Because I have nothing to do and felt like doing so, I've decided to list, explain and
Be warn, lots of harmeless bitching of shopping experience! [I'm only stating stuff and conditions applicable to me or an Anime & Manga Fan]
1. Amazon.com
- Categories are Anime/Manga, Online Shopping
- Payment Modes accepted are American Express, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa, Amazon.com gift certificates, etc.
- Unfortunately, amazon doesn't accept Paypal and International Wire Transfers.
My shopping experience;
I was rather skeptical of purchasing from amazon at first because I heard around that the prices were on the 'premium' side but then I just had to start somewhere, so I ordered two manga, Sister Red #1 [By the way it was out-of-stock in Takashimaya's Kinokuniya when I purchased #2.] and Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ #3 and Kannazuki no Miko DVD Box Set for the time being. After calculating the costs, shipping costs via vPOST and comparing to my local Kinokuniya's pricing, I realized it was darn expensive LOL.
The total order rang in at US$72.73, free shipping charges cos shipping address's at vPOST USA address, so the goods were about S$108 [Taking US$1 = S$1.48]. vPOST charged me S$26.98 for the shipping fees, so it's like S$108+S$27 = $135. That means the Kannazuki no Miko DVD Box Set was S$90 and Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ #3, Sister Red #1 were S$22.50 each!!! Anyways, I forgotten EVERYTHING about the price when I got the parcel in 3 weeks ... so it doesn't matter now, I'm happy with my KnM DVDs XD.
Recently, if you've been following my ramblings, I've purchased Bakuretsu Tenshi [Burst Angel] DVD Box Set, Loveless DVD Box Set and Medal of Honor Airborne PC Game. I was like totally excited when I saw that Bakuretsu Tenshi DVD Box Set was at half price and so I grabbed the chance and clicked the buy button. The total was US$115.97 which means it's about S$172 [Taking US$1 = S$1.48]. My shipping cost was about $$36.14 but I was given an 8% discount so it's around S$33. S$172+S$33=S$205, so the average costs between the three items were S$69. Which I thought to be quite a catch, not bad la, considering ODEX's price and quality for Bakuretsu Tenshi Volume Sets.
2. Play-asia.com
- Categories are Anime/Manga/Games/Figurines/Jpop Music, Online Shopping
- Payment Modes accepted are Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Western Union, Moneybookers, Bank Transfers.
- Unfortunately, Play-asia doesn't accept check payments, money orders, cash or cash on delivery.
My shopping experience;
Play-asia.com is my first shopping experience online, likewise, I heard around that Play-asia.com's pricings were on the 'premium' side and even though they had stated that delivery to Singapore was free, I believe the shipping costs were included in the item itself. Hey, nothing is free in this world you know lol. At that time, I didn't have a credit card yet, so I used Moneybookers, first I had to transfer funds via eNETs with a small fee to the account before I can start using it. It was pretty fast, the transaction was done in 15 minutes. The goodies I got were Strawberry Panic! OP1/OP2/ED1/ED2/OST singles and 3 Drama CDs, Kannazuki no Miko OP1/ED1/Drama CD singles and Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru OP1+DVD single.
All I can say that the total was around S$380 for the loot mentioned above with the shipping charges included, so it's like around S$380/12=S$32. Considering some of the stuff I ordered where really backdated, it's a wonder that I could still get my paws on them lol even though I had to wait for some time [3 weeks] for some of the items to arrive it was okay cos I wasn't charged for shipping [Which ironically was included in the first place lol]. However, after I got my credit card, I pretty much 'closed' the Moneybookers account lol and ordered Meilin's 'Candy☆Boy' + DVD single with the credit card XD.
3. Comics Connection
- Categories are Anime/Manga/Games/Figurines/Magazines/Trading Cards/VCDs/DVDs etc, Brick and Mortar
- Payment Modes accepted are NETS, Cash, Credit Cards [Probably for Payments above S$30? Not sure but there's a cap.] at distributing outlets.
