Re-ment. Who/What? Where to Buy?

Who?
To keep it short, Re-ment is a Japanese company that manufactures miniature toy versions of everyday items.  And they're really cute.

This is the Re-ment website: http://www.re-ment.co.jp/.
Or alternatively, see this wikipedia entry for Re-Ment.


What?
The items normally come in a collection or big box of 8 different types of one theme. i.e. Hello Kitty Cat Cafe would be comprised of 8 different sets or smaller boxes of toys in one box.  Or Japanese Country Life collection comprising of 8 different sets that represent rural Japanese home life before modernity came along.  They release like 'seasonally'.  So after some time, certain collections will be discontinued from manufacturing.  And they come out with new collections periodically.

*image from the internet

But one can also purchase any one of the smaller boxes and it's usually called a blind box.  Blind box means you're not sure which of the 8 sets you're gonna get unless the vendor actually knew beforehand and labeled the sale/box appropriately.


Where to Buy?
I buy mainly from eBay.  And the packages usually arrive within 2-3 weeks.  Sometimes as short as in 3 business days if I'm lucky.  Lol.  One eBay vendor I know also maintains their own Re-ment shop site.  I tend to get it from their online store 'cause the same Re-ment collection is listed at less cost there than in their eBay store.

Anyway, Amazon also sells Re-ment sets but so far I find my eBay vendors quite reliable, and they usually cost less in eBay so I haven't really bought any complete 8-set collection yet from Amazon. 

As for a bricks and mortar store, there is a store at a mall in my town that sells these Re-ment collections.  However, it's a limited selection and each collection costs more than my online Re-ment purchases including the shipping cost.  So online is my go-to to look for these toys to add to my collection.


My Purchase Plan
So yeah.  That's Re-ment.   I love mine and don't foresee myself stopping from collecting the Re-ment sets I like anytime soon.  I don't buy all that they release though, just the ones I like.  Which fortunately or unfortunately depending on which way you view it, I find plenty that I'm interested in buying but can't buy all at the same time.  Lol!

So I usually get at least one or two sets each month, because I'm sort of late in learning about Re-ment and certainly kind of have to catch up.  I no longer buy them at least once a month eversince I was "sidetracked" with buying Sylvanian Families toys, many of which are hard to find.

Anyway, because Re-ment isn't exactly cheap, I also sort of learned to go by this purchasing scheme or priority during all this time since I first started buying sets of other themes (apart from my original Re-ment collection of Little Twin Stars) last 2015/2016:

1.  Don't buy new releases immediately as there's usually still plenty of stock by the time I'm really ready to get one.  Ebay vendors always display how much stock they have on hand unless it's really just one single item that they're selling.  And beside the stock qty you will see how many were sold.

When I was new to Re-ments I thought I had to get all the collections I'm interested in as soon as possible as they might become unavailable sooner than I expected.  However, for most of them, like San-X characters such as Rilakumma, I find most sets are still available a year later. Plenty in stock.

2. And when I'm ready to purchase (which I base on my credit card's billing statement cycle so my purchases don't all add up in one go), I go by the following purchasing decision/prioritization factors (aside from pricing of course) and go on from there:

• how much stock is left
• which set/s do I like best/better..
• which one is likely to run out soon (good Hello Kitty ones seem to sell fast, and then later cost more)

For the last bullet, I noticed the newly released Moomin collection is quite hard to find on Ebay.  No one has sold a set for a long time.

And today I found only two on Ebay (I check frequently), one from Japan and it's $100 with free shipping, while the other was by a Korean vendor and it's $66.++ shipping included.  Each sells only 1 qty.  So it was a no brainer to get the latter since I've been on the lookout for one forever and finally I saw it being sold.  The Korean vendor is sorta new though, and it's kinda my first time to buy from them so hopefully my order will get here.  I read elsewhere that it seemed like this Moomin set is not really being distributed to sell as widely outside of Japan because the Moomin character is so popular in Japan.    Hmmm.  I guess that explains the scarcity on eBay or even other Re-ment sites.

I thought I'd stop collecting at just Little Twin Stars (LTS) Re-ment collections since LTS is my all time favorite Sanrio character, but no.  Lol!  Aside from the four LTS sets, I have some Hello Kitty, a set of mixed Sanrio characters, at least one Rilakkumma, one Sumikko Gurashi, one Snoopy, two My Melody, and then one Moomin too if the order gets delivered/received in May, etc.  So I think right now, I own at least 14 or so collections.

