Is anime overpriced in your country?

[extricate]

I firmly believe that anime is WAY overpriced, at least here in the states. It's 20 usd for 4 episodes of bebop, to get the whole series it'll cost you at least 120, a little more most likely. The ghost in the shell special volumes are around 36 usd for 4 episodes, granted it's "special edition" but i dont really care. The Gits movie is still 20 usd even though it came out forever ago.

You can still find it slightly discounted but not discounted enough imho. TV shows here are around 38-50 usd per season. I refuse to pay for anime unless i can get it for a reasonable price, such as the one above.
The reasons why it's so high could be a variety of things, this is all speculation on my part.

1. We could just be paying the extra money it costs to ship here. I dont believe this is the case, otherwise toyota cars would cost more.
2. It could be because of the mass piracy of anime. This seems more logical, but also remember music is mass pirated and the price of it hasn't risen. Although multimedia applications such as photoshop and dreamweaver are mass pirated and their prices are through the roof.
3. The animators are just greedy. This could always be the case, but who knows.

If you wish to expand or refute my reasons listed abover please do so. Oh and by the way usd stand for "united states dollars" (for those of you that didnt know, I figured usd was better then using the symbol

I've created a poll with this thread. Please tell us the numbers listed below
1. List the price of anime in your country.
2. Please use the word as well as the symbol for your currency. (this is so we can convert it via google, sometimes the symbols mess it up).
3. And if you want, tell us why you think it's priced the way it is.

 

[jeisan]

because they can.
i dont believe its because of piracy, as im sure many anime fans would buy more if it was more reasonably priced.

but as it is now anime is still a niche market so until more people buy it...

 

[Nall-ohki]

You think they're overpriced in AMERICA?

Try Japan: the same DVDs you're talking about go for 7140 yen on Amazon.

Anime is DISCOUNTED abroad.

Yes, it's expensive, but it's also targetting a smaller audience than regular TV shows are in the US - they can't make nearly as much on them because they can't sell as many.

 

[hkBattousai]

Most people in my country think that anime and cartoon are the same thing! And they say it is for kids. That's why I think only kiddy anime is airing in our TV.
And anime is not sold here, we download it...

 

[Alma]

same situation as hkBattousai said, is here...

i cannot buy anime legally here. original - no way!



oh, and i do not even have a chance to watch it on tv... except for pokemon and yu-gi-oh (which i actually watched for sometime )





so.. i didn't vote on this poll

 

[Mycernius]

As Jeisen pointed out, anime is a niche market, so prices are going to be higher. As for whether you find it expensive depends on your point of view. To me 20 USD is cheaper than what we pay in the UK, average about 15 GBP, which to me is could be slightly cheaper. It also depends on ytour finacial situation. To someone who earns a good wage their disposable income is higher than someone who has a lower income, or is a student, so what you might call expensive they would find easily within the cost of their own budget. I shop around on the net trying to find various sites with cheaper DVDs. The one or two I use do not charge shipping costs, but sometimes I might have to wait a few weeks. Ebay is also good for deals, but watch out for pirate copies. They are naff and not worth it.

 

[suaha]

Well, In my country all anime 's so cheap. only 1$ (US Dollar)

 

[twinklestar]

Particular popular Japanese Anime series are available at any major US local library with large Asian population,some cities have budget for cultural-diversity fund.

 

[Desert_Punk]

Aghh yes it is extreamly overpriced. which is why I have started watching fansubs. Lol its MUCH cheaper plus its in Japanese which imo is better then english translations!

 

[Davey]

It is in the Netherlands as well, I think it was about 30 euro at least for one DVD...

So that's why we Download it... ( well my nephew downloads 24/7 so he always gave me Anime)

 

[Domon]

I agree that it's overpriced in britain, so i buy almost all my anime on ebay which in my opinion is infinitley better value. I did buy a pirate copy on one occasion but it was good quality and only cost me £0.99 for 26 episodes so I guess I got lucky.

 

[justin]

Most places here sell anime for over $20 and sometimes more, but there are a few spots where you can get it for under $15.