FMODELS

[to2leo]

Hi all,

Just want to say FModels is a very reliable and good retailer.  I have pre-ordered and received the Kato Glacier Express sets and E6 from them with no problem.  They can communicate in both English and Chinese (Taiwanese).  From my experience, they do offer 20% discount for Kato if pre-ordered and can waive the sales tax upon requested.   The price overall I found is lower than the HS site.

 

I have been using the SAL method twice already and it takes about 3 weeks to arrive to Canada.

 

You can pay by Pay-pal for your transaction.

 

Feel free to let me know if you have any question,

[Densha]

My order also just arrived yesterday. It took 2 weeks by SAL. Still, considering that they even checked the technical state of the model before shipping it out, I can't think that badly of them as it is all in great state and the communication before the misunderstanding was good.

 

All right, here's the (shortened) communication:

(I got rid of the item names, makes it easier to overview. There were three items on reservation apart from the one being talked about here.)

3 Apr 2013

TO Mr.*snip*

 

Thank you for your comment about our prices through Paypal.

Your question is very useful for us.

 

We have to decide our prices with careful, it takes time, so please buy other items at another shop.

Sorry about that.

 

I will send you MicroAce A3473 by SAL.

 

Thank you.

 

----------------------

 

2 Apr 2013

 

Hello Mrs. Motoko Ahn,

 

So basically that means all products are 20% off from the normal price? Whether it is a reservation or not? What about the deduction of Japanese tax, is that already included in it?

I would like to get a bit of an insight to understand what to expect from the prices.

 

Kind regards,

*snip*

 

----------------------

 

2 Apr 2013

 

TO *snip*

 

Thank you for your e-mail.

 

The price as below is for cash at our shop in Japan.

 

*snip*

 

There is a commission of payment through Paypal,

so the price of in that case is different from our HP's.

 

And the price (Invoice No.xxxxxxx)is 25%off from the special price for you, you couldn't pay soon for our miss on Paypal.

MicroAce A3473 JP17,719

Usually 20%off from the price.

 

You can cancel them.

 

Thank you.

 

----------------------

 

2 Apr 2013

 

Hello Mrs. Motoko Ahn,

 

Could you please explain me why the prices of the items are higher than when I made a reservation? These were the prices I found on the website and sent through an email to you on January 30, I made the reservation before the end of the deadline.

 

(previous email)

"Hello Mrs. Motoko Ahn,

 

In that case, I would like to make a reservation for the following items:

 

*snip*"

 

It seems there was a misunderstanding about the price of the MicroAce A3473 before too, so could you please explain it to me.

 

Kind regards,

*snip*

 

----------------------

 

2 Apr 2013

 

Mr.*snip*

 

This item is in stock for you.

*snip*

 

Your reservation list.

*snip*

 

We will send you MicroAce A3473 tomorrow, if you want to send [*snip*] together,

please advise us by e-mail.

In that case, I will resend the new bill through Paypal.

 

Thank you.

 

Best Regards.

Motoko Ahn

Edited April 17, 2013 by Densha

[cteno4]

It sounds like they are not taking off the 5% tax to pay for the paypal fees which would be about that. Makes sense as their store price is their cash price. Charging is still not as common as it is in NA and Europe.

 

Best to just ask what their price will be to ship with paypal and then decide if its what you want to pay.

 

Jeff

Edited April 18, 2013 by cteno4

[Densha]

But do you think she doesn't want me to do business with them again? Or....?

[keitaro]

I can agree with that paypal takes too much money with as low a my prices are its hard to make a profit. 3.9% 40 yen but we get charged on shipping too!

 

Prices will go up soon too with the tax increase

 

Stores pay tax on their purchase from suppliers then they need to charge again to customers.

 

So when the increase hits everything will go up, for non tax payers it will go up a bit but Japanese customers will be hit twice.

 

[Densha]

I had always thought Paypal was free to use, but it's not after all?

 

Do you really pay tax when a company buys products from another company? Where I live that is tax free so far I know.

When is the tax increasing? Do you have the percentages?

[bill937ca]

The fees on Paypal are paid by the party receiving the payment.

[Mudkip Orange]

Yeah even regular credit card swipe fees can be as high as 2.5%. That's why every ghetto convenience store has the MINIMUM PURCHASE FIVE DOLLA sign taped up on the plexiglass.

[hectorton]

Response from Motoko-San,

 

During the past two and half months I attempted on three separate occasions to contact Motoko-San in person regarding the discount offered on international mail orders without success. As a result of Murphy's Law, very times I visited the shop she was not available. FYI she only works part time and her hours are M-F 11:00AM to 3:00PM.

 

As a result I e-mailed her and the following is her response:

 

Thank you for your e-mail about discount and sales tax.

 

At this time, our price when you pay at our shop is 30%off from the price including sales tax, even foreigners.(*not for all items)

Our shop is not exempted from taxation, if you don't want to pay tax, you can use a duty‐free shop.

 

For mail order from customer who lives overseas and payment is through Paypal, our price is 20%off without sales tax.(*not for all items).

Our discount is not only 20% , depend on your payment, sometimes we have 30%~50%off sale period.

We would like to you to enjoy Japanese train models, so we will offer good sales after this, announcing on Facebook and Weibo.

 

You can inquiry about the stock and the price to us anytime.

 

We hope you all enjoy the world of TRAIN.

