Hobby Search

[David]

Possibly since new train releases might have changes to the tooling? For example just today I noticed the re-elease of Kato fish train set (tempted to buy, tempted to buy) now has knuckle couplers except at the end where it joins the locomotive (so the first car actually has rapido on one end, and knuckle on the other). Kato's doing the same with locomotives too, some newer locomotives are coming with knuckle couplers standard and rapidos in the box.

[Guest ___]

Possibly since new train releases might have changes to the tooling? For example just today I noticed the re-elease of Kato fish train set (tempted to buy, tempted to buy) now has knuckle couplers except at the end where it joins the locomotive (so the first car actually has rapido on one end, and knuckle on the other). Kato's doing the same with locomotives too, some newer locomotives are coming with knuckle couplers standard and rapidos in the box.

 

Fish train? As opposed to the Micro-Ace release of the Fish Lips train!?

[cteno4]

its the Resa1000 fish freight express trains. "Tobiuo"(Flying fish) train from Shimonoseki to Tokyo, and "Ginrin"(Silver scale) train from Hakata to Tokyo.

 

ken and i have had them out on the jrm layout. pretty plain jane reefer car set with a tail car with an integrated crew compartment.

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10048651

 

cheers

 

jeff

[David]

Fish train? As opposed to the Micro-Ace release of the Fish Lips train!?

 

Fish Train:

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10048651

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10088196

 

New set also has DCC friendly lighting circuit in the tail car (like the 11-209 light)

 

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9B%BD%E9%89%84%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B510000%E7%B3%BB%E8%B2%A8%E8%BB%8A

[NozomiFan]

I will put my two cents in too. Kato has a production schedule here http://www.katomodels.com/distribution/schedule_e.shtml . That shows you every model going to be produced for the first 2 quarters of the year. This is a great ref point if you want to buy a model. I want that NEX express!

[cteno4]

ahh aaron, you are trying your luck again with sal! is that all that was in the box?!!

 

i just put in an order for a bunch of small and very light weight objects and the sal came out to almost 1600 yen. i was a bit shocked and miffed by it. that means they are estimating the weight at 1.5kg! i am hoping the final weight and charge are much lower. everything i ordered could easily fit in aarons box below. i get boxes like this from hw sal all the time and usually with heavier and bulkier (requires larger, heavier box) at more like 1000-1100yen.

 

not so happy right now with hs sal, ill see what happens when it ships. seems like the 20% discount right now is going into their sal charges...

 

im still sticking with the pre orders i can do with hw as they are still usually 26% off list plus some bonus points (usually more like 3% on pre orders).

 

i know its only a five bucks on this shipping, but it just does not feel right... ill go off and whine in the corner now...

 

jeff

[bill937ca]

From the Hobby Search web site:

 

2010/3/27  From 13:00 until 17:00 on the 28th of March, Japan time, our website will be down for system maintenance. We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you so much for your understanding.

[cteno4]

It will be interesting in a week or so, i had 2 packages ship out SAL monday, one each from HW and HS! HS was 1580yen and HW 1280yen, but i got a lot more larger and heavier things in the HW order, the HS order was all very small and light stuff. will be an interesting comparison to look at the speed, packaging and actual weights.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Darklighter]

It will be interesting in a week or so, i had 2 packages ship out SAL monday, one each from HW and HS! HS was 1580yen and HW 1280yen, but i got a lot more larger and heavier things in the HW order, the HS order was all very small and light stuff. will be an interesting comparison to look at the speed, packaging and actual weights.

A few weeks ago, I ordered 3 buildings (Tomix 4013, Tomytec 220398 and Tomytec 221456) at HS and paid 680 yen for SAL shipping. At HW the shipping for these items is 980 yen.

Then I ordered a Gundam kit (Exia MG) at HW and paid 1180 yen for shipping. At HS the shipping for this item is 1380 yen.

As you can see, sometimes shipping at HW is cheaper, but sometimes it's the other way round. ;)

[cteno4]

Interesting it sounds like the first Tomytec HS order was a boo boo or my recent HS SAL was out of line as my recent order is smaller and i expect lighter than yours and it was 1580 yen. this is what makes me a bit suspect on HS SAL calculations... im wondering if there was a problem with the tomix house as now at hs they dont have it listed anymore for SAL shipping. if you do just the two tomytec at HW you get 680 shipping, as well as at HS for these two items. seems to point that they can be the same shipping costs.

 

it will be interesting to size and weigh out the two boxes of stuff and see on the two orders i have out with HS and HW. i was just a tad shocked at the HS after i placed the order as i had just done the HW one the night before with the larger and heavier items and thought this one was going to be cheap!

