A beginner’s guide to buying anime figures online

Most first-time purchasers purchase imitations since they cannot tell whether a shop is genuine or not. At times, buyers might not even realize that they have purchased a fake figurine until they come across a genuine one, and by the time they do, it is already too late. In general, the store that sells figures for less price is the ones selling fake ones, unless they hold a special promotion. If you are new to this world, here are some tips to help you out.

Pre-order the figure

If you want a figure, there’s a good chance that others want them too. If that figure is not yet released, it is probably a good thing to pre-order it as soon as possible. Unlike toys that are manufactured continually, anime figures are released often in restricted quantities. So, when the figure gets sold out, you will have a tough time buying one. Some shops even offer discounts for pre-ordering from their anime figures online sites.

Shop around

Not every store will sell a similar figure for an identical price, so you need to take your time to look at other stores that sell anime figures online before buying a figure. Make sure that you do not forget to consider the shipping costs. Stores that are not based in Japan, will often have elevated prices as they require importing the figures. These Japan-based anime figure stores cater to local and international customers, so you will likely find your figures with them.

Verdict

You must avoid stores that are based in Hong Kong and China. You should even consider avoiding eBay when buying anime figures online. These sites have figure collectors complaining about fake products with sellers who have over 90 percent ratings. On the contrary, you can opt for sites based in Japan since they often have new releases comparatively quickly, and they will have realistic global shipping costs.