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NEWS: JManga Offers Pay-as-You-Go Point Plan




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Utsuro no Hako



Joined: 18 May 2012
Posts: 1052
PostPosted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 1:39 pm Reply with quote
I don't understand the purpose of the points -- why not just put a price on the manga and let people buy it directly?
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zensunni



Joined: 05 Mar 2010
Posts: 1294
PostPosted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 3:10 pm Reply with quote
Because they want to confuse you about how much you are actually paying?

I may actually pick up a few things on the site, now that I don't have to subscribe. Spending money once to buy something is a much better model.

Actually, having points makes much more sense with this mixed model, since they can offer a discount for subscribers, but still offer the ability to purchase points to non-subscribers.
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7421
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:19 pm Reply with quote
Points just seem like such a bad idea. Why can't they just give an unlimited subscription like every video streaming service offers? Why does that work for anime, but not for manga? Hard to believe it costs more to put manga online than anime. Hard to believe it's the same company that run Crunchyroll. For these prices I'd rather just bargain hunt physical copies.

Emerje
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Furi-Yuri
Subscriber



Joined: 04 Jan 2012
Posts: 24
PostPosted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:04 pm Reply with quote
I don't understand their point system and it isn't well explained in anything I easily found on their site. That's why they won't get my eyes or money. Tell me exactly what I am getting for my money not some BS points system. What can I read and for how much money. JManga can consider this feeback,
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lys
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 24 Jun 2004
Posts: 1017
Location: mitten-state
PostPosted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 12:18 am Reply with quote
Furi-Yuri wrote:
I don't understand their point system and it isn't well explained in anything I easily found on their site. That's why they won't get my eyes or money. Tell me exactly what I am getting for my money not some BS points system. What can I read and for how much money. JManga can consider this feeback,

I don't see what's not to understand, but... A point is equivalent to one cent, in US currency. So, for example, SoreMachi v1 costs 499 points, or $4.99. Rather than buying points cent by cent, you can either purchase a set amount of them ($10-25 worth) as you want them, or you can sign up for a monthly plan that will deposit whatever amount you choose ($10-25 worth) into your account and charge your credit card a slightly discounted rate once a month. If you go with a monthly plan but run out of points, you can buy more points. Your points expire if you don't use them in 12 months, I think, but I haven't had points stick around long enough to find out for sure (and if you wait and buy points only when you see manga on the site you want to buy, you shouldn't have a problem with this).

Currently you can read any manga you have purchased on their website, whether you are actively subscribed or not—it's a one-time payment for the book that won't expire. I believe they are in the process of creating app(s) for smartphones that will allow you to read your purchased books offline/away from a computer (I don't have a smartphone myself so I don't pay much attention to this stuff).

As for "what's the point of points," I've heard it's a way to be consistent between various national currencies. And I'd rather make a purchase on my credit card once for a larger amount than have to charge each chapter or volume I buy individually, so I like being able to purchase points and then use them with some leisure.
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Asterisk-CGY



Joined: 09 Mar 2007
Posts: 398
PostPosted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 2:33 am Reply with quote
Points are basically the gift cards of the internet. They get the money first before product gets sold. That's faster money in the hands of the company. After that there's stuff like leftover points which is money not spent on goods, the spillover mentality of having to buy more points than you need, along with maintaining prices in a single controlled currency.

But this should have been in earlier.
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partially



Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 702
Location: Oz
PostPosted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 3:12 am Reply with quote
Asterisk-CGY wrote:
...along with maintaining prices in a single controlled currency.

But this should have been in earlier.


Yep. It's to stop people feeling jipped. For example people complain when they see on the Steam store that game in region A is $49.99 and in region B its $89.99. Whereas with a points controlled currency such deviations are not as obvious, since the cost falls back into how much one pays for the points. So I worry about the future if they ever start using regional currencies.

Emerje wrote:
Why can't they just give an unlimited subscription like every video streaming service offers? Why does that work for anime, but not for manga?


The only current equivalent for publishing is Amazon Prime book-lending. And I do wonder how that is panning out for them.
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Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 4623
PostPosted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:18 am Reply with quote
Asterisk-CGY wrote:
Points are basically the gift cards of the internet. They get the money first before product gets sold. That's faster money in the hands of the company.
Actually I recall reading somewhere that minutes/points/what-have-you aren't allowed into a company's figures until they've been spent, which is one reason such things come with an expiration date(this may also be the reason JManga prefers points back instead of actual discounts). Of course, I'm pretty sure that nothing says the account the company keeps them in has to be interest free.
Emerje wrote:
Points just seem like such a bad idea. Why can't they just give an unlimited subscription like every video streaming service offers? Why does that work for anime, but not for manga? Hard to believe it costs more to put manga online than anime.
I'm pretty sure that royalties are the bigger factor here - an unlimited JManga subscription would get you a helluva lot more content - and incur much more numerous royalties - than a CR one ever would.
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HeeroTX



