Reviews Tokyo Otaku Mode

During September of 2021, I ordered ONE figure and I was very excited for it to arrive as I've heard TOM is legit, has good shipping and good selections!...well, TOM is legit, everything's a good price BUT there is of course a con. THE SHIPPING. (I GOT NO TRACKING EITHER!) I was able to move houses and the owners that bought the house I lived in were able to demolish it before my figure even had arrived!? I get that there is a pandemic but I expect shipping to be at least a little faster. Thankfully it did arrive though, and it's beautiful! I won't order from here again but it's a good place to start I guess?

TOM can be a good option if you take advantage of the points and premium when purchasing a lot of figures/pre-orders. However, your orders will ship out 2-6 (yes, 6!) months after other collectors already have theirs. You will also not be able to cancel your pre-orders so if you see another shop with the item in stock, you're stuck unless you can offload the pre-order.

So far ive purchased figures from TOM and heres how my experience has been so far

#1 ITEM #276879 = No problems with this order

#2 5 Miku Hatsune Posters = No problems with this order

#3 ITEM #485674 = No problems with this order

#4 ITEM #527496 = Figure arrived with paint defects, they spoke to Aniplex (the manufacturer) and had them replace the figure free of charge, TOM paid return shipping and paid for the replacement figure to be sent to me.

#5 ITEM #604409 = Figure arrived with a 2-3 inch white scar/paint defect on her dress, TOM refused to replace her or refund/exchange saying that the defect wasnt big enough to warrant an exchange/replacement and referred me to GSC who also said they couldnt do anything after asking me to send them a copy of my TOM invoice and tons of pictures of the figure + box + shipping box.

so far 5 orders and 2 have had problems, hopefully the other orders I have open with them dont have issues in the future too. I signed up for their TOM premium membership a few times and I won a plushie once from the claw machine but I have noticed that before the free points for the claw machines used to stack + accumulate and then they changed it so they dont stack + accumulate for better prizes. One other thing that bugs me is that if you use TOM reward points in your order and lets say $100 is TOM points + $50 is paid via Paypal on a $150 order you wont qualify for free shipping even though orders $150+ get free shipping because the majority of the order is being paid with points. TOM also decided to limit how many points you can use to pay for each order too, you cant pay 100% of an order with points anymore like you used to be able to before. The shop requires immediate payment for orders but they ship your orders a few months after all the other Japanese shops receive the figures in Japan so if you ever want to file a paypal dispute it will most likely be outside of the time window.

TOM is one of the newest additions to my shopping "regulars". It tends to be the most expensive of the shops I frequent, but they have regularly have some amazing deals, often involving coupons or their points system. As such, I only place an order at TOM if one of these special deals is going on, or I can't get the same item elsewhere for a reasonable price, which is very, very rarely.

Their customer service is quite good, and usually gets back to you in a timely manner. TOM's shipping practices are also good; their boxes aren't as sturdy as Hobby Search's or HLJ's, but they include plenty of packing paper and bubble wrap. The clear file and sticker they typically include with each shipment is a nice touch as well. For many preorders, expect wait times on par with a US-based shop (they have warehouses in both the US and Japan).

TOM's web store is easy to navigate, but could be better; for instance, their CD, video, and gaming/downloads sections aren't included in the navigation bar up top. They carry a wide variety of items, including limited editions and hard-to-get exclusives. However, although their selections of plushies and Japanese clothing are especially good, they are lacking in other areas, like trading figures and video games.

On a final note, their frequent shopper program, TOM Premium, is worth signing up for if you buy from them at least a couple of times a year, even if it's just for the extra points. In general, TOM is a decent shop, but it's almost never the first place I go to look for anything.

I've ordered from TOM about 7 times now and everything always went fairly smoothly, their product range is alright but the prices aren't always the cheapest so I tend to wait for sales or coupon codes to come up.

Customer service is really nice and helpful.

Shipping can be a hit or miss time wise, I've had air small packages take anywhere from 1 week to a bit over a month.

Overall it's a pretty decent store if they have what you're looking for.