Dakimakuras anyone?

Yeah, same here, but I'm sure there are a lot of people who weren't so savvy. J-List has a fairly large advertising presence; I've seen their ads on most major anime related sites and even a few that weren't really related. If someone is interested in purchasing anime figures but isn't really aware of all the options available to them, chances are they'll see a J-List ad someplace and get directed to them. Without any other exposure, they may think the prices are high but they won't necessarily put it on the ridiculous markup J-List charges, and just assume that's how much these things cost.

That's the main reason I dislike J-List. Their prices are absurdly high, but I'm aware of the alternatives and will happily shop elsewhere. But I honestly think that a lot of mainstream anime fans might come across J-List, thanks to their massive advertising reach, and be taken advantage of without knowing any better. I just think it's a pretty shitty thing to charge 50-100% more than the MSRP when the products are still readily available elsewhere.

The only purchase I can remember making off J-List is my Tsubasa-chan photo book. It was an instant buy for me, and one of my favourite items. The only reason I still visit them is for finding a gem like that, but I definitely don't have any sort of hopes. They're a last resort as they should be for most people.

What sucks is that JAST USA has partnered with J-List and I think Manga Gamer has partnered with them as well. It's nice that we're getting hard copies of visual novels instead of digital downloads (I hate digital downloads), but it's a shame they had to partner up with J-List. I ordered Demonbane direct from JAST USA when they first came out with the game and my order was shipped from J-List. That's when I knew the partnership was deep. I had an issue with the DVD being scratched and had to go through J-List with my support ticket.

Heh, I regret that my comment spawned such a derailment of this thread, I just got pissed after seeing the markup on the Houki figure. :P

To get us back on the subject of dakimakura covers, here's my newest figure.fm post. Still no front page, unfortunately, but today I did Illust Guerrilla:

http://www.figure.fm/post/en/42176/Dakimakura+Circles+3+Illust+Guerrilla.html

It takes awhile for your post to get on front page. It happened to me when I posted my latest loot post, but I eventually got the spotlight(:P.)

My last two posts have eventually made it onto the listing (once I had 10+ comments), but never the front page. As of right now, it doesn't even show up in the new post area. Whereas there are a lot of people who post and theirs is immediately on the front page. D:

Shit, I don't know then. The post from this recent post of mine is pretty far from each other, so it can't be based on how active you are.

I bought binder clips but just found out that it isn't big enough. fml.

Yeah, I read somewhere that your account needs to be approved before your posts appear on the front page, but the FAQ/Rules posts on the site are pretty worthless and I sent them an email about a month back and never got a response. I don't care that much, but I do the posts because I like raising awareness/sharing dakimakura covers and the only way they really get much exposure is if they pop up on the front page or at least show up in the listings (which is currently doesn't do.) So I have no idea what the deal is, but it definitely is a bit discouraging.

What are the binder clips supposed to be for? :o

I just continue to post anyway, whether it makes up there or not. It seems as though that most of the attention goes to rooms, figures, and random posts. There is only ONE person I know that seems interested in the dakimakura covers, and it is that user, "enkor."

I believe it was Kobun or Alamarco that mentioned using clips to hang up their dakimakura covers.

Yeah, I'll still post regardless. And enkor has posted on one or two of my topics and has actually bought his own circle dakimakura cover (from BonCool.) So that's definitely cool that we've hopefully been able to reach out and spread the love to at least one person. :D

Ah, yeah, pretty sure that's what Kobun uses to hang his. When I'm just snapping quick pictures I have a couple plastic clothespins nailed to the wall; they don't bite down as much as binder clips, so there's less risk of damaging the cover. Whenever I leave a cover hanging up for an extended period of time, I do the same except I use some cloth as a buffer.

I just saw your recent post on figure.fm and I noticed the clips you are using are the ones used for printing film pictures. What is your setup like?

My setup is really basic; I take pictures in my room, hanging the covers up on the wall about 10 feet from my computer. It could probably be done a lot more efficiently. In fact, when I first started doing it this way, I actually had problems getting the entire cover in the frame because I wasn't able to stand far enough away. But since you asked, here's my wall:

It looks nice! Those clips seem to be more versatile. I just set up my "clip holder," so I will need to wait for an hour.

Yeah, they're pretty cheap too; I bought two sets of 50 for like $6 total.

On another note, they're great for safely storing covers, too. I take the plastic bag the covers are in, loop the end of the open bag through a hanger, and then put two clothespins on the hanger. I can then hang the covers up without any strain on the covers, it's all being put onto the bag.

A very interesting way to store!

I just tested out my little setup, and it works pretty well. It is able to hold up the cover, but hangers are too close, so it is hanging a bit. Nonetheless, it came out nicely; maybe I might just have that Fatalpulse cover up. ;]

Btw, that Muv Luv cover you wanted is on Mandarake http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/en/item_s-989229.html if you haven't picked it up already.

Edit: Well I finally bit the bullet and took a shot at my desired comiket items.. 21k for the Oshiki Hitoshi cover, and 25k for the Essentia Cover + Full Set. Not terrible prices given what they've been going for, but more than I had been hoping pre-comiket.

Man, you got those cheap.

Essentia cover, the Asuna cover right?
I got the cover alone at 20.5k and another with the whole set at 28.5k
Currently waiting for my credit to restore so I can get a Oshiki cover and another with the full set.
My Damages have hit over 3k USD. God bless my soul.

What surprised me was Astro Creep's Asuna cover, that hit over 50k yen in bids. I don't really like it though.

Yeah the Essentia Asuna cover.

I didn't think much of the astro creep Asuna cover either, wasn't bad as such just didn't do anything for me. Saw it was on Mandarake at 40k for quite a while and sold recently too.

Dude, 3K?! Seriously? Over 235K Yen? That shit is crazy! Fire your maid, I'll work around your house if you've got that kind of cash to drop. ;)

Well, you wouldn't want to be my maid, she gets paid for less then 350 USD a month.

Good lord! Yeah, she can keep her job. LOL