Read this guide to avoid the common mistakes made when jumping into statue collectiong. It'll teach you what new collectors need to know to succesfully start your statue collection!

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Space | Purchase Choices | Shopping | Pre-Orders | Shipping | Patience | Originality | Preferred Sellers

Know Your Space

Space is the more important of the two because your budget doesn't matter if you don't have anywhere to put your collection. You need to consider the size of your collectible and the space required to display it.

While collectible figures may come in any size the majority of them are made at scale. The more popular sizes are 1/6 Scale, 1/10 Scale, Quarter (1/25) Scale, and Life Size. Each of these sizes are relative to a life sized version of them.

It can still be difficult to get a true idea of the collectibles size from the distributor’s website so I always advise people to search for that collectible on YouTube so you can see it in a 3D space.

Know Your Purchase Options

In my experience, there are lots of distributors that sell the same or very similar statues and collectibles but they all have their preferred method of payment. To make it simple for you and prepare you for what to expect, here are the most commonly used payment methods that you can expect to see.

• Payment in Full - Of course this is the most common form of payment. Who wouldn't want their money upfront?
• Afterpay has been around for 5 years or so in Australia and in United States since 2018. It's a popular option because you can pay 25% on what you want and take your product home or have it delivered from online stores. Then it divides the rest of the payments into 4 monthly payments. There's no interest and no fees when you pay on time. They charge an $8 fee each week you miss your payment until the balance is paid or their late fee adds up to 25% of the loan's value.
• Layaway - Layaway is very similar to Afterpay with the exception that you cannot take home what you purchase until you've made your final payment. This method of payment just insures that what you are purchasing will be there when your final payment is made and not out of stock.
• Non- Refundable Deposits - If you're not paying the entire amount then you'll need to show that you're serious about, eventually, paying the full amount. So you're required to make a non-refundable deposit. This is a smaller amount that goes toward to the final payment. Also, should you decide not to pay the full amount for any reason then you do not get that deposit back. The vendor gets to keep it.

Shop Around

If money isn't an issue for you then what I'm about to tell you doesn't matter. But if you're like most people who need to budget their money then this I is for you. SHOP AROUND! I've found in my searches that there are many vendors who all sell the same statues/figures for different prices. You can really save a significant amount of money if you catch a sale or discount.

Speaking of discounts, many of the vendors offer initial discounts for subscribing to their email list. Getting on their email list is a good idea anyway because they'll usually send you information about their exclusives first. And because many collectibles have limited stock you can really benefit from this.

Pre-Orders

In many cases, if you buy your statue during a pre-order there's usually a year before you get it in your hands. The companies do this to get a more accurate number of the amount of statues they need to make. Then you have to wait for the production to begin, complete and then ship to you. This usually applies to statues coming from over seas. If you're lucky enough to buy a statue that's in-stock then the yearly wait shouldn't be an issue for you.

Shipping

Don't forget about shipping prices when you factor in your purchases! Some shipping prices are so expensive that they can eat away at your budget very quickly. Some major distributors only use FedEx for shipping in America, which is pricey. Or they pass on all of the shipping expense to you. This is why it's sometimes good to add one item to your cart and go through the checkout process until you get to the shipping and tax calculations, then go back and continue shopping.

Be Patient!

Price shop around for what you want. Then wait for a sale if you can. Never underestimate the savings of sale. It seems to be a rare occurrence for distributors to drop their prices randomly but if you can wait for the major sale holidays you can get more for your money. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, independence Day, Veterans Day and Presidents Day are the more popular sale holidays in America. 

Also, it takes time to build a great collection of statues. There's the limitations of money, space and availability. Those will be your biggest obstacles when it comes to completing your collection. And just know that the deeper you get into collecting the more it will change. I mean that because it's a reflection of you that it will change as your tastes change. 

Be You!

It's so easy to be influenced by all of the statue collections shown on YouTube but it's important to be you. Get whatever you like. That's what will make your collection stand out. You can spend a LOT of money attempting to replicate a collection that you see online. But your copllection should always be a reflectio of you.

Preferred Statue Sellers

There are a lot of statue sellers on the internet but I've listed my favorites below. Just click the button to visit each of their websites.

Iron Studios - You can find highly detailed and licenced statues and collectibles from DC Comics, Marvel, Avengers, Movies, Jurassic Park, LOTR, Dragon Ball, and many more here.

Sideshow Toys - They sell some of the same things as Iron Studios above but they have more action figures and portraits too.

First 4 Figures - You can find highly detailed and licenced statues and collectibles from video games and comics with LED effects on their site.