I guess I’ll keep an eye on Cdjapan, and see if they say anything about it. Definitely hoping to be able to pay ahead rather than pay the shipping courier afterwards - what a mess
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we had this happen here a few years back… I have not bought anything online from outside the EU since. 
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It would still be cheaper than getting it inside the US has has been up to this point. I wonder if Kinokuniya (who I don’t usually buy from anyway) will raise their prices to reflect
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Of course they will since the alternative is less profit. They may wait a bit to see if the rule gets overturned by a judge, but they will raise prices eventually.
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Assuming it doesn’t discourage people from buying - which being “only” 15% in this case, they’ll probably be alright, I guess
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We’re forgetting that most people buy the English versions from Kinokuniya, which are probably printed in the U.S. and won’t be affected. I wonder what percentage of their business is from English books vs Japanese books vs other things like collectibles.
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I haven’t done a survey of printing press locations for manga publishers, so I might be off-base, but my initial thought would be that the majority would be outside the US. I know Seven Seas does at least some of its printing in Canada, and Ize Press at least some of its printing in Korea.
It’s going to scare off some for sure. Average English-language manga prices are already somewhere around $12.99 at minimum, give or take (except for maybe the Shoujo Beat/Shounen Jump imprints), and 15% of that is about $2, so you’re approaching $15 per volume at minimum for a basic volume of manga, and that’s not even considering all the special editions/hardcovers/omnibuses being released these days. That’s relatively mega expensive for book 1 of a (hypothetical) 10+ volume series where each volume takes you maybe two hours to read.
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I have a preorder that not sure if I should cancel yet. I asked and they didn’t answer that question so suspect it’s too late but I did email CDJapan about it and their response last night was that they don’t really know anything yet but frustrating…stupid orange $#!$#@ stain on the world
as much as I love physical media… not willing to pay insane prices and im not buying it printed in english cuz some felon cheeto scumbag
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I was only wondering about their JP books - which are already highly marked up. Ex: 雨夜の月 9 on cdjapan is $4.83 vs Kinonokuniya $11.99 (and $1-2 more expensive in-store, if they stock it). Even when you factor in shipping, once you get past a few books, Kinokuniya is substantially more expensive (even with their eventual free shipping)
That’s what I’d expect… Idk how EN collectors pay those prices in the first place tbh. Otoh ppl getting JP products from Kinokuniya know they’re getting something scarce that almost nobody else normally carries. So they might not be as phased by a 15% hike
Kinokuniya does sell a lot of non-Japanese origin books as well. The only info I found was from 2017 though: Kinokuniya Keeps Growing In the U.S. - but the in-store stock percentages seem accurate still
As long as it’s not in “Shipping Process”, “Awaiting Packaging” or “Packaging”, you should be able to cancel by emailing them, and telling them to cancel it.
See CDJapan : Cancellation and CDJapan : How To Cancel Your Order
They probably just didn’t give you answer to “should I cancel”, since it wasn’t something they could objectively answer
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Yeah supposedly it should be an option and maybe I’d lose a ton of points I used to pay for the order but depending on whatever the stupid extra taxes are, would rather lose that than pay some exorbitant amount.
I did re-email them and re-ask the question so we will see. Because it’s a pre order from so long ago…not sure what they will allow. Their existing cancellation policies don’t quite cover cases for orange cheeto bs.
We will probably still have some options where I live, but all those alternatives are still way more expensive and of course will be further marked up and requires going into the store and preordering - a lot of hassle and increased cost. Then returning again to pick up the order…add in the gas and time running around ordering and picking up stuff.
As long as Mokuro and Yomitan still work, all new books will be digital going forward for now, even if I have to use a vpn and pay the Japanese taxes, would prefer doing that. Feels like the taxes would maybe get used better.
Maybe this is a good time to look at my existing physical collection and work off what I already haven’t read. 
