Go!Comi Sale: Good or Bad Sign?

[Hakaisha]

To play on the 'doom and gloom' scenario we have seen for some publishers over the last year, I don't know if Go!Comi having a sale is good or bad. Maybe it is good as it can be a cash infusion to keep things rolling. Maybe it is the beginning of another sad decline of an American manga publisher.

See the sale here

Those looking to buy, I personally recommend Train + Train. You can read reviews from Jarred Pine and myself here

[Noodle]

Originally Posted by Hakaisha

I don't know if Go!Comi having a sale is good or bad. Maybe it is good as it can be a cash infusion to keep things rolling. Maybe it is the beginning of another sad decline of an American manga publisher.

See the sale here

Go Comi has frequently had bundle sales on their site (to the point where I often suspected that they couldn't keep the renewed interest of bookstores/couldn't sell-thru volumes as their series went on), so this doesn't seem too far out of line. But I also don't doubt for a second that they've got a bunch of unsold stock to unload and could use the cash. All of the small pubs seem to be in this boat lately.

The fact that they have been missing dates, haven't had much to talk about for the last several months, and there's little but generic fan community stuff going on at their website are worrying signs in a market that is tumbling, but what I see as the bigger warning signs are their "coming soon" gimmicks:

$: OMG Tankobaaaan! If you read Japanese or if you just want to get your hands on the original "Made in Japan" versions of your favorite manga series, check out our brand-new tankobon section! It has both single volumes for sale and bundles. Supplies are limited, so if you really, really want to glomp these, buy them now!

$: OMG Booooooooks! We figure Fall is the best time to expand our store, what with lots of you needing more escapes than ever at this time of year -- from the heat or rain keeping you in the house, from school work, from vacation withdrawal. So we're adding a handful of Fantasy, YA, and other books to our store that we think might interest manga fans. We'll add more as time goes by, changing our inventory to suit the tastes of our customers. If you have suggestions for non-manga books you'd like to see us stock, you can always post them in our forums!

I was recently thinking about the former with regards to Aurora, since they did (are still doing?) the same thing but calling it a "grab bag." Now, I know not every little company can afford to attend lots of cons and handing out freebies, but still, promo-type materials used to be given away, not sold outright. (The ginormous amount of promo materials Broccoli gave out to fans, schools, and libraries at their demise comes to mind.) That said, just because no one thought of doing it before, doesn't mean I think it's not a pretty savvy way to please fans AND get rid of excess stuff around the office, but that it seemed like Aurora "needed" to sell that stuff off (especially on the heels of their "fire sale") reeked of a bad sign to me. Go Comi now follows suit.... and I have mixed feelings and a few reservations.

Now the latter: selling other books? Definitely an awkward enterprise for a manga publisher. Absolutely reeks of them needing money they aren't getting from the manga market.

Re: the sale -- I think Afterschool Nightmare is THE series to buy from their catalog. I may finally pick up Train + Train now (it's been on the maybe someday list).

[sir_integra]

I don't know what it all means, but it looks like a good time to pick up Afterschool Nightmare.

[celaine420]

Well I think I made my feelings for the company known before. I'm definitely frustrated and it was exacerbated by TRSI finally axing Ultimate Venus 5 just as Go Comi! is actually releasing it. First, maybe my biggest beef with TRSI is the randomly canceled volume with no notice, not even an email (the only thing remotely like it is a shipping confirmation for *other* items that finally get to ship because of the cancellation). Second, I find the timing extraordinarily suspicious, but other than that have no proof of any foul play beyond bad timing.

They had bundle sales this summer. These bundles are slightly better, and Train + Train at that price almost seems like something to think about. The first and second volume sale isn't terribly helpful as Amazon regularly discounts their titles 10-20% and if you wait around long enough it'll hit 20% which is more than their discount, and lots of other retailers have them at similar prices. Tower regularly puts their titles on sale for 7.99 and Borders' 4 for 5 deals place books in the same price area.

I would definitely recommend Afterschool Nightmare, it had a good amount of suspense and an interesting twist and I found the artwork to be generally enjoyable.

In the end, I did order the 07 Ghost bundle and Ultimate Venus 5. The former because I was looking to pick it up eventually and the latter for obvious reasons. I think they're really trying to go in-house with their sales to cut down on overhead costs, but I think it's the wrong strategy -- rather than trying to funnel buyers to your own online store, you need to make the titles which are overdue available at the important ones - Amazon, TRSI, Borders, and wherever else people place pre-orders or will get some traffic. People with outstanding orders will realize you're finally getting stuff out and that might improve things.

Previous comparisons to Aurora seem fair, but they (Aurora) seem a little more open about the direness of their situation. The irony of the situation is that Aurora has offered better sales of in-stock items on their own website but still had a TRSI sale recently. Yaoi Press also held a brief $5 sale right after a TRSI sale which seems odd although I don't think they had a ton of sales go through TRSI, looking at the weekly bestseller lists. Granted, I don't know if this strategy will work either, but I have seen a number of smaller manga retailers putting Aurora's two new titles -- Spicy But Sweet and Cigarette Kisses -- up on their "just arrived" lists which is positive.

Personally, I don't think Go Comi should be selling anything besides what they already have to handle -- getting rid of things you have already have should be fine but stocking new items is a waste. The main thing they're missing for their strategy seems to be advertising -- unless you're a fan, would you know to go to the Go Comi store?

[JeffDM]

The bundle discounts are nice (only one interests me though), the first volume love fest isn't much of a discount, that doesn't scream fire sale to me. At least the basic shipping is free.

[njchobitsfan]

I've been having thoughts on picking up Train + Train so go and twist my arm why doncha'

[ellone]

I personally don't think this is a good sign. I do hope they can continue to release their manga though. After the revelation at the end of Ultimate Venus 5, I want to get the next volume.

They have added some bundles since the original post. There are now Bound Beauty, A-I revolution, and Hikkatsu! bundles.