Hobby Search

[Samurai_Chris]

I do read some Japanese, and thought I was on my way, but I am just falling short at the end..

 

As some of you use Hobby Search. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

 

Chris

[Kabutoni]

Herp.

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/

[Samurai_Chris]

Herp.

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/

I keep getting it in Japanese, and I think it has something to do with that I am actually in Japan...

[Kabutoni]

That's really strange indeed... Even the sub-pages? http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/rail/

 

Anyhow, all the more reason to learn proper Japanese when in living in Japan...

[bikkuri bahn]

It's likely your IP address, which the website/server automatically detects and displays the Japanese version.  I get the same thing, though I was using Hobby Search well before I knew they even had an English page.

[bill937ca]

I believe the HS English page is an export site with 5% Japanese VAT deducted and only foreign shipping quoted. EMS and SAL are both international shipping. The Japanese language HS site is intended for domestic purchases.

 

Perhaps you should send HS an email asking what to do.

[David]

There is an note somewhere on HS (I can't remember where) that says if you live in Japan to use the Japanese site. The tax is the likely reason (my guess is that even if you reach the English site via a proxy, you won't be able to select Japan as a shipping destination)

[westfalen]

It's not just a Japanese thing, some U.S. dealers have similar policy. This is from M.B.Klein, alias Model Train Stuff.

 

"As of May 1st, 2010, we are no longer able to combine or hold orders. Subsequently, we are no longer able to make additions, deletions or modifications to orders."

 

I've had no problems ordering or pre-ordering with HS, you just have to put a bit of planning into your orders, and getting Japanese trains from them is still cheaper than getting U.S. trains from anywhere if you're in Australia. I order a couple of magazines a month and the shipping is about the same as for one.

[spacecadet]

i got into this with the USPS. they do claim its a regulation and returned, but not postage due, they said the return was not charged to HS. it went slow boat at it took over a month to show up again at HS. HS said they were not charged return shipping charges (i asked as i was worried they got stuck for that).

 

Well, if that's true, then they got lucky.  EMS actually has standard rules that all countries that use it are supposed to follow, and as far as I know the return policy is one of them (I'm not 100% sure, but I see the same return rules listed in the various countries that I've had EMS stuff sent to or from).  The USPS is a little weird in that they call EMS "EMI" (even though it says EMS right on the label if you print one from their web site) and they don't seem to have an EMS section on their web site, but I did find the return policy for international priority mail shipments (which I believe is what they call SAL) and it says this:

 

"On delivery to the sender, return parcels are subject to collection of return postage and any other charges, including charges assessed by the foreign postal authorities. The amount of such charges will be indicated by the international exchange office, usually on a PS Form 2993, Returned or Redirected Parcel (label)."

 

So while Hobby Search may not have been charged this time, they could have been, and they have to make their policies a reflection of that.  And they can't make exceptions to their policies whenever they get lucky, because then there's no point in having a policy in the first place - it would seem arbitrary whether you had to pay return shipping or not.  Also, making you take redelivery of the item actually seems more fair to me now knowing that they may not be charged return shipping.  That way, everybody is treated the same and they don't end up charging extra for charges they may not incur.  They just work any potential charges into the profit they make from the item.  I'm sure they do get charged sometimes.

 

The manager at our local po was embarrassed it happened a he said they hold stuff like that when they have a vacation hold usually, but this just slipped thru the cracks as the person who usually did the express locker was on vacation. others around the country say their posts do the same.

 

Mine definitely does not.  Mine will ship EMS packages back on the 6th day regardless of anything.  I've talked to them about this because my business relies on EMS shipments for our entire inventory and if we miss one, we're in big trouble.

 

It probably depends on how much space the PO has to keep packages lying around combined with the level of scrutiny they're under.  I am in NYC, where US customs and the postmaster general roam around constantly making sure all the little bureaucratic rules are followed.  (Of course, they do nothing to try to ensure postal clerks at the PO take care of more than one customer per hour...)

