ADV Launches Range of Mini-DVDs

[Megane]

First off, apologies if this has been posted before, but Three Letter Acronyms (ADV, DVD, etc.) and the site search engine just don't work together.

As reported on AnimeOnDVD, ADV have launched a range of 3-inch "bite-size" single-episode DVDs, from several of their series, including the likes of Azumanga Daioh, Happy Lesson, and Kaleido Star. It seems that the first wave (there are more planned) are targeted mainly at the Shoujo market.

Personally, I think this is a fantastic idea, and I think even a long time dub-despiser like myself can forgive the lack of a Japanese audio track in order to commend ADV's efforts in making anime more accessable to those new to anime. As an added bonus, you can use the mini-DVDs as a coupon-of-sorts to save money when purchasing the full DVD.

What do others think? How do they appeal to established anime fans, those who like or hate English dubs?

[Lord Raiden]

Ya know. If companies like ADV offered these "bite" size cd's on the cheap, I know a lot more people who'd buy anime to check out a series and eventually buy that same said series. I've seen far too many people bauk at the sticker price on a typical anime volumn or box set, yet if they could get, oh say, maybe the first 4-6 episodes of a series on these mini-cd's for a buck each, they could then truely decide if they want to buy the rest of the series or not. Once they're decided they want the series, then price doesn't mean as much. It's getting them in the door, and if they're going to start offering "teaser" cd's like this to bring people in, then hell yeah! I'm all for it. It would be one of the first smart things the american anime companies have done in a while.

[maxthelostboy]

y dont they put all eps on these mini disks for cheap? and will this coupon thing be like you get all your money back twords the full disc? I hope it's not just a mail in rebate cause then i'd forget it

[donna8157]

I think it said on the site that you just trade in the mini DVD and it counts as $10 off the purchase of the larger set. The regular price they're pushing for is $6.98, not $1.00 or $9.99, although they may list it as $9.99 on some sites. Anyway, I don't think this is such a great idea. I don't know many people that would spend $8 on a DVD for just ONE episode. Usually you can't tell that much about a series with its first episode anyway.

[Bandersnatch]

Bleh $8 for 1 episode? Would rather pay $12 more and get 4-5 episodes. Get a better idea of how the series is too.

[AnimeOni]

I spend over $1000 on anime DVDs every year (yes, I'm an otaku and I have a problem!).

IMHO, this is another ripoff from ADV. This is the main reason I buy most of my DVDs when I fly to asia every few months! If ADV wants people to get hooked on a series, they should price them in the $1-2 range. By pricing it at the $6-8 range, it's like buying an episode at full price. Given a DVD is $24 with 3/4 eps, that's $6/8 an ep -- full retail price!

This goes to show, Corp American Greed is still alive and well and ADV is leading the way. One of these days, we should organize a boycott of all ADV products for a month (better yet, a fisco quarter) and see how that affects their bottom line. maybe they will listen (I doubt it).

[flammie]

Yea, the funimation fruits basket sampler (1st 2 eps for $2) was a way better deal

[Knuckles]

Originally Posted by AnimeOni

This goes to show, Corp American Greed is still alive and well and ADV is leading the way. One of these days, we should organize a boycott of all ADV products for a month (better yet, a fisco quarter) and see how that affects their bottom line. maybe they will listen (I doubt it).

They would not notice because we never buy anything, only rip them off.
Just something that had to be said, before a herd of people came to defend them.

[microlith]

This is the main reason I buy most of my DVDs when I fly to asia every few months!

Do you buy Japanese R2s? I imagine not, because those are even MORE expensive per episode than these minis are. You may spend $1000 a year on DVDs, but if you're buying bootlegs you've really got no base from which to argue.

This goes to show, Corp American Greed is still alive and well and ADV is leading the way. One of these days, we should organize a boycott of all ADV products for a month (better yet, a fisco quarter) and see how that affects their bottom line. maybe they will listen (I doubt it).

Yay, another inane argument citing Corporate American Greed, and putting ADV as the pinnacle of all that's wrong. Right. 'scuse me while I roll my eyes back so far you just see the whites...

ADV is releasing these minis to entice people to check out series they may not see otherwise. They're dub only so that's the first indication the lot of you can be quiet. Second, you can redeem these mini-dvd codes for a $10 coupon towards the purchase of the full disc, which means if you buy this for $7, you get $10 back, and take the price of that $22-$25 disc at the store down to $12- $15. So not only do you make money on the difference between the rebate coupon but you also get to subtract the cost of the mini-dvd from the cost of the full dvd.

Or you can do like I will, and just ignore the dub-only minis and search for the best deal on LEGIT discs that I can get.

So suffice it to say, you're all trolls with nothing better to do than whine. Come back when you have a real argument.

