[Reigner]

This was an idea that's been swimming around in my head for awhile now. Wanted to provide a detailed list of websites, listing objective pros/cons of each to help others in buying their toys. I realize at the moment it might not be 100% necessary as most of the people who have joined already know where to get their toy-fixes from. But as the site grows hopefully this will help diminish the "has anyone ever had experience with toyapalooza.com.biz.infoorg" posts/threads and "that's so awesome, where can I get it!!" So this may deserve a sticky? If this goes against some sponsor agreement I'm not aware of then by all means, delete the thread and send me to bed without my supper. Also I have no intention of this turning into a "x sucks so bad, y is waaaay cooler" store bashing thread.

Amiami www.amiami.com
Probably considered the big site on the Japanese end of Toku-Toy buying. This site offers the best yen prices (about 25-30% off MSRP) on all their pre-orders and most of their in stock items. The site just went through a huge overhaul that finally allows for a decent bit of order tracking, which was probably one of the more frustrating traits of their ordering system. Their order system is unique though in that you group your orders by month and after the last item has come in they will send their payment request and mail your order. The huge downside to this site is their preorder windows. Despite it's size and popularity, amiami sells out instantly on anything popular in the world of Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, so if you dont know when to camp the site you may be out of luck until a re-release. Another possible downside is the fabled amiami blacklist, some go their whole lives without seeing it, others claim to have see it who aint. But the perpetuating rumor is that if you cancel too many orders with them then they will cancel your account and no longer allow you to place orders with them.

They do not require payment until your order is ready to ship.

HobbyLink Japan www.hlj.com
The other big Japan-based toy site. Reasonable prices (about 15-20% off) on their merchandise, but they hit that point where after SAL shipping, it's ALMOST not worth it unless you have other items bundled together. Be wary though, as their pre-order system is not a true pre-order. They will not hold your items, so if you put multiple items on the same order that release on different days, you will manually have to tell them to ship whats available or risk losing what you ordered. I've also heard the stories that they tend to allow more pre-orders than what they get in available stock. On the plus side they open pre-orders at a more North America convenient timeframe (at least they use to) and they tend to stick around a bit longer. Also I've noticed that they seem to get restocks more often than amiami.

They do not require payment until your order is ready to ship.

HobbySearch www.1999.co.jp/eng
I'll admit I dont use these guys too much so I dont have alot to say. Lowest discounts of the above three (5-10% off). They put up Pre-orders around the same time as amiami and sell out just as fast. They do however offer waitlists on certain items, where they will email you whenever an item either comes back up for pre-order or comes in stock.

CSToys International www.cstoysjapan.com
I dont know where to begin when explaining what is good about this site. Probably the best customer service of any of the Japan-based stores in my experience. Mr. S (I'm ashamed to say I've never known his full name) is very active and interactive on Twitter, Ustream and Youtube. He will Usteam his latest arrivals usually every Thursday night, toy demos Saturday afternoon, as well as the packing of your orders when applicable. New stock is activated on his store at a set time every week (usually 8pm JST Sunday) but sells out fast. Which brings me to one of my only negatives: He doesnt get enough in! CSToys is only a small shop and tend to only get a few of each item in at a time, so if you want your items, best be online at activation! The other negative being that he sells at retail price, so expect to pay. However; this is the only site listed thus far that regularly deals in any Gashapon toys such as Memories, Medals, and Switches. They also just started dealing in used Role-play belts, so keep an eye out for that past DX Driver whose prices you've been cursing at on ebay.

Payment required at time of order

Mandarake http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/en/
Dumpster Diving in the loosest sense of the word. Mandarake is a shop that deals mostly in "used" or "damaged" merchandise. And by used or damaged, I mean "someone cut the tape of this Figuarts box, or "This box has a packing slip stuck on it". The figures are usually in absolutely perfect condition. One thing to watch out for though is the store thats listing the item. Mandarake serves as sort of a hub site for about 4 or 5 different Brick and Mortar shops in Japan. As such, depending on the size of your order, you could end up paying shipping 4 or 5 times and get 4 or 5 boxes. When placing an order try to stick to one source store. Also, Mandarake will charge a 500yen service fee on any order below 5000yen. So if you close to that limit, might as well throw something else on the pile. They will sometimes list items that are in fact out of stock, however you can flag your order to cancel your entire purchase if something you really wanted happened to be the item that was no longer in stock. Prices range from standard to fantastic depending on the item. Tamashii Web exclusives usually end up going for about 2000-4000yen sometimes!

BigBadToyStore www.bigbadtoystore.com
A site that at the point probably needs zero introduction or explanation, but it's going on the list so I might as well try to say something. Prices are a few dollars above what a normal figure would cost+shipping out of japan, but if you have an active Pile of Loot this is usually not that big of a difference. Now I will say that I feel that they charge on the high-end ($80-$100) for any Tamashii Web Exclusives that they order, so unless you're desperate/loyal/whatever your reason, it's best to look elsewhere for those. Also expect to wait about a month after the Japanese release date as it takes them awhile to get their shipments in, and sometimes longer if you're looking at the Sentai figures. Also, BBTS tends to only deal with the figures, so don't shop here expecting candy toys, Gashapons, or Role Play items.

