Thursday, July 2, 2009
Ok, a big, big pet peeve of mine as both an anime figure collector and as an anime figure store owner has been the slew of cheap, fake and inferior Good Smile Company Nendoroid figures. As somebody who both collects and sells the real deal, just thought I'd give some examples of what to look out for. I will be using the most commonly bootlegged figure, Miku Hatsune, as my example.
Here, is the real one:
Here's an image I took from my stock of the back of the figure.
Here is a list of ways to almost be certain a figure is a fake.
- Very cheap price. Explore the web and places like eBay with caution. If you see a seller claiming to sell a Nendoroid at a Buy-Now price below $25USD, it's most likely a fake since no offical seller can sell one below that price without losing money.
- Different facial expressions from original. Miku Hatsune's smirk for example is different and less smily on a fake one than on the real one. Other Nendoroids will be the same.
- Cheaper look to the figure. This is a given. Good Smile Company is one of those anime figure companys that usually make sure their final product matches the original image. In this industry, it is tough to do so but if you see a decent difference, you'll know there's something up. Fakes have been known to fall apart easier, also.
- Seller is from China or Hong Kong. Please note that anime figures both fake and real are made in China and not all China sellers are selling fakes, but sadly many are.
Buying from a US seller?
- Make sure the Good Smile Company figures come from AAAanime.com, Mile-stone.jp or Diamond Comics. These are the official wholesalers of anime figures in the US and where I get mine from as well. For Nendoroids, practically all come from AAAanime.com. Don't see a AAAAnime sticker on the back of your Nendoroid box?...it might be a fake.
- Ask for a copy of the seller's Certificate of Authority. This is the identification all sellers need to proved they are verified by their state to sell products in a legit business or one that isn't an MLM (they have different forms of identification). I have a copy for my anime store and Swaorvski figures selling. The seller should not show their ID number and other personal info that is on the form but their company name and the state they are locaed in is on the form. With one, I have to report sales tax to my state and my sales figures to both state and federal taxes. Sellers of fakes of course wish to bypass this repsonsibility and will buy cheap bootlegs from fake factories in China without the need to show any other identification, other than $$.
Hope this bit of info helps in your shopping and I've also provided images of more-than-likely fake I spotted on eBay in the post. Please note, the name of the seller, if on the image, has been blocked out to prevent slandering and to not falsly accuse them since some sellers take images from others and might not be selling fakes but show fakes in their images...of course, thoe opposite maybe true too.
Labels: anime figures, bootleg figures, figures, How to, Nendoroid
posted by princetrunks @ 4:16 PM
Friday, June 26, 2009
I had a bunch of items not yet listed in
my store for pre-order, so I went and got the store up to date. I also got the clearance today to set up pre-orders for the very cute and lovely
Saber Lily Nendoroid figure. Saber is the background to
my dual PC set-up at home still so I'll probably snag one for myself to add to my collection ^^. With my listings mainly up to date, I'll be sure to post the newest figures first now. Every single day there are new and amazing anime figures that get on the pre-order list and if I'm to be up there with the other anime stores...I gotta keep up ^^;;
Check out some more pics below. I also added these pictures and the pictures for my other recent figures additions to the anime figures part of the
anime gallery.
Labels: anime figures, figures, Good Smile Company, Nendoroid, saber lily
posted by princetrunks @ 12:37 PM
Friday, June 19, 2009
Alter's new gem of a figure has already become a big hit. I'm a fan of Saber thanks to my fandom of Cloche (Chroche) from Ar Tonelico 2..being that they share the same English voice actress and lets not forget just the sheer cool factor of the Fate series. With requests coming in for this figure the day I got the rights to pre-order her for
my store, I just had to reserve some for my fellow Saber fans. The Good Smile company figure as well as this one by Alter are indeed very well made Saber figures. The production figure isn't out to review yet as the release date for them is around the October/November 2009 range, but Alter and GSC will most likely keep the quality the same in their final product as they usually tend to. Check out some of these images I got straight from my supplier. She's up there in price at around $100 for a 1/8th scale figure, but you know you gotta have one.