 

My interpretation is that most items in the store are 30% off MSRP + 5% sales to all customers at the store in person. Store does not possess a duty free status. For international mail order purchases the discount for most in stock items is 20% Off MSRP. International mail order is not subject to 5% sales tax which translates to to an overall 25% discount. As a different JNS member mentioned earlier the 5% difference is probably as a result of PayPal fees.

 

Regards, Hector

[JR 500系]

Even as we speak, i'm making a 2nd order to Motoko Ann san. Yes i think hectorton got her working hours correct as email responses within that time period is almost spontenous! I'm getting a Tomix E231-1000 series combination 6-car set from her, at 20% off RSP without tax. That's still quite nice for me. Besides, i'm also getting the Illumi lights from her to light up my Tomix and MicroAce trains. She was very helpful in asking what models i wanted lighted up and suggested the correct lights for them ~

 

Loving the increasing array of suppliers for J-trains. As buyers, of course competition is good, right? Price is important, and so is service, IMHO. So far, FModels and Loco1 have succeeded in both for me ~

[Darklighter]

Ann

Her family name is Ahn.  ;)

[Mudkip Orange]

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[Mudkip Orange]

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[Darklighter]

New special offer on Facebook only for foreign customers: Kato Twilight Express Full Set ( EF81+10cars) for 22,000 Yen (including SAL shipping, if I understand correctly).

[JR 500系]

New special offer on Facebook only for foreign customers: Kato Twilight Express Full Set ( EF81+10cars) for 22,000 Yen (including SAL shipping, if I understand correctly).

Great news! Thanks Darklighter! Do we have to be friends on FModels facebook page to know of the great deals they offer first hand? Great train set at a nice price, but unfortunately i do not have the track and space to run a 10-car Twlight express....

[cteno4]

Motoko, san has been very helpful in ordering things and just got me a 655 emperor's car. its been very standard they now list the price in the invoice at the japanese msrp w/o the tax (basically the english hs msrp) then do a 20% discount. so basically 25% off what the store price with taxes would be.

 

still very good price and they are wonderful about finding odd things for you as well as ordering stuff they carry but may not have in stock.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[macdon]

I just ordered a Tomix series 800 Tsubame 3 car add-on set and a Kato Dr. Yellow from Motoko Ahn yesterday. Good prices and both out of stock in HS.

 

Mardon

[JR 500系]

Latest from FModels facebook page:

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.474914049285074.1073741861.171242872985528&type=1

 

Free shipping! 

 

Very tempting... but cash-less...

Edited January 11, 2014 by JR500 のぞみ

[Darklighter]

But it applies only to those 4 products, doesn't it?

[VJM]

That's what it looks like to me.  Otherwise I'd be ordering a truckload of stuff.

[JR 500系]

More sale just (or rather on 3 days ago) sprung up on FModels while I checked my facebook page today:

 

https://www.facebook.com/fmodels.mokei

 

I mean, 60% (by cash) or 55% off! Hurry!

 

From her photos, I can see some models offered include:

 

A0263 Shinkansen Series 200-0 Pinstripe (Basic 8-Car Set) - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10223400

A6494 Hanshin Series 8000 `8231-8232` Old Color & Renewaled Coupler (6-Car Set) - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10186794

A3950 J.R. Series 485 `Sylpheed` + DE10-1701 (4-Car Set)  - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10074529

A6567 Keio Series 3000 Renewaled Car Ivory, Single Arm Pantograph (5-Car Set) - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10213077

A7783 Series 117-300 Kyoto Area Color (Green Tea Color) Style (6-Car Set) - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10210189

A6871 Keihan Series 5000 3rd Edition Renewal Car New Color (7-Car Set) - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10227777

A2567 Kiha23-500 Style Tohoku Area Color (4-Car Set) - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10223418

A2574 Kiha23/Kiha45 J.R. Kyushu Color (4-Car Set) - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10195952

A2359 Kumoha 41 Fukuen Line J.N.R. Blue #20 (4-Car Set) - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10216131

A2357 Kumoha 60 Hanwa Line Orange (6-Car Set) - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10213075

A2353 Kumoha 54 Senseki Line Light Green (4-Car Set) - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10213074

A0068 Keio Series 1000 Salmon-Pink Improved Product (5-Car Set) - http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10182780

 

That's all I can see from the photos she posted. Perhaps there's more? Can email can try to ask her ¬¬ Hope some folks here get their stuff at a great deal! :)

[Kabutoni]

That Hanshin 8000 is VERY tempting. :(

[Mudkip Orange]

Indeed, I ordered the Keihan 5000 within a few hours of the facebook posting.

[JR 500系]

FModels has recently posted on their facebook page an instructional video about illumi lights:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu1Yv1ZezPo

 

Very interesting, don't you think?

 

illumi lights are great for lighting up your trains! How I just wish illumi would be done for Kato too... Because of the simplicity to install and cheaper cost of illumi interior lights, my purchases have been hugely inclined towards Tomix or MicroAce... Some Greenmax models are compatible too, like I've installed them in my Kotochan Hyaku densha. They're just great!

[Martijn Meerts]

Do those Illumi lights have multiple LEDs per strip? That's the main problem with the Kato and Tomix lights, they're noticeably brighter on 1 end.. As for there not being Kato compatible Illumi strips, might be due to patenting/licensing issue?

 

Also, never knew the MicroAce boxes list which type of light strip the train needs, always wondered about that ;)