Forum - View topicINTEREST: Gantz Creator Urges Fans to Buy Manga New, Not Used
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xyz
Posts: 243 |
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Save a tree and buy used manga. :lol:
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Shouryu
Posts: 10 |
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True but as more and more publishers and creators who are coming out of the woodwork to reiterate the same points, I think their message is more about how these new sales are not sales specifically for their company so they don't really help them at all. You buying Kodansha works thanks to the money you earn by selling Kadokawa stuff is seen as a potential lost sale for Kadokawa. Change that scenario to individual creators and it's more egregious because dude might not even garner enough sales to make a second one for you to potentially buy next time. Of course, it's not our duty as a consumers to take care of their well beings. We do things legally so what more can you ask for? In other words, why should I care who makes my TVs? fudge them if i can get it cheaper. However arts are more personable. A once faceless corporation has a face of a creator now so it's easier to empathize. We have also seen too many of our favorite works being phased out due to poor sales. We are fans, not merely consumers so we share a special connection with the creators. Thus, it's more like helping up a friend than purely a transactional deal. It's this empathy that makes Kick Starter and crowd funding work. We can put our trust with our money to a complete stanger with just a flimsy promise of getting something in return.It's almost pure baseless faith. Putting that into perspective is kind of insane and irrational if you ask me but somehow it works and I believe them. |
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Яeverse
 Posts: 1142 Location: Indianapolis |
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I highly doubt the people buying manga while working at jobs making less than $9 an hour are really in the position to be putting forth money for entertainment purposes vs money to just get by especially if they are over the age of 18. Any working adult in any decent job easily makes more than 9 to 12 dollars an hour and Id imagine, like me, see a volume of manga as pocket change. |
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perroloco
Posts: 307 |
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lol, You should remember that just because you live in what's consider the first economy in the world not everyone does.. As some people have pointed out, for the VAST MAYORITY OF PEOPLE 9 to 12 dollars for a monthly book would be considered not cheap at all, especially if you follow more than one series. I will give you an example, I live in Mexico, which according to some news I heard on the radio is considered the 14th top economy in the world, according to google there are 196 countries in the world, so Mexico is in the top 10% of countries, and historically manga has been sold here for what has been considered $4 USD, for example 10 years ago it was sold for like $50-$60 pesos which was around $4 USD, now it's sold for $75-$80 pesos considered $4 USD now. You probably think that's cheap but that's well above Mexican's daily minimum wage which is $73 pesos per day (Around $4 USD), so imagine someone in Mexico is working minimum wage, that person would have to use his/her entire minimum wage day worth of salary to buy a single volume (which is considered cheap in the US), while someone in the US who earns minimum wage would probably be able to buy a volume per hour in some states. In topic, Oku is kind of right, but at the same time what can one do if the manga is OOP? It's Shueisha's fault for not keeping with demand, I think. |
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8473 Location: Penguinopolis |
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It's his prerogative to want people to buy it in a fashion that benefits him the most, being that he's the author of the work. But frankly, I wouldn't even take Gantz as a free gift.
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Shouryu
Posts: 10 |
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Are you aware that you are making the case for why people buy used? They can't afford $9 but they could do it for $2 or $3 because $6 goes a long way cumulatively if they are wise. It's wise to be frugal even if you are well off. This also reeks of poor people shouldn't have any entertainment. What else do you think they do? Just slave their life away for 24 hours with no breaks? What about downtime after work? Go out and climb trees? No, they probably have cheap entertainment like manga and it's wise for them to have a cheaper deal to save more in order to make life easier. There's a reason why so many people skirting the poverty line has internet connections. Come on, poor people need and have fun too. Last edited by Shouryu on Wed Aug 10, 2016 5:56 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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BadNewsBlues
Posts: 6081 |
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Online Passes are still a thing as is DRM.
Just like when people tell you what you shouldn't buy with your own hard earned money. "STOP GIVING MICHEAL BAY MONEY FOR THOSE TRANSFORMERS MOVIES". |
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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In OUR world, the United States of America, where the federal minimum wage is only $7.25 an hour, but state minimum wages can be lower--as low as $2.00 in Oklahoma for qualifying businesses, and some states don't have minimum wage requirements at all. I'm glad most people you know aren't struggling, but that certainly doesn't speak to the experience of most Americans.
