The Shock of an A-Grade Out-of-Print Item on AmiAmi's Used Section
I still remember the bewilderment of receiving an Alter 1/8 scale figure released in 2015 in "unopened box" condition in 2023. It was an eight-year-old out-of-print item, yet the box shrink-wrap hadn't even been removed. The price was 1.2 times the original retail. In Korea's used market, box presence alone doubles the price, but on Japan's used listings, items lined up with photographs documenting even the exact location of box creases. Let me state my conclusion upfront: Japan's used figure market operates on a preservation culture, inspection system, and price transparency different from Korea's, and understanding these differences allows you to snag out-of-print scales near retail price.
In Japanese otaku culture, "used" is not synonymous with defective goods. Rather, it's a natural flow of properly circulated collections. At Wonder Festival, it's not uncommon to find collectors buying new garage kits at one end of the venue while reselling finished products purchased three years ago at the other. Display cabinet space is limited and tastes continue to evolve. Thanks to this circulation structure, even 10-year-old out-of-print items consistently flow into the market.
How Do You Read AmiAmi's Used Grade Chart?
AmiAmi's used grades have three basic tiers: A (unused/unopened), B (almost no signs of use), and C (noticeable signs of use), with box condition, accessory presence, and figure body condition separately noted within each grade. Even A-grade items specify "small dent on box," and B-grade items note specifics like "body is clean but base has minor scratches." If Korea's used transactions treat "good condition" as a realm of subjectivity, Japan's used listings approach the realm of objectivity.
In fact, looking at 2022 AmiAmi used search data, approximately 65% of A-grade listings carried "unopened" notation. These are cases where tastes changed after pre-order and items were resold without even opening. Japanese collectors choose to resell as used rather than pay pre-order cancellation fees (typically 20-30% of the product price). Recall the packaging of Japan-origin courier boxes received through forwarding services—two layers of bubble wrap filled with cushioning material—and you can sense their attitude of treating items not as "goods" but as "collection pieces." This attitude underpins the overall condition of the used market.
Mandarake and Suruga-ya: The Inspection Philosophy of Two Giants
The sight I witnessed upon first entering the figure hall on the fourth floor of Mandarake Nakano was overwhelming. In display cases reaching the ceiling, thousands of items from 1990s garage kits to 2010s scales were arranged with price tags. Each price tag bore condition codes like "箱傷み小 (minor box damage)" and "塗装剥がれ (paint peeling)." Mandarake is Japan's largest used subculture chain, with 13 locations nationwide sharing an independent inventory system.
Suruga-ya takes a different approach. Though an online-centered platform, it mandates physical inspection using over 200 offline stores as hubs. Items sent by sellers are opened by Suruga-ya's inspection team, which counts accessory pieces, confirms joint articulation, photographs paint condition, and assigns grades. In this process, 10-15% of items are rejected as "different from description." According to data released by Suruga-ya in 2019, annual rejections reached approximately 80,000 cases. This strictness creates the trust that "Suruga-ya A-grade = almost new."
Both companies utilize market price databases for pricing. Mandarake references its own past sales prices and Yahoo Auction closing prices, while Suruga-ya crawls Amazon and Mercari actual transaction prices. As a result, even identical products are precisely differentiated in price according to condition. Good Smile Company 1/7 scale A-grades typically form at 80-90% of retail, B-grades at 60-70%, and C-grades at 40-50%.
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Yukino Yukinoshita Light Novel Vol.6 Cover Illustration Ver. 1/6 Complete Figure →Why Japanese Used Items Are in Good Condition: The Nation of Humidity and Glass Cases
The figure storage environment in Japanese homes is structurally different from Korea. Annual average humidity is around 60%, lower than Korea's 65-70%, and with a higher ratio of detached houses versus apartments, personal storage space is more abundant. Unlike Korea, where low-cost glass cases like IKEA's Detolf are used, Japan has popularized dedicated figure cases with built-in lighting and dehumidifiers. In a 2018 survey by the figure specialty magazine Dengeki Hobby Magazine, 72% of Japanese collectors answered that they use "dedicated cases or glass-door bookshelves."
