Best place to buy cosplay weapons.

Cosplay weapons can really the look of your overall cosplay! Imagine cosplaying Link without his Master Sword. Or Master Chief without his trusty assault rifle. While it’s totally doable, you just look SO MUCH BETTER when you’re carrying a cool cosplay weapon with you!

So you’re probably wondering, “Where the heck do I get myself a cosplay weapon? Can I buy them from a store, or do I need them specially made?

Well not to worry, I’m here to break it all down and make it easy for you.

(PS if you’re interested in knowing where to get the best cosplay costumes online, click here to read my full guide about it).

Where is the best place to buy cosplay weapons?

Depending on your budget and if your replica is simple or complicated, there are 3 best places to buy cosplay weapons. The first option is to get it specially commissioned by someone to make it for you. The second option is buying it from various online stores such as Aliexpress or Etsy. And the third option is simply going to a toy or party store and picking one up.

In this article, I’ll go over the best place to buy cosplay weapons depending on your situation and which cosplay weapons you plan to cosplay with. I’ll go over various websites to look for and some various tips to help you get the best deal on cosplay weapons.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

1. Buying a cosplay weapon online

2B cosplay (best place to buy cosplay weapons)
You can find popular cosplay weapons like 2B’s swords on sites like AliExpress! Photo by Jirka Matousek. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The first best place to buy cosplay weapons; online! Believe it or not, we are starting to see more websites selling cosplay weapons for various characters! This is great news as it allows cosplayers to save money from having to get weapons specifically made. When cosplay weapons are mass-produced, it saves everyone money.

I recommend buying a cosplay weapon online if:

  • You’re cosplaying a character that’s popular and that character carries a well-known weapon (e.g. Megumin from KonoSuba with her staff)
  • The cosplay weapon itself isn’t too intricate or complex (e.g. Venti from Genshin Impact and his Holy Lyre) link
  • You’re looking to save money and don’t want to spend extra on commissioning it

While there are a handful of places online, there are 3 main websites as of right now where you can buy cosplay weapons: AliExpress, Amazon and eBay. I’ll go through all the websites that sell cosplay weapons in detail below:

Amazon

You might think that Amazon is more suited for general items like tech stuff but surprisingly, they have a LOT of selection when it comes to cosplay weapons. If you’re able to find the weapon you’re looking for on Amazon, you’ll be saving quite a bit of money with their generous shipping policies.

Aliexpress

When it comes to buying cosplay weapons, AliExpress has by far the biggest selection! There are so many vendors and merchants selling different cosplay weapons. When I was doing research on this, I couldn’t believe how much variety of cosplay weapons you could choose from. Seriously, if your character is from a mainstream series, it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll find the cosplay weapon you’re looking for. As with any online market store with different vendors of varying quality, you’ll want to check the reviews and refund/exchange policies before buying.

Cosrea

Cosrea is mainly a costume store, but surprisingly they sell cosplay weapons as well. Most of them are for characters that have been around for a long time (example). The cosplay weapons on Cosrea are fairly expensive though, starting at around $200 USD.

eBay

Oh eBay, the site that we all love and hate at the same time. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and save tons of money on cosplay products because of the lower price. However, there are a lot of questionable merchants with questionable costume quality on top of even more questionable return/shipping policies. This definitely applies to cosplay weapons. So if you plan to buy from eBay, you’re rolling the dice in terms of quality! But if you get a good weapon,  you’ll be saving a good amount of money.

Etsy

I’ve included Etsy briefly here. Because while technically it is a website like AliExpress and Amazon, I consider Etsy more of a commission-based website, which I will elaborate more later in this post.

EZCosplay

Like Cosrea, EZCosplay is first and foremost a costume store. But when browsing their website, they also a handful amount of cosplay weapons. If you’re unable to find the cosplay weapon on other sites, then you may want to give EZCosplay a try.

And those are the main cosplay websites that sell cosplay weapons! Let’s move onto the next category, which is…

2. Buying a cosplay weapon at a regular store

You can find a lightsaber for your Star Wars cosplay pretty much anywhere! Photo by 7S Photography. Cosplayer: allure_cosplay.