Uh, do you live in or near the same New York City I live in? The one with three separate library systems (The New York Public Library, The Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Library) with which you can use the same card (although you can only check out and return books in each system's respective branches)? You can literally check out almost every manga released in English (and some other languages, too--including Japanese!) over the past 25 years for $5.50 round trip on the subway. Can't find it in the library? Check out Book-Off in Midtown Manhattan, which is the only branch of the famous Japanese used bookstore on the East coast. They have lots of used manga in English and Japanese, including OOP titles. Still can't find it? That's when I would suggest comic book stores if the book you're looking for is rare or out of print---comic book stores don't return inventory like bookstores do, so you can find treasures there. You live in an inexpensive Manga Mecca and you don't even realize it! I have never, ever had a problem with bad copies of manga from the library, and if you have, I assume you haven't been to a library in years. Do me a favor and visit the Mid-Manhattan Branch of the New York Public Library. It's at 455 Fifth Avenue (at the corner of 40th Street). On the second floor on the right hand side, just past the ladies rest room is the Graphic Novel room. It's not a teen section--it's just for graphic novels from all over the world in every language. The English language mangas are sorted alphabetically by title. It's almost a holy place for me. The library is open 8am-11pm Mondays through Thursdays, 8am-8pm on Fridays, and 10am-6pm on Saturdays and Sundays. If you do live in New York, I'm sure you can find some time to swing by--it's only an avenue block away from the 40th Street and Bryant Park entrance of the B, D, F, and M trains (and the 5th Avenue stop on the 7 line). Maybe I'll meet you there!  
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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It's exceptionally stupid to include used manga sales in his comment. I mean, I agree with his larger point. Manga can't exist without fans support and to that end, I'm all for stressing the importance of supporting the creators as best one can. If you care about manga, don't just pirate it (at least when you can afford it) and definitely don't graze. (Honestly, I think manga grazing is worse than piracy. They amount to the same thing and at least piracy isn't so damn disruptive and doesn't risk damaging a physical book that a store then has to try and sell). But that said, trying to shame anyone who chooses to buy used instead of new is just nonsense. Resale is a perfectly legal and ethical part of the sales process.
I mean here's the thing about used sales: You may not be buying the volume new yourself but in order for it to be available used, someone else had to. Technically this is true of piracy as well but becomes largely moot when you're talking about a single purchase which then turns into potentially thousands upon thousands of downloaded copies if not more. But with used sales, you're literally talking about a 1 for 1 deal. If you buy a physical copy of a manga, that means that somebody else had to buy that same copy new. And regardless of their reselling it, the same essential status quo remains: One person owns that volume of manga and one volume of it was paid for. You could try and argue that there was an opportunity lost for a second sale if you'd bought it new instead but I would say that if anything, the real "lost sale" there it isn't so much from you buying used. It's from the original purchaser deciding they didn't need this thing they bought and putting it up for sale. That's unfortunate as manga can use all the support it can get but at the same time, I don't really feel like that's something one can object to. If the volume in question wasn't worth keeping to the original buyer then I don't really think the creator should feel entitled to a sale from them. Frankly, if that bothers a creator so much, maybe they should ask why the reader in question thought their manga was so disposable. Although for that matter, I don't even really buy that reselling constitutes a lost sale on either front. Your subsequent resale purchase may not directly send the creator any more money for that specific volume in the way a new sale does, but that's a super myopic view of how a sales market works. In the broader sense a resale purchase still does perpetuate new sales (and thus still supports the creator indirectly) by pouring money into the overall economic system. By allowing original purchasers the avenue of resale to recoup some of their expenses you make the purchase of new manga far more palatable. For instance, if one can buy a volume for $10 but knows for sure that they're gonna be out that $10, they're gonna be a lot more conservative in their purchases. But if they know they can recoup $5 of that by reselling volumes they decide they don't want, they're going to be a lot more willing to take the risk. Moreover they'll simply have more money to spend on manga if they're in effect only paying $5 a volume. By essentially subsidizing the cost of manga for them (at least in the long run), you shift the underlying economics of their purchase and strongly incentivize them to buy more manga. Of course, I'll admit there are no guarantees. It's possible that for some re-sellers their demand is fairly fixed and they'd simply buy what they buy regardless of their ability to resell. But I think it is also safe to say there is a strong correlation between people who don't feel the need to keep a particular volume and people who are on the fence about buying it in the first place. Hence, it is at least safe to say that, broadly, by buying used you are still absolutely supporting the creators. |
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Suena
Posts: 289 |
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1) Buying new means more money for creators (in some way or another), and
2) For manga, buying new means greater likelihood of the next volume being licensed/more licenses from that author/more licenses from that genre As long as people are aware of these two facts, then I say let them do what they want. I do everything: buy new, buy used, buy digital, sell used, read from the library. Having a market out there that is willing to buy an unwanted volume if I find don't like it, certainly makes it easier to take a risk on buying new. Also, one used bookstore I frequent has a bargain bin for used manga volumes at $2 apiece. That's cheap enough that I can afford to pick up random volumes of unfamiliar series that look mildly interesting. I've found some hidden gems this way, and quested for the rest of the series. If I were to buy all the manga I'm interested in new, I could easily be spending $500 per month on manga alone. But that's more than I can afford (as there's also anime and merchandise to collect), so I prioritize the series that are more niche and vulnerable, and buy the others when they're on sale, or used, or just get from the library. Hopefully one day I can have everything in my collection that I want. |
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Dfens
Posts: 459 |
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Lets first put into perspective what Oku probably was talking about, the Manga market in Japan and not overseas.
