Desperate Dragon Box Finding Plea

JesseD · Post by **JesseD** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 8:44 pm

This maybe considered off topic, but I have saved up AU$5000. I want all of the Dragon Boxes. I can't find anywere to buy them. I know they were pre-order only. But I'm desperate. I thought that this might be the best place to ask considering I am an authorised idiot.

SatoSky · Post by **SatoSky** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 9:20 pm

Your best bet to find any of the Dragon Boxes would be Yahoo Auctions. May want to use a service like Celga as well, seeing as how most people do not ship outside of Japan. They may charge you a fee for that.

By the way, I've never used any of these services myself. Just offering them as a way to help you out.

ETC123 · Post by **ETC123** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 1:36 am

Either buy the singles, or buy a car. As an Australian who formerly tried to get the Dragonboxes, you will not be able to get them on only $5000. Realise that after $500 or a certian weight you will cop atleast another $120 for each DB/Z box and possibly GT in tax.

Infact, I'm so sure you shouldn't get the Dragonboxes right now, what I would suggest is for them to possibly re-release them, as I have a feeling they will (yes, I know, DBoxes are limited, but they're also very profitable, especially if people missed out on the first time and want the singles).

And yeah, Rinkya and Celga will charge a fee normally, but the Dragonboxes will also have a fee and it'll be fairly high. Plus shipping costs alone will be fairly expensive as you'll be sending roughly 7.5-10 kilos worth of DVDs and goods. So original cost + second hand/reselling 'inflation' 9assuming you can find them all) + shipping + tax +handling/merchant fees = more than $5000.

Give me a PM if you'd like some more information.

dasmith · Post by **dasmith** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 2:04 am

I agree. The Dragon Boxes are just so hard to come by, I would either just buy the singles or hold onto the money and see if they do a rerelease of the boxes after they put out all of the singles (I assume they'll do GT after Dragonball, but is there any official word on movie singles?)

JesseD · Post by **JesseD** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:14 am

I had a feeling this would be the outcome. I don't want the singles. I should go buy a plane ticket to Japan and do a bomb scare at Toei. The original DBZ Box came out in 2003. It's four years later. Thanks for the help. I do hope Toei will re-release ALL of them. Cause if they did then I will definatly have more cash by then. I wish(If they did) they would have the Pre-order dates open loonger than a day. Thanks again.

ETC123 · Post by **ETC123** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:25 am

The thing is, they allowed for around 6 months for people to get money for these sets, if not longer. There were the initial 3 months where preorders were made, after which you'd have to rely on a site like Amazon or CDJapan having overstock or ordered in to meet potential demand stock in order to buy it.

You need to ask yourself, however- Do you want the boxes for the show? or do you want it to show off to people? If it's the first option there ARE alternatives. If it's the second one- don't bother. Minisule internet 'fame' (some people will make a post or two but ultimatly wont care due to not understanding, or just "i'm over it" thoughts) versus relative ease and cost should be pretty clear. Even in real life, you're not going to impress people by saying "Man, I spent $5000 on Dragonball!", because despite how you tout the better picture or how cool it is in Japanese, you're not going to impress anyone and no one is going to like you any better (lets face it, they all hate you now. They're all plotting. Be careful!).

So really, I guess if you had luck and perseverance you COULD find it for a bit over $5000, but you really need to sit down and evaluate what is right and what is best, rather than simply following your heart (or as close as it can get with these kinds of things). $5000, despite how old you are, IS a lot of money, unless you're super rich or something which I doubt you are (though if you are, why bother saving up when... wait, this is silly and pointless).

We all go through these times where we have more money than brain cells. Best idea is to cool off.

Mystery Person X · Post by **Mystery Person X** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:12 am

JesseD wrote:I should go buy a plane ticket to Japan and do a bomb scare at Toei.

FWIW, when I was in Japan (approaching a year ago now though) the Dragon Boxes were still available at the many used DVD stores in Akihabara, albeit with a hefty markup.

