I want to start collecting figurines but...

I wanna start collecting anime figurines, but all I'm able to find are ones that cost $100 and up...is there a secret to getting them for less or am i just aiming to high as far as quality goes....i know i can't afford to buy them to often if they're gonna cost this much

That depends on what you want. Certain figures are more expensive than others.

well here's one tip

-if you want to get more cheaper
1.Try finding them in Figure forums that has a User buy/sell section, and try finding the one you like, and then start negotiating the price with the seller.

2. Go search for more stores online/offline to et more prices.

--

I only have 4 figures.
-Saber F/HA Summer dress Ver. GSC Got it for $ 20, since the box was already damaged.
-Lacus Cylne from Gundam Seed Ver. RAHDX series, got it for $70 that's after surveying many stores
-Kousaka Tamaki from To Heart 2 $50, Search my way in logal forums
-Xecty Ein from shining wind Military Ver Kotobukiya $70, Pre-ordered with the help of a local seller

well if you want to start collecting i suggest this

hobbylink japan has a spring sale on at the moment so check them out for cheap figures and gunpla

thanks for all the information and tips....I've checked around and have a few things I'm gonna try based on this....I've collected things in the past just never something of this magnitude (of which my shields can't repel...heh) so iected. if this comparison is accurate then I'll take the same method ...(waaaaait for it....wait for it ...and BID LIKE CRAZY!*-*)

*hits loki with a rolled up newspaper* NO bad loki NO NO you will not buy from e-bay,

well you can but it is with this warning about 95% of all anime figures on ebay are most likely bootlegs from china

...-whimper- yes...you're right ebay = made in china...i was suggesting a more private auction though....but i don't have the intel i need for that....my bad -hides behind panel-

You could also try Amazon. I've gotten a couple of figures there.


http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/
Or this place. They've had a sale for awhile. Also they slightly go under thelist price of GSC figures...

To compare...
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10107709
http://www.goodsmile.info/product/en/2780/Saber+Triumphant+Excalibur.html

Or look for me :)

https://www.fakku.net/viewtopic.php?t=27684

...crap wish i checked sooner those negima figures are EPIC!....i gotta START SAVING NAO

Or here:

http://www.amiami.jp/shop/?set=english

They tend to be a bit cheaper than Hobby Search. I personally prefer Hobby Search, due to points (generally 5% of a purchase, bringing it closer to Amiami's prices), an easy to use user control (and the ability to cancel preorders), and their website is easier to navigate.

Amiami carries some figures Hobby Search doesn't (borderline 18+ figures; neither will sell the really graphic ones to foreigners), and it's worth preordering the really expensive figures from them, as it could be a difference of $20-30 instead of $2-5 (which points can easily make up.)

What sites were you looking at figures previously? Non-Japanese sites tend to charge an extra $10-70 per retail, and are usually best avoiding if you can help it. You'll end up having to pay more expensive shipping (international versus domestic), but figures aren't as expensive to ship as other goods. And then there's sites like J-List, which are based in Japan, that charge a premium price (I've seen them list figures for about $50 more than preordering from Hobby Search of Amiami), and they charge you for international shipping.

Most US based sites will carry them if you're willing to pay the premium.

For figures I can't find on Amiami, I check http://www.hlj.com/
They usually have it if Amiami isn't listing it on their English site, but they're also a bit more expensive, so I tend to order from the other two shops first, but they're a decent alternative before going to US based shops.

Also, can't believe I forgot to mention Mandarake.

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

Actually might be a good choice for you, OP. They deal in used goods, so you can find a lot of figures a good deal cheaper. They also have some more expensive figures, but you can easily pick things up in the $30-70 range. I've ordered from them before, and have never had any major problems. With my most recent order, the box was damaged in shipping and unfortunately it led to a small dent on the box of one of my figures, but the blame was more on the postal server than Mandarake; they packaged everything quite well.

They're also a great place to pick up a lot of physical doujinshi, if you prefer a hard copy over digital (I'm a big supporter of physical goods.)

Their website can take some getting used to, but you should be browsing for stuff in no time, and if there's a specific figure you want to search for, try entering the company name and figure name, and also Google their respective Japanese names if you can. I've occasionally searched for items in English, couldn't find it, then entered the Japanese term and had a bunch of stuff pop up.

Im kinda new to collecting figures too, Most of the ones I have are figmas, but I have some gashapons too.