everything about cheki

[VkBrutaliaN 1890]

sorry i didn't found a better title for this Topic and also i hope this is the right section to start such a thread.

 

i wanted to know what do you think of the idea that bands selling cheki? do you like/collect cheki?

 

i personally really love them! the reasons are:

 

every single cheki is unique - means there is no other cheki which exactly Looks the same.

you can see how your fav artists really look. because cheki only Show the "reality" not like all the super polished Fotos from the bands OHP.

also they often Show the musicians in very unique situations and Environments.

 

they only downpoint is with the average Price of 500yen they are kinda pricy.

 

so yea i hope this will be an intersting Topic.

 

lastly i just uploaded a Video showing my current cheki collection so if you also collect cheki some Pictures/Videos showing them would be very nice.

 

http://youtu.be/n0tbFgH5CZ8

 

[pinkmakona 1810]

I don't buy cheki that much, i prefer spending my money on CDs and flyers. I am not interested in collecting them either, plus it's more money. I only buy the odd cheki from a band member who i REALLY like and if someone just happens to be selling the one i want (doesn't happen very often, i don't attend lives in Japan). I personally think 500 yen is alright (i don't mind paying that the odd time) and it's signed by the member, so it has more value, meaning. Cheki's that haven't been signed by the member should be cheaper though. Sometimes bands have cheki offers, like 3 for 1000 yen. Erm, i scanned one a while ago:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9ofvjdmxy1rcxdzjo1_400.jpg mirai from Libera.

 

[Manic 361]

Nice collection, Matsu! B.C. and Baphomet looks pretty sweet *-*

[Slsr 207]

I consider them as a big scam for the most part, even if I can kinda understand those who collect them still, collecting often tends to be addictive and fun anyway. Buuut... if people like them I guess it is kinda ok, they are a bit like trading cards of vkei or something I think xD, though at least they are actually unique and not just same few pics. Also probably for indie vkei bands to continue existing it is kinda vital that they continue selling such stuff too. I would guess many indie vkei bands make most of their money in vkei from chekis actually. 

[TheBistroButcher666 228]

I don't really buy chekis but I recently bought a few CELL ones my friend picked up at a live.

 

Otherwise, I don't actively try to buy them. The ones I normally get end up being bonuses that I got from buying a CD directly from the band's webshop or a special promotion from a vendor.

[GazeRockSnob 34]

For the most part, I think Cheki's are a rip off lol, some are so expensive I have to wonder about people who buy them!

The way I see it, they're mostly for sentimental fans I guess, who want a "personal" or special picture from the bands they like or band member.

 

I wouldn't buy Cheki. Unless it's Cheki from a band I reallly reallly love (like really). I'd much rather use my money to buy merch. I've never bought Cheki. I've only wanted to like a couple of times and that was recently when I saw some Yoshiatsu (crazyshampoo) Cheki for sale. They were sold before I could even ask the person how much for shipping lmao.

[PumpkinPatches 48]

Cheki is usually the only way bands actually make money, if you want to know the truth. Particularly if they're under a label. Label gets all the funds from the ticket sales, but generally merch (other than CDs) goes to the band. 

A box of cheki costs, roughly, 3500 yen. It comes with 50 cheki (10 packs of 5 cheki each). So, if a band charges 500 yen for each cheki, they make a profit of about 21500 yen per box. That's no a bad profit.

 

Some bands take up to 10 boxes of cheki for a live (Mejibray, for example) so... do the math. They're making about 400% on them.

They're a brilliant marketing tool, as well.

In addition, I have seen girls (and have done in myself) who pull until they get the elusive cheki from their favorite member, or the cheki that the bandman puts on their blog for the live. They're considered sentimental pieces.

 

Girls trade their cheki, sell their cheki, and the band gets paid for standing around looking pretty for 15 minutes. They're not a required item for fans to purchase, so... if you don't wnat them, you don't buy them. It's really that simple.

 

[Gizorz 24]

I agree with Rsasai really. At least now bands have found a way to make money that doesn't include a million types of single releases and it's not something you have to buy if you want to enjoy a band's music or events.

I don't really collect them, I have my little cheki folder but it's mostly filled with cheki I took myself. I buy them after lives I attend though if they're available. I often can't afford a 20 euro shirt on top of the ticket price but a cheki is no problem and I like having something to remember the live by, or I'll ask my friends to buy me one if they go see a band I like in Japan. The secondhand market is insane though.. Mejibray cheki go for 20 euro/dollar.. cray. Would never pay that for a photo even if they are ~*unique*~. But I get how the trading card aspect would be fun for people and the fact that they're one in a kind def makes them more fun than regular photosets.