My shopping experience;
Before Comics Connection, I used to buy my manga at Popular Bookstore, but then Popular used to be REALLY REALLY slow in their arrival of the latest manga issues that I had to turn to Comics Connection. I think Popular ain't so bad in their releases now, but it's too late, they lost me lol. Basically I'm a regular customer at Comics Connection, usually Northpoint, purchasing the latest English manga by ChuangYi Publishing every twice a month or more. It'll depend how many volumes I'm getting for the week, if it's only 1 for that particular week, I'll wait till the next week and get the 'old' and 'new' at the same time.
Anyways, I heard or dreamt? that ChuangYi Publishing's opening a retail outlet of their own, so ... I guess probably I'll jump to them in the future? Lol.
4. The Celestial Zone Studio
- Categories are TCZ Volumes/Merchandises, Online Shopping, Brick and Mortar
- Payment Modes accepted are Credit Cards for Online Shopping and Cheque on Subscription Basis. Cash and NETS for distributing outlets.
My shopping experience;
I started collecting TCZ when I was around 14 and was pretty active in the forums back then lol, but now I'm quite busy with my life. I used to pop over Popular Bookstore to get my fix, now I'm only contented to receive latest issues monthly via post. However, I'm religiously collecting the TCZ merchandises during the Singapore Book Fair every year. I was so crazy once that I almost wanted to purchase the Chi Xue's Blood Red Sword sword for S$200 LOL and there's only 3 in this world.
I'm still supporting TCZ because it's a Singapore-based Manga series and will continue to do so =).
5. Kinokuniya Singapore
- Categories are Anime/Manga/Magazines/VCDs/DVDs etc, Online Shopping, Brick and Mortar
- Payment Modes accepted are Cash on Delivery, Cheque for Online Shopping. Credit Cards, Kinokuniya Vouchers, Cash, NETS for distributing outlets.
My shopping experience;
Well I haven't tried the online shopping yet, maybe when I want more than S$50 worth of manga just to get that S$5 delivery charge waived lol. I think the payment modes are pretty good, good old cash and cheque =). Even though many people think/said that Kinokuniya's pricing were expensive, you'll have to see what you're purchasing I reckon.
Unless you're purchasing alot alot of books online, just to save that little on the shipping charges, I recommend you just get it from Kinokuniya to save the troubles and time wasted. Ultimately the decision lies in you.
6. ADV Films
- Categories are Anime/Manga/Merchandises/DVDs/Legal Video Downloads, Online Shopping, Brick and Mortar
- Payment Modes accepted are MasterCard, Visa for Online Shopping. ?? for distributing outlets. [Never been to their store/HQ]
My shopping experience;
I'm always on the look out for their sales and got my chance on September 2007, I purchased 'Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu - Complete Collection', 'Azumanga Daioh - Class Album', 'Chrono Crusade - Complete Collection' and 'Full Metal Panic! - Complete Collection'. The total cost for the four box sets was S$283 + shipping charges of $33 [13% discount] = S$316. So it's like barely S$80 on average for each box set.
Taking into consideration that 'Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu' is a 13 episodes box set, let's take it as S$50, so S$30 will be averaged out to the other three 20+ episodes box sets to make it S$90 each. Besides, I got a free OVA which is usually worth like S$19.90 so ... it's like S$85 each, which I personally think is quite reasonable.
On the down side, not that I mind, I found out that ADV Films had poked a hole through the barcode [Probably for some sales/security reasons or something] in the Box Sets. If you're a person who can't take this kind of 'suffering', I suggest you don't buy stuff during sales period lol.
As for the rest - Online Shopping;
7. CDJapan
8. Anime Nation
9. Deep Discount
10. Yes Asia
11. Anime Castle
12. Right Stuf
15. vPOST
As I mentioned, these are the sites whereby I've not purchased anything from, so I can't really comment anything but I believe from the comments of other anime fans, that these are quite reliable sites to do your online shopping. As of the moment, I think I'll try shopping via CDJapan soon heh.
As for the rest - Online Shopping, Outlets in Singapore;
14. Andomacha by M.A.G.E
15. Kareshi Kanojyo no Mise
16. ChuangYi Publishing
I've not bought any anime/manga merchandises yet from these outlets but I guess I'm interested.
