Okay, I admit it; this post is mostly just an excuse to try out my new digital camera.

I ordered Kino’s Journey and Full Metal Panic last week and they arrived early yesterday. I’ve been indulging in a little FMP. I had forgotten how much the first few episodes totally rocked! As for Kino’s Journey, I’ll probably wait until I have time to marathon the entire thing, or maybe a half/half stint. …(more)…

Also, I’ve wanted to do a post on making DVD purchases over the internet. During the summer months (late may to august) I had been recovering from large payments for school tuition and a Las Vegas vacation. Actually, the money I lost gambling cost me more than the plane trip, food, hotel, souvenirs, and rental car combined.

Just kidding, that was a lie, but it came pretty darn close.

When I managed to save up a little cash I bought myself a little Sony Cybershop. I’m quite pleased with it.

Full Metal Panic — $59.95US
Kino’s Journey — $25.29US
[cost includes tax + shipping, shipping was 2-7 day priority for these…I think?]

Both box’s are thick cardboard, not that flimsy paper crap that passes for thin pack box sets most of the time. Overall, I would recommend these if you can find them, which you should be able to since they’ve been out for a while now and I didn’t have any problem tracking them down.

That leads me to the “you get what you pay for” title. The thin packs are bare bones sets. There are no extras besides the box and maybe some original artwork. Also, as I’ll go into in a moment, the possibility that the items are not in pristine condition is very high. Both the Kino and FMP boxes showed ware on some of the corners and the FMP box had some “pintching” of the cover sticker near the top fold. Overall, they are in relatively good condition. There are no air bubbles, and there are no scratches on the main display areas.

Buying DVD’s on the internet is always a gamble because one never really knows what condition the items will be in when they arrive. That is assuming that the shipment is either standard or possibly the next best thing (eg USPS priority mail); although, you can never be sure even with the most elaborate and expensive shipping options. I’ve started to upgrade the shipping from standard to priority and sometimes 2 day air.

I’ve received items that were damaged during shipping due to being tossed around and crushed under other boxes. Both of my Fushigi Yugi the Mysterious Play box sets were horribly mangled during shipping. There was some slight scratching on the Fushigi discs as well because of the discs releasing from their holders and floating around the case. More often than not the items arrive in fairly good condition. However, I figure the shorter the time it takes to get from a warehouse to my house, the less possibility of physical or heat damage.

I feel more comfortable ordering thin packs because the thin pack case is less likely to release the disc, even if it is tossed around. The standard DVD disc case does a horrible job of keeping a disc set if it is jarred about.

j.’s rules for ordering online.
- Order thin packs if possible, because they hold up better in shipping
- Stay away from standard shipping, if possible
- Use a credit card (never use a bank debit card). In the US, there are laws to protect you against fraudulent purchases (I assume elsewhere as well but I wouldn’t know). You’re out of luck if someone empties your bank account though, unless your bank is very understanding
- Always compare prices.
- Use sites that let you compare and search multiple stores. Yahoo shopping, Google Froogle.
- Ebay sucks, but there…shit is cheap
- Remember you get what you pay for.