Hello, first time poster in this particular subforum.

I overheard my young relatives discussing about purchasing figmas and figurines (bootleg and otherwise). One of them is based in China and said the bootlegs are very close to the originals for a fraction of the price and he had amassed quite a collection.

This is not about ori vs bootlegs though, but someone suddenly asked "Well, how are you going to bring them back? Bootleg or not, you will be taxed, right?"

The look on his face made us laugh, but that raises a serious question.

Will you get taxed in Malaysia if you bring back your toys and figures, if you carefully repack them into their boxes?

I saw old threads saying how figurines are taxable, but those posts are very old (2007 onwards) and they often cite Kastam heading 9502 and 9503.

I found the newest Perintah Duti Kastam 2017 (berkuatkuasa 1hb April 2017): http://www.customs.gov.my/ms/pg/pg_gazz/P....stam%202017.pdf

It doesn't even have heading 9502 anymore, and in heading 9503 it is written:

9503.00.21 00 - Dolls, whether or not dressed - 0% for import and export, quantities in kg
and
9503.00.40 00 - Reduced size ("scale") models and similar recreational models, working or not - 0% for import and export, quantities in units

I wonder, for people who tend to import in bulk, do they still need to pay tax? If they cite these Kastam headings in the document/receipt/shipping bill, would it be exempted from Kastam duties?

So basically: anything above RM500 = automatically subject to 6% GST... and Kastam might decide to charge more if they think your items are not for personal use.

Perhaps my nephew should start bring them back piecemeal lol...

Thanks for the clarification, I'll let him know and wallow in his own uneasiness lol.

Are you guys so assured of safe delivery of these NSFW type of figurines??

Come refresh your trauma. What was the biggest 'burn' suffered?

I shouldn't have looked, now I feel I'm falling into a pit. It's like I've discovered a whole new world... An expensive world.

I took a look at GSC's catalogue and almost everything I have an interest in is sold out or out of stock. Do they just produce limited quantities each and never again?

But it's still caveat emptor, right? Maybe that is why the bootleg market is flourishing.

On the other hand, some of the stuff I want don't even have bootlegs.

Even bootleg stuff is pricey though (relatively). I see Figmas for USD15-25 on AliExpress and the negative reviews can be really negative. Perhaps the price is actually even lower, but jacked to secret include shipping (they advertise as Free Shipping). Otherwise how do they earn a profit...

Maybe it's because I don't understand the production process, but I find it difficult to see how the pricing is made for these toys (whether original or bootleg). From pictures, the Play Arts figures look nice but they seem to be double or triple the price I'm willing to pay for. Then again, maybe it's because I've never seen or held one yet, and in my mind I still see them as "toys" instead of "works of art".

Well, what's the ballpark for bootlegs? Figmas are as low as USD13 (without box), Play Arts Batman (Japanese armor) averages USD45, a 71cm Arthas on his Frozen Throne is USD2,500...

Well, a good thing about AliExpress is that the buyers are allowed to leave feedback on their purchases and include pictures (up to 150 days after purchase in fact), and from there I can get a rough idea on what to expect from a bootleg compared to the official photos. Plus you can open disputes with AliExpress to get a refund or return, and often the seller would acquiesce to avoid a negative rating.

Eg:

I have no idea if the original product looks the same.

This post has been edited by ray123: Sep 15 2017, 05:13 PM

How reasonable are the prices in AliExpress when making comparisons (taking account of shipping, which AliExpress claims to be free)? Are their quoted prices (examples to show price variance): figmas USD15 (Kirito)- 25 (Gilgamesh), Play Arts USD38 (Deadpool), Sephiroth (USD50) reasonable for being bootlegs?

Edit: I'm not trying to promote bootlegs, just curious after having my interest sparked. I'm the type that gets overly obsessive about knowing stuff once I'm interested. I've made other purchases from AliExpress (after being annoyed with Lazada, and since the same stuff is also shipped from overseas and same pricing...) and curious about the wide range of anime-related goods/toys often promoted there. Recently I was intrigued by an Android-powered console emulator but begged off once I realize it would be subject to import tax.

This post has been edited by ray123: Sep 17 2017, 04:53 AM

Your description about Taobao charges is accurate. I actually have a singular experience with Taobao, I bought the Transformers Matrix of Leadership via ezBuy. Unfortunately the item arrived without its stand, but ezBuy managed to negotiate a 1/3 refund for me. Everything else worked very well though, and I managed to light many a darkest hour.

But the entire experience made me feel completely helpless as I am entirely dependent on ezBuy to conduct the transaction and negotiations after I have made my order.

Ah, I think you have confused AliExpress with Alibaba. Aliexpress is for b2c (business to consumer) and they are willing to sell and ship in single units.

The reason I ask about bootleg prices is because they list figmas (USD13-25) and play arts (USD50~) at the prices I mentioned previously and often say "free shipping"; I'm not sure the 'free shipping' is really free or they simply calculated the cost into the product's price.

Alibaba is the b2b (business to business) version and often they would ask for a minimum order of 1000, though there are some who would put sell one unit, and usually at the same pricing and terms as AliExpress. Unfortunately the single units offered are often the same products already advertised in AliExpress, and usually the ones unavailable in AliExpress are the ones that require the said 1000 minimum order from Alibaba.

More on AlieExpress (not anime goods specific):

I moved to AliExpress if the thing I want to buy from Lazada is listed as "shipped from overseas", because that is usually where they got it from anyway lol. The pricing is about the same but AliExpress has a much more intuitive and robust customer protection system. In Lazada I can't even message the seller directly, and in the Q&A section you're not even allowed to put in a sequence of numbers (eg, your order number) to ask the seller for a follow up because the Lazada website thinks you're putting your phone number and 'helpfully' prevents you from posting it.

AliExpress is a middleman and very powerful one at that, they will only release money to the seller after the buyer has acknowledged receipt. Even after that, you can still put in a dispute and get your money back. I had a case of fraud: the seller gave a fake tracking ID and I put in a dispute. Even though at first glance someone might say "according to courier tracking, someone received the goods", I managed to convince AliExpress that it wasn't me (with help from PosLaju) and got my money back. The seller got his store erased from AliExpress.

I'm going to buy a bootleg figma as a test, I'll let you guys know how it goes in 3 weeks.

This post has been edited by ray123: Sep 17 2017, 05:36 PM

The only thing I buy regularly from Lazada is computer-related things (eg: usb hard drives) because the nearest pc shop for me needs a long drive, and the price offered is not too different and they deliver almost always the very next day (if fulfilled by Lazada).

In case you're wondering, you can find more user submitted pictures here:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Batman-V-Su...7460.0.0.zlA7DM

Click on 'Feedback' and you can filter according to rating or the reviews with pictures. There are a few other user submitted pictures, and from what I can tell the colors are paler. What do you guys think of the pricing, USD40ish (with free shipping, well, more like regular shipping already calculated inside).

This seller sells the same product, but there is one critical review with pictures if you want to know the possible flaws/shipping damage that you might get:

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Pl....5ce5139eJ56OiS

I guess one risk is the seller itself: sometimes you get someone who would pack your order nicely (if you ask) while others don't care and don't respond to messages (click on the seller's store feedback and you can see collected past buyer complaints).

I suspect all the pricing in AliExpress that scream 'free shipping' actually have the basic shipping costs applied already. Which means it's fine if you order single units from multiple sellers since it's figure+shipping, but if you're ordering multiple units from one seller it would actually be each figure carrying it's own individual shipping... if you catch my drift. But then again the seller stores sometimes have some stackable discounts (using the app and coupons). Tiny, but it's there.

Mmm she's welcome to my cannon any time...