They do not require payment until your order is in stock.

Amazon www.amazon.com
It's...Amazon. They sell just about everything anymore, but obviously I can't say anything one way or another. It's Amazon.

Sites I know exist but have never dealt with so I have nothing to write up
Toy Arena www.toyarena.com
Big in Japan www.biginjap.com
Angolz www.angolz.com/store

Japanese Middlemen
"Oh man that figure looks awesome, wait, it's a Tamashii Web Exclusive? What does that mean? Can I still buy it?"

The answer is yes you can! ...Just not directly. For these items, and anything you may want off of Amazon Japan or Yahoo Auctions, you must go through one of the Japanese Middlemen. For a small extra fee, they will order these items on your behalf, repackage them, and ship them right to you! Other than a few exceptions, all money must be paid up front. In the case of an Auction, a down payment is usually required, though check out each individuals site for more details. Heres a few of the more well known (thus reputable) individuals.

OkinawamToySeller http://hobbyjapan.ocnk.net/ (allows for split payment at the time of order and the time he receives the items)
Rider Proxy https://www.facebook.com/RiderProxy-...2837681792557/ or email her at riderproxy.order@gmail.com
Tokyo Hunters www.tokyo-hunter.com
Nippo-Yassan https://www.nippon-yasan.com/
Anime King http://animekinginc.com/

Any addendums, corrections, or addtions, please feel free to let me know and I'll add them to the OP. Happy Shopping!

[Baltan II]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reigner

... by all means, delete the thread and send me to bed without my supper.

And don't forget you're grounded, either!

(I couldn't resist - it's not Japanese, but it's still superheroes damn it!)

[Watty]

As a bit of an update, RiderProxy actually does have a website. I think she started using it over the summer if I remember correctly.

http://riderproxy.com/

[ComicGuy89]

Thanks for the detailed list! It will be very informative for all of us.

Even with quite a few websites to choose from, Toku toy-buying is such a race against time that it gets frustrating. Why do Toku toys sell out so quickly?

[MetalSymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ComicGuy89

Thanks for the detailed list! It will be very informative for all of us.

Even with quite a few websites to choose from, Toku toy-buying is such a race against time that it gets frustrating. Why do Toku toys sell out so quickly?

Stores usually get limited stock from the distributors, couple that with a popular on-going series and you have yourself a shortage.

[Den-O]

Did I miss it or did you forget Mandarake? They've been extremely good to me in the past and they're really reliable. You order the item, they pick it up for you (or if it happens to be out of stock they notify you with a cancellation), then you pay for the item plus a handlers fee and shipping. I have nothing but good things to say about them.

[Suribot]

A note on Otacute:
Do not pre-order from them.

They don't require payment until your item is in stock, but they can and have changed the cost of items between initial order placement and item-in-stock, since they deal in dollars and not yen. In one particular instance (involving the Touhou Figma Sakuya) payment requests were sent out and then they sent an additional e-mail requesting an additional $10 as they did not properly estimate the yen amount.

If you buy in-stock items, there will generally be no problem, but their custom service has been described as feeling like a stereotypical yakuza shakedown. "We would strongly recommend you not escalate to paypal," "We do not take kindly to order cancellations" and things like that. My personal experience with them is minimal (and does corroborate this), but I have seen a LOT of this. Not recently, mind you, but I haven't seen much talk of Otacute at all lately.

Also, something to add on HLJ:

They are generally unreliable when it comes to first bonus items and if possible, shop elsewhere for that. They have been getting better recently, but until they start saying concretely if the item does or does not have it, I'd avoid for items like that.

[Shin Densetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suribot

Also, something to add on HLJ:

They are generally unreliable when it comes to first bonus items and if possible, shop elsewhere for that. They have been getting better recently, but until they start saying concretely if the item does or does not have it, I'd avoid for items like that.

Speaking of which, I got my SRC Dekarobo and SH Figuarts Gokai Blue from them late last month, and they came with the Darin and Slash Effect parts. I didn't know I was getting them until I saw my shipping confirmation.

[Reigner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Den-O

Did I miss it or did you forget Mandarake? They've been extremely good to me in the past and they're really reliable. You order the item, they pick it up for you (or if it happens to be out of stock they notify you with a cancellation), then you pay for the item plus a handlers fee and shipping. I have nothing but good things to say about them.

No I forgot Mandarake, small infodump added to OP.

[Crown Athlete]

Animeking: eBay and Amazon store. I've been using him for years. But if you are a MISB'er you may want to look elsewhere, he usually throws the item in a box without bubble wrap.