figure_shop
I ordered some Samurai Shodown gashapon, a Valkyrie Profile trading figure, and a Sailor Moon magnet from this seller. I've added this seller to my favorites because he has some really hard to find stuff at good prices, and he offers very nice discounts for combining shipping. He also upgraded my shipping to have a tracking number for free, and the shipment didn't take very long for an overseas seller. I can definitely see myself using this seller again.
Please keep in mind that just because I list a seller as a trusted eBay seller does not necessarily mean that seller has all legit products. It simply means that I ordered products from them that appeared to be legit and were.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
What Is Gashapon?
Perhaps this should have been the first or second post, but oh well. I created this blog to help people who are already collectors, but I've had a change of heart and decided to expand my advice to help newbies who may want to break into the field of collecting Japanese figures and toys based on anime, manga, and video games. This includes people who know absolutely nothing about it, and those are the people this post is for. Maybe this will allow me to expand my audience from one person to two (me being the one person).
So what the heck is a gashapon, anyway? Well, gashapon is an onomatopoeia for the sound a capsule machine makes when you buy a toy from it. "Gasha" is the sound of the the crank being turned and "pon" is the sound of the capsule dropping into the receptacle. Japanese capsule machines are very much like the coin-operated toy machines you see in grocery stores and other places in the U.S. where we all got those neat sticky hand whip things when we were little. Gashapon is also the name used to refer to the toys that come from these machines in Japan. Often times, these toys are figurines of popular characters from Japanese cartoons (anime), comics (manga), or video games. Other times they can be key chains, little noise makers called sound drops, or other little toys and gadgets. Gashapon are extremely popular in Japan because they're cheap, detailed and high quality, and small enough to display anywhere without taking up much space (until you have hundreds of them). The allure of collecting every figure in a series will keep you going back to the machine or trading with friends over and over, hoping to find the ones you're missing.
Often, the gashapon figures are also sold as blind box trading figures, meaning they're sold at stores, in little boxes, and you can't tell what figure is inside. It's basically the same concept as a gashapon, just without the machine. So the figures are still random and fun to collect and trade. Sometimes figures will be released only as blind box trading figures, because they're too big to fit in capsule machines. Blind box trading figure series often include secret figures that are extra rare, making the surprise that much more exciting.
Often, gashapon figures and blind box trading figures will be released as normal trading figures. These are the same figures, just not in blind boxes. You can see exactly what figure you're going to get before you buy it, and you'll typically pay a bit more money for it.
That's all for gashapon and trading figures right now. Next time, I'll cover plushies, PVC figures, and other collectibles.
So what the heck is a gashapon, anyway? Well, gashapon is an onomatopoeia for the sound a capsule machine makes when you buy a toy from it. "Gasha" is the sound of the the crank being turned and "pon" is the sound of the capsule dropping into the receptacle. Japanese capsule machines are very much like the coin-operated toy machines you see in grocery stores and other places in the U.S. where we all got those neat sticky hand whip things when we were little. Gashapon is also the name used to refer to the toys that come from these machines in Japan. Often times, these toys are figurines of popular characters from Japanese cartoons (anime), comics (manga), or video games. Other times they can be key chains, little noise makers called sound drops, or other little toys and gadgets. Gashapon are extremely popular in Japan because they're cheap, detailed and high quality, and small enough to display anywhere without taking up much space (until you have hundreds of them). The allure of collecting every figure in a series will keep you going back to the machine or trading with friends over and over, hoping to find the ones you're missing.
Often, the gashapon figures are also sold as blind box trading figures, meaning they're sold at stores, in little boxes, and you can't tell what figure is inside. It's basically the same concept as a gashapon, just without the machine. So the figures are still random and fun to collect and trade. Sometimes figures will be released only as blind box trading figures, because they're too big to fit in capsule machines. Blind box trading figure series often include secret figures that are extra rare, making the surprise that much more exciting.
Often, gashapon figures and blind box trading figures will be released as normal trading figures. These are the same figures, just not in blind boxes. You can see exactly what figure you're going to get before you buy it, and you'll typically pay a bit more money for it.
That's all for gashapon and trading figures right now. Next time, I'll cover plushies, PVC figures, and other collectibles.
