Anyone know the best way to get a airsoft gun from yahoo japan or know a vendor that does proxy orders for airsoft guns. Most if not all I found prohibit airsoft guns. I'm trying to get a s&t arx160 pistol and I only ever see them pop up used on yahoo japan auctions.

I am seeing a lot of proxy accounts bid on these cels, so just putting a PSA out there:
Cels from the following sellers are fake:
https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/selleri_soujo
https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/sellelazam91300
https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/sellehyoaow6871
https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/selleryuujp0202
https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/sellectam2010_0123
Look at their feedback (click evaluation link up top) to see their previous listings, though some are hidden. It is unfortunate that they are all positive feedback, as the buyer clearly do not know that they are fake. Please educate yourselves on whether you are getting a cel for a suspiciously low price or getting scammed.

A thread for new collectors to ask basic questions of the community.
Frequently Asked Questions below!
A longer version of the subreddit rules is here.
For questions specifically concerning bootlegs or vendor legitimacy, please ask in the Bootleg Megathread.
NSFW & Spoiler Guidelines

For Self Posts: include a bolded NSFW note next to links in that post.
For Links to sites/images: If the figure is NSFW, or the website has any NSFW content (including ads) be sure to tag your post NSFW and use the appropriate link flair.

Bootlegs
Any collection posts containing bootlegs, comments advocating buying bootlegs, or links to sites selling bootlegs, recasts, or unlicensed merchandise will be removed.
People often ask about the legitimacy and/or safety of a number of websites which sell large resin statues. The more commonly-asked of those deal primarily in resins from studios which do not have a license from the Japanese IP holders to produce merchandise. Therefore links to those sites are not permitted here. Another sign is if MyFigureCollection doesn't list the either the statue, its manufacturer, or the shop it's being sold on.
MyFigureCollection
My Figure Collection is like MyAnimeList... but for figures! Their database includes thousands of items which been produced during the last couple of decades, along with reviews of shops and other helpful articles. One can also list their own collection and post gallery photos.
Shops

Retailers:
AmiAmi HobbySearch Mandarake (sells rare figures) Good Smile Company Online Shop (often has exclusives) Good Smile Company US shop Crunchyroll Store Hobby Link Japan (aka HLJ) Solaris Japan (MFC partner) BigBadToyStore (MFC partner, US retailer) Big in Japan (also has proxy service) Tokyo Otaku Mode FigureHaven Archonia (EU) Yorokonde (EU) Figuya (EU) Gamersheek (UK) Jungle
List of retailers on MFC
/AnimeFigures' List of Retailers
Community Guide to Shopping in Japan

Blogs/News:

Nekomagic (News/Previews) NyaaFigurines (Reviews/Releases) Kahotan's Blog (News/Reviews) Figma Blog (JP)

Buying & Shipping

1. What’s the best place to buy my anime figures from?
That’s going to depend a lot on what works for you, but most people around here buy them from Amiami, Big in Japan, Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan, or Tokyo Otaku Mode. If none of those work for you for whatever reason, there’s a list of reputable retailers in the sidebar that you can check out at any time. Be extra careful when ordering figures from websites like Amazon or ebay, as there are a lot of bootlegs on those sites. Don’t be afraid to ask in our Bootleg Megathread if you’re unsure.
2. What differences are there between the shipping options I get from most Japanese shops?
Below is a rundown of the main shipping choices you’ll get at most retailers. Keep in mind that if an order is large enough you will be forced to use one of the more expensive options, as SAL shipments have lower size and weight restrictions.

Unregistered SAL: Sometimes referred to as uSAL, is usually the cheapest method. It does not come with any tracking or insurance. Usually takes up 2-4 weeks for delivery.
Registered SAL: Sometimes referred to as rSAL, is insured for the declared value up to 6,000 yen. It comes with a tracking number and usually takes 2-4 weeks for delivery.
EMS: This method of shipping is much faster than either SAL options, usually arriving within a week of shipment. EMS shipments are insured for the declared value up to 2,000,000 yen.
Airmail
E-packet
Surface: Shops don't offer this very often. It's an actual cargo ship and slow as a result.
DHL: Becoming more available as an alternative to EMS on AmiAmi and other sites. Can be less expensive than EMS and of comparable speed, but may be more reliant on the specific geographical area being shipped to. The price is also determined by the size of the box. Offers their own tracking.

3. I placed two+ orders for figures at different times. Will my items be shipped together, or will I have to pay shipping twice?
Most shops will ask you to pay shipping on a per-order basis, but here are some that will allow combined shipping:

Amiami: You can combine orders here, as long as the orders ship in the same month. It doesn’t matter if the item is new or preowned. Any preorders that are set for that month can also be combined with other orders for that month. However, be aware that if the preorder gets delayed, Amiami will remove that item from that month’s shipment and place it on a new order. To combine orders on Amiami, use the “Combine Orders” feature under “My Account”.
Hobby Search: Hobby Search will let you combine orders that release in the same month, but you cannot combine in stock items with preorders. If you want to combine multiple preorders, or multiple in stock items, you can do so using the “Order Recombination” feature on your account page.
HobbyLink Japan: At HLJ, you have the option to send paid orders to their “Private Warehouse”, where you can store them for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to ship the items, you simply select which items to ship and HLJ will combine them into one shipment for you. To use this, just select the “Private Warehouse” option as shipping when you order.

If you’re unsure about whether or not a shop we haven’t listed will combine your orders, please refer to their individual FAQs.
4. When will I get charged for my preorder?
Most Japanese shops charge you once the item is in stock and ready for shipment. When that happens, they will send you an email asking for payment. Some shops (mostly overseas ones), will allow you to pay for the item up front though, if you’d like. A few with that option are:

Big in Japan (Japanese store)
Tokyo Otaku Mode
Anime Island
Crunchyroll

Keep in mind that overseas stores will likely get the figure a few months after Japanese ones, so pay attention to the release date stated on the website you are buying from so as to avoid that confusion.
5. Should I expect to pay customs fees when importing figures?
That depends on where you live. Here’s a quick rundown:

Australia: 10% GST is now assessed up front.
Canada: Minimum declared value for charges is around CAD$20 for regular shipments, and CAD$60 for gifts (gifting something only seems to lower the declared value by about CAD$40, not deplete it completely). When using Amiami, try their Small Air Packet option. It comes with tracking, gets there in about the same time as EMS, and is better at avoiding customs.
European Union: As of 1st July 2021, VAT has to be paid on all goods imported from outside of the EU. Retailers are supposed charge VAT for purchases under €150, however many Japanese retailers currently do not, so VAT will be charged when your order arrives in the EU. Orders that are >€150, VAT and duty will be charged by your local customs.
UK: As of 1st January 2021, VAT is to be charged by retailers for orders <£135. However, customs isn't currently charging VAT on parcels valued at <£135, even if the VAT hasn't been paid. Goods >£135 will have their VAT and duty calculated and charged by customs.
Mexico: Minimum declared value for customs fees is USD$300 for shipments by post, and USD$50 for shipments by courier.
United States: A shipment has to have a declared value of USD$2,000 before customs starts hitting you with fees, so you most likely won’t have to worry about them at all.

6. The figure I want is an exclusive, how do I go about ordering one outside of Japan?
You have three options for this:
A. Big in Japan is known to stock exclusive figures and ship to other countries. Usually the price is higher because they build in their proxy fees, but it’s easier than worrying about using a forwarder or proxy service. If you live in the US, Crunchyroll, Right Stuf, and Tokyo Otaku Mode also get exclusives sometimes, but out of the states the shipping can get expensive.
B. Forwarding Services: A forwarder is someone who you ship an exclusive item to so that they can forward the package on to you, usually for a flat fee + shipping. When using a forwarder you still make the purchase yourself, and enter their address into the shipping field. When the box arrives at the forwarder they will then stick your address onto the package and send it on its way.
Some popular forwarders are:

Be sure to read each sites instructions on forwarding carefully!
C. Proxy Services: With a proxy, you tell them what the item you’re looking for is and they will purchase it in your stead. This is handy for when a company doesn’t accept foreign credit cards, or you’re having trouble navigating a Japanese website.
Some popular proxies are:

Big in Japan (Won’t proxy for Yahoo Auctions)
From Japan

Again, be sure you thoroughly read through each sites proxy instructions.
7. I see a bunch of really cheap figures that ship from China on ebay. Are those okay to buy?
Generally, no. They’re most likely bootlegs. If you want a second opinion on that, feel free to ask in the Bootleg Megathread that’s always stickied at the top of the sub.
8. What’s a bootleg, and how can I avoid buying them?
A bootleg is a counterfeit figure often made using rejected molds of the official product. They are usually priced significantly lower than the genuine article, and in order to make their profit, bootleggers use lower quality materials and have less attention to detail- resulting in a substandard figure.
The Bootleg Megathread that I mentioned in question 7 is a great tool to avoid buying any bootlegs. It has a few tips and tricks to avoiding them to begin with, and a few more on how to spot them if you’re worried you might already own one.
9. Does anyone know when figure X is going to be released? How do I know if it was delayed?
My Figure Collection (sometimes referred to as MFC) does an excellent job of staying on top of information like release dates and delays. If you’re curious about an upcoming figures release date, check there first. This information can be found directly under the “Releases” section on a figure’s entry. If you only see a month and a year in that section, it means the release date has not yet been announced by the manufacturer, and there is still a chance the figure could be delayed.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.
10. The figure I want is long sold out at normal retailers! What’s the best place to pick it up in the aftermarket?
A list of reputable retailers can be found under the “Shops” section of the /AnimeFigures sidebar. They all sell legitimate products, and many of them also sell figures second hand. However, the most frequently suggested second hand sites are Mandarake and Amiami- who has a preowned section that they update every night save Sundays and Japanese holidays around 1PM JST and again around 6PM JST.
AmiAmi grades their pre-owned items on a letter scale. The general consensus from buyers is that their ratings are conservative, so unless the item and/or packaging is specifically indicated as having significant flaws, pre-owned items from them are usually in at least as good a condition as their rating suggests.
Note: When you search Mandarake, you’ll get the best results by using the Japanese characters for whatever you are searching. If you don’t know them, you can find them on MFC by clicking on any of the “details” in that figure’s listing.
11. Amiami has a figure I’m interested in labeled as “For sale in Japan only”. Does this mean I can’t order it without a proxy or forwarder?
No, you can still order it. Amiami’s English site has that warning on many items, and it’s mostly meant to inform you that this product was made for a Japanese market, and as such, will have Japanese speaking/writing in it- so don’t expect any instructions to be in English. If Amiami doesn’t want foreigners buying a certain product, they won’t even list it on their English site.

Displaying Your Figures

12. What display cases do you recommend?
If you live near an Ikea try out one of these:

Klingsbo
Billy (Often used with Morliden doors (now the HÖGBO and glass shelves.)
Detolf: Formerly the go-to choice for inexpensive display cabinetry, the Detolf was first made flimsier around 2020 and then essentially phased out of the name, to become the BLÅLIDEN. Knockoff versions of widely-varying quality are commonly found on other shopping sites these days, though.

*If you decided on a Detolf, you might find that there is a lot of wasted space. Here are a few tutorials on raising the shelves or and adding extra ones in.

If you don’t live near an Ikea, Amazon has a few display options, though they are more expensive. Also keep an eye on your local Craigslist (or your country’s equivalent) and stores near you that are closing up.
13. What lighting do you guys recommend?
Ikea’s Dioder LED strips were discontinued after a long run. A current version is the Vattensten, if you're inclined to buy your case and lights at the same time.
LED strips have become very commonly available in recent years; most hardware and home furnishing stores carry a selection now. Just make sure that the lights don’t get too hot!
14. What are those clear plastic boxes that I see under everyone’s figures in their collection posts, and where can I get them?
Those are called risers. Most of us use standard acrylic risers like these. Some other, easy to find things that have been suggested are:

Plastic picture cubes
Card Deck Boxes
If you’re feeling adventurous, try making your own!

