Anime in the United States has been undergoing a bit of a third wave in popularity in the last few years, and as such, more anime is coming out than ever before. Assuming you want to buy some of this anime, there are quite a few places you can order from, and today I’d like to discuss my personal experiences with some of them. Note that this list is not exhaustive, and there’s no telling how long any of these sites will last. So without further ado, let’s get started:
GENERAL RETAILERS
These are retailers that don’t specialize in anime, but still carry it. In general, these sites tend to have a smaller selection and higher prices than specialty retailers, but their shipping tends to be fast and cheap.
Amazon
Free shipping at $35, or on (almost) everything with Prime subscription ($139/year)
The largest retailer in the world, Amazon carries essentially everything from everyone, including anime. With a small number of exceptions, mainly Aniplex titles and certain box sets, you can get almost any anime release on Amazon and have it at your door in 3-4 days. Overall, their pricing is okay. Generally it’s higher than specialty retailers, but Amazon will often randomly throw something on sale really cheap. One thing to watch out for is their packaging. It’s awful. Most titles are sent in a very thin bubble mailer, and stuff will very often arrive damaged. Their support is top-notch, and will be more than willing to exchange the item, but at a certain point, it’s just not worth the effort. I’d personally say about half of the anime I order from Amazon arrives damaged in some way.
Best Buy
Free shipping determined by the item.
Best Buy is one of very few retail stores left with a physical media section, and their website is no joke either. While they don’t get everything, most major titles from Funimation/Crunchyroll, Sentai, GKIDS, Eleven Arts, and even some Discotek titles are stocked. Funimation/Cruncyroll also occasionally does Best Buy exclusive SteelBooks. Pricing tends to be decent, but nothing to write home about, and shipping is determined by the item, not any set dollar amount. Some titles ship free, and some do not, and it’s somewhat random. Packaging tends to be flimsy cardboard mailers, but they’re pretty good about still having stuff arrive undamaged. I’ve personally never had to deal with their support, but I’ve heard it’s not great.
Walmart
Free shipping determined by the item.
Walmart is a mixed bag in every sense of the word. As almost all of their anime products are listed and sold by third party sellers, it’s complete luck of the draw what they have, how much it costs, and how its shipped. Occasionally Walmart proper will have some releases, usually Funimation/Crunchyroll ones, but these are few and far between. Their support is decent, and they’re pretty fast to replace a damaged package, even if it comes from a third party seller, but overall I recommend shopping somewhere else, if for nothing more than consistency’s sake.
SPECIALTY RETAILERS
These are sites that either specialize in physical media or anime and manga. They tend to be the ones with the best prices and largest selection, and in general are the places I recommend you shop at.
Right Stuf Anime
Free shipping at $75
By far the largest anime-specific retailer in North America, Right Stuf is a juggernaut. By far the largest selection, with tons of Right Stuf exclusive titles, along with frequent sales and low prices. Shipping isn’t cheap, but their packaging is top-notch and the best in the industry. If you order a lot of anime, Right Stuf is probably the place to do it.
They aren’t without flaws however, and they’re infamous for taking upwards of a week to ship out orders. Additionally, on all returns, including those due to shipping damage, the buyer must pay to ship the damaged product back, unless they shelled out for Route “shipping insurance”. In over a hundred orders over almost a decade, I’ve only ever had this happen twice, but it was a nightmare to deal with.
Robert’s Anime Corner Store
Free shipping at $99
Despite looking like a time capsule from 1999, Robert’s Anime Corner Store, or RACS, is a legit anime retailer. They get almost everything Right Stuf does, albeit at slightly higher prices, and their shipping is fast and cheap. As most people tend to forget about RACS, they also tend to be the last site with stock of a product, but be warned that as all of their stock-trakcing is manual, they may cancel your order if you placed it after they sold out but before they updated the site. Packaging is good, certainly better than Amazon or Best Buy, but very much a step below Right Stuf. Their support is a bit of a mixed bag. Responses are fast, and in general good at solving problems, but Robert, who runs the support, isn’t the friendliest person in the world, and his responses can seem somewhat terse. RACS is a good alternative if you want to shop small, or if Right Stuf is sold out of a title you want, but I would generally recommend shopping elsewhere.
DeepDiscount
Free shipping on most orders at $25
DeepDiscount is a site focused on selling physical media, and their anime selection is quite large. They stock essentially every brand of anime barring Aniplex and Discotek, and their $25 shipping cutoff is the lowest anywhere. While they don’t often run site-wide sales, stuff will randomly drop in price significantly, and they’ll often end up as the cheapest option. Their shipping is quite slow, and their packaging is just okay, but it’s hard to complain for the price. I’ve never personally had to deal with their support, so I can’t comment. Additionally, I have heard rumors of them cancelling pre-orders if they over-sell, but I can’t corroborate this in any meaningful way.
FYE
Free shipping at $40
Formerly a staple of shopping malls everywhere, FYE is on its last legs, but they’re still limping around, somehow. While they mostly specialize in used media, they do also carry a small selection of new anime from Viz, GKIDS, and Eleven Arts, and occasion even have exclusive box sets from Viz. Their prices aren’t great, the shipping is slow, and their packaging is mediocre. Their support is passable, but it won’t win any awards. Overall, I’d recommend avoiding FYE unless they’re the only retailer with a product.
