I used to do all my orders from Bestprices. It wasn't bad, but their inventory is not very accurate at all. I've used DVDplanet and DeepDiscounDVD before. Not my favorites, but haven't had any horrible experiences with either of them. Just recently used DigitalEyes. Very good prices and service.
My favorite is rightstuf though. Their prices seem high until you find out about the weekly specials, the coupons, the membership discount, and the fact that it's cheaper if you preorder stuff. But if you know how to work the system there, it comes out to be just as cheap as any other site. Not to mention the fact that they have the best customer service by far and their inventory is very accurate as well. I mean, how many other R1 sites do you know where you can just post or PM something to the owner of the company and have him take care of any problems that customer service can't help you with?
I bought the R1's for Fushigi Yugi for about $100 for each boxset off Ebay. I got pretty good deals on them. But if I had to do it over again, I'd probably just get the HK's for them.
Its really not worth debating wether its right or wrong to buy this stuff- because most of us would never buy it at the high going rate and wouldn't be into this if it wasnt reasonable. I do buy R1's on ocassion when there fairly priced and i also want to mention that alot of the anime offered at HK resellers is not available in the US because of content etc. there also many times not edited or messed with ,which is the main reason I buy them. You also can get them sometimes a year or two before there released in the US- sometimes it seems there never going to be released ( of course you have to put up with sometimes crummy engrish ) but me thinks this can be fun , in a wierd kind of way.
hi
hongkong dvds are aso done later, so if you want a relatively brand new title, it won't be out
The thing with HK anime these days is that they just keep getting better and better, and once you start buying them it's really hard to go back to the R1 price structure. I remember the earlier dvds being more spotty when it came to quality, especially the subs. Few sets had subs with perfect grammar, as most of the time HK originals were used. Many popular R1 series that have been released nowadays, have been ripped, ensuring excellent subtitle quality. In addition, you also get the english audio track for those who prefer to watch their anime dubbed. To top it all off, the packaging for HK anime almost rivals their R1 counterparts many times. So would I rather spend $90 on an R1 FLCL or buy they 6 episode show on one disc from here for $10. You don't even have to ask twice
The thing that pisses me off the most about R1s is that you know that they can stick 6 or more eps on one pressed DVD without anything lost. However they just don't want to do it instead, like FLCL again for example they put 2 eps. on a disc so they can charge you $30 each for them and you have to buy all 3. Now if they stuck all 6 on one disc like they could if they really wanted to and charged $30 for that one disc I bet everybody and thier brother that collects anime would have no problem at all paying the $30 to support them. There are some series that I am buying R1 beacuase the series is so good that I don't want to wait for the HK of it. Also series like Gundam Wing I'll probably buy R1 of because they actually put 5 eps. on each discs. Companys bitch and moan about HKs but they do it themselves with thier no ethics in business today, so I say piss on them.
The main reason than HK rips are so good is because for the most part, they bought the R1's and just copied them- this is a no brainer. Its not hard to copy dvds ( maybe for you and me- to a certain extent) the equipment is relatively cheap compared to other industrial equipment, and the number of copies they run. would blow your socks off-they also make the boxes and labels for practically nothing ( very cheap labor in China ) from what Ive heard it costs in the US around 50 cents to manufacture a DVD, screen it, put in the label, seal it and shrink wrap it. I bet in Honk kong they can do this for about a third of what it costs over here. Im even starting to see on DVDs other countries names on the inner laser coding on many of my R1 DVD's.
Well of course HK's will be insanely cheap, but not because they are for the fans. Let's see they don't have to pay for liscenses which can cost millions of dollars. Likewise why would they need to pay people to translate the material or dub it. No need to worry about menu design or the compilation of extras. Outside of material costs they just need to buy an R1 set.
Sure we have an example of FLCL, but that is the only example ever given. That becomes ridiculous. It is one isolated case, and it is from a small company. Name another Synch Point title, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, I'm going to be an Angel. Yeah that's about it. Look at company's like ADV. Right off the bat, series like City Hunter were released with 26 episodes for $51. Oh my God the monsters, over a dollar an episode. There are plenty more of prime examples.
One of the things that gets with the "cheapness" of the HKs, is where does the extra money go? Usually to buy more DVDs and videogames. If you are saving $100 by buying the HKs why don't we donate some of that extra money to charity instead of just picking up that many more Perfect Collections.
Man, Giving money away to charity!!! I think that's just wishful thinking on your part, besides some people here are in highschool and college and they spend what little money they have on HK dvds. Some people here still buy R1s, but its all about saving money in the end!!! Funimation with DBZ and Viz are other companies that love sticking 3 episodes per dvd, Pioneer milked the hell out of X with 8 dvds and it is only 24 1/2 episodes long!!!! So don't try telling people to donate money instead of buying other stuff, if you want to do that with yours, hey more power to you bro, I'm all for saving the world!!! But lets face it, we've had this discussion before, your here to save money as well.
l just dropped by to say.....
not another R1 vs HK DVD thread
hey l love that icon
Yeah I agree. They don't ever work. It's always fun to argue the other way. Though I think we should leave it at this.
Quote:Originally posted by ouijaouija
hi
hongkong dvds are aso done later, so if you want a relatively brand new title, it won't be out
That's not entirely true. X Tv and NOIR just finished their R1 releases. and both have perfect collections either out or comming out in the next week [available for preorder in some places.]
If you're looking for sets for new Japanese anime or obscure R1 titles, you may be forced to wait a long time.