Otaku’s Hideout

Today, I shall make a review on all the figure stores that I had ever dealt with in the past. I shall split it into parts with the first part focusing on local figure stores. As such, the first post shall be relevant only to those in Malaysia (in particular, KL). My experience with oversea stores shall be in Part 2 and beyond, which will be out not long after this.

Below is an extremely long post, proceed with caution XD (Perhaps I should do my review on per store basis so that one post would not get too long)

Disclaimer: This review only contains my personal opinions and experience. No personal attack nor unhealthy bias and promotions included.

1. The Figure Mall

Overview:
The Figure Mall (TFM) is an online store that is based in Subang Jaya. Being a 100% online store allows them to offer prices that are more attractive since they do not have to worry about physical store’s overhead costs (sort of anyway). The Figure Mall is the first local store that I had dealt with, with Max Factory’s Kureha being my first ever pre-order with them.

Shipping and Packing:
Overall, TFM scores high in this department. They have got great packing. Adequate paddings with shredded paper ensure the figure boxes are always in tact and undamaged. I notice TFM likes to use Double A boxes. Recent shipments starts to have the TFM logo glue to the side of the shipment box. Marketing strategy I assume? Shipping is also fast. Depending on the free time of the store owner, the shipping time is usually the next day or the at most 2 days after payment is completed. Shipping price can be rather steep since it follows the normal courier charges (which can be quite heavy for figures, depending on size and weight).

Price:
Generally, the price in TFM pretty much follows the market price in Japan. Pre-orders are cheaper than when the figures are released. The price of any figures is almost the same as the cost of the figure plus the EMS charges from Japan to Malaysia and of course, a little mark up. Not that attractive actually (more polite way to say sucks), unless you buy in bulk since you also have the local shipping cost to consider about. So in general, if you buy from TFM, you would be paying figure price+EMS+local courier. However, the store owner is always kind enough to offer the lowest possible price. Recently, TFM acquired the wholesaler account from their supplier and thus allows much better pricing.

Availability and variety:
Generally, the figures ordered from TFM is always available. However, there are rare cases where the TFM cannot get the stock they ordered. In this case, it’s the Figma. However, TFM is kind enough to order the stock from other place. And they did not request for extra payment even though the new stock cost much more. Talk about responsible seller! Creditability is very important and in this case, they score high. For variety though, they only have PVC figures for sale. Not that much choice. No Macross, no revoltech, no 12″ action figures, etc. Also, not every figure is offered by them, only those more popular ones are featured.

Payment methods:
TFM accepts only cash/bank in payment which is a minus for me. What if I don’t have that much cash at the moment. What if I want to pay by credit card? This is an area TFM should seriously look into. Of course, cash-and-carry is always the best. But with more payment methods, TFM can easily attract more customers. I kind of swung towards XL-Shop since I prefer to pay by credit card. Although TFM is always kind enough to hold your stocks for up to a month to allow you to look for cash, I would not want my figures to be away from me for long just because my fund is supposed to come later. I prefer to get them as soon as possible (possible with credit card payment). Pre-order typically requires a 25% deposit in cash terms, which is pretty good ^^

Website design:
Web programming seems to be the strong point of the owner. From time to time, new features will be added to the TFM website. Everything is extremely easy to navigate and layouts are neat and clean. Colour choice is superb, with a sunny happy feel. If there’s anything I want to complain, it would be the occasional timeout when browsing TFM. But that’s due to web host problem and in Malaysia, it’s negligible. They’re all the same xP Some concerns on new members on the store though, TFM introduced quite a few confusing terms for their site. For ordering, there are pre-orders, back-orders, reservations, new arrivals and in-stock items, categorized based on the stocks’ status. When I first went into the site, how on Earth I know what those means. Perhaps a FAQ is needed for explanation to newbies.

Communication:
There are various ways of contacting TFM. Either through the interface in the website, emails or even forums. The store owner is active in various forums and you can easily find him there. Messages typically takes at most one day. If he is around, it may take only 10 minutes before you get a reply. He typically lurks around his online store even during office hours xP.

Store keeper:
The store keeper is LilKeV84. I call him Kevin. He is a figure lover and mostly into those loli figures. I met him once during Comic Fiesta 2007 and man, is this guy friendly and a good talker. He is trustworthy and whenever I had any problems/doubts in figures, he will always help me. (Although he did not want to help me look for a Shuraki 3 figure back then xP) He has got a good collection of figures but he also likes to collect anime merchandises and manga. Customer support and service is always good from him.

