Kato - New Releases

[bill937ca]

1 hour ago, Aleks said:

Oh that's why no announcement in January... first Sunday was January 1, so the Friday would have been still in December. Well, I'll wait now until March 3...

The first Sunday in January is also during the New Year's break in Japan which is one of two going home holidays.

[disturbman]

Yes, the January announcements were made one week earlier than usual, on Friday, December 23rd.

[Shinjinkun]

Hi guys!

I just saw that they are doing a re-release for Seven Stars in Kyushu.
 

Do you recon if they should add it to Amazon JP? I'd rather buy it from Amazon than from Hobbysearch, because of customs.
 

Thanks!

Edited February 3, 2023 by disturbman

[Kamome]

2 hours ago, Shinjinkun said:

Hi guys!

I just saw that they are doing a re-release for Seven Stars in Kyushu.
 

Do you recon if they should add it to Amazon JP? I'd rather buy it from Amazon than from Hobbysearch, because of customs.
 

Thanks!

It’ll probably get added eventually but at present only overpriced 3rd party sellers. In Jan 2019 it was selling from the usual discount sellers for just under ¥30,000.

 

Ami Ami haven’t re-listed the product as yet but do sell some stuff through Amazon, which should give you a competitive price.

 

Really depends on what quantity will be produced and whether any restrictions on Kato’s sales policy. 

[cteno4]

Sadly preorders on amazon jp are usually not the best of prices and they always put about twice the price on the shipping that does not change. 
 

jeff

[Shinjinkun]

1 hour ago, cteno4 said:

Sadly preorders on amazon jp are usually not the best of prices and they always put about twice the price on the shipping that does not change. 
 

jeff

Really? Well, for me, usually Amazon is the cheapest I can get, and the shipping fees are quite alright for Europe. Furthermore, I don't have to take care of customs handling, and that is a huge plus for me. I suppose I will wait a bit in case they relist it in Amazon JP. ^_^

[disturbman]

Did they correct the situation where pre-orders were charged a much higher shipping costs than they would have if they were not a pre-order? The only time I preordered with them, the inflexibility of their system meant that I paid 2000 to 3000 yen more in shipping than if I had waited for the item to be listed. I never did it again.

[cteno4]

Good news everybody! I just went poking around Amazon jp and they are now charging the same shipping for a Pre-order on a bookcase that they do for one in stock — ¥2700 to the US. That’s nice to see as that old premium shipping on preorders nixed me a couple of times when only amazon jp had preorders open on something I forgot to Pre-order with the usual suspects.

 

Pre-order prices look to be about amiami Pre-order prices. I guess Amazon jp is trying to get more competitive on trains…

 

I will warn that at times amazon jp’s packaging can be spotty now and then. I’ve had a 6 car Tomytec set with their light cardboard box shipped in what was essentially just a thin paper envelope. TomyTex box was crushed up some, but luckily the model not damaged. Also one regular book case came the same way in a very lightly padded envelope with dinged up cardboard sleeve cover corners. Seeing as I’ve ordered very few trains from Amazon jp it’s not the greatest track record for me. Other bits and bobs I’ve ordered from Amazon jp have come well packed in sturdy boxes and usually shrunk plastic wrap sealed to the box, go figure…

 

jeff

[Beaver]

35 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

Other bits and bobs I’ve ordered from Amazon jp have come well packed in sturdy boxes and usually shrunk plastic wrap sealed to the box, go figure…

 

 

Former Amazon employee speaking........

 

They use an algorithm to decide what to pack which items in. The people doing the packing simply follow instructions off a screen. They are strongly discouraged from changing the packaging and can be disciplined for placing the order in a different package to the one the software tells them to, even if the stipulated one looks wrong for the job. Putting your fragile purchase in a thin bag knowing full well it could get crushed is less trouble and risk for the packer than trying to actually help you by using a sturdy box and then getting pulled up by the supervisor with possible penalties and job risk to follow.

[Shinjinkun]

15 hours ago, disturbman said:

Did they correct the situation where pre-orders were charged a much higher shipping costs than they would have if they were not a pre-order? The only time I preordered with them, the inflexibility of their system meant that I paid 2000 to 3000 yen more in shipping than if I had waited for the item to be listed. I never did it again.

