Where do you get your stuff?

I don't know if a thread like this has been made, but I'm sure it has been since it is so, general I guess?

Now to carry on. I'm curious as to where you guys get your stuff from. It would be awesome if you guys also give us your about the website you ordered from as well. Feel free to post a link to another hobby website that was not mentioned above.

So far I have ordered from J-List, Hobby Search, and Mandarake.

J-List:
Something I noticed is that the figures @ J-List are rather expensive. Don't know why but they are. Aside from that, they are awesome! Their website is easy to navigate. Everything is laid out nicely and the variety of items they have is crazy! From hentai mangas, adult toys, and figures to Japanese snacks and clothing(to an extent). Another thing I like about em is that they accept cards!

Hobby Search:


Mandarake:
These guys have EVERYTHING! Well almost everything, besides snacks and I don't think they do pre orders either. I have gotten quite a bit of doujins from these guys though. They also do DHL shipping and they arrived fast! I don't know if they still ship with DHL but if they do, the shipping costs is pretty cheap as well. IIRC, they don't do cards. They only take paypal.


I'm just going to submit this thread and I'll add my thoughts for the other two websites soon.

I buy all my stuff from Amazon.com One place that has earned my liking is hobbyhunters.com

HLJ, mostly, although a couple are also from CDJapan.

amiami
hobby search
HLJ (rarely)
Jlist (rarely.. they are quite expensive on teh p+p)
ebay( if i am feeling lucky)

Figure.Fm.... i know it is an figure website but the members sell stuff on there

most of the time i use amiami becouse of its discounts and sometimes hobby link when amiami doesnt have stock

In order of priority:

AmiAmi
Hobby Search
Hobby Link Japan

1. Yahoo Japanese Auction (Dakimakura covers, occasional figures/doujinshi)
2. Mandarake (doujinshi, dakimakura covers, occasional figure)
3. Hobby Search/AmiAmi (figures, occasionally video games/dakimakura covers)

J-List is absurdly overpriced on just about everything; since the majority of their items ship from Japan, you pay the higher prices on things and then have to pay for shipping from Japan. For things like figures, you're almost always better off buying from Hobby Search/AmiAmi.

Hmmmm... A lot of you guys seem to like Amiami a lot. I agree with you on that one Shashin. J-List is really expensive! I might cancel my pre order on a figure and transfer it somewhere if they still permit.

Just curious, since they don't accept cards. Do you guys just have money in your paypal?

Before you order, I'd check the prices of both Hobby Search/AmiAmi; AmiAmi is generally a bit cheaper, but sometimes Hobby Search is cheaper straight up, or could even out after you factor in points.

But I essentially pay be credit card anyway; just have a card connected to my Paypal account. There's almost no difference really, but Paypal generally uses a yen rate that is 1-3 below the actual rate, so it may be a bit more expensive if your credit card company doesn't charge for foreign transactions (they usually do.)



Just wanted to point out that this part also isn't true about Mandarake. They take credit cards, and in fact, they only take credit cards if you're purchasing adult items (though you could probably ask them to switch it to Paypal if you have a problem paying.)

Thanks for the heads up on the two sites Shashin. Well, I have my debit card attached to my Paypal account, but I have no option of using it. Unless it has to be a credit card?

Hmmm, I should check out Mandarake again.

Thanks for the response!

I have 2 anime stores in my area so its not hard to get stuff, but when I order online I use amazon, toylet, eBay, although I don't like ebay, and recently hobbylink.

Your guess is as good as mine there. I know you can transfer money from your bank account, so a debit card seems like it would be pretty similar. I have a credit card and a bank connection on mine (since after 10k in sending you need to verify your account), and every single time I make a purchase through Paypal, I have to switch to credit card because the bank account is the default payment type (less fees for them, I guess.)

When you're checking out Mandarake, if you're looking for something in particular, you definitely want to have some keywords handy; a lot of the listings on the English site are in English, but a good number have Japanese only descriptions. So let's say you were looking for a K-On figure of a certain character, I'd just Google K-On, pull up the Wiki page, and copy/paste the Japanese for K-On or the particular character.

The majority of my stuff comes from Hobby Search they tend to have the best prices around, pre-orders are actually filled out, payment is processed quickly via Paypal, and shipping is relatively fast.



A debit card is essentially the same as a credit card but instead of sourcing money as credit from the bank it draws from your savings. A good practice is to have two separate accounts an account for money you use and a separate savings account.

LOL, exact same order. And yes, I agree with OMGWTFBBQ pricing for J-lists items.
Not to mention , I never understand why people would buy stuff from them, their anime goods selection is pretty small.

If your debit card can be used for online purchases, you can pay for stuff at mandarake. Considering my own paypal account links to my debit card. Not ot mention I paid for stuff using both paypal and credit card(using a debit).

I mean, I could understand J-List's pricing if the figures and stuff were stationed in the US, but it's absolutely fucking ridiculous to charge a premium for items, similar to what US stores charge, and then have EMS shipping (or SAL, I guess) on top of that. It's almost like they're punishing people for not being aware of other sites, or rather, taking advantage of them. The only reason I'd consider buying a figure from J-List is if the preorder were sold out everywhere else, including US side retailers.

To give you all an idea of just how screwed their pricing can be, let's take the upcoming Dendrobium Sisters Azalee as an example.

At Hobby Search:
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10156129

Can order it now for 9180 yen, or about $118 at current rates. It's fair to say that the yen may be even stronger when she released, but it would probably only add $20-30 on top of it, at worst.

At J-List:
http://www.jlist.com/product/PRE426

Priced at $195. Probably pretty close in price to what US stores will charge when they put the figure up for preorder. Only, the shipping will be almost exactly what Hobby Search/AmiAmi charge.


It is fair to note that this is one of the more extreme examples, the mark up on figures generally isn't this high (though it usually always is for the more expensive items), but you can still expect to pay a decent amount more than what you would going to another Japanese based retailer. They're a bit high on hentai goods too, but if you can't find them anywhere else I could see ordering there. I'm not saying J-List is bad, and I'd probably still shop there for goods that I couldn't find elsewhere. Still, I'd recommend checking other retailers before making your final purchases at J-List.



And on a note more relevant to me, I lost just about all trust in J-List when they were conned into selling bootleg dakimakura covers. To me, that just showed a complete lack of awareness when it came to niche otaku goods.

Oh no dude... I noticed the ridiculous prices they have. And like you said, with the EMS shipping on that is crazy. I recently canceled my pre order with them and placed with Amiami! It's a $45 difference!

Yeah, but a lot of people are unaware of just how crazy the price differences are; felt like it wouldn't hurt to point it out again for those who choose to use J-List.

I have a really big anime store about 10 minutes away from my house. I get a lot of my stuff there. If it's something I want that they don't have, then I consult the internet.

I mostly order from AmiAmi, but for older stuff I use Mandarake.

Yeah... After creating this thread and reading the posts; I've switched to Amiami. On occasion though, if Amiami doesn't have a certain figure, I go on Otacute or Mandarake.