If you look at it he has a new animated movie based on his property coming out that of course he is getting a royalty out of and hopes that people seeing the movie with out reading and already owing the series will purchase the manga series which has been completed for awhile. It's greed plain and simple which he is entitled to, everyone and every business wants to make the most profit possible. But consumers also have the right to purchase used if they want whether it's to save a buck or the only way possible with their current finances. I've bought a number of Japanese Manga to collect and read at full price but buying them new at a imported mark up adds up. Unless I really want to collect and support the series it's just to costly and takes up too much space. For US editions I always buy new online from Rightsuf I order in bulk so that I get free shipping and no sales tax. Plus with their sales and membership program I average about 8 dollars or less a volume. They do so many print runs that it's very rare in Japan for a volume to go out of print and have to rely on the used market like over here stateside to complete your collection. So that you don't get the scalpers on Ebay trying to get a arm and a leg for one measly volume. |
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CoreSignal
 Posts: 727 Location: California, USA |
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Oku is right. I have no issues with anyone buying used manga. Everyone is within their right to buy a product at the cheapest price. However, you can't dispute the fact that buying manga new is the best way to support the creator. Like a lot of people, I always try to buy my manga new and I only buy used for out of print stuff.
I got my copies of Gantz from Right Stuf and according to their website, Vols. 3, 7, 16, 18, 20, and 30 are out of print. I got lucky and found a couple of them at a con. Thats said, Dark Horse starting reprinting Berserk when they announced the new adaptations so hopefully they'll do the same with Gantz with the new movie coming out.
Did you hear about the guy who spent $1200 just so he could play a game before the release date? I spend a lot of money on video games, but I'd never pay a thousand bucks just to play a game two weeks early, but that guy was willing to pay. One of my friends is a huge One Piece fan. He's been buying the manga since high school and he's in his mid 30s now. I estimate he's probably spent over $800 on the manga and that's not counting all the other One Piece merchandise he's got. But when it comes down to it, he loves One Piece and doesn't regret it one bit. How much you're willing to spend on a hobby is going to be different for everyone. |
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meronichan
 Posts: 79 |
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I used to buy all my manga new when I was younger and when I had more disposable income. As an adult it simply isn't a worthwhile investment, nor do I have the space for all the series I'd like to own. I was/am still far more likely to buy a manga if it's on the obscure side though, just to ensure the publisher finishes translating them. If the company releasing the manga goes out of business or drops the series (and this has happened many times), I just read the scanlations. Plus, imo print really is a dying medium, and especially wasteful for something cheap like manga. I think it makes more sense just to release translated manga chapters on a Kindle or other e-reader.
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tentensan
Posts: 102 |
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Haha. Thanks for the response.. I'll be sure to visit those places then. Sorry, I've actually been looking online for places that sell manga books but, I never found any good places, and all the places I've been to, never had the books I wanted. As for my experiences with libraries, I live in a really poor part of new york so, it was hard for me to find a good library that took care of the manga books. Thanks again. 
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Agent355
Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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I don't think you realize how insulting this is. If you can't even imagine what it's like to be an adult making less than $9/hour, maybe you should try listening to others who may be in that position before making assumptions about what other people can or should do with their own money, or, even worse, insulting people's jobs as not "decent." What's a decent job to you? Many of the jobs I've worked in--especially early childhood education--earned around minimum wage. Does that mean the job in valueless? Since when does anyone have the right to decide a job's value based on its financial reward? Do investment bankers really do more for society than people who take care of kids, or the elderly? Or even people who serve food or clean toilets? Are you that privileged, that you can't even emphasize with people who make less money than you do? I don't want to go too off topic, but your post was incredibly offensive to me, and probably anyone else who struggles to make a living, with or without a "decent job." Other people here have pointed out that in America and many other countries, there are millions of people who make less than $9 USD an hour, and you ignored all their points and went on to say that you can't imagine that "those people" would even be able to spend money on "entertainment purposes." No one has the right to tell anyone else what they can or "should" spend money on, and if you can't even imagine what it's like to be in their shoes, you certainly shouldn't be offering budgeting advice, *or* your not-so-humble opinion on what "decent" jobs should pay. Telling people not to outright steal art or entertainment is one thing, but when even those of us struggling to get by are dismissed as not contributing *enough* to artists because we don't purchase every volume of their manga new--that's presumptuous and insulting, from fellow fans and creators alike. |
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