I haven't been able to find a 2003 number for character good sales to give a rough estimate of how now compares to then, and I'm willing to be the amount spent on character goods was pretty significant back then, too-- but 89%? Yowza.
This does explain some of B andai Entertainment's moves, such as putting so much effort into higher-priced, goodie-packed premium editions for hit series like Haruhi-- though on the other hand, it doesn't seem to have worked for Lucky Star, whose 6 volume wasn't released in the premium version. Bandai has also devoted a lot of its booth space at conventions in the last year or two to goodies as well as DVDs.
What do you guys think? Do you spend more on character goods than on DVDs? (I definitely know I have at some points in my life...)
I'm not much of a DVD buyer because I'm more of a manga buyer so I do spend more on character goods than DVDs. I do waste lots of money on random trinkets I don't need like cell phone charms, keychains, and other stuff.