drpie

Are there any good dvd stores in NYC - preferably ones that carry international releases? Are there any stores that sell used discs?

The Bus

I can recommend two:

Kim's (Mondo Kim's / Kim's Underground). It used to be in the Village but I'm not sure if they still are.

J&R. A ton of stuff. Way downtown, near the WTC site actually. Might have other locations.

benedict

Paging jrutz!

toddly6666

Ready to go treasure-hunting? Then make a printout - This is all the information you will need:

ALL FOREIGN DVDs:
Kim's Video (it’s the best international DVD store in NYC...or even the world!)
6 St. Marks Place, 2nd Floor, NYC
(Between 2nd and 3rd Ave)
Video Rentals 212-505-0311
Sales Floor 212-614-8941

JAPANESE DVDs:
Book Off
14 E 41st Street, NYC
(Between Fifth Ave & Madison Ave)
212-685-1410

JAPANESE DVDs:
HQ Video (it’s the best Japanese DVD store in NYC)
21 West 45th Street, 2nd Floor, NYC
(Between 5th & 6th Ave)
Phone: 212-221-0027


HONG KONG/CHINESE DVDs:
There are three stores on Bowery street near the corner of Canal Street in Chinatown

KOREAN DVDs:
Korya Bookstore (which has very big selection of Korean DVD) and two other Korean DVD stores
Somewhere on 32nd Street, NYC
(Between 6th and 5th Ave)

RUSSIAN/FRANCE/ITALY/OTHER DVDs:
There are about 4 Russian DVD stores in a radius of about 6 blocks on Brighton Beach Ave. (make sure to look on 2nd floor in some stores for the European PAL DVDs)
Brighton Beach, Brooklyn (40 minutes from center of Manhattan by subway)

POLISH DVDs:
Go to Greenpoint, Queens (20 minutes from center of Manhattan by subway)

INDIAN/TAMIL DVDs:
Go to Jackson Heights, Queens (30 minutes from center of Manhattan by subway)

GREEK DVDs:
Go to Long Island City, Queens (20 minutes from center of Manhattan by subway)





For used DVDs, Kim's has the best variety of used DVDs. If you are looking for typical used Hollywood DVDs, then just check out all the Blockbusters, video game stores (Gamespot) and small-time video stores.

souvenir

I'm not sure about this at all. They have a few shelves of stuff that's priced higher than just importing through a UK site. A lot of what they have has been released in better versions in R1. It's not very extensive at all. In fact, I think Kim's is the most overrated DVD store in New York. Very high prices, lousy customer service and constant prying eyes of security looking at your every move. Having said that, there aren't a lot of exceptional DVD stores in NYC, especially for non-R1.

toddly6666

SOUVENIR, gotta take what we can get. Sure, it's best to order online, but it's only overrated because it's the only store in nyc that focuses on international DVDs.

When one lives in NYC and is a collector of international dvds, there is nothing better than walking into this store on a daily basis that zones in on one's hobby - Kim's Video is a paradise video store, when comparing it to other video stores.

I don't remember the last time any video clerk was nice and/or had a clue what they were talking about. When I was a video store clerk, I was happy and into helping people find flicks to rent. I can't stand most emo or low-class video store clerks that don't care about their job. Those "rebelious" ones are the cliched video store clerk. They think that it would be selling out to act happy, helpful, or into their job, but it's just the other way around - they are selling out by acting like their cliches...

But enough ranting, and yes you are right about the African security/retarded bag check/sign the receipt on the way out system. What annoys me about Kim's is that they have their used DVDs on crappy DVD shelving, in which they fall all over the place and don't stay in place. So, everytime I skim, I got one of those Kenyan security guards flipping the DVDs back in place right behind me.

splattii2

I don't live in NY, but I spend there from time to time. There is a pretty good store in Williamsburgh around 8th or 9th on Bedford. They had a few indy releases from NY directors I couldn't find anywhere else in the city (the directors brought them in by hand), and I noticed they had some good international discs also, along with used box sets etc... Wasn't as big as Kim's, but had some different titles and I recall it being a little cheaper also.

Toddly6666, I've never been to Korea town in NYC, or if I have it was by mistake. Do they have any used records in the Korean shops at all? I collect 60's and 70's korean music.

toddly6666

SPLATTII2, i don't recall any used records. Most of those Korean shops have new pop music. Although, there is one tiny Korean shop closer to 5th Avenue that has a lot of non-pop underground Japanese/Korean CDs. The guy working there is pretty cool - He got insulted when two English-speaking Korean girls walked in and asked if he had any RAIN (the Justin Timberlake of Korea) posters, and then he sort of shooed them away. It was pretty funny.

If you go to that store and talk to this very friendly guy (I think he owns the shop), he speaks English (poor, but he speaks it), I'm sure he can recommend a place to find the genre of music you are looking for. He's in his early 40s, so he probably will know the type of music you seek.

drpie

Wow, thanks so much. I just arrived. It looks like I have several places to check out.