Newhall Station, Shipping, Giant Ferrets and Other Cool Stuff

[NozomiFan]

Whoa! I thought they were pretty good on prices, but their shipping is a real money burner. I guess I should find a better site. Anybody have good suggestions? besides hobbysearch and that other one HB?

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Well, you have mentioned Hobby Search, and if you are not sure about the initials HB I would hazard a guess you meant HW - Hobby World. I have used both. In addition there is Rainbow 10 and Tokyo Rail, as well as PlazaJapan (my usual supplier) and Hit Japan; who are both Ebay sellers.

 

There are others mentioned on here.

[bill937ca]

Whoa! I thought they were pretty good on prices, but their shipping is a real money burner. I guess I should find a better site. Anybody have good suggestions? besides hobbysearch and that other one HB?

 

The key sources are:

 

Hobby Search  

 

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

 

Plaza Japan  

 

http://stores.ebay.com/Plaza-Japan__W0QQ_dmdZ1QQ_fsubZ0QQ_sasiZ1QQ_scZ1QQ_sopZ1QQ_vcZ1

 

HW Japan    

 

http://www.hwjapan.com/index.aspx

 

Tokyo Rail    

 

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

 

Rainbow Ten    

 

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

 

Hit Japan  

 

http://stores.ebay.com/Hit-Japan-Video-Games-and-Anime_N-Scale-1-150-Model__W0QQ_dmdZ1QQ_fsubZ1141040015QQ_sidZ35910635QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em14QQ_vcZ1

 

Outside Japan

 

Japan Model Railways (in Germany)

 

http://www.japanmodelrailways.com/

 

Japanese Model Supplies  

 

http://japanese-model-supplies.com/

[David]

Whoa! I thought they were pretty good on prices, but their shipping is a real money burner. I guess I should find a better site. Anybody have good suggestions? besides hobbysearch and that other one HB?

 

There are two main types of shipping from Japan - EMS and SAL. EMS is express mail, which apart from being "faster" it is tracked and the mailman won't hand it over without a signature. SAL is regular bulk mail, can take anywhere from days to weeks, and will just be dropped at your door. Everyone has different preferences about how long they are willing to wait for an item and how much security they want - personally I don't like ordering more then $50 without some assurance it won't be "lost" in the mail, though this gets expensive since it means I usually have stuff shipped EMS.

 

Hobby Search at the moment is exclusively EMS, and uses an automated system for calculating combined shipping (an algorithm that computes things like total weight and expected box size and matches it to the post offices shipping rates). The advantage of an automated system is that you get combined shipping immediately - the disadvantage is that it always runs on the safe side and so it overestimates when you start combining items (spare cases for example seem to throw the shipping calculator way off what the shipping should really be). In the new year Hobby Search is adding SAL shipping as an option, to provide a more cost effective alternative.

 

Plaza Japan ships both EMS and SAL - he calculates the shipping on each item individually, assigning EMS to expensive/fragile items like train sets, and SAL to less expensive things like buildings. If you buy several items at once, or want to switch between EMS/SAL you can just request an ebay invoice before paying, asking him to calculate combined EMS or SAL shipping - I have found him to be pretty good at figuring out the best shipping cost. Plaza Japan is also quite quick in actually shipping and responding to customer inqueries - however Plaza Japan has a limited amount of items available for sale at any one time, and getting partial sets is basically impossible. I tend to use Plaza when I can, and Hobby Search when I need a wider selection.

 

Hobby World ships both EMS and SAL, and apparently does all shipping calculations on demand (this makes Hobby World at bit different to deal with, as you can't just add some things to your cart and pay immediately).

[Mudkip Orange]

Newhall Station sells US-market Kato stuff at over twice MSRP.

 

Seriously. They are there to prey on the uninformed.

 

The old-style overhead and side platform station, the old-style platforms (not the new "flag stop" ones) and the residential houses are all imported to the US, and are available at your local hobby shop that stocks Unitrack. You can check Kato's North American MSRP here: http://www.katousa.com/N/Unitrack/structures.html

 

A sampling:

 

Overhead Station

KATO NA MSRP: $18.00

Newhall Station price: 29.99

 

One-Track Platform B

KATO NA MSRP: $8.40

Newhall Station price: 16.99

 

 

 

There is no justification for marking up prices that high on stuff that's readily available on NA. On import-only items, OK, you might be able to justify some amount of markup above foreign MSRP. But how much? If you want an Eizan 900, they've got one available for only $149.99. Of course, when Kato re-releases it, Hobby Search will have it for about 80.

