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In last month’s “How Do You Purchase Manga Today?” post, I discussed a little bit about the methods I use to purchase manga post-Borders — in short, mostly Amazon. The price and quick shipping (specifically the Amazon Prime program) are what’s kept me coming back to Amazon. On a whim last month I decided to ... Read more

One of my many, many shelves.

I buy a lot of manga. Up to just a few years ago new manga meant a trip to a big box brick and mortar bookstore. With the closure of US-based bookstore chain Borders in 2011, all of that changed.

Prior to its closure, it wouldn’t have been too much of stretch to argue that I did all of my manga shopping at the now defunct US-based bookstore chain Borders (which also included mall bookstore Waldenbooks). Even in my smaller metro area we had four Borders total and about as many Waldenbooks — along with multiple Barnes & Noble (B&N), and multiple Books-A-Million (BAM) — all within a fifteen minute drive. Borders in particular always seemed to have a coupon or a promotion: I remember almost weekly 30% of coupons, and membership cards that rewarded you with copious points and discounts. While there were other brick and mortar bookstores — some still standing in my city today — nothing could beat Borders discounts and selection. Most of my local Borders had an entire wall if not more of manga available, far more than the shelves here and there at other stores. I can’t even say I turned to online retail when a book wasn’t in store; with a $20 yearly membership, ship-to-store was free and quick. With Borders, I never batted an eye at Amazon in most of years of manga shopping.

Fast forward a few years later and my buying habits have shifted completely, to even my surprise. While my intention was to stay mostly with brick and mortar — I tested memberships at both B&N and BAM post-Borders — two things happened at this time: I found the manga blogosphere, and perhaps more importantly, I tested Amazon’s Prime program, which guaranteed a two day shipping turn around. Before I know it, I had a (also now defunct, ironically) Google Reader filled with critics and reviewers who read and reviewed manga all the time, and I could easily flip right onto Amazon and have new manga in 48 hours. Nowadays I don’t even really browse: I know what I want based on blogs and/or any ongoing series that have new volumes. Now at the end of each month I fire up an “advanced” search in the Amazon book section:

Amazon advanced search.

Amazon advanced search isn’t perfect obviously… but it nails most of the manga.

On average, I purchase 6-10 manga a month from Amazon. This doesn’t include any visits to second-hand stores like Half-Price books, the occasional B&N/BAM pick-up, or the more rare eBay grab; all those were things I did prior to purchasing at Amazon. In any given month though, 85%-90% of my manga purchases are coming from Amazon, followed by Half-Price, with Ebay/B&N/BAM less so. Ultimately the pricing and the speed keeps me coming back to Amazon.

Still, I grew up purchasing manga in bookstores, and as a shifting consumer I wonder if I’m part of the reason bookstores are in tough times. Bookstores are still businesses and I’ve taken the majority of my business online. I still spend a ton of time in bookstores — more than the average person I’d bet (at least for the average person that doesn’t drink coffee or sit on his/her computer) — and still purchase (anime) magazines regularly and the occasional non-manga book. It’s still not nearly even enough to call it a sizable chunk of my manga shopping. I’m fine with buying one or two manga in-store, but I plan to go on a manga binge I find myself filling up a digital cart instead. Pre-ordering on a monthly basis online keeps me from making fewer impulse purchases while I’m out and about and, at least where I live, the savings on Amazon can’t be beat. Still, the less bought in bookstores the less stocked in bookstores; the lack of manga in-store post-Borders was my original gripe with brick and mortar. For me there’s an obvious disconnect there: I love bookstores, but do most manga shopping online. I haven’t seemed to rectify that yet, but wonder if the best option is to diversify — some online, some at brick and mortar. Still, even having the option to diverse either way obviously is a privilege: not everyone has brick and mortar stores within a reasonable distance or access to regular internet.

Then there’s also digital manga, which provides yet another way to purchase manga. While my efforts are mainly focused on print, Crunchyroll seems to have begun to hit a sweet spot with its monthly subscription model, and publishers like Viz and Dark Horse have digital options available for many popular series. I especially like the direction Crunchyroll and Viz have gone, but my loyalties lie strongly with print manga. I have bought digital manga from Viz and have a Crunchyroll subscription that includes the manga, but digital has the reverse effect on me: It simply makes me want to own the books in print!

I’m probably not the most “representative” manga consumer; my purchases are heavily based on blogosphere reviews, Twitter, and I’ve also been buying print manga for a stupidly long time. I just never seemed to “grow” out of it, and with no other major money sucking hobbies finances have always allowed for it.  I imagine other, maybe younger fans buy less or based on what their friends recommend etc and may be more representative of a US manga consumer. Overall, I’ve found a system that works for me post-Borders though, and for that I’m glad.

That being said, I’m always up for trying new methods! As an experiment, this month I’ve decided to place all my regular Amazon preorders with Rightstuf; check in with me later this month for a comparison. In the meantime, I’m interested in your system for manga, especially for those outside of the US. Assuming you purchase manga, how and where do you do it? What are your plans now considering what’s been going on with Amazon/Hachette? What influences your purchase choices? Are you a fan of digital? Let me know in the comments!