I Have Now Opened My Own Anime Figure Store

It’s become quite obvious that I have neglected this blog for the past few months. Not because of a lack of enthusiasm or anything of that sort. Quite the opposite actually. I’ve never been more invested in the anime figure industry. There’s still a lot that I want to impart when it comes to the anime figure-collecting hobby. But now, I have changed my direction a bit. The post’s title already made it quite obvious. Yes, I’ve now opened my own anime figure store that offers anime figure preorders to collectors in the Philippines. So if you are an anime figure collector in the Philippines, please visit our online store and I hope you would consider preordering from us.

I’m Not New to Selling Anime Figures

A bit of background… Soon after I bought my first anime figure in 2015, I started a side gig where I hunt for anime figures for collectors in the Philippines. It was a specialized figure hunt service. I realized the need for this kind of service when, I, as a new collector found it quite difficult to look for specific figures that I wanted without going to an online store overseas. Armed with my knowledge of hunting for my grails (+ Google Translate), figure hunting became a semi-sustainable source of income. The specialized service filled a need in the anime figure-collecting community in the Philippines where e-commerce has not yet received mass adoption. To this day, the e-commerce scene in the Philippines is still mostly dominated by a few big marketplace apps. People shunned online stores not named Shopee or Lazada. Sadly, these platforms are also a prime source of bootlegs — the scourge of the anime figure industry. Things were going quite well for a few years.

Then the Pandemic Hit

When the lockdowns started, I had to halt my operations. When things started to settle down, I decided to restart this side gig. It was back to a slow grind. Apparently, many other people caught on to what I was doing and started offering the same service. Also, the Facebook page that I used to promote my service offering had gone idle for such a long time that it had become very difficult to gain any traction without spending ad dollars. My new posts were hardly getting any impressions (much less clicks) despite having a good amount of followers. The social media algorithm was brutal and now favored short video content that had a chance of going viral. Before the pandemic, it was much easier to get views and clicks. Nowadays, the number of followers you have has little impact on how many views your posts get. Facebook now just bombards people’s feeds with useless content

After months of consistent posting, I started to regain some traction. My posts started getting more views and I started making sales again from new and old customers. At some point, I realized I didn’t want to just be someone who hunts for figures as a side gig. I want to make this a sustainable source of income so I can leave my main job and work for myself in the industry that I love. That would be living the dream. I can accomplish that if I start offering preorders. I already have contacts in the industry. I just need to put up the capital so I can get started.

So I got my finances in order and made it a reality. I think I made it sound too easy but it’s easier said than done.

On to the Launch!

The launch was mostly a success. As of this writing, it’s been almost two months since I launched the store. I had the website set up and I marketed it through my Facebook page. Thankfully, I worked in the e-commerce industry as a Project Manager for a web company so I know my way around e-commerce websites. I had already recorded a good amount of preorders from my previous customers and many new ones too. I think we’re doing pretty good for a start-up with a small team and a limited marketing budget.

For now, we’re going with an online-only store. I am not currently considering having a physical storefront as this will result in a lot of expenses making the enterprise unsustainable. E-commerce is the future. Depending on how things go, I might revisit this idea after 2, maybe 3 years. If it becomes feasible, I’ll construct and cross that bridge when I get there. I know my wife hasn’t always been very supportive of me collecting half-naked PVC beauties but things have started to turn around and she also started to low-key brag about my collection.

What Now?

And now I’m looking forward to a new chapter in my life as the owner of Neko Anime Figure Store!

But what about this blog? I’m not shutting down this blog. I’ve written a good amount of content and I will still be updating this blog every now and then. Also, I will still be posting updates when WonFes comes around.

You can visit our store or follow our Facebook page.