Looking for ways to spend money for manga, but concerned about the price? Krystallina from Daiyamanga will guide you on getting manga for not so much money! – Ed. Note
We all want to support the companies and creators of our favorite series. But supporting them doesn’t have to mean paying full price for everything. For my first post here, I’m going to post a revised version of my deal tips from my blog. You probably will recognize many of the sites here, but I hope you find some new ways to feed your manga addiction. If you have any other suggestions, I’d love to hear them! My ideas are targeted toward U.S. residents, so international visitors, feel free to share your favorite ways to supporting the manga market!
Free Digital Manga
You don’t always need to bring out your wallet to support your favorite authors.
Crunchyroll offers the latest chapters of many titles (mostly shounen and seinen) for free. The site includes popular series like Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, and The Seven Deadly Sins. Chapters are published the same day as the Japanese issues go on sale (simu-pub). They’ve recently added even more titles. While some series are also available in print, others are only available here.
Manga Box offers free manga chapters for various series such as Love and Lies, Shion of the Dead, and The Obligatory Harem Contract. Issues start being released on Tuesday with new chapters every day for the next week. You can read quite a few back chapters.
Viz Media is offering chapters of Boys Over Flowers Season 2 for free. It’s also a simu-pub. They also offer first chapters of most of their manga for free as a way to sample a series.
All three have associated apps allowing for reading on a computer or mobile device. Want more titles? Read these ones so that companies will want to keep releasing simu-pubs.
New Physical Manga
The “old school” and most popular way of reading manga, buying physical copies supports the creators and companies directly and encourages stores to stock more manga.
Right Stuf offers most manga at 25% off everyday, and 33% off during a book studio sale. For $12 a year, you can get an additional 10% off most items with their Got Anime membership. During manga publishers’ sales, this means you can get print volumes for about 40% off. This is often cheaper than digital volumes! They also recently had a Viz Media shoujo sale that took titles down to 46% off with Got Anime. Right Stuf also has weekly specials with random volumes often being 50% off. Furthermore, during the holidays (and occasionally throughout the year), Right Stuf offers some manga bundles. I believe they have gone as high as 65% off for a complete series or 75% for one volume series. They’ve offered old Tokyopop title bundles like Hetalia: Axis Powers and Missile Happy! as well as current series bundles like Kamisama Kiss. Shipping is free on US $49+ or $250+ for Canada. They’ve recently revamped their website, and the best change is that Got Anime is applied automatically now.
Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, Half Price Books, and other bookstores often have coupons available. Some coupons will be off a total-purchase ($5 off $25), and others will be a percent-off a single item (30% one book). Stores will also do promotions like two for the price of three. Sign up for emails to get access to the latest sales information and coupons. If you have a local physical store, you can avoid the shipping and handling charges, and sometimes the coupon values are higher than Internet coupons. Barnes and Noble offers free shipping on $25+. Books-a-Million shipping starts at $3 plus $.99 an item.
In addition to their coupons, Barnes and Noble has a B&N Membership club: for $25 a year, you get 10% off every day as well as free 1-3 day shipping. Everyone can take advantage of their weekly special called Manga Mondays. Every Monday, they offer about five titles for 50% off. Their Manga Mondays offer titles from all major publishers and genres, and some of the titles are preorders.
Books-a-Million’s discount program is also $25 a year and also includes 10% off + free shipping. Military, retired military, and their family members can also shop through AAFES to get Books-a-Million’s Millionaire Club benefits for free.
Amazon prices have been hovering about 10% off lately, but I have seen titles and preorders go over 50% off MSRP, such as when Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon was being released. Pricing can be completely random: one volume can be 35% off while the previous volume is only 10%. Once in a while, usually around the holidays, they have released coupons like $5 off of $25 or 30% off one book. Use Camel Camel Camel or its associated Firefox/Chrome extensions to set up price alerts and see what the lowest price has been. If you do see a cheaper price somewhere, use Amazon’s “tell us about a lower price” button and submit the price. Encourage others to do so as well to increase the likelihood they’ll drop the price. Shipping is free with Prime ($99/year, college students can get a discount and parents/guardians can sign up for additional benefits) or on orders $35+. International customers will want to check their version of Amazon.
