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Answerman - Why Are Some Manga Printed In Such Limited Quantities?

I've heard the "hundreds of dollars" listed for some books (on Amazon marketplace, etc) is just a result of computer algorithms gone out of control and may have nothing to do with what people are actually willing to spend on an OOP book: one seller's price goes up by some increment, then another's automatically goes up to remain competitive, and they keep cycling through until the price is way out there.

The thing that baffles me most is when it's the first volume in a series that's impossible to find for a reasonable price. For a good long while, Code Geass R2 was easy to get volumes 2-4 for about 3-15 bucks... But volume 1 has been over $100 for a long time for some reason. Another one is Magical Project S, where the second half of the series could be purchased for about $7-$15 and the first one... Well, here it is for $125. It just seems like the first volume would always have the biggest print run, so I have no idea why that ever happens.

fuuma_monou wrote:

At least for Viz manga, digital isn't an option for me since their app is region-locked. In contrast their print editions are stocked in local bookstores and comic shops.

This answer from (Viz) Shojo Beat's tumblr suggests that at least one of their titles (to be published this summer) will be available in the Philippines... and if one is, I would guess others are too. If there's a specific title you're after, contacting Viz could let them help you figure out how to access the digital edition, or at the least let them know they have an audience waiting to be served. I've heard that, for example, sometimes ebooks are unavailable to purchase internationally from Amazon.com (US site) but can instead be bought through a local Amazon storefront.

Isn't Viz doing a lot of license rescues from Tokyopop? Well, I can think of Sgt. Frog, at least.