GuideAug 28, 2026 JST· Updated Aug 28, 2026

Buying Figures From Japan: HLJ vs AmiAmi vs Good Smile

Payment timing, cancellation rules, shipping methods and US delivery status at HobbyLink Japan, AmiAmi and the Good Smile store, verified August 2026.

This article contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more.

The same figure shows up at three or four Japanese shops at roughly the same yen price, so the real differences are when you pay, whether you can cancel, how the box gets to you, and, for US readers in 2026, whether the shop can ship to you at all. This guide compares the three shops we link most often, HobbyLink Japan (HLJ), AmiAmi and the Good Smile Company online store, on exactly those points, using each shop’s own help pages as of August 28, 2026.

Short version: HLJ is the default for anyone who pre-orders several items a month and wants to combine boxes; AmiAmi is worth it for exclusives and its wider catalog; the Good Smile store is the safe choice when a Good Smile pre-order deadline matters and you want the manufacturer’s guarantee. Amazon US is where reruns eventually land, not where you pre-order.

The comparison

Every cell above comes from the shop’s own page, linked in the sources at the end. Policies change; if a cell matters to you, check the linked page before ordering.

What happened to US shipping, and where it stands now

The reason US shipping needs its own section: on August 25, 2025, Japan Post announced it would stop accepting most parcels containing goods to the United States, after the US ended de minimis duty-free treatment for imports and CBP required carriers to handle customs deposits. Every Japanese shop that relied on EMS or airmail small packets for US orders was affected, and AmiAmi put in-stock orders to US addresses on hold while continuing to accept pre-orders.

Japan Post’s July 2026 follow-up notice says it resumed accepting items for the US on April 14, 2026, under new conditions: goods must be posted at designated post offices with the duty prepaid by the sender through a CBP-certified app (DDP), and from July 24, 2026 that prepaid route covers contents worth up to US$2,500 (up from US$800). Documents and genuine gifts under US$100 stay duty-free. So the postal route exists again, but it is a duty-prepaid one, and each shop decides whether to use it. In practice, as of late August 2026:

• AmiAmi’s shipping table lists DHL, ECMS and Surface Mail Premium for the US, not EMS or air parcel. AmiAmi also notes DHL will not take shipments that need a formal customs entry, which currently means merchandise totals above about US$800.
• Good Smile ships to the US at a flat US$46 per order.
• HLJ shows the available methods once you select the United States on its shipping page; it did not carry a US-specific restriction notice on its guide pages when we checked.

Whatever the carrier, duties are collected from you, the recipient, and none of the three shops will estimate them. For the vocabulary behind all of this (first-run bonuses, reruns, Order Stop), see Pre-Order 101. We are preparing a separate guide to import duty thresholds by country.

HobbyLink Japan: pay late, ship together

HLJ’s model is built around its Private Warehouse. You pre-order, nothing is charged, and when the item arrives at HLJ’s warehouse in Tochigi it is charged and parked in your warehouse for free. From there you build a shipment from any combination of items and pick the shipping method, so a month’s worth of Figuarts can go out as one box, or a single Nendoroid can go out on its own the moment it arrives.

Points from HLJ’s own guide worth knowing:

• HLJ says it never takes prepayment for pre-orders or backorders before the items are available. The exception is written on individual listings: high-priced items such as the METAL STRUCTURE Gundam Mk-II require payment at order and cannot be cancelled.
• Payment is by credit card or a PayPal billing agreement, in the currency you choose; card charges are processed by Reach, so the statement may show Reach rather than HLJ.
• After payment, items usually ship within one to two business days, and HLJ asks to hear about problems within 10 days of arrival.

The trade-off is that HLJ sets its own cancellation deadline per item, and for a hot pre-order it can pass almost immediately: the Saint Cloth Series Pegasus listing showed a cancellation deadline of August 26, one day before Bandai’s retail pre-orders even opened. Being early matters more here than at the other two shops.

AmiAmi: exclusives, and read the status labels

AmiAmi’s catalog includes items no one else carries, from AmiAmi-exclusive scale figures such as ALTER’s Morgan to pre-owned stock, and its English support site is thorough. The things that trip up new overseas customers are the status labels and the payment flow.

• Orders are invoiced only when every item in the order is available, and pre-orders are not prepaid unless AmiAmi says otherwise (large orders and high-priced or made-to-order items can be).
• Cancellation requests go through My Account, but AmiAmi is explicit that a request is not a guarantee: pre-orders are usually not cancellable after the payment request email, back-orders are not cancellable, and a pattern of cancellations can lead to account restrictions.
• For the US, AmiAmi’s shipping table (its most current statement on the subject) lists DHL, ECMS and Surface Mail Premium, with DHL capped at roughly US$800 of merchandise.

