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NEWS: DMI's Juné Imprint Launches Crowdfunding Project to Reprint Older Titles




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geishageek



Joined: 28 Nov 2005
Posts: 571
Location: Pleasant Valley, NY
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 8:40 am Reply with quote
I really dislike this idea. I have all 3 books already, but they should not have to rely on campaigns like this to keep their books in stock. They have always had stock issues. even at the beginning. They need to work on their severely delayed releases before anything else.

Besides, their reprints are of far less quality than the originals, if the few reprints I have are anything to go by.
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Calico



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 383
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 11:29 am Reply with quote
Honestly, DMP seems to be relegating everything to kickstarters at this point. I can't even remember the last time they released anything without having a kickstarter for it. If they can't even afford to keep any of their books in stock(or publish anything beyond the first few volumes), then why even publish anything in the first place?
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katscradle



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 469
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 12:18 pm Reply with quote
I don’t know what to think about this. I am conflicted because I like to see good BL available and Endless Comfort is a classic gem.

On the one hand I’m not surprised this publisher is now, after 6 years of using other platforms, trying to cut out crowdfunding companies. In every way Digital Manga has been cutting out business partners and comic retailers for the last few years. It’s clear they need money, so they go look everywhere for it.

However, the Juné imprint has lately been restocking some titles themselves instead of crowdfunding. Even during the last few Kickstarters they said reprints would still happen if they didn’t get funding. It would just take more time and be an even smaller amount. So it’s seems if forced they are then willing to go it alone. They have to do that for some licenses they hold. (They published the third volume of Twittering Birds Never Fly earlier this year, though I haven’t heard anyone getting a hold of it except from Juné’s online store. DMP finally finished Itazura na Kiss but, look on Akadot.)

Even everything described as upgrades and used to try and entice people who may already have these print books like dusk jackets and maybe colour inserts ($23,000?!) are things that used to be standard or are standard with other publishers.

People pay a greater sum compared to other books on the market, required to pledge/order directly from the publisher online, deal with the delays, poor service, shipping customs etc. Not to mention you may be disappointed with poor quality print-on-demand reprints anyway for the trouble. Just try and get a substitution or refund out of this publisher when there is an issue. Personally I’ve gotten rid of nearly all the reprints from the Sakira campaign I got from them last year. Nobody at the publisher even bothered to say anything about the quality of the reprints funded there (except for Seven Days Friday-Sunday) until several people started asking about the copies they received! Juné were slow at adding the info after launching the new retail website as well.

I don’t know if I can stomach all of it anymore. Even for a nice BL title I like.



Quote:
Digital Manga Inc. previously published all three books physically, with A Promise of Romance originally released in 2008, Endless Comfort in 2010, and Secrecy of the Shivering Night 2011.

All three of these titles have been available for quite some time digitally as well as DRM-free downloads from eManga and now on the Juné store too.

A Promise of Romance

Endless Comfort

Secercy of the Shivering Night
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littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 12:29 pm Reply with quote
DMP is a shady company that can't even afford to pay for jobs. Hire unpaid interns for a lot of manga work, don't even pay some translators for projects that had successful kickstarters, etc. They've been on the out for years now. I can't in good conscious ever back any of their kickstarters, and hope the company ends soon so other companys can get their manga licenses.
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emmapeel



Joined: 22 Nov 2012
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 12:49 pm Reply with quote
This isn't even a kickstarter, it goes directly through them. They will actually take your money right away and supposedly refund if it doesn't get fully funded.
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TsukasaElkKite



Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 3950
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 3:14 pm Reply with quote
emmapeel wrote:
This isn't even a kickstarter, it goes directly through them. They will actually take your money right away and supposedly refund if it doesn't get fully funded.


Are you serious?! That's fraud!
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emmapeel



Joined: 22 Nov 2012
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 3:53 pm Reply with quote
TsukasaElkKite wrote:
Are you serious?! That's fraud!


It sure seems shady, which is no surprise with them. This is at the bottom of the page:

"*Please note: payment is taken at the time of the pledge. Should the campaign not meet its goal, backers will be fully refunded.*"
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Peebs



Joined: 07 Dec 2005
Posts: 419
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm Reply with quote
Wow. They have sunk this low. I still remember the fun days of 801 Media and their forum and how overnight all the 801 Media staff were laid off, the forum turned off, and the company would not say a word about it. That was the beginning of the end for them. I doubt even porn is keeping them afloat.
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jenny10-11



Joined: 25 Jun 2015
Posts: 98
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 6:46 pm Reply with quote
Ugh, this again from June/DMP? Their constant reliance on crowd-funding makes me think they have no confidence in their own marketing and ability to sell the books, or they've burned too many bridges to allow them to publish books in the normal way. This type of publishing must get them enough money, though; they're hanging around for a lot longer than I expected them to.

And, honestly, if they're going to be doing this for their out-of-print titles, they have a lot to choose from. Their books seem to go out of print before they're even released (except on their website, and I refuse to pay the ridiculous amount of shipping they charge from their website to Australia).

katscradle wrote:
(They published the third volume of Twittering Birds Never Fly earlier this year, though I haven’t heard anyone getting a hold of it except from Juné’s online store.


I managed to get a copy of it from Book Depository. After my initial pre-order was cancelled for unknown reasons (I blame June), I put myself on the email list for if it came back in stock. Got an email at work, bought it on my lunchbreak, then when I checked stock status the next day it was OOP again. After my initial cancellation from Book Depository, I also did a tentative order through Booktopia in case they managed to get a copy in, and recieved that just last week. So, while I managed to get two copies without going through the online store, it took a lot of perserverance and patience.
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katscradle



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 469
PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 7:13 pm Reply with quote
jenny10-11 wrote:
I managed to get a copy of it from Book Depository. After my initial pre-order was cancelled for unknown reasons (I blame June), I put myself on the email list for if it came back in stock. Got an email at work, bought it on my lunchbreak, then when I checked stock status the next day it was OOP again. After my initial cancellation from Book Depository, I also did a tentative order through Booktopia in case they managed to get a copy in, and recieved that just last week. So, while I managed to get two copies without going through the online store, it took a lot of perserverance and patience.


Oh, that is good to know you managed it! Places I normally use or, rarely use pretty much have either stopped altogether ordering books from Digital Manga or, barely/never get stock. I just had a pre-order canceled last week from the U.S. Amazon, which I chose since people were able to get books there in the past.


TsukasaElkKite wrote:
Are you serious?! That's fraud!

Charging supporters immediately is not necessarily fraud unless they don't refund people like they say. Indiegogo has a similar flexible funding method. But I assume they don't want to use that platform since it would mean more fees. I do think it is an unattractive practice though compared to the wait all-or-nothing approach.
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Idgal



Joined: 18 Jun 2015
Posts: 169
PostPosted: Sat Jul 15, 2017 1:41 pm Reply with quote
I managed to grab a copy of Twittering Birds vol 3 directly from them at Anime Expo.
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geishageek



Joined: 28 Nov 2005
Posts: 571
Location: Pleasant Valley, NY
PostPosted: Sat Jul 15, 2017 4:07 pm Reply with quote
I received Twittering Birds 3 from Amazon last week. Was amazed when I finally got the ship notification since they delayed release like 4 times. How long will they sit on volume 4 now?

Besides TB, I'm only collecting one other series from them, which I think will be my last. The delays and disappointments have really turned me off to them.
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