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I love sofubi toys as they are really the place where anything is possible. The prices and availability are an unfortunate drawback, but the good news is that only a small fraction of things are truly expensive.
For every popular artist that has pieces drawing anywhere from $500-2000 there's dozens that are selling things for under $100. I recommend checking out sunguts, easily one of my favorite makers and if you can get to a show they're at, selling almost everything for $30. Even aftermarket isn't bad, as you can pick up most items for under $60.
Another positive is that sofubi toys definitely go through trend waves, so if you see a super popular maker like MVH put out some weird monstrosity and there's no way to get it for under $800, take some solace in the fact that it will inspire a bunch of other toymakers to create similar fat baby zombie monsters for $80.
I can't stress this enough:. Look through as much as you can and FORM YOUR OWN OPINIONS of what you like. If you ride the hype trains and start to look at certain artists just because you keep seeing people mention them you will only end up poor or disappointed or a combination of both.
Of all my sofubi interests, only one falls in the 'rediculous price" category and it was only after I stumbled upon it organically and had no idea this relatively cheap looking toy that I fell in love with would cost me so much money. Personally I prefer more micro sized sofubi, not only are they more affordable but I generally enjoy their designs more. Then the handful of larger pieces I have look great as collosal monsters menacing them.
In terms of finding things you want: yja and mandarake are great resources, although mandarake will generally be on the more expensive side of things. Avoid ebay at all costs. Save up some money and hit sofubi centric shows like five points fest, designercon when we get back to some semblance of shows. Instagram follow, lots of sales are had directly through there.
