Anime websites

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usamimi
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Re: Anime websites

Post by usamimi »

ParaParaJMo wrote:Man, wasn't AnimeNation owned by ADV or whatever?
I think they were either heavily sponsored by them, or had some sort of partnership? A lot of their old advertising featured ADV titles front and center, so that wouldn't surprise me.

I liked shopping there back when they were more of a mom-and-pop place that had import items (they used to sell SO much import merch and anime cels back in the 90s!) but then they became a larger company with corporate backing, and all they sold was just the same stuff you could find at any Boarders or Barnes & Noble. I'm honestly surprised they lasted as long as they did!
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Re: Anime websites

Post by Drew_Sutton »

usamimi wrote:
ParaParaJMo wrote:Man, wasn't AnimeNation owned by ADV or whatever?
I think they were either heavily sponsored by them, or had some sort of partnership? A lot of their old advertising featured ADV titles front and center, so that wouldn't surprise me.

I liked shopping there back when they were more of a mom-and-pop place that had import items (they used to sell SO much import merch and anime cels back in the 90s!) but then they became a larger company with corporate backing, and all they sold was just the same stuff you could find at any Boarders or Barnes & Noble. I'm honestly surprised they lasted as long as they did!
No, ADV has (or had, I guess) no financial stake in operating AnimeNation. Yes, banner ads and frequent sales featured lots of ADV product but I think that had more to do with the sheer inventory and size than any partnerships or deals. There was one deal, when AN started licensing shows briefly, ADV did home video distribution for one of the titles.

I think I placed a couple of orders way back when but never used them probably as much as I should have during the Boom Years. When they first started, like a lot of contemporary anime-focused shops I remember, they had diverse inventory (usually of stuff out of my price range) but yeah, the inventory homoginized as the industry grew, my guess being that that inventory sold in higher units or at a quicker pace, than some of the even more niche-niche stuff.
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Re: Anime websites

Post by usamimi »

Drew_Sutton wrote:
usamimi wrote:
ParaParaJMo wrote:Man, wasn't AnimeNation owned by ADV or whatever?
I think they were either heavily sponsored by them, or had some sort of partnership? A lot of their old advertising featured ADV titles front and center, so that wouldn't surprise me.

I liked shopping there back when they were more of a mom-and-pop place that had import items (they used to sell SO much import merch and anime cels back in the 90s!) but then they became a larger company with corporate backing, and all they sold was just the same stuff you could find at any Boarders or Barnes & Noble. I'm honestly surprised they lasted as long as they did!
No, ADV has (or had, I guess) no financial stake in operating AnimeNation. Yes, banner ads and frequent sales featured lots of ADV product but I think that had more to do with the sheer inventory and size than any partnerships or deals. There was one deal, when AN started licensing shows briefly, ADV did home video distribution for one of the titles.

I think I placed a couple of orders way back when but never used them probably as much as I should have during the Boom Years. When they first started, like a lot of contemporary anime-focused shops I remember, they had diverse inventory (usually of stuff out of my price range) but yeah, the inventory homoginized as the industry grew, my guess being that that inventory sold in higher units or at a quicker pace, than some of the even more niche-niche stuff.
*nodnod* That makes sense. I meant more ads in magazines than online (they had a lot of Evangelion themed ones, but you're right, ADV sold a lot of titles!)

It's true that the industry's homoginized a lot. Stores online have dwindled immensely, I think TRSI has survived where many have failed because they have not only amazing customer service, but that they also put out anime themselves as well. (And will also get store exclusives, some import titles/items occasionally, etc.) Gotta have something to set you apart from other stores.
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Re: Anime websites

Post by Drew_Sutton »

Well, I think one of the chief differences between TRSI and a retailer like AnimeNation wasn't just the licensing and sale of product but it was a bit of timing and ultimately what they licensed. AN got some lesser known titles that weren't known well prior to release and didn't exactly set the world on fire. I think that though was due to the industry expanding and acquisition costs heading towards unsustainable pricing. TSRI, on the other hand, managed to get titles that had prior recognition behind them like Rose of Versailles and Dirty Pair that I imagine would have sold at least 'OK' in just about any industry climate.

