Shop review: AmiAmi online shop

A few weeks ago, I decided to go ahead and buy a figure that I thought would be rather hard to find. It was, since it was limited edition, but I ended up buying it at AmiAmi. It´s a Japanese web shop that descibes itself as a "character and hobby shop".

Since I haven´t come across a lot of reviews for figure-selling shops (though they also sell games and series merchandising), I thought it might interest people to know a bit about one of these places.

Website:

Easy to navigate; they have an English-language website (besides the Japanese one). Everything is explained in perfectly comprehensible English (no garbling of the language). All links and clickable buttons are in English.It´s one of the easiest websites I´ve ever used.

Registration:

Like many online webshops lately, to buy on AmiAmi, you need to register. It´s a very simple and easy process,with every step and box you might need to fill in explained in English. The registration is used to keep track of how many items of one type you buy (as most have a limit of "X per household"), and also to keep track of your "AmiAmi points", which allow you to get discounts on future items you might buy. You get approximately 1 point for every 100 yen you buy. So if you spend, say, 5000 yen on a figure, you get 50 points. I think this is a nice system to ensure that customers return....figures can get expensive, and any discount counts.

The only thing I didn´t quite like about the registration process was the limit of addressess--meaing that if you´ve registered your user and address, and your brother/sister/significant other wants to get an account to send things to the same address--you can´t. You both have to use the same account. Sure, it´s logical when you think of the "household limit" for each figure, but it could get annoying quickly if you had to share accounts with anyone.

Products:

There are many many products here that are very hard to find online. Limited figures, regular figures, gundams, whatever you can think of. They have a bit less of "older" items than newer ones. They´re pretty good about stock however, and warning when an item is out of stock, or on back-order. You can also preorder items--at a much cheaper price than most preorders you´d get in Europe, at least. No additional cost for preordering, as far as I can see.

Customer attention (questions):

Products have an "estimated shipping price" based on their weight. However, if you want to get a more exact shipping quote, you have the option of sending them an email inquiring about the total. This is what I did to ask about my Kenshin Figure. They responded quite promptly, in about a day and a half or so, which is quite fast considering the time differences.

Now, on to the purchase itself:

Buying and shipping: 

Very simple, a matter of clicking a few buttons. I bought the figure on January 24th, and minutes later had an email confirmation of the order in my inbox, asking me to wait for a specific shipping total in order to pay. I had picked, thanks to the estimate that I´d asked for, Unregistered SAL shipping.

On January 25th, I got an email with the grand total, including my shipping, and cofirming that the product I´d ordered was in stock. I just had to click the link they provided for me in that same email in order to complete my payment. It was quite easy. I used Paypal.

On January 26th, to my surprise, I was notified that my order had been shipped. Talk about fast!!!

Out of the bluw, the package showed up on my doorstep (well, OK, the postman handed it to me) on the 6th or 7th of February (sorry, I can´t remember the exact date). Considering that I´d picked the slowest and uninsured airmail....it was unexpectedly quick. Only 12-13 days of transit. I chose the cheapest shipping option because I´ve noticed a trend in customs taxing most EMS packages that I´ve gotten in the past year or so. Surely enough--no customs fee for this one.

The item and package:

It was a rather large package. Very safely sealed with clear tape.

This was the only dent on the box. Safe to say that the fact that it was packaged in a box that screamed "Fragile! Handle with care!" on every side but the top and bottom seems to have worked. The postal service left it alone (and probably proceeded to stomp on other innocent packages to vent their rage).

There was a very polite note upon opening the package, which thanked me for buying at AmiAmi and gave me the email for customer service again in case I had a problem with the package or something, I guess.

And here is the figure--it was padded with soft paper. I must say, I would have liked perhaps safer packaging (bubble wrap vs. paper wrap! Round one, fight!), but it´s true that the figure inside the box doesn´t move around at all. So the box itself didn´t move either.

Finally, the figure itself, out of its box. Not a single dent or defect on it, despite its long trip across the ocean.

Ta-Daa! My G.E.M. Series Rurouni Kenshin -Romance of the Meiji Swordsman- Kenshin Himura (Limited Distribution ver.) Complete Figure. Gosh, don´t you love those long names the companies come up with? I´ve always liked Kenshin better in Battosai Blue than Rurouni Pink. So when I saw that this figure was available....

Overall, I give the shop a POSITIVE review.

--The customer service is polite and fast!

--The website is easy to navigate.


--There are several options for shipping; any person, from the fussiest to the more relaxed can pick and choose. No forced EMS shipping.

--The prices for figures are very reasonable. Older figures have a bit of a discount (this one had a 26% discount, despite being a limited edition).

--The buying process is easy to follow and guided. The people at AmiAmi are in contact with you via email throughout the whole process. 


Was this review helpful? Do you feel like I should add anything in particular to make it a more well-rounded review? If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

So I´m a bit of a geek....

