The safest places to buy anime figures are the manufacturer’s own shop (GoodSmile US for Good Smile Company releases), established specialists such as BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, AmiAmi, and the Crunchyroll Store, and big-box chains like GameStop, Walmart, and Target for mainstream characters. Marketplaces carry the widest range but also most of the bootlegs. Which channel fits depends on what kind of figure you want, so start there.
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Which Kind of Figure Are You Shopping For?
A figure in this category is a licensed statue or posable model of a character from Japanese animation, manga, or video games, made for display rather than play. Production sits with a handful of studios: Good Smile Company, Alter, Kotobukiya, Max Factory, Aniplex, and Bandai each have a house style and a quality tier, and knowing who made a piece tells you more than its price tag does. Our guide to buying manga covers many of the same franchises from the print side.
Four tiers cover almost the whole market. What separates them is sculpt complexity and the number of paint passes, not size alone.
| Tier | Typical makers and lines | What you get | Where it usually sells |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prize | Banpresto, SEGA, Taito, Furyu | Made for crane games in Japan; simple bases, minimal paint work | GameStop, Walmart, import shops |
| Non-scale budget | Pop Up Parade, Nendoroid | One fixed pose or chibi proportions, few accessories | Specialists, maker shops, marketplaces |
| Scale | Alter, Kotobukiya, Max Factory | 1/7 and 1/8 sculpts, detailed bases, shading work | Specialists and import shops |
| Premium | Limited and resin runs | Small editions, mixed media, elaborate bases | Preorder only, maker or specialist |
Scale is the fraction of the character’s in-story height. Standard scales are 1/4, 1/7, 1/8, and 1/12: a 1/7 sculpt of an average adult lands near ten inches, a 1/12 version closer to six, and a 1/4 piece can clear two feet. Shelf depth, not budget, usually stops a collection from growing. Pop Up Parade, Good Smile’s non-scale line, sticks to a roughly 17 to 18 cm standard height, which is why a shelf of them looks uniform.
Material matters too. PVC holds fine detail and takes paint well, ABS handles joints and stands, and resin shows up on limited runs. Cheap copies use thin hollow plastic that flexes and yellows. Posable or static is the other split: articulated action figures such as S.H.Figuarts and figma have jointed limbs and swappable hands, while static sculpts lock one pose but hide seam lines better.
Prize pieces are the cheapest honest way in. They come from the same makers as retail lines and resell at steady prices, so for a character you like but are not devoted to, a prize or budget non-scale version delivers most of the shelf presence for a fraction of a scale sculpt’s cost.
Where to Buy Anime Figures Online
Online is where the full catalog lives, including import-only pieces and preorders that will not ship for months. Six channels cover nearly every case.
Good Smile Company online shop
Buying from the manufacturer removes counterfeit risk entirely. Good Smile Company, the studio behind Nendoroid and figma, runs a US-facing shop as GoodSmile US, which also sells scale figures, plushies, and blind boxes. Its Good Smile Bonus collection groups items that ship with extra parts not included in the standard retail version.
US specialists: BigBadToyStore and Entertainment Earth
BigBadToyStore carries affordable lines through high-end statues, and its Pile of Loot feature holds in-stock items so several can ship together later. Visit their store. Entertainment Earth covers similar ground, and Anime Corner Store sorts its catalog by brand and series. Browse their catalog for niche franchises.
Crunchyroll Store
Crunchyroll bought Right Stuf in 2022, and on October 10, 2023 the Right Stuf site began redirecting to the Crunchyroll Store, so the two are now one shop. Coverage is strongest on merchandise tied to shows Crunchyroll streams.
Ordering direct from Japan
AmiAmi, HobbyLink Japan, Hobby Search, Solaris Japan, Big in Japan, and Tokyo Otaku Mode all ship to US addresses and list pieces that never get a Western distribution deal. Each runs an English-language site with English customer service, and most let you combine several pending orders into one parcel. The catch is cost you did not price in: customs duty, tax, and courier handling can erase the savings, and DHL and similar carriers bill those charges before delivery.
Amazon
Broadest selection and fast delivery, but third-party accounts list beside official inventory and bootlegs get through. Filter to items sold or shipped by the retailer itself. Shop on Amazon, or send a gift card if the person you are buying for has specific taste.
Secondhand: eBay, Mercari, and Mandarake
eBay, the largest consumer-to-consumer marketplace, is where out-of-production pieces surface. Its Money Back Guarantee covers items that never arrive or arrive not as described, counterfeits included, but you must open the claim within 30 days of the delivery date. Search their listings, compare against Mercari, and use Mandarake, a secondhand chain based in Japan, for used inventory graded by condition.
Buying in Person: Chains and Local Shops
Shopping in person lets you inspect the box for damage and walk out the same day. The trade-off is depth: chains stock mainstream characters, not the full catalog.
GameStop
Collectibles are now GameStop’s biggest business. In the first-quarter results it reported in June 2026, collectibles made up 41.8% of net sales, more than hardware or software. Its anime range leans on Bandai, Banpresto, and Tamashii Nations product from One Piece, Pokemon, and similar series, plus Funko Pop. Our guide to buying video games pairs with the trip.
