phoenix296
Member
Nendoroids are a brand of figures from Good Smile Company. Nendoroid figures are primarily based on Japanese properties such as Anime, Video Games and Movies. They come with many interchangeable parts such as arms, legs, held items and faceplates. Most Nendoroids share the same form factor so you can swap these parts between characters creating some cute or hilarious combinations.
Nendoroids come in variety of different styles
- Nendoroid : The standard style with interchangeable parts
- Nendoroid Petite : Smaller, cheaper, less customizable
- Nendoroid Co-de : A new line, more info here.
Nendoroids are made in Japan thus in order to buy them you usually have to import from a Japanese hobby site. Japanese figures in general sell out with pre-orders although sometimes you can purchase them after their release. If youre looking for a Nendoroid that has been released you are more likely to find it by looking at second hand sales. Nendoroids generally retain their value in the second hand market with some exceptions of rare or exclusive Nendoroids being sold for much higher than their MSRP. However, beware of bootlegs. While not as common as scale figures there are some Nendoroid bootlegs. (I would know about this)
Amiami is the most popular Japanese hobby store for foreigners to import from. They not only sell figures but video games, CDs, artbooks and various other anime merchandise. They usually have the best pre-order discounts. Amiami does not like cancellations but upon will request will cancel an order. If you cancel too often your account may be shut down. Amiami also sells pre-owned figures marked by a rating system.
- A Box never opened / A Box is in pristine condition
- B Box opened but figure shows little to no signs of wear / B Box shows signs of wear
- C Figure has noticeable damage, there is usually a note describing the damage / C Box is noticeably damaged
Mandarake is a Japanese retailer dealing in second hand otaku merchandise. If youre looking for an out of print Nendoroid, Mandarake is the place to look. They do a very good job describing any damage a figure theyre selling may have and there are no known reports of bootlegs sold from their stores. They have various locations in Japan so if you want to order multiple figures from different locations they will have to be bought in separate orders. When searching for a Nendoroid it may be hard to find using English thus it is best to search using the characters name in kanji/hiragana.
Hobby Search is another popular retailer. Their pre-order discounts may not be as deep as Amiamis but they have a more lenient cancellation policy.
Hobby Link Japan is usually more expensive than Amiami and Hobby Search but the owner is American so customer service does not have a language barrier.
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