Remilia Posts

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

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:

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

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.

Yeah, that's pretty much the point I made that started this whole page of discussion on why J-List fucking sucks. :P I posted a rant on why they're terrible; mostly because of their high prices, but what really gets me is that the only people that buy from them have to be those that are new to the hobby. Anyone who has been in the hobby for awhile would hopefully know that J-List is probably the worst place you could possibly buy from, and as such, they're basically robbing anime fans that are new to the hobby.

Yeah, if you're interested on reading up on it, here's the thread from a few years back:

http://forums.zero-type.com/fake-bootleg-figures-statues-models-f12/j-list-selling-bootleg-dakimakura-t2645.html

All the J-List links are dead, but some of them still work using Archive.org:

http://web.archive.org/web/20101026122229/http://www.jlist.com/product/DAK011
http://web.archive.org/web/20101026025643/http://www.jlist.com/product/DAK012
http://web.archive.org/web/20101030234847/http://www.jlist.com/product/DAK010
http://web.archive.org/web/20101023003638/http://www.jlist.com/product/DAK003

Yeah, there have been a few additions to the EN side of Mandarake. The Ricotta cover was actually up before C82 even started, as it was sold at an event the day before. But the majority of the circle covers aren't hitting EN side. :(

Also, Anko did a tapestry this time around. Only been three up (and now a fourth so far.) First had a buyout of 38k and sold and the most recent two sold for 64k. :S



Yeah, it doesn't really surprise me on either side. Though I imagine a lot of the booths at conventions are American companies that really don't know any better when it comes to bootlegs. That definitely doesn't make it any better, but J-List has been called out on selling bootlegs, so the fact that they're still selling them is pretty weak.

Speaking of YJA and Marks, I'm really surprised at the absolute lack of listings for the Pretty Cure covers. There was one seller who had a total of four listed (two each) before the event even started, with a 40k buyout - but they either sold or removed a bit later. And then the other seller that had two of each cover. Even if you include the four originally posted, that only makes for a total of eight covers, which is well below the usual number we see. Maybe we'll see some more listings pop in the next week or so, as people who traveled to the event arrive home, but it just seems really strange to me.

It's also a bit strange how they did the cover. The event version has a transformed/normal side, while the two covers on the web order are one or the other. I actually prefer the ripped tights and such on the event version over the similar side on the web order, but I don't really care for the normal version of the chick.

Bleh, I'm really glad one cover in my Toranoana order got delayed until September. I'm expecting my Stylus special orders to arrive within the next few days and my SMJ page is showing that my NoReal order just came in. Combined with my C82 auctions that will be coming in soon, and I'll have a lot to pay for that I really can't afford. :x

Yeah, based off what vietxmikey is saying, they're definitely selling bootlegs at conventions. Touhou definitely isn't a licensed property here, so have their products selling for that low, it's the only real explanation.

They didn't put in the order in time for what? Marks weborder? Mine went through without a problem but I had put in the order shortly after it had started.

My SMJ was pretty limited by special orders coming into Comiket, so I couldn't have ordered much from YJA to begin with. Even so, I've spent all the cap I had available to me and am now limited to Mandarake if I decide to be stupid and spend some more money. Shame most of the stores don't like listing event goods on the English site right away; by the time you can usually request to have them put it on the EN site, it's already sold out. D:

Did you recognize any of the characters or circle work particularly? The bootlegs J-List was selling on their website a few years back were a Miku, a lot of Touhou covers, one of the three Evangelion characters, and a few others. I think they were selling for about $60-70 a piece.

Ah, so they're still selling bootlegs at conventions? I thought you were just talking the standard cheap dakimakura covers that you get from Dengenki or other sources. That just makes me think even less of them, then. :x

Ah, my statement wasn't directed at you or anything. :P I just came across their Houki listing and it reignited my hatred for them. I've ordered a few times from them previously, but mostly ero books and other items that were reasonably priced. Their customer service was pretty shitty overall, but I can deal with shitty customer service if I'm getting a deal.

I think my dislike for them stems from the fact that they have a pretty well known presence in the American/foreign anime culture, and they take advantage of that fact. I'd imagine the majority of their customers are anime fans who are only dabbling in the figure hobby, and as such, aren't aware of the better options. So they pay the absurd prices J-List asks, only because they don't know any better. It probably shouldn't bother me as much as it should, but it's almost the exact opposite of the "you've got a friend in Japan" motto.