 

calculating shipping is really nasty as size and weight all play into it even though you have cubic cm on items still doesn't guarantee the items chosen can fit into a box (unless you do a lot of calculating!)

 

cheers

 

jeff

[bill937ca]

I have four HS SAL orders so far.

 

Sankei Good Old Train Series III kit     380 yen

 

Modemo NT102 Tosa Electric 600  580 yen

 

Tsugaaw Yoko 13433 Locomotive Garage for single track kit, LA-32 hedge    380 yen

 

Tsugawa Yoko 13422, 13425, 13421 Daihatsu Midgets (3 little trucks)    380 yen

 

These orders have come in a HS #2 box, 10" long, 6" deep, 7.5" wide.

 

Two trains I bought from HWJ on sale were 1680 yen SAL.  You you've got the contents of the order right?  When you place a lot of orders its easy to confuse them. Do you keep your shipment notice emails?

 

SAL depends on a small volume.  Some items like the Kato Local Bank are huge.  It was $9.50 US for air mail from Hit Japan and probably won't qualify for SAL because of the volume.

[Darklighter]

im wondering if there was a problem with the tomix house as now at hs they dont have it listed anymore for SAL shipping. if you do just the two tomytec at HW you get 680 shipping, as well as at HS for these two items.

Sorry, I was wrong, the shipping at HS was 780 yen - still 200 yen less than HW.

I ordered this Tomix house: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10009829 . (They made it available for SAL shipping on request.)

Another order: Tomytec 217664 (Temple Main Building) + Tomytec 218074 (Grave) = 580 yen shipping at HS, 680 yen at HW.

 

I'm wondering, if both HS and HW ever adjust the shipping charges afterwards?

 

SAL depends on a small volume.  Some items like the Kato Local Bank are huge.  It was $9.50 US for air mail from Hit Japan and probably won't qualify for SAL because of the volume.

According to http://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/service/small_packing_en.html the maximum size of the package is length + width + thickness = 90 cm.

[bill937ca]

It's back!!!

 

HOBBY SEARCH has started PayPal service!  Via PayPal we can accept orders from Philippines, Indonesia and Peru also.

For details, please read this.

Note that there is a slight change in the payment procedure from the time we first adopted PayPal half a year ago.

 

Please read this =

 

 

* Payment

How do I pay the bill?

 

    We also accept Paypal.(only for non-adult products)  PayPal

    We accept credit card payment by VISA, Mastercard and JCB card.  Credit Card [VISA]  Credit Card [muster card]  Credit Card [JCB]

    Please note that we only accept PayPal from customers from Philippines, Indonesia and Peru.

    You are charged when the item is ready for shipment, NOT when the order is placed.

 

 

When and how do I pay by PayPal?

 

    We send you "PayPal Payment Request" email when the order is ready for shipment. Please move on to the PayPal Payment Form at the URL designated in the mail, follow the instructions and complete the payment.

   There is no need to notify us when the payment is completed. For details, please read this.

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/paypal_faq.html

 

   For pre-orders, we send you "PayPal Payment Request" email when the item is released, NOT when the pre-order is placed. So, please remember to check your in-box often enough.

 

   Please be sure to complete the PayPal payment within 3 business days after we send the "PayPal Payment Request" email.

   Note that an order could be cancelled if we do not receive payment during this 3-day period.

[CaptOblivious]

Well, that's weird.

 

Please note that we only accept PayPal from customers from Philippines, Indonesia and Peru.

 

I wonder what's going on that they can only take it from these places?

[bill937ca]

Well, that's weird.

 

Please note that we only accept PayPal from customers from Philippines, Indonesia and Peru.

 

I wonder what's going on that they can only take it from these places?

 

I suspect they have had a lot of credit card fraud from these places.  It might be HS or it might be the credit card companies.  I think Rainbow Ten has some similar restrictions, maybe other dealers too.

[David]

Previously (and I believe still) HS does not allow credit card orders from the Philippines, Indonesia and Peru due to fraud. So without Paypal there would be no other way to order. However Paypal is not the best system for conducting a busy business (unless you spend a lot of money writing your own Paypal integration) so it makes sense that they are not opening this option up to everyone again.

[CaptOblivious]

Reading over HS's site, I realize that I have fallen prey to an ambiguity in the translation. I had read the quoted bit (which I cannot find on the HS website now) to say that, unless you live in the Philippines, Indonesia, or Peru, PayPal is not an option. What was actually meant was that if you live in one of those three countries, PayPal is your only option. In other words, I had thought it said I couldn't use PayPal here in the US. But that isn't right at all.

 

 

Well, that's weird.

 

Please note that we only accept PayPal from customers from Philippines, Indonesia and Peru.

