One thing I absolutely love about your channel is that you don't gate-keep where you purchase your items from. So many times I find someone importing something amazing and they become very quiet how they actually got it. Thank you so much for sharing, I have never heard of Suruga-ya before and I'm interested to see what they have available.
I love seeing your collection,. You've very quickly become my favorite video game (primarily Switch) youtube collector. I'm not a big JRPG fan like you, and I don't collect trinkets and stuff ($$$$ and space) -- but it's fun seeing someone who does so I can live through your enthusiasm for it haha.
I personally feel Japan was in a better spot 10 years ago with Anime/Gaming merchandise. They always attached goodies to new physical game releases... no more. We need to stop buying digital and support physical games.
I couldn’t care less if I received extra bonuses with my physical games. All that matters is that I can still play the physical media in 20 odd years time without issues. Do you seriously think you would care about some keychain or stickers if you can pop in a game from 2016 and play it in the year 2042? People make too much a fuss over the extra stuff. This to me is why I wholeheartedly believe limited or special editions are overhyped and a complete waste of space. Just give me the disc or cartridge. As long as I can beat the game without any other updates, I’m good.
@cbgg1585 sounds like someone's having a bad day. All I'm saying is gaming merchandise that helped promote games aren't what they used to be. Pre-Order goodies like FFVII came with a cool t-shirt, Mario Galaxy came with a gold coin, Pokemon Platinum came with a cool Giratina figurine. Post game goodies like Fire Emblem Awakening art books, Zelda themed backbags, Amiibo's, Posters, etc. Your point of view on game conservation is something else entirely. BTW... how cool was it that Metroid Dread ran without a need for an update out the box?
Liked & subscribed 👍🏼 Finding myself binge watching your back catalog of videos. I appreciate your calm demeanor and down to earth approach. Best of success to you with your channel Emily 😊
Love how fast they ship! I'm hoping their bulk buying shipping rates settles down to levels like it used to be, but that seems a bit unlikely at this point. At least the exchange rate makes it not too bad at the moment.
I really love your videos on how you educate people on the different ways to buy things. You do such an excellent job explaining it as well. It really impresses me that you know a lot of stuff too. I love your collection you bought.
The artwork on the mug is very nice. Awesome. Yea some of those character hands looked a little bit different than the others on that mat. Maybe those characters were having a off day. It happens 😃. Really great video Emily. It's great to see another video always.
Suruga-ya is currently having a free shipping weekend but I’ve noticed that the prices are often significantly higher than what are currently on amiami for used figures, with many people products having higher prices than what they originally released for I think this is a byproduct of those high shipping expenses from Japan
Those Falcom Desk Mats are super legit and that Emma figure looks amazing. Playasia has been my go to for imports, but I just collect games, not figures or books. Maybe in the near future if I had more space I would collect those. I have bought a couple of visual novels through Amazon JP, I'm not sure if it came in one or two days but the shipping wasn't to crazy.
It's fun to expand the hobby to other stuff, though it can be dangerous. I've found with Playasia they can be hit or miss with their price point. Some items that are not as well stocked can be extremely expensive, so finding new or used on alternative website can help save a bunch.
You are one of my favourite RU-vidrs i love your voice,your presentation,and passion and seeing your beautiful collection 😀 i have a small collection of stuff but just love the unboxing joy 🤩 thanks again for another lovely video
Wow thanks you so much for the video and for your advice, Emily! Those are some amazing pick-ups, especially the pocket watch looks beautiful! This video actually came at just the right time. I'm loving the art for the Trails anniversary so I was actually thinking about trying to purchase some goods but I haven't used a proxy service before. It's nice to know you have good experiences with it so far!
I'm planning to order some of the upcoming Trails anniversary merch as well! A bit torn between the Estelle x Joshua arcylic block and the special interior plate w/ characters from all the current arcs. There are so many different websites offering different items right now, but I'm trying to not go too overboard lol
@@orbalology Yeah, all those acrylic stands and small goods are definitely a splurging hazard! I'd love a desk mat with either the Sky/Crossbell characters and I'd also like something with the full art. At least they aren't out yet so we can shop around for a while. My main issue is searching for all this stuff while trying to dodge spoilers since I'm not all caught up with the games. 😂
Far out, so much amazing merch in this video! I love that Xenoblade Nia art book, and really appreciate your professional and informative approach. Great stuff, Emily!
