Forum - View topicYour thoughts on anime statues/figures.
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Yawnny
 Posts: 37 |
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Ok, first off I work at a video game store mainly.. we do sell movies but the main focus is video games. The store is also completely local so we can bring in whatever we want, we're not tied down like some cooperation like "Eb games" or "Rogers Video". Lately the boss man was interested in bringing in Anime stuff even though he knows absolutely nothing on the subject.. so he needed my expertise in ordering Anime things. He had already made up his mind on ordering the statues so I told him which ones to bring in, basically one of each of any cute Anime girl we could find
Here's my main question though; do you think these will actually sell in my workplace? We already have a local Anime shop trying to sell them so I'm not sure how gamers are going to react. I know I'm going to buy a few for myself .. but I hope my boss doesn't think they're going to be absolutely flying off the shelves...
What are your thoughts on the issue? Do these statues actually sell? Gamers like Anime right?, or is it still too niche? Anyway, thanks for the input guys! |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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I wouldn't order too many. I work at a used Japanese book store, and we have quite a few figurines for sale. Like four of the same Nagato Yuki in a bunny outfit. So far not a lot of them are going, we're lucky if we sell five in a week right now. I think it's okay to try and add figurines to your inventory, but it wouldn't be a good idea to think that your business is suddenly going to make booming bucks over the figurines. One, some of them can get really pricey. Two, sometimes it may be only the otaku type people that will buy them, if nobody else knows who the characters might be. I wouldn't add too many to your inventory. It may blow back in your faces.
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_Earthwyrm_
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I kind of agree. I'm not sure that the average guy is just going to pick up just "any cute Anime girl" off of the shelf, and I wouldn't necessarily equate game fans with anime fans either.
I'd think it wiser to pick up only gaming icons like Snake, Master Chief, FF characters or some DoA babes... but getting more obscure anime girls without a game tie-in might be a bit risky. I don't know, that's just how I feel about it. 
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Yawnny
Posts: 37 |
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That's also sort of what I was thinking about the not ordering too many side of it.. We only ordered one of each for the anime girls.. I advised against any more than that.
We did bring in more gaming related ones that would definitely sell in our store (Final Fantasy, Castlevania, MGS,) as well as some Dark Knight statues and such.. Thanks for the input guys.. taking risks in ordering stuff usually gets me stressed
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zawa113
 Posts: 7360 |
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A game store near me (before it had to close down due to the mall it was in being jerks) sold wall-scrolls for both games (more often than not for JRPGs) and anime. I never got one, but I know some people who did and now I wish I had gotten one. They also sold some import CDs and some things that I'd have to question if anyone would ever buy them (like the metal necklace that Tidus wore in FFX, I just can't see the use for it other than cosplay and a Naruto jacket). This place did buy and sell used anime though (and Genesis and S/NES games, even Sega Saturn stuff too). Mostly just saying consider wall-scrolls here I suppose.
I have never been too big on figurines because I usually make papercrafts. |
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LuckySleven
 Posts: 426 Location: Refer to page 2 |
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Well I guess it's pretty much decided not to get too many figures but how about also ordering Gundam Model kits? Considering the rising popularity of Gundam 00, it maybe something you guys can invest in.
Little OT: What's your video game store called? All I have in my area is Rogers Video and EB games. 
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An1fr3ak
 Posts: 235 Location: Australia |
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I'd agree on the Gundam kits. I collect figurines on top of anime boxsets, and i've found that figurines are much harder to sell than Gundam kits. People tend to be very picky when it comes to figurines, myself included, but there is just something magical about Gundam kits.
My suggestion would be to mix it up a little. In others words, sell a bit of this and sell a bit of that and see what works out for you. I also agree on the possibility of you selling wall scrolls/ posters that relate to anime just like classicalzawa said. Figurines can be a big investment, especially if they are the larger scale sizes that I myself prefer to buy. On the other hand, wall scrolls/ posters in the beginning could be quite popular depending on the ones you get and the tastes of your customers. All in all, I think that you should test the waters a bit by offering a variety of options in small quantities and whatever sells best is what you concentrate on. I help a friend of mine on such things all the time with his store, and thus far, Gundam kits are the crown jewel. But it all comes down to your clientele base. If I knew their demographics, i'd be able to firmly advise you instead of putting tentative suggestions out on the board. |
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Yawnny
Posts: 37 |
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The store is called Hi Tech Gametraders. We've brought in wall scrolls and they do quite well, so I definitely agree with you guys on that front. Again thanks so much for the input, it's helped me figure out what people are buying besides myself (I love anime statues
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Mushi-Man
 Posts: 1537 Location: KCMO |
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I wouldn't say that they will "sell", more like slowly disappear over time. I guess if there's a some what strong anime base in your area they might get sold, but other wise, it might be a while. I think most people who get statues would just go and get them online.
