Hobby Search

[spacecadet]

I run a business that both imports and exports Japanese clothes.

 

People always underestimate international shipping costs.  If I send a shirt in a box from the US to Australia by priority mail, it costs us $40.  That's what it costs!  People complain about this all the time, but this is actually what we pay.

 

Similarly, shipments we get from Japan can run into the mid-hundreds of dollars for a single box.  These boxes are not that heavy, mind you - I mean we're talking about ten dresses or so.

 

We also ship magazines from Japan, and we usually get about 15 at a time.  The shipping on those runs about $90, usually.  Granted, that's usually FedEx or DHL, but I don't think EMS would be much different, if any.

 

Shipping is expensive.  It's pretty much always more expensive than customers (of any business) think.

[David]

I've gone through a few times and it seems there is definitely something for 8-car cases or large items. Even if I go down to a 5-car set (666g) it is charging $39.40 shipping (listed rate for 1500g). Only when I went to something not in a case did the shipping come down.

[cteno4]

hmm something is amiss here. i tried an 8 car n700 add on set they list as 704g and it came out with the $40 EMS or $20 SAL shipping price which would be 1.5kg shipping weight. this means the packaging would be 800g. i find this a bit hard as i have one of the size boxes they use for train cases sitting here and it weighs in at 370g with the packing paper in it. perhaps there would be some more packing paper, but i cant see 400g more of it in there!

 

also check just sending a tomix catalog by itself and that is charging shipping at the 1.75kg for a 1070g item, so it looks like they are charging like 700g for the box and packing for something train case size. this does seem high. so ketaro when did you a tomix catalog shipped for 2800 yen?

 

perhaps someone should check with them, something may have gotten out of sorts in their shopping cart system. i know doing shipping and handling calculations is a total mess with different sized/shaped objects, always a crap shoot!

 

jeff

[keitaro]

just the other day it's still in the mail. waiting for it looks like arrive tommorow hopefully if not thursday

[cteno4]

just the other day it's still in the mail. waiting for it looks like arrive tommorow hopefully if not thursday

 

hugh, so if they sent it ems for 2800 yen then the sort of under did it with the other stuff you got as they total up to more like 1.25kg w/o packaging! hs is now charging 3600 yen for just the catalog ems!

 

this leads me to think something has gone amiss in their shopping cart system.

 

jeff

[The_Ghan]

Update:

 

I emailed HS about the shipping costs.  They proposed splitting my order into three separate SAL posts.  It has saved me Y960.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

[Your Order.]

Kawai Company KP-149B Waki 5000 (Bogie Type TR-63) (2-Car Set) (Model Train) N Scale|1/150 Freight Car

Item price :1,980 yen  x  Q.T.Y :1 = 1,980 yen

 

RealLine S1009 JNR D5196 Takigawa Engine Depot : 1st Geneneratios Anti-Cold Slug type Open Cab (Model Train) N Scale|1/150 Steam Locomotive

Item price :23,940 yen  x  Q.T.Y :1 = 23,940 yen

 

TOMIX 7032 TOMIX Catalog 2010-2011 (Tomix) A4 Catalog

Item price :1,800 yen  x  Q.T.Y :1 = 1,800 yen

 

Sub Total  27,720 yen

HobbySearch Shipping Cost  2,800 yen

Total Cost  30,520 yen

[KenS]

My HS order mentioned above that was 2220 yen (and that number is listed on both my invoice and the EMS postage tag) weighed 900g per the EMS label (actually it says 900g printed on the itemized part of the label, and 892g handwritten at the top next to the postage).  Per HSs table, 900g would be US$27.30, which equates to 81.3 yen/dollar.  That's pretty close to the 80 yen I looked up this morning as the exchange rate.

 

And per the Japan Post table keitaro provided, 900 grams to North America is exactly 2220 yen, so they're not padding the cost and their shipping table is fairly close to current for North America.

[cteno4]

yeah but try putting a 1070g tomix catalog in the cart and checking out now. you get the shipping charges for a 1.75kg order. similarly a 770g train set comes out at 1.25kg shipping cost.

 

then you have keitaro's order that hs a shipping cost for 1.25kg has a product weight of 1.31kg w/o packaging.

