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Toy-Buying Resource: "Where does he get those wonderful toys?"
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! |
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(I couldn't resist - it's not Japanese, but it's still superheroes damn it!) |
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/ |
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? |
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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.
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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. |
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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.
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Thank you for making this. I'm sure it could help out many a fellow looking for henshin heroin.
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I'll also point out iShop2Go. They seem to be hit or miss when it comes to experience, but can often have products that are long sold out. I just purchased a TaJaDol effect parts set from them as I couldn't find one on mandarake at the time. Their shipping can be ridiculous on low count orders, but they've shipped my items quickly and they do offer Air Mail, which is nice. I'll let everyone know how my order goes once it arrives sometime next week.
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Thanks for the guide! So far I have only dealt with BBTS, loyalty of course. However still a bit shocked by the wait in the Gokai rangers. My point is green was only a few weeks from release date. No problem, he came with the Darin. We know that the Darins are packed with yellow & pink. I am abit worried about when red & blue come in this late, if they have their Darins. But in defense, BBTS has Never let me down before.
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Thanks to this site and this guide I was able to pick up the One Click Ranger Key set for a fraction of the ebay prices I have seen.
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Still, good experience overall. Excellent community, nice selection of products, and fast shipping. If they had a product I was looking for, I would consider shopping there again. Again, shipping charges are very high, but they have some products that have been out of stock for a while and it may not be as large a problem on bigger orders. |
Any buyers have experiences from Toy-Wave??
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I have a question about using Middlemen, such as Yokatta Shopping. When will I need to pay or specify my shipping address? After the item has arrived at their warehouse? Or immediately when I place an order?
Thanks. |
Anybody order from CDJapan before? They have Gobuster Ace in stock and I needz me one :)
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I haven't bought from CDJapan in 2 years, but I had no problems from them the few times I ordered from them.
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Does anyone know if you can view the cost of shipping on HobbySearch before actually buying anything?
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plamoya great fast shipping prices usually range from super high to complete ripoff but once in a while can find a decent deal in the sale section
http://plamoya.com/en/ |
I've ordered from toy arena before via eBay and didn't have a problem with them at all. I just ordered from there actual site and it was pretty easy and they do except Paypal for all transactions even preorders. You can pay at the time of the preorder or when it comes in.
Update: I just got my package in from toyarena.com and I'm pretty pleased with it. It was packaged really well the box was inside a mailer box with packaging peanuts in with it, the outside was was wrapped in bubble wrap and that was in a plastic mailing envelope. It arrived to me within three days of it being shipped. The only thing that can be seen as a negative is that, like BBTS, it takes them a couple of days to get you're item shipped. When I messaged them about it I had a response within a hour. So I would buy for them again without hesitation. |
Check out PhoenixofGlory on eBay. They've got quite a few new Figuarts for msrp and free USPS first class shipping. Would recommend!
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I ordered the Souchaku Henshin Mirror Monsters set 3 at HLJ over the weekend, and i just now found it at Mandarake for 1100 yen cheaper.
I've already paid for the HLJ order, and it's being processed for shipping, and their site says "In order to avoid mistakes and delays we ask that you refrain from requesting changes or cancellations at this point." Would it make me a douche if I requested to cancel that order? It won't cause a delay, as it's the only item on the order. I waited several days before placing this order, I wish I would have waited a couple more. :( |
If you tried, you'll probably just be told that they CAN'T cancel at this stage, and you're most likely screwed.
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Hmm, okay. Well darn, that's too bad, woulda been nice to save a little money, but I guess that'll learn me to not shop at Mandarake. Just need set 5 now.
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anyone know how to check the shipping prices on Mandrake?
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Yeah unfortunately it's a little difficult to gauge their shipping beforehand since EMS is based on weight (in grams) and they don't tell you how much the item weighs before packing it up. Here's a really handy link to get a rough idea of EMS shipping prices http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english/fee/intel/ems.html
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just to toss in my .02...
Anime-Island has been my main resource...decent prices...but they don't get some products first. Also have had good communication with the owners. I had ordered the SIC Side Basser and they were unable to get it, so they just compounded my deposite (20%) with another order. |
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Can anyone else vouch for Anime Island? I'd feel better with a second opinion before paying for a preorder up front. |
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Module Set 1 is 1000 yen at Hobby Search!
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10164366 |
My problem is I don't trust many online stores. If they're a national chain with a brick and mortar counterpart (IE: Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart) I don't have an issue. But if it's just online? I mean, I've ordered some ebay before. But only from people with that Best Seller's ribbon. But the only store I've ever ordered from is BBTS, and that's only because of the BBB icon on their page. I know I pay a little more, but. They're all I know. You know?
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2 quick questions,
1. If an item is listed as "back ordered" on Otacute, for example this: (http://www.otacute.com/index.php?mai...ducts_id=27620), then will thy get more in or should I e-mail them asking if they will get more in? 2. Is $30 new/MISB a good price to pay for this Kamen Rider OOO toy? http://plasticaddiction.tumblr.com/p...yra-occ-review Just figured I'd ask before I do anything. |
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I just ordered a Shadow Moon SHF for 58$ shipped from Muteki sales.
I never heard of them before , but i was looking up dealers at the New York Comic Con. I came across these guys and looked up their site , saw a few really good and rare SHF's on sale for amazing prices. Cyclone/ Joker , Luna / Trigger , Heat / Metal all for 40$. |
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