Check your local hobby store for the first 2 options, or your local hardware store if you want to make your own.
Another common suggestion is to visit The Container Store if you have one near you. They have a lot of things to choose from that can suit a variety of needs. Be sure to check out their standard acrylic risers, their Amac boxes, and the various display cases they sell (baseball cases, mini car cases. hockey puck cases, etc).
15. Should I keep my figures sealed?
That is, of course, up to you really, but here are a few things to keep in mind when debating this question:

Keeping it sealed can actually damage your figure. PVC figures usually have something called plasticizer in them, and that plasticizer needs to be able to breath. If a PVC figure isn’t exposed to oxygen, after a period of time the plasticizer starts to break down and form a sticky substance on the surface of the figure. Simply opening your figures and taking them out of the box prevents this from happening. If you happen to find plasticizer goo on one of your figures, Kahotan has a handy guide for dealing with it.
Unlike some other figure markets, keeping an anime figure sealed won’t raise its value by a whole lot. In fact, because of the plasticizer problem mentioned above, your figure could actually be in better condition if you open it versus keeping it sealed.

Finding the Right Figure(s) for You

16. What are "scales" and "prizes"? What is the difference between them?
Those are classifications for figures based on a few factors.

"Prizes" are generally more simply produced figures which are intended to be given as prizes for playing arcade games. They are inexpensive and lack the detail of scale figures, though some prize figure lines have standouts which may approach lower-end scales in quality. That is uncommon and often depends on the individual figure.
"Scales" are called such because they are nominally designed to be proportional to the dimensions of the character which they are based on. They are generally of much better manufacture and materials than prize figures, allowing for more detail in painting, accessories, or complex poses.
"Trading" figures appear in gashapon machines or as blind boxes on shop counters, often as sets which include multiple characters. As suggested by the class name, the randomness encourages trading. They are usually very inexpensively-produced, though as with prizes, some series are better than others.
"Non-scale" encompasses a variety of other categories. It is often used to describe poseable figure lines such as figma and Nendoroids.

In recent years producers such as Good Smile Company attempted to further bridge the gap between prize quality and scales by introducing figure lines which are intended to be moderately-priced while retaining a higher level of detail than the typical prize figure, to varying levels of success.
17. There are so many figure companies! Who makes good figures?!
Obviously this is a very subjective question, but as a general starting point, here are a few well renowned figure companies:

Alter
Max Factory
Good Smile Company
Kotobukiya (usually hit or miss for people. Use your best judgement based off of the prototype)
Flare
Stronger

18. I really love “series X / character X”- how can I check if any figures were ever made for it?
My Figure Collection can be your best friend here. Simply do a search on the name of the series or character using the search bar located at the top right of the screen, and all associated figures pop up!
Alternatively, if you’re looking at a figure’s MFC entry, most of the text under the “Details” section can be clicked on and used to run a search.
19. How can I commission a custom figure?
None of the major figure companies (Alter, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, etc.) will take a commission for a single figure. This thread has a few websites in it that you can check out, or you can look into garage kits. Some kit painters would be willing to resculpt, frankenstein together, or otherwise modify kits for the right price.
If you're looking for help completing a garage kit, /brushforhire may be useful.

Keeping Up with New Announcements

20. How can I keep up with figure news (announcements, updates, etc.)?
Most people use a MFC combined with any or all of the following news sites:

Neko Magic
Alter’s Blog (In Japanese)
Kahotan’s Blog (Only GSC and their sister companies)

Many figure companies are active on Twitter, so following them there is recommended for quicker news.
To use MFC for this I’ll quote question #9.

If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.

Most companies have one or more Twitter accounts. Some examples: Good Smile Company sales, Good Smile's USA branch, Max Factory, AmiAmi Hobby News.
21. Everyone’s excited about something called Wonfes….. what the heck is that?!
WonFes (short for Wonder Festival) is a biannual figure expo where many figure producers (both large and small) show off new sculpts and updates to figures already under way. Most companies save their most exciting announcements for WonFes, so we all look forward to the expo whenever it rolls around! Winter Wonder Festival is usually held in February, while Summer Wonder Festival is usually in July. The event has also spread to Shanghai, in the late spring.
22. One or two (or 15) figures were announced at WonFes that I’m really excited about! How can I keep track of their progress once the event is over?
MFC is always really quick about getting new WonFes announcements (or any others throughout the year, for that matter) listed in their database, so we suggest using that. To find a figure from the event you can search any number of things, including the name of the character or the name of the show. You can also use the tag search to search “WonderFestival 20xx_[season]” to see all items announced at that event.

Tuesday, May 07
📷 Good morning! The S&P 500 gained over 1% Monday. Disney headlines a big Tuesday for quarterly results, releasing its report card before the bell — an early day for the California-based company.
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And once again, tune into Yahoo Finance Live to catch our folks on the ground at the Milken Institute Global Conference in California. (And make sure to keep scrolling for a dispatch from Executive Editor Brian Sozzi.)
What we're watching
📷 Disney reports results: Disney will report second quarter earnings before the bell Tuesday. With its high-profile proxy fight behind it, the company returns its focus to other significant challenges, including the transition to streaming profitability. Investors will be watching any news about an ESPN streaming platform, Disney+ subscribers, and any possible updates about CEO Bob Iger's succession plan. Its stock is up 28% over the last year.
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📷 2024's best three-day period: The S&P 500 notched its best three-day run of the year, closing 1% up Monday, as commentary from numerous Fed officials added to the good feelings brought on by the April jobs report.
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📷 Fed officials saying the right things: After April's hawkish commentary from a slew of Fed officials before the quiet period, central bank members are once again telling investors what they want to hear. New York Fed president John Williams and Richmond Fed president Thomas Barkin gave investors hope for 2024 rate cuts by soothing rate hike worries on Monday. Williams said specifically that he thinks cuts will happen this year. But, of course, the officials reiterated the central banker mantra: They will be looking at the totality of data as it comes.
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📷 A busy day of corporate results: Tuesday features a busy corporate calendar besides Disney. Lyft, Reddit, Match Group, Twilio, TripAdvisor, Ferrari, Crocs, BP, Celsius, Rivian, EA, and IAC also feature on the calendar. Something for everyone. And as you can read about in our Takeaway, Reddit has a new way to field questions on its earnings call — its own product.
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📷 Companies are, in fact, earning: We're not done yet with Q2 earnings season, but with 80% of the S&P 500 results recorded, it's safe to say companies are doing far better than expected. As our Josh Schafer writes, the 5% earnings growth companies have reported for Q1 is the most in nearly two years and consensus estimates expect that growth to continue. Even if companies are being lauded a little less and punished a little more in the stock market for exceeding or missing expectations, the fundamentals are improving.
Morning Brief is written and edited by Ethan Wolff-Mann. For the web version, click here. Follow all the action throughout the day on Yahoo Finance and on the Yahoo Finance app.
What we're reading
📷 New EV tax credit rules mean cars with Chinese materials won't qualify —but there's a catch.
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📷 Lucid stock down on Q1 loss, and confirms Gravity SUV on track for 'late 2024' launch.
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📷 Social Security just passed Medicare as the government's most pressing insolvency risk.
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📷 Robinhood gets new legal threat from SEC as crypto crackdown continues.
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📷 FAA opens new probe into Boeing 787 inspections.
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📷 US banks report weaker loan demand, Fed survey says.
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📷 Palantir raises 2024 forecast on robust AI demand.
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📷 Why losing NBA media rights would be 'a big negative' for Warner Bros. Discovery.
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📷 Apollo CEO Marc Rowan: A soft landing for the economy has been achieved. (Disclaimer: Apollo is Yahoo's parent company.)
📷
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Learn more.
Reddit's first quarterly report follows Elon Musk's lead
Today's Takeaway is by Myles Udland, Head of News.
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On Jan. 30, 2019, Elon Musk launched one of his more unheralded innovations in the business world: He began Tesla's earnings conference call with questions from retail investors.
‌
On Tuesday, Reddit, whose message boards helped fuel the 2021 meme stock rally, will report its first quarterly results since going public and launch its own innovation of a sort, taking questions from the investing public that will be posted, but where else, on Reddit.
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Since Tesla's call back in 2019, we've seen several companies take a different approach to explaining their results since going public.
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Robinhood, to no one's surprise, has been at the forefront of remaking these quarterly updates, beginning their own calls with questions from retail investors. The company will report its latest quarterly results on Wednesday.
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In 2021, Robinhood also acquired Say Technologies, the company behind say.com, the service that powered shareholder-submitted calls for Tesla back in 2019.
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Coinbase, which, like Robinhood, made its public market debut in 2021 with a focus on its retail users and investors, began its call last week with questions from shareholders.
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And AMC, one of the most prominent companies in the meme stock craze, mixes in several questions from shareholders during its quarterly call. Its meme stock counterpart GameStop, for its part, hasn't taken questions from analysts or shareholders following quarterly results since December 2020.
And taking questions from investors isn't the only way conference calls have changed through the years.
‌
Years before Tesla's move to bring in shareholder questions, Netflix began its own innovation in the space, tasking a single analyst or IR exec with hosting what it calls an "earnings interview." The company continues the practice today.
‌
This past weekend, many investors spent hours listening to Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett hold court with shareholders inside a basketball arena in Omaha, Neb. Berkshire has never hosted quarterly earnings calls.
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Over the years, the rules have considerably changed regarding how analysts can interact with company management and how companies communicate with the investing public.
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In short, more people have more information, and fewer people know anything special.
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Corporate communications has boomed. Sell-side research has dwindled. And the research arms of financial firms now resemble media companies, complete with newsletters, podcasts, and their own personalities.
When Musk took his first question from shareholders, the appeal was immediately apparent.
‌
According to a transcript from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the first question was about "service," which Musk had already addressed "at length," according to Tesla's IR head Martin Viecha.
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The next question resembled much of the fare executives are accustomed to responding to from Wall Street analysts — "How are you feeling about demand right now across the product line?"
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In the five years since this call, the rise of the retail investor and the "meme stock" movement has continued to reshape this quarterly ritual. And Musk, for his part, has turned holding a colorful earnings call into an art form.
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Perhaps it's fitting, then, that at the end of Tesla's earnings call last month Viecha announced that it would be his last.
Chart of the day
If you chart the S&P 500's rough April, there's a notable bottom on Friday, April 19. It was the last day before the Fed's quiet period when its officials went silent.
‌
And while the correlation between a muted Fed and happier market might be somewhat spurious — many other factors drive the market — Bank of America put a fresh new chart to something we all know instinctively: In the world of markets, no news is good news.
‌
In this chart, BofA's equity and quant strategy team tracked the median weekly returns against key macro releases like GDP, CPI, PMI, FOMC meetings, retail sales, and jobs reports.
📷
"Since 2014, the S&P 500 has risen 0.6% during weeks with no key macro data releases vs. +0.2% in other weeks on a median basis. So no news is typically good news for stocks," the team, led by Ohsung Kwon, wrote. "Historically, the equity market has favored quiet macro weeks."
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Unlike the VIX vs. S&P 500 relationship, which shows an inverse relationship between volatility and stock prices, this chart speaks more directly to what actually causes that volatility: uncertainty. Waiting for the other shoe to drop is stressful.
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And in weeks with fewer macro readings to be uncertain about, like this one, stocks have fewer reasons to stray from their historical path up and to the right.
Dispatch from Milken: Top CEOs see risks in investing in the Magnificent Seven
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — What's a glitzy investing conference without a little Mag Seven banter?
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"The risk is simple — those stocks don't do well," Avenue Capital Group founder and CEO Marc Lasry told Yahoo Finance at the Milken Institute Global Conference on Monday.
‌
Lasry was answering a question about the risk of overcrowding into tech names such as the Magnificent Seven.
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"What has happened is when people are nervous, they invest in things that they know really well and they believe are going to be around," Lasry added. "But I don't know what happens in the next year. I do know on the credit side, you've got all these opportunities."
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The former co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, Lasry has been investing in credit markets for more than four decades, giving him a reported net worth of $1.9 billion.
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So suffice it to say, Lasry has seen a few investing cycles and market crazes.
And the Mag Seven could be viewed as a craze.
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Altogether, the Mag Seven were responsible for about 37% of the S&P 500's 10.2% gain in the first quarter, according to data from S&P Global Indices. In 2023, the cohort constituted roughly two-thirds of the S&P 500's advance.
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The optimism on the group reflects profit enthusiasm on everything from Nvidia AI chips to Microsoft's Copilot productivity tool.
‌
But with investors now more closely scrutinizing the Mag Seven amid higher interest rates, shares have come back down to earth.
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Explained Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, "I'm not in the stock picking business. But very few people come in every day and try to buy 45 or 50 P/E stocks. It's just not what we do." (Disclosure: Apollo Global Management is the parent company of Yahoo Finance.)
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"I look at the broader trend. We used to have 8,000 public companies. We now have 4,000 public companies," he added. "People think most of the action is in public markets. 80% of companies over a hundred million of revenue and 80% of employment is in private companies."
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— Brian Sozzi, Executive Editor

Finally, it looks as though Disney’s streaming service has turned a profit for the first time in its history. However, the company expects weaker results for this business segment for the current quarter, which has caused the stock to fall 10% in trading.

