Tweeg's Guide to Anime Shopping

Tweeg's Guide to Anime Shopping
~~Tweeg's Guide to Anime Shopping~~ Foreward Inspiration for the creation and writing of this guide was drawn from a drooling fellow otaku, who like all of us at one time had a desire to amass their own private anime library. Part 1: Shopping for Used Anime Offline A. Where to buy? Obviously one is not going to stroll into Wal*Mart and find a Used DVD section, so just where in the offline world can used anime be found? - Pawn Shops Whilst not all pawn shops are created equal, roughly 90% of them do deal in used DVD's. Prices will and do vary greatly from shop to shop with the exception of the larger chain pawn shops, such as Cash America, which use a fixed pricing system. And despite what one might think, these places do on rare occassion have sales. - GameStop All GameStop's use to deal in used DVD's, but not anymore. A corporate decision a couple of months back has left the fate of whether a location deals in used DVD's up to the individual stores' manager. Oddly though, if you do find one still dealing in DVD's the "Buy 2, Get 2 Free" sale is still in effect. - Blockbuster Video Rentals do eventually wind up for sale after they've either been on the shelf for a certain period of time or have been rented a set number of times, which ever comes first. - Music Shops Amazingly enough, there's more to music stores than just music these days! Many of them now deal in used and somtimes even new & used DVD's. - Thrift Stores This is a long shot place to find anime. Obviously the only way a thrift store is going to have anime is if someone actually donated it to them. Regardless, I have found anime mostly in the form of VHS and <shudder> Beta at these places. Check the glass case(s) for anime DVD's, as this is where thrift stores usually put DVD's that are for sale. - Yard/Garage Sales The absolute longest shot places to find anime. Not impossible to be found but, certainly rare to find it at one of these. - Flea Martkets Buyer beware, flea market dealers don't have a bad reputation for no reason. If you find anime at a one of these places give it a thorough lookover to verify that it isn't a bootleg copy. B. Store Policies Most stores which deal in used DVD's not only will allow you to inspect the disc (more on this later) before finalizing the transaction, but they prefer that you do. The reason for this is that they'd prefer you to be aware of any cosmetic flaws that may exist before hand so that you're less likely to return the item later on. This is especially true of pawn shops as they typically have an "all sales final" policy on videos. Stores which do not permit you to inspect before you buy, such as video rental stores, tend to offer a seven or more day return/exchange policy on defective DVD's. That is, provided that you keep your receipt and any labels that they may have applied to the packaging. Lastly, flea markets, Yard/Garage Sales, and thrift stores are "all sales final". Be sure the condition of the item(s) is satisfactory before you hand over any money. C. Disc Inspection We all know that not everyone treats their discs respectfully, which is why it is very important to inspect used DVD's prior to purchase whenever possible. The following are brief descriptions of the seven types of damage to be attentive for in order to help you develope an aptitude to identify adverse damage. - Label side damage Any disc with label side damage should be avoided. - Deep scratch Any scratch that inhibits the naturally reflective property of the disc. - Scuff mark An area of the surface which has come into harsh physical contact with another solid, usually abbrasive, object resulting in an abrasion on the disc. A scuff mark is typically only semi-reflective at best due to the nature of the damage. - Circumferel and semi-circumferel scratch A scratch going all the way, or nearly all the ay, around the circumference of the disc's surface area. Such scratches are usually caused by a stationary debris object inside of a DVD player which the disc was played in. - Dr. Kevorkian A disc which someone used a "Disc Doctor" or other such device upon in an attempt to "repair" the disc. DISC DOCTOR KILLS DISCS!!! Discs bearing such scars are easily identified by the hurricane-like swirl pattern of scratches covering their entire read-side. - Distortion A problem which has thus far only been found in Bandai releases, this is actually a manufacturing defect on the disc itself. A disc with this problem when viewed from the read-side gives the appeaeance that the letter "D" was somehow impressed into the disc irself from the label side. Bandai does have an ongoing defective disc replacement program in place for such discs. - Cracked ring Common amongst the early ADV and Bandai releases. ADV originally used DVD cases with a flex based disc holding system. Problem was, that it wasn't flexible enough. so if you weren't careful when removing the disc it cracked. Bandai for most of their time in existence has used DVD cases that employee a very simple to use locking mechanism. In this "case" the damage occurrs because of unobservant people not noticing the lock and forcefully pulling the disc out, which results in a cracked ring. It should be noted that a cracked ring generally will not make the disc unplayable however, it does pretty much kill any resale value of the disc. Thus concludes Part 1 of this guide.