Hard to say. Although most (if not all) anime fans that I know are also video game fans. It's not quite the same ratio going the other way. But i wouldn't say that the statues would be out of place for most video game fans or anything. I know that when i go to the Vintage Stock near me they have anime posters all over (oddly no anime though). And no one seems to see that as weird. I guess the two cultures are just closer than "non-anime-fan-gamers" would like to admit. |
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kazkannon
 Posts: 12 |
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I think at a game shop I would sell something game related... I mean, it's not like I'll go into a hair salon expecting them to sell computers. I think that they should focus on game related things at a gaming store. And if your boss really wants to sell figures then he should sell things that are from games (Master Chief, Mario, Sonic, Sora.)... I'm not a salesmen or anything.. But I think that'd be your best bet.
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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No offense, but it sounds like a really bad idea to me. You need to look at your store's customer base. Right now, your customers are gamers. They come to your store to buy games. Of course that doesn't mean they couldn't also be anime fans. However, gaming nowadays is more mainstream than it's ever been. Sure, a lot of gamers are also anime fans, but they're probably just a fraction of gamers overall. Worse still, figures mostly cater to the most hardcore side of the anime fanbase. By bringing in figures, you're attempting to sell a product with already limited appeal even within it's fans to a group that has a moderate to low chance of even being a fan. On top of that, figures are a tricky thing. They're pretty expensive so not only is it a fairly big risk stocking them, the odds of someone buying one on a whim is very low. They are also an item without any practical application. In these financially tough times people are not as likely to waste money on them. Also, there is such a variety of them it would be tough to know what to even get. Especially if you play it safe and don't get too many, there is a good chance that even those who are into anime figures wont buy any because you wont have the ones they want.
The bottom line as I see it is that while you might happen to sell some, that would really just be luck. You're much more likely to just get stuck with em and have em kicking around for ever. That said, if you want to expand, I have a few recommendations. The biggest problem with your idea is it's such a huge jump. Why don't you start with something more reasonable though? Then you can see how that goes and build from there. (I'm not clear if you intend to stock anime itself as well but if now, that would be a must). Start small with just a few mainstream anime like Naruto, Bleach, DBZ, FMA. If that goes well, then you can get a feel for your potential customers and perhaps even get the word out that you have anime now and draw in some new customers. If this goes well, try adding some slightly more niche stuff. I'd probably stick to slimpacks, boxed sets, etc though. Singles would probably be a bit of a bother. Again, this will further help you judge your market and attract new customers. Maybe it will turn out that I'm wrong and you actually have quite a market for anime stuff there. If not though, you haven't taken a major risk and you can start building a customer base over time. At some point down the road you may find yourself in a position to stock figures. For now though, it's a really risky idea that probably won't work. Oh and by the way, as with my previous advice, if you do stock figures (now or in the future) don't go with all sexy girl ones. Again, those are the most niche kind and therefore the least likely to sell. Start with some more common ones. (Again, Naruto, Bleach, DBZ, FMA, all good choices). Then depending on how they sell you could experiment with more and more obscure ones. |
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The Human Spider
Posts: 334 |
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I didn't know Gunpla did well in Australia. I remember Bandai's U.S. branch tried to sell Gunpla directly in America but it didn't work out good, but it still seems to be a good enough seller in anime specialty shops. There's a general hobby(e.g. models, crafts) shop where I live that occasionaly stocks Gundam models. I agree with LuckySleven about the 00 kits, depending on how well the show seems to be doing where you live. But do not stock the cheap No-Grade models--those are horrible, I'm not sure if they made those for 00 though. And I agree with ikillchicken that it's more important to stock figures from popular shows than sculpts that might be popular. But if you must stock cute girl figures I'd suggest starting with the relatively affordable ones e.g. BOME, Figma, Fraulein Revoltech, or maybe trading figures. But I'm very skeptical about how well high-end anime merchandise will do in a general game/video store. |
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DuelLadyS
 Posts: 1705 Location: WA state |
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Since the biggest problem is 'what will the customers buy', the easiest way to figure it out is... ask them!
When your more regular folks come in, tell them you're looking to bring in some anime/gaming figures to sell, and you've got a random 'starter' assortment ordered, but what would they like to see? Are they even interested? Chances are they'll be happy to tell you as long as you don't make it sound like a focus group questioning... they may even come back more often since you're showing a genuine interest in their wants. I know I'm more likely to keep shopping somewhere that takes my suggestions seriously. |
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7995 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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Personally, I think statues, figurines, and action figures are a waste of space and money both of which I don't have much of anymore. I have a few but only because they came with DVDs I wanted. I personally, wouldn't buy them unless I really liked the character. I'm sure there's lots of other people out there who would buy them though.
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archaron
 Posts: 1024 |
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I think you should do an evaluation on your customer base and find out what their needs and wants are. Maybe try a having a few customers fill out some surveys and give them a discount coupon as a thank you. Then do a spread sheet and tally up your results. That way you can make an educated decision on what’s best for your store and your customer base.
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