As for my dakimakura comment, I wasn't saying whether or not they were selling dakimakura covers but referring to an incident a few years back. They listed about 5-10 covers using the work of CakeMoon, Moejinja, Dakemakura, and a few other circles that are escaping me right now. It was fairly obvious to anyone in the hobby that they were bootlegs; the samples they provided were peachskin, the sizes didn't match up to the official specifications, and the prices weren't in line with what you'd expect to pay for a dakimakura cover.

They were up on their website for a few weeks before someone called them out on it, and then they were promptly removed. The owner of J-list stated that they had no idea they were fakes and that they purchased through a company that they assumed had the rights to do a second run of the products.

Now, you can look at this two ways:

1. J-List was telling the truth and they didn't know they were bootlegs. I'll admit, this is the likely scenario, in which case is shows a complete lack of knowledge regarding this aspect of Japanese culture. This is a company that does nothing but sell products focused on Japanese culture, so for them to sell an item they know absolutely nothing about... it's just very insulting.

2. They knew the products were bootlegs and only removed them when they were called out publicly. Obviously this one is more of a stretch, but the items were up for a good 2-3 weeks before they were removed. That's quite a lot of time for them to be selling a bootleg product.

Yeah, I agree. But it's their figure prices especially that really piss me off. I mean the doujinshi and stuff they carry isn't terribly priced, though still more expensive than you could pick it up for on Mandarake, usually. Oh, and when they were selling bootleg dakimakura covers a few years back...

Hopefully whatever you want will be available for pick up later at a reasonable price. ^^

And I know this is going off on a completely unrelated subject, but I have such an irrational hate for J-List. Honestly, unless someone is buying their snacks and such (which you may be able to find locally) or a figure you want is sold out elsewhere, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to buy from them.

I know I've bitched about them previously, but the latest ridiculous listing is the AmiAmi Houki mecha figure for $350, when it's still readily available at AmiAmi/HS for about $200 when you convert currencies. That wouldn't be terrible at an American retailer, but you have to consider that you still pay for shipping from Japan when you buy from J-List.

Like I said, I know my hate is irrational, but it just pisses me off that they're gouging anime/Japanese culture fans that just don't know better.

Oh well, you win some and you lose some. I'm just happy to have the Fatalpulse cover as it is, and depending on when it goes on sale/how long it's available, maybe I'll pick up a second copy. ^^

I think the real lesson here is that impatience can be just as bad as waiting. You can just never tell for sure. D: Anko's Miku was one you wanted to get quick last year, as it has steadily increased in price since... whereas buying their Kimi and the Fatalpulse cover early hurt me more than anything.

Yeah, it's stuff that may pop up on Mandarake eventually, but other than that, YJA is your only option. At this point I've spent about 67k on everything: Kimi, the Fatalpulse cover, a Marks weborder cover, and the Clesta stuff. Tossing out the weborder cover, that comes down to 55k. Had I been able to pick all that up for retail, it would have run me (since I don't know what Anko sold their case for, I'm assuming 12k) 25k.

Here's the relevant search term: http://auctions.search.yahoo.co.jp/search?p=%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF+c82&auccat=&aq=-1&oq=&ei=UTF-8&slider=0&n=100&tab_ex=commerce

Same seller as the one I had for both items, though he jacked up the price of the tapestry by 1500.

Yeah, though it is fairly expensive: http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=LTD-BOK-00058&page=top%2Fsearch%2Flist%3Fs_keywords%3Dloli%24pagemax%3D100%24getcnt%3D0%24pagecnt%3D1

And I'm officially done with all C82 purchases, at least through YJA/SMJ. Used up the rest of my limit to pick up the awesome Clesta Horizon stuff; tapestry and a deck or ero playing cards. http://clesta.net/com82info.htm

The Yukikaze dakimakura cover, a few figures, and two doujinshi (one is a 3D book.)

As for warnings, not really. Just the automated cancellation notice with a warning, but I've probably cancelled 4-5 orders in 2-3 years, so... >_>

Thanks, I'm excited about it. Just need to find a way to pay for all this stuff. D: Just looked at my AmiAmi account and I have like 30k in pending orders for August, and I've bailed on my last two orders from them.