Best websites for buying Manga?

carbonkid

Found myself getting into some mangas like Jing:king of bandits and hellsing but woundering where the cheapest website is to buy them?

I know you can buy them off the likes of the tokyopop website or amazon but is there anywhere cheaper or even do regular discounts?

sharingan

The only places that I found that I could get manga for cheaper than retail prices are:

http://www.play.com (get your ISBN numbers, free postage, UK manga only)
http://www.up1.co.uk (my preferred - very fast delivery, cheap postage & delivery costs proportional to order)
http://www.archonia.com (need to maximise your order to get real value - fixed band delivery costs)

In every other case, delivery costs tend to add 2-4€ per item on average, driving the costs above what you would spend at retail.

Also note that only those retailers track stock properly. Most other retailers do not track stock or even maintain stock, which imposes gruelling waits on import titles, and is somewhat disingenuous for titles that are out of print. i.e. wait times are unpredictable at best. Import titles are everything - only a fraction of tokyopop's catalog is available here direct - everything else is import.

There are lots of US-based retailers, but they can be picky about accepting european credit cards (i.e. flat out refuse, or be prepared to send very personal information) and their delivery charges are astronomical for books. Only to be considered for truly rare stuff.

Also consider market places & ebay, if you are comfortable with that sort of thing.

honru

sharingan wrote:

http://www.up1.co.uk (my preferred - very fast delivery, cheap postage & delivery costs proportional to order)

In your experience, how much would shipping set you back for a standard manga?

I always get put off sites that need to quote postage costs.

carbonkid

Checked those websites and cheapest to get jing the twlight tales is at least 9.60 with discount!! You'd pay the same in a shop. Guess manga just doesnt come cheap

honru

Now that Tokyopop have opened up shop in the UK thier manga prices nowadays are generally in line with what the Americans are paying. In my experience there usually isn't much point getting their stuff online as it's reasonably priced in shops anyway (only save yourself a euro or thereabouts).

It's the Viz/Dark Horse stuff that'll set you back a pretty penny after buying a few books, as it has to be imported from the US.

sharingan

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

In your experience, how much would shipping set you back for a standard manga?

I always get put off sites that need to quote postage costs.

For a standard manga, it is very difficult for the delivery charge per item to be less than €2. This is often only achieved by ordering a lot of titles, as there is often a fixed delivery cost associated with international orders, like amazons £4 STG, which destroy any possibility of finding a bargain online.

Also UP1 have introduced a heavier charge for international orders, so their bargain aspect has disappeared now.

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

In my experience there usually isn't much point getting their (Tokyopop) stuff online as it's reasonably priced in shops anyway (only save yourself a euro or thereabouts).

Except that only a fraction of tokyopop's titles are available here in shops. And the titles that are available here in shops can be sourced much cheaper at play.com (~€8.50)

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

It's the Viz/Dark Horse stuff that'll set you back a pretty penny after buying a few books, as it has to be imported from the US.

No - the currency conversion works in your favour, archonia and UP1 pass that onto you. I actually find the DH & Viz titles to be the ones with the biggest savings to be made, especially the larger format titles with higher RRP (which get discounted better at online shops).

If you are doing a lot of buying, online works out over time. Usually its the only place with any decent availability anyway, especially for import titles, and titles with high RRP. I just expect to come out ahead of retail, not super bargains. Don't expect to recreate your online DVD buying experience when it comes to manga.

Also if you can get to a forbidden planet conveniently, thats probably your best bet competely.

honru

sharingan wrote:

Also UP1 have introduced a heavier charge for international orders, so their bargain aspect has disappeared now.

€2 per item? Rats...

Still, it might be reasonable for some imports.

sharingan wrote:

Except that only a fraction of tokyopop's titles are available here in shops. And the titles that are available here in shops can be sourced much cheaper at play.com (~€8.50)

Play's a mess when it comes to manga and don't have a great selection themselves. But of course, if you find a book cheaper up there, by all means it's worth getting with the free shipping.

What I intended to add was that rather than getting a bulk of Tokyopop manga online, go for Dark Horse/Viz stuff, because you'll save alot more. Many online retailers knock a couple of euro/dollar off their RRPs (before conversion) while discounts on Tokyopop manga are miniscule (especially now that Tokyopop have UK operations set up).

sharingan wrote:

No - the currency conversion works in your favour, archonia and UP1 pass that onto you.

