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The full library — figure and TCG buying guides, proxy-service comparisons, and how the Japanese collectibles market actually works. Newest first.
LIBRARY
The scale number (1/7, 1/8, 1/4) is a figure's height relative to that specific character's own reference height and pose — not an absolute size unit, so ratios don't compare cleanly across different characters. Nendoroid, figma, POP UP PARADE and most prize figures are officially "non-scale" instead, per Good Smile Company's own spec sheets.
Every Ichiban Kuji ticket wins a prize (no losers), tickets run ~¥700–900 with 60–80 per box, and a Last One Prize goes to whoever draws the final ticket. The official online kuji needs a Japanese address; overseas buyers realistically use a proxy's draw service, buy an already-pulled prize secondhand, or buy the whole box.
Wonder Festival 2026 [Summer] runs 2026-07-26 at Makuhari Messe, Chiba. Overseas collectors don't need to attend — AmiAmi's "AmiAmi Hobby Camp" mirrors the exhibits online in English the same day, and reveals typically open for pre-order afterward via the maker's own store or AmiAmi/HLJ.
JP sets historically released 2–5 months ahead of EN; that gap has narrowed to ~5 weeks (OP-15, 2026) and is billed as ~1 week (OP-17, Aug 2026) — the first near-simultaneous worldwide release. Card pool and rarities match JP/EN; JP-exclusive God Packs and pack-size/price differences (12 cards/$4.99 EN vs 6 cards/¥220, rising to ¥240 from OP-17, JP) do not.
No single sign proves a figure is a bootleg, but missing/wrong branding, a too-low price, sloppy paint or hair shading, and a chemical smell are the recurring tells. Buying from the manufacturer's own store or an authorized reseller removes the question entirely.
Settled: the US ended duty-free entry for parcels under $800 from every country on 2025-08-29 — budget duty on every shipment now. Unsettled: the exact rate, caught between a 2025 15% framework deal, a 10% surcharge set to sunset 2026-07-24, and a proposed ~12.5% replacement — check official/checkout sources, not a fixed number.
Buyee charges a flat ¥500 per order; ZenMarket, Neokyo and Doorzo charge flat per-item fees (¥350–¥800); JapanRabbit scales its cut with order value (9.9% down to 1.2%). No service wins every basket — match the fee model to how you shop, not a single headline number.
Nendoroid is a fixed ~10cm chibi line built for cute shelf presence; figma scales to the character (~13–16cm) and is built for posing. Similar price at MSRP — pick by what you want to display, not price.
Good Smile pre-orders charge differently by storefront: at checkout on goodsmileus.com, on the shipping-notification date on the international store, or once your order ships if bought via AmiAmi/HLJ instead.
AmiAmi and HLJ both ship internationally and don't charge pre-orders until they're ready to ship — the real split is cancellation deadlines (HLJ tightened its cutoff on 2025-10-01) and shipping-method breadth.
Scale figures are made roughly to order: the pre-order window is usually the only reliable chance at retail price. After release, prices float on the aftermarket. Track windows, know shop payment rules, and don't stack more orders than one month can absorb.
A proxy buys from Japanese shops/auctions for you, receives items at a Japanese address, and ships abroad. Total cost = item + service fee + domestic shipping + international shipping (+ your country's import charges).
Japan's Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet era runs on the "SV" prefix, opening with Scarlet ex / Violet ex on January 20, 2023. Japan ships small, frequent sets — numbered main expansions (SV1–SV11) plus lettered subsets (SV1a–SV9a) — which the English game later regroups into larger releases. The table below maps each Japanese set to its English counterpart, with both release dates.
Suruga-ya (駿河屋) is one of Japan's largest used and new hobby retailers—retro games, figures, trading cards, manga and discs at low prices. Its domestic site (suruga-ya.jp) is Japanese-only and does not ship abroad, so overseas buyers use either the official English site (suruga-ya.com) or a proxy service that buys, consolidates and re-ships from Japan. Learn the condition grades first.
To buy from Yahoo Auctions Japan (ヤフオク) from overseas you need a Japanese proxy (deputy) service: Yahoo requires a Japan-based account and payment, and most sellers ship only within Japan. The proxy bids, pays the seller, then forwards the parcel abroad. Budget for the winning bid plus proxy commission, domestic shipping, packing, international shipping, and your country's import tax. Sales are effectively final — there are no real returns.
