Ed Sherman of Rising Sun Creations in San Diego, California saw the anime merchandising at Best Buy recently and feels that competition is becoming more difficult:

I just want to let everyone know about what is going on with anime DVDs at Best Buy.  I was checking out DVDs at Best Buy yesterday, and I was floored by what I saw in the anime section.  They have devoted an entire row to anime.  They are also selling all DVDs at a minimum of 23% off of the S.R.P.!  Some titles are discounted even more!  Apparently, they have decided to enter the anime market in a big way.  So much for selling anime DVDs at my store.

This is a sad time for specialty retailers.  The US anime companies have sold us down the river now that anime has hit the big time.  Most anime companies will not even sell directly to us, thus preventing us from even attempting to compete with the large chains.  I hope comic retailers can read the writing on the wall:  TPBs, floppy comics, exclusive releases, and RPGs and CCGs in the chain book stores = the End Times for specialty comic retailers.  If you think I am an alarmist, remember, it has already happened in the world of anime.

The opinions expressed in this Talk Back article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.