A lot of people have asked me about where to find a particular collectible and how much it would cost. I hope this section will answer at least some of such question.

As Final Fantasy VII was released almost 10 years ago and is still very popular, the original merchandise is very difficult to find and the prices relatively high. As rule of thumb, original 1996 and 1997 FFVII collectibles are hard to find, but reproductions and unlicensed items are being sold in lots of different online shops.

The same places that sell FFVII related items usually also sell other Final Fantasy game related merchandise, but a lot of times it is the FFVII stuff that is most expensive and popular.

A few places to find FFVII collectibles from:

Probably the best way to find and buy rare FFVII collectibles would be online auctions, which in practice means eBay. The prices can sometimes get ridiculously high, and being outbid on the last second is always frustrating. Of course there is also a chance of items bought from online auctions getting lost in the mail, turning out to be big disappointments or never even being sent out by a dishonest seller. The shipping and handling cost can be annoyingly high and the amount fake items is overwhelming. To summarize all that, eBay can be a pain, but it is the place to hunt for rare collectibles.

Another, slightly less stressful way of buying FFVII merchandise is ordering from different online shops. Such shops rarely have anything too great or rare to offer, and instead often carry a great selection of unlicensed or fake merchandise.

www.animebooks.com
Has a selection of relatively rare authentic FF books as well as FFVII AC books, figures and fake jewelry.

www.cdjapan.co.jp
Authentic FF soundtracks and figures.

www.ffmerchandise.com
A shop specializing in authentic video game merchandise.

www.finalfun.com/finalfantasyshop/onlineshop
A German FF shop offering lots of rare and wonderful collectibles. The prices are in Euros and item descriptions in German. Some of the prices are very reasonable and some are very very high.

www.gkworld.zoovy.com
Offers a wide range of video game, movie, comic book and anime related merchandise including lots of common FF related items of which many are fake or unlicensed.

www.hlj.com/index.html
Sells authentic FF and Advent Children merchandise.

www.japanimation.com/jstore
Some authentic, unlicensed and fake FF merchandise.

www.square-enix.co.jp/se-shop/
Square's official FFVII Advent Children merchandise shop. Unfortunately they don't take orders from outside Japan.

www.square-enix.com/na
The North American S-E site also has it own shop selling FFVII AC merchandise.

www.toysnjoys.com
Lots of FF related merchandise here, some of which is fake or unlicensed. It is possible to even make great finds (like new original FFVII merchandise from 1997)  in here every now and then.

Some high street shops might also have some FF(VII) merchandise, but unless you happen to be in Tokyo its probably nothing to get too excited about.

Collecting FFVII related items or anything else is supposed to fun. Part of the fun being able to talk and compare your collectibles with another collector or fan, so knowing and keeping in touch with other collectors is recommendable. Why am I saying this? Because knowing other collectors or reliable sellers can also be a great help when building up your own collection. A seller who knows you are a nice, honest buyer is a lot more likely to be flexible and helpful. Never disregard the possibility of making trades with other collectors either.