[sugoge 11]

It's quite obvious from this thread who has and hasn't actually been involved in the visual scene lol. I'll also bet that everyone saying cheki are a ripoff are the same people who get just sooo upset when all the random indies bands die off after a year. Bands don't make money off music. It's pretty much a fact. They make money off merch, and actual merch is too expensive to produce for most bands, so cheki is the only viable option. If you *actually* want to support a band you buy their merch. It's not rocket science.

[PumpkinPatches 48]

^ That

 

I have a friend who works as a merch girl (for a company, she doesn't actually work for a single band, though she works for many over a long period of time) and she explained it to me like this: The band takes 100 cheki and a good night is if they sell 50. If they sell more, it means not only did the band break even for the night (covering things that their label doesn't cover) but it means they actually have a kick start for the next week.

 

Most these bands literally are living hand-to-mouth in regards to the livelihood of the band. Not always are they starving (though those ones exist, too) but they won't have enough money to keep the band going if no one actually helps them. 

So, when you see a little indies band that you liked a lot, throwing a 1000 yen down on two cheki isn't going to break your wallet but it will mean a lot to them.

[GazeRockSnob 34]

It's quite obvious from this thread who has and hasn't actually been involved in the visual scene lol. I'll also bet that everyone saying cheki are a ripoff are the same people who get just sooo upset when all the random indies bands die off after a year. Bands don't make money off music. It's pretty much a fact. They make money off merch, and actual merch is too expensive to produce for most bands, so cheki is the only viable option. If you *actually* want to support a band you buy their merch. It's not rocket science.

 

But Cheki's are a rip off lol. They're really expensive given what they are. They're Polaroids! xD

 

I didn't say it's bad to buy Cheki, I just said I wouldn't do it myself unless they were really special or something. Is it such a bad thing that I don't feel I should be spending xyz amount of money for a bunch of Cheki when I could buy a single at the same price???? (??)

 

It's obvious that smaller bands make a lot of their money off Cheki, if it wasn't profitable I doubt they'd waste so much time marketing it. But me, being an oversea fan with rarely any good access to Cheki, is just particularly indifferent towards this whole situation.

 

But then again, even if I was at a live or event, I probably still wouldn't buy Cheki. 

 

[sixblacknine 90]

Personally I love buying them, I'm not even sure why I like collecting them, they're just something nice to have and I keep them in a little album or have them on my wall with all my posters and flyers. I've tried to stop buying them so often since with SS fees from buying them from mbok it becomes pricy, and it's hard to find ones of band members I really really want.

 

but I don't see how 500 yen is super expensive, I wish I could just pay 500 yen instead of SS fees and shipping too, or having to buy them from overseas fans who charge 10 euros + for some reason, when most of the time the cheki aren't even signed or super rare/hard to find. Plus it's nice to be able to help the bands out with extra money by buying little things like this. 

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

I've never bought any, but I have a few from web shop privileges, my UCP lucky bag, and sometimes you get one in a CD. It's strange to see how some guys look without Photoshop.

[PumpkinPatches 48]

Yeah, I actually started buying people cheki because when I started my blog and putting pictures of cheki up, people were always like "Oh my god, how did you get those Galeyd/Nokubura/Awoi/etc.etc.etc Cheki!?!?" and hearing that, I've spent the last 6 months collecting cheki from TONS of bands for foreign fans.

 

Nokubura's merch guy thought I was just really insane until he actually asked me how many cheki I owned. When I said "A little over 50, I think?" he immediately asked where all the nokubura cheki were going. (If you ever go to a nokubura live, ask about the girl who, right before they closed shop, bought every single cheki-- like 50 something-- from them.) They actually likeknowing that their fans from overseas love them enough to sent the token gaijin to pick them up cheki. And, it's money.

It actually got so bad the band actually started taking MORE cheki shots and now, when I used to be able to buy up all the cheki at the end of the live once the other fans went through and got theirs, I can't. Yucchi actually laughed at me the first day they showed the 'new' cheki box and he asked me if I was going to buy all their cheki today. Definitely not.

[jrocklover 0]

a cheki from junjun (doginthepwo) is on its way to me ^^

[TheBistroButcher666 228]

but I don't see how 500 yen is super expensive, I wish I could just pay 500 yen instead of SS fees and shipping too, or having to buy them from overseas fans who charge 10 euros + for some reason, when most of the time the cheki aren't even signed or super rare/hard to find. Plus it's nice to be able to help the bands out with extra money by buying little things like this. 

I agree, 500 yen is fine and I have no problem spending that. It's when it's 500 yen plus shopping service fees, shipping and other charges it's not worth it anymore. I can't justify paying that much for a little Polaroid. When you lay down the costs after all that, I rather buy something with more substance like a DVD or an album from the band instead of a cutesy little kawaii picture.

