Figure Pre-orders

When you pre-order a figure, is the whole price charged immediately or is it done like some other sites where you do a charge of 1 cent initially to reserve and then charge the rest on release?

It's charged when the order is placed.

I’m a pretty big figure collector, but this is the reason I don’t order figures from here. I can let the cost of a book sit as it’s only ~$24 and I get a digital copy to hold me over, but when you’re talking easily $200+ for nothing for months is a tough chew... especially when most other sites don’t charge until the order comes in (though prepay discounts are common).

When you start talking about having more time to save so you can get your preorder in time but can still afford it, interest accruements, and frustrations of any delays when you’re out the full amount... it matters. At this point there is already at least 6 figures that I went to other sites for because of this policy.

I have to agree with this. I don't collect figures near as much as I used to, but full price up front for a preorder makes the choice pretty simple to abstain for me.

Agreed. But The Sweet Vanilla and Chocola Figures .-. Do you know of a site that has them and you dont pay upfront?

This post might get deleted due to mentioning other sites, but a few suggestions:

Play-Asia is my favorite. They have competitive pricing and I've never had to pay a deposit for pre-orders. Often they've been lower than Fakku! (one figure I got was $50 less than F!), but in the case of the two figures you're looking at, the Vanilla is sold out and Chocola is $5 more ($25 if you have a F! sub) before considering shipping cost differences, so there is that to consider.

Other sites I've gotten figures from are ranging from $220 to $250 on the figures. Hobbyfan is another solid choice, with the advantage of them being US based like Fakku! (if you are as well) helping on shipping times and costs, but they sometimes have a deposit fee. In the case of these figures, they're $225 and require a 15% deposit.

Other sites I've used either don't have them or are even more expensive. There are a hundred other sites I haven't tried, and there's always eBay. Though based on a cursory glance it looks like Fakku! has the best deal -- especially if you have the sub discount. It's a matter of if the savings is worth the up front cost to you. Here I would say yes (as was the case in the single figure I've gotten from F!), but if one doesn't have the funds now, that means it is not even an option.

I really do hope Fakku! will change their policy. As long as the price is competitive, I'd much rather support this site as I see them as an extremely important player in bringing this side of Japan to the West. Unfortunately these figures are another example. I like them and am extremely tempted to get them, but I don't have the money right now. I'm also not a fan of the concept of dropping $400 and getting nothing over a year.

I completely understand the frustration with the current implementation of how figure orders are performed on the store. They are more-so a 'pre-purchase' rather than a 'pre-order'.

To be transparent about this issue: The reason for it is purely due to a limited in the storefront platform we currently use. They don't really have a concept of "pre-orders" built in directly. On top of this, authorizations on cards only last a few days so we can't really bill the card later once it's released either. This limitation is extremely frustrating for us as well, and I have been working on trying to come up with a solution / work around for said limitation. However, that being said, this task is currently pretty low on the to do list compared to other things that have taken much higher priority.

I hope that you can bare with the issue for now while we work toward finding a permanent solution. I know it's not an ideal answer, but I hope that explains it a bit at least.

I on the other hand prefer paying upfront which saves me plenty of head ache.

I don't have to remember that in a year I should have X money if situation even allows me to.

Majority of sites, especially Japanese allows only for credit cards which aren't even remotely popular there so having to get one and paying monthly fee to buy once or twice a year figure is not worth it.

I don't have to care about currency exchange, I paid less than I'd pay in a year as USD is only raising in price.

Thank you for the response. Good to hear that it is a store front limitation that you plan on eventually fixing rather than a policy. And it’s true you can’t hold a card on the pre-order. Beyond a $0 pre-auth to make sure the payment option is valid, the card simply would not be charged until it is ready. This does present the risk of the payment method becoming invalid in that time (unavailable funds, canceled card, etc), but then you simply don’t ship to them until payment is made. You could add a waitlist for closed preorders so that you even have a line of people to sell failed orders and extras to. I don’t know the failure rates, but it doesn’t exceed the increased sales from pre-orders vs pre-purchase or the ability to clear that stock, or most sites wouldn’t do it. I look forward to when you can.

@Dashiell - This would not preclude the ability to pre-purchase. Some people prefer it due to payment limitations, budgeting, not risking exchange rates, etc. They’d be silly not too. Fakku! (as do must sellers) prefer pre-purchase as it is zero risk and the con against it for consumers is a pro for them: money is worth more today than it will be tomorrow. Your preference is safe.