Background

A key priority for the entertainment giant was to achieve sustained profitability in streaming. This is because cable TV has continued to decline in recent years. CEO Bob Iger has made a strong impression with his turnaround plan, leading investors to have a bullish look at the stock in recent months. The company also scored a fresh win off of their high-profile proxy fight with activist investor Nelson Peltz.

Current News

In Disney’s second quarter, their direct-to-consumer (DTC) segment of the entertainment business, which includes both Disney+ and Hulu, posted an operating income of $47 million, barely squeaking in their first profit compared to their loss of $587 million over the prior-year period.
However, it looks like that profit will not last long as Disney expects their third quarter to be red, driven by their loss of the Indian brand Disney+ Hotstar.
Additionally, other Disney streaming services, such as ESPN+, reported a $18 million loss versus the $659 million loss over the year-earlier period.
Not too bad.
Even with expected losses coming in for the third quarter, Disney expects profitability across all of its streaming platforms by the fourth quarter of this year. Still, investors were unhappy with the Disney+ Hotstar news, plunging the stock down.

Other metrics

Disney beat its Q2 adjusted earnings of $1.21 a share compared to analyst predictions of $1.10. This is much higher than the $0.93 reported by Disney during Q2 of 2023. Revenue came out to be $22.1 billion, which met expectations and is a slight increase above the $21.82 billion the company reported in the year-ago period.
Disney also surprisingly raised its guidance for its full-year adjusted earnings growth to 25%, which is up from the prior 20%.
I wanna hear the ValueInvesting SubReddit's opinion on Disney's earnings. Did I miss anything? What do you think about the earnings report?
Btw I wanna give credit where it's due: This analysis I got almost entirely from here

Disney (DIS) said Tuesday an important part of its streaming business turned a profit for the first time but that it expects weaker results in that segment for the current quarter, sending its stock down nearly 10% in early trading. The forecast highlights Disney's challenges in achieving sustained profitability in streaming, a key priority as its linear TV business declines. Overall, CEO Bob Iger's recent turnaround plan has made investors more bullish on the stock in recent months. The company is also fresh off a win in a high-profile proxy fight against activist investor Nelson Peltz. In Disney's fiscal second quarter, the direct-to-consumer (DTC) portion of its entertainment segment, which includes Disney+ and Hulu, posted operating income of $47 million, compared to a loss of $587 million in the prior-year period. The company said it expects DTC results in the entertainment segment to be in the red in the third quarter, driven by losses from its Indian brand Disney+ Hotstar. Additionally, not all of Disney's streaming services were profitable in Q2. Including ESPN+, total direct-to-consumer losses amounted to $18 million versus the $659 million loss reported in the year-earlier period. Disney expects full streaming profitability by the fourth quarter of this year. The company reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $1.21 a share — a beat compared with the $1.10 analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected and higher than the $0.93 Disney reported in Q2 2023. Revenue came in at $22.1 billion, meeting consensus expectations and ahead of the $21.82 billion the company reported in the year-ago period. Reported By Yahoo Finance

Monday, May 06
📷 Good morning! In case you missed it over the weekend, we heard some interesting comments from Warren Buffett on AI during Saturday's Berkshire Hathaway.
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Several of our reporters are on the ground at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles today. You can catch their dispatches live on Yahoo Finance Live throughout the day.
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Here's our Head of News Myles Udland with your preview of the week ahead.
What we're watching
📷 The stock market begins the week with momentum: Over the last two weeks, investors were deluged by earnings, economic data, and the Federal Reserve's latest policy announcement.
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In the week ahead, the earnings flow will remain steady but slow down while the week's economic calendar should be among the year's quietest.
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On Friday, investors cheered the April jobs report, which showed the US labor market growing at a slower pace last month, bringing the prospect of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates this year back to the fore.
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Combine this report with strong earnings late Thursday out of Apple, which became the latest Big Tech company to also boost its shareholder return plans, and all three major indexes finished the week in positive territory.
Morning Brief is written and edited by Ethan Wolff-Mann. For the web version, click here. Follow all the action throughout the day on Yahoo Finance and on the Yahoo Finance app.
📷
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Join over 25 million worldwide who have already chosen Plus500. Start Trading with as little as $100!‌
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📷 Disney headlines the week: Earnings expected in the week ahead won't include any members of the "Magnificent Seven" for the first time in three weeks. In their place, consumer and entertainment names will take top billing.
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Results from Disney, expected out Tuesday morning before the bell, should be the week's most closely watched report, as the media conglomerate is set to deliver its first quarterly earnings since winning its proxy fight with Nelson Peltz last month. Subscriber growth for its streaming services, parks attendance, and Disney's read on the summer box office will be key themes for investors.
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As the parent company of ESPN, any commentary on the sports media landscape — in particular ongoing negotiations for the NBA's next media rights deal — will also be of note. Results from Warner Bros. Discovery, parent company of cable networks HBO, TBS, and TNT, later this week should pique investor interest along similar lines.
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📷 Other quarterly results to watch: Elsewhere on the earnings side, Uber and Lyft will offer updates on the ridesharing business, Reddit will report its first quarterly results since going public, and consumer eating and drinking habits will get a checkup via results from the Cheesecake Factory, Papa John's, Celsius, and Krispy Kreme, among others.
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📷 Sentiment and some Fedspeak: The economic calendar features little of note for investors, with Friday's preliminary look at consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan the only report of note. A handful of Federal Reserve officials are set to speak publicly over the next week, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell is not among them.
Chart of the day
No news last week made a bigger impact on markets than Friday's jobs report.
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The US economy added 175,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in April, fewer than expected. The unemployment rate also rose a tenth of a percent and annual wage growth slowed to 3.9%, its lowest level since June 2021.
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Job growth slowing after a gangbusters start to 2024 and wage pressures appearing to ease were enough for investors to price in an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve as soon as September.
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"The labor market is still healthy, and the Fed needs to see several months of benign inflation data before lowering rates," wrote Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics.
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"However, the April jobs report should help Fed officials regain confidence that inflation can get back to 2%."
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In his press conference last week, Fed Chair Jay Powell noted, "The labor market remains relatively tight, but supply and demand conditions have come into better balance." Friday's report will affirm the chair in this view.
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Still, a softer employment report that takes pressure off the Fed should not be mistaken for a sign the US labor market is rolling over.
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Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock, wrote in a note on Friday the US labor market's consistency has been "remarkable" over the last year, with three-, six-, and 12-month average job gains totaling 242,000, 242,000, and 245,000, respectively.
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Rieder added that while he expects the pace of job growth to slow, "some of the highest frequency measures of labor market health, such as separations, initial claims, etc., have moved sideways at low levels since March suggesting few signs of mass layoffs and a relatively healthy labor market."
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If the first quarter of 2024 was defined by investors making peace with the idea rate cuts might be entirely off the table, the first month of the second quarter has been more positive for those investors clamoring for lower rates.
Earnings excitement
And just like that, first quarter earnings season is just about done.
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Through Friday, some 80% of the S&P 500 had reported results, with aggregate annual earnings growth coming in at 5%. At the end of Q1, investors expected earnings had grown 3.4% over the prior year, according to data from FactSet.
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And not only has this earnings season been better than expected for investors, but the typical pattern of analysts growing more cautious ahead of next quarter's earnings season hasn't held either.
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According to FactSet, analysts raised earnings estimates during April by 0.7%. In the first month of any given quarter, analysts have typically cut forecasts by an average of 1.9%.
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Companies, of course, are more than happy with analyst habits to lower estimates during the quarter, making the eventual earnings "beat" a more manageable task.
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And given both companies and analysts are aware of the dynamics of this dance, that analysts aren't lowering estimates speaks to the positive fundamental story backing up this year's market rally.
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Take Apple, for instance.
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On Friday, the iPhone maker's stock gained 6%. Its fiscal second quarter results reported Thursday were better than feared. And though the company reported another annual revenue drop, in the current quarter Apple expects revenue to rise by low single digits.
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And even more encouragingly for investors, CFO Luca Maestri told Yahoo Finance's Josh Lipton that sales in mainland China actually rose during the most recent quarter.
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With investor community fears of Apple's position in China at elevated levels, and some alternative data suggesting an ugly picture for the company in Asia, Apple was asked by analysts how it squares these competing readings.
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"I can't address the data points," CEO Tim Cook told investors. "I [can] only address what our results are ... I can't bridge to numbers we didn't come up with."
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A pointed, blunt assessment on how Apple views outside efforts to track its business.
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And the kind of message you will only hear in an environment where companies are emboldened to lean into discrepancies between their own numbers and outside estimates.
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An environment in which it follows, then, that analysts won't be quite as quick as normal to pare their expectations.