 

In my tiny little collection I have two I really appreciate and am happy to have is one of Kon back during the La'Mule revival and the other is of Kyouka with his random gaijin friend.

 

The first ever cheki I got was Kijin from Ru:natic and it was a bonus from ordering their single from the band's webshop. I was recently surprised to receive a ton of chekis of whatshisface from the Vampire Rose solo project, they also came as a bonus from ordering his singles. So that was neat. Then of course all the CELL chekis my friend recently picked up at a live, I thought about getting more but instead asked her to get me the super neat live DVD instead.

[Lestat 2167]

The people ripping you off are second hand sellers, not the bands. I see individual cheki go for prices going as high as €60. That's incredibly insane. Cheki aren't specifically 'rare', in my opinion. All of them are bought at an average price of ¥500 at lives. People's excuses are things like: "But the shipping, but the bidding on mbok, etc." It doesn't change their value. I'm not selling my €600 television for €1200 either just because it's used.

 

Most livejournal sellers just buy in bulks to get a nice profit of it themselves as they sell their merchandise for over the top prices. My maximum bid on most cheki is €6,50, except if it's ex. bandmembers or of bands that are already disbanded, then okay, I can understand you'd ask a little more. But seeing cheki from Mejibray go for €25 I think it's just plain scamming since they really aren't that expensive on lives. 

[Nyasagi 259]

People will pay this much for a cheki, because they can't get them in any other way than second hand sellers on mbok or lj. I have only a few, because they're really expensive to me (approx. 500yen is enough for food for 2 days here and it usually costs more to get them), but I wish I got more, they're nice to collect. It happened I paid for them more on the live, though. I bought 2 NEGA cheki for 20eur on their live, because they were on some hello kitty paper or something. It also happened I sold cheki I owned (because I didn't want them anymore) for 40pln (10eur)/piece and I found a buyer with no problem, so why sell for less if people buy them?

[PumpkinPatches 48]

I sell on lj and most of the cheki I get now are specifically from trades. I normally charge like, $8-$12 (€6-8.50) for them and it normally covers the PayPal fees and things like shipping. Some cheki are a little more rare (or amusing) so the price tends to reflect that. It also completely depends on how willing I am to give it up. An example is I had an Oz cheki I kind of didn't want to sell, but someone offered me $30 for it and considering my current situation, I took it.

Like I said, I tend to buy people cheki in bulk, so... It isn't uncommon for people to send me $70 and leave with 10-15 cheki from their band. It just depends on how you feel about the entire thing.

[Slsr 207]

It's quite obvious from this thread who has and hasn't actually been involved in the visual scene lol. I'll also bet that everyone saying cheki are a ripoff are the same people who get just sooo upset when all the random indies bands die off after a year. Bands don't make money off music. It's pretty much a fact. They make money off merch, and actual merch is too expensive to produce for most bands, so cheki is the only viable option. If you *actually* want to support a band you buy their merch. It's not rocket science.

 

Yeah, yeah. Sure it is important for a band that fans buy that shit. Just that it doesn't make it reasonable at all still, I kinda have problem with it even if I recognize it is good way to support band. How is that reasonable at all that fan first pays for concert ticket, has possibly bought every CD band has released but still that person should pay for some polaroid pics, it is kinda much IMO, I don't think it should be fans role to use much money for such things. Now of course it is everyone's own choice and if they really like to collect those pics, fair enough. But I don't think it is reasonable to criticize someone not buying them/liking whole thing. I still personally think they are ripoff/scam/whatever, fact that band gets best support from that doesn't change that at all even if it makes idea of buying them feel better thing to do.

[Gizorz 24]

They're not saying you háve to buy cheki, just that it's probably one of the best ways to actually support the band financially, and that if a band doesn't get support there's a big chance they'll disband.

 

And I really don't get why people are crying scam over 500 yen. A lot of people are obviously willing to buy them. Oz cheki at their show in the Netherlands were 20 euro cuz the band borrowed the staff's camera and only had one pack of film (10 films), and they were sold FAST. Just because you wouldn't spend 500 yen on a photo doesn't mean it's a scam, it'll hold that value for some people.

 

As for Mejibray cheki, while I think 20 euro is ridiculous for a photo, their cheki are really popular and get sold in seconds (save for meto).

[hyura 465]

I used to buy lots of vidoll cheki back in the day.

And since then... I only bought them when I wanted to support a good band on an event but they didn't have anything interesting for sale.

But generally I think that they're a really nice idea.

