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When You Buy Anime Products: People's Reactions




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fighterholic



Joined: 28 Sep 2005
Posts: 9193
PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 10:03 pm Reply with quote
The last chapter of my Reactions series, seriously, I was able to come up with this one, and I think the subject matter properly goes here, unless admin thinks otherwise.

When you are at a store, like Target, Fry's,. Best Buy, or when you make an order from home, or when you buy a manga at a bookstore, how do your friends, family members react? Are they with you when you buy your things? Or does a suspicious looking credit card bill get discovered?

With the recent Geneon killer sale, I let my Japanese friend know that I placed two orders for the sale. Her reaction? "You don't want to do that, that's a waste of money!" I got some of the best reactions from her and my grandma when I said that I had bought 250 dollars worth of manga from my trip to Japan. My grandma was furious (she helped pay for my trip), and she said I was a lazy bum who can only devote his time to wasting his money on manga. My sister thinks I am a desperate person or something to that extreme.
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Cloe
Moderator


Joined: 18 Feb 2004
Posts: 2728
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:40 am Reply with quote
It's the collector's curse that there will always be someone in their lives who regards their carefully selected collections as nothing more than a waste of time. I don't really worry about what other people have to say, but on the other hand, I have nobody particularly authoritative to answer to--aside from myself--since I manage my own finances and pay my own bills. That said, even I've had to scold myself once or twice for going a little overboard. Wink

Occasionally my boyfriend is with me when I make a purchase and I'll receive a mild scolding for spending money where I don't need to, but he's the first to want to watch/read/pose whatever it is I've bought when we get home.
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daxomni



Joined: 08 Nov 2005
Posts: 2650
Location: Somewhere else.
PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:21 am Reply with quote
If you're lucky there'll be a period between the time when you move out and when you settle down that you'll be able to buy whatever you want without having to answer to anyone but your bank account. Be sure to live it up then, because once you settle down you'll be answering to your SO and probably saving most of your extra money for your miserably spoiled offspring.*












*Doesn't necessarily refer to anything specific about your future parenting skills; I just happen to consider nearly all offspring to be miserably spoiled by default. From the sounds of it I think I'd probably get along with your Grandmother pretty well.
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coldmug



Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 161
Location: mesa
PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:56 am Reply with quote
I get luckly on the reactions i get from people is oh another one because it seems all most weekly i get a box from right stuff. but than when i go to the stores some time i get funny looks from people when i'm looking at the anime section the other people give me funny looks that its a bad thing that i like anime. but the only nice thing is that i live at home so i save alot of money that way. and i get to spend more on anime and it my own account at the bank so no one can trulley know how much i spend on anime so most of the time i get some bad reactions from some people while most people don't mind that buy anime like crazy.
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Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
Posts: 3338
Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK)
PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:01 pm Reply with quote
fighterholic wrote:
When you are at a store, like Target, Fry's,. Best Buy, or when you make an order from home, or when you buy a manga at a bookstore, how do your friends, family members react? Are they with you when you buy your things? Or does a suspicious looking credit card bill get discovered?


Basically my folks are alright with me spending my money on anime as long as my bills are paid. Although my mom is always joking that I have a package everyday waiting for me from UPS/USPS. My Girlfriend well that a different story, personally she think that I spend way too much money on anime, and to a certain extend I probably do. So if I am making a purchase and she come into the room and see the confirmation normally her first reaction is "How much did you spent on that crap?" I remember telling her I spent 150 on anime from in one order (Rightstuf Geneon sale) and she was pretty upset....saying how I should save but I already do since I have a fair share of money in CD, and other places.

Most of my problems are normally clerks at Best Buy or Circuit City. Just the faces they give you as they look you up and down and I have this feeling that their thinking "what is this nerd buying?" But you just have to shrug it off, I try not to care about those things but it's hard sometimes. And it's probably the reason I buy most of my anime online....and it's normally better priced.

Delta
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DuelLadyS



Joined: 17 Mar 2006
Posts: 1705
Location: WA state
PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:21 pm Reply with quote
For reactions in stores... I'm honestly too busy browsing the shelves to notice or care what anyone around me is doing.

For reactions amongst friends and family... friends are fans too, so they don't care, family is used to it by now. I'd guess they might think I spend too much every so often, but I've gone over my spending with them before... when you can prove you're averaging $10 a DVD and have more money in savings than your parents, well, there's not a lot to complain about. (Plus, mom's a DVD collector too. She's just as bad as I am! Wink )

My last manager did a few head-shakes when I'd ask for days off for anime/game-related things (like the FF12 release), but not too much, since I keep my work and my hobbies mostly seperate (that and I never ask for time off around holidays, just for anime events.) My new manager is a gamer, so I expect my requests to be more 'accepted' now. Very Happy