MajinVejitaXV · Post by **MajinVejitaXV** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:52 pm

ETC123 wrote:You need to ask yourself, however- Do you want the boxes for the show? or do you want it to show off to people? If it's the first option there ARE alternatives.

Yeah, there are the singles which are practically the same discs (you'd just have to order them all and make space for them) sans the menus. The only pisser is that Toei seemingly won't release the specials as individual discs (since Z is over and DB has started with no notice of a "Bardock/Trunks" discs).

Honestly, if you've missed out on the DragonBoxes, I'd go for the singles. The boxes are nice, but if I had to pay 2-3 times what I paid via preorder (which was what, $2850 USD spread out over 3 years?)...fuck that

Not trying to discourage you, just giving you the perspective of a DragonBox owner. They're great, but they're still just DVD's.

-Corey

JesseD · Post by **JesseD** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:42 pm

Well I want these for the show. 99% people of here in Australia don't even know Goku's name is Son Goku. They can't get anything right. So how could I show them off. I'm not super rich(oh if only...). And I don't know Japanese. I know the tinyest bit, which is so insignifigent, I should give up my own Dragon Ball orientated excistence. I want them for the fact it has the best picture in the universe and they're in 4:3. I am a collector. I have to collect all versions of the show. I have the old edit/uncut 276(291) episodes all on DVD, same for Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT. I have every movie and special. And now I have to buy these FUCKING rubbish 16:9 releases.

But I want them all in a few easy box sets' and I want that action figures' of Son Goku and Piccolo. And I have never seen the Gaiden game footage movie/special(and I call myself a person who knows everything about the show, I'm disgraced at myself). But they don't have subtitles which in my eyes is the only downfall. I understand why. Here in Australia it's only once the Majin Buu saga started that we saw the episodes bilingual.

So I want these for their sheer greatness. I don't like showng off. The singles may be my last resort but I'll hold off to see if they do a re-release, I wouldn't care if they were $2000 per box. They will be mine.

Oh and I forgot to mention: I make music videos. Could you imagine how good my music videos would look with Dragon Box footage? They look good with Funimation DVDs', but with Dragon Box footage it would be beyond my imagination on how good they'll look.

I'm only 18. When the first Z box came out in 2003, I was only 14. I am still in school(I was held back a year), and work part-time. Just as I have enough money, the Dragon Boxes evaporate. Welcome to my life. I know they're just DVDs'. We are all the same decaying organic matter. Fight Club is my bible and the way I see life. We all have to know, not fear, that some day we will die. Generally I just let the chips fall were they may. But when It comes to Dragon Ball, I think I just condradicted myself. And how did I come around to watching Fight Club? By watching the "This is DBZ Life" AMV. Not to mention movies like Bruce Almighty teach us that God hates us. Dragon Ball seems to have a meaning in my life. God I'm pathetic.

But I really appreciate how much advice people have helped me with. Thank you. Could I have a link to were I might be able to buy the singles? I'm typing this in the morning, my concentration is shit. I can't search for them. Thanks again.

SatoSky · Post by **SatoSky** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:17 pm

Amazon is your best bet to get the singles, as they have them for discount. I think CD Japan sells them for full "retail price", not sure though.

Iyouboushi · Post by **Iyouboushi** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:49 pm

Just an off-the-wall question here... does Amazon ship DVDs to America? I know I tried to buy something (maybe it was a PS2 game) from them and they stated that they don't ship it outside of Japan. Is it just specific items or am I just really unlucky?

KinoFourpaws · Post by **KinoFourpaws** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 7:18 pm

JesseD wrote:Well I want these for the show. 99% people of here in Australia don't even know Goku's name is Son Goku. They can't get anything right. So how could I show them off. I'm not super rich(oh if only...). And I don't know Japanese. I know the tinyest bit, which is so insignifigent, I should give up my own Dragon Ball orientated excistence. I want them for the fact it has the best picture in the universe and they're in 4:3. I am a collector. I have to collect all versions of the show. I have the old edit/uncut 276(291) episodes all on DVD, same for Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT. I have every movie and special. And now I have to buy these FUCKING rubbish 16:9 releases.

