Even at full price, manga gives you pretty good bang for the buck: At 200 pages for between $9.99 and $12.99, cheaper for digital, it's a good chunk of story for the money, and a much better deal per page than traditional American comics. But it's also an expensive habit, especially if you go in for long-running series like One Piece.
You can do better, though. Here are six ways to get your manga fix for half price or less:
Your local library: Librarians are huge manga and graphic novel fans, so it's likely that your local public library will have lots of manga (try the YA section, as that's where libraries tend to shelve it). The popular manga are checked out a lot of the time, so instead of scanning the shelves, start by checking the library catalog, which is probably online. And don't limit yourself to your local branch; most libraries are members of regional consortiums, which means you can easily request a book from any library in the system. If you are looking for a specific volume, try plugging it into WorldCat, which is a mega-library catalog that will locate the copy closest to you.
Online swap clubs: I have been using Paperback Swap for several years now. It's pretty easy to use: You upload a list of books you are willing to part with (it's all done by ISBN so the information goes in automatically) and send out the books to people who request them. That means you pay the postage (usually less than $2.50 for a single volume), but in return, you get a credit to request a book from someone else. Paperback Swap is a general-book site, but you can set your defaults so the newest manga and graphic novel offerings are always displayed on the home page. The selection leans toward older series, but a number of book reviewers use the site, so newer volumes pop up as well, and you can ask to be notified if a particular book becomes available. Mangatude is a similar site with an exclusive manga focus. I haven't used it, but it looks like it's a bit less automated—you post what you have available and then arrange trades individually with the other members.
Freecycle: Freecycle is a great resource for trading items with people in your area—I have seen everything from dog food to furniture to a collection of clown figurines offered this way. Find your local group at the link above and join it, then post a message saying you are looking for used manga; you may connect with someone who is clearing out the books they don't want any more.
Used book sales: Our family's manga odyssey started when I got five volumes of Sailor Moon for a dollar at a garage sale. I have also picked up stray volumes of manga at library book sales (a particularly good resource for this) and thrift stores. Used books from these sources will usually go for around a dollar, more or less; used book stores will charge more (usually a percentage of cover price) but may have a better selection. I have also seen manga offered via Craigslist, although it tends to be priced higher than manga in book sales; right now, someone is asking $5 per volume for manga that is over five years old. I can do better than that. (And you have to be careful with Craigslist—read their advice before using it.)
Online shopping: Online booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble also offer used manga at astonishingly low prices, but watch out for shipping costs. You can find a lot of used manga priced at one cent on Amazon, but keep in mind that shipping is $3.99, so you're actually paying four bucks out of pocket. Given that you can ship a volume of manga for less than $2.50 via media mail, Paperback Swap is a better deal. Ebay is a good bet if you're looking for multiple volumes of a series, as shipping a number of items isn't much more expensive than shipping one (and many sellers just charge the mailing cost, not an inflated shipping cost).
Digital: Digital manga can be a good way to go if you have a device to read it on, and if you watch out for special promotions. If you have an iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone, check out the Viz app, which offers single volumes for $4.99, and stay tuned to the manga blogs, because they have a lot of sales. Right now, for instance, they are offering the first volume of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan for free. Viz has a lot of series available in this format, so it's actually a good deal when you compare it to buying manga online. Dark Horse has a platform-independent app that will work on computers, iPad, Android devices... you name it. Their manga selection is rather slim—Bride of the Water God, Samurai Executioner, and Lone Wolf & Cub—but at $4.99 per volume, the price is right.
So there you go, six different ways to get your manga fix without resorting to piracy or robbing a bank. And don't forget that most of these channels are good ways to pass on the volumes you are done with as well—recoup a bit of the cost by selling them online, trade up via Paperback Swap, or just get a bit of good karma by donating them to your local library.
Related Posts:
The Short Stack: New Manga For July 6
Manga at Anime Expo: New titles from Viz, Digital, Bandai
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