Untrusted eBay Sellers: Part 1
sss_anime
I bought some Final Fantasy figures, some YuYu Hakusho figures, and some Full Metal Alchemist figures from this seller. They were all fakes, as I expected from looking at their pages. They were super cheap (the first tip off), so I bought them to take pictures of and use as material on this blog. Look forward to seeing them in the future.
Please keep in mind that just because I list a seller as an untrusted eBay seller does not necessarily mean that seller has all bootleg products. It simply means that I ordered products from them that may or may not have appeared legit and turned out not to be.
I bought some Final Fantasy figures, some YuYu Hakusho figures, and some Full Metal Alchemist figures from this seller. They were all fakes, as I expected from looking at their pages. They were super cheap (the first tip off), so I bought them to take pictures of and use as material on this blog. Look forward to seeing them in the future.
Please keep in mind that just because I list a seller as an untrusted eBay seller does not necessarily mean that seller has all bootleg products. It simply means that I ordered products from them that may or may not have appeared legit and turned out not to be.
Rules For Buying On eBay: Part 2
Rule #4 - Check the feedback.
Most sellers will have a high reputation percentage, like 99% or above, which looks good but can be deceiving. Usually the people who buy fakes don't know that the figures are fake, even after they receive them, so they don't post bad feedback. Even if the figures are fake, you really can't post bad feedback because of that, unless they actually lied to you on the item page. This is where the sellers get tricky, because listing an item as "Final Fantasy Dissidia Cloud Figure" does not mean that the item is official, simply that it's a figure of Cloud. Also, the pictures posted will generally be pictures of the actual bootlegs, so you can't say they cheated you there either. In the end, it's really your own fault for not doing your homework first. So while you can't rely on feedback to tell you whether a seller is a bootlegger or not, you can use the feedback to check other things. Ignore the high percentage, because it's probably loaded by fake or ignorant buyers, just scroll through the feedback and look at the negative or neutral ones. These will tell you the real story. If a few people complain that their products arrived broken, that should tip you off to be cautious. Official figures tend to be packaged in a way that completely prevents any chance of breaking from normal care. Fakes tend to break easily due to their cheap construction, and are generally not packaged to prevent this.
Rule #5 - Check the shipping.
Even if an item's price looks cheap, the sellers will often hide the item's true cost in the shipping fee. It is indeed expensive to ship items from Asian countries, and you can typically expect delivery to take about 3 weeks, but you should never be paying more than $10-20 on the shipping cost of one gashapon set. Most sellers will ship gashapon sets in bubble wrap-lined envelopes, and they don't cost that much to ship, even from China. If you buy something bigger or more delicate that requires a box, you may be paying up to $20 for shipping, but you should never pay more than that for a simple figure or toy. If the shipping is more than $20, you're getting ripped off, and if the seller refuses to combine shipping for the purchase of multiple items, you're getting ripped off even more.
Rule #6 - Get a tracking number.
Always make sure you get a tracking number for you shipment. You may have to specifically request it with a message to the seller, and they may charge you a little extra for it (never pay more than $4 for this), but it's worth it. I've ordered items that were said to arrive in a maximum of 21 days and have taken almost 2 months to arrive. If you have a tracking number, you can at least tell where your item is, instead of having to constantly message the seller to make sure they actually shipped it.
Rule #7 - Check the seller's location.
Is it China or Malaysia? Better do your homework before you order.
Most sellers will have a high reputation percentage, like 99% or above, which looks good but can be deceiving. Usually the people who buy fakes don't know that the figures are fake, even after they receive them, so they don't post bad feedback. Even if the figures are fake, you really can't post bad feedback because of that, unless they actually lied to you on the item page. This is where the sellers get tricky, because listing an item as "Final Fantasy Dissidia Cloud Figure" does not mean that the item is official, simply that it's a figure of Cloud. Also, the pictures posted will generally be pictures of the actual bootlegs, so you can't say they cheated you there either. In the end, it's really your own fault for not doing your homework first. So while you can't rely on feedback to tell you whether a seller is a bootlegger or not, you can use the feedback to check other things. Ignore the high percentage, because it's probably loaded by fake or ignorant buyers, just scroll through the feedback and look at the negative or neutral ones. These will tell you the real story. If a few people complain that their products arrived broken, that should tip you off to be cautious. Official figures tend to be packaged in a way that completely prevents any chance of breaking from normal care. Fakes tend to break easily due to their cheap construction, and are generally not packaged to prevent this.
