Does anyone have a GotAnime? membership?

[tehMTL]

This past year, i bought Psychopass S1, Darker Than Black, Haruhi UE and FMA: Sacres Star. I think i more than covered the Got Anime but i am Canadian. So i think i save quite a bit

[neoz]

Well now that they raised it from $12 to $18 this will probably be the last time I renew.

[pikagreg]

Not stacking coupons for studio sales on pre-orders has definitely caused my impulse buys to drop this year for Funi and this last Sentai sale.

[Raye]

I should have renewed it sooner... Mine expired two months ago. I was waiting until early February when I intend to pre-order the Amagi CE since I doubt I'll be picking up anything that can be discounted in the next couple of months. Blah. I'll probably renew it anyway since there's still the next handful of Sailor Moon sets that are due to come out as well as the Kodansha Akira manga set I'm looking forward to.

[darkness2918]

I had it but I didn't renew it. After this holidayseason when I really start grabbing more anime on BD I may renew it again since its only $12 & I'm sure ill get some use out of it.

[BigOnAnime]

I'm honestly not that annoyed over the increase, though I recently renewed mine before the price hike, and I order plenty from them (though 2016 has been a bad year for me for anime buying opposed to figures and merch). I don't get that bothered over things being cheaper during the Holiday Sale because I don't obsess over discounts and sales really. I take advantage of them when I see them, but I rarely wait for them. Also, sorry if I tick anyone off with this, but I honestly hate the mentality of obsessing over discounts coming later for things you already paid more for. I saw a good amount of it on MFC when people pre-ordered a figure only for it to later end up in the bargain bin.

[neoz]

All about saving money lol. Sorry but a dollar saved is a dollar used for other anime related things. To bad the stupid figures I want never go on sale and always end up oop ironically enough haha.

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by neoz

All about saving money lol. Sorry but a dollar saved is a dollar used for other anime related things. To bad the stupid figures I want never go on sale and always end up oop ironically enough haha.

I hate that figures on pre-order get surcharges. I refuse to pay an extra $30 for a Link and Zelda statue. I deleted the items from my cart last week after seeing the surcharge.

Originally Posted by neoz

Well now that they raised it from $12 to $18 this will probably be the last time I renew.

It's really not worth it at that price, a lot of what I buy doesn't qualify for the discount. I'm glad I got it renewed for $12 a few months back.

[zrdb]

Originally Posted by neoz

All about saving money lol. Sorry but a dollar saved is a dollar used for other anime related things. To bad the stupid figures I want never go on sale and always end up oop ironically enough haha.

Come on guys-it's just money..........!

[BigOnAnime]

Originally Posted by neoz

All about saving money lol. Sorry but a dollar saved is a dollar used for other anime related things. To bad the stupid figures I want never go on sale and always end up oop ironically enough haha.

That would be because figures are made to order. Instead of the "let's print a ton in anticipation of a hit" like here in the west where you get burned when things bomb, they smartly reduce the risk by making around the amount that'll actually sell. I also recommend reading the following. Applies to anime DVDs but...

Originally Posted by Sam Pinansky

I pleaded for lowering prices for months but none of the partners would consider it.

These are Japanese companies, you have to understand that the concept of "sales" is a western thing. In Japan you pay the fixed price or you don't get the item. Discounting products implies the product wasn't worth the original price you set it at. It's akin to saying "Dear Brother isn't actually a show worth $30 a set, it's crappier than that."
They refuse to lower the value of their own shows.

I suppose you could say this is the downside of having the creators and owners of the shows selling the DVDs themselves: They are much much less likely to devalue their own product and offer it at a discount... ever.

If you want cheap sets of these shows you'll have to lobby for some western licensor to pay for the package rights and make new sets, which is definitely possible.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/...563500#4563500

Oh and this too, the last question here.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/answerman/2013-11-15

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by zrdb

Come on guys-it's just money..........!

We aren't all millionaires.

[neoz]

Originally Posted by Scarface32

I hate that figures on pre-order get surcharges. I refuse to pay an extra $30 for a Link and Zelda statue. I deleted the items from my cart last week after seeing the surcharge.



It's really not worth it at that price, a lot of what I buy doesn't qualify for the discount. I'm glad I got it renewed for $12 a few months back.

If I recall RS charges a surcharge. And like you I dropped a few figures from my cart as well lol.

