Places to buy anime.

Here are some places where some of us buy our anime. If you would like to recommend a retailer, let us know and we'll add them to this list.

Online

Rightstuf (www.rightstuf.com)

Rightstuf has far and away the best sales. They have weekly specials and typically each week there is a "studio sale" where all merchandise from a selected manufacturer is discounted 20-50%. They also have a 10% off discount club; this discount stacks on top of most other discounts. If you check out their bargain bin, you can find a lot of good deals. Typically when titles get re-released as box sets, they will close out the leftover singles in their bargain bin at big discounts. Shipping is usually fast, but it does usually take a day or two for orders to get processed. Also, backordered merchandise can often stay backordered for quite a while.

Deep Discount

Their 20% off sales are some of the best deals you'll find.

Second Spin

Second Spin specializes in used DVD's, CD's, and games. If you're looking for titles that are out of print or otherwise hard to find, this is a good place to look.

Animenation

Like Rightstuf, they often have studio sales as well as a discount club. They also have a selection of used DVD's, used CD's, and even used manga where you can sometimes find super deals. They also have a very good selection of imported artbooks and soundtracks. Their "Ask John" column is also somewhat informative.

Robert's Anime Corner Store

They don't have a lot of sales, but their "everyday" prices are a little bit lower than those at Rightstuf or Animenation. They also tend to process and ship orders very quickly. For those who venture down the dark path of figure collecting, they have a pretty large selection, the prices are not bad, and they actually keep these items in stock.

Entertainment Earth

They have a fairly extensive selection of anime and sci-fi related merchandise, including some fairly high-end Star Wars collectables, for those who enjoy that kind of stuff.

Brick and Mortar Stores

Moviestop

Their selection of new anime DVD's is fairly hit-and-miss, but they have a large selection of used anime DVD's. Also, if you have a Gamestop/EB discount card, it will net you the same 10% discount on used items. They offer pretty good trade-in credit as well.

Suncoast

Yes, it's a mall store, but the local Suncoast has a decent selection of anime. You will of course pay full retail price on most items but new releases are usually discounted and they do often have sales (sometimes up to 50% off, but sometimes the selection of sale items seem pretty random). The local store also stocks a surprising amount of non-DVD anime merchandise (manga, wall scrolls, plushies, figures, snacks), although the selection of such rogue items is understandably limited.

Best Buy

If you are looking for a new release, and you didn't preorder the title online, chances are you will get the best price at Best Buy.

Big Lots

Occasionally, after a box set for a title has long been released, certain companies (Bandai in particular) will sell the leftover singles to Big Lots (or stores of similar ilk, such as Family Dollar) to close them out.