gren

In a vast world of online anime stores, all of which promise great prices, fast shipping, and perfect customer service, it's always good to get an idea of which ones are really on the level and will give you the best deal for your money. And with the holidays right around the corner, you may be looking for a gift for that special otaku in your life (or if you're Scroogey like me, yourself ). So we here at AO have decided to compile a list of online anime stores we've shopped at and whether or not they're worth a look.

Feel free to add your own experiences with the stores listed or one you feel should be on the list, but any new links will be subject to approval. And PLEASE DO NOT GIVE LINKS TO KNOWN BOOTLEGGING OR DOWNLOADING SITES, they will be removed. This thread is only for online stores at which you can purchase legitimate releases on DVD, books, or anime merchandise.


BIG DISCLAIMER: Neither AnimeOnline.net, its staff, or any member is responsible should you do business with one of these sites and have a bad experience. We are merely recommending and reviewing stores based on our own personal experiences and do not guarantee that yours will be the same. We are not responsible if you become a victim of fraud, misrepresentation, identity theft, or any thing else that could potentially happen when you make purchases online. AnimeOnline.net is in no way affiliated with any of the sites mentioned hereafter, and all views and opinions given are those of the respective posters and not necessarily those of AnimeOnline.net.



Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more

Always the staple, Amazon has tons of anime, manga, OSTs and related merchandise. The prices are generally good (usually under list price), although import OSTs can be kind of pricey...but there's always the option of independent sellers who may have an item for far less than Amazon itself is charging. Shipping is quick and most items fall under the "Free Shipping for a $25 or more order" deal. And with product and seller reviews, it isn't hard to find just what you want at a decent price from a trustworthy source. At the very least, ordering through Amazon is easy and secure, and they're upfront with shipping prices, return policies, etc. I've shopped at Amazon for years now and have had only one annoying experience...I ordered Big O and Big O II through an independent seller (deeveedees), and got two copies of the first season, one in the second season box. A quick email straigtened it out, and they shipped me the second season express and let me keep the extra first season set.



Welcome to Right Stuf, Your Anime Superstore and Web Resource

The RightStuf International has exactly what I'm looking for in an online store...a Bargain Bin. If you've got the time, you can find great deals on full sets of anime series, although they have a tendency to run out of the one disc you want fairly quickly, or only offer 6 of 7 of them at the reduced price, forcing you to pay full price for the non-sale disc. Everything else is usually around list price, maybe a few dollars less. Still, they have a huge selection and good sales every so often, free shipping on orders $99 and up, and again a secure ordering system. From the few times I've ordered from RightStuf, the shipping was a little slow...my one unpleasant experience involved a gift certificate that showed up 2 months after I ordered it (much too late to be the Christmas present it was intended to be). But the customer service was good, it only took one email explaining that I hadn't received my order and they responded within a day with an apology and the gift certificate number. And although I'm not a member myself, I believe for a small fee you can become a "Got Anime?" member and receive 10% off each order (someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about that).



Japanese Anime & Manga Store: Manga Books, Anime Figures, PVC Statues, DVDs & More - Anime Wild

This one is new for me, but I found some art books I was looking for (one of which was unavailable on Amazon), all for significantly less than either Amazon or my local comic book store wanted for them. I figured I'd take the hit in shipping; happily it was only $7 for USPS standard ground shipping for the order (3 books). All of their DVDs appear to be legitimate US releases and they have a wide selection of both anime and manga. I'll come back to this one once I've gotten my order and let you know if all went well.
EDIT: Well, after 3 months and several emails, I received no contact from this seller regarding my order. Went to the site today (2/8) to check, and found that the order had been canceled by AnimeWild on 1/29/08. I wasn't charged for anything, thankfully, but it irritates me that they couldn't even be bothered to notify me of my order status, or even respond to any of the emails I sent (which, by the way, is the only means of contacting them...should have tipped me off that something was amiss). Looking through the comments on their Amazon storefront, apparently I'm not the only person to have this experience. Seems that when part or all of an order is out of stock or backordered, AnimeWild waits a ridiculously long time on the chance the item may come in, then if it doesn't, cancels the order without notice. All of the items I ordered were in stock when I ordered them (and in stock a month later), and currently only one of those items is listed as out of stock on the website. Conclusion: AVOID. Poor customer service, item status apparently not updated frequently, and contact on any aspect of the transaction is pretty much impossible.



Welcome to DVD Planet - Your Home for DVD!

Formerly digitaleyes.net, I've done business with them several times through Amazon. Their prices aren't phenomenal, but every so often they do offer a better price than anyone else. Plus you get a list of current coupon codes with your order and points toward future purchases, so should you become a repeat customer you'll save a few bucks. Standard USPS shipping is $1.50 per order (easily the best price I've seen), and free shipping for orders $35 and up. Admittedly I don't shop here much, mainly because they're based in my home state which means I have to pay sales tax on each order. But I never have a problem with them when I do order, they get it right and it shows up when expected, if not sooner. I suppose I should also mention that dvdplanet sells all genre of DVD (not just anime) and is happy to buy your old DVDs (has a feature that will give you a price quote based on the DVD, it's not much but if you're broke and desperate it's better than nothing, I guess).