That's why I'm interested.

But really, I was talking about shops, not typically online.

I'm not really a fan of getting manga in Forbidden Planet; there are still cheaper ways on the 'net. Crow Corner is great but has a very small selection.

sharingan

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

€2 per item? Rats...

Still, it might be reasonable for some imports.

Aye, but the 2€/item is almost an ideal.

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

Play's a mess when it comes to manga and don't have a great selection themselves.

Not play's fault. Its the distributers role to get the titles to them. Play's selection is limited to what is being sold to them in the UK (i.e. non-import), and titles that have been introduced since they started operating their bookstore. If you know the ISBNs, the titles *are* there, but I wish they would operate a dedicated manga section.

WHen you go online you realise how little is available here via non-import channels.

Play can surprise you too. None of the comic shops I went to (rare exeptions) or online manga stores, stocked Barefoot Gen, but I got it all through play.com.

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

What I intended to add was that rather than getting a bulk of Tokyopop manga online, go for Dark Horse/Viz stuff, because you'll save alot more.

Aye, thats been my experience completely. Blade of the Immortal from play.com? All of Nausicaa form UP1? I am there. Where online buying comes into its own is getting rare titles (although the truly rare are still very hard to get).

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

But really, I was talking about shops, not typically online.

Well, I was keeping it on-topic ;P

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

I'm not really a fan of getting manga in Forbidden Planet; there are still cheaper ways on the 'net. Crow Corner is great but has a very small selection.

What do you have against FP? I found them to be the cheapest source of import manga. Genuinely curious. I have found them annoying to shop in, but worth it if you are prepared to dig. I guess they could manager their space a lot better. Comic stores tend to stock their shelves better.

honru

sharingan wrote:

Not play's fault. Its the distributers role to get the titles to them. Play's selection is limited to what is being sold to them in the UK (i.e. non-import), and titles that have been introduced since they started operating their bookstore. If you know the ISBNs, the titles *are* there, but I wish they would operate a dedicated manga section.

I've had to use ISBNs to verify titles and it's fairly shoddy.

But, yeah, a manga section would make life easier.

sharingan wrote:

What do you have against FP? I found them to be the cheapest source of import manga. Genuinely curious. I have found them annoying to shop in, but worth it if you are prepared to dig. I guess they could manager their space a lot better. Comic stores tend to stock their shelves better.

Well getting manga online still worked out cheaper for me, so I had no need to go to Forbidden Planet. Plus, their range of titles is pretty good, but not great. Still leans on the hoards of Tokyopop manga I have no interest in.

However I was in there the other day for the first time in ages and I was impressed. Pretty much all their typical $10 manga is being sold at an offer of 3 for €25, which cuts it down to about €8.30 a book. That's very reasonable.

They also have a €4 section, getting rid of stock that must have been there for ages now. Not too shabby.

I hope this doesn't mean that they are abandoning the manga. If they keep the 3 for €25 deal completely then needless to say I'll be doing most of my purchases there from now on.

sharingan

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

I've had to use ISBNs to verify titles and it's fairly shoddy.

But, yeah, a manga section would make life easier.

Play are really too big for such a niche segment. They rely on getting proper press-packs or whatever from the distributers, which seem to be lacking.

Specialist comic stores understand their market better, and they know that volume counts, 2nd editions etc. are important to their customers.

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

Well getting manga online still worked out cheaper for me, so I had no need to go to Forbidden Planet. Plus, their range of titles is pretty good, but not great. Still leans on the hoards of Tokyopop manga I have no interest in.

Nods. The excessive dilution by niche Tokyopop titles I have a problem with too. Even then, the popular Tokyopop titles are always sold out of the volume you want.

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

However I was in there the other day for the first time in ages and I was impressed. Pretty much all their typical $10 manga is being sold at an offer of 3 for €25, which cuts it down to about €8.30 a book. That's very reasonable.

They also have a €4 section, getting rid of stock that must have been there for ages now. Not too shabby.

Must get up to dublin soon, or have a mate check it out, though I am pretty much on top of all the stuff I am collecting.

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

I hope this doesn't mean that they are abandoning the manga. If they keep the 3 for €25 deal completely then needless to say I'll be doing most of my purchases there from now on.