Rule #5 - Check the shipping.
Even if an item's price looks cheap, the sellers will often hide the item's true cost in the shipping fee. It is indeed expensive to ship items from Asian countries, and you can typically expect delivery to take about 3 weeks, but you should never be paying more than $10-20 on the shipping cost of one gashapon set. Most sellers will ship gashapon sets in bubble wrap-lined envelopes, and they don't cost that much to ship, even from China. If you buy something bigger or more delicate that requires a box, you may be paying up to $20 for shipping, but you should never pay more than that for a simple figure or toy. If the shipping is more than $20, you're getting ripped off, and if the seller refuses to combine shipping for the purchase of multiple items, you're getting ripped off even more.
Rule #6 - Get a tracking number.
Always make sure you get a tracking number for you shipment. You may have to specifically request it with a message to the seller, and they may charge you a little extra for it (never pay more than $4 for this), but it's worth it. I've ordered items that were said to arrive in a maximum of 21 days and have taken almost 2 months to arrive. If you have a tracking number, you can at least tell where your item is, instead of having to constantly message the seller to make sure they actually shipped it.
Rule #7 - Check the seller's location.
Is it China or Malaysia? Better do your homework before you order.
Square-Enix Bootleg Comparison
These are real:
These are not:
Notice the differences in poses. Zidane is holding his weapons completely differently, as is Tidus. The fake squall has his right index finger pointed out, where the real one does not. Also, fake squall is missing the cloth on the right side of his pants.
Notice how ugly the faces are on the fakes, especially on Tidus.
Notice the colors are off on Zidane's weapons and in other places.
Buying Square-Enix Products
Square-Enix, creator and publisher of many beloved game series, such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest/Warrior, Kingdom Hearts, Star Ocean, and many others, also creates and produces many different high-quality figures and various other products associated with their games, right in Japan. Square-Enix DOES NOT outsource the production of their products. They used to many years ago, but not anymore. Unfortunately, this means that SE figures tend to be more expensive than others, since it costs more to produce them right in Japan, and the prices of SE figures rarely drop, but this also means it's much easier to spot a SE bootleg.
People in China can't steal their molds, because they never get them in the first place; however this does not mean that SE products are bootleg proof. A franchise like Final Fantasy is so popular that Chinese and Malaysian bootleggers will go to the trouble of making their very own molds to create their bootlegs with. The bootleggers will try to make their products look very similar to the official ones, but they can never get it quite right. Due to this, it's much easier to spot a SE bootleg compared to those made with the original molds. Just find the pictures of the official products, on SE's own website (square-enix-shop.com), even, and compare them to the pictures on the eBay page. You'll notice glaring difference between the reals and fakes.
Really, there isn't much reason to buy SE products from eBay at all, unless they aren't being sold on SE's website anymore, since the prices aren't going to change much. If you do decide to buy a SE product on eBay, however, just make sure the seller is in Japan or America and always compare the photos. There is almost no reason for Chinese or Malaysian sellers to even be in possession of mass quantities of SE products, so if the seller is from one of those countries, you're likely looking at a bootleg.
People in China can't steal their molds, because they never get them in the first place; however this does not mean that SE products are bootleg proof. A franchise like Final Fantasy is so popular that Chinese and Malaysian bootleggers will go to the trouble of making their very own molds to create their bootlegs with. The bootleggers will try to make their products look very similar to the official ones, but they can never get it quite right. Due to this, it's much easier to spot a SE bootleg compared to those made with the original molds. Just find the pictures of the official products, on SE's own website (square-enix-shop.com), even, and compare them to the pictures on the eBay page. You'll notice glaring difference between the reals and fakes.
Really, there isn't much reason to buy SE products from eBay at all, unless they aren't being sold on SE's website anymore, since the prices aren't going to change much. If you do decide to buy a SE product on eBay, however, just make sure the seller is in Japan or America and always compare the photos. There is almost no reason for Chinese or Malaysian sellers to even be in possession of mass quantities of SE products, so if the seller is from one of those countries, you're likely looking at a bootleg.
How Are Bootlegs Made?
Most bootlegs come from China or Malaysia. China is a hotspot for bootlegging because, like many companies from all around the world, most of the manufacturers of gashapon and other figures outsource their production to factories in China. The molds and designs are made in Japan, and then they're sent to China, where the factories pump out the figures and ship them back to Japan for very low costs. The problem is that there are very few rules regulating the Chinese factories, and there are plenty of bad apples among the workers.