Direct sunlight blocking is practically a lifestyle habit. Japanese apartment windows come standard with lace curtains, and UV-blocking film installation rates are higher than Korea. There's an underlying consciousness of "preserving" rather than merely "storing" figures. This is also why 10-year-old figure boxes remain unopened in storage—they know that box presence affects resale price by 30-40%. This contrasts with Korean communities where posts saying "I threw away the box" appear regularly.
The infrastructure of used trading platforms also plays a role. Mercari has provided anonymous shipping and escrow payments since 2013, and Yahoo Auctions introduced seller rating systems in the late 1990s. Platforms mediate in cases of fraud or defect concealment, and malicious sellers receive permanent account bans. This system has operated for over 20 years, establishing a culture where "honest descriptions = quick sales."
The Art of Hunting Out-of-Print Items: Search Terms and Alert Settings
Finding desired out-of-print items on Japanese used sites requires search term strategy. Searching only character names yields hundreds of results from Nendoroids to prize figures. Combine manufacturer (Alter, Max Factory) and scale (1/8, 1/7), and narrow down the release year. For example, entering "初音ミク Append Ver. アルター 1/8 2011" increases accuracy. Since Mandarake supports product code searches, checking official product numbers in databases like MyFigureCollection and entering them is also a method.
Alert settings are essential. AmiAmi used posts new stock batches daily at 10 AM (11 AM Korea time) and 6 PM (7 PM Korea time). Popular out-of-print items at A-grade often sell out within 10 minutes. Suruga-ya has irregular stocking times, but saving search conditions triggers email notifications when new listings appear. In 2020, I used this method to snag an Alter "Shinonono Houki" 1/8 scale I'd sought for four years at 1.1 times retail. It was B-grade, but the body was practically new.
Patience in watching price trends is also important. The same item might appear on Mandarake today at ¥20,000 and next month at ¥15,000. Sellers have different market assessments, and they lower prices according to inventory turnover rates. Monitoring three months of Yahoo Auction closing prices reveals the "acceptable price range." The saying circulated in Korean communities that "Japanese used is cheaper than Korean new products" is not an exaggeration. Even adding customs and shipping, it's often cheaper than Korea's reseller premium prices.
"Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story" Madoka Kaname Kimono ver. 1/7 Scale Figure →The Reality of Forwarding Services and Customs
Most Japanese used sites don't offer international direct shipping. AmiAmi used resumed overseas shipping in 2017, but Mandarake and Suruga-ya still only accept Japanese addresses. You have no choice but to use forwarding services. Companies like Tenso, Zenmarket, and FROM JAPAN lend Japanese addresses and reship to Korea. Fees typically run 10-15% of the product price.
Customs depend on whether it's simplified clearance (total purchase under ¥150,000) or general clearance. Simplified clearance exempts customs but has annual usage limits per person, while general clearance adds 8% customs duty + 10% VAT. If you bought one 1/8 scale for ¥20,000 (approximately ¥200,000), customs add about ¥36,000. Including shipping, the total comes to ¥260,000-270,000. If the same item sells for ¥350,000 on Korea's used market, it's still profitable. However, EMS rates have risen 30-40% since 2022, so it's not as overwhelmingly cost-effective as before.
Packaging condition is generally excellent. Japanese used dealers wrap figure boxes in bubble wrap and fill outer boxes with cushioning material. Of 37 Japanese used figures I received from 2019 to 2024, only one arrived damaged, and even that was compensated by the forwarding service. Compared to Korean courier services where you can't trust "fragile" stickers and wrap bubble wrap yourself, Japan's logistics reliability is perceptibly a level above.
Unlicensed Resin and the Used Market's Boundaries
Japan's used market has shadows too—unlicensed resin bootlegs sold as legitimate products. Particularly with Wonder Festival-limited garage kits, small production volumes make authenticity verification difficult. In 2021, unlicensed resin was caught at Mandarake Shibuya, and afterward some branches suspended garage kit purchases. From a buyer's perspective, you must carefully read seller ratings and product descriptions, and when in doubt, cross-reference with authentic photos on MyFigureCollection.
