Just like with regular humans, sometimes we fall out of love with our 2D waifus. When that happens, their presence haunts our shelves and fills our souls with guilt. How do we overcome this existential crisis? Sell them, of course!

“But Red, that’s cruel!”

“Red! We paid so much money for our waifus!”

WRONG!

Life happens. Even if love was never the problem, hobbies are addictive in nature and cost money. Changes in our lives and various other unpredictable happenstances occur. Our likes and dislikes change. Whatever the case, learning how to put your waifus (and husbandos) up for sale is good to know when in the anime figure collecting biz.

Step 1: Assess the Market

The time has come. That figure on your shelf no longer brings you joy (thanks, Marie Kondo!) The first thing you want to do is find out the average MRP (Market Price Reference). This doesn’t mean choosing the first few listings on eBay. Several resellers out there inflate prices to double and triple their worth. Check MyFigurecollection sales, Myanimeshelf, and reputable preowned figures sellers like Amiami, Solaris Japan, or JFigure. Once you reach a fair median, you now have a starting point on how much your figure is worth. If you can’t find your figure preowned, look for current sealed retail prices.

Step 2: Assess Your Figure

It’s unwise to take the worth price of your figure and toss it on the market. Now you need to inspect it. Thoroughly. Figure collectors consider preowned flaws like box damages, figure damages, base damage, and even how the figure was cared for. For instance, if you don’t have the original box, your MRP will decrease (as it should.) Even manufacturer defects should be mentioned. It’s a picky game: ultimately, it’s up to you how much you take off for something like paint blemishes, scratches, or box problems. The worse for wear, the less you’ll get and the less you should expect.

Step 3: Extra Details

Figure collectors also take into account care details. You’ll want to make sure you list positives like the figure being kept in a case, away from sunlight, and regularly dusted. Buyers love this kind of information. Make sure to note negative details such as cigarette smoke around the PVC, or possible dog and cat hair (people have allergies.) Before you sell, wipe down your figure with a simple sanitizer wipe. A quick once over won’t damage the figure.

Step 4: Take Pictures

Take a lot—every angle. Take pictures of the damages. Take photos of the box. TAKE PICTURES!! None of that blurry shit, either. List them on Imgur or other image dumpsites to easily send album links to interested buyers. Most listing services only allow 12 photos, so have some extra handy in case.

Step 5: Listing

You’re ready. Your waifu is prepared for her new home. It’s time to choose your listing agent. In my humble opinion, Myfigurecollection and r/animefigures (via Reddit) is the place to start your sales. You’re amongst collectors like yourself, and you don’t have to deal with the hassle of percentage takes like eBay and Mercari. Myfigure is slower, though. If you need your waifu gone, Mercari and eBay work just fine. Make sure you price accordingly for the percentage fees and shipping costs. To prepare for this, package and weigh the box before listing it; that way, you aren’t hit with extra postal fees at drop-off.

Step 6: Be a Decent Human

Up to this point, I hope you’ve considered being a fair seller. Ridiculous upsales, scalping, and people who don’t list damages go on my shit list. Just because you bought a figure for $200.00 doesn’t mean you’ll make that back. Yeah, sometimes figures skyrocket in price, and if you’re listing fairly, you could easily make your money back and more. But sometimes, you gotta take the hit. Accept that something you loved once went into the shitter and you’re losing money. It happens, and it’s ok.

You’re waifus, husbandos, Pokemon, Gundams… Whatever you have deserves respect, so sell them and pack them respectfully. Thanks for tuning in! Red, out.