@Naruto

Most people I know who complain about figure prices are buying through UK retailers or UK eBay. That's where you bleed money. If you set up a Buyee account and pull straight from Mandarake or Yahoo Auctions Japan, the same figures cost 30-40% less even after the proxy fee, international shipping, and VAT. It's a pain to learn the workflow but once you have it dialled in, you stop feeling the aftermarket pain because you're sourcing differently to everyone else. Scalpers don't bother flipping on Mercari Japan because the local market won't pay scalper prices. They flip on UK eBay because UK collectors will pay anything to skip the import faff. If you're not already proxying, give it a try. Game changer.