Thanks Uppernimbus! And the Nia art is really great - love what the artist is doing for the Xenoblade fandom these last few years. She's putting together this huge collaborate project to create a Xenoblade compendium with other artists that I cannot wait to buy lol
Hi Emily. I love watching your channel been around for a while when you were showing us your portable collection. Link to the past is one of my all time favorite games. This video really interested me. I’ve been wanting to add a Megatron Transformer for a while now but the prices for the originals are through the roof. The section on Japan proxies really caught my eye. For a Japanese reissue.
Awesome pick ups! ;) Love the Cold Steel Art Book! And Emily, they have an Amazon UK too. I've been focusing on import games a lot lately. I love collecting Japanese imports. I have an impressive PS3 and PS4 import collection. And recently I bought the Japanese Aqua Blue PlayStation 2 console.
😊❤ i did the same thing when I purchased my imported artbook Sante lilio sangre by Ayami kojima.. its a rare book that is quite expensive in ebay.. luckily got it imported in Japan.. 😊
That Vita pouch looks so cool! My friend has been using Sugura-ya for bulk manga purchases for a while now, between that and this I’m gonna have to check it out now
I've been to Japan twice so far. But imo I don't think it's worth traveling over there to just go shopping - checking out all the sights and cultural offerings is much more enjoyable. And there are so many ways to import nowadays that it's much cheaper than buying a plane ticket.
Play Asia is still my go to place for importing games mainly due to having no issues with quick delivery. Yeah its still on expensive side, but I don't mind :-)
Do you use their free economy shipping? I've had mixed results with it, but for the most part it usually takes about 2 weeks to get to me. Whereas the other store options offer relatively cheap courier services or EMS which can take 2-4 days often times to my location. YMMV.
@@orbalology I personally haven't really ordered in bundles or anything to warrant free economy shipping. My Switch game purchases are spread out on individual bases over time not exceeding a certain price rage to warrant that deal, but I do feel comfortable and safe with Play Asia, which is the reason I use them :-)
I actually just ordered from Suruga-ya for the first time as a recommendation from another RU-vidr and it should be arriving tomorrow. I'll say that I got out very cheap and it was during the free shipping campaign, I am receiving it tomorrow but now feeling hopeful of the quality and condition. I might be buying from them often if they are doing lots of free shipping campaigns. It reeled me in with that offer and low pricing.
I love buying imports from Japan, I'm lucky and have a few game stores that sell import games, but I'd love to get some Japanese art books and soundtracks. I don't own much sound tracks only th e complete ost for Tales of the Abyss and the cds that came with Ar Tonelico 2 and Ar no surge limited editions
Mercari Japan is a godsend. I have found some great used items that were cheaper than going to the recycle shops. I didn't know there was a proxy service setup for you overseas folks to utilize Mercari JP. Now I have to make sure I really nab some of those rare finds next time I see them knowing who my competition is 😆 Amazon Japan does have some interesting items from time to time, Nintendo Japan really sucks though for pre-order bonuses. Nintendo Europe has a lot of really neat stuff you get if you pre-order 1st party Nintendo games.
I order a lot of Persona figures from amiami and if you don’t want to wait weeks or months you have to use dhl or ems for shipping. Thankfully the yen is so weak right now shipping isn’t that bad.
I tried boat shipping one time, and never again lol. But agree despite the rising prices in shipping the world has been experiencing, the current exchange rate is making it a little bit easier to import from Japan right now.
It would be nice to see some sort of tutorial / buying through these sites and items you are purchasing for future video. Might incentives your community in purchasing throughthee sites.
I've seen 9 minutes and not sure if your old videos are referenced. Might make sense to reference those videos. We could click for those that are new to your channel. Just a thought.
Thank you for going over three possible ways to buy things from Japan. Is there one proxy service that you prefer over another (maybe I missed that in the video)?
I didn't really want to do a breakdown of supporting one proxy service over the other. There are many available now and most are very similar. I recommend finding one with minimal commission fees, long free storage holding options, and lots of international shipping options (particularly for courier services like FedEx, UPS, DHL). I showcased Neokyo because that's the one I've been enjoying recently.