 

something does not seem right.

 

jeff

[Darklighter]

Per HSs table, 900g would be US$27.30, which equates to 81.3 yen/dollar.  That's pretty close to the 80 yen I looked up this morning as the exchange rate.

 

You could have simply switched the currency to Japanese Yen by using the drop-down menu. ;)

[linkey]

I have been getting both EMS and SAL from HSJ and cause I have got their shipping graph printed I know close to what price I am being charged by the weight in JPY and then I have to do a currency conversion to see what it could be in AUD. Then add about an entra $5 on it to make sure I am above what it would be.

 

So I have got no problems with the HS shipping IMHO, I did question a while back but then it is hard when the weight is not on the item page. 

[shinkansene6]

Hello,

 

I will start with Japanese Model Trains.

But I think there is only one big dealer.

Hobbysearch

What do we do if Hobby Search closes its international shipping department?

 

Do you think if Hobbysearch will keep its international shipping department?

Or will they close like HwJapan.

 

I am pleased with responses

[bill937ca]

You can order from Rainbow Ten or Plaza Japan.

 

Rainbow Ten

 

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

 

http://www.rainbowten.co.jp/cgi-bin/R10shopping.cgi

 

Plaza Japan

 

http://stores.ebay.com/Plaza-Japan/_i.html?_dmd=1&_fsub=0&_sasi=1&_sc=1&_sop=1&_vc=1

 

Some people order from Popondetta although they do not have an English web site.

[cteno4]

others

 

hobbylink

http://www.hlj.com/top/Rld

 

tokyo rail

http://tokyo-rail.com/index.php?main_page=index

 

banzai hobby (only kato really)

http://banzaihobby.com/

 

in the us

 

bt trains

http://www.bttrains.com

 

mb kleins

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com

 

if hobbysearch were to close i could see bttrains getting a lot more business and thus probably a greater selection as well!

 

there are also a number of other ebay sellers from japan, but plazajapan is the volume place currently. again i think if hs closed its international ordering you would see them pick up as well. Plazajapan has gotten a good rep for those non japanese train modelers outside japan that want some particular japanese train item, so they do a good volume on word of mouth in the non japanese train markets.

 

its not something i would worry about too much. only one store has closed its international shipping (hobbyworld) and that was due to a retirment, they may be back at some point.

 

jeff

[jappomania]

They are 10 years that I buy from Rainbowten, Mr.Nao and her team has never lost one of my pre-order, he help me every time I have a question about new or old release, with her help (and my money of course!) I think I have a good collection.

I also bought from HS and Plazajapan, but only if the items was not available or sold out from R10

 

ciao

Massimo

[keitaro]

Hello,

 

I will start with Japanese Model Trains.

But I think there is only one big dealer.

Hobbysearch

What do we do if Hobby Search closes its international shipping department?

 

Do you think if Hobbysearch will keep its international shipping department?

Or will they close like HwJapan.

 

I am pleased with responses

 

If HS closes i will definately move to our house in japan and start my own business like i've been thinking about for 2 - 3 years now!!!!

 

but yeah as stated by other people there are other shops but HS definately has the best range and selection

[shinkansene6]

Do you think Hobbysearch will exists in Future too?

For example Rainbowten has now Shinkansen E5.

[bill937ca]

Hobbysearch is much more visible on the internet than other English language dealers.  Its listings often turn up in my Google searches. That may be why the E5 is sold out at HS.

 

The way the Japanese distribution system works, a dealer cannot always reorder when it exhausts its stock.  Suppliers do not have warehouses in Japan because of space restrictions and cost.  When a dealers stock is exhausted it may have to wait until there is another run of the item and it can start taking reservations for the new run.

 

Hobby Search is still taking reservations for new releases so I don't think its shutting down.  There may be issues with the domestic market slowing down after the earthquake and tsunami. I'm sure that doesn't seem that long along to many Japanese.

[cteno4]

shinkansene6,

 

I dont see how R10 having the E5 in stock means anything about hs. most every shop has the E5, even bttrains and mb kliens in the US has them. it was a major train for kato and lots of demand.

