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[Hide] (206.1KB, 1280x777) >>5109
>>5113
If you're talking about garage kits (which are the majority of kemono figures in existance) then the majority will never appear on sites like Amiami because garage kits are, by definition, small batch work done by circles of amateurs and sold directly to enthusiasts at dedicated events. (The reason they are small batches is because the silicone or rubber molds used to cast the resin parts degrade after a number of uses. Commercial molds used to make mass-scale figures cost tens of thousands of dollars to make, at their absolute cheapest.)
If you want a GK, your best bet is always to go to Japan for WonFes, do your homework, assemble your team, queue early, and fight on the morning battlefield. If you can't do this, your ways to acquire are either direct sale or 2nd hand dealers. Which one depends on whether the work is original or based off a licensed work like a game or manga.
If it's original and unencumbered by copyright, you might be able to contact a circle directly in Japanese (or ask a proxy buyer like White Rabbit above to contact them) and try to arrange purchase of a kit directly if they have any left over. (If they are a popular circle, they will not have any left over after the first hour of WonFes let alone after the event itself.) Check the circles' blogs for possible hints.
If the GK is based off a copyrighted work, you need to be aware of the "day license" system. Basically, when you pay to go to WonFes as a circle, some of that money is passed on as a flat fee to whoever owns the work you've made your GK from. In return, you are granted a "day license" wherein all the kits you bring with you on the day are all fully licensed under copyright law, completely above board. WonFes and other events generally distribute special holographic stickers to circles on the day. These are placed on kits they sell to verify they're day-licensed.
What this means for you is that if you are not able to attend events, second hand dealers like Mandarake or Suruga-ya are your best bet, or Yahoo! Auctions Japan (you will need a proxy bidder for Yahoo) right after an event. The hunt for rare "grail" kits is a constant theme of GK collectors worldwide.
GKs are always sold unpainted. Learning to clean, assemble and paint kits well is an art in and of itself. It's an art that's been around for nearly two decades, so there's a thriving industry to support it.
That covers the basics. Now you know more than the 95% of effort-free hurr dur how 2 buy figure how to get shitposters and can begin your ascent as a gloriously patrician kemono GK collector.