2 posts tagged “hmv”

I know I have been slowing down a little bit on this site.  To be honest I just haven't been overly excited about the latest H!P goings-on lately.  I really liked the Guardians 4 single, and I am sure I will have plenty to talk about after heading down to Anime Expo in Los Angeles with the IW gang.  But for now I have been doing a lot more work on my two AKB48 sites, My Sweet Meetan and Chuo Dori.  So please click on over to those sites to check out what's up with the lovely girls from Akihabara.  Oh, and my Meetan site is getting tons of hits every day!  So if you are already visiting it, arigatou gozaimasu!

Now with that out of the way...

Buy Site price check time, Yayyyyyy!  It was time for me to make another J-music purchase.  And like last time I set up the same three CDs on the three buy sites I usually use to see who was giving me the best deal.  I have always been partial to HMV since they usually have the best overall price, and I like that my merchandise is coming directly from Tokyo.  And you can't really say this is a "GETS" post, since I don't have any of the CDs yet...

I usually never buy the AKB48 singles.  The truth is that I usually wait until I get to Japan, and then ask all of my AKB48 fan buddies if they have any extra copies of the "theater version" since everyone usually has 5-10 copies from all of the handshake events.  Hell, I'll probably do that this time around too.  But this is the version that comes with the Senbatsu election ballot.  And I am going to do my damndest to get my vote for Meetan in before the deadline.  As far as the CD itself?  I love the song, and Ono Erena's solo b-side "First Love" is really pretty!

I really love SCANDAL, although I didn't buy their last single because I just didn't care for it.  But this song is a lot more fun, and the PV is cute.  I have no idea what the different versions have other than the covers being different.  I chose this version for the full-body poses as opposed to the upper-body pose on the other LE version.

I actually bought this before I ever heard the song.  Believe it or not, I still adore Kago.  I realize she has done much to alienate her fans.  But personally I would rather feel badly for her than condemn her.  She has been in the idol world for so long, and I think sometimes we forget that she is still very young.  I have the feeling she didn't have the easiest upbringing, and is still a bit "lost" in life.  And I can never forget that Kago was the one who brought me to Hello! Project.  If it wasn't for that fateful day that I stumbled upon that video of her, I may never have become the fan that I am today.  I would never have gone to Japan...Etcetera etcetera.  I owe a lot to Kago, and I still support her 100%.  And I did catch her PV today and really enjoyed the song.  So I am doubly glad I bought it.

Oh yeah, this is supposed to be about price comparing, right?  Let's see...

HMV: 4,842 Yen, including EMS express shipping.  Not bad considering the shipping cost.  I also had a 200 Yen coupon to drop the price to 4,642 Yen.

YesAsia:  4,549 Yen, including their free shipping.  The slower shipping takes about a week longer, sometimes more.  YesAsia also offers express shipping for an idditional 1,600 Yen.

CD Japan:  6,045 Yen, including EMS express shipping.  CD Japan does offer a slower shipping option which would have dropped around 1,000 Yen off of the price.  Throw in a 500 Yen coupon and it is about the same as Yes Asia.

So once again I think HMV is the best deal when you consider that you are getting the merchandise much faster.  CD Japan does seem a lot more expensive at first.  But it is just that they charge so much for shipping.  If it weren't for that, they would be a lot more competitive.  And just to be fair, I did the test again with Morning Musume's upcoming concert DVD for their Spring "Platinum 9 Disco" Tour.  That is obviously on my "must buy" list since I was in the audience.  Keep in mind that I used the same shipping methods.  Express for HMV and CD Japan, and "Free Regular" for Yes Asia...

HMV:  4,202 Yen
Yes Asia:  4,275 Yen
CD Japan:  5,300 Yen.

Once again HMV comes out the best.  This J-pop collecting can be an expensive hobby, so it is always good to see where you can get the best bang for your buck.  And for my next purchase you can be sure I will do the same exercise again.  A good shopper is a smart shopper... 

At least that's what my Mom used to tell me!

CK in California

As a regular purchaser of J-pop goods, I get a little spoiled when I go to Japan.  It is so easy to pop over to the local music store and having an endless supply of CDs, DVDs and other great merchandise to choose from.  And the J-music web sites do a pretty good job of making that same merchandise available to everyone.  Although you have to deal with the shipping costs, which become especially prohibitive when purchasing photobooks.

So I make a habit of price comparing my three preferred sites before making any final purchases.  This week I had three CD's in my queue that I was ready to pull the trigger on.

I know I have poked fun at Manoeri quite a bit, but I really like this her current single!  She and the H!P Eggs did a great job performing it as the opening act for C-ute and again for Morning Musume when I was in Japan last month.  So it brings back a warm memory for me.  And I love Omakase! Guardian.  Guardians 4 remind me of Athena and Robikerottsu, whose songs I found to be catchy and fun.  Ketchup Mania came out with two "Best Of's" One is a 2 CD set, the one I bought is a CD/DVD set.  I have no idea what is on the DVD, so I am excited to get it.  I would love to see them come out with a DVD of their final concert in Nagoya.  Their final show in Tokyo was unbelievably awesome!!!

*Total Price if I were buying them in Japan - Around 5600 Yen.

YesAsia - 6900 Yen.  That includes their free shipping, which is a bit slow.  What you'll notice is that YesAsia makes up for their less expensive shipping with higher prices on the merchandise.  And unlike HMV and CD Japan, I don't believe YesAsia gets the "extras" that the shops in Japan usually have.  But I will give them points for that exclusive autographed copy of Ice Creamusume's CD.  And they now report on Oricon.

HMV - 6600 Yen.  This includes EMS Express shipping.  HMV usually does include the extras in the shipments, which is pretty cool.  The extras usually include small posters, photocards, store exclusive CD covers.  I notice that I have been buying from HMV more and more lately.  I wish they had a better "frequent buyer" discount program.  But for overall service, HMV is my favorite.  If I have any criticism of HMV, it would be that occasionally my orders go on backorder.  But it doesn't happen often.

CDJapan - 8900 Yen, including express EMS shipping.  Wow!  That is so much higher than the other two.  Granted, they do ship EMS, which is really fast.  But the shipping cost (2500 Yen!), and slightly higher CD prices compared to HMV just killed the deal!  The cool thing about CD Japan is they email me quite a few coupons.  Even so, it wouldn't have made up the huge difference in this purchase scenario.

So the obvious choice here was HMV.  And I notice that I have been making that choice more and more lately.  But I always check the three sites, because you never know who might have a good sale.  And sometimes Limited Editions sell out earlier on some sites than others.

I hope some of you find this information helpful!

CK in California