....or so I´ve discovered. Either that, or I´m a "G.E.M. Series figure"-whore. Because I swear, I want at least three figures from that series; and they´re all as expensive as buying a used lolita JSK/OP on EGL_sales.....

Why is this happening now? Why did I have to discover figures when I´ve only had one before, Sesshoumaru? It´s not like I watch much anime anymore (I´m now more into Jdramas and Kdramas, whough I still like to read the occasional manga). They´re so pretty, though. I think it´s more my fondmess for the character designs manifesting itself here.

G.E.M. Series Rurouni Kenshin

 .....I like the limited "Battosai" Edition to boot. I´ve actually seen the regular-colored one once at a con, but I´ve never seen this one. Gah.

G.E.M. Series Naruto Hatake Kakashi

 ....where have you been all of my life? I´ve never been much of a Naruto fan (though I did buy the manga and watch the anime at some point), but I have always fangirled Kakashi. Why have I never seen this at a con before? It´s been out for more than a year and a half, supposedly! It´s on sale on a Spanish site as well.....so tempting......

G.E.M. Series Rurouni Kenshin Hajime Saito

....I´m masochistic. This figure is coming out like....in DAYS. He is so seriously cool...... I want him....his pose is so absolutely characteristic.....Aku soku zan!

And lastly, a figure that I will probably never ever have.....that I yearn for with the fiercest aching of my heart.....

I am in love....

I think I could possibly sell my soul for this figure, LoL. It´s 17 inches tall!! The rearing Epona....I´ve always loved her!! >.< It costs 424.99USD.......That´s like two month´s....well, OK, a month and a half´s salary right there....... it´s my ideal Link and pose though..... *sigh* why must you be so expensive?

If I find Kenshin, I´m definitely going to buy him. I know that he´ll be really hard to find (he´s sold out in three sites that I know of.... gr...and his release was in late june 2011!). Kakashi is already hard to find, because the only place I´ve found him is on that Spanish site; he´s unavailable on the Japanese ones I like looking at figures on..... Saito will definitely have to wait. I really get these silly buying impulses all at once, I think. Greediness? Probably the feeling that if I´m not quick, they´ll disappear, as happened with my Sesshoumaru. I had such a hard time hunting him down later......

Speaking of which, I also found this really nice figure of Kagome from the same series as my Sesshoumaru.
I really like her; being a SessoumaruxKagome fan, I figure I´ll eventually buy it.....if I can find it.....since it´s 2 years old. Kotobukiya figures (Kagome and Sesshoumaru) are so much more affordable than Megahouse ones (the GEM series), I´ve noticed.....

I need to go through my wardrobe to take some pictures; I´ve been saying I would since the beginning of the month but haven´t yet.....I really need to get rid of the sweeter pieces that I don´t wear at all.....Is February a good month to sell lolita stuff, I wonder? I want some spending money that´ll keep me from eating away at my savings...

MG Wing Gundam: Wing Zero Custom

Today I´m going to share my Wing Gundam.

I don´t know if you reacall, but one of my first posts on this blog was about anime figures--and my experience buying this Gundam model.

I hadn´t gotten around to building it yet, and on the 6th of January my brother gave me a nice surprise: when we went down to open our gifts, there it was, on top of one of them. All nice and ready to be loved and posed.

I was so touched I tackled him.

He (because Wing Gundam is now a "he") isn´t painted, just fit together. Painting it, according to my brother, would limit its poseability--oh well. It looks really nice anyway. I might still buy a black modeling pen to color in the joints and such, though.

What do you think? Isn´t it pretty? I love Wing Zero Custom´s angel wings.

I´m thinking of collecting the other 4 Gundam Wing gundams (and maybe Epyon) in the same 1/100 scale. They´re getting re-released for the  30th anniversary of Gundam. It´ll look curious if I do, hahaha, since my room is a bit girly.

What do you think of the pictures? I´m rather pleased with them.

Barbie: Princesses of the World

It has recently come to my attention that Barbie has been producing "Princess" dolls for years. Princesses, you say? That´s old! Well, yes. Who hasn´t played with a princess doll/barbie when they were young? I know I have! There must be thousands of princess versions wandering around.

What has made me feel interested in Barbies once more, after so many years--I really thought I´d outgrown Barbies by the time I was 15, excluding babysitting contexts--is that they have been releasing special princesses: "Princesses of the World".

So, we get to see Barbies with different ethnic characteristics. Yay! That´s not new either, though--there is a "Barbies of the World" series! Well, yes, but these are World Princesses, I tell you. Any 4-year-old would accept that as an unrefutable argument as to why they´re better, but I see that you require more than that!

Here are images of some of my favorites:

Princess of Imperial Russia

Princess of China

Princess of the Korean Court

Princess of India

Princess of South Africa

Princess of Japan

All of the princess outfits have a lot more detail and (theoretically) better construction and quality in cloth and details than the regular "Dolls of the World" Barbies. Which is good, in my opinion. I´d actually buy quite a few of these. The term "Princess" is used oh-so-loosely, though!