Overall rating:
Price-wise, they are not the best. Perhaps their price is my only complain from them at the moment. But with excellent customer service and being a figure collector store owner gives them a huge plus. Thumbs up from Prim3!

PRIM3 RECOMMENDED!

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2. Dreamerz Collections

Overview:
Dreamerz Collections (DCz) is another figure store who is 100% online. They are based in KL although from their website, I read that they have a partner in Australia. The details? Sorry not my concern. They started from a seller in Lowyat forums to a full fledged online figure store.

Shipping and Packing:
For packing, I can safely say, it’s good but not great. The seller will tend to bubble wrap the figure and then packing inside a bigger box with paper as padding. However, the shipping is not that much bigger than the items and quite soft. As such, during rough handling, there is a little bit of damage to the figure box. As for shipping, I find it a little inconsistent. Sometimes, this fellow will ship quite fast while at other times, the delay is extremely unforgiving. There was once that he told me he asked somebody to ship it and gave me the tracking number. However after a few days, I did not receive the item and ask for clarification. After some hustle and tussle, only then I know that the figures were actually sent many days off the date he promised! This is bad..

Price:
During the early days, their price is extremely good. I can say they have the cheapest price among the local sellers. Sometimes even cheaper than if you purchased directly from Japan! How that happen? I also want to know. However, after they launched DCz v2, things changed. Their price were much much higher. And they implemented a points system that I think effectively increased sale price. The points system is good, but the benefit should not be inserted into sale price. In that case, why don’t just scrap the points while lowering the price. This is because, points are only good for people who always purchase expensive figures.

Availability and Variety:
This is the department that DCz had angered me recently. I had pre-ordered two figures from them quite long time ago, namely Bridget and Alter’s Kanu. After figures were released, he texted me saying they had arrived. However, not long after that, he would tell me: They are having shortage of stock. I was like: Come one? If already told me the stock arrived, then why shortage of stock? If shortage of stock, why when stock was being shipped to you, you do not know? If no stock, why didn’t tell me earlier? Bridget was an extremely popular figure. I was having so much problem securing a copy of him/her after that as every where had sold him/her out and DCz informed me like few weeks after released. Recently, the same story for Kanu. Luckily, Kanu is still available though. But what the heck, I don’t think I will have any more figures from them. For variety, they sell mainly only PVC figures too. with a little bit of other things, such as Revoltech, Macross, etc. But still, variety is limited.

Payment methods:
For payment, they fare a little bit better than TFM. They accept cash/bank in method and Paypal. A good move to allow buyers to choose the method they want. Pre-orders if you talk to the store keeper personally will need a deposit of 33%. If you happen to pre-order from their website, full payment is needed (Need confirmation for their revamped website)

Website design
Store site wise, DCz is one heck of a nightmare. The layout is not that standardized. Navigation seems flawed in some areas. You click on the photo of one figure, and the page of another figure comes out. The latest version of their website, in each item’s page, there is a link saying member’s price can only be seen after sign in. But after I had signed in, I can’t see anything. Their site also seems slow and in some cases, down. The previous site is also the same, having the same layout and arrangement problems. I don’t want to bash people too badly, so judge for yourselves. ^^

Communication:
Communication wise, not that good. It’s kind of hard to get hold on him. Sometimes, he never reply SMS. So far, I communicate with him through MSN. But that can be a problem too as he is not always online. (and me too!)

Store keeper:
The store owner is none other than Mr Dreamer. Dreamer is also an avid figure collector. His taste is more on the matured and erotic side. I had never met him in person, but from my online chat with him, he seems a nice and friendly guy.

Overall rating:
I really want to recommend them. As a matter of fact, the early DCz is really highly recommended from me, with great price and good service. But with my recent bad experience with them, I can only say, thumbs down!

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3. XL-Shop

Overview:
XL-Shop (XL) is by far the largest figure store in KL, if not Malaysia. They have 3 shops, with 2 being retail stores and the HQ mainly doing wholesaling. They accept online deals too through their website and they have staffs dedicated for that.

Shipping and Packing:
Packing is extremely good for XL. Usually, they would double pack the figures. This means, the figures will be packed twice with sturdy boxes. Paddings would then separate the first and second layer. And this is superb! Shipping wise, another strong point for XL, particularly for those who lives in East Malaysia, where shipping costs can get hazardous: XL offers free shipping for purchases above RM200! This means, for 10 figures each costing Rm200, you can actually make 10 separate orders and XL won’t hesitate to ship them to you for free! Talk about cost effectiveness for us collectors! No need to worry about shipping and combining orders!