So you live in Europe do you?



Play.com (UK): DVDs, Music CDs, MP3s, Video Games, Books, Electronics & Gadgets - Free Delivery

Based in the UK, play.com is a great online seller for Europeans because they do something very few ever do, they charge zilch, nada, nothing for shipping. Couple that with very reasonable prices (for Europe that is) and we have a winner on our hands. Now, I have to add that play.com is NOT a dedicated anime seller. They sell all sorts of things but when you fish around, there's anime to be found. Payments can by made by Visa, Mastercard, Maestro and some other card I've never heard of.



Archonia.com, Your favourite manga and anime store

Archonia.com, on the other hand, IS a dedicated anime/manga/etc. seller. Their main base of operations is Belgium, which is handy because of its central location in Europe. Language selectors for English, German, Spanish, Dutch and French are available. The prices are reasonable for European standards and their offerings are quite up to date.
Payments can be made through bank deposit (Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Spain only) or credit card (Visa and Mastercard).





Staff, feel free to put your thoughts on these sites or others directly in this post.

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Gren's Music

Shinku no kage

Well I've got the time so I guess I'll recommend a couple of the sites I frequent:
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HimeyaShop.com

If you're looking for goods straight from Japan but don't want to go through the hassle of going through a Japanese site than HimeyaShop is the place for you. From everything from the most recent Region 2 Japanese Anime DVDs releases, Japan release games for all current home consoles and PCs, to all the newest magazine and light novel publications they've got it. Cant find what you're looking for because its not listed or since its been out of distribution for some time? Than "Custom Order" it and the staff of HimeyaShop will do their best to find it for you!!! (*Note: At times the items may be second hand but quality is assured) Fair prices and good selection with reliable service make this a great site to shop!!

From my personal experience:
I give them a 9/10. Good selection for decent prices and they're prompt on getting orders processed and shipped out, I usually get my goods within a week from the day of order. The Custom Order option is a life saver if you just cant seem to find the stuff you want. On countless occasions they've found all the stuff I want for the best price I got compared to other sites.
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Kid Nemo Company!, The Figure Scene is Here

If you're looking for figures than this is a good place to look. A big selection of figures and they've also offer the newest US releases of Anime DVDs, Art-books, and Anime apparel. With its selection of items and fair prices this is a fairly nice place to take a peek into to, especially if you're looking for figures. They also have a selection of Limited and Rare figures which usually contain items that were limited releases during events in Japan, etc.

From my personal experience:
I'd have to give them a 6.5/10. Despite their fair selection of items and prices I've had trouble with them on the shipments of my goods. There were times that items from my order had to be canceled due to the fact that the shipments getting delayed to the fact that the status of the item on the site was not updated and it turned out that they dont carry the item any more. But despite all that trouble I still use the site as they're always prompt on fixing the problem to the best of their abilities and I find their solutions to be fair.
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~Hope that some of you might find these sites to your liking

...and remember:

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LenMiyata

Grumble Grumble Grumble
The RightStuf is where I personally purchase most of my Anime. The "Got Anime" program is a great money saver if you purchase more then $120 worth a Anime a year... The exact details are...
As quoted from the "Got Anime" portal, which list all the upcoming releases for early pre-order by members, as well a member specific monthly discount coupons...

Got Anime?

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PrincessIchigo

Try this new website called JapanWorldWild.net
I get all my stuff their... its worth a try for you. And you dont have to ait for everything to load fpor so long sense' its new and about acouple ppl know about it (jking about acople ppl thingy couldn;t think of small number)

LenMiyata

Grumble Grumble Grumble
Not only does this site refuse to resolve, both Yahoo and Google come up empty for this term...

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Hassun

My Google search amounts to this: Gokujyo Japan World Wide [ GOKUJYO-JAPAN-WORLD-WIDE ]
Maybe she spelled world "wide" wrong?

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Legend

This pervert knows his stuff and I can personally vouch for this site. I recently came across a blog that was for the Akibahara monthly magazine, and they did one whole issue that dedicated itself to all Type-Moon stuff. Unfortunately, I was months late and even Amazon couldn't save me. Himeya shop did the job, even though for a higher price, which they fairly deserved charging me.

And now let me throw one into the hat:

Hobby Search Anime Toy Store

Friend showed this to me last night and I found so MUCH rare goodies that I had to post this here. They have t-shirts designs that I was bitching about in a thread a while back (if anyone remember). These designs blow their American counterpart away like Pacquiao did to De La Hoya. I have yet to buy anything yet, but I am ordering something.

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!Alphonse Hohenheim

A good site to buy anything really and anime is called Overstock.com i would aslo of course advised ebay.com which of course you all know already.