Pre-order bonuses and first-run editions are handled first come, first served unless the product title says otherwise, which is why we flag first-run items like the Trunks base in our news posts.

Good Smile Company store: guaranteed slots, separate boxes

Buying direct from Good Smile makes the most sense when the deadline and the quantity limit on the product page are the whole story, which is the case for a lot of Nendoroid and POP UP PARADE pre-orders. Each product page states that orders placed on the Good Smile store during the pre-order period are guaranteed to be fulfilled (barring incorrect payment or shipping details).

• Accounts outside Japan and Taiwan pay in US dollars by credit card (3D Secure required; no debit or prepaid cards) or PayPal.
• The card or PayPal account is charged at shipment, not at order time, except for pre-orders above a certain amount, which are charged at checkout.
• Combined shipping is not available: each pre-order ships on its own release schedule and carries its own shipping fee, which is a flat US$46 to the United States.
• Quantity and payment method cannot be changed after checkout, and the store does not accept debit cards, so set up the payment method before the deadline day.

For a single ¥9,800 POP UP PARADE (about $65), $46 shipping is steep next to a consolidated HLJ box. For a limited item where missing the slot means paying resale prices, the fee is worth it.

Step by step: your first pre-order from Japan

1. Register at the shop with your real delivery address. Good Smile’s store only allows your country of residence as the account region; HLJ and AmiAmi ask for a standard international address. Use a phone number the carrier can reach.
2. Pre-order early. The deadline on a Good Smile page is a hard stop; HLJ and AmiAmi can close allocations before the maker’s window ends.
3. Do not expect a charge yet. HLJ and AmiAmi charge when the item is in stock; Good Smile charges at shipment. Keep the card valid for the whole lead time, which for a 2027 figure can be a year.
4. Watch for the payment request. AmiAmi and HLJ email a payment request with a deadline once the item arrives; missing it cancels the order.
5. Choose the shipping method. At HLJ, build the shipment yourself from the Private Warehouse. At AmiAmi, US buyers currently pick from DHL, ECMS or surface. At Good Smile it is set for you.
6. Pay duties on arrival. The carrier or postal service collects import duty and any tax from you; keep the invoice.

FAQ

Which shop is cheapest? For the figure itself, prices are within a few percent because Japanese makers set a recommended retail price. Shipping is where the totals diverge, so the cheapest shop is usually the one that lets you combine the most items into one box, which is HLJ.

Can I cancel a pre-order if I change my mind? At HLJ, generally yes before it is charged, except items flagged as prepay/no-cancellation. At AmiAmi, you can request it for unreleased pre-orders and it is usually refused after the payment request. At Good Smile, the store does not accept changes after ordering.

Why does my HLJ charge say “Reach”? HLJ processes card payments through Reach, and its guide says the descriptor may appear as Reach, RCH, CKO WithReach, Calforex or GoInterpay.

What is a first-run edition? A first production run that includes a bonus part later runs do not, such as the assembly base with the first S.H.Figuarts Trunks (Z Warriors). Shops allocate first-run stock first come, first served unless the listing says otherwise.

Does the “gift” trick avoid US duty? No. AmiAmi’s US FAQ spells it out: store purchases are commercial shipments and must be declared at their real value.

Where the three shops fit right now

Three current pre-orders that show the split: Good Smile’s POP UP PARADE Lucy rerun has a published September 23 deadline (end of day JST, which is 10:59 AM ET / 7:59 AM PT that morning) and a per-person limit, so the Good Smile store is the safe bet; the S.H.Figuarts Kakashi rerun is a general-retail item best consolidated at HLJ or AmiAmi from September 1; and ALTER’s Morgan is an AmiAmi exclusive, so AmiAmi is the only option and US buyers should keep the order under DHL’s limit or accept surface mail. Deadlines for all three are tracked on the Pre-order Radar, the Good Smile pre-orders roundup explains how Good Smile’s deadlines work, and the METAL STRUCTURE Gundam Mk-II post shows what an HLJ prepay-only listing looks like.

📦Most Japanese shops ship worldwide by EMS/DHL (7–14 days). Duties and import taxes are charged on delivery in most countries — check your local threshold before ordering.

Tags: buying-guidehobbylink-japanamiamigood-smile-companyshippingpre-orderfigures