Quote from reanimated838uk

I wonder if any scanlators have been hired by publishers... How cool would that be?

EDIT: And why don't they release them in digital format?

I think Siana at Shoujo Magic works in some area of Viz (she said this in the comments section so I don't feel I'm telling info that shouldn't be repeated) and when I started up a project and was awaiting a translator, I gave the girl the scans and then waited, and waited (I think it was a few months total...), and then finally asked her if there was something wrong like she was too busy with life, but just for her to reply to me even if she had to quit. She told me that she ended up getting a paid job at TokyoPop. 😲 🤣 I ended up sharing the e-mail with my group because it was really twisted how things end up (the scanslators waiting for the free translator and then she goes off and gets paid work with a real USA manga company), and it's not really bullying since I don't think we ended up saying anything really bad against her. 😳

I don't know if Netcomics is the only digital licensees but I remember that there were other companies. But since some are so small, who knows how long some of them last.

And when manga is published in the USA, it probably follows the same route that other books do. How long does it take to print books though? I think it takes a few months since publishers/books have to get in line. And there's a bit of the costs of promoting (even if the ads are in their own books and magazines) and the books are given a new look to sell more to a North American audience.

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All the mentioned reasons for making manga expensive still don't explain why it is cheaper in germany, exspecially because germany has a much smaller comic economy than the USA, so they have to put in just as much work for a much smaller group of possible buyers.

On the cost issue from an Australian perspective: volumes can cost anywhere between $10-25 each. Arina Tanemura's Gentleman's Alliance is selling at around the $20 mark, so you Americans should quit complaining! ... we should all just go and live in Germany.

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Quote from Esme

On the cost issue from an Australian perspective: volumes can cost anywhere between $10-25 each. Arina Tanemura's Gentleman's Alliance is selling at around the $20 mark, so you Americans should quit complaining! ... we should all just go and live in Germany.

I'm down for that. What's the health care like in Germany?

Life is tough......but it's tougher if you're stupid.
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Quote from TofuQueen

Getting the books from the publisher to the bookstores is probably a bit more expensive in the US.

Yeah, but the bookstores buy the books at $3 each, and then go ahead and sell them at the markup price.

Quote from Cheebs

Yeah, but the bookstores buy the books at $3 each, and then go ahead and sell them at the markup price.

Sure. But think of all the stuff they have to pay for, to keep a bookstore going: employee wages (and sometimes benefits), rent on the store, insurance, electric bills, cleaners, advertising, maintenance & repairs, etc. It seems like a horrific markup, but bookstores overall are NOT making huge bucks.

"[English] not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary."
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I have yet to see a takubon sell for less than 700 Yen in the past 3 years and I do go to Japan once a year. That's about $6 US.

What most people don't understand is this: Licensing. Bringing up Germany and US since those two were brought up. Assume manga is targeted at 14-22 year olds. The US has about 55 mil in that age group. Germany has about 8 million according to 2004 census statistics. 7 fold difference. The licensing fee takes that into account and charges its fee on a market size basis. So to sell the rights of Full Metal Alchemist to a US distributer would set that company back $1.1 million for a 7 year right. But the same deal would only cost $150,000 to the German company. German book companies are also taxed far less than their American counterparts. Thus this accounts for the lowered cost.

As for time, under the licensing deal (as with any licensing deal), the master copy/set must be used. They can translate using any old takubon, but to reprint, they have to use the original and depending on when Japan ships it, that dictates when the manga has a chance to be published in the US.

Simple answer: DANG RIGHT ITS TOO SLOW

Just a bit too into bad things

(and part of the yaoi scanlation group
Terribletrio!)

I agree that licensed manga are too slow. Manga licensing in my country (indonesia) is monopolized by a single publisher, and they're releasing some title at a turtle-like pace: once every six month.

As for the cost issue, i guess Americans and German have the right to complain, it cost me less than US$2 to buy a manga 😀

the Japanese publishing company's should sell the chapter of a manga as soon as its released in japan online in every language that way they get all the money and everyone in the US and other country's are happy and there would not be a need for all this crap since it will be digital download or you view is all online and add some ads to the site and you got your self a lot of money coming in if you sell like each chapter for $1.50 or so

So what that means is, someone needs to create a universal translating program that automatically converts digital book pages...or do what you said and get people to translate them so if my idea comes to fruition they all don't get fired...gao!!! Yeah it's slow and if the market for anime and manga in America dosn't do something fast...We are most definitely screwed. Another thing, what worries me the most about stuff coming to America is that I fear that things are cut and chopped up and censored (my basic fear to purchase anything a and m related in America). If the a and m industry clearly says, we will not edit anything but the "language" so that we can read it I'll feel a lot better.

Yes I think it's slow for the most part. Sometimes it's extremely ridiculous how long it takes just for a volume to come out.

Also icecold selling manga chapters for $1.50 each is WAY too high of a price especially just to read it online and I think a lot of japanese companies would think that too. Would you really be happy paying for something you won't get to own? Most manga volumes are around 430 yen (from what I've seen) which is $4 and some change in US dollars(correct me if I'm wrong).

I'm from Poland. Here we need to wait sometimes for over 2 years for a single volume 🙁 but most releases are like 2-3 months for one. Prices in Poland vary from 3$ (Dragon Ball) to 25$ (GitS) but most volumes cost around 10$ each so it's similar to US.

mangadungeon.blogspot.com

no im talking about like you pay $1.50 for the chapter and you can read it any time you want and as many times as you want from a account you make at there website.
And each volume has about 5 chapters or so so im thinking that it would be about the same price as now if not cheaper i guess they can make it $0.99 a chapter they would still get more money and people will buy it since they would be supporting the original publishers.

Quote from haibane

I'm from Poland. Here we need to wait sometimes for over 2 years for a single volume 🙁 but most releases are like 2-3 months for one. Prices in Poland vary from 3$ (Dragon Ball) to 25$ (GitS) but most volumes cost around 10$ each so it's similar to US.

I share your pain, as we're from the same country.
Still waiting for more Hellsing volumes... 😢

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Still the [color=red]bad[/color] cop.