Hobby Search

[bill937ca]

When I have used the recombination feature it has been for reservations arriving in the same month only.  When you try it will let you know.  But I have combined items from other shops (tools, books and magazines) in a single order.

[cteno4]

I think the problem is not so much computers it’s the permutation hell you get into with these sorts of things and also just shear space to store boxes with partial orders and the time to keep finding them to add items as they come in, then the final shipping process and payment at the end. I can see this as a headache that can just get expensive fast for their staff and into situations with customers when mistakes get made.

 

hobby link japan has a very expensive virtual warehouse system where you can add things from different purchases, reserved items and such and ship any or all of it that was there in your bin at any point. I think they had a 60 day limit on it. Really was nice but I could see they would have had to have a lot of space and a sophisticated system to keep it all tracked well. But in some ways it was a simpler system. They look to have a bigger warehouse space (I think they be an export only business) out in the boonies.

 

jeff

[katoftw]

Yup combo option is only for the said months pre-orders.

 

HS has always been a little inflexible when it comes to combo orders.

[Kingmeow]

Thanks.  Looks like "keep an eye out and order fast".  Reserving a <$5 item is a impractical.

[Cat]

Alas, I gave up on reserving items at 1999 when SAL went away as a shipping option, barring a lot of items or a big ticket item comes along.

[katoftw]

6 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

Thanks.  Looks like "keep an eye out and order fast".  Reserving a <$5 item is a impractical.

I've brought many $3 parts with $8 shipping.  Impractical yes.  But I prefer to have the part.

[Kingmeow]

I noticed some items are tagged with a *Bargain Item* label.  Does this mean the item is discontinued and on clearance or is there something defective about it (missing parts, broken, not exactly perfect, etc.)?

[MeTheSwede]

They have a "New Year's sale" right now. The label "bargain item" simply means the product is part of the sale. They have sales every now and then. I have no idea how they pick which products to put on sale, although I would guess some algoritm comes up with a list of products based on the size of inventory and (low) volume of sale.

[Kingmeow]

Thanks!  Good to know that *Bargain Items* are perfectly good merchandise (and may be at that price for a limited time).

Edited January 5 by Kingmeow

[bill937ca]

Quite often there may only be one item. Buy one and it is sold out.

[Beaver]

Does anyone know what is actually meant by 'a few' when the site says there is 'Only a few left' of something? I am looking at a few books which are currently labelled thus but would prefer not to order until I get paid, so not sure what the chances are of still being in stock when I do.

[katoftw]

Lee's than 5 or 10.

 

Is you go to the description.  Where us says how many per household, that's the exact number they have.

[RS18U]

So HS has announced they are doing an upgrade of both their desktop and mobile sites.  I always dread these 'updates' as often they do not provide for an improved user experience.  Lets hope this one goes well.  Happening January 20, Monday. 

 

[Renewal Details]

• Design Updates:
A complete refresh for both mobile and desktop versions.
• New Comprehensive Homepage: An intuitive, centralized starting point for navigation.
• Improved Search Accuracy: Quickly find what you’re looking for with improved precision.
• Better Accessibility: A more inclusive and user-friendly experience for everyone.

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/infodetails

 

And they are also noting shipping delays with orders taking up to 7 business days to ship rather than the usual 2-3.

[bc6]

im scared for the upgrades of the HS website too as I use HS for historical and actual purchasing purposes.

[cteno4]

Yes I hope they did not ditch the archival content, it is the one place that houses all this info in a very accessible manner. But sadly current culture thinks content is something to ditch, especially on websites.

 

jeff

[RS18U]

Losing the archival information was where my thoughts went to when I read the announcement.  Hopefully it will all be good.

 

I have been splitting my on-line purchases between PJ and HS, although lately I have noticed PJ is quite a bit cheaper.  But HS is a great site for researching.

[Kingmeow]

Same here.  I have never ordered from HS before as PJ, as you have noticed, is slightly cheaper, but HS has more stuff that you can't get from PJ.  Plus, for me, HS would charge me state tax!  🙄  My state is listed as one of those they would collect sales tax from.  😠

 

But I'll order from HS soon as one part that I needed will be available at the end of the month, after waiting for a year.  (When I was in Japan in Oct/Nov no store has it either.)

Edited January 18 by Kingmeow

[maihama eki]

The new web site is out there now, and it's not great.

 

Maybe I'll eventually get used to it.

[bill937ca]

Very plain Jane. Lots of white space and similar to Plaza Japan. No distinguishing between Kato Unitrack and Kato Unitram. Keep searching. 

 

There is a Feedback Campaign. Let 'em have it.

 

Must have been done by an American or other Westerner who didn't like the cluttered appearance of the old site.

Edited January 20 by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

There is a sitemap. Perhaps you should start your searching from there.

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/sitemap/104

[cteno4]

What a huge step back. Everything is headed for just blind searching. Horrid structure and navigation. Seems most of the older archival stuff is gone.  Ok just found after you do a search you have to click on the “Includ out of stock” option in the left column to see the old stuff. A lot of it seems to be there, so that’s good. Just harder to get at.

It’s been the trend in the business to ditch structure and just have searches. Fine if it’s a small site but the larger the site the worse this gets. But the other trend has to been to ditch content as well. Hs followed both.

 

I always spent money at hs as it was easy, they generally had good selection and easy to find stuff. But mainly I wanted to support them doing an export business and maintaining the great archive. Wll that’s gone now and so will a lot of my yen.

 

It’s sad to see sites go into goo.

 

@bill937ca where did you see the feedback campaign.

 

jeff

[maihama eki]

From the "What's New List"

 

At Hobby Search, we are committed to continuously improving our features to enhance convenience for our customers.
Additionally, we will conduct a brief survey after the renewal launch.
Customers who participate will have the chance to win Hobby Search points through a lottery.
We look forward to hearing your valuable feedback through this campaign.
We sincerely appreciate your continued support of Hobby Search.

 

I look forward to answering the survey. 👎👎👎

 

[cteno4]

Whoops now down for maintenance!

 

jeff

[bc6]

WOW!!!!!! what a difference.

[bill937ca]

1 hour ago, cteno4 said:

 

@bill937ca where did you see the feedback campaign.

 

jeff

It is a banner when you are in an item's detail.    https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/11112185

 

I am noticing 5% off on the product listing page.   https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/mlist/396/7/1

 

But when you go into the item description, it is 14% off.   https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/11112185

 

This has been with more than one item, Japanese and European Kato.

 

Sorry I do not like the design or coloring of the new site. Too little contrast in text and link coloring and too much white space. A total failure.

Edited January 20 by bill937ca