Joined: 15 Jul 2002
Posts: 2046
Location: Austin, TX
PostPosted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 10:38 am Reply with quote
I totally get the cross-currency issues and why it's not "subscription-all you can read" style. What I can't get behind is the "gift card with expiring value" aspect. If they let you buy points in the exact amount needed whenever you want, then it's all good. I'd even be willing to argue the viability if points do NOT expire, but saying I need to buy in denominations that risk losing excess value, and the expiration dates currently clock at 3 months for the subscription when I looked yesterday.
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Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 4623
PostPosted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 10:48 am Reply with quote
Bonus points(eg, those you get above and beyond the subscription cost) have a lifespan of three months. The points you purchase have a 12-month shelf life, IIRC.
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JManga
Company Representative


Joined: 24 Jun 2012
Posts: 8
PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:52 am Reply with quote
Utsuro no Hako wrote:
I don't understand the purpose of the points -- why not just put a price on the manga and let people buy it directly?


To address some of the points brought up on this thread, the main reason we offer a point based system is indeed consistency between national currencies. This way, you make one transaction with JManga - acquring the points - which you can then spend on various titles on the site (with the price of each title displayed on its page).

Lys wrote:
Your points expire if you don't use them in 12 months, I think, but I haven't had points stick around long enough to find out for sure (and if you wait and buy points only when you see manga on the site you want to buy, you shouldn't have a problem with this).


Not true, actually. As of June 7, any points you purchase (what you get in "Pay as you Go", and the equivalent in Monthly plans) do not expire, though bonus points will.

As an example, if you pay $25 for Points, you get 2500 points that will never expire. If you sign up for a $19.99 Subscription, you get 1999 points that will not expire, and an additional 501 bonus points to spend, so never lose the cash value of what you buy.

Basically, you buy it, you keep it.

Lys wrote:
Currently you can read any manga you have purchased on their website, whether you are actively subscribed or not—it's a one-time payment for the book that won't expire.


Correct. As long as you are signed up on the site, and haven't deleted your account, you may access any title you have purchased without expiration or such.

Lys wrote:
I believe they are in the process of creating app(s) for smartphones that will allow you to read your purchased books offline/away from a computer (I don't have a smartphone myself so I don't pay much attention to this stuff).


Also correct. We are in the midst of working on Android and iOS apps for offline reading, since people have been requesting them for their phones/tablets.
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Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 4623
PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:45 am Reply with quote
JManga wrote:
We are in the midst of working on Android and iOS apps for offline reading, since people have been requesting them for their phones/tablets.
Has it been decided what the minimum Android version will be yet? Don't want to get too excited if it won't work on my Nook.
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MrXarnus



Joined: 28 Mar 2011
Posts: 79
PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 1:16 pm Reply with quote
Since you seem to anwser questions here, I will ask one too:
I e-mailed you 2 times about print copies of manga on JManga, what is the status of this right now? (At the time I sended the 2 e-mails, you anwserd something like 'Were working on it.'...)
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JManga
Company Representative


Joined: 24 Jun 2012
Posts: 8
PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:21 pm Reply with quote
Polycell wrote:
Has it been decided what the minimum Android version will be yet? Don't want to get too excited if it won't work on my Nook.


Not that I'm aware of. I've forwarded the query to the development team and will let you know when an answer comes.

MrXarnus wrote:
Since you seem to anwser questions here, I will ask one too:
I e-mailed you 2 times about print copies of manga on JManga, what is the status of this right now? (At the time I sended the 2 e-mails, you anwserd something like 'Were working on it.'...)


The thing about print is that its a complicated issue, and we do not have the licenses for that - only those for digital release. I encourage you to send us feedback at [email protected] about which titles you would like to see in print and why, so we can pass this on to the publishers we partner with.
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FigNewton



Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 63
PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 7:47 am Reply with quote
JManga wrote:

Correct. As long as you are signed up on the site, and haven't deleted your account, you may access any title you have purchased without expiration or such.

Also correct. We are in the midst of working on Android and iOS apps for offline reading, since people have been requesting them for their phones/tablets.


With the advent of offline reading for Jmanga, the question most on my mind is "to what extent are the DRM features still tied to an authentication server?" Is there a periodic re-authentication for content on devices intended for offline reading? Is there any allowance in the license at all for backing up the content?

My concern here, as with all DRMed media, is what happens if the worst case scenario occurs, and JManga shuts down.

All of this is, of course, based on the assumption that offline versions will be DRMed...
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