When I say regular store, I’m talking about places where you normally shop. Places like Wal-Mart, party stores, toy stores and even video game stores sell cosplay weapons! If you’re able to find your cosplay weapon at a regular store, this will be the cheapest and most affordable option. Or even if you don’t find the exact same weapon, you can always buy a regular weapon and modify it for your character. For example, you can buy a wand at a toy store and make some modifications to turn into a Sailor Moon wand!

Generally speaking, buying a cosplay weapon at a regular store is best if:

  • The cosplay weapon is very simple (e.g. Sailor Moon wand)
  • You’re looking to save as much money as you can
  • The character is so popular and mainstream, you can find their weapon anywhere (e.g. Dva’s Nerf Gun from Overwatch, Lightsaber, Pokeball)

Here are some ideas for regular stores:

  • GameStop (yes sometimes they sell small cosplay weapons!)
  • Halloween stores
  • Target
  • Toys R Us
  • Wal-Mart

3. Getting a cosplay weapon specially commissioned

Something like this…you probably want to commission. Photo by Michael Ocampo. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Last but not least, you can hire or commission someone to create the cosplay weapon for you. This is by far the most popular option to go for. Because while cosplay weapons are slowly popping up online, chances are you won’t find something like a Keyblade or Master Sword on the store shelves.

Commissions are great because you know what you want and the one making your weapon knows exactly how to make it. Prices can vary, depending on the complexity of the cosplay weapon. I’ve had high-quality weapons like my Falchion sword cost less than $100 CAD to make. Meanwhile I’m sure my friends have spent hundreds of dollars on huge cosplay swords. So if you shop around, you can find the right price.

You should get your weapon commisssioned if:

  • If your weapon is very complicated or difficult/time consuming to make (e.g. weapons from Halo, Master Sword, Keyblade from Kingdom Hearts)
  • You can’t find your weapon to buy online
  • You want the finished product to be as best as possible

Here are some places where you find someone to make your cosplay weapon:

  • Etsy
  • Local Facebook groups that specialize in cosplay weapons and props
  • Posting on social media and asking for someone to make it for you

And that’s it! Those are the 3 main methods to buy cosplay weapons. Here’s some more useful information regarding cosplay weapons:

Know your budget

Just like your costumes, you want to make sure you’re not spending out of your budget for a cosplay weapon. Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay.

While cosplay weapons probably won’t break your wallet like an actual costume potentially can, it can still be quite pricey. As mentioned earlier, a very complicated weapon such as a sword with special engravings and detailing (e.g. Cloud’s Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII) can get really expensive because it’s more difficult to make.

You can always opt to not carry a cosplay weapon for your character. But if you really want to dress up as a character with a cosplay weapon, then you should consider the weapon itself and how much it would cost to make it. Usagi and Madoka may both be magical girls. But Madoka’s huge staff will certainly cost a lot more to make than Usagi’s budget-friendly wand!

So if you can’t afford an expensive cosplay weapon, rather than trying to save a few bucks by buying a lower quality weapon, you should just change the character you want to cosplay. Go for a character with a smaller cosplay weapon, or one that’s easier to make. That way, you don’t need to sacrifice the look of your cosplay.

How much does a good cosplay weapon cost?

This sword didn’t cost me much to commission. I spent around $100 CAD, which is fairly reasonable for a sword.

The costs can really vary depending on the type of cosplay weapon you’re going for. A simple Dva gun is going to cost a lot less than a plasma rifle from Halo that has all sorts of exotic detailing and polish on it. With that said, I would aim to have at least $50 USD for your cosplay weapon budget, no matter how simple it is. For swords, I would save at least $100 USD for that, although it could definitely cost more if the sword has a unique shape. Anything large like a replica rifle or a big shield, I would aim for $200 USD to budget.

Summary

And there you have it; all the best place to buy cosplay weapons. I hope you found this post informative and useful.

If you’re looking for ideas when it comes to cosplay props, click here to see my entire list of cosplay props you could use for your next cosplay! And of course, if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

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