Price:
Earlier on, XL’s price was not that convincing. Not only DCz whipped their butt rather heavily, even TFM was not that far off from them. But recently, when the Yen started to appreciate, as other stores’ price increase, they are steadily maintaining constant price. I am not sure how long they can maintain this but for now, they seems to have the best price, particularly for pre-orders. After figure release, TFM’s price can have a fight with them but let’s not forget about XL’s free shipping. They are still unbeatable! Unless of course, you happen to live in Subang Jaya and manage to Cash-On-Delivery (COD) with TFM. Also, they seems to be able to get Kotobukiya figures at prices that TFM and DCz can only watch and stare in total surprise. Prices for these figures are unbeatable at XL! So in dummies term, for pre-orders, go XL. For released figures, go XL for those requiring shipping while go TFM for those who can COD with TFM. For Kotobukiya figures, go XL!

Availability and Variety:
So far, I had not had any problems with my orders/pre-orders at XL. However, on certain circumstances, they do had had shortages. This can be seen from their forums. However, when these happens, they will refund you back promptly, or even secure a second batch just to fulfill their pre-orders. Hopefully, this will not happen to my pre-orders. Variety wise, another unbeatable point. They have got almost anything. PVCs, Revoltechs, Gundams, Macross, 12″ figures, etc.

Payment methods:
Another winner for XL. They accept bank in, Paypal, Credit Card through a third party portal, money order, etc. So much choice! But the bad thing is, for pre-orders online, they will require full payment. I mean, why do I need to pay in full? It’s like you are holding my funds for something that I will only get after a few months. I don’t really like this type of transactions. However, if you happen to pre-order at their physical store, you just need to pay them RM50 though.

Website design
Their website is good, with clear and nice layout and easy navigation. It’s kind of hard to get lost inside. Not much downtime on their site if not mistaken. If only they will allow shoppers to register an account with them so that each time they want to complete a transaction, they do not need to retype their details. XL seems to have points systems which allows you to redeem items after you have got enough points. It’s only for those who purchase from their physical stores though. RM20 qualifies for 1 point and only valid for 2 years.

Communications:
Typically communication is done using emails. They usually reply the next or at most 2 business days after you sent your queries. Same goes for sales confirmations. On busy periods it may take longer but rest assure the reply will come. The sales people at the store in Berjaya Times Square and Midvalley are friendly and helpful. (And in BTS, there’s a lenglui even ^^)

Store keeper:
The store owner for XL is Uncle Loong. I have never met him personally or dealt with him. But he is active in his XL Forums and from what I can see, he is nice and helpful too.

Overall rating:
Perhaps the strongest points for XL is their free shipping and super price for pre-order and Kotobukiya figures. I would definitely recommend them for those who live outside KL or anybody who wants to pre-order figures and shopping for other items, such as Yamato’s Macross and Gundams.

PRIM3 RECOMMENDED!

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4. Graffiti (Berjaya Times Square):

Overview:
I don’t want to comment much on this store. The first PVC figure I ever had was Alter’s Dark Saber, which I bought from Graffiti. And it turns out to be a bootleg! I was quite a noob back then, not knowing even PVCs has got pirated versions. And I even thought I had got a super deal when they told me Dark Saber only costed RM90. But they do have tonnes and all sorts of Gundams and Transformers on sale. All in all, if you want to shop for PVCs, stay away from this shop. I dare say most if not all of their PVCs are bootlegs. Otherwise, this shop should be a good Gundam/Transformers shopping zone.

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5. Diamond Comics (Sungei Wang Plaza):

Overview:
Seriously, I have never bought anything from them before. But I must say they service sucks. I been to their physical stores twice, once on a Sunday and another on a Thursday. On both days, I was not able to enter their shop due to they blocked their entrance saying only their members can enter on the day. Come on, even though I was not a member but I was there giving you business. Don’t you want me (or other non-members) to buy something from you? After that I never been there again as the place was rather hidden and I would not want to waste my time going there for nothing

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All in all, my recommendations of local figure stores are as below (Not listed means I don’t recommend):
1. XL-Shop (Outside KL)
2. The Figure Mall (KL)

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