But I want them all in a few easy box sets' and I want that action figures' of Son Goku and Piccolo. And I have never seen the Gaiden game footage movie/special(and I call myself a person who knows everything about the show, I'm disgraced at myself). But they don't have subtitles which in my eyes is the only downfall. I understand why. Here in Australia it's only once the Majin Buu saga started that we saw the episodes bilingual.

So I want these for their sheer greatness. I don't like showng off. The singles may be my last resort but I'll hold off to see if they do a re-release, I wouldn't care if they were $2000 per box. They will be mine.

Oh and I forgot to mention: I make music videos. Could you imagine how good my music videos would look with Dragon Box footage? They look good with Funimation DVDs', but with Dragon Box footage it would be beyond my imagination on how good they'll look.

I'm only 18. When the first Z box came out in 2003, I was only 14. I am still in school(I was held back a year), and work part-time. Just as I have enough money, the Dragon Boxes evaporate. Welcome to my life. I know they're just DVDs'. We are all the same decaying organic matter. Fight Club is my bible and the way I see life. We all have to know, not fear, that some day we will die. Generally I just let the chips fall were they may. But when It comes to Dragon Ball, I think I just condradicted myself. And how did I come around to watching Fight Club? By watching the "This is DBZ Life" AMV. Not to mention movies like Bruce Almighty teach us that God hates us. Dragon Ball seems to have a meaning in my life. God I'm pathetic.

But I really appreciate how much advice people have helped me with. Thank you. Could I have a link to were I might be able to buy the singles? I'm typing this in the morning, my concentration is shit. I can't search for them. Thanks again.

Not to be mean, but the latter half of your post just got really, really random. How did Fight Club and Bruce Almighty find their way into the topic, again?

Anyways. Okay, so now the DB Dragon Box is being listed for over 1,000 dollars... damn. I was hoping to be able to raise enough money to buy it within the next year or so, too... :<

Oh well. This shall not deter me; I shall work my way up to it eventually! I really just want that particular box, anyway... >_>

SatoSky · Post by **SatoSky** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 7:27 pm

Iyouboushi wrote:Just an off-the-wall question here... does Amazon ship DVDs to America? I know I tried to buy something (maybe it was a PS2 game) from them and they stated that they don't ship it outside of Japan. Is it just specific items or am I just really unlucky?

Amazon Japan does ship to the U.S. It may be that certain items are not shipped though, I've never really bought anything other than Dragon Box the Movies.

ETC123 · Post by **ETC123** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:56 am

"How good would my music videos look!?"

Probably terrible if you're a bad music video maker, by which case you're still downconverting them/putting them on youtube anyway.

If it's the gaiden/whatever else you're after, I understand. I really do! However, don't go after the Dragonboxes themselves, because it'll cause only heartache and annoyance, even more so when they announce a second printing of them.

I would honestly wait till then. If you feel as if Dragonball is creating pressure on your life, to collect and what not, either see someone or get a better grip on reality. You cannot let this consume you as it did me. You're missing out on some pivotal developmental stuff if you blow your money on Cartoons.

Please listen to me. I know what this is like. Say you get the Dragonboxes. Whoopy. Afterwards, you've reached the highest pinnacle you want and then... nothing. You then let it slowly sink in to you that this is what you've been pissing your adolescence away doing, ignoring everything else.

It's bad for you. Take that five grand and put it towards something useful in your life. I'm not saying that liking Dragonball is bad, or that you shouldn't collect it, just dont be too obsessive over it.

JesseD · Post by **JesseD** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 5:20 pm

Well it is my life and my money. It's a great show, and I want to collect it. Simple.

And the Fight CLub statements? They were to show how if I hadn't seen the "This is DBZ Life" AMV, I wouldn't have seen my favourite movie. I was just showing an example of how DBZ is a part of my life.