Even with legitimate manufacturer products, you must confirm differences between reprints (reissues) and first editions. Good Smile Company reprints popular items years later, and paint or parts materials sometimes change subtly. The price difference between a 2014 first edition and 2020 reprint can be 1.5 times in the used market. Check whether the product description says "初回版 (first edition)" and whether the engraving year on the base back matches. Beginners unknowingly buy first editions at reprint prices, or conversely, reprints at first edition prices.
I firmly oppose unlicensed resin. It steals the labor of sculptors and manufacturers, and erodes trust in the entire market. But realistically, there's no way to filter 100% in the used market. If in doubt, don't buy. Not acquiring an out-of-print item is disappointing, but it's better than placing a fake in your display cabinet.
![Fate/Grand Order Lancer/Minamoto-no-Raikou [AQ] 1/7 Complete Figure](https://img.amiami.com/images/product/main/214/FIGURE-134052.jpg)
Fate/Grand Order Lancer/Minamoto-no-Raikou [AQ] 1/7 Complete Figure →The Aesthetics of Patience: Wait for Reprints or Buy Used?
In 2023, Good Smile Company announced its "Nendoroid Archive" project, pledging to reprint 50 out-of-print Nendoroids. Scale figures are the same—Alter reprints 10-year-old out-of-print items with renewals, and Max Factory redesigns early Figma releases as 2.0 versions for rerelease. There's even an unwritten industry rule that "if used prices exceed twice retail, it becomes a reprint consideration candidate." So is there really a reason to rush into buying used?
Waiting patiently for reprints is a rational choice. But considering it takes 2-3 years until reprint confirmation, release dates get delayed another year, and there's potential disappointment in the gap between decoration masters and mass production—buying A-grade used now might be better. In 2019, I bought Alter's "Tohsaka Rin" 1/7 scale used, and the same item was announced for reprint in 2021. I have no regrets. The satisfaction I enjoyed seeing that figure in my display cabinet for two years was worth more than the time spent waiting for a reprint.
Price is also a variable. Reprints typically have 10-20% higher retail prices than first editions. If the 2015 first edition was ¥12,000, the 2023 reprint is ¥15,000. If you acquired A-grade used at ¥13,000, you actually profited. Of course, reprints might not happen at all. Items out of print due to copyright issues, cases where manufacturers closed, or works with ambiguous sales volumes lacking reprint justification—the used market is the only route.
FAQ
Do you need to be fluent in Japanese to purchase directly from Japanese used sites?
Google Translate and Papago are sufficient. AmiAmi used provides English pages, and even Suruga-ya and Mandarake have standardized core keywords (grade, box condition, accessories) in product descriptions that translation tools can parse. Choosing forwarding services with Korean customer support (Tenso, Malltail) provides order proxy support. Use community-vetted forwarding services.
Is the practical difference between used A-grade and B-grade noticeable?
A-grade is mostly unopened or repacked immediately after opening, making it indistinguishable from new. B-grade is roughly "displayed in a glass case for 1-2 years"—the body is clean but the box may have creases or fading. If only the figure body matters, B-grade offers good value. I prefer A-grade since I store boxes, but some acquaintances say "the box goes in the closet anyway" and only buy B-grade.
Why are Japanese used prices lower than Korea's?
Japan simply has more supply. The ratio of figure collectors to population is high, and used trading infrastructure has matured for nearly 30 years. In Korea, import quantities are limited and out-of-print items have prices controlled by a few resellers, but in Japan tens of thousands of individual sellers compete to form market prices. Additionally, Japan has a strong new-release pre-order culture, and many pre-order with the premise of reselling as used, so used item turnover is fast.
How high is the risk of figure damage when using forwarding services?
Statistically under 1-2%. Japanese used dealers pack so solidly, and forwarding services also offer repacking services (paid). Choosing premium shipping like EMS or DHL further lowers damage rates. Even if damage occurs, if you purchased forwarding service insurance (3-5% of product price), you'll receive compensation. I always insure high-value scales (over ¥30,000).
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Japan's used figure market is the last bastion where Korean collectors can snag out-of-print items near retail. Understanding the grading system, establishing search strategies, and calculating forwarding and customs eliminates the need to fight premium prices. However, you must always guard against unlicensed resin and reprint possibilities, and the choice between patience and used purchases is a matter your wallet and display cabinet space will decide. May good connections reach your display cabinets today as well.
