How to Buy Official Authentic Japanese Anime Figures

For many people, they will enjoy Japanese animation like your classic Cowboy Bebop or Princess Mononoke. Then, there are others that love collecting awesome figures from their favorite shows. I am one of those people and I am here to tell you how to tell between the official and the bootleg Japanese anime products.

Tip#1 - Pricing
Whenever you see a price that is extremely way too good to be true, it is almost 100 percent a fake copy. Standard 1/8 PVC figures are generally $50 USD or more. Nendoroids from Good Smile Company are usually $30 to $40 USD. Figmas and Revoltech are generally $25 to $35 USD. If you see any figures that are being sold for at least 25% off from the original price, it is a bootleg. It is very rare you would see a huge discount off figures.

Tip#2 - Quality and Stickers
Whenever you buy an official/authentic figure, you can be assured that the quality of the figure is top-notched. There should not be any area of figure that has spotty workmanship. If you see a figure that has any, it is 100 percent fake. From my experience, I have seen figures that has spotty paint job on the top of the hair and usually the small detailing such as symbols, emblems, tattoo.

A less efficient way to check is looking for certain type of stickers on the outside box. The first sticker is usually place on the front of the box. It will say Kadokawa or Kadokawa Productions. The second sticker is usually on the back of the box and it will be a shiny hologram that says H Japan. The third sticker is from official USA Distributors such as AAA Distribution. It is always on the back and it is much larger than the first two stickers. It is a less efficient way to check for authenticity because there are times that a figure is official but lack any stickers. Please do not use this method as your only basis of authenticity.

Tip#3 - Location, Location, Location
The location where you brought the figure is very important. If you brought it from a local shop in Chinatown, or from an anime convention where it failed the Tip#1 and #2, then there is a very high chance it is fake. If you brought a figure from eBay where the location is from Taiwan, Hong Kong or China, there is a huge chance it is fake. Anime conventions are very lenient on selling knock-offs figure unless they are selling the fake figure with an official figure price tag. Most of my shopping is done on eBay. I make sure that the sellers confirm it is an official or authentic figure on the listing or by message. If they do not mention official or authentic, then it is 100 percent fake.

Tip#4-Online Websites
Here are the websites that I have purchased from and are known to be a good source for official figures. As for customer service and the ridiculous shipping charge, it varies. As for eBay, please remember the tips as stated from above when you are browsing.

Located in Japan (Cheaper Retail Price, Good for Preordering, Expensive Shipping)
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/
http://www.amiami.com/shop?set=english
http://www.hlj.com/
http://tokyohunter.blogspot.com/
http://www.jlist.com/index.html
http://www.otacute.com/
http://www.play-asia.com/

Located in USA (Usually out of stock, Higher Price, Shipping is usually cheaper)
http://toylet.net/
http://kidnemo.com/
http://www.otakufuel.com/
http://www.toyslogic.com/