This is a work in progress, I’d love to add to it! Feel free to ask questions or suggest things to add.
GENERAL MERCH - SECONDHAND
If you’ve been wondering where to buy TWST merch, you may have heard of Mercari Japan. Mercari is a secondhand site that’s commonly used in Japan to sell merch and collectibles. There is an American branch of Mercari, but it seems to be run completely separately - recently Mercari US has done some shady stuff with returns and charging the buyers fees, I’ve never seen anything to do with that on Mercari JP. The ‘culture’ is also pretty different than any NA based secondhand site I’ve been on. People sell clothes, things cluttering up their house, handmade items, high value collector’s items and more all on the same site. It’s like a combination of poshmark, original etsy, and eBay. It’s also the best place to get TWST stuff, unless you happen to catch an Aniplex pre order. You need a shopping service to help you buy because you don’t live in Japan, but it’s really no big deal!
If you don’t want to deal with a shopping service, or aren’t as much of a ‘sport shopper’ who enjoys hunting down deals, Suruga-ya is trustworthy and a little easier to use. The prices will be generally higher than you find on Mercari, as to be expected with any reseller of used goods, but they seem reasonable. You can buy directly from them, but you’ll still be paying the international shipping cost from Japan. However, they often have promotions on shipping, which can be a good enough deal to even offset item markup!
What’s a shopping service?
A shopping service (also called a proxy) is a company that purchases the things you want for you. You select items, send the money to the shopping service, and they purchase them. Items are shipped to the shopping service, and when they receive everything; you pay for international shipping. Then you get a big box of items, yay!
So how much is shipping?
The international ‘light packet’ shipping is about 30$ CAD or 22$ USD. I can only speak for North America, if anyone has approximate costs for other countries I’d love to add that. You can get quite a bit in a box before the shipping goes up, in my experience - I’ve paid 30 for shipping and recieved a box full of items approximately the size of a large shoebox (like that you might buy boots in). If you’re looking at small items like nuis, zipper pouches and buttons you can buy quite a bit and make that shipping worth your while. I’ve gone up to about 70$ CAD before in shipping, usually buying quite a lot (ordering stuff for friends and/or bulkier items like in box nendoroids or the large plushies).
How much are items?
Your best value will be in ‘lots’ of items people are selling - for TWST this is usually grouped by character or just by dorm. It really depends on how popular the dorm/characters you are interested in is, for how good the deals will be! Also if you’re looking for event/birthday items, those tend to be pricier or require more hunting around to find a good price. You can often find a lot of items with a handful of keychains, an acrylic standee or two, some pins, a couple of cards and maybe a nui or two for around 10$. Many of the common items are often in these lots, so I never go out of my way to buy them on their own. If I buy something on its own, it’s usually because it’s rare or special (lately this has been birthday pins for me).
These items are secondhand. Are they clean?
Anyone who’s bought secondhand items, especially online, knows that sometimes the condition is misrepresented. There can be undisclosed damage, dirt/pet hair, things stinking of smoke etc. I’ve literally never had this problem on the Japanese market - sometimes there’s photos of ‘damage’ I can’t even see, and often things are heavily discounted for reasons like ‘I own a cat’. Things still wrapped in original plastic will have ‘this is stored by an amateur, purchase with caution’ in their description. Everything is nicely packaged and all clothing items I’ve bought have been washed (sometimes with a laundry detergent I don’t like the smell of, but I’m washing it myself anyways!).
On Poshmark/Depop you often have to talk to the seller. Is Mercari JP like that?
Not at all. If there is any messaging the seller involved, the shopping service takes care of it for you.
How do I buy?
I use the shopping service Buyee. You can search directly through them and even save your fave searches on your profile to check them easily, which I love. Buyee also lets you buy directly from a number of other sites big like Rakuten and Yahoo JP, and combine it all together into one order they ship for you. I haven’t found anywhere near as much TWST stuff on those sites as on Mercari, but it is convenient! Once you find something you like, you can put it in your cart to think about it or buy it right away. The purchase screen shows you the purchase price plus the 300 yen shipping service price. Some services take a percentage instead, but the flat fee is great for those lots of items and higher priced items. It is not so great for things like single buttons which may be priced around 300 yen themselves. There’s also a dropdown menu with ‘purchase protection package’ which has 0, 300 and 500 yen options. It will be automatically set to the highest option. This may be worthwhile for a very high value collectible or something fragile, but I have always happily set it to 0. Everything is always well packed and I have no reservations about doing this! You can pay with a credit card that you have the option to save on the account. Then it’ll show up in your ‘orders’ tab (you can see it if you click on your cart!) and you’ll be able to see when buyee completes the order, when the item ships and when they recieve it. Occasionally an item will be sold out, or the seller will cancel, and in that case buyee refunds you immediately. Once an item arrives at buyee, they’ll keep it for 30 days (I believe you can extend for a fee? I haven’t personally done it).
How do I ship my items?
Once they all arrive (you’ll get an email when each one comes in) click on ‘package information’ on the top bar and then ‘in storage’. You’ll see that they have a shipping estimate for each individual item, but we’re going to put them all together. Click select all, and then consolidate package. You’ll be asked about additional protective packaging - again, their default packaging is quite secure, I only got additional packaging once when I bought a ceramic item. Confirm that you want to consolidate. This takes about a day, and then you’ll be able to see shipping costs for your complete package. Simply choose what shipping company you want (availability and price will vary depending on where you are and what you’ve bought), pay the shipping fee and they’ll send out your package! Now you just have to wait for it to arrive.
So… how do I find items?
One of the best ways to find specific types of merch is to just search ツイステッドワンダーランド (Twisted Wonderland) by category. ツイステッ seems to be used the same way we say TWST, so you can experiment with that too! My favourite category search is fashion -> women, which works as a pretty good catch all for things like bags, shirts, PJs etc. If you’re looking for stuff that doesn’t fall into plushies/keychains/buttons/standees, it’s a good one. Books, magazines & manga -> manga is good for doujinshi. Games, toys & goods -> toys -> plush doll will get you all of the plushies. Most other types of stuff you might want will be in the ‘character goods’ category under Games, toys & goods. You’ll see pin badges, acrylic stands and key rings all under there as separate categories!
Generally the other keywords I find useful are the dorms and character names. I’ll include those in a comment below - most of them you can straight run through google translate, but a few of them don’t come out quite right.
You can sort things a few ways, I find price low->high or newly added to be the most useful! The price search is good for deals, but you usually have to scroll through tons of pages of just bundles of the cards to get there, that’s pretty much always what’s priced the lowest.
DOUJINSHI
You can buy used doujin on Mercari, and this can be good for getting a bundle of one pairing. However… buyee strictly doesn’t allow any 18+ content to show in searches, and they won’t purchase it. Even if you don’t want 18+ doujin, what about new stuff?
The answer is Toronoana, a marketplace just for doujinshi where they appear to be listed by the artists themselves. If you follow an artist on Twitter, they usually announce when they’re releasing a doujin - however, you can feel free to just browse a pairing. Search a character’s name (translated, of course) and when you find a listing with the pairing you want, you can click it there to see everything filed under that pairing. Keep in mind that doujin still very strictly follow the TopxBottom format, so if you want to see all content for a pairing you’ll have to make sure you check both versions. If you don’t want to see 18+ content, don’t worry - it’s listed under two completely different tabs. Each listing has a short description as well as a few sample pages, so you can see what the art and vibe is like.
If I can’t use buyee, what do I use?
Anime Otaku Carry Service. This one is actually a little weird compared to other shopping services, but once it’s set up it’s surprisingly easy to use! You’ll need an account on both Toronoana and AOCS. When you make your AOCS account, it’ll prompt you to link your Toronoana account. This is pretty easy and well explained on the AOCS site while you’re doing it. Once you’ve done that, you can pretty much shop right on Toronoana! If you see a book you like that’s out of stock, there’s also a spot to click to email you if it gets reprinted. The thing that confused me a little is that when you submit the books you want purchased, you don’t pay for them. AOCS orders them for you and once they all arrive you pay for the books and the shipping at the same time. Super convenient for stuff like preorders, but I definitely felt like I’d done something wrong the first time I ordered!
FANMADE ITEMS
Let me know your fave artists and makers, I only know a few and I’d love to have more.
Booth.pm - Japanese site for art and fan merch, requires a shopping service
TyrentArt on Etsy - charms, photo card holders, photo cards
Birdcrumb on Etsy - charms, prints, etc
MarkeTaico on Etsy - charms
MOmePeach on Etsy - Charms, stickers, prints
Dangerous Ladies - cosplay kits and files

Asking for a friend :) Do any of the proxy services for Yahoo Japan allow items to be shipped without declaring the actual value of the item? Thank you!

A thread for new collectors to ask basic questions of the community.
Frequently Asked Questions below!
A longer version of the subreddit rules is here.
For questions specifically concerning bootlegs or vendor legitimacy, please ask in the Bootleg Megathread.
NSFW & Spoiler Guidelines

For Self Posts: include a bolded NSFW note next to links in that post.
For Links to sites/images: If the figure is NSFW, or the website has any NSFW content (including ads) be sure to tag your post NSFW and use the appropriate link flair.

Bootlegs
Any collection posts containing bootlegs, comments advocating buying bootlegs, or links to sites selling bootlegs, recasts, or unlicensed merchandise will be removed.
People often ask about the legitimacy and/or safety of a number of websites which sell large resin statues. The more commonly-asked of those deal primarily in resins from studios which do not have a license from the Japanese IP holders to produce merchandise. Therefore links to those sites are not permitted here. Another sign is if MyFigureCollection doesn't list the either the statue, its manufacturer, or the shop it's being sold on.
MyFigureCollection
My Figure Collection is like MyAnimeList... but for figures! Their database includes thousands of items which been produced during the last couple of decades, along with reviews of shops and other helpful articles. One can also list their own collection and post gallery photos.
Shops

Retailers:
AmiAmi HobbySearch Mandarake (sells rare figures) Good Smile Company Online Shop (often has exclusives) Good Smile Company US shop Crunchyroll Store Hobby Link Japan (aka HLJ) Solaris Japan (MFC partner) BigBadToyStore (MFC partner, US retailer) Big in Japan (also has proxy service) Tokyo Otaku Mode FigureHaven Archonia (EU) Yorokonde (EU) Figuya (EU) Gamersheek (UK) Jungle
List of retailers on MFC
/AnimeFigures' List of Retailers
Community Guide to Shopping in Japan

Blogs/News:

Nekomagic (News/Previews) NyaaFigurines (Reviews/Releases) Kahotan's Blog (News/Reviews) Figma Blog (JP)

Buying & Shipping

1. What’s the best place to buy my anime figures from?
That’s going to depend a lot on what works for you, but most people around here buy them from Amiami, Big in Japan, Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan, or Tokyo Otaku Mode. If none of those work for you for whatever reason, there’s a list of reputable retailers in the sidebar that you can check out at any time. Be extra careful when ordering figures from websites like Amazon or ebay, as there are a lot of bootlegs on those sites. Don’t be afraid to ask in our Bootleg Megathread if you’re unsure.
2. What differences are there between the shipping options I get from most Japanese shops?
Below is a rundown of the main shipping choices you’ll get at most retailers. Keep in mind that if an order is large enough you will be forced to use one of the more expensive options, as SAL shipments have lower size and weight restrictions.

Unregistered SAL: Sometimes referred to as uSAL, is usually the cheapest method. It does not come with any tracking or insurance. Usually takes up 2-4 weeks for delivery.
Registered SAL: Sometimes referred to as rSAL, is insured for the declared value up to 6,000 yen. It comes with a tracking number and usually takes 2-4 weeks for delivery.
EMS: This method of shipping is much faster than either SAL options, usually arriving within a week of shipment. EMS shipments are insured for the declared value up to 2,000,000 yen.
Airmail
E-packet
Surface: Shops don't offer this very often. It's an actual cargo ship and slow as a result.
DHL: Becoming more available as an alternative to EMS on AmiAmi and other sites. Can be less expensive than EMS and of comparable speed, but may be more reliant on the specific geographical area being shipped to. The price is also determined by the size of the box. Offers their own tracking.

3. I placed two+ orders for figures at different times. Will my items be shipped together, or will I have to pay shipping twice?
Most shops will ask you to pay shipping on a per-order basis, but here are some that will allow combined shipping:

Amiami: You can combine orders here, as long as the orders ship in the same month. It doesn’t matter if the item is new or preowned. Any preorders that are set for that month can also be combined with other orders for that month. However, be aware that if the preorder gets delayed, Amiami will remove that item from that month’s shipment and place it on a new order. To combine orders on Amiami, use the “Combine Orders” feature under “My Account”.
Hobby Search: Hobby Search will let you combine orders that release in the same month, but you cannot combine in stock items with preorders. If you want to combine multiple preorders, or multiple in stock items, you can do so using the “Order Recombination” feature on your account page.
HobbyLink Japan: At HLJ, you have the option to send paid orders to their “Private Warehouse”, where you can store them for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to ship the items, you simply select which items to ship and HLJ will combine them into one shipment for you. To use this, just select the “Private Warehouse” option as shipping when you order.

If you’re unsure about whether or not a shop we haven’t listed will combine your orders, please refer to their individual FAQs.
4. When will I get charged for my preorder?
Most Japanese shops charge you once the item is in stock and ready for shipment. When that happens, they will send you an email asking for payment. Some shops (mostly overseas ones), will allow you to pay for the item up front though, if you’d like. A few with that option are:

Big in Japan (Japanese store)
Tokyo Otaku Mode
Anime Island
Crunchyroll

Keep in mind that overseas stores will likely get the figure a few months after Japanese ones, so pay attention to the release date stated on the website you are buying from so as to avoid that confusion.
5. Should I expect to pay customs fees when importing figures?
That depends on where you live. Here’s a quick rundown:

Australia: 10% GST is now assessed up front.
Canada: Minimum declared value for charges is around CAD$20 for regular shipments, and CAD$60 for gifts (gifting something only seems to lower the declared value by about CAD$40, not deplete it completely). When using Amiami, try their Small Air Packet option. It comes with tracking, gets there in about the same time as EMS, and is better at avoiding customs.
European Union: As of 1st July 2021, VAT has to be paid on all goods imported from outside of the EU. Retailers are supposed charge VAT for purchases under €150, however many Japanese retailers currently do not, so VAT will be charged when your order arrives in the EU. Orders that are >€150, VAT and duty will be charged by your local customs.
UK: As of 1st January 2021, VAT is to be charged by retailers for orders <£135. However, customs isn't currently charging VAT on parcels valued at <£135, even if the VAT hasn't been paid. Goods >£135 will have their VAT and duty calculated and charged by customs.
Mexico: Minimum declared value for customs fees is USD$300 for shipments by post, and USD$50 for shipments by courier.
United States: A shipment has to have a declared value of USD$2,000 before customs starts hitting you with fees, so you most likely won’t have to worry about them at all.

