Question

[Stephen]

Ok...this is gonna confuse some people...(myself included) I was wondering if anyone could help me out here. I went to a few stores yesterday...best buy and Suncoast...both had a Trigun box set for 150 bucks. Now, I go on Ebay and they have 3 DVD sets, and 6 DVD sets...let me link you to a few here.
Item 1

And this one, which looks the most legit to me....

Item 2

Whats everyone think...are these burned CDs? Or imports that will play on American DVD players? Look around on Ebay...there are like 50 of these up at any given time...why do people cough up 150 bucks...if you can get a boxset for 30-40?

[Saint]

i bought all the dvds individually, released here in the U.S. by Pioneer.
as for your links i would say the first one seems questionable... and anything that does not have regional coding for that matter. i persoanally wouldn't really want illegal stuff.

the second i have no idea... but its subbed and so its an import and could quite possibly be cheaper.

if you like subbs maybe, you would like it... maybe someone else should comment too..

[uc pseudonym]

Well, I more or less agree with Saint, so I have nothing new to say. Except:
People are willing to buy expensive stuff for a lot of reasons.
1. People (in general) are dumb.
2. There are many "odd" deals on internet sites.
3. Our consumer culture has propogated the idea that pricier is better.
4. Have I mentioned people are dumb?

I'm sure someone a bit more experienced with internet sales can offer you some real help.

[Stephen]

I messaged like 6 people on ebay who had these...just got an email from one.

"Hi,

The 9 DVD version I believe is for the Trigun movies. The ones I have is the
TV series. And no, it's not "burned set".

It's possible for DVDs to be region free. It's actually pretty common now
for DVDs to be region free. I'm not sure technologically how it's region
free, but it is.. =)"

I have never heard of Trigun movies...I thought there was only a series....

[madphilb]

What gets me is that my local Best Buy has (or had) the 6 DVD Trigun set for only $79.99... wonder why yours is twice as much (or is the price up?)

Hmm.... just looked it up on Best Buy's site, says it's an 8 disk set (maybe I remembered wrong) and it's listing as $150 there as well.

I think I'll stop by Best Buy tomorrow and check out what I had looked at. If they still have it for $80 I'm going to grab it in a heartbeat!


As for why would someone pay more? I dunno... E-bay can be tricky, you have to watch yourself and you don't ever quite know what your getting (personally I've never had a bad experience, but I've only picked up a few things off there).

The same thing comes up at the local EB. People will shell out for new games when pre-owned ones are in stock. Sure, it's only $5, but for most things you're not getting anything worse than new (though my pre-owned XBox Morrowind was missing the manual). The way I look at it, even if it's only $5, that's a happy meal at McDonnalds or something.

Oh well...

PHIL

[Stephen]

I am just baffled that there are very legit looking sets on ebay...for so much less. While some im sure are burned or other garbage...most of this looks very real...I think next paycheck I am going to order a 30 buck set...its a gamble sure...but I mean, if I get a region free set...for 120 bucks less...thats quite a bargin.

[Straylight]

As far as regions go, I've got a few DVDs myself that are Region 0 -- the region free region

japanese imports work here too, we share Japan's region number, which is great!

[Stephen]

Wow...Christianotaku posted a link...that is on our link page.
animeniacs.com....they have this cheap set too.

Trigun for 30 bucks

[BrianC]

I think that both of the sets are bootlegs. A 26 episode set on 3 DVDs has to be a bootleg (though Slayers and Lodoss TV are legit and on 4 DVDs). The fact that the second Trigun is on 6 DVDs sounds believable, but the region free encoding does not. The official US collection is on 8 DVDs.

[Izumi San]

Wow, ya'll know way more than me about online ordering You can download RoLW for free on toonami.com, you know that right?

[Stephen]

Ok...did some looking around online...that link to Animeniacs.com is a winner I think. Its a region 0 Trigun set...meaning that you don't get gouged for 150 bucks...only 30. Region 0 means it can play on any dvd player...check out this chart I found online.

[BrianC]

It seems like the Toonami Reactor only has the music videos now. I used to watch the anime for free there (It's legal since the site is owned by Cartoon Network), but I had dial up at the time, so the anime always took a long time to stream.

I don't really recommend region 0 DVDs becuase they are usually (but not always) bootlegs. The only legal US region 0 DVDs I know about are from Central Park Media (US Manga Corps and Software Sculptors are divisions of Central Park Media). The official Slayers TV and Slayers Next boxed sets were region 0, but the latest official Slayers TV boxed sets are region 1. However, with Trigun, I'm certain that the region 0, 6 DVD set is a bootleg set.

[Saint]

just a little more about it. i do not know of a dvd that does not have a regional code that is truely legit. some stuff looks great and has great features and all, and is just like the other release and is a pirated copy. my friend got all the starwars for like 20 dollars and the quality is great, but officially there were not out yet.

the main thing is you are hurting the company that released the show. sure you can get it for cheap, but is it right?

[Stephen]

While I think its not right to rip off the company...is it right for them to charge 150 bucks for the set? I bet it really cost them a lot to make :rolls_eye

[BrianC]

good point. I loved the Slayers DVDs in the boxed sets and I think the series is good enough to pay the $115-130 dollars that most places charge for them, but the boxes for them are thin and cheap looking.

[Stephen]

Just so nobody hates me round here....that Animeniacs site is legit...as is there set. In short, its like the difference between Nike Shoes and your local stores no name brand. Same thing...just a little less in quality. I was reading peoples personal reviews on the site...and most people said the same thing...a few tiny glitches...but still great. Saving so much money.....is well worth it...since the 3 DVD set is very well done. Most the glitches came from jamming that many onto dvds. Glitches were things like....i think twice in the whole thing...the screen flickers...there are a few mispellings when they redid that part...but all in all great. I will let you guys know what happens...I am ordering one of there Trigun Box sets later tonight. I will review it when I am done watching it.

[BrianC]

That three DVD set that was linked to from E-bay uses the US art for their packaging and the set is only three discs. Imports don't usually have the exact same box art as the US version. I don't recommend trusting ebay for foriegn DVD or video game purchases. This is from talking to other users and visiting sites.

[Stephen]

Yes sometimes Ebay can have people that are doing things wrong...but for the most part I think Ebay is great, I have spent quite a bit of money on Ebay and never been disapointed. As far as games or dvds...its a risk you take to save money. As for what I am going to buy...the 3 DVD set on Animeniacs.com is the one I plan on buying.

Edit:Bought...just ordered a set a few minutes ago...I will let you guys know how it turns out.