Aurora/Deux Press/Luv Luv SALE from Manga Factory

[sawwie-chan]

Lucky you. T-T
i pre order through Deux. A month ago, T-T still waiting for 'Cigarette Kisses and Spicy But Sweet'.

i was wondering if Elisa have sent out email about the release.
Like shipping information and all,

Nope, usually there's no email for when Elisa ships the books. Are you in the US or an international customer? as international shipping would take longer.

If you're worried, just email Elisa to ask about your order. I'm just sitting back and waiting patiently for mine, it'll get here eventually

[grooveygirl]

No Elisa doesn't send an email the package just shows up. Or at least mines did.

[Ruby_Alexandrine]

Since I'm reading how long it takes for emails to be responded and some concerns, I would highly suggest to purchase the latest Deux Press releases, Cigarette Kisses and Spicy but Sweet at Amazon.com or elsewhere that has both mangas in stock. I already provided the Amazon.com links in my previous comment.

Akadot Retail has both mangas in stock but sells for slightly more than Amazon.com.

Spicy But Sweet (Yaoi GN) - Akadot Retail

Cigarette Kisses (Yaoi GN) - Akadot Retail

Either way, both websites are legit and it boosts sales for Deux Press.

[LiuFeiLong]

Thanks for the links Ruby Alexandrine, but there is one problem when you buy from sites like Amazon: the publishing house, Deux Press in this case, receives less money due to the commission Amazon receives for each sale. Since we were discusssing, some pages back, how hard the financial crisis is for such publishing houses, I, for one, would prefer to buy directly from the publishers, giving them my fully financial support, than paying Amazon for re-selling their stuff.

Don't get me wrong. I have bought from Amazon thousand of times, but recently I read an article about how tough they bargain and how much money they make from the publishers they represent, squeezing publishers' revenues a lot. This greedy policy doesn't sit well with me. That's why I have decided to support Manga publishers by buying directly from them -- even if that means I will have to wait longer for my orders.

[Ruby_Alexandrine]

@LiuFeiLong - Why does Deux/Aurora keep distributing their publications to Akadot Retail, Amazon.com, etc. knowing the delicate financial situation that they are in?

In my opinion, if they did not distribute their mangas elsewhere, then they would truly be out of business. If they don't make money selling their publications directly from their store, at least they have the other stores to depend on sales. At least those online stores have a devout customer base and those customers will purchase directly from Amazon.com, etc.

[2old4yaoi]

Another good option if you don't like AMZN is to get it from smaller independent retailers. Personally, I'd rather not shop at AMZN either. Do you know that they sometimes change the prices of the books in your cart if you did not check out within 24 hours? Recently I put CK & 2 other mangas in my cart & they changed the price of one manga up by $1. I have also read somewhere they have some kind of intelligent software that is supposed to be able to review the elasticity of the customers' purchase & really "stick it" to them. However, I have no choice because the book seems to be back order just about anywhere else. I think there is some serious distribution issue w/ Diamond Distribution that a lot of these comics / mangas cos are using to distribute their books to retailers like AMZN, Borders etc - so many of the books are already on back order for over a month now while the publishers said they still have stock of them in the warehouse.

Back to the 1st point I make, check out smaller retailers like www.everythingyaoi.com. I found that they are actually selling all series of "Breath" for $1 cheaper than AMZN. Their S&H is very reasonable - especially overseas. And your purchase would help fund the publishers (i.e. Yaoigen, Deux) & Yaoipress at the same time. They also have the backorder items of 801 Media cheaper than akadot.

[Ruby_Alexandrine]

The ones that have suffered greatly from the Diamond ordeal are the small publishers. Yaoi Generation who decided to use Diamond last year did not comment about the Diamond situation affected their sales. I know Yaoi Press and Aurora did receive the brunt of the ordeal and are currently struggling to stay in business.

I suggested those websites because they are the most common where fans purchase their mangas. In Amazon.com, they do have their pre-order prices which suppose to guarantee customers that they will be paying that price at checkout. Once the item is in stock, then the price increases for others who did not purchase at the pre-order price. I wasn't trying to discourage buyers not to purchase their mangas directly from publishers. I was simply showing that other online stores had the latest Deux publications in stock.

[2old4yaoi]

@Ruby. I understand where you are coming from. Any new sale is really good for the publishers no matter which outlet. I just can't stand AMZN policy sometimes. I just sent them an e-mail blasting their pricing just now because my book in question is not even in pre-order or few stock situation. When I checked this morning, the price had gone back down from 8 hours ago when I placed my order. However, I can't even cancel my order & replace it (just out of principle because I hate this kind of trick) because it had entered "getting ready to ship" process.

[Ruby_Alexandrine]

@Ruby. I understand where you are coming from. Any new sale is really good for the publishers no matter which outlet. I just can't stand AMZN policy sometimes. I just sent them an e-mail blasting their pricing just now because my book in question is not even in pre-order or few stock situation. When I checked this morning, the price had gone back down from 8 hours ago when I placed my order. However, I can't even cancel my order & replace it (just out of principle because I hate this kind of trick) because it had entered "getting ready to ship" process.

Its very unfortunate that you had to go through that. Yet your experience does serve its purpose in warning others to be careful. Honestly I shop more at Right Stuf International than I do at Amazon.com for my mangas. Right Stuf doesn't have Cigarette Kisses and Spicy but Sweet in stock yet.

[sawwie-chan]

@Ruby_Alexandrine
I shop with the Rightstuf a lot too as they have the BEST international shipping deal out of everyone. However, other than DMP/801 (where their publisher's shipping is a killer and totally disproportionate to everyone else), I am willing to fork out a few extra $s to buy it from the original publisher so that the full amount does go back to the publishers. Amazon and Akadot are too expensive for shipping. Also, I have had a few bad experiences with Amazon, the manga that I purchased BRAND NEW direct from Amazon didn't look particularly new to me when I receive it (they looked warned and the covers scratched like used goods). Unfortunately, its not worth the hassle to send it back at shipping costs above the cost of the book itself

The reason why the Rightstuf doesn't have the two titles in stock is probably because they don't have a big enough order/preorder list to make an order worth their while. I read this on the DMP forum (about the Lonely Egotist or some other title). Therefore, I think they probably have a similar policy as Amazon/Diamond. I know that everythingyaoi source some of their manga through Diamond also.

@2old4yaoi - I keep a few titles in my amazon cart all the time and watch their prices go up/down. Amazon prices fluctuate a lot and usually, when they change there's a big warning list at the top to tell you how much its changed (when you first click on the cart before checking out). This only happens once so you have to be on the ball the first time. I always check that when I'm considering going through with my order.