As someone that has been collecting mangas more extensively
of late, I recall some things people have asked me and I thought I may just
ramble about it today.
I get asked a few questions, mostly by family, such as “How
can you afford all this?”, “Where can you put them?”, “Why are you buying so
many?” and the short answer is “cause I can” but where is the fun in that, so
here is my long answers. I will start with the why?
Why am I buying so many?
I started too many series and I wish to either keep them up to date or finish the series. I am a collector, I want to have a large set that I can read and enjoy. Manga is a sanctuary for me, they give me joy as well as an escape from a reality I am not happy with. I have a negative view on myself a lot of the time and reading, escaping to someone else’s reality helps me put mine in perspective. The other reason is, sometimes I enjoy finding deals for mangas, especially rare and out of print ones. I am starting to develop a knack for finding series for cheaper and basically buying whole sets for a fraction of the price. I sadly bring my partner into buying them and I feel bad but at the same time, I have someone to show off to someone at digging up a great find. A recent buy I have is the five volumes from Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, which has become a pain to find, I got it for 30aud with shipping and the fourth volume that wasn’t included, got it from AbeBooks for 11aud. Which makes the six volumes under 50aud which, is a steal for a complete series, is hard to find normally. I will talk about this series more extensively once I have all six volumes.
I started too many series and I wish to either keep them up to date or finish the series. I am a collector, I want to have a large set that I can read and enjoy. Manga is a sanctuary for me, they give me joy as well as an escape from a reality I am not happy with. I have a negative view on myself a lot of the time and reading, escaping to someone else’s reality helps me put mine in perspective. The other reason is, sometimes I enjoy finding deals for mangas, especially rare and out of print ones. I am starting to develop a knack for finding series for cheaper and basically buying whole sets for a fraction of the price. I sadly bring my partner into buying them and I feel bad but at the same time, I have someone to show off to someone at digging up a great find. A recent buy I have is the five volumes from Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, which has become a pain to find, I got it for 30aud with shipping and the fourth volume that wasn’t included, got it from AbeBooks for 11aud. Which makes the six volumes under 50aud which, is a steal for a complete series, is hard to find normally. I will talk about this series more extensively once I have all six volumes.
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| Old Shelf but a good idea |
Where can I put them all?
I have a tiny arse room and, in that room, I managed to fit in a double bed, glass cabinet of figurines, several shelves, plushies, a gaming system complete with giant arse TV and at last count, 669 volumes of mangas and this doesn’t count the 60 volumes of Naruto I borrowed off my partner. I always organise them into better shelving ways, just so I can fit them in there. I value my mangas a lot and I always want them under constant watch. I want to make sure nothing happens to them and if anyone touches them, I know who does and when. This does sound intense, but I have this same attitude when it comes to all my gaming equipment and games, my novels, plushies and figurines. I am very protective of my stuff. It’s in my nature to want to protect them from damage since I am known for an aggressive and destructive moods which I do best to keep under wraps. That’s also another reason I buy mangas, when I am in a mood, they sometimes help to quell it.
I have a tiny arse room and, in that room, I managed to fit in a double bed, glass cabinet of figurines, several shelves, plushies, a gaming system complete with giant arse TV and at last count, 669 volumes of mangas and this doesn’t count the 60 volumes of Naruto I borrowed off my partner. I always organise them into better shelving ways, just so I can fit them in there. I value my mangas a lot and I always want them under constant watch. I want to make sure nothing happens to them and if anyone touches them, I know who does and when. This does sound intense, but I have this same attitude when it comes to all my gaming equipment and games, my novels, plushies and figurines. I am very protective of my stuff. It’s in my nature to want to protect them from damage since I am known for an aggressive and destructive moods which I do best to keep under wraps. That’s also another reason I buy mangas, when I am in a mood, they sometimes help to quell it.
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| Recent batch, 7 has been ordered |
How can I afford this?
This one I got a lot until my sister started complaining about her lack of money and I reminded her that even though I buy manga, I budget to make sure I still have funds until the next pay. She has stopped asking but I know it bugs her. So, how I can afford this hobby, I search, and I try and buy mostly in bundles of complete sets for most series. For the newer stuff, I keep an eye on certain websites and pick them up when they are at it’s lowest, mainly on Book Depository and AbeBooks, or I exploit sales, especially with Kinokuniya when it has the 20% for members. I also lurk on sites such as eBay, Gumtree and Facebook Markets. Mainly with eBay, I have buyers I frequent because I know what I am getting off them and they are reasonably priced and very transparent with me. I appreciate that from a seller and in turn, I sometimes find out what’s for sale before they are on eBay, same price but I can plan to see them without going to the site. I do plan to write more about the people I frequently buy off since they are worth buying from.
This one I got a lot until my sister started complaining about her lack of money and I reminded her that even though I buy manga, I budget to make sure I still have funds until the next pay. She has stopped asking but I know it bugs her. So, how I can afford this hobby, I search, and I try and buy mostly in bundles of complete sets for most series. For the newer stuff, I keep an eye on certain websites and pick them up when they are at it’s lowest, mainly on Book Depository and AbeBooks, or I exploit sales, especially with Kinokuniya when it has the 20% for members. I also lurk on sites such as eBay, Gumtree and Facebook Markets. Mainly with eBay, I have buyers I frequent because I know what I am getting off them and they are reasonably priced and very transparent with me. I appreciate that from a seller and in turn, I sometimes find out what’s for sale before they are on eBay, same price but I can plan to see them without going to the site. I do plan to write more about the people I frequently buy off since they are worth buying from.
The other way I can afford mangas is because of my partner, he enjoys manga himself and occasionally indulges me in buying them with the intent of reading them for himself. I really appreciate it so much since I am happy to be sharing a large hobby with someone I love very much. Though, recently, he started to buy a few series for himself or even finish off the sets he has started. I really enjoy that since I want to enjoy reading them with him as well. I sometimes think he has better tastes than me. But that’s just me though.
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| Recent Manga Mail |
Also, I do admit my cat loves them too, means more shelves and boxes for her to claim as her own and she spends a lot of time sniffing the new mangas.
I been asked, if I would ever sell any and the answer is no.
Even if I hate the series, I won’t sell them because it’s part of my collection
and I’d only really sell doubles to those who need help finishing their sets. I
think I am just that sort of collector that is very attached to their series
and couldn’t part with them, I am even like that with my games because I want
to see the changes that occurred in my collections.
If there is more, I wish to discuss on a personal level, I
will do so at a later time since manga is a huge part of my life and it helps
allow me to indulge in my desire to organise, catalogue and watch the progress
of things and it makes me happy on some deep level. Hope this was a somewhat
interesting read for some of you, I also hope this gives you more of an idea
about me as a person and a collector.
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