6. The figure I want is an exclusive, how do I go about ordering one outside of Japan?
You have three options for this:
A. Big in Japan is known to stock exclusive figures and ship to other countries. Usually the price is higher because they build in their proxy fees, but it’s easier than worrying about using a forwarder or proxy service. If you live in the US, Crunchyroll, Right Stuf, and Tokyo Otaku Mode also get exclusives sometimes, but out of the states the shipping can get expensive.
B. Forwarding Services: A forwarder is someone who you ship an exclusive item to so that they can forward the package on to you, usually for a flat fee + shipping. When using a forwarder you still make the purchase yourself, and enter their address into the shipping field. When the box arrives at the forwarder they will then stick your address onto the package and send it on its way.
Some popular forwarders are:

Be sure to read each sites instructions on forwarding carefully!
C. Proxy Services: With a proxy, you tell them what the item you’re looking for is and they will purchase it in your stead. This is handy for when a company doesn’t accept foreign credit cards, or you’re having trouble navigating a Japanese website.
Some popular proxies are:

Big in Japan (Won’t proxy for Yahoo Auctions)
From Japan

Again, be sure you thoroughly read through each sites proxy instructions.
7. I see a bunch of really cheap figures that ship from China on ebay. Are those okay to buy?
Generally, no. They’re most likely bootlegs. If you want a second opinion on that, feel free to ask in the Bootleg Megathread that’s always stickied at the top of the sub.
8. What’s a bootleg, and how can I avoid buying them?
A bootleg is a counterfeit figure often made using rejected molds of the official product. They are usually priced significantly lower than the genuine article, and in order to make their profit, bootleggers use lower quality materials and have less attention to detail- resulting in a substandard figure.
The Bootleg Megathread that I mentioned in question 7 is a great tool to avoid buying any bootlegs. It has a few tips and tricks to avoiding them to begin with, and a few more on how to spot them if you’re worried you might already own one.
9. Does anyone know when figure X is going to be released? How do I know if it was delayed?
My Figure Collection (sometimes referred to as MFC) does an excellent job of staying on top of information like release dates and delays. If you’re curious about an upcoming figures release date, check there first. This information can be found directly under the “Releases” section on a figure’s entry. If you only see a month and a year in that section, it means the release date has not yet been announced by the manufacturer, and there is still a chance the figure could be delayed.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.
10. The figure I want is long sold out at normal retailers! What’s the best place to pick it up in the aftermarket?
A list of reputable retailers can be found under the “Shops” section of the /AnimeFigures sidebar. They all sell legitimate products, and many of them also sell figures second hand. However, the most frequently suggested second hand sites are Mandarake and Amiami- who has a preowned section that they update every night save Sundays and Japanese holidays around 1PM JST and again around 6PM JST.
AmiAmi grades their pre-owned items on a letter scale. The general consensus from buyers is that their ratings are conservative, so unless the item and/or packaging is specifically indicated as having significant flaws, pre-owned items from them are usually in at least as good a condition as their rating suggests.
Note: When you search Mandarake, you’ll get the best results by using the Japanese characters for whatever you are searching. If you don’t know them, you can find them on MFC by clicking on any of the “details” in that figure’s listing.
11. Amiami has a figure I’m interested in labeled as “For sale in Japan only”. Does this mean I can’t order it without a proxy or forwarder?
No, you can still order it. Amiami’s English site has that warning on many items, and it’s mostly meant to inform you that this product was made for a Japanese market, and as such, will have Japanese speaking/writing in it- so don’t expect any instructions to be in English. If Amiami doesn’t want foreigners buying a certain product, they won’t even list it on their English site.

Displaying Your Figures

12. What display cases do you recommend?
If you live near an Ikea try out one of these:

Klingsbo
Billy (Often used with Morliden doors (now the HÖGBO and glass shelves.)
Detolf: Formerly the go-to choice for inexpensive display cabinetry, the Detolf was first made flimsier around 2020 and then essentially phased out of the name, to become the BLÅLIDEN. Knockoff versions of widely-varying quality are commonly found on other shopping sites these days, though.

*If you decided on a Detolf, you might find that there is a lot of wasted space. Here are a few tutorials on raising the shelves or and adding extra ones in.

If you don’t live near an Ikea, Amazon has a few display options, though they are more expensive. Also keep an eye on your local Craigslist (or your country’s equivalent) and stores near you that are closing up.
13. What lighting do you guys recommend?
Ikea’s Dioder LED strips were discontinued after a long run. A current version is the Vattensten, if you're inclined to buy your case and lights at the same time.
LED strips have become very commonly available in recent years; most hardware and home furnishing stores carry a selection now. Just make sure that the lights don’t get too hot!
14. What are those clear plastic boxes that I see under everyone’s figures in their collection posts, and where can I get them?
Those are called risers. Most of us use standard acrylic risers like these. Some other, easy to find things that have been suggested are:

Plastic picture cubes
Card Deck Boxes
If you’re feeling adventurous, try making your own!

Check your local hobby store for the first 2 options, or your local hardware store if you want to make your own.
Another common suggestion is to visit The Container Store if you have one near you. They have a lot of things to choose from that can suit a variety of needs. Be sure to check out their standard acrylic risers, their Amac boxes, and the various display cases they sell (baseball cases, mini car cases. hockey puck cases, etc).
15. Should I keep my figures sealed?
That is, of course, up to you really, but here are a few things to keep in mind when debating this question:

Keeping it sealed can actually damage your figure. PVC figures usually have something called plasticizer in them, and that plasticizer needs to be able to breath. If a PVC figure isn’t exposed to oxygen, after a period of time the plasticizer starts to break down and form a sticky substance on the surface of the figure. Simply opening your figures and taking them out of the box prevents this from happening. If you happen to find plasticizer goo on one of your figures, Kahotan has a handy guide for dealing with it.
Unlike some other figure markets, keeping an anime figure sealed won’t raise its value by a whole lot. In fact, because of the plasticizer problem mentioned above, your figure could actually be in better condition if you open it versus keeping it sealed.

Finding the Right Figure(s) for You

16. What are "scales" and "prizes"? What is the difference between them?
Those are classifications for figures based on a few factors.

"Prizes" are generally more simply produced figures which are intended to be given as prizes for playing arcade games. They are inexpensive and lack the detail of scale figures, though some prize figure lines have standouts which may approach lower-end scales in quality. That is uncommon and often depends on the individual figure.
"Scales" are called such because they are nominally designed to be proportional to the dimensions of the character which they are based on. They are generally of much better manufacture and materials than prize figures, allowing for more detail in painting, accessories, or complex poses.
"Trading" figures appear in gashapon machines or as blind boxes on shop counters, often as sets which include multiple characters. As suggested by the class name, the randomness encourages trading. They are usually very inexpensively-produced, though as with prizes, some series are better than others.
"Non-scale" encompasses a variety of other categories. It is often used to describe poseable figure lines such as figma and Nendoroids.

In recent years producers such as Good Smile Company attempted to further bridge the gap between prize quality and scales by introducing figure lines which are intended to be moderately-priced while retaining a higher level of detail than the typical prize figure, to varying levels of success.
17. There are so many figure companies! Who makes good figures?!
Obviously this is a very subjective question, but as a general starting point, here are a few well renowned figure companies:

Alter
Max Factory
Good Smile Company
Kotobukiya (usually hit or miss for people. Use your best judgement based off of the prototype)
Flare
Stronger

18. I really love “series X / character X”- how can I check if any figures were ever made for it?
My Figure Collection can be your best friend here. Simply do a search on the name of the series or character using the search bar located at the top right of the screen, and all associated figures pop up!
Alternatively, if you’re looking at a figure’s MFC entry, most of the text under the “Details” section can be clicked on and used to run a search.
19. How can I commission a custom figure?
None of the major figure companies (Alter, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, etc.) will take a commission for a single figure. This thread has a few websites in it that you can check out, or you can look into garage kits. Some kit painters would be willing to resculpt, frankenstein together, or otherwise modify kits for the right price.
If you're looking for help completing a garage kit, /brushforhire may be useful.

Keeping Up with New Announcements

20. How can I keep up with figure news (announcements, updates, etc.)?
Most people use a MFC combined with any or all of the following news sites:

Neko Magic
Alter’s Blog (In Japanese)
Kahotan’s Blog (Only GSC and their sister companies)

Many figure companies are active on Twitter, so following them there is recommended for quicker news.
To use MFC for this I’ll quote question #9.

If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.

Most companies have one or more Twitter accounts. Some examples: Good Smile Company sales, Good Smile's USA branch, Max Factory, AmiAmi Hobby News.
21. Everyone’s excited about something called Wonfes….. what the heck is that?!
WonFes (short for Wonder Festival) is a biannual figure expo where many figure producers (both large and small) show off new sculpts and updates to figures already under way. Most companies save their most exciting announcements for WonFes, so we all look forward to the expo whenever it rolls around! Winter Wonder Festival is usually held in February, while Summer Wonder Festival is usually in July. The event has also spread to Shanghai, in the late spring.
22. One or two (or 15) figures were announced at WonFes that I’m really excited about! How can I keep track of their progress once the event is over?
MFC is always really quick about getting new WonFes announcements (or any others throughout the year, for that matter) listed in their database, so we suggest using that. To find a figure from the event you can search any number of things, including the name of the character or the name of the show. You can also use the tag search to search “WonderFestival 20xx_[season]” to see all items announced at that event.

Hello, it might be a long shot but I was wondering if someone would be willing to send a msg out to a seller on Yahoo!Auctions Japan (as you need to have a native phone number to use the site directly) I’d like to enquire / make an offer on an item that was seemingly taken down but I can’t and proxy services won’t do it for me either!
Preferably through dms. I would appreciate any help!

A thread for new collectors to ask basic questions of the community.
Frequently Asked Questions below!
A longer version of the subreddit rules is here.
For questions specifically concerning bootlegs or vendor legitimacy, please ask in the Bootleg Megathread.
NSFW & Spoiler Guidelines

For Self Posts: include a bolded NSFW note next to links in that post.
For Links to sites/images: If the figure is NSFW, or the website has any NSFW content (including ads) be sure to tag your post NSFW and use the appropriate link flair.

Bootlegs
Any collection posts containing bootlegs, comments advocating buying bootlegs, or links to sites selling bootlegs, recasts, or unlicensed merchandise will be removed.
People often ask about the legitimacy and/or safety of a number of websites which sell large resin statues. The more commonly-asked of those deal primarily in resins from studios which do not have a license from the Japanese IP holders to produce merchandise. Therefore links to those sites are not permitted here. Another sign is if MyFigureCollection doesn't list the either the statue, its manufacturer, or the shop it's being sold on.
MyFigureCollection
My Figure Collection is like MyAnimeList... but for figures! Their database includes thousands of items which been produced during the last couple of decades, along with reviews of shops and other helpful articles. One can also list their own collection and post gallery photos.
Shops

Retailers:
AmiAmi HobbySearch Mandarake (sells rare figures) Good Smile Company Online Shop (often has exclusives) Good Smile Company US shop Crunchyroll Store Hobby Link Japan (aka HLJ) Solaris Japan (MFC partner) BigBadToyStore (MFC partner, US retailer) Big in Japan (also has proxy service) Tokyo Otaku Mode FigureHaven Archonia (EU) Yorokonde (EU) Figuya (EU) Gamersheek (UK) Jungle
List of retailers on MFC
/AnimeFigures' List of Retailers
Community Guide to Shopping in Japan

Blogs/News:

Nekomagic (News/Previews) NyaaFigurines (Reviews/Releases) Kahotan's Blog (News/Reviews) Figma Blog (JP)

Buying & Shipping

1. What’s the best place to buy my anime figures from?
That’s going to depend a lot on what works for you, but most people around here buy them from Amiami, Big in Japan, Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan, or Tokyo Otaku Mode. If none of those work for you for whatever reason, there’s a list of reputable retailers in the sidebar that you can check out at any time. Be extra careful when ordering figures from websites like Amazon or ebay, as there are a lot of bootlegs on those sites. Don’t be afraid to ask in our Bootleg Megathread if you’re unsure.
2. What differences are there between the shipping options I get from most Japanese shops?
Below is a rundown of the main shipping choices you’ll get at most retailers. Keep in mind that if an order is large enough you will be forced to use one of the more expensive options, as SAL shipments have lower size and weight restrictions.