A lot of places are doing sales like that at the moment. It could just be a stocktaking exercise, something that is cross-promotional (like the distributer agreeing to a price promotion rather than accepting returns). I don't know if there is a downturn or anything - Tokyopop are cheap enough to be a primary source for manga, perhaps they are just trying to shift a large back catalog of obscure unselling stuff, to make room for whatever is really shifting.

Bear in mind that Viz are on a complete roll - as a manga publisher they are flying. Great titles, huge commercial value, and they are coming out every 2 months.

honru

sharingan wrote:

Bear in mind that Viz are on a complete roll - as a manga publisher they are flying. Great titles, huge commercial value, and they are coming out every 2 months.

It's funny how things change. When Tokyopop entered the scene and fired up the industry with their low price points, Viz looked like an old grey dinosaur. Now that they've since gotten their act together by adopting the Tokyopop model and adding a whole bunch of strong new licenses to their already great lineup, it's Tokyopop that could now do with a reevaluation.

Stuff like (live action) Lizzy McGuire and Star Wars Cine-Manga? wtf?

sharingan

Yeah, Viz really re-invented themselves well, basically they out-tokyopopped Tokyopop.

It doesn't seem to get much better for Tokyopop either. They don't seem to have any particular strong title coming out soon. Not in the way that the other heavy hitters, Viz & Del Rey have.

Its been a wierd year for them with the whole OEL manga not doing too good.

honru

Just found out about The Book Depository over on Bargain Alerts. Free postage and Viz/Dark Horse titles aplenty at low prices... think we may have a winner on our hands here.

sharingan

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

Just found out about The Book Depository over on Bargain Alerts. Free postage and Viz/Dark Horse titles aplenty at low prices... think we may have a winner on our hands here.

Thats just a re-skinned amazon.co.uk, just like shopireland.ie

Free postage only to supersaver/UK residents only. IIRC those prices don't include VAT.

Unless you can show the specific links where it says postage free to IRL residents.

honru

Nah man, check it out. Western Europe.

It does an Amazon UK price comparison within the product descriptions, so I'd assume they're not affiliated.

I ordered some books there the other day, I'll let 'yis know how I get on.

sharingan

How much were you charged for delivery?

Dreh

http://www.centralparkmedia.com/

Dont know if its cheap or not. Its a big american manga publishing company. They have loads of stuff.

They have Record of Lodoss War that is a good manga/anime.
The first series (there are maybe 4 or 5 diferent series based on Lodoss) has only 3 mangas wit a good drawing and story

honru

sharingan wrote:

How much were you charged for delivery?

It's free.

sharingan

Well look twice on your credit card. I have to admit that it looks very suspect when they state that they don't charge VAT within the EU - a policy that they state they may have to 'review' in the future.

Well hopefully everything is cool anyway. I like the fact that I can order individual volumes as I please, just like play, without having to pad out an order to offset delivery charges.

honru

Am I right in saying that it's against the law to charge more than the amount stated on your order without informing the buyer?

My two books shipped today. £5 each.

sharingan

You are right. There is abit of flexibility in the law though - considering that delivery costs may only be an estimate. But not much. (we originally estimated that there would be zero delivery charges, but now we are giving you full whack - that excuse should be taken up with your credit card company).

I t would be really nice to see if theres a free-post option for import manga too.

honru

Books arrived today. Packaged in bubble wrap and in perfect condition... unlike Play who saw fit to send me a manga with part of the back cover chipped off.

Big thumbs up from me.

sharingan

Don't blame Play.com (or virtually any other retailer) for damage in transit.
Play actually package quite well, and I have had damaged material from other retailers too.

Hand packed boxes (with bubblewrap inside) offers the best packaging options. I think that play.com's machine wrapped cardboard may be a bit less gentle on occasion, but jiffy bags with 2KG of manga in them are prone to rupture.

archonia are for instance the best packers. UP1 are good when they use boxes. Amazon's & Play's machine packing will properly protect against transit damage, though they are a bit vulnerable at package time in theory.

Anyway its great that there is a valid post-free option for import manga now. This is a great deal (time to go shopping again)

honru

Just wanted to say the chipped cover on the manga I recieved from Play was not damage from postage... it looked like a printing error.