Anime/Manga merchandise - Where/How to purchase

[Lord Il]

Until the latter part of last year I used to rely on buying Anime/Manga merchandise online through eBay. It was a source which proved convenient and reliable for me with being able to use PayPal to make safe payments. However, it goes without saying that most prices for such things on eBay are jacked up to the extreme because the sellers are obviously trying to get the highest profits they can get for... "rare" items. It was only by being ridiculously lucky have I been able to score a good deal on a few auctions. Not only can high prices be a problem, but you also have to be extremely careful of counterfeit goods. So I found myself saying, "There's got to be a better way to do this!"

So.. My newest prefered way to shop is through AmiAmi. Their prices seem remarkably low when compared to other online retailers. Just be very certain to get any pre-orders done for things you want as they can sell out very quickly! They provide good options for shipping methods to accommodate your budget as well. Service is very prompt and organised. I have nothing but good things to say about them.


Where do you do your shopping (online or otherwise) for figures, t-shirts, garage kits, etc, etc?
Where do you get the best prices and service?

What shipping methods do you prefer (EMS = fast) (SAL = slow). Do you prefer having insurance on your purchases to protect from loss/damage.
In your experience, any truth that using a cheaper shipping method can help avoid having to pay import taxes/duties?

[Duomaxwe]

http://www.mandarake.co.jp/en/shop/

[Soske]

I've been using Hobby Link Japan for 13 years and they haven't let me down.  The prices are kinda high now, but I think that's mostly because the yen is doing so much better than the dollar.

[Randamo]

I don't buy much I can't get easily, since I mostly buy Anime.

If I want something, I go onto Yahoo!Auctions and use a middleman to send it to me. I use Shopping Mall Japan. You have to pay them to do it, so it gets expensive. But if you buy several things they will keep it in their warehouse and send it in one go to save money on shipping.

Yes, this is for garage kits. You'd be suprised how many there are out there you never knew existed.

[Poey]

rightstuf.com has amazing deals/sales, I check them regularly to see if there's something on sale that I'm interested in. Other than that, I always go to Amazon.

[Inkwolf]

I don't buy much anime merchandise. (My barely-disposable cash is all going on Go equipment these days!)  I have an Excel Saga lunchbox I got from Rightstuf's bargain bin.  I have a Puuchuu hat and a cool Fujiwara-no-Sai gashapon keychain I got off Ebay, and a set of Galaxy Angel figurines that came in a box set with Disc 1, which I bought on sale for $7 on Amazon, after being tipped off by a guy on Yahoo Answers.  Oh, and I have a couple of Tsukikage Ran animation cels, also off Ebay, when somoene seemed to be unloading a ton of them reeeeaaaaallly cheap.

But I think that's all the merchandise I own

Thanks for the tip about AmiAmi, maybe I'll check it out and add something to my little collection.

[Duomaxwe]

Yeah I've got those figures as well, they're actually rather nice.

[Lord Il]

I feel bad not mentioning these guys earlier.  I really need to give them a proper shout-out: BigPfeiffer Collectibles

These guys are actually local to me. Me and my nephews stumbled upon them by accident nearly two years ago at a weekend market in the city. They have a nice, little booth set up every weekend with various figures, Gundam kits, etc. Their prices are reasonable and are very friendly to do business with. Want to know if they can get you an upcoming new release of something? Just ask them. Never hurts to ask!

[Lord Il]

Yet another place I forgot to mention - Anime Stuff Store.
I found out about them through ebay - they do some of their business there.
What impressed me the most was their level of customer service.

A few years back I had ordered a t-shirt for one of my nephews (I'll also mention it was the best priced of any other place). Close to two months later of not receiving it I sent them an email about it. It was determined that it was probably lost during the Christmas rush. They immediately sent me another t-shirt and I got it with no problem.

Good service is not dead after all!

[E^D Crow]

For hard-to-find, or Japan-exclusive Pokemon stuff, I found Pokevault.

Some of the rarer or more popular stuff can be way expensive, but I did buy a little Duskull plush and some Kabuto/Kabutops charms, for a very reasonable price (with shipping, from Japan, the total was under $50 US).

E^D

[MincyMatsu]

I got some friends who might find that useful, thanks for sharing..!