Thread by @debaoki

The really weird thing about the secondary / collector's market for out-of-print manga is that comic shops (the #1 place to find that hard-to-find stray volume) seem largely unaware of their rarity or value if they have them. If it ain't listed in the Overstreet Guide, maybe?

the other fascinating difference between the collector's market for manga vs. the comics market is that manga collectors aren't as hell-bent on getting something in 'mint condition' - they just want it in decent, readable condition for a (semi-)reasonable price.

another key difference between manga & comics collectors: manga collectors don't seem to care much about special editions / variant cover versions. There are maybe a handful of B&N or Diamond exclusive variants but they don't generate special interest as "collectibles"

The difference in mindset between comics collectors and manga readers, who think of their books (as enjoyable content that they want to keep to read again and again) vs. "investments" or "collectibles" isn't remarked upon very often.

i get why manga readers find little comfort in hearing that a series that was left incomplete in print gets finished with the latter volumes as digital-only releases. You want that COMPLETE ON MY BOOKSHELF FEELING. I buy the digital releases anyway, but it's still a bummer.

There's no standard pricing for out-of-print manga. It's whatever price someone thinks they can get away with posting on Amazon/eBay, but that's not a reflection of what something is really worth. Even a Monkey Can Make Manga can be listed at $877, but would anyone pay that? 😛

One thing I miss about going to Japan and buying used manga is that you can sometimes buy a whole set as a big wrapped up BRICK O' MANGA for one price. One day, I'll cough up the ¥¥ to buy Candy Candy.

One little treasure i found in a used bookstore in Japan was this hardcover, slipcased edition of Fire! by Hideko Mizuno. i got for about $25. I opened it up, and it was autographed 🤩

in general, I don't think most people buy manga thinking it's going to appreciate in value someday -- that only matters if you're going to resell it & even then, find a buyer who'll pay a premium for it. we buy it because we're terrified it'll go out of print & we'll be SoL 😅

So here's the good thing / bad thing about there being no standard pricing guide for out of print manga in English: it's pretty much the wild west out there. bargains can be found but so can price gougers. whenever possible, don't feed the gougers.

most times, the rarest volume of manga in a series isn't the first volume (a.k.a. #1), but the latter volumes, when sales have tapered off, and publishers print fewer copies. Lesson for readers: don't snooze on later volumes of a series you like. they might be hard to find later

if you're sitting on some rare/out-of-print manga, maybe don't wait too long to sell it. The old Tokyopop Sailor Moon manga volumes were once very pricey collectibles. Now that the series is readily available fr. @KodanshaManga, TP's editions don't get the same $$$ in resale

Another tip to prevent "i can't find that manga" heartbreak: if it's a title from a smaller publisher OR it's a niche/art-y/quirky manga or a long series, BUY EACH VOLUME WHEN IT COMES OUT. It may never get reprinted or it may be a very low priority for a reprint later

General rule of thumb: if it was published by CMX Manga, ADV, Blast Books, Bandai, Raijin, Aurora / Deux, VIZ's Pulp or IKKI imprints, or TokyoPop pre-2010, it is probably hella-out of print and hard to find. Same goes for some Picturebox and Vertical titles.

however! major caveat here: not every manga that's old and out of print is worth much money in resale. some manga are found in the $1 bin at a comic shop because they were part of the early 2000's great manga market dump of sub-par/mediocre manga, and boy, there was a lot of that

Other older / discontinued manga publishers or imprints include Go Comi, Broccoli Books, DramaQueen, Del Rey Manga (some titles transitioned to Kodansha, some series completed as digital-only volumes).

here's the other part people don't want to talk about: digital manga has 0 zip nada resell value. if you read it and don't want to keep it, there's no way give it away or resell it to make a little $ back. This might be a small part of why the 'wai no print?' howls are so loud.