 

just this time it didnt happen and the rule got followed. the odd thing is the vacation hold says ALL mail and packages will be held. if you look at the rules they publish on express mail the 5-7 day return is not listed anywhere to the public that i could find and i dug and asked a lot. USPS customer service also says that express mail (that is what ems is on state side) should be held with a vacation hold as well. so you get a lot of different stories on this.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of USPS employees don't even know the rules, because they're not used to handling EMS shipments.  But I do know that EMS has rules that exist outside and above just the USPS, and the USPS is supposed to follow them whether they want to or not.  Maybe sometimes they don't, but I don't think you can count on that and neither can HS.

[Guest ___]

I can stipulate as a formal postal employee for several years (paid my way through college at USPS) the MPO's can be ticklers for the rules a lot tighter than SPO or RPOs, but for the most part, post masters tend to be customer oriented becasue we had enoguh BS to deal with the bureaucracy that we REALLY did not want to deal with customer complaints or issues. PM's typically would defer holding express mail beyond x-point to the lead clerk. And if there was a hold mail order open, the HC would normally hold any thing requiring a signature for about five days after the hold mail order were to expire.

[jdnewemail]

Hello

 

Thanks for all of the replies, it helps me to understand the situation that Hobby Search may be facing. But I am still not happy with wasting money on shipping when I could add something in stock to a shipping item and save some yen.

[cteno4]

only our postmaster knew the reg, no one else did and they said they did as aaron mentioned, hold for a few days after the postal hold was up then if not picked up ship it back. he was not very customer friendly at all, the manager and other staff are. i could see the manager getting embarrassed as the pm was lecturing me about not being around when it was to be delivered, he later apologized for the pm's attitude.

 

i tried a bunch of ways to find out about vacation holds and everyone i talked to or read said ALL mail and parcels would be held. i would ask even if it were to be signed for and the answer was always yes. gotta love oxymoronic bureaucracy!

 

i think sal is treated as parcel post on the us side. i asked about the po about it once and they said they thought it was parcel post -- was secondary to priority with space available (sort of like how it gets on the plane from japan) and this jibes with the range in delivery times you can get!

 

anyhow the lesson is not to use EMS around vacation time! i now do all pre-orders as paypal so that i can be aware if something is coming or at least hold it up with payment until i can let them know to please hold shipping a little while if its ems. actually i avoid ems now as much as i can, i can wait for my trains and ems just drives the prices way up. never lost one in like a couple of hundred sal shipments over the years yet so im very self insured as i probably have saved at least $2500 not doing ems with these.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Samurai_Chris]

Cheers guys....

[bill937ca]

One other solution is to read the Japanese HS page with Google Translate.

 

http://translate.google.com/#ja|en|

 

I was doing this earlier today during a Google search.

[Samurai_Chris]

The thing is, I can read well enough, but for some reason at the end I get a message saying it is not filled in properly when I try to register. Just wanted to double check.. I could ask my wife (who is Japanese) but then my secret Hobby Search account won't be too much of a secret...

[westfalen]

When I go on vacation I give my brother my PO box key and he checks it every few days, you never know when something you preordered months ago with turn up.

[Guest ___]

only our postmaster knew the reg, no one else did and they said they did as aaron mentioned, hold for a few days after the postal hold was up then if not picked up ship it back. he was not very customer friendly at all, the manager and other staff are. i could see the manager getting embarrassed as the pm was lecturing me about not being around when it was to be delivered, he later apologized for the pm's attitude.

 

i tried a bunch of ways to find out about vacation holds and everyone i talked to or read said ALL mail and parcels would be held. i would ask even if it were to be signed for and the answer was always yes. gotta love oxymoronic bureaucracy!

 

i think sal is treated as parcel post on the us side. i asked about the po about it once and they said they thought it was parcel post -- was secondary to priority with space available (sort of like how it gets on the plane from japan) and this jibes with the range in delivery times you can get!

 

anyhow the lesson is not to use EMS around vacation time! i now do all pre-orders as paypal so that i can be aware if something is coming or at least hold it up with payment until i can let them know to please hold shipping a little while if its ems. actually i avoid ems now as much as i can, i can wait for my trains and ems just drives the prices way up. never lost one in like a couple of hundred sal shipments over the years yet so im very self insured as i probably have saved at least $2500 not doing ems with these.

