The nendo that costed 2x it's cost...
Or I think...
Animate to J2D
Figure+COD+Shipping: 4199 Yen > $49.28 (at the time) (3499 Yen for just the figure > 41.06)
COD Handling for J2Y: $7.39 (15%)
EMS Shipping to the US (w/ repack, handling, and commercial fees): $42.99
Total: $99.66
wow... I seriously hate myself for doing that... I mean, sure I like Nanoha (loli Nanoha), but this is absurd... I think the cost of buying it at an actual shops like AmiAmi would have been MUCH much cheaper (but unfortunately, I could not pre-order it since it sold out as soon as it opened). This is a good lesson learned... (especially since money is tight for me recently, which you will see later, when I post my Loot post in the middle of the month...)
FYI: when I actually bought Reimu through Nico Shop, and used their service, it was much cheaper, although Tokyo Hunter's rater are much better.
Anyone know of other proxy services that would be much cheaper than they are?
If you're tight on money, then was EMS absolutely necessary? SAL would have been a lot cheaper. You also might want to consider looking around at different middlemen and their fees.
the EMS is default (and didn't feel like changing it), and at the time (when I pre-ordered it in November), I was ok with money (even if I knew this was sorta a rip off deal). The reason it hurts me now, rather than in november, is b/c of what happened recently, which sorta took most of the money out of my bank (and made me in debt)
Ouch! So the shipping cost almost as much as the Nendo herself. Well, at least you have a cute Nendo in your hands to make up for it, I suppose.
at least she's cute ? i thought paying $50 for my nendo Yoko was extreme.
I feel your pain, truly. At the end of the day, if you personally think it's worth it, that's all that matters.
I was annoyed when Nendoroid Miku (the original one) was sold out and the only place that had it was selling for $80... so yep.
If she ends up putting a stupid grin on your face or making you feel warm and fuzzy then the money is well spent. Think of it as a psycological investment.
I rather liked the Witchblade series and even though I don't collect 1/8 pvc's I stll got 2 Masane figures for a bit more than they were first released for off e-bay. No regrets on my part as I'd rather have them than not.
Also the longer you leave it the more expensive Nanoha will be to track down.
With Japan-To-Door...actually you couldn't have picked a more expensive proxy as their fees and shipping costs are very high.
I recommend GoodyJapan as they are one of the cheapest proxies available with good customer service and pricings. They don't charge extraneous charges like handling, commercial and even national fees and their commission isn't bad either. Using Nanoha as an example, you probably would have saved between $20-40 on the full order.
http://www.goody-japan.com/
I also highly recommend Nihonju who, though not a proxy but a small online retailer, is great at stocking rare, limited or highly anticipated figures. For the most part they keep close (or are even lower) than the retail pricing with the added benefit of accruing points on each purchase which you can use to deduct on cost of your next one.
http://nihonju.com/
Nanoha via Nihonju Pricing ~ http://nihonju.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=32747
They only charged 3,333 yen and you can opt to ship SAL, EMS or AirMail to save on cost. If you bought from them when they had stock, you probably would't have paid more than $50.
thanks for the info... More stores to look around surely does give me a better price range to work with
I had to pay 78 bucks for my nendo Hatsune Miku. But I feel your pain. Figures are getting pricey these days especially when you have 3 games coming out on the same day haha
That's bad you had to pay double. If it makes you feel any better, some ebay seller wanted $130 w/o shipping for this nendo:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Nendoroid-Figure-No-50-Saber-Lion-Tiger-Colosium_W0QQitemZ180473910162QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a05155392
I really hope it just sits in their inventory, never selling, simply because that's insane considering what the MSRP was.
Nendoroids sure are cute, but the markups sellers give them sure isn't X\
hm i got lucky... and found one late for a slightly higher price $42 at some US based store.
Ahh. The regret settling in XD. That's purely normal for all of us. Still though. Be proud you got a nanoha nendo!!! I wanted it but missed out entirely!!! Speaking of which, if it hurst your pocket that much I'll be more than happy to buy one off you if you feel the need to! Otherwise, kudos on your awesome GET!
lol, probably not. I am more worried about the Nanoha PVC "Stand by Ready" one I pre-ordered from AmiAmi. Since they don't charge you until they get the figure, and right now I am sorta low on cash (but not low enough to not be able to afford it).... Impulsive buys in the past that come and haunt me in the present... Stupid computer (spoiler)
I've been looking to for a good service myself recently. But to me it seems that regardless off what service I end up using everything ends up being expensive. -_-;