I usually get the best stunned waste-of-money reactions right around Con-time. Most everyone (friends included) seem shocked that I usually have about $1000 to spend at the dealer's room... but I have good logic for it ("I've been saving this up for a full year", "I never spend all of it", "I put an equal amount in savings", etc.) so they usually back off. The way I see it, I'm not cutting out the important things like food, soap, and planning-for-the-future to get anime, so, I don't care what people think!
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Keonyn
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Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Coon Rapids, MN
PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 3:12 pm Reply with quote
I don't get the horror stories really, I've never had anyone react negatively to me either while shopping for anime or ringing up my purchases. Only reactions I've ever received were usually comments about the show I'm buying being good or them saying they were thinking of picking it up themselves. I'm still waiting for one of them horrible reactions I often hear people talk about. My friends and family are pretty much indifferent to my anime purchases, it doesn't interest them but they don't care that I buy it or comment on it.
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daxomni



Joined: 08 Nov 2005
Posts: 2650
Location: Somewhere else.
PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 7:36 pm Reply with quote
Deltakiral wrote:
Most of my problems are normally clerks at Best Buy or Circuit City. Just the faces they give you as they look you up and down and I have this feeling that their thinking "what is this nerd buying?" But you just have to shrug it off, I try not to care about those things but it's hard sometimes. And it's probably the reason I buy most of my anime online.


Trust me, those sales clerks and cashiers have no legitimate reason to give you any flack. Many of them are stuck in a nearly worthless job with few tangible benefits beyond the ever shrinking employee discount. So long as you're on your way to a good education and any number of honest careers you can silently tell those jokers to kiss off if they ever so much as give you a sideways glance. I should know; I used to work there.
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NGE1113



Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 1081
Location: Alexandria, VA.
PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:45 pm Reply with quote
In-store, I generally ignore the immediate world surrounding me, with an occasional dialogue popping up now and then. Whatever purchases I make, for the most part, are rung up by cashiers that have an indifferent attitude to the transaction. There were some employees that took interest in the DVD that was crossing the counter; had a interesting conversation once about the merits of GoldenBoy.

As for those around me: comments ate home are generally neutral, if not a bit pointed towards me. I've heard more than once about my purchasing habits, and I generally try and keep them in mind. After the RightStuf Geneon sale, I admitted to spending $300, which led to a couple of interesting, minor moments. At work, the reaction is pretty much neutral as well among those who know what I spend my money on. Only wide-eyed stares I get are from those who learn the extent of my collection (700+).
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bluepita



Joined: 18 May 2005
Posts: 465
PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 1:20 pm Reply with quote
The only time I get odd reactions are at the store. First of all, all the teenagers in the manga or anime look at me in disbelief about three seconds before they dismiss me as someone who is buying for her children. I just smile at them, no point in getting offended. I am rapidly approaching geezer-dom.

Now the sales clerks, ah the poor, poor sales clerk. They are the ones I like to give a hard time. They, too, assume I am buying for a child and often want to sympathize with me. It's a lot of fun to harass them, in a nice way, of course.

As for my family, I am such a cheapskate that they are so happy I bought something for myself, especially if it's new, they don't care what it is. Like daxomni said, I have to save all my money for my...daughter.



Shh, don't tell my daughter, but I agree that kids are spoiled. Even my own sweet angel. Lol, it's been two or three years since she got a toy from me for any reason other than birthday, Christmas, or as a reward for a special accomplishment. I had to cut her off when I realized I was turning her into someone who belonged in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Now she has to save her allowance and earned money for everything she wants, including prizes from conventions and vacation souveniers. Most people think I am pretty mean but she thinks about what she wants now in a completely different manner.
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jkno



Joined: 18 Mar 2006
Posts: 155
Location: Classified
PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 3:35 am Reply with quote
I collect 2 things: Star Wars stuff and anime figures and statues (mostly Masamune Shirow stuff). Everytime I buy something, there are people looking strange at me. I live in Romania so the collecting here is not a major issue for others. They don't understand collecting maybe excepting stamps, coins and Playboy magazines.

As for art, because Masamune Shirow and most anime stuff is art, they consider that art are only sculptures or paitings. But I go over it and proudly display and show others my collections. But in the last years it seems people started to understand that colelcting can be a part of our lives and makes our living better.
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fighterholic



Joined: 28 Sep 2005
Posts: 9193
PostPosted: Mon Dec 25, 2006 3:06 am Reply with quote
Okay, so I found the entire Cardcaptor Sakura series in the rightstuf bargain bin for 80 dollars when it's regular retail price is somewhere around 540 dollars. I simply wanted my mom's opinion of what she thought of such a price difference. However, when I asked what she thought, she said: "You're not going to buy that, are you?" Though I did want to say yes, I immediately replied with a "NO! I'm just asking what you think!" In which she stated that it's probably not worth 540 dollars if it's being sold for that price.

So if I'm just talking about an anime item that's online with a good deal, my mom (and my dad) now get the impression that I'm going to buy stuff now, when I'm just looking most of the time.
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