 

Suppose you were going to spend $1500 on train stuff this year. Now suppose you spent that $1500 at Newhall Station - it would actually be cheaper to just FLY TO JAPAN YOURSELF and buy it all there then it would be to order from them. Plus you'd get a cool trip out of the deal.

[Guest ___]

Newhall Station sells US-market Kato stuff at over twice MSRP.

 

Seriously. They are there to prey on the uninformed.

 

The old-style overhead and side platform station, the old-style platforms (not the new "flag stop" ones) and the residential houses are all imported to the US, and are available at your local hobby shop that stocks Unitrack. You can check Kato's North American MSRP here: http://www.katousa.com/N/Unitrack/structures.html

 

A sampling:

 

Overhead Station

KATO NA MSRP: $18.00

Newhall Station price: 29.99

 

One-Track Platform B

KATO NA MSRP: $8.40

Newhall Station price: 16.99

 

 

 

There is no justification for marking up prices that high on stuff that's readily available on NA. On import-only items, OK, you might be able to justify some amount of markup above foreign MSRP. But how much? If you want an Eizan 900, they've got one available for only $149.99. Of course, when Kato re-releases it, Hobby Search will have it for about 80.

 

Suppose you were going to spend $1500 on train stuff this year. Now suppose you spent that $1500 at Newhall Station - it would actually be cheaper to just FLY TO JAPAN YOURSELF and buy it all there then it would be to order from them. Plus you'd get a cool trip out of the deal.

 

Yeah, we all know about Newhall Station, and pretty much anyone who is in this hobby doesn't buy from them.

[Mudkip Orange]

Yeah, we all know about Newhall Station, and pretty much anyone who is in this hobby doesn't buy from them.

 

That post was more for the benefit of Nozomi, who is new, and was asking about them. No harm done in introducing the n00bs to what everyone "already knows"...

[NozomiFan]

Thanks for the info. I was shocked at what Mudkip Orange said.

I am now informed.

Most of all, Happy Holidays everybody!

Newhall Station sells US-market Kato stuff at over twice MSRP.

 

Seriously. They are there to prey on the uninformed.

 

The old-style overhead and side platform station, the old-style platforms (not the new "flag stop" ones) and the residential houses are all imported to the US, and are available at your local hobby shop that stocks Unitrack. You can check Kato's North American MSRP here: http://www.katousa.com/N/Unitrack/structures.html

 

A sampling:

 

Overhead Station

KATO NA MSRP: $18.00

Newhall Station price: 29.99

 

One-Track Platform B

KATO NA MSRP: $8.40

Newhall Station price: 16.99

 

 

 

There is no justification for marking up prices that high on stuff that's readily available on NA. On import-only items, OK, you might be able to justify some amount of markup above foreign MSRP. But how much? If you want an Eizan 900, they've got one available for only $149.99. Of course, when Kato re-releases it, Hobby Search will have it for about 80.

 

Suppose you were going to spend $1500 on train stuff this year. Now suppose you spent that $1500 at Newhall Station - it would actually be cheaper to just FLY TO JAPAN YOURSELF and buy it all there then it would be to order from them. Plus you'd get a cool trip out of the deal.

[Guest ___]

Yeah, we all know about Newhall Station, and pretty much anyone who is in this hobby doesn't buy from them.

 

That post was more for the benefit of Nozomi, who is new, and was asking about them. No harm done in introducing the n00bs to what everyone "already knows"...

 

hadn't read the entire thread

[cteno4]

 

Yeah, we all know about Newhall Station, and pretty much anyone who is in this hobby doesn't buy from them.

 

Its the uniformed that i really worry about or the folks just contemplating getting into the hobby that find newhall easily and get turned off thinking its going to be a very expensive hobby (well for some of us it is but for other reasons!)

 

cheers

 

jeff

[cteno4]

Whoa! I thought they were pretty good on prices, but their shipping is a real money burner. I guess I should find a better site. Anybody have good suggestions? besides hobbysearch and that other one HB?

 

There are two main types of shipping from Japan - EMS and SAL. EMS is express mail, which apart from being "faster" it is tracked and the mailman won't hand it over without a signature. SAL is regular bulk mail, can take anywhere from days to weeks, and will just be dropped at your door. Everyone has different preferences about how long they are willing to wait for an item and how much security they want - personally I don't like ordering more then $50 without some assurance it won't be "lost" in the mail, though this gets expensive since it means I usually have stuff shipped EMS.

 

Hobby Search at the moment is exclusively EMS, and uses an automated system for calculating combined shipping (an algorithm that computes things like total weight and expected box size and matches it to the post offices shipping rates). The advantage of an automated system is that you get combined shipping immediately - the disadvantage is that it always runs on the safe side and so it overestimates when you start combining items (spare cases for example seem to throw the shipping calculator way off what the shipping should really be). In the new year Hobby Search is adding SAL shipping as an option, to provide a more cost effective alternative.

