This year at Anime Boston the Dealer’s Room was packed with booths covering two large rooms. Almost anything you could think of, you could find there. QB plushies? Yup. Brightly colored Pokemon hats? In abundance. Strange Japanese-imported collectibles? You betcha. Here are some of the best deals we found this year in the Anime Boston Dealer’s Room.

Manga generally had the most dramatic deals. At Comicopia, if you bought two volumes you got 10% off, four volumes 15% off, and eight volumes 20% off (2-10%, 4-15%, 8-20%). However, New England Comics had a competitive ‘Buy two get 30% off’ deal going on, and Cheap Manga probably stole the show for manga deals. With them, a single manga was $5, five volumes were $20, and 30 volumes were $90 (that’s 1-$5, 5-$20, 30-$90).

Not too far off at the Anime Pavilion, eight volumes cost $60, 14 cost $100, and 45 cost $300 (8-$60, 14-$100, 45-$300). Not to mention Anime Pavilion’s selection consisted of less popular titles than Cheap Manga’s.

Other notable deals were to be found at New England Comics’ booth, where brand new Star Wars comic omnibuses were 60-80% off, making $25 volumes only $7. Each yaoi manga volume at NEC was $7, but if you bought five or more they were $5. Elsewhere you could find deals such as ‘Buy 1 get 2 free’, ‘All manga 20% off except new releases’, and ‘10% off yaoi’.

Also of note to those looking for manga, or looking to trade their manga away at the convention, is the swap meet. The swap meet took place in the evening on Friday and Saturday, and I was able to trade away three virtually valueless items I got in a grab bag for three volumes of manga. Overall the manga scene at the con felt a bit like a game of hot potato; pass that stuff on to the next person before you’re stuck with it for too long.

Figurines were also in abundance at the con, though only a few were on sale. World of Warcraft figurines were $40 each, but $70 if two were bought together. A set of four Walking Dead figures went for $75, and Ore no Imoto figurines were two for $65.

T-shirts could be found for $20 each, two for $36, and three for $48.

Funimation was also hocking their wares by the entrance gate, accompanied by a pair of Cat Planet Cuties mascots in eyecatching costumes, or the lack thereof… Most notable amongst the prices at their booth was a Blu-Ray collection of Evangelion for $20. The first season of Black Butler was $60, as was the new retelling of the Fullmetal Alchemist story Brotherhood. Hetalia films were $25 a pop, Excel Saga was there on Blu-Ray for $40, Baccano was available for $30, and Claymore would set you back $40.

Aftermarket retailers such as Anime Madness, Video Games New York, and Harrison’s Comics and Collectibles were nearby as well offering great deals on anime, music, and video games.

Video Games New York was selling a hacked Wii with emulators and homebrew apps for $150, alongside rare oldschool games (Final Fantasy Anthology for $25, Metal Gear Solid 1 complete with case and booklet for $40) and Japanese import and Japan-exclusive games for old and current consoles alike. New York Video Games was also selling unused Dreamcast consoles for $150, and their stock rotated daily as they brought new items up from their store in New York.

Harrison’s Comics and Collectibles from Salem, MA had a back wall all to themselves, with a huge, nerdgasm-worthy collection of old school N64, Genesis, Atari, Sega CD, NES, and SNES games. Starfox 64, Ridge Racer, Ninja Gaiden, Duck Hunt, you name it, they had it, many for single-digit prices. They also carried Japanese-imported music, anime, comics, and figurines.

Overall, the Dealer’s Room was a great place to get cheap manga, games, CCG cards, plushies, figurines, clothing, model kits, anime, hug pillows, collectible items, and some surprises. Many of the items on sale were direct-from-Japan imports. The best part of buying imported goods at the con is not only do you get to see and touch the item yourself before you buy it, but you also save a lot on shipping costs.

If you’re considering importing something online, you might want to hold off until your next local con to see if you can find it there and make sure it’s what you want. You may also want to wait to buy your manga at a convention, judging by the burning-down-the-house prices exhibited at many of the vendors’ stalls.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.animeboston.com

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About the author

Thomas Curreri
I'm an art school graduate interested in language, technology, music, international film, and games.

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