cine

What are the best on-line stores for R2 DVDs in terms of title selection, pricing and service? I'm particularly interested in hearing about experiences with alapage and cinestore which are the only two on-line stores I have found.

Thanks.

codefree

These are the best places for R2 British & R2 Japanese DVDs:

http://www.bensonsworld.co.uk
http://www.blackstar.co.uk
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp

Excellent service and excellent product every time!

hardtack

I would add a hearty recommendation for Amazon UK - especially if you are ordering a number of DVDs - they take off the VAT (tax) for export orders and this usually means they end up cheaper than BlackStar etc.

BlackStar etc can be cheaper if you are ordering single titles - of course, I am only speaking from my own experience here... others may disagree

Also, for region 2 Japan, I would recommend Amazon Japan if you can find someone to help you through the screens (it is entirely in Japanese and requires the ability to input Japanese text) - they actually apply discounts (albeit small) to titles.

regards, Tim...

nekobus

Another place to purchase Japanese R2 discs is www.amotokyo.com. Free shipping if you order over $200 at a time.

Crazy Aoshi

Amotokyo just raised their prices by a couple bucks. Also, I doubt I will order from them again. I placed an order on the 16th, got a tracking number, but the post office doesn't recognize it. Now cdjapan is about the same price and a lot faster.

nekobus

1. Amotokyo raised their prices listed in US$ on their site because the yen has strengthened against the dollar. CDJapan's prices also vary because of the exchange rate. You just might not know about it until you get your CC bill.

2. Amotokyo doesn't automatically send out tracking numbers unless you email and ask for one.

3. A large typhoon, one of the worst in years, just swept through Japan and disrupted the transportation network for several days. Some Japanese retailers warned of shipping delays due to the typhoon.

4. Have you checked your tracking number on the Japanese EMS tracking site or the U.S. one? Your item number will not show up on the U.S. site until later. The Japanese PO EMS tracking site(in English)is at:

http://www.postal.mpt.go.jp/new-eng/ems2.htm

5. We're amotokyo customers and have had no problems. We usually receive our packages within 2-3 days. We find them to be just as fast, if not faster than cdjapan. The prices are similar, especially with cdjapan's 5% "handling fee". Amotokyo gets the nod from us because of free shipping on larger orders and the willingness to hunt down items not listed on their web site.

Dazza

There's also http://www.dvdzone2.com , http://www.amazon.de , and http://www.amazon.fr

Crazy Aoshi

It looks like the yen is on the rebound, it looks like it lost around .7% of it's value against the dollar, and amotkyo responded with a 4% price increase.

And the only item I've ever requested from them not listed on their web site (The same Di Gi Charat Concert in Yokohama Arena I've been looking for for awhile now), amotokyo said they cannot get. If I knew the catalog number, I could ask cdjapan to look for it though...

nekobus

Well the yen has recently strengthed from less than 124 to above 120 yen/dollar(119.7 according yahoo.com today). Do the math and it's about a 4% increase.

Fortunately, our big last big order went through before the yen strengthened.

Ahhhh, the joys of a connected world and international trade.

Kosh

I would also add http://www.ezydvd.com.au. They are located in Australia, so they're really R4, but lots of discs are multiregion for both R2 and R4. For instance, I bought The Bridge Over Kwai (2-disc) for about £14.30 including shipping to Norway. You can find out which regions a discs supports at http://www.michaeldvd.com.au