×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Viz prices on the rise!?


Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next

Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Manga
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
perroloco



Joined: 10 Dec 2008
Posts: 307
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2009 10:25 am Reply with quote
Shocked I hope this isn´t true, but it looks like it is...
At simonsays the SJ titles that are scheduled to be released on october 2009 the price says $9.99...
Though in o ther sites the price is still at $7.95...
So what´s your thoughts on this?

For me, a $2 increase is too much, I don´t know if I will keep following REBORN! which I just bought every now and then, but with the story as it is right now in Japan, I wont even bother now...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2009 12:07 pm Reply with quote
I wouldn't be surprised if it's true. Tokyopop and Del Rey just raised their prices too, it would make sense that Viz would follow suit. It sucks, though it's not as bad as it could have been since the prices had been continuously dropping for the last couple of years so now they are just going back to what they used to be, more or less.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Faceman



Joined: 11 Jul 2005
Posts: 300
Location: Boston
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2009 1:22 pm Reply with quote
I'd rather pay the extra $2 per volume if they can continue the series and keep the quality of the releases up (don't go the thin-paper route like Tokyopop). I understand with the recession and the way the economy is having to up the price. It really doesn't make much difference to me at this point - $2 per volume increase isn't that much. Even if it's 10 volumes I'm buying, that's still only $20 overall - I've blown $20 on a lot of things without second thought. I'd rather blow it on something I want. Nevermind that you will still be able to find it under retail at TRSI or other online stores. I also have a B&N card for 10% discounts - there's a lot of ways to find for it to not affect you that much.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address My Anime My Manga
Imperialkat



Joined: 30 Nov 2006
Posts: 227
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2009 1:46 pm Reply with quote
A quick surf through Anime Castle's catalog revealed that the prices for SJ, SJ Advanced, and a few SB titles released after a certain date will indeed be increased. They will be $9.99

If you really like the title in question then you'll pony up the extra $2. Consider this: If Reborn is the only title you're worried about then you'll only have to put up an extra $2 every few months, and if you buy outside of SJ then you know that most titles still go for $10 (if not more) so it's not a bad price point. Although I could see the concern if you purchased a large number of these titles.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
braves



Joined: 29 Dec 2007
Posts: 2309
Location: Puerto Rico (but living in Texas)
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2009 2:20 pm Reply with quote
Damn, this sucks. Most of the series I collect are under the SJ and SJA label. I won't stop buying them, but I'll probably be buying them at a slower pace now.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
kyokun703



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 2505
Location: Orgrimmar
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2009 2:20 pm Reply with quote
Imperialkat wrote:
Although I could see the concern if you purchased a large number of these titles.

Er... yes... what a bad time to start reading One Piece. I'm going to have to really cut back on my manga spending between Del Rey's, Viz's, and TP's price hikes.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
fighterholic



Joined: 28 Sep 2005
Posts: 9193
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2009 2:31 pm Reply with quote
Two whole dollars, that's like complaining about the price of gas going up. As long as the situation with our economy is going in the direction that it is, then we're likely to be stuck with ten dollar manga books for a while. Going to have to bear it out for a bit, until we see something different and sales improving everywhere.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
perroloco



Joined: 10 Dec 2008
Posts: 307
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2009 4:18 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
marie-antoinette wrote:
I wouldn't be surprised if it's true. Tokyopop and Del Rey just raised their prices too, it would make sense that Viz would follow suit. It sucks, though it's not as bad as it could have been since the prices had been continuously dropping for the last couple of years so now they are just going back to what they used to be, more or less.


WHAT?!
Tokyopop I could understand maybe, in some of their releases like GTO: The early years or Manga Sutra (double volume releases) but Del Rey too??
I mean, Del Rey manga costs like... $12 IIRC, and thats for a 160 pages manga like School Rumble, and they didn't even include the color pages!!
Can you tell me how much their titles cost now?


At faceman:

Yeah, I agree with you, but $2 extra bucks per manga is a little too much in my mind..