[Lord Raiden]

I spend over $1000 on anime DVDs every year (yes, I'm an otaku and I have a problem!).

hehe. You too, eh?

The regular price they're pushing for is $6.98

BUAHAHAHAHA!!! You've got to be kidding me?? Dude, I wouldn't send my worst enemy to buy that DVD at that price!!! Dude, this is so gonna flop and then I'll guarentee they'll blame the fan community for "stealing their stuff" the same way RIAA blames their stupidity on P2P users. Gauds, I was actually hoping too much for ADV to actually get a clue and stop being so F'ing greedy. Guess I hoped for too much. :|

[zalas]

I think that if they come in at $6.98 and would subtract $10 towards the cost of the DVD bought *anywhere*, it would be a great deal for people interested in the dub. Why? You're testing it out for a small amount of money, instead of testing it out for the price of a full DVD. Granted it's still on the expensive side, but as long as you're discriminate about what you try out (read: don't do what a lot of people do with fansubs and download every show they can find), it should be reasonable.

What I'd like to know, what's to prevent people from buying these just to save $3 off a DVD?

[microlith]

ude, this is so gonna flop and then I'll guarentee they'll blame the fan community for "stealing their stuff" the same way RIAA blames their stupidity on P2P users. Gauds, I was actually hoping too much for ADV to actually get a clue and stop being so F'ing greedy. Guess I hoped for too much. :|

This calls for the cluebat!

YOU FORGET THAT THERE'S A $10 REBATE YOU GET FROM IT.

Thus you MAKE $3. You redeem the DVD code for a $10 coupon.

ADV doesn't expect these to sell like lightning. They're hoping that the costs of putting these out will be outweighed by increased sales. If that happens, they'll continue, if not they'll stop.

They won't blame the fan community if these flop. They'll just look at things differently and stop releasing minis. ADV isn't being greedycoupons. I'm sure they've thought this through.. They're trying a different marketing tactic. How about YOU get a clue.

What I'd like to know, what's to prevent people from buying these just to save $3 off a DVD?

From the press release at animeondvd.com:
The mini DVDs double as coupons and are redeemable for $10 off a regular full-size multi-episode DVD title of the same name when purchased through the ADV Films website.

So I imagine most people would forgo the effort of buying tons of these just to save $3.

[durrem]

Originally Posted by microlith

This calls for the cluebat!

YOU FORGET THAT THERE'S A $10 REBATE YOU GET FROM IT.

Thus you MAKE $3. You redeem the DVD code for a $10 coupon.

What you're forgetting is that they are redeemable for purchases on ADV's web site. Therefore, they are selling for full retail price of $30. I don't remember the last time I paid more than $22 for a $30 DVD myself, so in actuality you are losing about $5 each time you use it. I don't know what the cost of these mini DVDs are, but I would be surprised if they were much more than free for the retailers, to keep them happy. Otherwise, they would be losing all the profit from their sales to ADV directly. I bet that the $20 that ADV would charge for the discounted DVD is higher than they would get from a wholesaler anyway. I'm guessing wholesale price is in the $15-18 range, based on deepdiscountdvd prices. Does that look about right?

[AnimeOni]

Originally Posted by microlith

Do you buy Japanese R2s? I imagine not, because those are even MORE expensive per episode than these minis are. You may spend $1000 a year on DVDs, but if you're buying bootlegs you've really got no base from which to argue.



Yay, another inane argument citing Corporate American Greed, and putting ADV as the pinnacle of all that's wrong. Right. 'scuse me while I roll my eyes back so far you just see the whites...

ADV is releasing these minis to entice people to check out series they may not see otherwise. They're dub only so that's the first indication the lot of you can be quiet. Second, you can redeem these mini-dvd codes for a $10 coupon towards the purchase of the full disc, which means if you buy this for $7, you get $10 back, and take the price of that $22-$25 disc at the store down to $12- $15. So not only do you make money on the difference between the rebate coupon but you also get to subtract the cost of the mini-dvd from the cost of the full dvd.

Or you can do like I will, and just ignore the dub-only minis and search for the best deal on LEGIT discs that I can get.

So suffice it to say, you're all trolls with nothing better to do than whine. Come back when you have a real argument.

Actually, a lot of R2 are cheaper IF we are paying $8 an episode. I fly to Japan often for work so I pick them up. I'm averaging $6.22/ep US.

The reason I state corporate greed is along the same line as CD manfactures. They costs are much higer than what I think the costs are suppposed to be. For example, if you go to itunes and download all the music from a CD. It can be cheaper than the CD (incl case, label, shipping, etc).

I consider the mini-DVDs as samples like the ones included in NewType Magazine. It's supposed to get people interested in the product instead of being a selling point. It is likegoing to SamsClub/Costco and they charge you for tasting their food samples.

don't get me wrong. I have nothing against corporate america. I work for one :P I do have an issue about paying outrageous prices for something.

