Hobby Search

[quinntopia]

And HS isn't too shy about sending updates to customers...certainly if this was an intentional plan to stop business from non-JP (or USA really) customers, I expect they would have sent a notice.

[marknewton]

I noticed this too, early this morning. Presumably a glitch or an outage. Let's wait and see.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Guest ___]

And HS isn't too shy about sending updates to customers...certainly if this was an intentional plan to stop business from non-JP (or USA really) customers, I expect they would have sent a notice.

 

Even if they planned to stop shipping to US, that wouldn't explain pulling the English pages unless, the Britts, and Aussies (or every other English speaking country) has some completely different English level site to order from.

[Jes]

Even if they planned to stop shipping to US, that wouldn't explain pulling the English pages unless, the Britts, and Aussies (or every other English speaking country) has some completely different English level site to order from.

 

This almost completely kills their international business. Perhaps this is a temporarily measure untill they have found a solution (based on visitors' ip? They already have some kind of filter for anyone trying to reach the /eng site from inside Japan)

 

Or something just went wrong and it'll be fixed tomorrow morning :)

[bill937ca]

There's no different page for other English language users.  It looks like other dealers like Rainbow Ten and Tokyo Rail are either suspending shipping or refusing US orders. 

 

The question here is how large do you have to be to be a corporate shipper?  If these businesses are just the equivalent of a local hobby shop the Japan Post minimums are probably prohibitive and they will have to give up the business whether they like it or not.

[Guest ___]

That's why I think it is more of a fluke than anything else. I can't see HS pulling the English site over the JapanPost restrictions to the US as they still have outlets for CA, UK, and AU. Also note that in order for the new restrictions to take account, one would not have a JapanPost Corporate account, and clearly a mail order biz like HS which not just ships internationally, but domestically as well, would have such an account.

 

Corporate shippers are no different that any other shipper other than the fact that they just have an ongoing account with JapanPost, or rather have a month to month billing tab just as the US Psotal Service has with its customer base. My understanding is any ma-n-pa home biz can have a JapanPost company account if they are registered as such.

[CaptOblivious]

There's no different page for other English language users.  It looks like other dealers like Rainbow Ten and Tokyo Rail are either suspending shipping or refusing US orders. 

 

where do you see this? i see nothing on the R10 page to suggest that they aren't taking orders internationally.

[Nozomi]

I want my.. I want my.. I want my Hobby Search!!!! (hum along the song 'Money for nothing....)

[Jes]

The only thing the Rainbow Ten site states is:

 

Notice: We will be closing this year's shipping for non-registered shipment from 17th Dec until Jan 5th. We can continue shipping registered shipment even during new year vacation time.

 

But that probably has something to do with unrelyable shipping during xmas/new year...

[bill937ca]

There's no different page for other English language users.  It looks like other dealers like Rainbow Ten and Tokyo Rail are either suspending shipping or refusing US orders. 

 

where do you see this? i see nothing on the R10 page to suggest that they aren't taking orders internationally.

 

Tokyo Rail is not taking US orders.

 

To an American customer.

　Now we can't do dispatch by airmail temporarily so that America saves security of an aircraft from a terrorist.

 

Rainbow Ten is suspending non-registered shipments from December 17th to January 5th.

 

"Notice: We will be closing this year's shipping for non-registered shipment from 17th Dec until Jan 5th. We can continue shipping registered shipment even during new year vacation time."

Non-registered might only mean no SAL or it might mean more restrictions.

 

http://www.rainbowten.co.jp/english/index.html

[CaptOblivious]

I'm not sure the R10 announcement has anything to do with Japan Posts's decision or not. Ambiguous. HW Japan doesn't have an announcement of any kind up. Tokyo Rail definitely does though!

[bill937ca]

I'm not sure the R10 announcement has anything to do with Japan Posts's decision or not. Ambiguous. HW Japan doesn't have an announcement of any kind up. Tokyo Rail definitely does though!