Part 2: Shopping for New Anime Offline A. Where to buy? Contrary to Part 1: A of this guide, one can stroll into a Wal*Mart and expect to find new anime amongst the DVD titles offered within its Electronics Department. - Best Buy Undoubtedly carries the largest anime selection of all the major retailers. They have been known to periodically advertise sale pricing on select anime title(s) in their weekly ad. On rare occassion you may even get lucky and find a title on clearance. - Wal*Mart The epitome of the great American shopping experience does carry a small selection of anime, most of which is found mixed in amongst the other animated videos. Expect the bulk of their selection to primarily consist of Viz, Funimation, and ADV titles at the "always low" Wal*Mart pricing. - Target Once upon a time, in the not so distant past, Target kept a small selection of anime on hand at all times. But, in the present era, the selection has become sporadic at best. - Music Stores: Chains (Sam Goody, F.Y.E., etc...) Selection tends to be larger than that of Wal*Mart, but not nearly as large as that of Best Buy's. Music store chains tend to take the MSRP very seriously, and as such will often have some of the older discontinued releases still in stock. They're also some of the only stores that regularly carry hentai titles. - Music Stores: Independants (privately owned) Very few of the independant music stores stock new DVD's, but those which due usually carry anime. Pricing is usually, but not always, cheaper than a chain store. And, like their chain counterparts, these stores also tend to stock a selection of hentai titles. - Big Lots One can not say that they regularly stock anime, as technically their inventory is fed almost entirely by closeouts. However, anime has, does, and will continue to occassionally show up on the shelves of their stores from time to time. Pricing is generally exceptional when you do find a title here too. - Dollar General Not a place which regularly deals in anime, but their seemingly random DVD selection has been known to include random anime titles from time to time. B. Shopping Offline from Home Right Stuf, one of the largest anime distributors, offers a catalog from which you may order from by mail or over the phone. You may call their toll free number to request a catalog at 1-800-338-6827, or download the digital ".PDF" format version of it from their website at: www.rightstuf.com C. Problems to be alert for. There isn't much you need to be on the lookout for when it comes to purchasing new titles. - Disc Rattle Any DVD case that has one or more loose DVD's moving freely about inside. If you encounter a DVD like this avoid buying it. DVD's I have personally found like this always have sustained severe scratches and/or scuffing from constantly coming into contact with the spindle, and sometimes fragments of the spindle, which they were supposed to be mounted on for protection. This problem can originate one of two ways: 1. Disc was never mounted in the case properly at the factory. 2. Enough pressure was applied to the case in just such a way that the spindle became compromised or broke. - Resealed Packaging This is a bit of a grey area. A package could have been resealed for any number of reasons, both good and bad. Some explanations could be that the original packaging had been compromised or that it was a return/exchange item. It's also not unheard of for the publisher to request vendors and retailers to open packages in order to remove expired con-*test*-('") and/or promotional offers. D. Store Policies Every company has variences within their individual policies but, there are a couple of policies which are generally consistant across the board. Only unopened DVD's may be returned for a refund, within a set number of days from the purchase date. And, opened DVD's can only be exchanged, if defective, for another copy of the same title. Do keep in mind that even these policies may vary from store to store. Thus concludes Part 2 of this guide.