 

Plaza Japan ships both EMS and SAL - he calculates the shipping on each item individually, assigning EMS to expensive/fragile items like train sets, and SAL to less expensive things like buildings. If you buy several items at once, or want to switch between EMS/SAL you can just request an ebay invoice before paying, asking him to calculate combined EMS or SAL shipping - I have found him to be pretty good at figuring out the best shipping cost. Plaza Japan is also quite quick in actually shipping and responding to customer inqueries - however Plaza Japan has a limited amount of items available for sale at any one time, and getting partial sets is basically impossible. I tend to use Plaza when I can, and Hobby Search when I need a wider selection.

 

Hobby World ships both EMS and SAL, and apparently does all shipping calculations on demand (this makes Hobby World at bit different to deal with, as you can't just add some things to your cart and pay immediately).

 

having done over 100 sal shipments and none disappearing i figure i have saved over $2k in shipping and am now very self insured incase one does go poof at some point! only thing to make sure is to not go over 2kg on an SAL order or you are into EMS price range and thus better to go EMS if its over 2Kg or get it broken into two shipments.

 

Hobby world lets you check what the shipping costs will be w/o totally checking out. just do the checkout button after signing in and then it will ask you if you want to ship to your account address or another, then after that step it will show you the ems and sal prices for shipping the order. HW just waits to ask you to pay till the order is ready to ship. this does put a day delay into things, but does simplify matters if there is a problem with getting an item, if you want to change shipping methods, etc. a while back this year i compared the ems shipping charges for HS and HW for a few items as it seemed like the HS ems costs were going up (but japan post costs have not changed). the HS did come out more by a few hundred yen. this could be due to them using double ply corrugated boxes (heavier) and/or if they use a shipping agent. HW is also aoshima's outlet so they may do a lot of shipping and thus do all their shipping direct with japan post and thus a tad cheaper.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[bill937ca]

[

having done over 100 sal shipments and none disappearing i figure i have saved over $2k in shipping and am now very self insured incase one does go poof at some point! only thing to make sure is to not go over 2kg on an SAL order or you are into EMS price range and thus better to go EMS if its over 2Kg or get it broken into two shipments.

 

this could be due to them using double ply corrugated boxes (heavier)

 

 

 

I have come across track sets on HWJ that get you charged more to ship SAL than EMS and on top of that your parcel would not be insured or trackable. That could be a very expensive mistake with a $200 track set.

 

Heavier boxes is a non-issue.  I have had identical items shipped by HS and HWJ and the only difference in weight was 50g heavier for HS, which was not enough to  even trigger a higher shipping charge.

 

Its not as simple as Jeff makes it out to be.

[Guest ___]

 

Yeah, we all know about Newhall Station, and pretty much anyone who is in this hobby doesn't buy from them.

 

Its the uniformed that i really worry about or the folks just contemplating getting into the hobby that find newhall easily and get turned off thinking its going to be a very expensive hobby (well for some of us it is but for other reasons!)

 

cheers

 

jeff

 

IDK, two years ago when I started out, it didn't take me all that long to figure out Newhall was way too expensive when compared to Plaza, or the other eBay sellers, and I came to that conclusion long before joining JRM te yahoo groups or this forum.

 

Personally, I prefer the peace of mind of having a trackable number for EMS, and the faster ship time. As both a former postal carrier, and and as someone who has had a lot of issues with lost and damaged SAL packages, I'd rather pay to have tracking ability, and the less time a package spends in transit, the less chance it has for damage.

 

Trust me, when I was at USPS, the way parcel post, and media mail was manhandled was atrocious. The carrier who trained me showed me how to load a thirty pound box on to the LLV from the dock was to sit it down on the dock, and give it a quick kick with the right foot to shove it off the dock and down three feet in to the cargo area of the LLV. This was SOP. (LLVs are the long sloped nose delivery trucks build by Northrup Grumman)

 

Parcel post sorting consisted of thirty mail carts in a U-shape layout each representing a route. The clerk would stand in the middle of the U with a cart of unsorted parcels behind him. The clerk would take each package and toss (throw) each package in to the correct cart. Note the U was quite big and ran three rows deep, so it was not like drop it in the cart, it was "toss" it in to the cart. I will also note the substitute and seasonal clerks were always missing the carts where the package would drop right down on to the concrete floor.

 

I won't even tell you about my week at DHL, three years ago and how they handled packages, but it made USPS look like we handled parcels with kiddie gloves on.