When the production line for a certain figure is complete, these bad apples steal the molds from the factories and use them to create their own bootleg figures that can look very similar to the real ones. Since they're using the same molds, the shapes of the figures tend to be identical, but the plastic that the bootleggers use is often much cheaper and lower quality. The molds also don't cover the coloring of the figures, just the shaping, so the bootleggers are left to do the painting by their own means, and often do a fairly shoddy job, getting colors wrong and coloring "outside the lines," so to speak. Also, when there is Japanese writing on the figures, the bootleggers often get the characters wrong.
Another problem for bootleggers is that they don't always manage to obtain the molds for the bases of the figures. Because of this, many bootlegs are sold without bases entirely, or with custom-made bases that may not fit the figure properly.
Yet another problem is that the bootleggers have a tough time recreating the boxes and papers that may come with a figure. For this reason, most bootlegs don't come with boxes at all, but some may come with custom-made boxes that again are much cheaper and lower quality than the originals. These boxes are often made of very thin cardboard and the pictures printed on the boxes are often straight copies of the originals that are blurry and sometimes crooked.
So does this mean you should never order any toys from China or Malaysia? Not necessarily. In fact, most figures you buy on eBay will be coming from China, regardless of whether they're legit. It is very rare to find sellers from Japan. Sometimes people will sell the legit figures straight from the real factories, and the figures may even be cheaper because of this. It's all about knowing how to spot the bootlegs before you buy them, so pay attention to my eBay buying tips in the past and future.
When the production line for a certain figure is complete, these bad apples steal the molds from the factories and use them to create their own bootleg figures that can look very similar to the real ones. Since they're using the same molds, the shapes of the figures tend to be identical, but the plastic that the bootleggers use is often much cheaper and lower quality. The molds also don't cover the coloring of the figures, just the shaping, so the bootleggers are left to do the painting by their own means, and often do a fairly shoddy job, getting colors wrong and coloring "outside the lines," so to speak. Also, when there is Japanese writing on the figures, the bootleggers often get the characters wrong.
Another problem for bootleggers is that they don't always manage to obtain the molds for the bases of the figures. Because of this, many bootlegs are sold without bases entirely, or with custom-made bases that may not fit the figure properly.
Yet another problem is that the bootleggers have a tough time recreating the boxes and papers that may come with a figure. For this reason, most bootlegs don't come with boxes at all, but some may come with custom-made boxes that again are much cheaper and lower quality than the originals. These boxes are often made of very thin cardboard and the pictures printed on the boxes are often straight copies of the originals that are blurry and sometimes crooked.
So does this mean you should never order any toys from China or Malaysia? Not necessarily. In fact, most figures you buy on eBay will be coming from China, regardless of whether they're legit. It is very rare to find sellers from Japan. Sometimes people will sell the legit figures straight from the real factories, and the figures may even be cheaper because of this. It's all about knowing how to spot the bootlegs before you buy them, so pay attention to my eBay buying tips in the past and future.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Not All Bootlegs Are Created Equal
I just want to make a quick note that if you don't collect with the intention of reselling, and you don't care about the worth of your figures, or whether they're legit, and you don't care about supporting the companies who originally created the products, and you just want to create a decent-looking display of figures for a very low price, then by all means, buy bootlegs. They do have the advantage of being significantly cheaper than the real things, and they don't always look too bad. I have a few bootlegs myself (err... purchased for research purposes, of course) that actually look almost identical to the originals and have found nice places for display in my room. Many bootlegs do look like crap, feel like crap, fall apart, and are just all-around bad toys, but if you're looking to save money and never gain any, you can always take your chances.
Trusted eBay Sellers: Part 2
figure_house
boomingisland
I bought a Revoltech Gurren Lagann figure from one of these buyers and a set of Valkyrie Profile figures from the other (I don't remember which items I got from which seller). They all arrived in great condition and were definitely legit. The Gurren Lagann one was even suspicious, since it was extremely cheap, but it turned out to be the real thing, so I guess it is possible to find really good deals every now and then. Revoltech figures are pretty safe, anyway, since they would be extremely difficult to duplicate.
