is less than £9
Import VAT due
Click to expand...

Wow, down to £15 now, that basically rules out any figure
 
Well my eyeonasia figure has now been sent :) Hopefully one day they start sending status updates, e.g. cdjapan & amiami does if a release date changes.

customs, it tends to be total between £15 and £30 for a figure when hit (depending on figure value obviously and sometimes I get 2 in one box). It seems to go through spells, I know someone here was saying they'd been hit a lot in a period where i'd been lucky. I think about 75% of mine get stung.
 
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