Do you by anime figures even though they are so expensive?

I have been wanting to get a figure of one of my favorite anime girls but they are all at least around a hundred dollars some of them in the multiple hundreds. Why do they make figures so expensive? Do you guys buy figures? How many do you have? Is there somewhere you can get cheap figures that I don't know about? I find it difficult to justify spending that kind of money on one. What do you guys think?

I think in expensive figure price is justified by quality.
I just started collecting figures myself and only buyed 3 so far (got few on preorder) and most expensive was around 300$ whit taxes and shipping, but totally worth it in the end.

Better save up some money and buy figure that you will enjoy for years to come, than buy 5-10 cheap once.

PS: dont fall for very cheap price, if price is not right on some site its fake most likely.

Where have you been looking exactly? Better not be ebay.
Even 1/7 figures don't go over 15000 yen at most. You must be looking at figures that people are scalping online (waiting years after release and selling at a high price).

There are things you have to consider when buying plastic representations of your favorite character.
1) Shipping - This will always be expensive, there's no way around it. Look at the ems shipping chart to see what you're in for before making a purchase.
http://www.1999.co.jp/ems.asp
2) Customs - Look up the laws in your country regarding items crossing the border. If you live in Canada, UK or Mexico chances are you're going to be hit with taxes if you're not using sal.
3) Where to buy:
These are the stores I typically buy from
-hobbysearch
-hlj
-amiami
-mandarake

I think I missed like a couple of dozen stores, but this is just something to get you started on.

I have a couple of figures, but yes, the price is the main reason I don't have more than that. In fact, only got my first one because it was on sale with the price reduced by 85%. :D

First I would to thank you for your reply, you seem well informed. However, I believe 15000 yen comes out to 158 dollars. I don't know how much money you have but 158 dollars is fucking expensive. I don't think I would pay over 50 for one.

I think it's mostly an economic thing in Japan; similar to how their anime DVDs are priced. Anime is actually a relatively small market (from a pure numbers perspective), so if they can reasonably expect to sell 5000 DVDs, in order to turn a profit, they have to sell them for 7k yen (which is about the going price for 2 episodes on DVD - box sets can be 20-40k yen.) There's definitely more material cost in producing a figure than a DVD, and they're likely trying to turn a profit from the money they spent producing the series. So if they can reasonably expect to sell a few thousand figures, they once again have to charge a high price for it; if they sold it for half the price, they might sell 1000 more, but that wouldn't make up for the cost reduction.

It can't really be helped, unfortunately.

No prob, just watch out for bootlegs they're mainly on ebay so as long as you stay away from that you should be fine.
Most figs usually average 5000-10000 yen so the 15k thing I said before is for only really big ones.
Its expensive because its a niche hobby even in Japan, though once you make your first purchase you'll know you definitely get what you pay for in terms of quality.
Spending a lot is normal. A job is a must if you want to buy a lot.

Right now I'm waiting for Ikaruga and Mirai. Senran Kagura is a fun series I highly recommend watching (or playing) it.



What figure do you have your eyes on by the way? If you don't mind me asking.

Well Ryomou Shimei was my first ever waifu so I was looking at ones of her.

That might explain the high price you're seeing, if you were looking for her specifically. She has some very nice figures by Daiki Kougyou that sold for 15k yen initially.

http://myfigurecollection.net/search.php?character_strict=1&character_id=1860

On that note, MFC an be a pretty good place to buy. You have to be careful because you're buying from other people, and you could run into scammers. However, I've been buying and selling there for a few years now and haven't had any major problems myself.

Anything on the after-market is going to be expensive because the figure has been sold out and is no longer in production. That means it's a rare commodity and prices sky rocket.

Prices for figures in stock or pre-orders are not close to 15K unless it's from a couple of companies who make extremely high quality figures. Most figures are around 6-8K and even less if you go FIGMA. 6-8K is $65-85 which isn't bad at all. Can't expect quality if not willing to pay for it.