Please keep in mind that just because I list a seller as a trusted eBay seller does not necessarily mean that seller has all legit products. It simply means that I ordered products from them that appeared to be legit and were.
boomingisland
I bought a Revoltech Gurren Lagann figure from one of these buyers and a set of Valkyrie Profile figures from the other (I don't remember which items I got from which seller). They all arrived in great condition and were definitely legit. The Gurren Lagann one was even suspicious, since it was extremely cheap, but it turned out to be the real thing, so I guess it is possible to find really good deals every now and then. Revoltech figures are pretty safe, anyway, since they would be extremely difficult to duplicate.
Please keep in mind that just because I list a seller as a trusted eBay seller does not necessarily mean that seller has all legit products. It simply means that I ordered products from them that appeared to be legit and were.
Rules For Buying On eBay: Part 1
So eBay seems like a great place to buy new toys, right? The selection is huge, you can find just about anything, the prices seem cheap, and it's just oh-so-easy. Unfortunately, it's never quite so simple when it comes to collecting, well, pretty much anything. If you have any intention of reselling your toys for a profit someday, you need to make sure you get the real toys, not one of many knock-offs, bootlegs, fakes, frauds, phonies, unlicensed toys, or whatever you want to call them. It can be easy to spot a fake when you're holding it in your hand (I'll tell you how later), but spotting one on an eBay seller's page is another story. I'll get you started with a few simple tips in this post, and I'll go into more depth in later posts.
So, here are a few simple rules for buying on eBay:
Rule #1 - If a deal sounds too good to be true, it ain't.
You're going to be seeing a lot of great-looking deals on eBay. You'll see figure sets that have been out of production for 10 years, overstocked and selling for 10 bucks. 98% of the time, these are bootlegs. Research the figures if you need to, see how long they've been out of production, how much they're selling for from trusted sites, if possible, and compare the price to those of other eBay sellers. Most importantly, just use common sense.
Rule #2 - Check the manufacturer.
Look at the manufacturer of the toys. Companies like Square-Enix, Yujin, and Bandai are big makers. If the items are bootlegs, the seller will almost never list a manufacturer on the item page. The sellers like to try and trick you, but rarely will they flat out lie to you, otherwise they risk suffering a number of eBay penalties. Just run a quick google search for the item(s) you want to buy, or try finding the item(s) on play-asia.com. Play-Asia keeps product pages on their site, even long after the item has gone out of stock and out of production. This makes the website a useful database. Play-Asia does not sell bootlegs (or at least I've never heard of any instance where they have), so you can be assured that the appropriate info for your item(s) will be there if the item has a page.
Rule #3 - Check the photos.
First of all, never buy anything without a photo, period. If the photo is too small or blurry to see clearly, it's likely a trick, and I wouldn't advise buying that item. Look up photos of the real figures (again, on play-asia or just with a google search) and compare the photos to the ones on the eBay page. Bootlegs will often have noticeable differences that I'll go into more depth on later. The biggest differences will be shoddier paint jobs, incorrect colors, slightly different poses, or cheaper plastic and shoddy sculpting.
So, here are a few simple rules for buying on eBay:
Rule #1 - If a deal sounds too good to be true, it ain't.
You're going to be seeing a lot of great-looking deals on eBay. You'll see figure sets that have been out of production for 10 years, overstocked and selling for 10 bucks. 98% of the time, these are bootlegs. Research the figures if you need to, see how long they've been out of production, how much they're selling for from trusted sites, if possible, and compare the price to those of other eBay sellers. Most importantly, just use common sense.
Rule #2 - Check the manufacturer.
Look at the manufacturer of the toys. Companies like Square-Enix, Yujin, and Bandai are big makers. If the items are bootlegs, the seller will almost never list a manufacturer on the item page. The sellers like to try and trick you, but rarely will they flat out lie to you, otherwise they risk suffering a number of eBay penalties. Just run a quick google search for the item(s) you want to buy, or try finding the item(s) on play-asia.com. Play-Asia keeps product pages on their site, even long after the item has gone out of stock and out of production. This makes the website a useful database. Play-Asia does not sell bootlegs (or at least I've never heard of any instance where they have), so you can be assured that the appropriate info for your item(s) will be there if the item has a page.
Rule #3 - Check the photos.
