Airiindeshou DVD Donation Project [11/28 UPDATE]

Okay, so a lot more people positively responded to this idea than I expected so here are the details to my donation project in Q&A format. The last few questions are very important (especially the very last one about exactly how to donate) so please read them!

Note: Airiindeshou is and always will be free. I will still continue uploading things as normal. This is just for those that want to see more. 

(thanks to Raffi for the banner)

What is this?

Hello! Project DVDs are taking longer and longer to appear on the internet (and sometimes they don't appear at all). As a result, I often buy new releases (like concerts) with my own money so that I and everyone else can watch them in a timely manner. But, this practice is getting expensive - each DVD is about $45 plus shipping. Blu-ray DVDs are even more (anywhere from $60 to $100). This is a project that I've come up with in hopes that the foreign H!P fan community will come together so that we all can benefit.

What are the benefits to donating?

1. You and the rest of the world will get to see a new DVD release on or around it's release date (usually it will be on the exact release date, but sometimes there are shipping delays).

2. I will mention your name and your blog (or twitter account or any similar personal website) in the download link post if you want. Everyone will know of your kindness and you'll probably see a spike in views to your website as well.

3. A chance to win the DVD (more details below).

4. You are supporting H!P because an actual copy is being bought.

You said something about winning DVDs?

Frequent readers of this blog know that I've successfully ran 7 contests in Airiindeshou's history. The prizes have ranged from photos to posters to CDs, but never DVDs. This is your first chance to win something as expensive as that!

Any donation of at least $5 or ¥400 or €4 will automatically enter you into these DVD raffle contests. As in all of my contests, shipping will be free to anywhere in the world. The winner will be selected at random from everyone who donated (more info on that below). The more money you donate, the better chance you have at winning.

NOTE: I will only run contests if at least half of the DVD was paid for by donators. It would be unfair to me to give away an expensive DVD if only $3 out of $45 was paid for by donators, for example.

How exactly will you pick the contest winners?

For every $5 you donate, I will write your name down on a piece of paper. For example, if you donate $30, you will get your name written down 6 times.

I will then pick one name out of a hat at random and that person is the winner.

How much do I have to donate?

Any amount! It doesn't matter if it's $10, $1, or $4.26. Anything you want to give is fine (though, again, only donations of $5 or more will enter you into the DVD contest). Every little bit helps!

What currencies do you accept?

I only accept Japanese Yen (preferred), US Dollars, or Euros. If you use a different currency in your home country, Paypal will automatically do a currency conversion when you donate.

I don't have any money to give, but I still want to help! What can I do?

Advertise this post! Tweet it, blog about it, tell your friends, whatever. Spread the word around (just don't spam). The more people that donate, the easier this process will be.

I have money but no credit card/bank account. Can I still donate?

If you live in the US, yes! A donator has brought to my attention something called MoneyPak. Basically it's like a prepaid card you can buy at places like Walmart and CVS using cash. Unfortunately these are only available in the US so for other countries you still need a credit card or bank account.

What if I only want certain DVDs? Do I have to donate every time?

Nope! For example, if you only care about watching C-ute concerts, then you can just donate towards those.

How will you know what DVDs to buy?

You guys are the ones who will make this work, so you will decide! 

Every time a new concert DVD is about a month from releasing, I'll make a post about it, telling people to send their donations if they are interested. If we have enough to buy the concert, then I will contact everyone and I will purchase the DVD from CDJapan.

What if I don't care what DVD you buy?

If you don't care about specific DVDs or you just want to support this project in general, you are welcome to send money at any time using the method described in the last question.

How much do you need in order to buy a DVD?

This depends on the release, but normal concert DVDs are usually 3800yen (about $45). Then, I have to pay shipping.

Basically:
- 5500 yen total for the DVD plus super fast shipping (arrives on the release date)
- 5000 yen total for the DVD plus pretty fast shipping (might arrive the release date, probably 2 days after)
- 4300 yen total for the DVD plus slow shipping (takes at least 2 weeks, probably 4-5 weeks)

In each post, I will highlight exactly how much money we need for that particular DVD release.

So what you're saying is that if we don't raise enough money then you won't buy it?

Not necessarily. Yes, I can't buy everything alone, but I can contribute some money, too. I can probably match whatever you guys raise (keyword being "probably"), so if you guys can raise half then there is still a chance for the purchase to be made.

Sounds good. So, how do I actually donate?

For the US and Canada ONLY:

It's a little complicated. Normally you would just click a donation button and be done, but Paypal charges a fee to do that (yes even for donations. Google Checkout does the same thing). So, here's a better way.

1. Go to Paypal and log-in (or make an account if you don't have one - it's free).

2. Once logged in, click the send money button at the top.

3. Enter my email (airiindeshou@gmail.com), the amount (I would prefer JPY but you can pay using USD if you want), and make sure to select "I'm sending money to family or friends".

As you can see, it's free if you use a bank transfer or if you already have money in your Paypal account and use that. If you use a credit card, you must pay a small fee, sorry.

4. The next page will look like this. Click "Send Money" and you're done!

For other countries:

If you live outside of the US and Canada, I've been told that you will have to pay a fee no matter what. In order to limit the fee, I would suggest NOT using a credit card and to use a bank transfer if you can. If you send money that way (or use money already in your Paypal account if you have it), the fees will be very small (usually under 1%).

If you only have a credit card and not a bank account then Paypal will charge you a higher fee (3.9%) no matter what. In this situation you have two options.

You can either pay the fee yourself (for example if you want to donate 10 euros, you'd have to pay Paypal 10 euros plus about 0.55 euros in fees for a total of 10.55 euros). If this is what you want, use the same method as the US and Canada above.

Or you can have Paypal subtract the fees from your donation. For example, if you want to donate 10 euros, Paypal will take out about 0.55 euros from that and I'd receive about 9.45 euros. To do this, select "I'm paying for goods or services" in step 3 of the US/Canada method above.

If you have any questions, please ask!