Ok, I think that rounds up the this long post, I'm tired lol. Any comments, suggestions and tips on where/how to shop online, purchase any related to anime/manga and where you get your anime/manga fix, please post it in the blogger comment instead of the tagboard. Thanks!!!
[Signing off @ 5:51 PM]
- Categories are Anime/Manga, Online Shopping
- Payment Modes accepted are American Express, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa, Amazon.com gift certificates, etc.
- Unfortunately, amazon doesn't accept Paypal and International Wire Transfers.
My shopping experience;
I was rather skeptical of purchasing from amazon at first because I heard around that the prices were on the 'premium' side but then I just had to start somewhere, so I ordered two manga, Sister Red #1 [By the way it was out-of-stock in Takashimaya's Kinokuniya when I purchased #2.] and Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ #3 and Kannazuki no Miko DVD Box Set for the time being. After calculating the costs, shipping costs via vPOST and comparing to my local Kinokuniya's pricing, I realized it was darn expensive LOL.
The total order rang in at US$72.73, free shipping charges cos shipping address's at vPOST USA address, so the goods were about S$108 [Taking US$1 = S$1.48]. vPOST charged me S$26.98 for the shipping fees, so it's like S$108+S$27 = $135. That means the Kannazuki no Miko DVD Box Set was S$90 and Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ #3, Sister Red #1 were S$22.50 each!!! Anyways, I forgotten EVERYTHING about the price when I got the parcel in 3 weeks ... so it doesn't matter now, I'm happy with my KnM DVDs XD.
Recently, if you've been following my ramblings, I've purchased Bakuretsu Tenshi [Burst Angel] DVD Box Set, Loveless DVD Box Set and Medal of Honor Airborne PC Game. I was like totally excited when I saw that Bakuretsu Tenshi DVD Box Set was at half price and so I grabbed the chance and clicked the buy button. The total was US$115.97 which means it's about S$172 [Taking US$1 = S$1.48]. My shipping cost was about $$36.14 but I was given an 8% discount so it's around S$33. S$172+S$33=S$205, so the average costs between the three items were S$69. Which I thought to be quite a catch, not bad la, considering ODEX's price and quality for Bakuretsu Tenshi Volume Sets.
2. Play-asia.com
- Categories are Anime/Manga/Games/Figurines/Jpop Music, Online Shopping
- Payment Modes accepted are Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Western Union, Moneybookers, Bank Transfers.
- Unfortunately, Play-asia doesn't accept check payments, money orders, cash or cash on delivery.
My shopping experience;
Play-asia.com is my first shopping experience online, likewise, I heard around that Play-asia.com's pricings were on the 'premium' side and even though they had stated that delivery to Singapore was free, I believe the shipping costs were included in the item itself. Hey, nothing is free in this world you know lol. At that time, I didn't have a credit card yet, so I used Moneybookers, first I had to transfer funds via eNETs with a small fee to the account before I can start using it. It was pretty fast, the transaction was done in 15 minutes. The goodies I got were Strawberry Panic! OP1/OP2/ED1/ED2/OST singles and 3 Drama CDs, Kannazuki no Miko OP1/ED1/Drama CD singles and Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru OP1+DVD single.
All I can say that the total was around S$380 for the loot mentioned above with the shipping charges included, so it's like around S$380/12=S$32. Considering some of the stuff I ordered where really backdated, it's a wonder that I could still get my paws on them lol even though I had to wait for some time [3 weeks] for some of the items to arrive it was okay cos I wasn't charged for shipping [Which ironically was included in the first place lol]. However, after I got my credit card, I pretty much 'closed' the Moneybookers account lol and ordered Meilin's 'Candy☆Boy' + DVD single with the credit card XD.
3. Comics Connection
- Categories are Anime/Manga/Games/Figurines/Magazines/Trading Cards/VCDs/DVDs etc, Brick and Mortar
- Payment Modes accepted are NETS, Cash, Credit Cards [Probably for Payments above S$30? Not sure but there's a cap.] at distributing outlets.