The only ones that miffed me a bit were:

Princess of Holland

Because she supposedly hails from 17th century Holland in her official profile, when Holland didn´t even exist until past half of that century (80 Years war with Spain, anyone?). I´m nitpicking, but still....

Princess of the Portuguese Empire

Because, really, Portugal? If you´re going for an Empire go with Spain (or Rome). We´re next to each other, after all, and during the time this dress seems to be based off of, we were probably mid-unification with Portugal anyhow. We sure shared the same fashion. Offended Spanish pride speaking here, but still...we always get left out. *frown* In the Dolls of the World we get:

It´s so incredibly ugly and misrepresentative that I´ll just continue denying its existence after this line. So, that last Princess Doll, if I ever buy it, will get the following new name: Princess of the Hispano-Portuguese Empire. Because it doesn´t specify a timeline in her "profile" and it really happened (Look up Philip the II of Spain if you´re curious).

I´d like to finish off this princessy post with a rather interesting (if admittedly stereotypical) Princess doll. It, in my opinion, adds a rather whimsical note to all of the princess talk.

Princess of the Vikings

What can I say? She reminds me of Thor, I love her helmet and I want her armor. At the very least, it´s quite innovative of Mattel. I´ve never seen a Barbie with battle armor before this one! (and I love it) I could totally picture her riding a white horse (hm, that´d be a Valkyrie, though, wouldn´t it?). A shame that her level of dress detail is inferior to that of the other Princess Dolls. Though the armor almost completely makes up for it.

Why anime figures?.... (Part I)

I have recently become interested in the world of anime figures. Before, I couldn´t fathom why people would spend massive amounts of money on figures that would just *stand there* looking pretty and decorative. Well, decorative and otaku-ish. Or decorative, otaku-ish and perverted, depending on the figure. My friends and I have a longstanding joke about an anime figure at our local comic store that never gets old: the character is a scantily-clad girl whose "assets" are held up by her semi-tansparent side bangs in the shape of hands (yes, her bangs have large groping *hands* for goodness´ sake). Her name is "Melona". Which means "melons", as you have no doubt deduced. Yes, they are the equivalent size of melons. Don´t pretend you don´t know what "they" refers to. Why would anyone want to have that in their room and on display? You´d inevitably be branded as some sort of pervert with a wierd fetish by your friends.

However, a few months ago--oh, alright, half a year ago, a particular figure came to my notice. Now, I haven´t the foggiest idea what series this figure belonged to, except that it had to be samurai-related. What brought it to my attention? The fact that the figure´s plastic-or-resin-I-have-no-idea-what hakama actually had texture. It was so insanely detailed that it had resin looking like real cloth. It was then that I thought: "Hmmm, anime figures might have a bit more to them than I initially thought...". I mean, that´s some mad modeling/sculpting skills right there.


When I traveled to the Expo in Barcelona in late 2010, my fate was sealed: I saw one of my favorite characters of all time, and not just as a cheap plastic gashapon, but as a real, actual figurine. My wallet whipped out of my pocket so fast that I´m lucky it didn´t leave scorch marks as I shouted "I want THAT one!!!" while waving at the vendor frantically. I´m talking about this lovely bit of art:

 Sesshoumaru, a full Inu-youkai from the Inuyasha series. He´s Inuyasha´s half-brother.

He´s nowhere near as detailed as the one I saw that made me interested in figures in the first place (and about a third of the price), but the fact that it´s Sesshoumaru just makes it worth it to me.

Not happy with just that, I also went ahead and bought another figure, but this time something on the other end of the spectrum. I swear, the vendor looked at me strangely for being a girly girl but buying this:

It´s a Gundam Model Kit of Wing Gundam Zero Custom, from the series Gundam Wing.

Is it some sort of unwritten rule that only guys can buy model kits? The saleman made sure to repeat "but you have to build it yourself, are you sure?" not just once, but twice, while maintaining eye contact with me. Fortunately, I was too overjoyed at finding this hard-to-find gundam to make some sort of cheeky remark. Which he would have totally deserved, in my opinion.

Gundam Wing was my first Gundam series, and it will forever be my favorite Gundam-universe, not only  because it was absolutely plagued by cute anime-guys. Which look even better when cosplayed (or sadly, cross-played):

Aaaaah, what a shame that they´re all girl cosplayers.

The only catch to buying this second kind of figure? It´s a modeling kit. Which means that you actually have to build the thing yourself. Daaarrrrrn. Fudge, even. I bought it knowing this, but still....

When I got back home from Barcelona, my brother promised to build it with me (strangely enough, he looked excited. Go figure. Must be a guy thing. I´m only interested in the final product myself). He used to build Gundam model kits. Had the Deathscythe and Nataku, as well as Epyon and a few other Gundam chibis. They were lost somewhere when we moved.

Needless to say, six months later it is still in its box. I think I shall have to start pressuring him. I want it looking pretty and on display, darnit!