 

I think we will see more Sunday night in North America, which will be Monday morning in Japan and through out the week.  HS might have to completely re-jive there web site for the weight restrictions.  Its just got to be a big headache for HS and other dealers.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Nuts...just when I was about to order a set of Kato tankers...

 

Interestingly, if this is due to the US restrictions, then it does not seem to have effected PlazaJapan as yet...

[Guest ___]

Nuts...just when I was about to order a set of Kato tankers...

 

Interestingly, if this is due to the US restrictions, then it does not seem to have effected PlazaJapan as yet...

 

One would think Plaza would be more directly affected by this than HobbySearch would be.

[justincredible]

I pre-ordered something from Hobby Search a while back and I got the email asking for payment on the 18th. However, I can't pay because the payment link won't work, the FAQ link won't work, the English link won't work, and I can't read the main, Japanese page. How do I contact them? Would just replying to the payment email they sent work? The email said I only have 3 days to pay, but I can't.

[CaptOblivious]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thMm-7RFsm0

 

 

(nevermind)

[bill937ca]

It's back!  

 

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

 

I see no visible changes.  Hard to say whats going on.

[Guest ___]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thMm-7RFsm0

 

I wish the damn meteorite or EOW would get here already, it's not the fact that it is going to happen that annoys me, but rather the waiting.

[sedril]

Sweet!  Now I can get back to drooling over trains I can't afford :P

[David]

We apologize for the Hobby Search site issues. The problem has been fixed and our site is back up.

Orders, accounts, and points have not been affected.

 

This has actually happened before (English site redirecting to Japan only due to a technical problem), but before it was only for a few hours.

[bill937ca]

"Accounts are now required to place orders. If you do not have an account, please register during checkout or go to User Registration."

 

User Registration link:  https://www.1999.co.jp/UserEnt_e.asp

 

"We have updated our password rules. If you would like to change your password, please go to your User Menu."

 

 

 

Password Rules

1. Passwords must be 6-16 characters in length.

2. Passwords must contain both letters and numbers.

3. Your password cannot be the same as your Hobby Search ID.

 

 

Password Recommendations

1. We recommend you change your password regularly.

 

2. Suggested passwords

- as many characters as you can remember

- a mix of both upper and lower case letters

- difficult to guess

 

3. Discouraged Passwords

- repeated

ex) aaaaa1, 11111a

- only uppercase or lowercase

ex) HOBBYSEARCH0, hobbysearch1

- easy to guess - simple passwords

ex) a123456, ABCDEFG1, asdfjkl0, hs1999, password1234, 0apple

- easy to guess - similar to ID

ex) ID: SUN ... PW: sunsun1, SUNSUN1, Sunday1985

[brill27mcb]

From the Hobby Search website:

 

2010/12/20 Because we are adjusting our pricing on January 11, 2011(Japan time, GMT+9), we will also be changing our cancellation rules.

* Although we cannot guarantee that pricing will change on that date, we will strive to bring you our products at the lowest prices.

 

They go into more details about cancellations, but do not explain the pricing "adjustments" at all. I wonder what's up?

 

Rich K.

[bill937ca]

Reading between the lines, I think this is related to the strong Yen.  I get the impression that the reasons for canceling a preorder will be more limited.

[KenS]

The "additional details" about cancellations make it clear that preorders can only be canceled for a week after ordering, which I think is a big change from before (I don't recall any time limit in general, although items would sometimes be marked "this item cannot be cancelled").

 

They're also getting specifc about orders for in-stock items only being cancelable prior to the next business day (I think before it was a more vaguely worded "before we pack it" restriction).

 

Perhaps they've been getting stuck with unclaimed preorders that they can't sell because of the poor economy.

 

The "pricing adjustments" is a bit more worrisome.  Are they raising costs (or eliminating the extra discount added last year) to cover additional overhead, or are they expecting manufacturers to raise prices?  Do Japanese manufacturers do annual price changes?

[rankodd]

I've gone and shot my Train-related ordering early. I'm hoping that they don't end up lowering prices, making me feel like an idiot.

 

HLJ is busy getting manufacturers on board with the discounted prices. I'd find it odd if Hobby Search turns around and nixes the discount...