Don't forget to add information from your own experience with buying figures (Just click edit and commit your changes).
General ^
MyFigureCollection is an anime figure collecting community where people share imags of their figures. It is also a data base for figures and can help with finding new figures or even aid in avoiding bootlegs.
Some Terms ^
Bootleg:
"Simply put, a bootleg is a figure that does not have any proper licensing or approval.
Generally, bootlegs are copycats (normally of lesser quality) of actual,
licensed figures which are sold to collectors or vendors under the guise of the legitimate figure."
Proxy Shipper:
Proxy-buying means shopping using a third-party to purchase an item on your behalf.
They buy the item and ship it to you in exchange for a fee.
The proxy shipper needs to be in the country of the product for it to work.
Where To Buy Figures? ^
The site MyFigureCollection has made quite a good list of their own, going over good sites to buy figures from approved by them. https://myfigurecollection.net/about/partners/
| Sites | Info |
|---|---|
| AmiAmi (Buy) | ✅ The website can be quite buggy and orders take quite long to ship, but it's still one of the better places to get figures. (In particular watch out for the order system. Make sure things are really in the order basket/ are ordered. And if other users buy a figure it can be taken from your basket. Package tracking updates are also bad.) |
| Hobby Galaxy | |
| Playasia | |
| https://www.suruga-ya.jp/ | |
| Ukiyo Kumo | |
| Akiba Soul | |
| Solaris Japan | |
| Good Smile Online Shop | |
| S.P.A.C.E | |
| SU GO toys | |
| Navito World | |
| Riot Games Figures | |
| Anime Figure | |
| Ebay | Bootleg risky. Eventhough there is a quite reasonable risk of getting a bootleg, one can get great figures if one is carefull |
| Amazon | Bootleg risky. |
| Ali Express | ⛔ Stay away! Almost all figures from here are terrile quality bootlegs |
How to Identify Bootleg Figures? ^
- Look the figure up on MyFigureCollection approved figure shop list and see if it says "Warning: a counterfeit version of this item exists"
- Check if images look like the originals, to find original images look on MyFigureCollection approved figure shop list for example
- Check if title or description of figure has any mistakes. Look for things like company name in title and be wary of generic anime figure text
- Make sure the price isn't to low vs the normal price of the figure
- Check location of figure, high chance bootleg regions are: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan
- Make sure seller has good ratings
- Real figures always come in a figure box
Proxy Shipper ^
Sometimes stores in japan don't ship anywhere else and a proxy shipper is needed. Some good options for proxy shippers (that can ship from japan) are:
Currency Coversion: 100€ = 105$ = 13.772¥