F.A.Q.

Frequently Asked Questions
(If they were ever asked at all)

ABOUT SALES
Do you do special orders?
I most certainly do! If it's possible for me to get it for you, I will. Feel free to send me an email at ari0aki.toritate@gmail.com and I'll see what I can do!

Are the items you're selling legit?
Most definitely, yes! I only order directly from Japan!

Will you ship to "____"?
If you are willing to pay shipping, I have no problem packaging and shipping items out to you.

I saw "____" for cheaper than what you're selling it for. Why are your prices so much?
Yes, you might have seen the box price for something cheaper somewhere. But please understand that those prices don't include shipping costs or customs taxes, not to mention conversion rates if it's in JPY or USD. I have to take all these things into consideration when I'm deciding the list cost.

Well what about the ones they sell in the dealers room? Some places sell them cheaper than you do. Why are your prices so much?
First of all, you really can't compare a commercial sales business with a private out of pocket side thing like mine. You might have seen prices cheaper by a couple dollars in the dealers room at a convention, (I don't know since it's been a while since I've actually bought anything at a convention besides artist alley stuff and commissions). Those are blind box prices, meaning you don't know what you're going to get and you might not get what you want and have to buy a bunch before you do. I'm offering a service by opening up the boxes so you can choose which one you want specifically. What this means for me, is that people buy all the most popular characters and I'm often left with the less popular ones. More often than not I barely manage to cover costs over all.

Do you negotiate prices?
I am willing to negotiate on some items, particularly things that are used. I will also consider giving a discount if you're buying a lot from me. That being said, I try to price things fairly . The things I buy specifically to sell are a service that I'm offering. My priority is to make back the item and associated costs (like shipping, customs tax etc), but in order to keep offering this service, I need to make a little on the side too, otherwise there's no point in wasting my time.

Why are most of your listings for pre-orders?
It may not seem so, based on the size of my collection, but I don't actually have a lot of money. I forgo food and walk the extra hour and a half to Yorkdale from my house just to save money to spend on my collection. While in the past I've kept a lot of stuff on hand, just buying and hoping it will sell, it really isn't economically smart to have a closet full of hundreds of dollars worth of stuff all year round on the off chance that someone will want to buy a figure for $15 - plus I just don't have the space for that. Pre-orders allow me to be sure that what I'm buying will be sold.

ABOUT COLLECTION
Will you sell any of the figures/doujins/manga etc. from your collection?
No. Sometimes I will post items that have come from my collection, but unless I do, please assume that those items are never leaving my room. However, if you see something I have that you would like, you can ask me to see if I can find another one for you.

How long have you been collecting for?
I have been collecting since sixth grade so that would make the oldest pieces of my collection twelve years old.

Do you understand Japanese?
The short answer is yes (but I'm slow as hell). In university I majored in psychology and East Asian Studies, with a focus on Japan. I'm studying the language but I'm almost laughably slow (and the classes I took in university have traumatized more than helped me), so it might be some time still before I'm at the level where I can hold a descent conversation or pick up a book and just read through from cover to cover. Still, I can read manga in their original Japanese now, without having to wait for scanlation groups to post them, so I consider that progress.

Will you do a translation for "____"?
I am definitely willing to try. My Japanese is functional, but I'm extremely self-conscious about how crappy my language skills are, so though I read a lot in Japanese and can understand that last Free! drama CD that came out, it does take me quite some time to do, and it would not be possible without my kanji app and dictionary open beside me. I am however confident in my writing skills. If you have raws for something you want translated, you can send it over and I'll see what I can do. Please also note that I'm very busy trying not to become bankrupt due to this ever growing collection of mine, but that is no easy task and I'm often left with little leisure time because of it.

Will you scan that doujinshi/artbook/manga etc. that you mentioned in your last post?
No. While I'm not against scans/scanning in general, I will not subject my collection to such atrocities - by which I mean bent spines... I'm somewhat (read extremely) OCD about the condition of my books and am likely to have a mild anxiety attack at the mere thought of having to break the spine.

Why the obsession with Japan?
There are a lot of people with an interest in Japan, and everyone has their own reasons. Mine stems from a penchant for Japanese literature. It all started with a book on Japanese folklore in my elementary school library - got to love those quirky stories!

ABOUT COLLECTOR
Can I talk to you about my favorite anime/manga etc.?
Yeah, for sure. I'm super awkward around people I don't know, and might come off kind of cold because I'm nervous, but I enjoy talking with people who have similar interests.