And I have a question: since when are they around? I know that there are polaroids of really old bands (like from 2000) but there were no cheki back then, right? When I went to japan for the first time in 2006 they were already around....

So when did it start?

and who started it?

[Slsr 207]

They're not saying you háve to buy cheki, just that it's probably one of the best ways to actually support the band financially, and that if a band doesn't get support there's a big chance they'll disband.

 

And I really don't get why people are crying scam over 500 yen. A lot of people are obviously willing to buy them. Oz cheki at their show in the Netherlands were 20 euro cuz the band borrowed the staff's camera and only had one pack of film (10 films), and they were sold FAST. Just because you wouldn't spend 500 yen on a photo doesn't mean it's a scam, it'll hold that value for some people.

 

As for Mejibray cheki, while I think 20 euro is ridiculous for a photo, their cheki are really popular and get sold in seconds (save for meto).

 

 

Yeah, not like they say I must buy them, that wasn't my problem in the first place. I think that person was pretty clearly saying that if you actually want to support band you buy the merch (even if it is plain chekis.) and also dissing those who think chekis are ripoff yet cry for their dying indie bands. therefore I present my argument. Not much room for misunderstanding there anyway that apparently I should be buying those pics when I go to gigs if I actually want to support them. however I don't really plan buying them still as I feel I am then paying just for supporting band instead of actually getting something worthy at all in change (read: I personally see chekis as nearly useless things.) And surely I don't think I should be paying band extra just for them to continue existing, that is laughable thought, I don't think it is "my job" as a a fan, getting pretty much no value pics in exchange doesn't make it any better for me. I already paid for their concert ticket and CDs, even maybe bought other merch if they had something fun, if that is not enough then there is a problem in business they are doing, maybe it is best for them to disband then? I don't have money to scatter for some random pics, maybe I could buy one or two if they really don't have anything else to sell and it is small band I like. But as I am not really feeling the return, I don't feel I as customer am getting anything, even if idea of supporting them is cool in a way, it is just a bit much for me as as mentioned I don't see value in those pics. 

 

But yeah it is just simply my opinion about them and I really don't really think it should in general be fans role to use much money for such things, therefore I see them as ripoff but if people feel it's cool I guess it is kinda OK (as mentioned in my very first post.) I just don't personally like it but I guess it makes sense for them to do it anyway, it kinda fits to whole thing actually. Still, lets say someone buys 5 of those meji chekis, uses fucking 100€ for 5 pics, obviously not reasonable pricing at all, I don't think you can really even argue over that. But that is business for you of course ;P. 

[miyuu 40]

here again we have people who sell image and looks and not only music.

such a pop mentality in rock music.

 

i am ok with it only because it helps small bands and i guess it's better than the 25 cd types etc . so people let's keep doing it!!

 

but general thoughts:

personally although i like visual kei and for the looks and for the music but up to a point.

i prefer to buy music products or even band clothes than pictures. i don't feel the need to have autographs.

actually i think it's creepy and stupid to buy and have many pictures of guy that doesn't know you and doesn't give a shit about you.i would only buy if i admire someone very much and very few.

that whole idol mentality is not for me.

 

i know everyone saved a lot of pictures at some point in their life  but at least for free seems more healthy .

 look for example psc that says don't use our photos.

makes me realise again how stupid are genres that care about looks and sell looks more than music(although i like looks too but up to a point)

 

you are not buying art ,you are buying a random guy's image. don't you feel a little stupid.

at least kyo's photography books  was about art

[PumpkinPatches 48]

A good number of my personal cheki hold serious sentimental value-- example, all of my Quinstet cheki were pulled specifically for me by the bassist, because I asked him to at their final live. Most of my collections is of random people, most of bands I don't follow, but was talking with them member and got them to both pull me a cheki of themselves and sign it for me. Or, of special moments or times that I want to remember--like the first cheki I got when I saizened, or the present cheki one if te girls gave me because they know I love band member x.

But some people just like cheki and that is fine. I mean, some pictures are awesome or really funny looking. What have you.

I think when we talk about cheki, we almost are required to brig up elitism within this fandom. Most avid collectors tend to see themselves as better or more worthy fans than their counterparts. Same thing goes for people who attend lives in Japan, compared to those who don't... By saying "I have a large cheki collection of my favorite band" it kind of hints that you think that those who maybe don't have a big collection or don't collect aren't as avid fans. It isn't true.

I only accidentally started collecting cheki around January, but before then I only bought like three cheki, and they were for friends. Personally, now I see them as like a game--pulling the elusive cheki, getting the best one of my favorite member, trading with my friends, etc. but before then I just thought they were pointless trinkets.

I think cheki started bejg a big thing in 2005? The mini 55, I think.