Posted under Figures
As some of you may know my #1 supplier of figures has been HLJ for quite some time now. Well with the fact that I’ve been broke as of late I’ve been looking for a way to push back some of my pre-orders and it’s been kid nemo to the rescue! Now what I love about HLJ is that the moment the figure is released I have it within a week. I always, ALWAYS get EMS shipping for figures. I’m not about to pay so much money for my figures for them to get lost in the mail (my local post office is the worst, and they have lost so many of my packages it’s not even funny.) Well with Kid Nemo what I’ve noticed is they get their merchandise a bit behind HLJ does. I’m assuming it’s the fact that they have to ship it to the US first then ship it out to the customers since Kid Nemo is a California based company. Well this honestly benefits me since not only do I save on shipping it gives me more time to scrounge up the cash for certain expensive figure orders I may have.
For example I had the new Enterbrain Yoko pre-ordered but I ended up not getting paid as much as I expected. So I wasn’t going to be able to afford her this month. So I went to good ole Kid Nemo and pre-ordered her there, on Kid Nemo she won’t be in stock till June so it gives 3 months to save up the cash to pay for her! Another example is I had the re-release of Alter’s Fate Testarossa on pre-order through HLJ but then I noticed something really bad, HLJ wants 4,000yen for shipping. She was going to cost me an arm and a leg and I wasn’t going to afford her. But with Kid Nemo I would be able to get her for so much less since they only wanted $9.50 for shipping.
I was a bit apprehensive with buying from them at the start but I did an experiment first. For my older brother’s birthday/Christmas present I was going to get him Alter’s 1/8 Louise Bustier Version. Since it wasn’t going to be my own figure, if anything happened to the box he wouldn’t mind. So when she arrived promptly and safely I was ecstatic, I knew that they were going to be a partial supplier from then on. But with my money problems as of late it’s been much easier to push the orders back with Kid Nemo.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to stop using HLJ for my pre-orders, I’m just using them both now. With certain figures I do need to have them asap, like my Max Factory 1/8 makoto. I was so excited about makoto I just had to have her as soon as possible. But if I can stand to wait I might end up going with Kid Nemo from now on…
nckl on 31 Mar 2008 at 10:38 pm #
Hrm. This is good to know because I’m *thinking* of getting into the whole figure scene, and so I’m trying to learn anything and everything about it before I make a decision whether to jump in or not. However, stuff like 4,000 yen in shipping costs alone is a huge turnoff for me. I can at least stomach $9.50 though …
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(BTW, sorry to put this here but I have no idea how else to contact you. I’m pleasantly surprised to see my Impartially Biased blog end up on your blogroll (thanks!) but long story short, I accidentally deleted it, and I was so pissed off at myself that I’m gonna leave it deleted, so you can take it off your list.)
Dancing Queen on 31 Mar 2008 at 10:41 pm #
well i hope you re-make it, i liked your take on the industry. if your going to start collecting figures just keep this in mind “Quality over Quantity.”
it’s always better to have a few amazing figures than a room full of mediocre figures.
deftoned on 01 Apr 2008 at 12:13 am #
@nckl: Be careful about starting because it is a HUGE financial commitment. I have majorly toned down my figure purchases the last few months, but no matter how you slice it US$150 is a lot to spend on 2 pieces of pretty PVC. My only advice to you would be to set a limit on your spending early and stick to it. Impulse buying is your worst enemy, which is why I employ 2 rules. (1) No figures of characters I do not absolutely adore and (2) no figure from series I only finished watching in the last 6 months. I loved True Tears and would probably jump on any Hiromi figure right now… but who knows what my opinions will be 6 months from now. It very well could have been $60 down the drain. For me, it’s about getting a figure because of the character and not because of the figure itself. There are plenty of pretty ones out there, but I’m not going to force myself to watch/play something to make wasting money legit. Figure are awesome, but remember, they can be a HUGE financial strain.
Adun on 01 Apr 2008 at 4:39 am #
4000 yen for shipping Alter’s Fate is not surprising given the sheer size of the box itself.
Panther on 01 Apr 2008 at 8:53 am #
Woo preordered Enterbrain’s Yoko as well. Fortunately for me here in SG, I am friendly with my local store and he only preordered the one for me since he was not sure of getting any more than that thanks to how hot Yoko’s orders were in Japan.
I am sure her sales will rise when she gets released, and there might be a shortage of stock for local demand and stocks will (again) get recalled.
deftoned on 09 Apr 2008 at 11:17 pm #
Adun is right, 4000 yen to ship Alter Fate isn’t too surprising because the box is massive. A “normal” sized figure is about 2000 yen S/H, and Alter Fate’s box is definitely bigger than 2 of those.
KC on 27 Jun 2008 at 1:00 pm #
Kid nemo (or kidnemo) is extremely bad and shouldnt be recommended. I have been buying online for so many years. The worst online buying experience I’ve ever is from Kidnemo.