A while ago I had an article on how to watch anime for cheap, or even free. Inspired by this, I’ve prepared a short list of ways and places to get physical anime and manga merchandise such as figures, DVDs, physical manga, and much more, sometimes for much cheaper than their retail price! These methods buy merchandise in the United States without having to go through the hassle of importing. Here we go!
1. Official Sites
Official sites from American studios releasing anime here in the States are probably the easiest place to get official merchandise. Companies like FUNimation have their own merchandise shops. Mostly though, the company specific shops have more manga and DVDs, than merchandise like figurines or wall-scrolls.
Basically, if a company releases anime and/or manga in the United States, chances are they’ll also have other merchandise.
2. Other Merchandise sites
Other sites that aren’t from specific companies also carry anime merchandise. It is important to check out the legitimacy of the website though (like with any online shopping). One thing I like about these sites personally, is they are in charge of their own sales. Prices are not standardized. For example, someone could find a figure they want on Site A, and Site B is having a site-wide sale where he/she could get the figure much cheaper. Different sites also tend to have a variety of series merchandise, so you’ll be able to find more merchandise from a variety of companies, rather than just one single company.
3. Reseller sites
Sites like Ebay allow people to resell nearly anything they own. These can be a nice way to find older pieces of merchandise that people may have been hiding away in the back of a closet. These sites also give you the chance to maybe get a piece of merchandise that was imported from Japan by its original owner, and now you have the chance to easily buy it yourself and have it shipped right to your doorstep. The major drawback to these sites is bootlegs. You have a high chance if you’re not careful of buying an item, and it turn out to be a bootlegged copy. Typically speaking, if you avoid sellers from China/Taiwan/Hong-Kong/Singapore you’re safe. However, as an overall rule of thumb ALWAYS check the seller’s ratings, and in the end, if you don’t feel safe buying from a particular seller for whatever reason, then DO NOT BUY. Even stateside sellers have a chance of giving a bootleg. Even though you can still get a refund in most cases, there’s nothing worse than spending large amounts of money on something, only to have a fake sent to you.
4. Physical Stores
Increasingly, stores in the US are carrying figures and other merchandise. Several “geek” shops will carry a small selection of merch, as well as some bigger chains like FYE. Personally, I’ve gotten a Majin Buu plushie from an FYE store near me, and it seems like every time I go in the store, they have more of a selection of items. Typically, the big store chains will only carry big name series merchandise. Going back to FYE, the last time I was in the store, they carried Pokemon, Attack on Titan, Sword Art Online, and Dragon Ball Z merchandise in addition to their anime DVD selection (that did have other series in it). Your best bet to find lesser known series, is to check your local card shop, game shop, comic book store, etc and see what they have. Who knows, maybe you’ll find some hard to get merch!
5. Yard Sales/Flea Markets/Reselling “events”
I was going to include this in the reselling section, but I’m giving it it’s own category now. First off, as far as reselling goes, you’re much less likely to get a bootleg item at a yard sale or flea market than you are on a reselling website. Also, you’ll typically get MUCH cheaper prices than anywhere else. A great benefit to these, is that you can find super old school items, without paying what a collector would pay. Often, people will resell the items at a low price, not knowing what they have.The downfall of buying merchandise like this is your chances of getting anything remotely close to mint condition is extremely low, but if you don’t mind this fact, then buy away!
All in all, your easiest and best bet to get merchandise stateside, is to shop online on US-based sites. As always with online shopping in merchandise (and everything you buy online) check the sites’ legitimacy before you use them, and as always, if something doesn’t feel right from a seller, then don’t buy!