First of all, never buy anything without a photo, period. If the photo is too small or blurry to see clearly, it's likely a trick, and I wouldn't advise buying that item. Look up photos of the real figures (again, on play-asia or just with a google search) and compare the photos to the ones on the eBay page. Bootlegs will often have noticeable differences that I'll go into more depth on later. The biggest differences will be shoddier paint jobs, incorrect colors, slightly different poses, or cheaper plastic and shoddy sculpting.
Trusted eBay Sellers: Part 1
ababab2008
wonderonlinestore
I bought two different sets of fairly old Fire Emblem gashapon from these sellers. The sets arrived brand new, still in their plastic, and even came with their little paper slips that show all the figures in the series.
Please note that just because I list a seller as a trusted eBay seller does not necessarily mean that seller has all legit products. It simply means that I ordered products from them that appeared to be legit and were.
wonderonlinestore
I bought two different sets of fairly old Fire Emblem gashapon from these sellers. The sets arrived brand new, still in their plastic, and even came with their little paper slips that show all the figures in the series.
Please note that just because I list a seller as a trusted eBay seller does not necessarily mean that seller has all legit products. It simply means that I ordered products from them that appeared to be legit and were.
Standard Prices
This is something I should have mentioned in the last post but forgot about. I suppose it may be better off with its own post, anyhow. Standard prices you should expect to pay for new toys or slightly older toys that aren't extremely rare:
Gashapon/capsule figures: $4 - $8
Gashapon/capsule key chains or smaller figures: $1 - $4
Blind box trading figures about the size of standard gashapon figures: $4 - $8
Blind box trading figures that are larger and clearly would never fit in a capsule: $6 - $12
Trading figures not in blind boxes: $6 - $20
Gashapon or trading figure sets of 4-6 figures: $15 - $25
Regular-sized plushies: $5 - $10
PVC figures: $25 - $150 (The prices on these vary greatly, depending on the complexity and size of the figure. These are the ultimate in quality and detail, however, and you can generally be sure you're getting what you pay for.)
Revoltech figures: $10 - $35
Model kits: $8 - $150 (Again, these vary greatly. More info below.)
Standard grade 1/144 scale model kit: $8 - $10
High grade 1/100 scale model kit: $20 - $30
Master grade 1/60 scale model kit: $30 - $60
Perfect grade model kit: $80 - $150
Note about buying models: Models can be much easier to find than normal figures as they tend to see actual North American releases. 99% of the time, the North American releases of the models are exactly the same as the Japanese kits, save for the writing on the box, so feel free to buy them. The North American releases can often be found at normal toy stores likes Toys R' Us, or even Wal-Mart and Target. Gundam models are the most common.
Note about Square-Enix figures: If you're buying any figures produced by Square-Enix (Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, etc.), expect them to cost much more than the prices quoted above. Square-Enix is one of the few companies that produces all of its products in Japan, and doesn't outsource its work to other parts of Asia. This means they tend to be higher quality and easier to find (square-enix-shop.com), but also more expensive.
Gashapon/capsule figures: $4 - $8
Gashapon/capsule key chains or smaller figures: $1 - $4
Blind box trading figures about the size of standard gashapon figures: $4 - $8
Blind box trading figures that are larger and clearly would never fit in a capsule: $6 - $12
Trading figures not in blind boxes: $6 - $20
Gashapon or trading figure sets of 4-6 figures: $15 - $25
Regular-sized plushies: $5 - $10
PVC figures: $25 - $150 (The prices on these vary greatly, depending on the complexity and size of the figure. These are the ultimate in quality and detail, however, and you can generally be sure you're getting what you pay for.)
Revoltech figures: $10 - $35
Model kits: $8 - $150 (Again, these vary greatly. More info below.)
Standard grade 1/144 scale model kit: $8 - $10
High grade 1/100 scale model kit: $20 - $30
Master grade 1/60 scale model kit: $30 - $60
Perfect grade model kit: $80 - $150
Note about buying models: Models can be much easier to find than normal figures as they tend to see actual North American releases. 99% of the time, the North American releases of the models are exactly the same as the Japanese kits, save for the writing on the box, so feel free to buy them. The North American releases can often be found at normal toy stores likes Toys R' Us, or even Wal-Mart and Target. Gundam models are the most common.