[cteno4]

Bill,

 

sounds like you went over the 2kg limit when sal rises to ems prices and higher! hw has a nice chart to show the weight areas where this comes into play

 

https://www.hwjapan.com/ems_sal.aspx

 

up to 2kg sal is a third to half of ems, then from 2kg to 3.5kg ems is cheaper than sal, then they are pretty after that.

 

yes its not really simple, ive just done a few tests here and there and ems shipping was usually a tad higher on the hs than at hw, but as i say the tests are limited. usually im ordering things that are under 1kg so big difference shipping sal over ems like $10-15 so its worth it to me to wait. with no losses i feel pretty confident things will show up and if not, like i said im pretty well self insured now so even a couple of expensive losses and im still well in the black. ive found lately the tracking on ems is not as fun as the packages are getting stuck at a couple of points for up to 2-3 days for me a couple of times. they use to always fly here so quickly usually w/in 2 or 3days max from the order, now closer to 4-5 days in the last year so the rapid gratification loop is a bit broken for me. still like having packages show up randomly in the mail, nice surprise! it will be interesting to see what happens with sal at hs on the shipping prices there! perhaps they dont need a shipping agent to do all the paperwork with sal packages?

 

i have noticed that adding some items to the cart will jump shipping prices quite a lot, must be the combo of weight and volume in the calculator that does it.

 

my rough calc for the box difference between hs and hw was about 100g from adding stuff to carts to see when it would trip the 2kg limit, but that was a crude way to measure it.

 

randomly popping a kato e3-1000 into hw gives ems cost of 3200yen and hw ems cost of 2400yen (vs 1080 for hw sal), so thats a difference of 800yen. im guessing its due to some shipping agent charge or hs is adding a handling charge. you are correct that even a 100g box increase with hs heavier boxes would only add 140yen so something else is going on here.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[cteno4]

have heard a lot of horror stories about USPS and other shipping companies, but i must admit on the usps i really dont know of any first class mail, parcel post, priority mail, sal, or ems package that have gone poof when living in dc, md, or ca in the last 20 years. it actually really amazes me it works so well. i have had a couple of fedex and dhl packages go astray, but they turned up, just took a wrong turn.

 

i did have a string of cdroms sent from clients fedex that were coming with shattered cases (only one disc was damaged with a scratch though) and i finally discovered that the fedex driver was flinging the package from the side walk about 25' away and up a story at the front door. was not happy when i noticed all the dings in the front door!

 

one package in usps from virgin islands did get crunched, but it was a very poor packaging job and actually insured so ended up covered.

 

the only complaint i have had with the usps was that deal where they return an ems package in 5 days even if you have a vacation hold on your mail. they say its an internal rule, but it is not published anywhere so you cant find out about it until you have it happen to you. btw that is one reason i now am a bit shyer from ems as need to make sure we are around when something is going to arrive if coming by ems...

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Mudkip Orange]

btw that is one reason i now am a bit shyer from ems as need to make sure we are around when something is going to arrive if coming by ems...

 

I route all of my packages (Amazon, textbooks, J-trains) to a post office box downtown and have yet to run into the five-day rule... perhaps it doesn't apply for PO Box holders?

[cteno4]

I talked to my carrier and they say that if they see the package they will pull it and put it aside, but if one of the other guys goes to do the package at the po they will usually just pull it after 5 days and follow the rule and ship it back. the postmaster was not nice about this as he just kept saying its a rule and when i asked where its published to the public he said it is not, its only internal so there is no way you will know about this. the manager i talked with at that po was very nice and sorry that it was not caught and held (even thought it is technically against the rules). no recourse on the matter except pay the $35 ems charge a second time to get the package back from HS. HS would not take the item in return for item credit, so it was either pay another $35 for the shipping or loose the whole thing.

 

i think that the crew that probably handles the ems packages internally at your post office may also deal with the po boxes so thats why they understand and bend that rule. i would not be surprised if some post offices dont know the rule or ignore it all together. unfortunately our postmaster here at my local po seems to be a hard ass on the rules and not a very polite person. when he just kept reciting the rule and said it was all my fault for not picking up the package in 5 days, i asked him how i was sposta know this and also that vacation hold instructions say ALL packages will be held, he just said that was my problem not his. i was a half inch from really trying to find someone above to complain about his attitude as everyone else i have delt with at that office has been very helpful and pleasant. not good when the top guy has an attitude like that.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Guest ___]

btw that is one reason i now am a bit shyer from ems as need to make sure we are around when something is going to arrive if coming by ems...

 

I route all of my packages (Amazon, textbooks, J-trains) to a post office box downtown and have yet to run into the five-day rule... perhaps it doesn't apply for PO Box holders?

 

Same here, everything I have goes to my box at the SPO.