Email me for pre-orders or you can
check out her product page and do so there ^_^
Labels: anime figures, fate/stay, figures, saber lily
posted by princetrunks @ 11:33 AM
Friday, June 12, 2009
Hijacked this great bit of figure news from
Danny Choo's post as well as the
Mikatan Blog yesterday. Big news if you are into articulated figures or, like me, love the detail and effort in Good Smile company anime figures. The upcoming actsSta line, actSta being short for "action, actor, active statue" is in a sense, larger Figma figures. These figures will be at around 1/8th scale and fully articulated and as you see from the photos, in par with the quality you'd expect from GSC. These will most likely be a part of
my store and my personal collection as well.
Not sure yet of the release date for these but the latest figures on the production line (as of this post) don't come out till late November 09, so most likely a December/January 2009/2010 release in Japan..which means late Feb or March in the US -_- Don't hold me to that, but with my 3 years experience as a anime figure dealer...it's probably in that ballpark.
Labels: actSta, anime figures, figures, Good Smile Company
posted by princetrunks @ 12:19 PM
Friday, June 5, 2009
Just posted up in the
store the upcoming
Kingdom Hearts Cell Phone Charms. They don't arrive to the US till around late October 2009 but you can pre-order them if you'd like or
ask to be on a waiting list. They are about $10 and look pretty cool. Chances are I'll be keeping a Cloud one for my fiancee and me (if I can get it on my iPhone ^^;;)
Here's the the list of each type:
Labels: anime figures, figures, final fantasy, kingdom hearts
posted by princetrunks @ 11:43 AM
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Wanted to quickly showcase an anime figure I have
currently up for pre-order in the store. This one I'm contemplating on whether to keep for myself as well. It's the newer Alter version of Narika Sennin from the hentai, Beat Blades Haruka. Just loving the design, color and look this will have once I set up a good display. Alter is very, very good at making sure the final product looks like the original concept figure seen here. She's scheduled for a late August, early September 2009 release here in the US. I'll admit, she's a bit pricey, the manufactures aren't giving us anime store owners any slack with the strong yen -_-....I made sure though that she's free shipping for US customers though.
Is she on your wish list?
Labels: anime figures, figures, Haruka Sennin
posted by princetrunks @ 12:00 PM
Friday, May 22, 2009
Just got a look at this figure this morning and it has a very, very accurate DBZ look to it. Depicting of course when Gohan defeated Cell with the just passed away Goku by his side, this is most definitely a DBZ figure to get. Let's face it, there's not many really good DBZ figures out there. Most of them are usually really cheaply made figures that tend to never reach the quality of say a Good Smile Company or Alter anime girl figure.
You will have to pay a pretty penny for it though. It costs about 10500 yen of probably in the range of $120USD (thanks to the yen being strong again =_=). To be honest, I'm not too certain of the scale just yet. If its like some of the other high quality DBZ figures that recently got released, it's probably a 1/7th or maybe even 1/6th scale.
I should be getting the rights to sell this
in the store, so keep an eye out for it or you can message me and say "I want it!" and I'll see if its in my anime retailing powers to grab one.
Labels: anime figures, dbz, dragon ball z, figures
posted by princetrunks @ 11:01 AM
Monday, May 18, 2009
Today I got a big shipment of new anime figures from the new Kingdom Hearts Cloud and Sephiroth; not to mention a bunch of Haruhi Suzumiya Extravaganza figures, just to name a few. I also got about 12 Nendoroid figures. Just wanted to use this post to show them off before they are taken away from any of my customers or before I add a few to my own personal collection ^^;; I definitely could use some
di:stages for these guys.
Anyone got a favorite Nendoroid?