Yeah this Re-ment, I don't know whether I should rue the day I started really collecting.  Lol!  But right now, they give me joy.  As Marie Kondo -- the Japanese queen of de-cluttering -- says:  Keep only the things that give you joy.  Well, my Re-ment stuff give me joy!  Lol!  Good luck to me! :D

How My Re-ment Collection Started - Little Twin Stars "Hoshizora"/Starry Sky Party

Before I go further and post activities or purchases I've made for my Re-ment collection, I thought I'd share some background on how I was first introduced to Re-ment.

I am a Little Twin Stars character fan.  They're Sanrio characters like Hello Kitty.  I grew up possessing Sanrio character toys and items and to me it's the Little Twin Stars that I like best.  But we know Sanrio isn't exactly the cheapest of things to buy.  Lol!  Especially not when you're still a schoolkid.  These things were usually gifts from my parents, friends, godparents, and relatives.

So as I became an adult and a professional, I of course eventually got my own means to buy such Little Twin Stars items.  I did notice that for a time they didn't really sell stuffed dolls or miniature toys of these things.  So I saw them (and bought them) with the other Sanrio characters Hello Kitty and My Melody, but not really Little Twin Stars.

Until one day in 2012, while I had nothing better to do, I decided to browse the internet to shop for Sanrio items, and saw a youtube video of these awesome little Little Twin Stars miniature collection or set which I've never come across before.  Never mind Re-ment even.  But it was really awesome.

I can't seem to find that video anymore but at the time there were at least two which I remember I checked out that were quite descriptive, from US collectors.  But here's another one I dug up just now.  The lone result I've seen so far.

Here is an image of what's on the box cover.

After seeing/watching the above, it was kind of a mad dash to find and buy my own set.  Lol!

If I'm not mistaken, I believe it was probably the first of several sets of Little Twin Stars that were released by Re-ment.  It was labeled as Little Twin Stars "Hoshizora"/welcome/Starry Sky party.  I think it was released in 2011.  The Hobbylink Japan site lists it as released in June 2010.

As I was only interested in Little Twin Stars and was a Re-ment newbie, I had thought these things were quite expensive. I got that set for more than $100 USD, from an online seller, not on eBay as I wasn't really an eBay user yet at the time.  There weren't a lot of it available online and they were expensive by the time I came across it in 2012.  And so I thought all Re-ment sets must cost that much and so I didn't bother checking if it had other characters.  Plus I think since I was a newbie, I don't recall seeing other sets anyway...

So since then, at least every year I check out online if there could be a new release of Little Twin Stars Re-ment sets.  Because out of all the Re-ment sets, the Little Twin Stars (LTS) ones are the highest priority for me to collect.  Lol!!

Needless to say, I did get the subsequent sets in the following years: the Dream Room, Twinkle Sweets Factory, and Starry Sky Bakery.  I think out of all my Re-ment sets since then (not just LTS), the first set has the most items.  I'll blog and post pics of its contents sooner or later.

So this is how I got started with Re-ment toys.  I've since purchased non-LTS Re-ment sets as these Re-ment sets are just crazy cute!

In my next entry I'll discuss what is Re-ment, for Re-ment newbie readers out there.  'Cause I was once like you and it's handy to know more about what you're getting into before you and your funds, time, and effort, dive into it.  :D Ciao!!

Beginning My Miniature Toys Hobby Blog

Well actually... it's more like a blog on my interests with the Re-ment miniature toys + miniature dollhouse diys + some of my Sanrio playsets + my photography hobby.  Sometimes, when one can't always to go out to take pictures, photographing my hobby seems the next best thing. :D

This blog will be about the above.  This includes:

• hobby plans
• purchases
• tasks performed in pursuance of the hobby
• some opinions/possibly reviews
• photos
• possibly some unboxing, etc.

Plus I think I might link to this blog other related social media services I'd or might have in relation to the above hobby.  But I'll see.  Not sure if I have time for all that.. argh.

I also might link the Instagram account that I've set up for my pet pics and vids so I can easily post and see pics of my pet more easily anytime, anywhere I like. =)

Since I don't have all the time in the world to focus on my blogs especially with a full time job, comments will be disabled in this blog.  'Cause really, doing all these things are kind of like work already, and having to work with any comments, questions, etc. would make this feel like a chore.

This blog is also like something to help me get my thoughts and plans together for my hobby.  I just want to I guess "write them out".  The blogs and other related social media aspect of it is not exactly being posted so I can get other opinions or feedback or affirmation.  I suppose I'll just get those when I need them, not when I don't explicitly ask for them.

So in the meantime, if you chance upon this blog, I still hope the content was still of some help as other similar Re-ment miniature blogs have inspired me or informed me during my pursuit of this hobby.  Enjoy it anyway! =)