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, 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