Unregistered SAL: Sometimes referred to as uSAL, is usually the cheapest method. It does not come with any tracking or insurance. Usually takes up 2-4 weeks for delivery.
Registered SAL: Sometimes referred to as rSAL, is insured for the declared value up to 6,000 yen. It comes with a tracking number and usually takes 2-4 weeks for delivery.
EMS: This method of shipping is much faster than either SAL options, usually arriving within a week of shipment. EMS shipments are insured for the declared value up to 2,000,000 yen.
Airmail
E-packet
Surface: Shops don't offer this very often. It's an actual cargo ship and slow as a result.
DHL: Becoming more available as an alternative to EMS on AmiAmi and other sites. Can be less expensive than EMS and of comparable speed, but may be more reliant on the specific geographical area being shipped to. The price is also determined by the size of the box. Offers their own tracking.

3. I placed two+ orders for figures at different times. Will my items be shipped together, or will I have to pay shipping twice?
Most shops will ask you to pay shipping on a per-order basis, but here are some that will allow combined shipping:

Amiami: You can combine orders here, as long as the orders ship in the same month. It doesn’t matter if the item is new or preowned. Any preorders that are set for that month can also be combined with other orders for that month. However, be aware that if the preorder gets delayed, Amiami will remove that item from that month’s shipment and place it on a new order. To combine orders on Amiami, use the “Combine Orders” feature under “My Account”.
Hobby Search: Hobby Search will let you combine orders that release in the same month, but you cannot combine in stock items with preorders. If you want to combine multiple preorders, or multiple in stock items, you can do so using the “Order Recombination” feature on your account page.
HobbyLink Japan: At HLJ, you have the option to send paid orders to their “Private Warehouse”, where you can store them for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to ship the items, you simply select which items to ship and HLJ will combine them into one shipment for you. To use this, just select the “Private Warehouse” option as shipping when you order.

If you’re unsure about whether or not a shop we haven’t listed will combine your orders, please refer to their individual FAQs.
4. When will I get charged for my preorder?
Most Japanese shops charge you once the item is in stock and ready for shipment. When that happens, they will send you an email asking for payment. Some shops (mostly overseas ones), will allow you to pay for the item up front though, if you’d like. A few with that option are:

Big in Japan (Japanese store)
Tokyo Otaku Mode
Anime Island
Crunchyroll

Keep in mind that overseas stores will likely get the figure a few months after Japanese ones, so pay attention to the release date stated on the website you are buying from so as to avoid that confusion.
5. Should I expect to pay customs fees when importing figures?
That depends on where you live. Here’s a quick rundown:

Australia: 10% GST is now assessed up front.
Canada: Minimum declared value for charges is around CAD$20 for regular shipments, and CAD$60 for gifts (gifting something only seems to lower the declared value by about CAD$40, not deplete it completely). When using Amiami, try their Small Air Packet option. It comes with tracking, gets there in about the same time as EMS, and is better at avoiding customs.
European Union: As of 1st July 2021, VAT has to be paid on all goods imported from outside of the EU. Retailers are supposed charge VAT for purchases under €150, however many Japanese retailers currently do not, so VAT will be charged when your order arrives in the EU. Orders that are >€150, VAT and duty will be charged by your local customs.
UK: As of 1st January 2021, VAT is to be charged by retailers for orders <£135. However, customs isn't currently charging VAT on parcels valued at <£135, even if the VAT hasn't been paid. Goods >£135 will have their VAT and duty calculated and charged by customs.
Mexico: Minimum declared value for customs fees is USD$300 for shipments by post, and USD$50 for shipments by courier.
United States: A shipment has to have a declared value of USD$2,000 before customs starts hitting you with fees, so you most likely won’t have to worry about them at all.

6. The figure I want is an exclusive, how do I go about ordering one outside of Japan?
You have three options for this:
A. Big in Japan is known to stock exclusive figures and ship to other countries. Usually the price is higher because they build in their proxy fees, but it’s easier than worrying about using a forwarder or proxy service. If you live in the US, Crunchyroll, Right Stuf, and Tokyo Otaku Mode also get exclusives sometimes, but out of the states the shipping can get expensive.
B. Forwarding Services: A forwarder is someone who you ship an exclusive item to so that they can forward the package on to you, usually for a flat fee + shipping. When using a forwarder you still make the purchase yourself, and enter their address into the shipping field. When the box arrives at the forwarder they will then stick your address onto the package and send it on its way.
Some popular forwarders are:

Be sure to read each sites instructions on forwarding carefully!
C. Proxy Services: With a proxy, you tell them what the item you’re looking for is and they will purchase it in your stead. This is handy for when a company doesn’t accept foreign credit cards, or you’re having trouble navigating a Japanese website.
Some popular proxies are:

Big in Japan (Won’t proxy for Yahoo Auctions)
From Japan

Again, be sure you thoroughly read through each sites proxy instructions.
7. I see a bunch of really cheap figures that ship from China on ebay. Are those okay to buy?
Generally, no. They’re most likely bootlegs. If you want a second opinion on that, feel free to ask in the Bootleg Megathread that’s always stickied at the top of the sub.
8. What’s a bootleg, and how can I avoid buying them?
A bootleg is a counterfeit figure often made using rejected molds of the official product. They are usually priced significantly lower than the genuine article, and in order to make their profit, bootleggers use lower quality materials and have less attention to detail- resulting in a substandard figure.
The Bootleg Megathread that I mentioned in question 7 is a great tool to avoid buying any bootlegs. It has a few tips and tricks to avoiding them to begin with, and a few more on how to spot them if you’re worried you might already own one.
9. Does anyone know when figure X is going to be released? How do I know if it was delayed?
My Figure Collection (sometimes referred to as MFC) does an excellent job of staying on top of information like release dates and delays. If you’re curious about an upcoming figures release date, check there first. This information can be found directly under the “Releases” section on a figure’s entry. If you only see a month and a year in that section, it means the release date has not yet been announced by the manufacturer, and there is still a chance the figure could be delayed.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.
10. The figure I want is long sold out at normal retailers! What’s the best place to pick it up in the aftermarket?
A list of reputable retailers can be found under the “Shops” section of the /AnimeFigures sidebar. They all sell legitimate products, and many of them also sell figures second hand. However, the most frequently suggested second hand sites are Mandarake and Amiami- who has a preowned section that they update every night save Sundays and Japanese holidays around 1PM JST and again around 6PM JST.
AmiAmi grades their pre-owned items on a letter scale. The general consensus from buyers is that their ratings are conservative, so unless the item and/or packaging is specifically indicated as having significant flaws, pre-owned items from them are usually in at least as good a condition as their rating suggests.
Note: When you search Mandarake, you’ll get the best results by using the Japanese characters for whatever you are searching. If you don’t know them, you can find them on MFC by clicking on any of the “details” in that figure’s listing.
11. Amiami has a figure I’m interested in labeled as “For sale in Japan only”. Does this mean I can’t order it without a proxy or forwarder?
No, you can still order it. Amiami’s English site has that warning on many items, and it’s mostly meant to inform you that this product was made for a Japanese market, and as such, will have Japanese speaking/writing in it- so don’t expect any instructions to be in English. If Amiami doesn’t want foreigners buying a certain product, they won’t even list it on their English site.

Displaying Your Figures

12. What display cases do you recommend?
If you live near an Ikea try out one of these:

Klingsbo
Billy (Often used with Morliden doors (now the HÖGBO and glass shelves.)
Detolf: Formerly the go-to choice for inexpensive display cabinetry, the Detolf was first made flimsier around 2020 and then essentially phased out of the name, to become the BLÅLIDEN. Knockoff versions of widely-varying quality are commonly found on other shopping sites these days, though.

*If you decided on a Detolf, you might find that there is a lot of wasted space. Here are a few tutorials on raising the shelves or and adding extra ones in.

If you don’t live near an Ikea, Amazon has a few display options, though they are more expensive. Also keep an eye on your local Craigslist (or your country’s equivalent) and stores near you that are closing up.
13. What lighting do you guys recommend?
Ikea’s Dioder LED strips were discontinued after a long run. A current version is the Vattensten, if you're inclined to buy your case and lights at the same time.
LED strips have become very commonly available in recent years; most hardware and home furnishing stores carry a selection now. Just make sure that the lights don’t get too hot!
14. What are those clear plastic boxes that I see under everyone’s figures in their collection posts, and where can I get them?
Those are called risers. Most of us use standard acrylic risers like these. Some other, easy to find things that have been suggested are:

Plastic picture cubes
Card Deck Boxes
If you’re feeling adventurous, try making your own!

Check your local hobby store for the first 2 options, or your local hardware store if you want to make your own.
Another common suggestion is to visit The Container Store if you have one near you. They have a lot of things to choose from that can suit a variety of needs. Be sure to check out their standard acrylic risers, their Amac boxes, and the various display cases they sell (baseball cases, mini car cases. hockey puck cases, etc).
15. Should I keep my figures sealed?
That is, of course, up to you really, but here are a few things to keep in mind when debating this question:

Keeping it sealed can actually damage your figure. PVC figures usually have something called plasticizer in them, and that plasticizer needs to be able to breath. If a PVC figure isn’t exposed to oxygen, after a period of time the plasticizer starts to break down and form a sticky substance on the surface of the figure. Simply opening your figures and taking them out of the box prevents this from happening. If you happen to find plasticizer goo on one of your figures, Kahotan has a handy guide for dealing with it.
Unlike some other figure markets, keeping an anime figure sealed won’t raise its value by a whole lot. In fact, because of the plasticizer problem mentioned above, your figure could actually be in better condition if you open it versus keeping it sealed.

Finding the Right Figure(s) for You

16. What are "scales" and "prizes"? What is the difference between them?
Those are classifications for figures based on a few factors.

"Prizes" are generally more simply produced figures which are intended to be given as prizes for playing arcade games. They are inexpensive and lack the detail of scale figures, though some prize figure lines have standouts which may approach lower-end scales in quality. That is uncommon and often depends on the individual figure.
"Scales" are called such because they are nominally designed to be proportional to the dimensions of the character which they are based on. They are generally of much better manufacture and materials than prize figures, allowing for more detail in painting, accessories, or complex poses.
"Trading" figures appear in gashapon machines or as blind boxes on shop counters, often as sets which include multiple characters. As suggested by the class name, the randomness encourages trading. They are usually very inexpensively-produced, though as with prizes, some series are better than others.
"Non-scale" encompasses a variety of other categories. It is often used to describe poseable figure lines such as figma and Nendoroids.

In recent years producers such as Good Smile Company attempted to further bridge the gap between prize quality and scales by introducing figure lines which are intended to be moderately-priced while retaining a higher level of detail than the typical prize figure, to varying levels of success.
17. There are so many figure companies! Who makes good figures?!
Obviously this is a very subjective question, but as a general starting point, here are a few well renowned figure companies:

Alter
Max Factory
Good Smile Company
Kotobukiya (usually hit or miss for people. Use your best judgement based off of the prototype)
Flare
Stronger

18. I really love “series X / character X”- how can I check if any figures were ever made for it?
My Figure Collection can be your best friend here. Simply do a search on the name of the series or character using the search bar located at the top right of the screen, and all associated figures pop up!
Alternatively, if you’re looking at a figure’s MFC entry, most of the text under the “Details” section can be clicked on and used to run a search.
19. How can I commission a custom figure?
None of the major figure companies (Alter, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, etc.) will take a commission for a single figure. This thread has a few websites in it that you can check out, or you can look into garage kits. Some kit painters would be willing to resculpt, frankenstein together, or otherwise modify kits for the right price.
If you're looking for help completing a garage kit, /brushforhire may be useful.

Keeping Up with New Announcements

20. How can I keep up with figure news (announcements, updates, etc.)?
Most people use a MFC combined with any or all of the following news sites:

Neko Magic
Alter’s Blog (In Japanese)
Kahotan’s Blog (Only GSC and their sister companies)

Many figure companies are active on Twitter, so following them there is recommended for quicker news.
To use MFC for this I’ll quote question #9.

If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.