I don't buy as many figures as I wish I could, but I do tend to get what ever interests me. As long as I am somewhat familiar with the character and I like the way the figure looks, the price doesn't really bother me. Plus, when I do get new figures I keep them in the boxes unless I really want to display it on my desk or shelf. This way if a friend of mine or future friend happens to end up liking said character, I'll have a really nice B-day/Holiday present for them.
Price is only ever an issue with me if the character/series is something I am not familiar with.

It varies per store and figure, but I my anime stuff mostly from conventions.

For example, I have a DC Catwoman Shounen that cost me $50, a Lupin III Fujiko that was for $30 (prison outbreak) and those are the most "expensive" I have bought.

Matsumoto Rangiku and Kasumi from DOA for $20 and $15 respectively.

HNK Kenshiro figure for $15 but another place sold it for $30.

Along with seeing some great Queen's Blade ones for around $150 average.

Like others have said, the quality is the point and I can see some differences between the ones that I own for example. Kasumi has plastic hair, meanwhile Fujiko and Catwoman are much more detailed for example. I got lucky over the Kenshiro one and the detail is nice.

You can always try your local stores. If you live in the US, then http://www.anime-island.com and http://figurehaven.com/ has some really good price and shipping.

Otherwise, if you don't mind buying used product, http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/en/ is basically linked to several anime stores in Japan and you can practically find anything you want ranges from new to minor damage/scratch in reasonable price.

Why do they make figures so expensive?
- Materials, artists who make them, paint job and labor costs.

Do you guys buy figures?
- Yes. Addicting and Expensive Hobby I must say.

How many do you have?
- 50++ and still growing, but I don't have a job yet.

Is there somewhere you can get cheap figures that I don't know about?
- Mandarake, Yahoo Japan Auctions, Amazon.co.jp and pretty much every online store, just check their sales bin.

Here's a tip, if you want a figure, think about the factors first like: Do you really like the character? Is the manufacturer good? Is it worth the price? I myself on my first year on collecting, I ridiculously buy figures on impulse which was wrong. I tend to focus on scale figures now because I really don't like moving things and ball joints.

I buy them even though they are expensive because its a hobby of mine, I like to have merchandise from the shows I like. I have about 70 figurines and some are expensive and some are not, I usually get them when I go to the local convention or when I have some extra money to spend, although that hasnt been the case for a while as ive been spending money on my other hobbies recently.

will yes i buy figures , and i might buy figures that may actually cost 200 dollars m but only if it worth it , the more expensive it gets the more the quality will be , yet i don't really believe on that , i actually only have 1 figure now , but on Sunday i will be having others.


figures i have now:




figure i will have soon:








MOST URGENT AND IMPORTANT IS SHANKS =P and my beloved Echidna

markets i use to buy from are "ebay and AmiAmi"

Some of the Ikkitousen figures have been really overpriced at between $200 and $300 USD on release.
Anime cons are a great place to get figures from I got a Tamaki figure from To Heart2 for $50 and have seen other ones for the same price as online with no shipping cost.
HLJ and CDJAPAN always have a sale section on their websites where you can find figures for a lower price.
Also have you looked into getting her as a trading figure, trading figures are about 6 to 8 inches tall slightly lower quality (depending on manufacturer) and you can get a set of them for less than the cost of a regular figure (I personally have 2 sets from Ikkitousen).

the price is insane.. but depends on how hardcore the collector you are.. for me personally I only got 2 set nendroid pettit.. while my friends spend more than 15k+ on figures..

Due to the extremely high price of most figures I only have one (cast-offable Shiori from Witchblade anime) for which I paid almost 100$, my poor wallet suffered that day.

That said, I would love to get at least another one, but seeing as I try to save money for gunplas and other more important expenses, I doubt I'll ever get another one.

Currently I don't really have any figures, my first one will be the figure that comes with the collectors edition of Tales of Xilia.

I wouldn't mind dropping a bit of money on a figure for a character I really like. Hell, I'de easily go over a hundred on a high quality Yuno figure if thats what it took, unfortunately I've only ever found one Yuno figure and I really don't like it. Can't find any decent wallscrolls either, and the english manga was never fully released and the ones that were are now out of print. ITS LIKE THEY DON'T WANT MY MONEY.