 

cheers

 

jeff

 

 

SALs are treated as priority mail, there technically is no parcel post anymore, anything over 16oz is automatically upgraded to priority regardless of how it is shipped (box, envelope, pad pack and so forth). Parcel post had been combined with 4th class mail as media, but all international mail or packages are bumped up to priority except for global express. Note, inter-nation priority mail is outbound only. All of this came about as a way for USPS to streamline operations and automation to reduce costs. It all ties in to their lean sigma principles.

[bill937ca]

I went into Hobby Search's Japanese page yesterday while searching for some old Tomix items.  There is a substantial difference in the way the Japanese page operates versus the English language page.

 

There is a cash price offered, but HS makes it clear it is an online only store.  There is no bricks and mortar store open to the public.

 

Prices

 

Three prices are listed for each item:

 

List price

Cash price

Other price

 

Payment Options

 

1. COD via Yamato Transport or Sagawa (fee 420 Yen)

2. Giro (Post Office bank)

3. Convenience store pickup and pay (below 10,000 Yen) including Seven-Eleven, Lawson, Family Mart and   long list of other convenience stores.

4. Credit card (VISA, MC, NICOS, JCB)

5. Bank Transfer (pay easy) (fee 210 Yen)

6. Mobile Payment

 

Delivery Services

 

COD shipping

Specified delivery date

Specified delivery time period (either Yamato Transport or Sagawa)

 

Note that there is no mention of PayPal for domestic purchases in Japan.  EMS and SAL are post office services for international mail and are not offered for domestic mail.

 

I added an item to the Waiting List from the Japanese page without problems, but if you tried to order from the Japanese page HS would probably be quite upset because of taxes, and domestic versus international shipping. They might even close your account like they warn they would do if you fail to pay an PayPal Request for Payment within 3 business days. Just for the record:

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/faq_e.asp?Typ1_c=104#pay2

 

For pre-orders, we will send the "PayPal Payment Request" email when the item is released,

 NOT when the pre-order is placed. Please check your inbox often for this email.

 

- Please be sure to complete the PayPal payment within 3 business days after we send the

 "PayPal Payment Request" email.

 

- If we do not receive your payment within 3 days, we will consider it a refusal of payment.

 We may close your Hobby Search account if this happens.

 

Typcially Japanese, the candy or the whip.

[cteno4]

SALs are treated as priority mail, there technically is no parcel post anymore, anything over 16oz is automatically upgraded to priority regardless of how it is shipped (box, envelope, pad pack and so forth). Parcel post had been combined with 4th class mail as media, but all international mail or packages are bumped up to priority except for global express. Note, inter-nation priority mail is outbound only. All of this came about as a way for USPS to streamline operations and automation to reduce costs. It all ties in to their lean sigma principles.

 

when i asked it was probably a couple of years back. have noticed that sal is a bit more uniform in the 2 week time this year. late last year it was very very variable. what has stopped is the 4 or 5 day sals that would happen maybe every 5th time...

 

btw usps is still offering parcel post for packages (with much longer deliver times), i know they are planning to kill it eventually, but its still being sold!

 

jeff

[Samurai_Chris]

Cheers Bill.. I emailed them yesterday. Hopefully I will work it all out..

 

Chris

[Tenorikuma]

The thing is, I can read well enough, but for some reason at the end I get a message saying it is not filled in properly when I try to register. Just wanted to double check.. I could ask my wife (who is Japanese) but then my secret Hobby Search account won't be too much of a secret...

 

I don't know about Hobby Search specifically, but most Japanese sites indicate which field had the error. By far the most common problem is the name fields (first and last name plus furigana fields), which expect two-byte Japanese characters and sometimes validate to ensure the right kinds of characters (e.g. katakana in the furigana field). I have to find some form of my name in hiragana or katakana that will make the fields validate.

[bill937ca]

I placed a pre-order with HS today and the only option was Paypal.  All their FAQ info and First Time info  makes no mention of credit cards any longer.    

[CaptOblivious]

Oh, that's interesting!

[to2leo]

You can pay pay-pal with your credit card.  Depending on your credit card company's transaction fee (daily retail rate + 2.5% of the transaction), I think pay-pal charge less for you currency conversion when I tested with eBay last year.

[Kamiyacho]

I didn't know that you could pay paypal without a credit card!