Most companies have one or more Twitter accounts. Some examples: Good Smile Company sales, Good Smile's USA branch, Max Factory, AmiAmi Hobby News.
21. Everyone’s excited about something called Wonfes….. what the heck is that?!
WonFes (short for Wonder Festival) is a biannual figure expo where many figure producers (both large and small) show off new sculpts and updates to figures already under way. Most companies save their most exciting announcements for WonFes, so we all look forward to the expo whenever it rolls around! Winter Wonder Festival is usually held in February, while Summer Wonder Festival is usually in July. The event has also spread to Shanghai, in the late spring.
22. One or two (or 15) figures were announced at WonFes that I’m really excited about! How can I keep track of their progress once the event is over?
MFC is always really quick about getting new WonFes announcements (or any others throughout the year, for that matter) listed in their database, so we suggest using that. To find a figure from the event you can search any number of things, including the name of the character or the name of the show. You can also use the tag search to search “WonderFestival 20xx_[season]” to see all items announced at that event.

How one CEO has handled activist investor Carl Icahn. Twice.
Today's Takeaway is by Brian Sozzi, Executive Editor.
‌
It's time to get succession at Disney (DIS) right after a bruising boardroom battle with corporate America agitator, Nelson Peltz.
‌
That's just some friendly advice to Bob Iger, from veteran Hologic (HOLX) CEO and Illumina (ILMN) chairman Stephen MacMillan.
‌
"You have got to get serious about succession. To me, that's where the Disney board has failed," MacMillan told me in an exclusive interview for Yahoo Finance.
‌
MacMillan — who has been the CEO of medical device maker Hologic since December 2013 — knows a thing or 12 about mixing it up with high-profile activists.
‌
Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn came knocking on the door of Hologic in November 2013, taking a 12.63% stake and demanding board representation. An Icahn-controlled board then installed MacMillan, the former CEO of medical device developer Stryker (SYK).
‌
MacMillan moved quickly to transform Hologic and Icahn exited his Hologic position in May 2016, for an estimated profit of more than 40%.
‌
Then there is Icahn and MacMillan's ongoing high-stakes drama at biotech firm Illumina. Icahn disclosed a stake in Illumina in 2023 and continues to hold a small position. The billionaire opposed the company's acquisition of cancer test developer Grail in 2021, and flirted with a proxy battle — which posed challenges for MacMillan, who had been named non-executive chair.
‌
Things have been dicey, but MacMillan managed Icahn, the company, and the situation to something that looks like progress.
‌
"We were extremely instrumental in making value-enhancing changes in both Hologic and Illumina. As the CEO of Hologic, I think [MacMillan] did an excellent job," Icahn told me in a phone interview.
‌
Below is an edited and condensed version of my conversation with MacMillan about dealing with activists.
📷
Brian Sozzi: Do you see yourself as the activist whisperer?
‌
Stephen MacMillan: I would not view myself as the activist whisperer. What I've tried to do is think like an activist. And so we try, even our board, to be our own best activist.
‌
I will say it's also listening to them. I think the biggest issue that's happening in corporate America — it's almost like we're becoming like political parties that we view activism as bad as opposed to thinking there's usually a reason activists get involved.
‌
I think a lot of boards' first reaction is to lawyer up. You hire all the defense advisors, and people go to their corners. Whereas my style has been go talk to them and hear where they're coming from.
‌
How do you prepare to meet with an activist investor?
‌
Really by opening my ears ... And I probably don't do much prep. Because I do think frankly, what a lot of people are doing is they're spending all their time with lawyers and bank defense. People prepping, and they're prepping answers, instead of listening.
‌
What I've found is the activists have a theory on the business that's not actually that good. But they have a reason to have got involved, which is an underperformance in some fashion, whether it's capital allocation, stock price, bad acquisition, or mix of businesses.
‌
What has been your approach to dealing with Carl Icahn?
‌
It has always been to talk and listen. In my early days at Hologic, I went to his office a number of times and listened to what he was advocating, and then helped him to understand different things.
‌
For example, at Hologic, he wanted to break the company up. And then he wanted to cut costs. And what I shared with him ultimately was, hey, the businesses were too small to really be broken up ... And cutting costs wasn't the goal because what we really need to do is accelerate the top line.
‌
What's good is he actually believes in great CEOs and supports them, and he's much more reasonable at saying, OK, you know the business. If that's what you think, I'm going to hold you accountable, but I'll support you.
📷
You are a leader trying to run a business. Do you ever take what an activist such as Carl says personally?
‌
No. What I do think is that egos get way too involved. I think you've got to be objective. I think a lot of boards take it personally. You have to depersonalize it and recognize that maybe you're not as perfect as you think.
‌
Many activists will make the case that boards nowadays are dysfunctional. Do you agree?
‌
I think like anything, it's highly varied. I think there are some really well-functioning boards. I think the Hologic board is an amazing board. But we turned it over a lot. We shrunk it.
‌
So with Carl's guidance early on, it's about getting the right people in the roles. I do think there are a lot of people on boards who might not be as qualified to help [in] these kinds of situations, who are more naive.
‌
Has Carl been good for Illumina?
‌
In this stage, it's hard to say that the shareholders have benefited. I do believe he was a catalyst for the board to look at both the leadership and the Grail decision.
‌
Do you see any resolution coming?
‌
I'm very proud, frankly, that he's not pursued the proxy contest. I think one of the great things that doesn't get the headlines here — but I'm happy that it doesn't — is that we avoided a proxy contest this year. And we're moving forward in all the right ways. The lawsuit is a lingering nuisance.
📷
I am sure you watched the boardroom battle between Disney CEO Bob Iger and activist Nelson Peltz. What advice would you give to Bob Iger now that he has thwarted Peltz?
‌
You have got to get serious about succession. To me, that's where the Disney board has failed. They've kicked it down the road. They chose somebody. It does not feel like that board has been serious. I think he's got to find somebody truly to hand the company over to.
‌
Before I let you go, what is it like to meet with Carl Icahn? Not many people get to do that.
‌
Any time I've been with him, it has been just a very constructive discussion. I actually find him in person even better than on the phone.
‌
And I think he can sometimes talk at you. He has got great anecdotes. He has tremendous experiences. You do have to let him go on a little bit and share those.
‌
You're not going to necessarily agree with everything he says. But we've gotten into a society where it feels like you're either with me or against me, instead of: What can I learn from somebody who's got a different point of view? And he is willing to evolve his positions if a good leader puts forth a good plan.

Trying to get some Blue-Purple Metallifer Stag beetles. Ordered from Richard's Inverts a while back (UK to California) and had customs confiscate them. Lucanidae are perfectly legal here too. Since then I've found a few Yahoo Japan auctions for them and I'm going to use a proxy to get them over here. Any tips to ensure i get them? What's the best label/title for customs?

'The clock has struck midnight' for Tesla and Elon Musk according to Yahoo Finance.

How are Tesla's (TSLA) corporate directors responding to this month's massive delivery miss, a rash of layoffs, reports of an end to a lower-priced family sedan, and a sinking stock price? They are urging shareholders to make sure CEO Elon Musk gets a hefty pay package.
In a proxy statement filed Wednesday, Tesla's board of directors made it clear that Musk is here to stay, even as calls grow louder from some investors and analysts for a leadership change. But Tesla's rough week extends beyond questions of Musk's stewardship and the board's accountability. Tesla's stock is priced for a mass-market, autonomous future, but the company is mired by a host of troubles standing in the way of that story.

"Tesla, as a stock, will suffer greatly with or without Musk," said David Trainer, CEO of New Constructs, an investment research firm based in Nashville that doesn't own shares of the automaker. "Musk's chief value-add for Tesla over the last several years has been in distracting investors from the truth about the weakness in the business that has finally and unmitigatedly emerged."

A thread for new collectors to ask basic questions of the community.
Frequently Asked Questions below!
A longer version of the subreddit rules is here.
For questions specifically concerning bootlegs or vendor legitimacy, please ask in the Bootleg Megathread.
NSFW & Spoiler Guidelines

For Self Posts: include a bolded NSFW note next to links in that post.
For Links to sites/images: If the figure is NSFW, or the website has any NSFW content (including ads) be sure to tag your post NSFW and use the appropriate link flair.

Bootlegs
Any collection posts containing bootlegs, comments advocating buying bootlegs, or links to sites selling bootlegs, recasts, or unlicensed merchandise will be removed.
People often ask about the legitimacy and/or safety of a number of websites which sell large resin statues. The more commonly-asked of those deal primarily in resins from studios which do not have a license from the Japanese IP holders to produce merchandise. Therefore links to those sites are not permitted here. Another sign is if MyFigureCollection doesn't list the either the statue, its manufacturer, or the shop it's being sold on.
MyFigureCollection
My Figure Collection is like MyAnimeList... but for figures! Their database includes thousands of items which been produced during the last couple of decades, along with reviews of shops and other helpful articles. One can also list their own collection and post gallery photos.
Shops

Retailers:
AmiAmi HobbySearch Mandarake (sells rare figures) Good Smile Company Online Shop (often has exclusives) Good Smile Company US shop Crunchyroll Store Hobby Link Japan (aka HLJ) Solaris Japan (MFC partner) BigBadToyStore (MFC partner, US retailer) Big in Japan (also has proxy service) Tokyo Otaku Mode FigureHaven Archonia (EU) Yorokonde (EU) Figuya (EU) Gamersheek (UK) Jungle
List of retailers on MFC
/AnimeFigures' List of Retailers
Community Guide to Shopping in Japan

Blogs/News:

Nekomagic (News/Previews) NyaaFigurines (Reviews/Releases) Kahotan's Blog (News/Reviews) Figma Blog (JP)

Buying & Shipping

1. What’s the best place to buy my anime figures from?
That’s going to depend a lot on what works for you, but most people around here buy them from Amiami, Big in Japan, Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan, or Tokyo Otaku Mode. If none of those work for you for whatever reason, there’s a list of reputable retailers in the sidebar that you can check out at any time. Be extra careful when ordering figures from websites like Amazon or ebay, as there are a lot of bootlegs on those sites. Don’t be afraid to ask in our Bootleg Megathread if you’re unsure.
2. What differences are there between the shipping options I get from most Japanese shops?
Below is a rundown of the main shipping choices you’ll get at most retailers. Keep in mind that if an order is large enough you will be forced to use one of the more expensive options, as SAL shipments have lower size and weight restrictions.

Unregistered SAL: Sometimes referred to as uSAL, is usually the cheapest method. It does not come with any tracking or insurance. Usually takes up 2-4 weeks for delivery.
Registered SAL: Sometimes referred to as rSAL, is insured for the declared value up to 6,000 yen. It comes with a tracking number and usually takes 2-4 weeks for delivery.
EMS: This method of shipping is much faster than either SAL options, usually arriving within a week of shipment. EMS shipments are insured for the declared value up to 2,000,000 yen.
Airmail
E-packet
Surface: Shops don't offer this very often. It's an actual cargo ship and slow as a result.
DHL: Becoming more available as an alternative to EMS on AmiAmi and other sites. Can be less expensive than EMS and of comparable speed, but may be more reliant on the specific geographical area being shipped to. The price is also determined by the size of the box. Offers their own tracking.

3. I placed two+ orders for figures at different times. Will my items be shipped together, or will I have to pay shipping twice?
Most shops will ask you to pay shipping on a per-order basis, but here are some that will allow combined shipping:

Amiami: You can combine orders here, as long as the orders ship in the same month. It doesn’t matter if the item is new or preowned. Any preorders that are set for that month can also be combined with other orders for that month. However, be aware that if the preorder gets delayed, Amiami will remove that item from that month’s shipment and place it on a new order. To combine orders on Amiami, use the “Combine Orders” feature under “My Account”.
Hobby Search: Hobby Search will let you combine orders that release in the same month, but you cannot combine in stock items with preorders. If you want to combine multiple preorders, or multiple in stock items, you can do so using the “Order Recombination” feature on your account page.
HobbyLink Japan: At HLJ, you have the option to send paid orders to their “Private Warehouse”, where you can store them for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to ship the items, you simply select which items to ship and HLJ will combine them into one shipment for you. To use this, just select the “Private Warehouse” option as shipping when you order.