My shopping experience;
Before Comics Connection, I used to buy my manga at Popular Bookstore, but then Popular used to be REALLY REALLY slow in their arrival of the latest manga issues that I had to turn to Comics Connection. I think Popular ain't so bad in their releases now, but it's too late, they lost me lol. Basically I'm a regular customer at Comics Connection, usually Northpoint, purchasing the latest English manga by ChuangYi Publishing every twice a month or more. It'll depend how many volumes I'm getting for the week, if it's only 1 for that particular week, I'll wait till the next week and get the 'old' and 'new' at the same time.
Anyways, I heard or dreamt? that ChuangYi Publishing's opening a retail outlet of their own, so ... I guess probably I'll jump to them in the future? Lol.
4. The Celestial Zone Studio
- Categories are TCZ Volumes/Merchandises, Online Shopping, Brick and Mortar
- Payment Modes accepted are Credit Cards for Online Shopping and Cheque on Subscription Basis. Cash and NETS for distributing outlets.
My shopping experience;
I started collecting TCZ when I was around 14 and was pretty active in the forums back then lol, but now I'm quite busy with my life. I used to pop over Popular Bookstore to get my fix, now I'm only contented to receive latest issues monthly via post. However, I'm religiously collecting the TCZ merchandises during the Singapore Book Fair every year. I was so crazy once that I almost wanted to purchase the Chi Xue's Blood Red Sword sword for S$200 LOL and there's only 3 in this world.
I'm still supporting TCZ because it's a Singapore-based Manga series and will continue to do so =).
5. Kinokuniya Singapore
- Categories are Anime/Manga/Magazines/VCDs/DVDs etc, Online Shopping, Brick and Mortar
- Payment Modes accepted are Cash on Delivery, Cheque for Online Shopping. Credit Cards, Kinokuniya Vouchers, Cash, NETS for distributing outlets.
My shopping experience;
Well I haven't tried the online shopping yet, maybe when I want more than S$50 worth of manga just to get that S$5 delivery charge waived lol. I think the payment modes are pretty good, good old cash and cheque =). Even though many people think/said that Kinokuniya's pricing were expensive, you'll have to see what you're purchasing I reckon.
Unless you're purchasing alot alot of books online, just to save that little on the shipping charges, I recommend you just get it from Kinokuniya to save the troubles and time wasted. Ultimately the decision lies in you.
6. ADV Films
- Categories are Anime/Manga/Merchandises/DVDs/Legal Video Downloads, Online Shopping, Brick and Mortar
- Payment Modes accepted are MasterCard, Visa for Online Shopping. ?? for distributing outlets. [Never been to their store/HQ]
My shopping experience;
I'm always on the look out for their sales and got my chance on September 2007, I purchased 'Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu - Complete Collection', 'Azumanga Daioh - Class Album', 'Chrono Crusade - Complete Collection' and 'Full Metal Panic! - Complete Collection'. The total cost for the four box sets was S$283 + shipping charges of $33 [13% discount] = S$316. So it's like barely S$80 on average for each box set.
Taking into consideration that 'Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu' is a 13 episodes box set, let's take it as S$50, so S$30 will be averaged out to the other three 20+ episodes box sets to make it S$90 each. Besides, I got a free OVA which is usually worth like S$19.90 so ... it's like S$85 each, which I personally think is quite reasonable.
On the down side, not that I mind, I found out that ADV Films had poked a hole through the barcode [Probably for some sales/security reasons or something] in the Box Sets. If you're a person who can't take this kind of 'suffering', I suggest you don't buy stuff during sales period lol.
As for the rest - Online Shopping;
7. CDJapan
8. Anime Nation
9. Deep Discount
10. Yes Asia
11. Anime Castle
12. Right Stuf
15. vPOST
As I mentioned, these are the sites whereby I've not purchased anything from, so I can't really comment anything but I believe from the comments of other anime fans, that these are quite reliable sites to do your online shopping. As of the moment, I think I'll try shopping via CDJapan soon heh.
As for the rest - Online Shopping, Outlets in Singapore;
14. Andomacha by M.A.G.E
15. Kareshi Kanojyo no Mise
16. ChuangYi Publishing
I've not bought any anime/manga merchandises yet from these outlets but I guess I'm interested.
