About the Project
Manga Prices (stylized as "manga prices") is a passion project created to make it easier for anime and manga fans to find the best deals on new, used, and out-of-stock or out-of-print (OOP) manga. With manga's rising popularity and costs and fewer print resources available, finding affordable prices is challenging. What started as a small personal tool slowly grew into something I wanted to share, so my hope is that manga prices can become a go-to resource for those in the manga community. Whether you simply like to casually read manga, are just beginning their collections, or are veterans in the collector's spaces, this tool was made to help anyone.
Manga Prices is a community-driven resource. The future of this site depends on our users. The more visitors the web app receives, the more bookstores and retailers will want to partner with us, adding to the number of sources we could compare prices with. However, keeping the site running isn't cheap. Accessing search tools and API data comes with costs, and currently everything, from hosting, maintenance, design, and development, is supported entirely by my personal expenses. If you find value in what this site offers, the best way to support it is by using it, sharing it with others, or donating! Thank you in advance for using this tool!
About the Designer
Hi everyone, my name is Mei! I hope you find this web app useful! A little about me: I am a UX Researcher/Designer from the US currently based in Japan. I've been collecting manga since I was in elementary school and own around 500+ volumes. As someone who grew up in the US, the cost of manga in Japan was so surprising to me! But while I do have a few series in Japanese that I like to read and collect, my English collection in the US has yet to be finished.
This project started in early 2024 as a way for me to get better at programming. Like many people, I always have dozens of tabs open checking eBay, Amazon, Right Stuf (RIP), Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, etcc literally every single store for the best prices. But this idea specifically came to mind when the prices for my favorite manga, Natsume's Book of Friends, got so bad, it was frustrating finding a single volume for $75+ and not having an easy way to know what other stores had in stock.
Creating this web app was very challenging, but I find the entire process extremely rewarding! Little did I know how much it would take to get this up and running, from contacting multiple bookstores to accidentally breaking API thresholds, this project has seriously upped my appreciation for my friends in software development. To anyone who is using this site, thank you so much for your support, and I hope you find "manga prices" to be useful!
Fun facts about me: I like drawing, do Japanese archery (kyudo) on the weekends, and I love boba tea. I also co-host a webtoons related podcast with my friends. Special Thanks to Shiori Fujioka for the beautiful header illustrations! Please check out her work @fujiokashiori 藤岡 詩織 on Instagram and on the Tokyo Illustrators Society.
manga prices blog
This blog is something I’ve wanted to introduce for a while, and I’m happy it’s finally live. The goal of this space is to:
- Introduce new features as they’re released
- Share updates and behind-the-scenes development progress
- Talk about manga-related topics like collecting, pricing trends, reprints & stock news
- Open the door to more transparent communication around what’s happening with the project
Whether you’ve been using the price comparison tool for a while or this is your first time visiting, I’m really glad you’re here!
Support the Project
If this tool has helped you with your manga collection, your support means the world and helps keep the site up and running! Even a small donation goes a long way. Thank you so much for being part of this community! ♡
Questions and Inquiries: [email protected]