CDJapan or AmiAmi?

[Moondew]

Which is better? Shipping, prices, selection, and whatnot, etc.

I'm planning to buy artbooks but some are out of print in cdjapan like kazuaki, baccano and harada's. If I send email,
maybe they would restock... but it's out of print so do they not carry it anymore?

And Amiami has cheaper prices for figures, they say but I don't know much about it.

This are the artbooks I'm planning to buy. If there's ever a website that is more better or has them, then please suggest.

Adekan Illustration Gokusaisyonen
Kazuaki Artworks
Baccano Artbook
Takehito Harada Artworks I (english version is on amazon but shipping is so expensive!) and II.
Steins; Gate Imaginations of HUKE
2 Shirow Miwa doujinshi illustrations


I haven't had prior existenceexperience with any of these sites.

[Munemasa Katagiri]

I only know CD Japan, I bought some stuff from there years ago. Shipping prices vary, economic shipping is very cheap but takes I while to arrive. They're a good store, you can buy from them with no worries.

[Moondew]

I only know CD Japan, I bought some stuff from there years ago. Shipping prices vary, economic shipping is very cheap but takes I while to arrive. They're a good store, you can buy from them with no worries.

Oh! Thank you! I'm trying to order some books there. OvO
Some artbooks I want to buy seem to be out of print. I emailed them about it and sadly,
they don't carry kazuaki or steins;gate anymore.

How about Kinokuniya? Ever try their online shop?
If not, I may have to stick to amazon jp. At least they have those there...
Miwa-sensei's are hard to find!! Q^Q

[Munemasa Katagiri]

Sorry, I don't know them. I bought an Android dock from Amazon.jp once and I had tou use Tenso's service.
Did you try Rakuten international?

[Moondew]

Sorry, I don't know them. I bought an Android dock from Amazon.jp once and I had tou use Tenso's service.
Did you try Rakuten international?

I'm not familiar much with Rakuten (though I may have been staying away from there lol).

I need proxy to buy from amazon I guess. So may be planning to buy instead from Mandarake. Are they cheaper, yes?

[stormwolf2010]

I've purchased from CD Japan heaps of times, with no problems.
I've also bought from Amazon Japan, and the Australian Kinokuniya, also with no problems.

Usually if CD Japan says something is 'out of print' it means that it isn't being made anymore, so you have to find somewhere that has it in stock, get it from Ebay or Amazon, or buy it second hand.

[Moondew]

Thanks for the help! So I've bought from CDJapan, Mandarake . And I've had no problems whatsoever ^_^

[crisislover]

I've bought from Kinokuniya (USA) before, I've been going to their store and ordering online for years now. Prices are cheap (especially books), anything you can't find on their site or in the store you can special order via email. They're the only store at the moment that I frequent most and have never had a problem with, try them out.

If you're looking for harder to find things, even on Japanese auction sites you can try and get them through FromJapan.co.jp, you can do and estimate of how much the item(s) + shipping is before you purchase anything, that's my last resort if I can't find anything out of print. Amazon (Japan) will usually have out of stock items, but they're so expensive that I don't even bother :/ There's also another place like the one I just mentioned called Japan Shopping Service, for those hard to find items.

[kinsugi]

Don't know AmiAmi...

CDJapan had a U.S. website link that I bought CDs and merchandise from for years, but it recently closed, and they charge outrageous prices for postage if you use their Japan website. I've switched entirely to YesAsia, which has similar products at MUCH lower cost for U.S. buyers... lower prices and free shipping!

I used to buy lots of excellent used BL titles and doujinshi from JPQueen, via airmail since EMS cost more than the books, but they no longer sell to the U.S.

I still have an account for Mandarake auctions in Japan and have a couple of cels, an autographed book, a storyboard, and some other items. I bought some other cels and genga from my favorite early fandoms on eBay.

I've purchased favorite authors' books that aren't licensed in the U.S. from Kinokuniya's BookWeb online, such as unlicensed Minekura Kazuya books and my favorite Karakaka Kemuri series, Donten ni Warau.

I am too stupid ignorant and lazy to deal with in-between methods of buying on Amazon.jp, which is too bad, because there have been a couple of figures I really wanted; such figures always sell out fast and cost much more if a few eventually surface on eBay. But maybe it's a good thing that I can't buy more... I already spend far too much on my addictions!

Hope this helps U.S. buyers who might check this thread.