Note about Square-Enix figures: If you're buying any figures produced by Square-Enix (Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, etc.), expect them to cost much more than the prices quoted above. Square-Enix is one of the few companies that produces all of its products in Japan, and doesn't outsource its work to other parts of Asia. This means they tend to be higher quality and easier to find (square-enix-shop.com), but also more expensive.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Where To Buy
Okay, so now you have a pretty decent idea of what's coming out, what's already out, and what you might want to buy. So now you just need to know where to buy it. Well, the best place would be from actual capsule machines or toy stores in Japan, but we don't all have those options. Luckily, I'm here to help you find the best deals outside Japan.
Like I said, you don't usually want to buy from play-asia.com. They overcharge and they tend to sell out pretty quickly, but if you don't mind spending the extra money, it is a good place to find new releases, and you can even pre-order. eBay is an easy way to find what you're looking for, even if it's something that's been out of production for some time, but eBay, and other auction sites like it, can be risky, since it's a hot spot for bootleggers, and it can sometimes be difficult to tell whether you're buying the real thing (I'll cover this in depth later).
Great places to buy can be local comic shops. Many tend to import toys to sell alongside their manga. Sometimes toy stores will have imports as well, but it's a bit more rare. Anyone who lives near the Crystal Mall in Waterford, CT can visit The Toy Vault inside the mall for a decent selection, but I doubt that helps many people... Anyone living in New York can look up the store HKT in either Pougkeepsie or Wappingers Falls. HKT is a nice import shop that gets all sorts of toys and always has a pretty nice selection. Atomic Comics on the west coast is another nice chain that tends to get in a decent selection of imports.
For the many of us who don't have a good comic or import shop nearby (myself included), anime conventions can be a great way to check out the newest toys and search for good deals. Use animecons.com to find upcoming cons in your area. Even the smallest cons can have a great selection in their dealer's rooms. I found a better selection of toys at my small, local con Connecticon this year than I did at Anime Expo, the biggest anime convention in the nation, so you never know what you're going to find. Conventions are a great way to compare price and shop for good deals, since it's likely you'll find more than one booth in the same room selling the same items. This also means you can haggle a bit.
If you just don't feel like leaving the house at all, you can always shop for your toys online. There are many reliable websites that sell our toys, but few have good selections and their stocks tend to change frequently, making them unreliable. hammergirlanime.com is a nice little site with good deals and very cheap shipping for orders over $25. The down side is, again, the selection is small and changes frequently. Still, it's something worth keeping an eye on. mugentoys.com is another one with a somewhat limited selection, but often has good deals, and even allows pre-orders on some upcoming items.
For those of you who feel you must resort to eBay to find what you need, do use caution, and be sure to read my upcoming tips for detecting fakes. Also, I'll soon be starting my list of trusted and untrusted eBay sellers. The list will include eBay sellers that I, or people I know personally, have ordered from and found to be trustworthy or untrustworthy, to help you sort out the bootleggers.
As you can see, buying gashapon and other figures is not so easy. Finding what you want at a good price from a trusted seller will always be a bit of a scavenger hunt, but that's really part of the fun of collecting, isn't it?
The Chase: Comic shops, import shops, anime conventions, hammergirlanime.com, mugentoys.com, play-asia.com (if you don't mind paying more), and eBay (with great caution).
Like I said, you don't usually want to buy from play-asia.com. They overcharge and they tend to sell out pretty quickly, but if you don't mind spending the extra money, it is a good place to find new releases, and you can even pre-order. eBay is an easy way to find what you're looking for, even if it's something that's been out of production for some time, but eBay, and other auction sites like it, can be risky, since it's a hot spot for bootleggers, and it can sometimes be difficult to tell whether you're buying the real thing (I'll cover this in depth later).
Great places to buy can be local comic shops. Many tend to import toys to sell alongside their manga. Sometimes toy stores will have imports as well, but it's a bit more rare. Anyone who lives near the Crystal Mall in Waterford, CT can visit The Toy Vault inside the mall for a decent selection, but I doubt that helps many people... Anyone living in New York can look up the store HKT in either Pougkeepsie or Wappingers Falls. HKT is a nice import shop that gets all sorts of toys and always has a pretty nice selection. Atomic Comics on the west coast is another nice chain that tends to get in a decent selection of imports.
