If your anything like me then you are constantly looking for the best deals on cosplay items. Everything from props and makeup to actual costumes and accessories. Naturally, nobody wants to pay way more than an outfit is worth as such individuals usually compare prices between sites and crafters. But what is the conclusion of these searches? It seems the results are shrouded in mystery with a conclusion never being reached. Well, I am here to hopefully shed a bit of light on the topic. Today, I want to take a look at three cosplay websites and compare their prices along with shipping times. The next part will be to hopefully order items from each of these sites and compare their quality but this is all in due time.
I decided to choose three cosplay outfits that are rather common at conventions that way the outfits would not be considered extreme or rare. This hopefully means that nothing extravagant is required in their construction and I can actually compare the items to one another. The three sites we will be looking at is EZCOSPLAY, ALIEXPRESS, and MICCOSTUMES. Each of these sites offer cosplay items and hopefully, after the end of this post, I can help you narrow down which site to purchase from.
Harley Quinn
EZCOSPLAY
As we all know, Harley Quinn is a rather popular character that graces her presence at nearly every con ranging from the east to the west coast. You are sure to find at least 1 Harley Quinn at each convention. Although this character has many outfits, I want to focus on her Suicide Squad version. Currently, this version of her cosplay is going on EZCOSPLAY for $139.00 with the price increasing if you need larger sizes. EZCOSPLAY also offers the ability to enter in a custom size for an additional price of course.
Included are the Neck accessory, Belt with holster, Jacket, Tshirt, Shorts, Gloves and Cuff. The materials used are listed as Spandex Leather, Lycra Cotton, Satin and Composite Leather. With EZCOSPLAY you get a week to return the item. For all of the items, you will have to pay shipping with prices varying by your home location and if you want the item expressed shipped. For North Carolina, standard delivery is 6-9 days at $24.59 and express comes in at 2-4 days at $31.20
Miccostumes
Next is Miccostumes Suicide Squad version of Harley Quinn. This cosplay is listed at $15.67. At this moment, I am unable to see a spot indicating the materials used in this cosplays construction. The items that are included is not listed but a picture is listed which shows the Tshirt, Jacket, Gloves and Pants. This means that you will still need to purchase the Belt, Holster, and Cuff that’s included with the EZCOSPLAY outfit. The drastic price difference seen between these two sites may be due to the customizability of EZCOSPLAY. Miccostumes only offers medium and large sizes. Their return policy is also only 3 days after receiving the item. With regards to shipping, North Carolina is $19.38 for standard shipping and $6.49 for economy shipping.
Aliexpress
Finally we have Aliexpress which is offering this cosplay costume for a wide range of prices. The lowest is $4.98 with the highest being $43.98. The reason for the huge range of prices is due to what’s included in each set. The basic set includes the Gloves, Shirt, Jacket and Pants. This set is $24.88. The full cosplay is a 9 piece set and comes in at $43.88. It includes Gloves, Shirt, Jacket, Pants, Wig, Belt, Necklace, Holster and Bracelet. The sizes are set at small, medium, large, extra large and extra extra large. There is not an option for customization. A nice perk is that they offer free returns no questions asked within 15 days and a 60-day money-back guarantee. I believe shipping varies for each item but right now shipping for this item is only $0.84.
Tanjirou Kamado Prop
EZCOSPLAY
Next, I was curious about the price difference between each of these sites with regards to weapons or props. I decided to look at a rather popular character’s weapon. That’s right, we are going to look at Tanjirou Kamado sword. Starting off the list again we have EZCOSPLAY. Although the website has several versions of the sword listed, I wanted to look at the most basic version. His sword’s most basic price is $21.99 and constructed from MDI (Methylene diphenyl isocyanate (MDI) is a chemical used primarily to manufacture polyurethane foam). It’s around 100cm long and like the outfit, requires you pay shipping. At this moment for North Carolina, shipping is $66.99 for standard delivery and $86.40 for express delivery.
MICCOSTUMES
Unfortunately, MICCOSTUMES does not sell cosplay weapons so I was unable to compare Tanjirous weapon to the other sites. The only weapon I could find on the site was the Kunai from Naruto. Although much smaller than swords, Kunai proved to be deadly weapons in the Naruto series so don’t count them out. Currently, their price is $5.59 with a length of 13cm, width of 2.5cm and thickness of 0.5cm. The website does not currently list what these Kunai are constructed from but I’m assuming its plastic as metal is rather expensive and of course dangerous.
Aliexpress
Last but not least we have ALIEXPRESS. They also offer a variety of options for Tanjirou Kamado Sword with the lowest being $58.04 and the most expensive being $81.38. The $58.04 version of the sword is constructed from wood. As for the size of the sword, its total length is 100cm, blade width 3.2cm, handle length 25cm, blade thickness 0.9cm, blade length 68cm, and the total weight is 0.46kg. Shipping came in at $7.78.
I know this was a lot of information thrown at you and will likely still take a bit of consideration before you make any purchases. In general it seems EZCOSPLAY is the most expensive but offers the greatest customization. MiCCOSTUMES does not have as large of a selection of items when it comes to cosplay but the items they do have are rather inexpensive. Finally, ALIEXPRESS has a ton of choices which vary widely in price as a result of several different options being available.
Of course, you have to decide what your cosplay needs require along with how long you are willing to wait for your items to arrive. In terms of shipping prices, once again EZCOSPLAY was the most expensive with ALIEXPRESS being the least expensive. Similarly, ALIEXPRESs also took the prize for return policy with a no questions asked and money-back guarantee policy.
Hopefully, this post will help you navigate the vast world of cosplay. There are still so many other sites that offer cosplay costumes that I will eventually get to but at this moment you now at least have an idea on some of the differences between these three sites. Thanks so much for checking out my cosplay website comparison post and for more awesome cosplay news click HERE. I also have an awesome PODCAST featuring several great cosplayers so feel free to give that a listen as well. That will be it for today, until next time, stay BOUNDLESS!!!