 

I wonder what's going on that they can only take it from these places?

[bill937ca]

The saga continues....

 

2010/4/1   PayPal Commemorative Sale Underway till the 30st of April!

 

Some special items, bargain priced items and magazines excepted.

[David]

The sale has been extended until March 31st.  I suspect this might become a semi-permanent pricing policy. Its about the only way to get people to spend in this economy.

 

I think I'm posting something that's already been posted in another thread, but it looks like the sale has been extended to the end of April - only now it's the "PayPal Commemorative Sale". Reminds me of NCIX (Canadian online computer store). They have a "sale" every single week (with a flash ad set to the theme, this week is "Mega Easter Sale"), and quite a lot of on sale items are exactly the same items that where on sale last week - after about 6 months of it being on sale I bought this. About 2 years later and it's still a "weekly sale" item, every single week.

[Guest ___]

ahh aaron, you are trying your luck again with sal! is that all that was in the box?!!

 

i just put in an order for a bunch of small and very light weight objects and the sal came out to almost 1600 yen. i was a bit shocked and miffed by it. that means they are estimating the weight at 1.5kg! i am hoping the final weight and charge are much lower. everything i ordered could easily fit in aarons box below. i get boxes like this from hw sal all the time and usually with heavier and bulkier (requires larger, heavier box) at more like 1000-1100yen.

 

not so happy right now with hs sal, ill see what happens when it ships. seems like the 20% discount right now is going into their sal charges...

 

im still sticking with the pre orders i can do with hw as they are still usually 26% off list plus some bonus points (usually more like 3% on pre orders).

 

i know its only a five bucks on this shipping, but it just does not feel right... ill go off and whine in the corner now...

 

jeff

 

I actually did try SAL again on my last HS order and it took two weeks. Now, I'm on week three waiting on another order. I will note my Kiha 110 went EMS. I ordered a Pro-Hobby shrine that cost 8 bucks and three weeping sakura trees from Kawaii.

[clem24]

The saga continues....

 

2010/4/1   PayPal Commemorative Sale Underway till the 30st of April!

 

Some special items, bargain priced items and magazines excepted.

 

Well they're obviously making a killing from suckers like us... Must shop now. 

[cteno4]

probably taking a bite out of HW's business. HW has pulled a lot of their stuff to 20% off as well the last month or so...

 

jeff

[David]

I have no complaints.

 

The seemly permanent 20% off MSRP policy makes it so easy to choose who to buy from. I always liked HS for having the best selection (HW has a similar number of items, but makes it difficult to actually find any of them), but there was always the price question: In my opinion Plaza has better shipping (HS tends to round up a lot on weight and size), and HW had better prices if I could be convinced to shop through an interface arranged by some underground race of mole people.

 

I should be receiving my March order from HS today or Saturday, and the "extension" has probably convinced me to place another order by the middle of the month.

[Nozomi]

I always preferred HS over HW and Plaza. As with my other shopping needs I usually buy from the seller with the best overall package. HS homepage is by far the easiest and most useful to use. I always research on HS first. They invest a lot of resources to update the homepage and usually have the best and most photos. We should not forget that Japanese model RR is a niche business outside Japan and keeping the site up to date as perfectly as they do is not an easy task, especially in English.

 

Also - to my opinion – the time between order taking and posting the parcel is usually very short, Plaza is a close second. HW takes ages between payment and shipping even if you tell them that it’s urgent by choosing EMS.

 

Considering these two more service related issues and adding the possibility to choose SAL or EMS,  pay by PayPal (*) , get 20 % off list price plus an additional 5 % for the next order, HS is the winning package for me.

 

(*) PayPal is only important for me because I can choose American Express  to pay PayPal. I want my miles!

[clem24]

I definitely prefer HW. They have the best prices, especially for pre-order (26% off). Yeah their website sucks but who cares. I just research the models elsewhere and then get what I want. HW is definitely the worst when it comes to browsing. Also, it seems like they just recently hired a fairly correspondent that is fairly competent in English! I had issue with my login so wasn't able to collect any points for the last few purchases, but it only took 1 email and they completely understood what I wanted and even had a very well written reply! Another nice aspect is that with HW, they allow changes in your order if it hasn't shipped yet, whereas, HS does not allow it at any point unless they find out one of the items ordered was out of stock or something.

 

I avoid Plaza cause his stuff is quite pricey (but less so when our Canadian dollar is strong).

 

And I might point out all 3 are good. They're even all packaged the same - arrives all neatly wrapped up in bubble wrap. Actually HW is the best one - they even wrap the train set first in a perfectly fitted plastic bag, then wrap bubble wrap over top. LOL.