 

i have not seen anything to indicate that hs is not doing well or not going to be around in the future. i really dont think there is a need to speculate or hypothesize as we really dont have the data to work with. there are other alternatives to buy from if you are concerned. You really cant get any guarantees that businesses will be there forever, but as the japanese model train market is huge (the biggest in the world), this gives you probably the stablest market out there to draw on.

 

who has what stock when is really dependent, as bill said, on how popular you are. HS and Plaza Japan on ebay are probably the best know sources out there for buying japanese trains outside japan, and HS is a big online retailer inside japan as well, so its easy to see them getting sold out of their stock quickly. HS can get sold out of hot items fast i think as they have a big customer base and big internet presence. As bill pointed out they dont do huge orders all the time so if something becomes popular it can sell out fast. hopefully they get restocked soon and there is enough stock in the manufacturing run. but with some manufacturers like micro ace they do very limited runs so many times you only get one crack at ordering a train. this is one of the downsides of japanese rr modeling, some things just dont stay in production or get rerun (or not very often). Kato and tomix do larger runs of their trains and will keep many things in production for a while so you can usually pick it up a few months later when the shop gets a new shipment or the do a new run of the trains.

 

the fact that many trains dont stay in production/stock for long is a downside. in japan the out of production/stock stuff can be found at smaller shops a lot of the time or on yahoo japan auctions. of course from outside japan both these are not really great options (most small hobby shops even if they have web sales wont sell outside japan and yahoo japan really requires you to use a bidding agent/transshipper and that will add like 30-40% onto the price). for us outside japan it usually means you really think about if you want something when its released as its a crap shoot if it will stay in stock or not (outside of the big main stream trains). there is a bit more of the collectors mentality with the japanese trains so having more limited supplies keeps the demand to sell stock out fast.

 

so i would not really worry about this much, over time shops will come and go as they always do in most all markets, but almost always someone comes in to fill the void!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[linkey]

IMHO HS will survive and cause they are getting more international buyers buying from their online store it is helping them get through the rough patch that they were getting since March 11th.

 

Just cause they can't get more of the E5 stock from KATO doesn't mean anything is wrong with HS, they are still getting other products from KATO, TOMIX/Tomytec, Micro ACE, etc.. So they will still continue operating and selling the products that they have. I don't see them become like HWJapan. 

[Nozomi]

HS has all E5 sets in stock since August the 5th....

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/search_e.asp?Typ1_c=104&scope=0&scope2=0&itkey=hayabusa+kato

[The_Ghan]

... HS will survive ...

 

What's going on here?  There is no rumour.  There is no fear.  There's nothing "to survive"!  I pick linkey's post here only by way of example.  Sorry linkey, not meaning to drop you in it.

 

Folks, the sky is not falling.  There is nothing wrong with HS.  They are making a killing out of us internationally.  I personally pay for their Golden Week holidays and keitaro is funding their next Christmas vacation by himself.  HS is not surviving, they're thriving.

 

Seriously, this whole thread smacks of "Wag the Dog"!!!

 

Let's give it a break!  Sheesh!

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

PS:  What if there is no "tomorrow"?  There wasn't one today!!!

[cteno4]

chill ghan, folks just helping explain how things work to someone starting out and not knowing how the shops work and the history. who knows if they are doing well or not, we are not privy to their books, so its moot. point is there are other options and someone always fills a void.

 

jeff

[westfalen]

"We are on holiday from August 12 to August 16 (Japan time, GMT+9).

We will not ship orders or answer emails during this time. "

 

They can't be doing too bad if they can afford to close up shop and have a long weekend off.

[linkey]

"We are on holiday from August 12 to August 16 (Japan time, GMT+9).

We will not ship orders or answer emails during this time. "

 

They can't be doing too bad if they can afford to close up shop and have a long weekend off.

I know what it is. It's the Company Holiday to give their staff a Summer Break for a job well done :D 

 

Ghan,

I find your response very amusing as I know HS are doing well from me as I am one of their major cuyers to their online store. 

You just made me laugh in happiness cause you are right too.

 

I was responding to the question would HS suffer to the way HWJapan did, but my thoughts is that HS have done their research and knows how to do business and able to recover quickly since the earthquake. So that is why I said they will survive, hoping that this will explains that part for everyone.