To me, I think TSRI's success has been through customer service (only had a couple interactions with them and all were positive) and I think their discount sales. I don't know if TSRI did much of a physical presence though, except for maybe some direct sales at conventions. AN also had a physical retail store in Florida and I know they also traveled to conventions as vendors for quite a number of years, before they started licensing. That is quite a bit of a different beast when you have physical storefront to manage as well.
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Re: Anime websites

Post by usamimi »

Drew_Sutton wrote:Well, I think one of the chief differences between TRSI and a retailer like AnimeNation wasn't just the licensing and sale of product but it was a bit of timing and ultimately what they licensed. AN got some lesser known titles that weren't known well prior to release and didn't exactly set the world on fire. I think that though was due to the industry expanding and acquisition costs heading towards unsustainable pricing. TSRI, on the other hand, managed to get titles that had prior recognition behind them like Rose of Versailles and Dirty Pair that I imagine would have sold at least 'OK' in just about any industry climate.

To me, I think TSRI's success has been through customer service (only had a couple interactions with them and all were positive) and I think their discount sales. I don't know if TSRI did much of a physical presence though, except for maybe some direct sales at conventions. AN also had a physical retail store in Florida and I know they also traveled to conventions as vendors for quite a number of years, before they started licensing. That is quite a bit of a different beast when you have physical storefront to manage as well.
A friend of mine SWEARS up and down that TRSI once came to Sakura-con, but I don't remember ever seeing them...even back when they were a much smaller company. I totally agree that managing a physical store is a LOT more work than a company that has no storefront.

TRSI definitely has the best customer service I've ever had, for any sort of store. Like you, I've only had to go through their customer service a handful of times over the years, but every time it was hassle-free and ended without any problems or aggravations. (Also I think it's adorable that they have dub voice actors do their messages and menus. It's just cute.)

I think their "Club Anime" subscription discount club thing is also pretty cool. If I was buying more stuff on a regular basis, I'd definitely use it.
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Re: Anime websites

Post by llj »

Anyone remember http://www.ex.org? That was a webzine I used to visit often, although they were very inconsistent with their updates. Most of their writers later moved to ANN though.

There's a "coming soon" notice now when you type in that address; presumably a revamp of the site was intended at one point. Of course, I think it's been "coming soon" since 2004. :lol:
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Re: Anime websites

Post by ParaParaJMo »

I remember buying import stuff on the back of EGM and Gamepro magazines and Tips N Tricks magazines
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Re: Anime websites

Post by usamimi »

llj wrote:Anyone remember http://www.ex.org? That was a webzine I used to visit often, although they were very inconsistent with their updates. Most of their writers later moved to ANN though.

There's a "coming soon" notice now when you type in that address; presumably a revamp of the site was intended at one point. Of course, I think it's been "coming soon" since 2004. :lol:
I remember EX! I was impressed they even managed to get Japanese industry artists to illustrate some of their bigger articles back in the day.

I'm amazed that landing page is still there...someone's either still paying for that domain name, or they got a REALLY long-term contract on it! :lol:
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Re: Anime websites

Post by greg »

I used to follow EX back in the day. I liked their article on the LOGH studio and their gaming-related articles. I too am surprised that the site is still up, after being defunct for 10 years.

I ordered from Anime Nation only a few times. I remember clearly buying my BGC wallscroll from them. Then once I'd ordered several DVDs, and they did not have an option to group my items together and ship them in a bundle. So they shipped my stuff individually, and I ended up paying shipping each time. Maybe they improved their shipping options after then, but that was the last time I ever ordered from them.

I used to enjoy the Anime Nation forums, but I got tired of the "kids' table" atmosphere there. Sometimes I would read through page after page of drama and think to myself, "Is this guy really that stupid, or is he just trolling everyone? Doesn't he have anything better to do with his life?" I ended up putting some people on my "ignore" list. I remember one emo guy with a bi-polar disorder who would troll me sometimes. Ha, and there was one Japanese guy there who used to only post in the Japanese culture subforum and make these rather nationalistic-sounding posts and piss people off. He'd often revert to typing in Japanese because he couldn't express himself clearly enough, and that would piss people off even more!
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Re: Anime websites

Post by usamimi »

WOW. They forced you to pay separate shipping for multiple items?! I would've been hella pissed and probably canceled my order, because that just sounds ridiculous.

I never bothered with their forum because their online "articles" were often wrong and sometimes sounded kinda full of themselves (their "Ask John" column, especially...half of the time he didn't seem to know WHAT the hell he was talking about) so I assumed the forums would attract similar types. Guess I wasn't too far off. :lol:
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