[zalas]

Originally Posted by AnimeOni

Actually, a lot of R2 are cheaper IF we are paying $8 an episode. I fly to Japan often for work so I pick them up. I'm averaging $6.22/ep US.

The reason I state corporate greed is along the same line as CD manfactures. They costs are much higer than what I think the costs are suppposed to be. For example, if you go to itunes and download all the music from a CD. It can be cheaper than the CD (incl case, label, shipping, etc).

I consider the mini-DVDs as samples like the ones included in NewType Magazine. It's supposed to get people interested in the product instead of being a selling point. It is likegoing to SamsClub/Costco and they charge you for tasting their food samples.

don't get me wrong. I have nothing against corporate america. I work for one :P I do have an issue about paying outrageous prices for something.

Uh... the "cheap" R2s I find average about 3000 yen for 3 or less episodes. How's that cheaper than $8 an episode? The typical R2 is usually more like 5000 yen for 2 episodes.

[AvatarADV]

Originally Posted by AnimeOni

don't get me wrong. I have nothing against corporate america. I work for one :P I do have an issue about paying outrageous prices for something.

Remember that when we put something in a store, some amount of the price (a significant chunk, actually) goes to the -store-, 'cause that's how stores make money.

So there's not a whole lot of room to maneuver, especially if you remember that (despite the fact that they're little) odd-sized DVDs cost more to press than normal full-sized ones.

But the idea behind these isn't to make money off the fans, or we wouldn't -give it all back- and then a bit on a purchase. It's to get these little minis into places where people can impulse buy 'em and hopefully get turned on to a good show, which they can then go out and pick up on normal DVDs.

They're not intended for hardcore anime fans. ;p

[Knuckles]

Originally Posted by AvatarADV

So there's not a whole lot of room to maneuver, especially if you remember that (despite the fact that they're little) odd-sized DVDs cost more to press than normal full-sized ones.

One question then, why not just use regular DVDs instead if they are cheaper?
(you can have the same price, just higher profit margin)
is it the gimmick factor maybe, to trick people who would not be interested in it, but
have never seen so small DVDs.

edit
what about full DVD, but that only works for 8-48 hours (deping on what DVD is used)

[microlith]

This is indeed amusing.

What you're forgetting is that they are redeemable for purchases on ADV's web site. Therefore, they are selling for full retail price of $30. I don't remember the last time I paid more than $22 for a $30 DVD myself, so in actuality you are losing about $5 each time you use it. I don't know what the cost of these mini DVDs are, but I would be surprised if they were much more than free for the retailers, to keep them happy. Otherwise, they would be losing all the profit from their sales to ADV directly. I bet that the $20 that ADV would charge for the discounted DVD is higher than they would get from a wholesaler anyway. I'm guessing wholesale price is in the $15-18 range, based on deepdiscountdvd prices. Does that look about right?

Indeed, you're right. This seems to be mainly aimed at the suckers who buy stuff at full price -anyway- from places like Suncoast. The rest of us will be content to pay less per disc by getting stuff from deepdiscountdvd

Actually, a lot of R2 are cheaper IF we are paying $8 an episode. I fly to Japan often for work so I pick them up. I'm averaging $6.22/ep US.

Buying the R2s of Somedays Dreamers, I paid about 1500 yen (close to $15) per episode. For vol.1 of Scrapped Princess, 2500yen (just under $25.)

For US dvds, I bought Kiddy Grade vol. 2 for $20. That's about $6.66 per episode. A 4 episode disc for $24 is $6 per episode. Where did you get your numbers?

They costs are much higer than what I think the costs are suppposed to be.

Estimating costs to be high without knowing the actual costs! The prices they charge are not outrageous, considering that you don't see the actual price they charge per disc.

[Lord Raiden]

hehe. sheesh. You guys pay way to much. I picked up Scrapped Princess R2 for $19.95 USD per volumn. (2000 yen I think. give or take 20) Then again when I buy I'm also buying like $300-600 worth of DVD's at a time, so I've even gotten some of my box sets for as low as $12USD for a 5 episode volumn. Sorry I don't have the actual yen values cause I don't think in Yen when buying. I think in USD and since my CC company handles the conversion for me, I just remember what was on the reciept when I get it. My CC company provides an english copy of the reciept with itemized prices on it because I can't read japanese yet. I'm slowly learning, but not close enough to read fluently yet.

But it's still funny to see the look on the mailman's face when he sees this huge 30lb box with japanese writing all over it come in the mail for me.

[microlith]

Are you sure that's yen?

I picked up Scrapped Princess R2 for $19.95 USD per volumn. (2000 yen I think. give or take 20)

I have never seen a single Scrapped Princess R2, even without the extras, for less than 4500yen a peice.

Where did you buy these?