Maybe its because you think "$2 is nothing" but Its a 25% increase!! I mean, I would understand a dollar... But well, I guess they know what they are doing...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Mushi-Man



Joined: 17 Nov 2008
Posts: 1537
Location: KCMO
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2009 4:39 pm Reply with quote
$9.99 isn't that bad of a price. Viz has been running most of their series quite cheap for some time now. But times are tough for everyone right now. They had to make the cut some where, and (as others have already said) it's better that they just rise the price buy a couple dollars rather than lowering the quality. If you look at most other publishers they've been running at about this price for some time now. Just look at the prices on Dark Horse products, or Vertical. You might at first think that this price is to steep, but once you get you budget leveled out it, it will be ok. And if you still don't want to fork out the extra cash you might still be in luck. I'd say it's safe to say that Viz is going to see a drop in sales because of this, so as soon as they can I'm sure they'll try to lower to the usual price to get back those customers. But until then, I'd just put up with it, it's not like it's too expensive. Plus if you really like the series, then it would be smart to try and support it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
bahamut623



Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 1463
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2009 6:06 pm Reply with quote
Amazon shows the same thing. I checked Bleach, Reborn, and Hoshin Engi, and all three will be 9.99 by the end of this year. I also checked the FMA volume that comes out in December, and it's also at 9.99, although that was always it's price.
My conclusion would be that only the Shonen Jump line will be getting it's prices raised. Their standard price for everything else was 9.99, and instead of bringing the price of everything up, it looks like they're just raising the price of the Jump line, since those are probably their best sellers and also the least likely to be hurt sales-wise by a price increase.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
BellosTheMighty



Joined: 27 Nov 2007
Posts: 767
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2009 10:55 pm Reply with quote
Economy starting to hit you bad, hmmm? Well, I'VE been out of serious work for nearly a year, had to quit Claymore, Genshiken, PhD, Behind Moon, and pretty much everything else that wasn't Shonen Jump USA, and I can't really afford that last one either.

Feel my pain, dirtbags.

(Sorry, rough day at my $500 a MONTH job and feeling rather unsympathetic to the woes of having to cut back one's manga consumption rather than, you know, cut it out entirely...)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tamaria



Joined: 21 Oct 2007
Posts: 1512
Location: De Achterhoek
PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2009 2:01 am Reply with quote
Shoujo Beat titles are still $8,99 or have they gone up to $9,99 as well?

A price increase is understandable, but going from $7,99 to $9,99 is a bit too much. I thought the low prices were part of why SJ titles sold so well. For that reason a 25% price increase seems weird.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Manga
Moomintroll



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1600
Location: Nottingham (UK)
PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2009 4:12 am Reply with quote
Tamaria wrote:
A price increase is understandable, but going from $7,99 to $9,99 is a bit too much. I thought the low prices were part of why SJ titles sold so well. For that reason a 25% price increase seems weird.


It makes more sense if you think of it in terms of undercutting rather than in percentage terms: they were a few dollars cheaper than their major competitors at $7.99 before and, with price rises at Tokyopop and Del Ray, they'll still be a few dollars cheaper than their major competitors at $9.99 now.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Tamaria



Joined: 21 Oct 2007
Posts: 1512
Location: De Achterhoek
PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2009 4:46 am Reply with quote
While that is true, the competition doesn't sell the same series as Viz. Most of the Shounen Jump series are very long and require long term commitment from the readers. And many of those readers appear to be in their teens, they don't have a lot of money to spend. A price increase this big might scare off readers. Would you rather start a new series that costs $7,99 a book or one that costs $9,99?

First going to $8,99 would have been safer. With the number of copies series such Naruto and Bleach sell, it would be a big increase in profits at that price point as well.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Manga
marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2009 7:53 am Reply with quote
Given that they've already proved that Naruto fans will buy three volumes a month if they are released that closely together, I don't think there is too much risk that raising the price will drive many of them away. And they will still probably be the cheapest manga options.

I think it's a really smart decision and better than them having to cut products completely. They've already had to drop Shojo Beat magazine. I'd rather they do this than stop bringing out new series.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Manga All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
Page 1 of 3

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group