This is also seriously tl;dr, especially if you don't collect figures. Even if you do, you may just want to skip to the end.
Introduction
Everyone has an opinion on what the cheapest places to get figures from are. The problem is that the support for these opinions tends to be anecdotal or based on a tiny sample, limiting their credibility. In the absence of anything better to do with my time, I decided to compare a decent number of figures (not as many as I'd like, but I'm still working on it) across a few different stores and see what conclusions I could draw.
At this stage, the only variable I've taken a serious look at is figure pricing, with a somewhat less thorough look at selection/availability and shipping costs.
I decided to look at five different figure sites, chosen for what I considered to be their perceived popularity and size. I didn't include any stores aimed mainly at the American domestic market as I did not see them offering me (as an Australian) very competitive prices or ranges compared to the stores with an international focus. I initially included an Australian-based store but decided to drop it after the results showed it not being even close to competitive. I also chose not to include eBay stores due to their questionable authenticity, nor did I include second-hand stores as I consider that market to be very separate from the new figure market.
Stores
- AmiAmi - You've all heard of this one. They're the largest online retailer in the Japanese market, and they've only been selling internationally for a relatively short amount of time.
- Hobby Search - another large Japanese online retailer (second biggest I believe). They have been selling internationally for quite a while now.
- Hobby Link Japan - these guys are another big store, and they've been around forever. They sell a wide range of non-anime modelling goods too.
- Otacute - a much smaller operation, although they're probably the best-known store that stocks exclusives.
- Play-Asia - not as popular among the /jp/ community due to them being thought of as expensive, but well known amongst the wider internet community as they stock a lot of asian games and music as well.