Walmart
Walmart, the largest brick-and-mortar chain in the United States, stocks mainstream Bandai, Banpresto, and Funko product. Expect Dragon Ball characters such as Goku, plus Naruto and One Piece, rather than deep-catalog sculpts. Browse their selection first, since assortment varies by location, and watch clearance sales.
Target
Target runs a smaller collectibles section built mostly around Funko Pop anime lines and the occasional exclusive variant. Check availability before driving over.
Hot Topic and Barnes & Noble
Hot Topic keeps pop-culture merch on the floor year round, Funko Pop included. Some Barnes & Noble locations shelve figures near the manga section. Stock at both varies a lot by location, so check online inventory first.
Local comic and specialty shops
Independent comic and hobby shops carry import product the chains skip, and staff can usually spot a recast on sight. Many also carry cosplay costumes, cosplay wigs, and the back issues covered in our comics guide. Conventions are worth planning around too, since dealer rooms often discount on the final day.
How to Spot Fake Anime Figures Before You Pay
Counterfeits are the biggest risk in this category, and they look convincing in photos. Unlicensed copies, most recast from stolen molds in China, flood marketplace listings. The tells are consistent: paint bleed at the hairline and eyes, wrong color mixes, visible seam lines, blurry box printing, a missing hologram sticker, and no Japanese spec panel. Collectors also report that recasts feel noticeably lighter in hand.
Authentic product carries the maker’s logo, the licensor copyright line, and usually a hologram or authentication sticker on the box. If a new listing sits far below what the maker charges, it is either a bootleg or an order that will never ship. Fake preorders follow a pattern too: a real one names the manufacturer, states a release month, and comes from a retailer with a public cancellation policy, while a scam takes full payment immediately and uses the promo render as its only photo.
How to vet a listing in four steps
- Find the manufacturer product page for that release and note its retail price and month.
- Compare listing photos against the official images, focusing on face paint and hair edges where copies fail first.
- Confirm the seller shows the actual box, front and back, not a render.
- Read the cancellation and refund terms before paying. No terms page means no recourse.
Box condition is worth checking at the same time. Sealed packaging adds real money at resale, so confirm the box is included when buying secondhand; crush damage is permanent value loss even when the piece inside is perfect.
Four Figure Lines With Consistent Quality
These four lines earn their place on consistency: each delivers predictable quality across dozens of characters, so you know what you are getting before the box arrives.
Best budget: Good Smile Pop Up Parade. A fixed height standard across the line and a wide range of popular series. Pro: the easiest entry point in the category. Con: plain bases and no accessories. Check price on Amazon
Best overall: Bandai S.H.Figuarts. Best-in-class articulation and generous accessory packs, including deep Dragon Ball and Demon Slayer coverage. Con: joints loosen after heavy posing. Check the current price
Best for display: Kotobukiya ARTFX and Bishoujo. Static scale sculpts with paint work that reads as a display piece rather than a toy. Con: no posability. See current pricing
Best for Hatsune Miku fans: Good Smile Nendoroid. Chibi-proportioned models with swappable face plates. Hatsune Miku has one of the deepest Nendoroid catalogs of any character. Compare current prices
Start by deciding whether you want posability or display presence, because that choice eliminates half the market. Then pull up the manufacturer page for the piece you want, note its retail price, and order from GoodSmile US, a reputable specialist, or a Japanese importer that shows real box photos. Done in that order, buying anime figures stops being a gamble and starts being a collection.
FAQ: Buying Collectible Figures
Why are these collectibles so expensive?
Price reflects licensing fees paid to the rights holder plus a process that starts with a hand-sculpted prototype and several painted samples. Runs are small, often sized to advance demand, so there is no volume discount to pass along.
What does 1/7 scale actually mean?
It means the sculpt is one seventh of the character’s canonical height, so scale describes proportion, not a fixed size. A 1/7 version of a tall character is visibly larger than a 1/7 version of a short one.
Are figures sold on Amazon legit?
Most are, but the marketplace lets third-party accounts list alongside official inventory, and counterfeits get through. Filter to items sold or shipped by the platform, sort reviews by newest, and scan for the word bootleg.
Do PVC models really melt or yellow?
They will not melt at room temperature, but PVC softens in sustained heat and warps under its own weight, and UV yellows white plastic permanently. For long-term storage, a closed cabinet out of direct sun solves both.
Do sold-out releases ever come back?
Sometimes. Makers announce reruns of popular sculpts, usually with a fresh preorder window and occasionally a minor color revision. Reruns are posted on the manufacturer site first, so following the brand beats waiting on a retailer email.
Do they hold their value?
Limited runs often climb after selling out, while mass-produced lines hold flat or drift down. Condition drives the spread, and a sealed box with its original inserts is worth meaningfully more than a loose piece. The same logic collectors apply to Pokemon cards applies here.
About This Guide
Editorial review: wheretobuyguides.com team. Updated October 2026.