[BigOnAnime]

It's cheaper to import most figures than to get them at RightStuf honestly, though most Japanese shops do not allow you to cancel pre-orders. If you do, they ban you.

[neoz]

Originally Posted by BigOnAnime

It's cheaper to import most figures than to get them at RightStuf honestly, though most Japanese shops do not allow you to cancel pre-orders. If you do, they ban you.

Yeah I haven't got a figure from them after learning about the surcharge. I found another site that is ok it seems. I'll be about 3 weeks before my order comes apparently though as used a pretty slow shipping option. It'll be interesting to see what kind of condition it comes it.

[BigOnAnime]

I just get most of my figures at AmiAmi and the Good Smile Online Shop.

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by BigOnAnime

I just get most of my figures at AmiAmi and the Good Smile Online Shop.

What's the shipping like for AmiAmi and Good Smile?

• Amount of protective materials
• Delivery speed
• Shipping fees (free option?)
• etc.

[kk1]

Best place for figures often is the Crunchyroll store, most are part of a deal of the day discount and there are coupons occasionally (free shipping for premium + members or free over $75 for premium members)

[BigOnAnime]

No Japanese shops offer free shipping really because what you order has to be shipped across the ocean, so it's going to be expensive. This week I'll be receiving these two figures from AmiAmi, and the shipping was nearly 10,000 yen (i.e. Nearly $100) mandatory EMS.
http://myfigurecollection.net/item/331722
http://myfigurecollection.net/item/331721

AmiAmi: LOTS of paper, and the boxes have in big font "FRAGILE Handle with care!" on them. They take this stuff very seriously. As for shipping, expect at least 2,000 yen EMS (I never choose the slower options so IDK how that usually is, but many choose those in countries where custom fees and that can be a pain-here in the US it's not), especially as Japan Post had to recently raise shipping costs for the first time in a long time. Depending on the option it takes days or weeks. Sometimes EMS (the fastest option) is mandatory and they don't let you pick anything else because what you ordered can't fit in the smaller boxes and such.
http://www.amiami.com/top/page/t/faq2.html#1
http://www.amiami.com/top/page/t/faq2.html#2

Good Smile Online Shop: Not a lot of paper, and it wasn't until recently they got better with shipping and also used more durable boxes. They also charge the full MSRP + JP tax price on everything. No matter how much you order, shipping is 2,000 yen EMS. Ordering directly from them is only ever really worth it when you're ordering a lot at once, and when they have pre-order bonuses. Scroll down here to see some of that stuff.
http://www.goodsmile.info/en

Oh also it's worth it if you're interested in getting Wonder Festival exclusive figures as you can only get those at certain conventions, Wonder Festival itself (which takes place twice a year in Japan), and the Good Smile Online Shop, and they never receive re-releases, so after release you're stuck with scalpers and bootlegs. The following are a few examples of those, and I'll be receiving those later this month.
http://myfigurecollection.net/item/451821
http://myfigurecollection.net/item/443208
http://myfigurecollection.net/item/451820

When it comes to payment, with AmiAmi they'll send you a payment request when the items are in-stock and you have 7 days to pay. With GSC, they'll charge you weeks to even a month before the release date, so you need to be prepared.

I must stress that anime figures are an expensive hobby, more so than buying anime Blu-rays and DVDs, especially as the price of figures has gone up quite a bit over time. Even in the time I've been collecting I've seen an increase from certain companies I've bought from.
https://web.archive.org/web/20141013...rom-2006-2013/

With my collection, I've spent nearly $9,000 on it since December 2013.
http://myfigurecollection.net/profil...&month=0&day=0

Originally Posted by kk1

Best place for figures often is the Crunchyroll store, most are part of a deal of the day discount and there are coupons occasionally (free shipping for premium + members or free over $75 for premium members)

Keep in mind they require payment right away, though when they have that deal of the day, that's the best you can get. It can be the cheapest option of all.

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by BigOnAnime

With my collection, I've spent nearly $9,000 on it since December 2013.

I had to cancel a limited edition Blu-ray set just so I had the money available to get a Soul of Chogokin Golion/Voltron made by Bandai (released in December).

[neoz]

I'm trying a new place versus the more well known ones. If it turns out ok I'll report back here. So far though....lol. I had paid and everything and had to email them to ask them when were they going to ship my item. It was showing preparing and it was like that for a few days.