@Ra:
Hey guys! I've been collecting OP figures for sometime now, mostly focusing on the Straw Hats POP figures.
Of the new generation of POPs, I have Nami Sailing Again on my shelf and have ordered Zoro and Robin. I have a limited budget at the moment, so I'm debating whether to get Sanji or Usopp next. What do you all think? I love Sanji's ero-face, but Usopp is one of my favorite SH pirates! Which of those two do you guys like better?
Also a random comment on price increases: It's funny how expensive the POP figures are nowadays. I remember paying something like $35-$40 top for the original figures on pre-order. I told a friend of mine this, but I get the feeling she doesn't really believe me since these same figures now go for $250 - $350 each on ebay! She likes to buy the bootlegs due to the high prices but sometimes I wonder if it's really worth it to buy something of such low quality. Granted I know some people purposely collect bootlegs for the novelty value, but she's getting them purely because they are cheaper.
Yeah, I agree with Cyber, go for Usopp. Along with Brook they're probably 2 of my favourite POP SA Strawhats, and I have them all so far. Sanji is just a bit uninspiring. I didn't feel the urgent need to display him when he arrived, but the other 2 are just wow!
With regards to bootlegs, I know what you mean, a few times I've been tempted to get one instead of the real deal due to price, but then I think to myself the bootlegs actual value is $0 and they have such a negative impact on the industry.
In particular, the POP Carue bootleg has been done to a really high standard and I remember seeing a few on Ebay for about $100, but in the end it just wasn't worth it so I got an authentic version for $275.
I feel that part of my enjoyment while I was collecting was hunting down "rare" figures for good prices. Still, the NEO-1 Nami I picked up for $80 a couple months ago holds the place for the best bargain I've found.
Edit -
@ Ra - Here's a picture of my strawhats together. Still waiting for Franky:
Depending on your budget, you maye even be able to get both since Sanji is now going for $50.90 @ Otacute:
http://www.otacute.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23022&zenid=cupve527im1r9j5n3ob35jvna2&utm_source=otacute_specials_list&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=specials
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
On a seperate note, what do you guys think? Baby 5 our next potential female Sailing Again character along with Monet? I know that the character vote is over, but who would you rather see a figure of:
!