Part 3: Shopping for Used Anime Online A. Where to buy? Finding used anime to buy offline is not always the simplest thing to do. Online, however, one may find the selection to be overwhelming. Anonymity is also a huge plus for the online shopper. Sure you have to give out a name and address of where to ship to, but they won't know what you look like. These are but a few of the online sites where used anime can be found: - www.amazon.com Large selection of both new and used titles. Unfortunately though, it's not possible to view the privately listed, generally used, titles seperately from Amazon's own new stock. Amazon also enforces fixed shipping rates, which means the seller can not get away with charging you some astronomical handling fee. - www.secondspin.com Purveyor of used goods which specializes in DVD's, amonst other media types. Selection is usually quite good. Only downside is that you'll need to know the title of what you're looking for and search for it, as they have yet to give anime its own category within their system. - www.ebay.com Those who have trouble controlling their spending habits beware. The old saying "something for everyone" is a drastic understatment. It goes without saying that the absolute consistantly largest selection of available used anime in the world can be found here at all times. Ebay has both fixed price "Buy It Now" (aka BIN) and one to ten day auction listings. - www.half.com A formerly independant website which is now owned by Ebay (Yes, your Ebay login works here). Half employees a unique system which lowers the asking price of an item over a set amount of time until the item is sold or reaches the bare minimum price the seller is willing to accept. Also has enforced fix shipping rates. - www.shopgoodwill.com If you ever wondered what Ebay looked like at the turn of the century, this is pretty much it, save for the color scheme. Many Goodwill stores are now actively listing their nicer received donations on this Ebay-esque auction site. Usually a handful of anime titles can be found listed here at any given time. - www.craigslist.org Yet another formerly independant site which Ebay now owns. This is a free to use regional classified ads website. Of course, the downside to local classifieds is that you will have to actually meet up with the person selling the item(s) you wish to buy. B. Used Online Goods Policy When buying used Anime, or anything for that matter, online one should regard transactions as having an "all sales final" policy. Here too though, it is important to read the policies beforehand as some few sites do have return policies, such as secondspin. It is very important to ask any question(s) you may have regarding an item before making any move that could place you in a position of being liable to purchase the item which you have interest in. Very few sites have any means by which for you to obtain a refund of any amount once a transaction has already been completed for used goods. Some sites, such as Ebay and Amazon, do have systems in place for a buyer to file a claim against the seller of an item should something happen to go wrong. But, by no means should these systems ever be considered a failsafe for your purchases. In the event that you actually should have need to use one of these claim systems it could still take several months for you to receive a refund, if ever at all. C. Danger Signs for Buyers If it seems to good to be true, and there is no picture to substantiate what's being advertised, then you may want to consider avoiding that item(s). As inexpensive as a digital camera can be had for these days there is no reasonable excuse for a picture not being available, save for online classifieds. Online classifieds mostly require that the person posting the listing have their own image host, if they allow for images to be posted at all. Watch out for bootleg boxsets. China amd Taiwan have no enforced copyright protection laws in place, which has led to many professional looking, factory mass produced, bootleg DVD season and series boxsets being exported to all over the world. Such boxsets are generally easy to pick out, as they'll lack having a known production company logo, never reference a UPC code, and tend to have slightly sub-par box art. Another factor that stands out is that they always use dual-layer DVD's so as to pack as many minutes worth of video onto a single disc as possible, thus resulting in fewer discs than one would normally expect. Very few officially released DVD's ever use dual-layer discs due to data integrity risks and overall quality concerns on the part of the production companies. Often these "boxsets" will be of a series which has not yet even had a boxset release announced yet. Pricing is nearly alwayy some unbelieve low price. And lastly, nearly all bootlegs are encoded region free. In direct regards to Amazon, Ebay, and Half. Beware of sellers with lots of negative feedback. Always a good idea to check and read the feedback of the seller of an item that you're interested in buying. And remember, not all negative feedback should neccessarily be considered detrimental to a seller's reputation. Sometime's negative feedback has been left for reasons outside of the seller's control, such as; lost package, slow shipping, delayed shipping, and damage received in shipping. Always a good idea to read the actual message left with the feedback rating to find out the reasoning behind why such feedback was left. As a general of thumb, any seller with a positive feedback rating of ninety or less should be avoided. It should also be noted that while they are otherwise great places to shop, Amazon, Ebay, and Half are the three largest sources for bootleg DVD's on the internet. So do be careful when making purchases and be sure that you know what you're really buying. Thus concludes Part 3 of this guide.