Might be a good path if physical is going to get so expensive or impossible to get. I love the real books, the paper, no power required, turning a page just … 
…but the teensy tiny printing though on my old eyes… 
Can manage probably most of the manga, but the shosetu 
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ngl, this alone is a significant factor in improving my Japanese 
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writing practice too 
these are not filthy lies 
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I don’t think you lose the points (even if they were originally limited), but good luck and keep us updated I guess.
I’m not sure I’d call 15% an exorbitant amount (I realize everyone’s situation is different), just a pain. Like $50 becomes $57.5, or $200 worth of stuff becomes $230… Which is definitely enough to make me order $30 less, but not so much that going an hour away to stores with a small selection (Book-Off and Kinokuniya) would be a better alternative.
For me the relevant factor is more “am I gonna have to do some aggravating back and forth with the shipping courier, just to get my stuff delivered”. Some of the things I want aren’t available digitally, unfortunately.
Maybe we should have a monthly “read physical books you own” challenge thread or something. I definitely have a lot of physical stuff to get through as well.
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fun idea… I’m in starting in 2026
still working on blackout for my 2025 bingo card 
maybe I’ll make more than one bingo cards next year - 4x4s instead of a single 5x5 hmmm could really have some fun with this 
one for regular bingo
one for physical books only
one for the uhhh… finest of art works
maybe even one just for doujins
THIS! If making an order and it’s 5000yen+ shipping 5000 easily 75-80 USD add some points and it’s not a horrible deal for 6-8 books. If it’s only 15% then might think it’s only an extra 750 yen, but if there is some min charge no matter what, (15% with a min charge of some high number say 50-100 bucks), won’t work out so well.
Shipping is already pricey, but with more than a few books it’s not awful - of course all just made up numbers and have yet to see what any of this added taxes will really cost… 
hopefully CDJapan will figure this out and maybe it won’t be the end of the world but for now… ugh… I really do love CDJapan, their service is generally awesome and everything is always packed perfectly and it arrives FAST!
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This would give me a reason to dig out some of the old shoujo manga i have stashed away. And mourn some of the books i got rid of.
I just need to trick natively into letting me add the old 18 volume version of sailor moon…
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A challenge thread would be fun, but I wonder if people would be interested in a community bingo-type thing instead? We make a single big (10x10?) bingo board that everyone shares, and someone who wants to fill in a square with a physical book they read has to take a picture of it…
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That could also be fun!
I’m down for either version. Maybe a choose your own adventure, physicals only thread?
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This has been my whole year. I have been trying to read nearly all physical this year outside of book clubs. I’m in a bit of a slump right now so broke the rule for some digital easy reads, but by and large it’s just been paperback city on my couch
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Crap, I just signed myself up to run another ongoing thread, didn’t I… (I’m not actually complaining, just amused)
As the tarrif stuff goes… Well just have to wait and see I guess - and order stuff so it ships before Aug 29, in the meantime
Search 美少女戦士セーラームーン 15 (講談社コミックスなかよし in google (replace vol number with each volume) and you’ll find Amazon links you can add to natively. There’s no series pg though, so you’d have to request merging them via feedback
Alternately, if you wanna log with the 10 vol version, I could let you know which volumes/chapters are in which books
You’re saying the participants have to collectively read 10 things per period? Or? I’m personally averse to bingo, unless the only requirement is just “physical book”… which doesn’t sound like bingo lol. So I probably wouldn’t personally participate - but if it works for others, great
I’m not sure what choose your own adventure means here
Impressive!! I tried it for a month, but ADHD struck. I should probably set some sort of goal for this or something
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So like, say you’ve got a bingo board with 30 squares (or whatever). The time to complete the bingo would be one year, and anything anyone reads that’s both physical and fulfills a square goes on the board, and we see how far we got at the end of the year. Granted, that might encourage people not to read physical books if they don’t fit on the board, but I just thought it was a fun idea. 
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