For the many of us who don't have a good comic or import shop nearby (myself included), anime conventions can be a great way to check out the newest toys and search for good deals. Use animecons.com to find upcoming cons in your area. Even the smallest cons can have a great selection in their dealer's rooms. I found a better selection of toys at my small, local con Connecticon this year than I did at Anime Expo, the biggest anime convention in the nation, so you never know what you're going to find. Conventions are a great way to compare price and shop for good deals, since it's likely you'll find more than one booth in the same room selling the same items. This also means you can haggle a bit.
If you just don't feel like leaving the house at all, you can always shop for your toys online. There are many reliable websites that sell our toys, but few have good selections and their stocks tend to change frequently, making them unreliable. hammergirlanime.com is a nice little site with good deals and very cheap shipping for orders over $25. The down side is, again, the selection is small and changes frequently. Still, it's something worth keeping an eye on. mugentoys.com is another one with a somewhat limited selection, but often has good deals, and even allows pre-orders on some upcoming items.
For those of you who feel you must resort to eBay to find what you need, do use caution, and be sure to read my upcoming tips for detecting fakes. Also, I'll soon be starting my list of trusted and untrusted eBay sellers. The list will include eBay sellers that I, or people I know personally, have ordered from and found to be trustworthy or untrustworthy, to help you sort out the bootleggers.
As you can see, buying gashapon and other figures is not so easy. Finding what you want at a good price from a trusted seller will always be a bit of a scavenger hunt, but that's really part of the fun of collecting, isn't it?
The Chase: Comic shops, import shops, anime conventions, hammergirlanime.com, mugentoys.com, play-asia.com (if you don't mind paying more), and eBay (with great caution).
Monday, November 16, 2009
Finding New Toys
I want to start by solving one of the biggest problems I encountered in my early collecting days: finding new toys.
The thing about toys based on anime and manga is they're generally only produced for a limited amount of time while the game or series is at max popularity, then they're never made again. Even if a series or game is still popular, the toys may be out of production, or at least a specific series of toys will be. This is a bad thing, because it makes certain toys very hard to find even a few short months after they were released, but it's also a good thing for people who bought those toys for cheap when they came out, because their value increases quickly.
This means you need to know about new toys before they come out, so you can prepare to grab them before the price gets jacked up by overseas eBay sellers who might be shipping bootlegs (I'll cover those later). I've found the best place to find new releases is play-asia.com. Just click on the "toys" tab and look down the list to see new releases, upcoming releases, best sellers, bargains, and more. Now I wouldn't necessarily advise actually buying from play-asia as they do tend to overcharge, but I'll cover places to actually buy from in the next post.
The Chase: Use play-asia.com.
The thing about toys based on anime and manga is they're generally only produced for a limited amount of time while the game or series is at max popularity, then they're never made again. Even if a series or game is still popular, the toys may be out of production, or at least a specific series of toys will be. This is a bad thing, because it makes certain toys very hard to find even a few short months after they were released, but it's also a good thing for people who bought those toys for cheap when they came out, because their value increases quickly.
This means you need to know about new toys before they come out, so you can prepare to grab them before the price gets jacked up by overseas eBay sellers who might be shipping bootlegs (I'll cover those later). I've found the best place to find new releases is play-asia.com. Just click on the "toys" tab and look down the list to see new releases, upcoming releases, best sellers, bargains, and more. Now I wouldn't necessarily advise actually buying from play-asia as they do tend to overcharge, but I'll cover places to actually buy from in the next post.
The Chase: Use play-asia.com.
Gashapon-line Is On-line!
Welcome to Gashapon-line! This blog is intended as a resource for many things related to the collecting, displaying, maintaining, and selling of Japanese collectible toys based on anime, manga, and video games. Those toys include trading figures, model kits, PVC figures, plushies, key-chains, and, of course, gashapon, and any other random toys I may feel like posting about. I'm hoping this blog can someday evolve into a one-stop hub where all collectors can find any information they need about their hobby, or at least the appropriate links that will lead them to said information.
I doubt anyone is actually reading the blog at this point, but if someone should indeed happen to stumble across this blog and see my first post, then that person is in for a treat, because they can check back here frequently within the next week and expect to see several new posts per day. So give the blog a week, see what it's all about, and if you like it, tell your friends and come back for more!
I doubt anyone is actually reading the blog at this point, but if someone should indeed happen to stumble across this blog and see my first post, then that person is in for a treat, because they can check back here frequently within the next week and expect to see several new posts per day. So give the blog a week, see what it's all about, and if you like it, tell your friends and come back for more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
