[Baltan II]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deathryuger

Even buying from stores like CSToys, Amiami, or HLJ is indirectly supporting Bandai, since it is the store who pays Bandai before we pay them.

By that logic, no one but direct buyers for those Japanese stores or the main suppliers are "supporting" Bandai, and at that point you're splitting hairs in this discussion. Those stores and suppliers place their orders with Bandai in the expectation that we, the consumers, are going to make purchases and allow them to remain profitable or they run the risk of being stuck with unsold stock to discount or toss out. In such a context, "supporting Bandai" would be ensuring that retailers continue to order particular products in large enough numbers to remain profitable and with minimal issue. One gaijin's purchase is merely a number, same as any Japanese fan's purchase, and in that sense we "count" just as much; the difference is that we have virtually no impact on the local stores (Mandarake is actually a good example of us doing that, as is CSToys, being a couple tiny storefronts) because we rely on the huge e-tailers like AmiAmi or the middlemen services, and we have little to no influence on overall Japanese purchasing trends.

There's nothing more I can add on for the original question that hasn't already been stated by this point. It's a neat perspective I think most of us don't typically consider.