Ah yes, Surugaya FTW! I've ordered from them countless times & yes I've also noticed that the free shipping campaign's frequency has become more n more often recently which I've no complaints about! In fact I just took advantage of it yesterday just for a clear file & a rubber strap! 😁😁
@@orbalology oh, I totally agree with Ü there Emily.. I'm currently unemployed, so I can't afford spending as much on hobbies anymore.. Hence me only ordering a clear file & a rubber strap, lols! I'm just glad the campaign doesn't have a minimum purchase..
I came back from Japan recently and everything was so cheap. USD is so strong right now. I remember when I went a few years ago, 1,000 yen was closed to $10 or $9. Now it’s closer to $6.50 or less. It’s a great time to buy Japanese merchandises. But also bad if you don’t have self-control 😂
Great tips! Do you have any tips about knowing if DS games are legit or not? I've been wanting to buy a Japan version DS Chrono Trigger but, i hear there are a lot of repro/ bootleg DS games out there.
I wouldn't worry about Japanese copies being bootlegged as much - the North American version is more expensive so more bootleggers have incentive to create those. Usually the best way to know if a DS game is fake is if it doesn't work on a 3ds. But if you're not able to test then you generally check to see if the back code on the cart is identical to the one printed on the back of the box. And if the label looks straight (not weird), Nintendo logo looks correct, the print quality isn't too grainy, etc. But unfortunately there's only so much you can do online.
@@orbalology Thanks for your reply. I was just a little skeptical looking on eBay because a lot of the coloring of the art and cases looks different on some postings.
Never bought anything directly from Japan. I'm interested though. More in used/retro goods from Japan. Would love to start a DS/3DS collection, but i need to start with getting a 3DS and i heard prices on Japanese 3DSs are much better and the process bringjng the region locking isn't too hard. Lots of great info.... only a 3rd of the way through the video lol. 📌Edit: Just getting into the trails series. Any in particular that you would recommend or would you suggest playing them all in order? 🤔
If possible, the best way is to play them in chronological order! But if you're not able to access the sky games easily on the systems you use, starting with trails from zero or cold steel 1 is fine too so you can see if it's a series you want to invest time in.
I bought them during one of their reissues, but I think you can get them around 20,000 yen each right now. You may want to consider waiting to see if Suruga-ya has any in stock the next time they have a free shipping campaign.
Hello orbology. I know I don't expect you to respond to my comment until your next video, but I really love your channel and have been watching your videos for a few months now. I did not subscribe until a few months later because I did not have my own account. You seem like a really nice and kind girl. I really love to import from PlayAsia, though I have not bought anything yet because I do not have enough cash now. But I still love PlayAsia nonetheless. Also, have you watched the latest Nintendo Direct that was livestreamed and posted yesterday? (or if your seeing this in the future, on June 18). It has a lot of great games showcased, especially few unexpected ones such as the Romancing Saga 2 remake, the Phantom Brave sequel, and that new game from the Danganronpa creators, but it didn't have the two things I really wanted in the direct, with those two being some Tokimeki Memorial and Power Pros (Pawapuro) news from Konami, though Pawapuro was briefly mentioned in the Japanese direct as a reminder of its release date (still Japan only sadly). But at least we still got some great and amazing games from that direct and a few that I will definitely buy day one are the Dragon Quest HD 2D remake and The Hundred Line. Also, I saw your instagram page and you look so adorable and beautiful from those photos you posted. And I did not know that your real name was Emily. Such a cute name!
oh gawd good bye tokyo japan method 3....im glad i can still order before that source gets destroyed, their prices are already up 100% since this time last year for "base" pricing stuff
Random, probably dumb question: How do you safeguard your figures on display from earthquakes? Or is that even an issue in your area? I'm in Florida so earthquakes are alien to me 😅
I live dangerously. But to be more serious, I haven't experienced a high magnitude earthquake in my area in California for many years. I know folks bolt their shelves to the walls and use various sticky tack to help make it so their items won't fall. But if a earthquake happens while I'm in this apartment I'll just have to deal with the potential damage and use superglue if any figure happen to break.