Ok, I think that rounds up the this long post, I'm tired lol. Any comments, suggestions and tips on where/how to shop online, purchase any related to anime/manga and where you get your anime/manga fix, please post it in the blogger comment instead of the tagboard. Thanks!!!
[Signing off @ 5:51 PM]
Interesting post. Here are some of my experiences.
ReplyDeleteYes Asia - They have good prices, but are slow. Just make sure whatever you order is currently in stock. With their free shipping option, I get items in 3 weeks to a month later (I live in the US).
CDJapan - I usually order my CDs from here. Fast shipping and excellent customer service.
Anime Castle - Although they sell some legit merchandise, I avoid them due to selling bootleg CDs and wallscrolls.
Right Stuf and Anime Nation - I've ordered from both stores before, but only do so when there is a special sale or I cannot find the item I want anywhere else. Their regular prices on DVDs are horrendous. Even series that they license and release themselves (Risky Safety, The Third, etc) can usually be found cheaper elsewhere.
Anime Corner Store - Not mentioned in your list, but this is one of my favorite places to order from. By far the best customer service I've experienced. animecornerstore.com
Just Manga - I haven't ordered from here in awhile, but I do like this store. They have an excellent selection, and a frequent buyers club where you can get manga for $5.55 a volume. justmanga.com
Anime One Stop / Digital Eyes / DVD Planet - Excellent DVD store with probably the best prices around. Lately I've been ordering all my DVDs from here. You can usually find coupons ($5 off $75, etc) and they have a frequent buyers club. animeonestop.com
interesting...i'm going to s'pore to check out the outlets...i haven't check kinokuniya in kl yet cause most of the time i'm in us..keep up the good word akayuki >< oh yeah i was wondering about quality too.it is way different if you buy merchandise from us n s'pore?
ReplyDeleteYes Asia is good.
ReplyDeleteI also like BeNippon because you can request items that they don't have and they'll get it inside of a week.
At least that's what they did when I asked them to find the Moyashimon books for me.
You're lucky. I'm a member of the AnimeNation forums, and happen to be a staff member to boot. AnimeNation has a lot of good stuff, but yes; does leave a lot to be desired. You can get a lot of imports there, and they generally have a lot of sales on Geneon or ADV titles.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I rarely buy anime online, unless its from Deep Discount. I like the option of comparing titles in one feel swoop.
to anonymous, thanks for sharing. Hmm, maybe I should try CDJapan soon, I've been eyeing at some Drama CDs for quite some time XD. I'll be sure to try the other sites you mentioned, especially Anime Corner Store.
ReplyDeleteto ayumi, thanks. Merchandise quality? What do you mean by that?
to redmaigo, hm I checked out BeNippon's site, they had doujinshis for sale ... but it's all BL lol. And I don't think I can ship them to Singapore too, bleh. I'll be sure to bookmark that site though =).
videlcoolgirl, um thanks, yeah I'll be sure to take a look after the Christmas/New Year holidays. It's not often that I buy anime online too till recently or unless I really really like it or it's on sale and it's too tempting to be let off lol.
My loves are still in manga and ChuangYi Singapore offers the best price and quality for them =). Well except for those shoujo-ai titles, I'll be importing.
Oh, don't go to AnimeNation for shoujo-ai really unless its DVDs. Their selection as far as manga goes (outside of the licensed ones) are pretty bland. I <3 the foreign retailers because it's pretty much a win/win with them.
ReplyDeleteEvery other time, its just Ebay.
(And geez, no matter how many times I read that last comment I made, it sounds like a commercial. Sorry. heh.)
That's neat, thanks for the informations.
ReplyDeleteI usually shopping at Amazon because they have a wide range of Anime/Manga/Movies. shame for them that they don't ship anything except CDs, DVDs and Books anywhere else beside US and Canada, though.
Yesasia is an amazing online store, it ships really quick, I ordered Amazon before Yesasia 1 or 2 days and I found out that the Yesasia packages came here quicker than the Amazon one. But Yesasia doesn't sell manga or anime in English...
By the way, I live in Aus.
you've got a great anime collection
ReplyDelete