Tokyo Otaku Mode
No free shipping
Tokyo Otaku Mode is a site that mainly specializes in import anime merchandise and Blu-rays, but they do carry a small selection of domestic Aniplex titles. Their pricing and packaging are both worse than Right Stuf (who is Aniplex’s primary distributor). I’ve personally never had to deal with their support, so I cannot comment on it. In general, you’re likely better off shopping somewhere else for you Aniplex titles, like Right Stuf or RACS, but they’re still worth mentioning.
COMPANY SPECIFIC RETAILERS
Many anime companies run their own online stores, and are often worth checking out. Their selections tend to be small, but pricing tends to be cheap, especially on clearance titles.
Crunchyroll Store
Free shipping at $50
The online store run by Funimation/Crunchyroll. Their focus tends to be more on anime merchandise, but they do carry many (but not all) of Crunchyroll’s new titles. Their pricing and shipping are decent, but their packaging is poor, and customer service is horrendous. I had to threaten a chargeback to even get in contact with someone when they screwed up one of my orders. As Crunchyroll recently purchased Right Stuf, it remains to be seen if the Crunchyroll Store will stick around. Based on my experience with customer service, I’d recommend avoiding them at all costs, but I know many people have never had any issues with them, so your mileage may vary.
Sentai Filmworks Anime Store
Free shipping at $50
Perhaps the most well known of company-specific anime stores, titles from Sentai Filmworks, Maiden Japan, and (new) ADV can be found here. While almost all titles actually ship from Right Stuf (and as such take advantage of their excellent packaging), the Sentai store is a separate entity, and sets their own prices, which especially during sales tend to be incredibly low. For titles they’re trying to get rid of, their clearance prices can be as low as a dollar or two for an entire series. As for the downsides, their support is only passable, and they often forget to send you a shipping notification until the day your package is set to arrive. Overall, I highly recommend the Sentai store, and it should serve as a model for other companies on how to run their own.
AnimEigo
Free shipping at 4 items or on any “premium” box set
The oldest anime company in North America still active, AnimEigo is a very small operation that does most of their releases these days through Kickstarter, but their site is still worth checking out. Featuring a combination of DVDs that have been in print for 20+ years, overstock of “Kickstarter exclusive” sets you can’t get anywhere else, and even some new, retail Blu-rays, AnimEigo’s store has a lot more to offer than it appears at first glance. Their shipping policy is a bit odd, as free shipping is based on the number of items instead of a dollar amount, but it’s super easy to hit with some of their budget DVDs. Shipping times are passable, and packaging is above average. Support was exceptional the two times I had to use it, albeit a bit slow.
MB Storefront
Free shipping on all orders
The oddly named MB Storefront is the recently-launched official online store of anime company Media Blasters, and their labels Tokyo Shock, Anime Works, and Kitty Media (NSFW). While the store isn’t much to look at, their prices are very cheap, and they offer free Media Mail shipping on any order. Plus, you get 10% back on any order in rewards points. Their packaging is just okay, and shipping is very slow (it is Media Mail after all), support was friendly the one time I had to talk to them. Overall recommended, if you can find something you like in Media Blaster’s small catalog.
Shout! Factory Store
No free shipping
Shout! Factory is the distributor for GKIDS, Eleven Arts, and Anime Ltd. US, and titles from all three can be found on their online store. Pricing isn’t great, and there’s no free shipping, but Shout! will often throw in bonuses like posters with pre-orders, and if you’re obsessed with slipcovers, their store tends to have them for the longest. Packaging is okay, and support was incredibly slow, but they were able to help me in the end. In general, I recommend Amazon for the best prices on Shout! releases, but their store is a decent alternative.
NIS Online Store
Free shipping on select items
While NIS America may have mostly pulled out of the anime market, they still hold the rights to a number of titles that they’ve kept in print. The pricing isn’t amazing, and shipping is slow, but support is friendly, and they often have titles that are out of stock everywhere else. Definitely a site to keep in mind, but I would order elsewhere if you can.
Pied Piper Store
No free shipping
This one’s pushing the definition of “store” a bit, but it’s still worth mentioning. Pied Piper is a very, very small anime company that’s released two titles (Time of Eve and Skip Beat!) via Kickstarter. In both cases, they’ve sold overstock on their online store for anyone who missed the Kickstarter. Pricing is identical to that of the Kickstarter, and shipping isn’t super cheap, but packaging is good. The entire store seems to be run out of someone’s basement, as when I placed an order, my shipping confirmation was an email with a picture of someone holding a post office drop-off receipt, and a request to let them know when it arrived at my house. As their store is now down to a single product, it isn’t exactly a competitor for any other title on this list, but it’s still worth mentioning none the less.
While this list is in no way exhaustive, I hope it proves helpful to anyone looking to buy some anime. Note that any statements are my own personal experiences, and as such, things may have changed by the time you order something.
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