A wonderful site
Itoshiki Nendoroid
Going to be giving most of them a new home soon. I might keep one or two but...gotta run the biz here ^^'
Labels: anime figures, figures, Good Smile Company, Nendoroid
posted by princetrunks @ 9:40 PM
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Up next on the pre-order block is the amazing Black Rock Shooter Figure by Good Smile Company. Announced from both my good friends at Mile-stone and of course Dannychoo.com, this stunning figure is a model from a picture done by
Huke. He's actually the artist behind vocaloid Miku.
She retails for about 9800 yen (about $100) and should be out at around the end of August or mid September in the US. I'm going to be adding her to my personal collection as well.
She can be ordered here.
More pics are
here in the anime figure gallery.
Big thanks to Danny Choo and his efforts at
Good Smile Company.
Labels: anime figures, black rock figure, figures
posted by princetrunks @ 11:50 AM
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Finally out in the US, the long awaited Shunya Yamashita Kanaru figure by Artstorm can finally be in the hands of us American otaku. Just one look and you'd see why this one has been on the wish list of many. Excuse me while I grab a tissue to plug my nosebleed ^^;;
Added her photos to the
anime figure gallery.
You can purchase her here (while supplies last of course)
Labels: anime figures, figures, kanaru, Shunya Yamashita
posted by princetrunks @ 2:02 PM
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
As of today this figure has been put up for pre-order. I'm most definitely grabbing one for myself. I simply love the picture this came from, not too familiar with the series or artist though ^^;
In case some of you don't remember from one of my old posts...the image of Nurse Girl Nana is my iPhone's background and has been since I got it last year.
She does cost a bit at around $105USD, or 9300 yen, but (at least for me) this awesome looking 1/8th scale figure from Orchid Seed is most definitively going into my collection.
(more pics of her)
Labels: anime figures, figures, nurse girl nana
posted by princetrunks @ 11:47 AM
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Browsed through the magazine I got from one of my suppliers and this caught my eye. This is a 1/8th scale of X-Men's Rogue made by Kotobukiya. As you can see from just how pretty she is, that this is indeed a Shunya Yamashita figure.
I used to be an X-Men fan back in the mid 90's when I watched the cartoon Saturday mornings and yes I did have a thing for Rogue. Granted, as I got older and saw the difference between the girls of X-Men and other American comic I soon lost interest. Let's face it, American comic girls tend to be drawn and made into figures that look more like ugly steroid-ridden she males than goddesses of beauty. Thankfully that's not the case here.
Rogue is an absolutely stunning and by far a figure on my wish list. Already
ordered a half a dozen or so of them for the
store and she's going to be placed next to Tifa, Mirei, Needa and Yuffie.
Here's some more good info, looks like this is the first in a series of Marvel Bishoujo figures by Yamashita. I wonder who will be given the pretty treatment next?
Check out some pics here and in the
anime figure gallery.
Labels: anime figures, figures, Shunya Yamashita
posted by princetrunks @ 7:12 PM
Friday, December 5, 2008
After many hours of work, I finally got the anime pre-orders up in the
store. As I stated before I had about $10K worth of figures on hand and about $40-$50K pending in pre-order from my suppliers from the land of the raising sun. I think this should put the nails on the coffin of ever working a job again. I just work my day job 2 days a week now and the time has come for me to turn this site into the otaku hub I wanted it to be since I was in the 12th grade back in 2002. I still have a bunch of "look and feel" upgrades I have to do for the store and here but the bulk of the work that was in my path is now done. If you do chose to do any pre-orders, do the "money order" option at checkout and you'll be invoiced via Paypal when the figure(s) arrive. If you chose to complete the Paypal payment, you will be charged but those who do this get top priority.
Just email the
main store email here with a list of what you want if you don't want to do the checkout thing (I'll try to fix the bug or make it an easier process in the future).
As you can see above, one of the figures coming in the next few months is the super awesome
Haruhi Suzumiya Extravaganza Ver. 1/8 Scale Figure by Max Factory. So far just Harhui is available to me but I would assume soon the Yuki and Mikuru Extravaganza figures will be up.