If you’re unsure about whether or not a shop we haven’t listed will combine your orders, please refer to their individual FAQs.
4. When will I get charged for my preorder?
Most Japanese shops charge you once the item is in stock and ready for shipment. When that happens, they will send you an email asking for payment. Some shops (mostly overseas ones), will allow you to pay for the item up front though, if you’d like. A few with that option are:

Big in Japan (Japanese store)
Tokyo Otaku Mode
Anime Island
Crunchyroll

Keep in mind that overseas stores will likely get the figure a few months after Japanese ones, so pay attention to the release date stated on the website you are buying from so as to avoid that confusion.
5. Should I expect to pay customs fees when importing figures?
That depends on where you live. Here’s a quick rundown:

Australia: 10% GST is now assessed up front.
Canada: Minimum declared value for charges is around CAD$20 for regular shipments, and CAD$60 for gifts (gifting something only seems to lower the declared value by about CAD$40, not deplete it completely). When using Amiami, try their Small Air Packet option. It comes with tracking, gets there in about the same time as EMS, and is better at avoiding customs.
European Union: As of 1st July 2021, VAT has to be paid on all goods imported from outside of the EU. Retailers are supposed charge VAT for purchases under €150, however many Japanese retailers currently do not, so VAT will be charged when your order arrives in the EU. Orders that are >€150, VAT and duty will be charged by your local customs.
UK: As of 1st January 2021, VAT is to be charged by retailers for orders <£135. However, customs isn't currently charging VAT on parcels valued at <£135, even if the VAT hasn't been paid. Goods >£135 will have their VAT and duty calculated and charged by customs.
Mexico: Minimum declared value for customs fees is USD$300 for shipments by post, and USD$50 for shipments by courier.
United States: A shipment has to have a declared value of USD$2,000 before customs starts hitting you with fees, so you most likely won’t have to worry about them at all.

6. The figure I want is an exclusive, how do I go about ordering one outside of Japan?
You have three options for this:
A. Big in Japan is known to stock exclusive figures and ship to other countries. Usually the price is higher because they build in their proxy fees, but it’s easier than worrying about using a forwarder or proxy service. If you live in the US, Crunchyroll, Right Stuf, and Tokyo Otaku Mode also get exclusives sometimes, but out of the states the shipping can get expensive.
B. Forwarding Services: A forwarder is someone who you ship an exclusive item to so that they can forward the package on to you, usually for a flat fee + shipping. When using a forwarder you still make the purchase yourself, and enter their address into the shipping field. When the box arrives at the forwarder they will then stick your address onto the package and send it on its way.
Some popular forwarders are:

Be sure to read each sites instructions on forwarding carefully!
C. Proxy Services: With a proxy, you tell them what the item you’re looking for is and they will purchase it in your stead. This is handy for when a company doesn’t accept foreign credit cards, or you’re having trouble navigating a Japanese website.
Some popular proxies are:

Big in Japan (Won’t proxy for Yahoo Auctions)
From Japan

Again, be sure you thoroughly read through each sites proxy instructions.
7. I see a bunch of really cheap figures that ship from China on ebay. Are those okay to buy?
Generally, no. They’re most likely bootlegs. If you want a second opinion on that, feel free to ask in the Bootleg Megathread that’s always stickied at the top of the sub.
8. What’s a bootleg, and how can I avoid buying them?
A bootleg is a counterfeit figure often made using rejected molds of the official product. They are usually priced significantly lower than the genuine article, and in order to make their profit, bootleggers use lower quality materials and have less attention to detail- resulting in a substandard figure.
The Bootleg Megathread that I mentioned in question 7 is a great tool to avoid buying any bootlegs. It has a few tips and tricks to avoiding them to begin with, and a few more on how to spot them if you’re worried you might already own one.
9. Does anyone know when figure X is going to be released? How do I know if it was delayed?
My Figure Collection (sometimes referred to as MFC) does an excellent job of staying on top of information like release dates and delays. If you’re curious about an upcoming figures release date, check there first. This information can be found directly under the “Releases” section on a figure’s entry. If you only see a month and a year in that section, it means the release date has not yet been announced by the manufacturer, and there is still a chance the figure could be delayed.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.
10. The figure I want is long sold out at normal retailers! What’s the best place to pick it up in the aftermarket?
A list of reputable retailers can be found under the “Shops” section of the /AnimeFigures sidebar. They all sell legitimate products, and many of them also sell figures second hand. However, the most frequently suggested second hand sites are Mandarake and Amiami- who has a preowned section that they update every night save Sundays and Japanese holidays around 1PM JST and again around 6PM JST.
AmiAmi grades their pre-owned items on a letter scale. The general consensus from buyers is that their ratings are conservative, so unless the item and/or packaging is specifically indicated as having significant flaws, pre-owned items from them are usually in at least as good a condition as their rating suggests.
Note: When you search Mandarake, you’ll get the best results by using the Japanese characters for whatever you are searching. If you don’t know them, you can find them on MFC by clicking on any of the “details” in that figure’s listing.
11. Amiami has a figure I’m interested in labeled as “For sale in Japan only”. Does this mean I can’t order it without a proxy or forwarder?
No, you can still order it. Amiami’s English site has that warning on many items, and it’s mostly meant to inform you that this product was made for a Japanese market, and as such, will have Japanese speaking/writing in it- so don’t expect any instructions to be in English. If Amiami doesn’t want foreigners buying a certain product, they won’t even list it on their English site.

Displaying Your Figures

12. What display cases do you recommend?
If you live near an Ikea try out one of these:

Klingsbo
Billy (Often used with Morliden doors (now the HÖGBO and glass shelves.)
Detolf: Formerly the go-to choice for inexpensive display cabinetry, the Detolf was first made flimsier around 2020 and then essentially phased out of the name, to become the BLÅLIDEN. Knockoff versions of widely-varying quality are commonly found on other shopping sites these days, though.

*If you decided on a Detolf, you might find that there is a lot of wasted space. Here are a few tutorials on raising the shelves or and adding extra ones in.

If you don’t live near an Ikea, Amazon has a few display options, though they are more expensive. Also keep an eye on your local Craigslist (or your country’s equivalent) and stores near you that are closing up.
13. What lighting do you guys recommend?
Ikea’s Dioder LED strips were discontinued after a long run. A current version is the Vattensten, if you're inclined to buy your case and lights at the same time.
LED strips have become very commonly available in recent years; most hardware and home furnishing stores carry a selection now. Just make sure that the lights don’t get too hot!
14. What are those clear plastic boxes that I see under everyone’s figures in their collection posts, and where can I get them?
Those are called risers. Most of us use standard acrylic risers like these. Some other, easy to find things that have been suggested are:

Plastic picture cubes
Card Deck Boxes
If you’re feeling adventurous, try making your own!

Check your local hobby store for the first 2 options, or your local hardware store if you want to make your own.
Another common suggestion is to visit The Container Store if you have one near you. They have a lot of things to choose from that can suit a variety of needs. Be sure to check out their standard acrylic risers, their Amac boxes, and the various display cases they sell (baseball cases, mini car cases. hockey puck cases, etc).
15. Should I keep my figures sealed?
That is, of course, up to you really, but here are a few things to keep in mind when debating this question:

Keeping it sealed can actually damage your figure. PVC figures usually have something called plasticizer in them, and that plasticizer needs to be able to breath. If a PVC figure isn’t exposed to oxygen, after a period of time the plasticizer starts to break down and form a sticky substance on the surface of the figure. Simply opening your figures and taking them out of the box prevents this from happening. If you happen to find plasticizer goo on one of your figures, Kahotan has a handy guide for dealing with it.
Unlike some other figure markets, keeping an anime figure sealed won’t raise its value by a whole lot. In fact, because of the plasticizer problem mentioned above, your figure could actually be in better condition if you open it versus keeping it sealed.

Finding the Right Figure(s) for You

16. What are "scales" and "prizes"? What is the difference between them?
Those are classifications for figures based on a few factors.

"Prizes" are generally more simply produced figures which are intended to be given as prizes for playing arcade games. They are inexpensive and lack the detail of scale figures, though some prize figure lines have standouts which may approach lower-end scales in quality. That is uncommon and often depends on the individual figure.
"Scales" are called such because they are nominally designed to be proportional to the dimensions of the character which they are based on. They are generally of much better manufacture and materials than prize figures, allowing for more detail in painting, accessories, or complex poses.
"Trading" figures appear in gashapon machines or as blind boxes on shop counters, often as sets which include multiple characters. As suggested by the class name, the randomness encourages trading. They are usually very inexpensively-produced, though as with prizes, some series are better than others.
"Non-scale" encompasses a variety of other categories. It is often used to describe poseable figure lines such as figma and Nendoroids.

In recent years producers such as Good Smile Company attempted to further bridge the gap between prize quality and scales by introducing figure lines which are intended to be moderately-priced while retaining a higher level of detail than the typical prize figure, to varying levels of success.
17. There are so many figure companies! Who makes good figures?!
Obviously this is a very subjective question, but as a general starting point, here are a few well renowned figure companies:

Alter
Max Factory
Good Smile Company
Kotobukiya (usually hit or miss for people. Use your best judgement based off of the prototype)
Flare
Stronger

18. I really love “series X / character X”- how can I check if any figures were ever made for it?
My Figure Collection can be your best friend here. Simply do a search on the name of the series or character using the search bar located at the top right of the screen, and all associated figures pop up!
Alternatively, if you’re looking at a figure’s MFC entry, most of the text under the “Details” section can be clicked on and used to run a search.
19. How can I commission a custom figure?
None of the major figure companies (Alter, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, etc.) will take a commission for a single figure. This thread has a few websites in it that you can check out, or you can look into garage kits. Some kit painters would be willing to resculpt, frankenstein together, or otherwise modify kits for the right price.
If you're looking for help completing a garage kit, /brushforhire may be useful.

Keeping Up with New Announcements

20. How can I keep up with figure news (announcements, updates, etc.)?
Most people use a MFC combined with any or all of the following news sites:

Neko Magic
Alter’s Blog (In Japanese)
Kahotan’s Blog (Only GSC and their sister companies)

Many figure companies are active on Twitter, so following them there is recommended for quicker news.
To use MFC for this I’ll quote question #9.

If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.

Most companies have one or more Twitter accounts. Some examples: Good Smile Company sales, Good Smile's USA branch, Max Factory, AmiAmi Hobby News.
21. Everyone’s excited about something called Wonfes….. what the heck is that?!
WonFes (short for Wonder Festival) is a biannual figure expo where many figure producers (both large and small) show off new sculpts and updates to figures already under way. Most companies save their most exciting announcements for WonFes, so we all look forward to the expo whenever it rolls around! Winter Wonder Festival is usually held in February, while Summer Wonder Festival is usually in July. The event has also spread to Shanghai, in the late spring.
22. One or two (or 15) figures were announced at WonFes that I’m really excited about! How can I keep track of their progress once the event is over?
MFC is always really quick about getting new WonFes announcements (or any others throughout the year, for that matter) listed in their database, so we suggest using that. To find a figure from the event you can search any number of things, including the name of the character or the name of the show. You can also use the tag search to search “WonderFestival 20xx_[season]” to see all items announced at that event.

So i had been wondering why I couldn’t view particular things despite having purchased from there multiple times, and I came across a thread from a month ago along with this comment from five days ago
if i had to wager a guess, it’s most likely the payment processor crap with Mastercard and Amazon japan just doesn’t want to deal with it but that’s neither here nor there. ive tried viewing the items through proxy services and I couldn’t get that to work either without a pre generated link my friend had saved from a listing a while back lmao.
i know surugayas jp site stocks r18 stuff, but afaik they dont play nice with proxies? I know mercari doesn’t allow age restricted content to be sold, im pretty sure while yahoo auctions does allow it most proxies block those listings (correct me if im wrong)

Yahoo proxy

A space for anime figure collectors.

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Buying & Shipping

Displaying Your Figures

Finding the Right Figure(s) for You

Keeping Up with New Announcements

Background

Current News

Other metrics

Browsing and Ordering

Shipping

Comparison between Hakutea & Unofficial Fan-site

Buying & Shipping

Displaying Your Figures

Finding the Right Figure(s) for You

Keeping Up with New Announcements

Buying & Shipping

Displaying Your Figures

Finding the Right Figure(s) for You

Keeping Up with New Announcements

Buying & Shipping

Displaying Your Figures

Finding the Right Figure(s) for You

Keeping Up with New Announcements