<<<My main issue is that the toys I want no one cares about so I can't even get a middleman to grab them for me. That is the price you pay for loving gashapon stuff that cost 2 bucks at the most.>>>

Oh, I know exactly what you mean. I collect gashapon too and some of the things I want are so hard to find just because no one wants them and yet I suspect they are just sitting around plentifully in shops in japan. I have found that sometimes it helps to ask a Japanese seller to find them for you because they often can do so easily. I complete several small gashapon collections that way - by just writing japanese toy sellers on ebay and asking them to look.

"The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less."
-- Socrates, not a toy collector."


LOVE that.

Ha, yeah, and I don't see a ceiling in site any time soon, Happily so of course!

We're in it for the "long haul", literally literally

I've never used his services, but I've heard tons of bad things about Masato for well over ten years from plenty of long-time collectors. I don't recall all the stories, but ask at ToyboxDX. I recall several threads disparaging him over there over the years, but I was unable to find any now.

It's interesting hearing all of this about M-World. Like JoeMan said, certain companies will put you in contact with them Specifically if you're buying outside of Japan. That's how I 1st heard of them - Monstock put me in direct contact w' Masato for buying overseas. The price difference was VERY obvious, but how could I argue w' such a convenient service in a hobby where I may truly never find the 1/10 piece I'm after. The hunt is part of the fun, yes, ha, but so is getting the figure you want. You're paying for that convenience; getting Exactly the figure you want, delivered right to your door. The only downside was having to be Super patient & viewing everything as a pre-order since shipping is done every 3mo. or so...

I've used him at least 4 times over the past 3yrs w'out issue for said type items, but these points are all valid, & definitely a flag for caution (for myself included)... Let's say this, if you shop Mandarake and are willing to "bend over" for what you want, you'd probably be fine w' M-World's fees. And honestly, it's a bit more of a sure thing too, considering you can lose the item via Mandarake...

BUT the best bet is to keep participating here and items like Negoras will certainly reveal themselves

My recollection was that it was not merely a matter of them being more expensive. I seem to recall much more serious issues, like promising an item to two different individuals; or bidding on behalf of someone, then keeping the item or offering it to someone else. Again, I could not find the actual threads, but that is the general gist of what I remember reading. Maybe other long-time TBDXers can chime in (e.g., Sanjeev).


EDIT:

One additional note - this is again what I vaguely remember. I am not saying don't use him. I have no first hand experience with him. But I do have a very vague recollection of some warnings. Whether it was from a forum or personal discussions. But it has been years and my memory fades over this topic like it does everything else in my life. I can barely tell you what I had for lunch yesterday at this point in my life!

It's funny that M-world is advertised in the back of the S7 moog

Aside from the mark up, I've never had any issues with M-World, he's always been professional and helpful. Maybe it's a case of getting better at your job with experience though.

I sold a Negora last week and nobody wanted it except for one person

I use M-world fwiw.

I probably would have wanted it. I try to keep up with the sale posts, but unless it is in the title, I miss things.

So many of the artists and companies and names here are gibberish to me because i am unfamiliar with them and the sale posts look sometimes like another whole language to me. Though I am learning. I click on a few and look, but my interests are so focused on just a few things that I quickly get discouraged after a dozen sales posts and quit looking.

I guess I quit too soon. Hope it was not a king negora. Would be sad to have missed that if it is one I don't have. I love the smaller ones too, but there are so very many of those that I can be more patient with them.

Went back to find your post to see what Negora you sold, but it was gone off the page. I am such a masochist to want to look anyway.

Did love your sale description as a "collection refocusing sale". I totally get that. I think all collectors do that at least several times. I'm kind of re-focusing myself these days

Also in one of the issues. I'm pretty sure that's how I found him. I used him twice and got took for a ride on the fee's. This was like 2004 or so and then thank god I found Celga. Live and learn.

Toy karma meant I kicked Celga to the wall 2 years back! Their fees, the sucky exchange rate and rapid expansion leading to poor service killed my interest in using 'em!

RFSO isn't dead . . . it's just gone underground!

I don't use them anymore. Only if tokyobuyers won't deal with a site. Like Marmit. TB is the best out there in my opinion.

Does TokyoBuyers actually help in the search, though, or are they and Celga just good for placing orders on items you are have already found?

I'm looking for someone with connections who can locate items that might not be on the web.

If an agent service will look for items for you, they will likely charge you a fee just for the time it takes them to travel to stores and check. Regardless of if the toy is there or not.

I'm just hoping to find someone with connections. Someone who can send out an email to other places with a quick inquiry. I also collect books on folklore and there are all kinds of services for books where you find a guy with the right connections, shoot him a request, and he contacts all his contacts (probably in one email), and boom - a rare, hard-to-find book is yours. Trying to find it yourself would be impossible because many booksellers are still not online, but used book guys generally know each other and there is a lot of networking. I was hoping it might be the same for used toys.

Your best bet is a Japanese streetwear or sneaker buyer, they're used to queuing for releases for people, visiting shops etc. I think Juno is one of them, but again expensive

^I love this. How desperate would that be sending a fancy sneaker man to run about Tokyo, love it.

yeah, no fancy sneaker man for me. But it would be nice to know someone who has connections with the stores in japan selling the old stuff. For me, the hunt is not so much a joy. And I expect that there is much sitting around in japanese shops that never makes it to the web, so finding a good connection with connections is actually just smart hunting. A reasonable fee would be worth it and - let's face it - if my goal was to save as much money as possible, I wouldn't be a toy collector in the first place.

Sounds to me like you're way overdue for a trip to Japan, armed with Brian's Tokyo Underground book!

God, I would love to visit Japan. But it is not in the cards for me anytime soon. (Have two young children...can't go anywhere, honestly. Lucky to get a peaceful hot bath every now and then.)

cindy