Labels: anime figures, figures, updates
posted by princetrunks @ 7:24 PM
Thursday, December 4, 2008
All the other American anime stores....eat your heart out! I just got a box today of 10 Riannon figures. This figure was to come out to America in February 09, but I have them right now. This is a very cute figure indeed. Very soon the PS3 game and the anime will be released and Kotobukyia does a great job in releasing this. The people over at Kotobukyia have a knack for getting them to look just like the anime characters in 3D. Must like the figs you see from Good Smile Company, the finished product looks practically identical to the pre-production original figure shown in the photos. There's a bunch here so I might snag one. Outside of Japan, I'm the only one who has one right now ^_~ Grab your hands on her
here.
Labels: anime figures, figures
posted by princetrunks @ 1:18 PM
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
After adding a bunch of anime figures, it seems that of the three store fronts I have, Amazon is the easiest to list with my main store coming in second and ebay last. For your anime figure viewing pleasure, I've added an Amazon product widget to the blog
(check the lower right hand side) that links to the figures and games that are in my store.
Now, if you want to order from me, the links won't go directly to my store (yet); they actually go to me and my competitors ^^;; To find what I'm selling the same items for, just browse through the list of sellers on the amazon product page and find "chucks-anime-shrine". I'll admit, I might not be selling the figures at the lowest price but I do my best. My Amazon profile is not as strong as my perfect eBay Powerseller rating but its me.
To view my amazon store directly,
click here.
Keep watching for more figures ^_^ (and yes I should be getting the cute Miyuki Takara Nendoroid figure you see above)
Labels: anime figures, figures, updates
posted by princetrunks @ 11:25 AM
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Gotta love my internet connection. It loves to be a bother. Things didn't go as smoothly in adding new figures but I do have a few up due to my internet connection and my just stalking me this weekend. Really getting tired of their crap ~_~. There are indeed much more figures to add, particularly Pre-order figures but they will be going up, bit by bit. To see the new figures and to watch for new ones, just
click here to the main page of the main store and you'll see what's new. Figures shown are the Haruhi: Nendoroid Ryoko Asahina w/ Enhancing Parts, Final Fantasy VII: Weapons set, Static Arts Sora, and the
Ryubi Gentoku Figure. Some not shown but in the store is the re-relase of the
Rei Ayanami Creator's Labo #015 Figure, Fate/Hollow Ataraxia: Sakura Matou 1/6 Scale PVC Figure,
Art of Shunya Yamashita: Karin Fine Art Bust, the
Shining Wind: Elwing (Elwyn) PVC Figure, and the
Shining Wind: Blanc Neige PVC FigureEverytime I look at these figures I'm so tempted to keep and I have kept a few ^^
Labels: anime figures, figures
posted by princetrunks @ 7:45 PM
Friday, November 28, 2008
There's no surprise that these amazing figures needed a second wave of shipments. I was able to snag only a few of these simply stunning Haruhi figures. Mikuru in particular is my favorite (saved one for myself ^^;) and she's also sold out everywhere. All of them have real (and real delicate) fishnet stockings and stand, well... sit or lay roughly 13 inches across or tall. As you can see, I was also able to snag the new Emiri and Ryoko bunnies as well.
I'm proud to announce I have them (Mikuru and Haruhi) w/the others (Emiri & Ryoko) in shipment right now.
Click HERE to order Haruhi, HERE for Mikuru,
HERE for Emiri Kimidori, and HERE for Ryoko Asakura . Since they are over $100, the shipping is automatically free. Grab them while you can or just gander at their beauty in these pics.
Labels: anime figures, figures, Haruhi Suzumiya
posted by princetrunks @ 8:34 PM
Well, its that time of the year again, Black Friday. This is a year everyone is scared that sales won't go as usual due to the world economy being screwed up (because American realtors thought it was funny to double house prices every two years) but we otaku are different. Proof that we stray from the norm can be seen by the fact that my anime store's sales have doubled from last year; take that economists! When we want our figures, games and manga, we want them. I have to thank you guys for the support so far in both the threee
