Okay, first off, a warning: This post is primarily for me to comparison shop and figure out what I’m going to buy when and how I can get it all here before May 9 (if you don’t know the significance of that date, ask me about it.)
So apparently it pays to do research before plunging into the expensive world of Japanese CDs…
HMV Japan has an English site! And not only that, they’re having a 2 CD, 20% off sale!! Which means I can probably get Natural Beauty and 3… although I haven’t factored in shipping costs yet. Hmmm. And a certain French site suggests that there might be some hidden charges, a few months later (customs or something? I didn’t bother looking it up.)
Je ne pense pas refaire de commandes sur ce site. Les frais de port élevés (vous n’avez pas le choix, ils ne proposent que la livraison par FedEx pour l’étranger) et le fait d’avoir à payer des taxes 4 fois sur 5 … m’ont décidé à éviter ce site désormais.
I don’t think I’ll order from this site [HMV] again. The high [shipping costs?] (you don’t have a choice, they only offer FedEx for international delivery) and having to pay taxes 4 times out of 5 … have [convinced me?] to avoid this site from now on.
Of course, there’s also CDJapan, which I haven’t really looked at… but I’ve heard okay things about them. Hmmmm. They don’t seem to have too many of COS’s discs still, though:
My impatience stems from Yesasia, who are still “searching from suppliers” for Over the Time, Time is Over. I hope they find it soon :depressed: So, after obsessively checking the status of my order for a week minus a day, everything is finally ready to be shipped. This is awesome :love: I will have my first actual non-bootleg Japanese CDs, complete with arm-and-a-leg price right after the Easter holiday, hopefully.
Quick price comparison:
YA: Yesasia, CDJ: CDJapan, HMV: HMV Japan, AM: Amazon Japan
All prices USD
Prices prefixed with ~ are conversions from JPY
Albums
Natural Beauty YA: 23.99; CDJ: 16.32; HMV: ~13.60 (sale), ~17.00 (regular); AM: ~16.20
RAINBOW YA: 17.49; CDJ: N/A; HMV: ~12.25 (sale), ~13.00 (regular); AM: ~14.50
3 YA: 27.49; CDJ: 24.96; HMV: ~20.80 (sale), ~21.07 (regular); AM: ~24.70
One Love, One Day, One Life! YA: 22.99; CDJ: 20.40; HMV: ~21.25; AM: ~21.26
Singles
HMV has no singles available.
“Photosynthesis” YA: 10.49; CDJ: N/A; AM: ~9.00
“FULL MOON PRAYER” YA: 10.49; CDJ: N/A; AM: ~9.00
“Natural Beauty” YA: 8.99; CDJ: N/A; AM: ~4.50
“FLYING PEOPLE” YA: 11.25; CDJ: N/A; AM: ~9.35
“Hanawa” / “Tsuki de matsu kimi” YA: 11.25; CDJ: N/A; AM: ~9.35
“Make Me A Woman” YA: N/A; CDJ: N/A; AM: ~10.20
“Purple Sky” YA: 11.75; CDJ: N/A; AM: ~9.35
“Ageha” YA: 11.75; CDJ: 8.98; AM: ~9.35
“Yumenori RIDERS” YA: 11.25; CDJ: 8.57; AM: ~9.00
Despite Amazon.co.jp’s low prices, I’m wary about ordering from them because they don’t have an English version. Sure, they have a “Display in English” link, but everything’s still in Japanese. Bizarre.
And then, there is Yesasia’s free shipping… I’d probably save more there than I would with the lower prices of some other online stores. Hmm.
//edit, 10am the next morning
And after a little research, it’s true–depending on what method of shipment I choose for CDJapan. I think Natural Beauty, “Ageha”, and “Yumenori RIDERS” I’ll get from CDJapan, and all the others…. Yesasia.
This online credit card shopping thing is dangerous.