I've used my Funimation DVDs on my AMVs. Since my hardrive wipe 2 months ago, I'm leaving the AMV scene for a bit until I get a new computer. A lot of my music videos aren't that great. This is because I made them on my friends Mac. I'm not very good friends with macs but people say my music videos are okay. Once I upgrade my computer I'll make great ones. You watch me. Dragon Box or not.

ETC123 · Post by **ETC123** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 5:27 pm

JesseD wrote:Well it is my life

Such as it is

JesseD · Post by **JesseD** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 5:29 pm

Actually I ment that as in I can make my own decisions, but I do like other peoples opinion. My family comes first. So I'm not that self-rightgeuos.

Sebastian (SB) · Post by **Sebastian (SB)** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 7:30 pm

There's always the manga. I'm happy with that & the video games as it is.

MajinVejitaXV · Post by **MajinVejitaXV** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:10 pm

ETC123 wrote:If it's the gaiden/whatever else you're after, I understand. I really do! However, don't go after the Dragonboxes themselves, because it'll cause only heartache and annoyance, even more so when they announce a second printing of them.

*looks at the Daizenshuu he just bought, which came out in 1995-1996...wonders how long before they do a second print of those

*

Seriously, I wouldn't wait for a second printing of the DragonBoxes. The Japanese tend to be pretty "make a move or lose out" on stuff of that sort. Now, Toei has addressed the hardcore market and is using the singles to catch everyone else. There's no business logic to their re-releasing the boxes, as it stings the early adopters and renders the singles pretty impotent.

The only choices you have at this point (in my opinion, having seen many other anime SE/Preorder only releases) are:

A.) Find the DragonBoxes second-hand.
B.) Buy the singles, which content-wise are identical.
C.) Wait for an HD release of some sort (which, seeing as it took about 7 years after the advent of DVD to get DragonBall releases, I'd say realistically you're looking at 2012 or so for a BluRay edition).

I would honestly wait till then. If you feel as if Dragonball is creating pressure on your life, to collect and what not, either see someone or get a better grip on reality. You cannot let this consume you as it did me. You're missing out on some pivotal developmental stuff if you blow your money on Cartoons.

Agreed 100%. I bought all the DragonBoxes, but did so while maintaining other interests. It's not healthy to let any one thing dominate your mind.

It's bad for you. Take that five grand and put it towards something useful in your life. I'm not saying that liking Dragonball is bad, or that you shouldn't collect it, just dont be too obsessive over it.

Eh, assuming the guy is 100% up a wall obsessed over the series, I agree. However, if he's just voicing his desire for the sets...I say live and let live. Hopefully, the guy has the ability to diversify his interests.

-Corey

JesseD · Post by **JesseD** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 12:44 am

I set my life in time slots. For 2006 I consentrated on just my other anime' needs(zoids,initial d,yugioh,pokemon,neon genesis,trigun...etc), for this year I'm focusing on Dragon Ball.

I'm a 'up the wall' fan. I should be in a straight jacket. My family, friends etc. say I'm quite handsome. Maybe I should focus on something like that? I live quite the boring life. And I pretty much devote my life to DBZ. I still am waiting for 'the girl', so I don't care less about my love life. So I love Dragon Ball. Altough I don't have a stutter, were glasses, am overweight. I realise I pretty much just insulted a lot of people and I am very sorry. I'm not trying to say I'm better than anyone else. In fact everyone probably makes more money than me and has a I.Q. number over 6. I suck. I can let my adolesence waste away if I want. I have a car and nice home, so I'm just fixing my other things, like Anime needs.

Thankyou Corey, you are quite helpful. If Toei would release EVERYTHING, including the Bardock/Trunks specials, in singles I might get them. Like the Son Goku versus Freeza match, only perseverence can help. So I will keep searching for them.

I loved your quote Corey. "Funimation are aplying the light coat of lube, and slowly bending the fans over". It is very true. Would you sell your Dragon Boxes Corey?