Walmart has been aggressively pricing their manga recently. Many old and recent titles are 47-48% off. They offer free shipping to store on select titles or free shipping on $50. However, book preorders are eligible for free shipping with no minimum purchase. They are also planning on launching their Shipping Pass program this summer. For $50 a year, members will be eligible for free 1-3 day shipping with no minimum purchase. While they also accept credit/debit cards and PayPal, Walmart also offers a “pay in store” option where you place your order online, take your order number to your nearest store within 48 hours, and just pay in cash (or another method) at a regular register. If you find a title in-store, you can pricematch sites like Amazon and Target as well as their own website. Walmart.com will also pricematch if you contact them.
Target also offers some titles, but they do not have nearly the stock as some of their competitors. On the bright side, Red Card holders (credit or debit card) can get 5% off plus free shipping every day. Brick-and-mortar stores will also pricematch Amazon and Walmart.
Rakuten offers many manga at about 36-37% off every day. They have also done coupon promotions ($10 off $30 with Visa Checkout, $5 off $50 purchase) and bonus/free points from their emails ($5 in free points, spend $100 get $10 back). You can get free shipping on $40 in the books, music, and movies categories. You can contact them to ask to pricematch other online retailers like Amazon and Walmart.
Consider book outlet and warehouse sites like Book Outlet and Bargain Book Shop. The books are technically new, but they typically have marks (black line on bottom book) to indicate they are publisher overstock. The marks do not affect the readability. Some manga can be found for about $3 to $4 a volume; this can be lowered with coupons. Many titles are old and/or out of print, but some recent hits can be found as well. Titles and volumes available are pretty random.
Sometimes the best strategy is to wait. Many popular AAA titles get re-released as omnibuses. Some omnibuses include bonus features like color pages, but, more importantly, you can get two volumes for about $15 MSRP or three for $20. With discounts at various stores, you can drive this price lower. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee a series will get a rerelease, and some omnibuses have been canceled mid-series. Waiting too long may also make a series (or at least random individual volumes) go out of print. Then third-party sellers will hike the price well beyond MSRP. Worse case scenario is when a series vastly underperforms and the company chooses to halt production.
Along this same line, Viz Media has released boxed versions where they offer a complete series in a special box. They’re usually not offered at a huge discount (only about 10% off individual volumes MSRP), but you get a box and usually a bonus (mini artbook, stationary, etc.). Combine this with discounts at other stores to get it cheaper.
Used Manga
If you don’t always need to have the latest series or have to have everything brand new, buying used is a great way to save money. The downside is that the secondary market does not directly support the companies or creators.
While prices can vary wildly, if there’s a series you’re interested in, you can sometimes get a really good deal on eBay. Sellers will often put various volumes of different series in a lot, making these books dirt cheap compared to buying new copies or a complete set. This could be a good way to test a bunch of series. Full series (or nearly complete or all current volumes) in a listing are significantly more money. Individual volumes are usually a rip-off because of shipping charges and the seller trying to recoup their investment. (Shipping really is expensive for a single title.) I recommend not paying more than 50% of list price with shipping factored in for used, unless it’s an out of print title. Out of print title prices can vary from as low as $1-$2 a volume all the way up to its list price of $10, and sometimes higher! The popularity of the series, number of copies printed, and what the publisher does with unsold stock all play into the selling price. Make sure you check sold listings in order to see the average selling price. Also factor in shipping, condition, and seller reputation. You can also earn eBay bucks on every purchase. Once in a while, eBay will send out special offers. Lately it’s mostly been earn 2-5x eBay bucks offers, but they send out 10% off one item or similar coupons occasionally. Note that eBay coupons are seemingly sent out randomly. Some people seem to get coupons all the time, and others hardly ever get one. If you earn $5 eBay bucks or more in a quarter, then you earn the certificate. Regardless, my best eBay advice is to check constantly and do not be in a rush.
GoHastings.com also has a large selection of used manga. They have had coupons up to 50% off their used price, but I haven’t seen one that high in a very long time. The next best I’ve seen is a 41% off coupon; forty percent off coupons come up fairly regularly. With shipping included, you can get manga for up to 75% off retail. Prices can vary in a series; one can be listed at $4 and an other at $6. All the used titles are in readable condition, but the older the title, the less likely it is to be pristine. Most of my titles have been in very good (almost brand new) condition, but some are just good and show clear signs of use. As long as you don’t care about perfection, it’s a good deal for the price. Be aware that books may be out of stock after you order. Shipping for books is $3 an order plus $.99 a book, so it’s best to place large orders. If you live near a brick-and-mortar store, see what they have available. You can also get a Hastings Passport card to earn more discounts.