Part 4: Shopping for New Anime Online A. Where to Buy? The internet, an inevitable eden for the anime shopper. These are the recommendations of the web ship Master Card. It's continuing voyage to seek out new anime, create debt, and boldly shop where no human has shopped before. Like the stars in the heavens above, this list contains but a miniscule few of the incalculable number of sites which sell anime online. - www.animecornerstore.com Robert's Anime Corner Store is quite possibly the oldest of all online anime retailers around today. Large selection of titles and related merchandise available. - www.amazon.com Amazon is to the internet retail world what Wal*Mart is to the physical retail world, big. The selection of inventory is bolstered even more so by the offering of additional inventory from authorized sellers driectly through the main site. - www.warehousedeals.com Amazon.com Subsidiary site dealing in all of the open-box, refurbished, and slightly damaged merchandise that the main site generates. - www.buy.com Deal or no Deal, that is the question. Buy.com boasts a large selection of mostly current titles all at below the current MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price). Actual shipping fees are quoted up front on the individual item description pages as an added shopping convenience. Beware that item prices on this site are known to fluxuate. - www.bestbuy.com If you thought the store locations had a great selection then just wait until you see the even larger selection that the website offers. - www.inetvideo.com A sort of clearance store of the internet. Offers a small, but diverse, selection of mostly discontinued titles at deeply discounted prices. Anime is located in the DVD subcategory of "Japanamation". - www.overstock.com It's all about the "O", or maybe not. Massive title selection available. As a convience to its customers, the site offers an "Online Best Price Match" feature which, if you're willing to fill out an online form and then patient enough to wait up to four business days for confirmation, will allow you to purchase an item from them at the same price that a competeing website is selling it for. - www.rightstuf.com RightStuf International is both a retailer and publisher of anime and manga. The site offers an even larger selection of titles and merchandise than their catalog does, and has occassional sales that are well worth checking out. Those interested can also download a digital ".PDF" file format version of their current catalog from the site. - www.walmart.com The worlds biggest retailer has a much better selection of anime available through the website than in store. Surprisingly though, the site's DVD section is horribly disorganized, anime does not have its own category. Most efficient way to find titles is to search for them by name. B. Problems to be alert for. Because anything that can go wrong has the potential of doing so, thus sayeth Murphy. - Bootlegs The good news here is that out of the sites listed above, With the exception of Amazon.com, you will not need to worry about bootlegs. And in regards to Amazon, it's the registered seller's selling through the site from which bootlegs sometimes may originate and not Amazon itself. DVD's Purchased directly from Amazon you needn't be concerned about. - Disc Rattle Any DVD case that has one or more loose DVD's moving freely about inside. DVD's I have personally found like this always have sustained severe scratches and/or scuffing from constantly coming into contact with the spindle, and sometimes fragments of the spindle, which they were supposed to be mounted on for protection. This problem can originate one of two ways: 1. Disc was never mounted in the case properly at the factory. 2. Enough pressure was applied to the case in just such a way that the spindle became compromised or broke, not uncommon to encounter this problem with DVD's shipped in bubble envelopes. - Lost or Damaged Packages Should the unthinkable happen and you receive merchandise that was evidently damaged during shipping, or worse never receive your package at all, worry not. All of the major sites, such as those listed in this section, ship by way of UPS or FedEx. That means all packages they send not only have a tracking number but are also insured for up to one-hundred dollars. C. Payment Methods Online retailers will more than happily accept practically any issue of plastic you may be carrying in your wallet or billfold. Be it Visa, Master Card, Discover, American Express, or whatever, you can be sure they'll eagerly accept it. Pay Pal, while not accepted everywhere directly, does offer a free "Master Card" debit card which can also be used as a credit card. What's nice about this is that you are not allowed to spend more money than what you have in your Pay Pal account. Payment by means of Check and E-Chacking are not adviseable. Using either of these methods gives out your bank account information over the internet which is never a good idea. No matter how good the security software a company is using to protect customers personnel information, there will always be some vulnerability of it being accessed by the wrong person(s). Always remember that credit and debit cards are great tools that allow for simple instant payments to be made. But any tool can be used in a negative way. Never spend more than what your budget allows for. It's not always easy to do this, but learning to say no to yourself when you really can't afford to buy something will help to curb bad spending habits and keep you out of debt. Thus concludes Part 4 of this guide.

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