Peter Payne
You know you love anime stuff. Chances are, you’ve bought something from JList.com as a result of this love. Well, we sat down with the man behind the anime and Japan merchandise curtain to talk with Peter Payne, the founder of JList.com. For anyone interested in Japan, his story is not one to miss.
February 8, 2015 @ 10:50 pm
Very interesting to hear about the history of one of the older online shops in the business of selling Japanese goods and Anime/Manga merch. In all honesty, i’m not very familiar with J-list, although i could swear i’ve once purchased something from their site 10+ years ago, though for the life of me i can’t remember what it was.
I’m impressed to learn that J-List continues to do well for itself, despite the market for importing Japanese goods being much more competitive nowadays. Glancing at their website, it does appear to be quite user-friendly, which no doubt helps. They also have a range of different products, which may attract people who don’t want to have to use several different places to order the stuff they want,even if this means paying a bit extra. Let’s be honest here: you can get basically anything that J-List sells for at least 20%-40% cheaper elsewhere, especially the anime merch.
For example, compare the pre-order price for a set of Cardcaptor Sakura mini glass-decoration figures with that of popular online shops specializing in anime figures/merch:
J-List price ($58): http://www.jlist.com/product/PRE5683
Hobby Search price ($36): http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10310916
AmiAmi price ($34): http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=FIG-COL-8427
As above example illustrates, serious figure collectors will generally look elsewhere for their shopping. For casual fans who don’t want to spend a lot of time shopping around and like to get all of their import stuff from a single, easy-to-use site, J-list may however be just right. This general-audience appeal is clearly what allows J-List to continue to thrive. (That said, with me being a stingy bastard, i can’t imagine ever using J-list myself. With my collecting focus currently shifting away from DVD/BD and production art towards other kinds of anime merchandise, i’m likely to rely on a combination of AmiAmi for new/upcoming figures and Mandarake/Yahoo Japan for other goods/out-of-print stuff.)
March 8, 2015 @ 12:37 am
That could be true in some cases, as you may have found. But I also think that JList offers some other things that may be harder to find elsewhere, like their translations of Eroge or even some of the foods in non-bulk quantities. Their pre-orders also sets them apart for some figures before they come out. I also think, as you said, convenience plays a factor. One-stop-shopping can change things like cost when it comes to shipping for people who are ordering multiple things. Beyond that, their services like the snack subscription or grab bags at New Years aren’t found in a lot of other places.
At the end of the day, we do like JList and (obviously) ARE sponsored by them. But, it’s important to shop where you feel the most comfortable financially. 🙂