Other secondhand marketplaces include Half, Better World Books, Amazon Marketplace (third-party sellers), Alibris, and AbeBooks. Again, prices can vary wildly. Even the same seller on these used marketplaces can charge different prices due to site fees. Half hasn’t done any new coupons outside of new customer recently, but Better World Books often has promotions like 50% off select titles or four bargain books for $12. Your purchase at Better World Books also supports various literacy programs. Compare prices and conditions using sites like BookFinder and search the web for coupons. You can also sign up for emails and newsletters to get additional coupons. Like all secondhand books, be sure to check the condition of the title and balance it against the price.
Finally, check out any local library sales. As new series come in, less popular series rotate out. Some sales also feature donated books, and you never know what you are going to find. Obviously larger libraries will have better selections, but keep your eyes peeled.
Digital Manga
Digital volumes retail for less (usually around $6). You can get instant access to titles, and, in some cases, read the volumes before the print versions are available. Digital sales can also provide a way to get some out of print series, and now more titles are only being released in digital versions.
Viz Media not only has their own catalog available but have also acquired several out of print Tokyopop titles. Again, first chapters of series are available to read for free. In addition, Viz Media has offered sales on digital bundles. For example, the first 10 volumes of NANA were selling for $20 and the complete Dr. Slump series for $18. There’s also the weekly Shonen Jump digital magazine subscription for $.99 an issue or $26 for a year. This gets you several chapters of manga a week.
Most of the other US publishers (and Viz Media as well) have many of their titles available on various e-book platforms: Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Google Books, and iBooks. All except iBooks are available on computers as well as mobile devices, and most titles offer free previews. As usual, watch for sales and promotions. For instance, Kobo offers $5 in free credit for new customers. Subscribe to the companies’ email lists for additional discounts. Check online and brick-and-mortar stores for sales on Google Play and iTunes credit. A $50 iTunes card often goes for $45, even $40. Google Play credit sales are more rare, but some stores will offer a free gift card with purchase. If you get your online credit on sale, it’s like getting an extra 10-20% off your purchase. The publishers themselves will sometimes offer discounts at all digital retailers, and you may be able to drive the price lower with the store’s discounts.
Digital-only sites include Renta, eManga, and ComiXology, Note that some niche titles at eManga can cost $15 to $20. They have released coupons for 40% off all titles. For Renta, they use a ticket system. You can get bonus tickets for purchasing ticket bundles. Keep an eye on the eManga (Digital Manga Publishing) Twitter account. They often post discount codes for the first x number of people. ComiXology offers $5 in credit for referrals, and they sometimes give out free comic codes at conventions.
If you want to read the older chapters of Crunchyroll titles, for $7 a month you get access to all their manga plus anime and drama. You also get perks like early access to anime (simu-cast), mobile/console streaming, and discounts at their store. They offer a two-week trial, and paid members can generate a limited amount of guest passes to allow non-paid members full access for 48 hours. Crunchyroll membership also helps encourage more titles to be picked up.
Amazon’s Kindle store offers manga volumes for as low as $3 a volume, and I’ve seen digital omnibuses for around $15 for seven volumes. In addition, if you are a Prime member, you can choose to have your orders shipped via no-rush shipping; this will get you $1 credit to their digital music, movie, and bookstore. So if you find something you need but don’t have to have it right away, start earning free credit. Amazon also offers Kindle Unlimited: for $10 a month, they offer a wide range of books and audiobooks, and you can read as many of them as you want each month. There is a 30 day free trial offer available.
Have an Android device? Install the app Google Opinion Rewards. Google will randomly notify you a survey is available (typically once every day or two). Most surveys range from one to six questions. Almost all will earn you free play credit ranging from $.10 to $1.00. This may not seem like much, but the surveys are very short and mostly multiple choice questions. I’ve earned about $70 in a year and a half. Sometimes surveys come in constantly and at other times nothing. At $5-7 a title, that’s only 10-14 books, but it’s free money for very simplistic tasks.
Thanks to Coco for some additional tips!