 

Well, I also think that their system with pre-orders is quite flawed, as I already have one order for a specific month, and couldn't add another product for the same date, and unluckily, the article couldn't be cancelled. I think they should follow a similar system than Amiami, that you can add articles in different times, as long as the order is within the same month. Still, customs are a big issue, at least for me... that's why I prefer Amazon, as I avoid them completely. 😛

 

1 hour ago, cteno4 said:

Good news everybody! I just went poking around Amazon jp and they are now charging the same shipping for a Pre-order on a bookcase that they do for one in stock — ¥2700 to the US. That’s nice to see as that old premium shipping on preorders nixed me a couple of times when only amazon jp had preorders open on something I forgot to Pre-order with the usual suspects.

 

Pre-order prices look to be about amiami Pre-order prices. I guess Amazon jp is trying to get more competitive on trains…

 

I will warn that at times amazon jp’s packaging can be spotty now and then. I’ve had a 6 car Tomytec set with their light cardboard box shipped in what was essentially just a thin paper envelope. TomyTex box was crushed up some, but luckily the model not damaged. Also one regular book case came the same way in a very lightly padded envelope with dinged up cardboard sleeve cover corners. Seeing as I’ve ordered very few trains from Amazon jp it’s not the greatest track record for me. Other bits and bobs I’ve ordered from Amazon jp have come well packed in sturdy boxes and usually shrunk plastic wrap sealed to the box, go figure…

 

jeff

 

Did you find the commented kato seven stars train in preorder, jeff? I have been checking ever since they put the re-release in Hobbysearch, but so far, they still have the old overpriced ones. :S

[cteno4]

Yes I figured as much, the box marked fragile was not checked in the system, especially with the very flimsy Tomytec. Funny thing is the other regular hard bookcases I’ve gotten from Amazon jp were packed nicely in a box. So the two I got in the envelopes were obviously missing the check mark in the fragile box on their records. 
 

I don’t fault the amazon packers at all as I do realize they have to follow very set guidelines or get in trouble. I think Amazon likes to over use ai over organic brains too much. A couple of years back I got an email informing me all of my reviews were being pulled as it was determined I was selling reviews. Never did anything of the sort and so way off who I am. CS admitted they were starting to scan reviews with AI to look for reviewers for hire or seller based reviews. I’m sure it was just me using similar phrasing in how I did my reviews that the AI did not like. I went thru three levels of secret appeals which I could not give input to nor would they say what review(s) they thought I was selling. All denied and I was banned from all reviewing and all reviews removed. CS could not help as this was all handled by the secret (I’m guessing only AI) review group. So I found there was an email addy out there for bezos so I wrote a letter to the address with the issue spelled out and voila 2 hrs later a nice letter from Amazon profusely apologizing and saying all my reviews were being restored and review privileges renewed! Obviously there was an organic brain that read the letter and tossed the AI crap…

 

jeff

[cteno4]

Yes that’s an issue they don’t let you combine orders in a month window like the shops do. This is why even if it’s a bit more I do all my preorders with smaller shops. The smaller the shop usually the more flexible like rg Rokko and model train plus. I resort to amazon usually only for things I can’t find elsewhere and once and a while good discounts on thinks like sankei which are not discounted much at most retailers.

 

no I only saw a used 7 stars up there for like ¥75000…

 

in the past whe I’ve looked for preorders at amazon it was spotty if it was there at all. Few times it was thru other sellers on amazon like amiami, but again it’s not appeared to be everything ends up on amazon. But again I don’t keep a super close watch on amazon jp. The lowest shipping prices have also really jumped at amazon jp to ¥2700 to the us, was around ¥1300 last year. I would pick up the small bits and bobs at amazon because their low cost shipping after Sal went away with covid.

 

Jeff

[marknewton]

I've never bought anything from Amazon, and I doubt I ever will. Based on the comments here they sound like a pack of rsoles.

 

Mark.

[cteno4]

Well overall for a big company they do provide a lot of products at a decent price. They also have excellent customer service if there is an issue with a purchase and here in the us free returns (and return shipping) on most items. But they are the 800lb gorilla in the room and pushing so many small businesses under. They want to dominate everything. For house stuff I tend to look there to get an idea of what I might want and then usually shop around to try and buy it elsewhere if I can in general. For trains from Amazon jp I have only bought stuff I couldn’t find elsewhere mostly.

 

jeff

[cplchanb]

On 2/3/2023 at 7:17 PM, cteno4 said:

Sadly preorders on amazon jp are usually not the best of prices and they always put about twice the price on the shipping that does not change. 
 

jeff

go to RG Rokko for preorders. they have excellent customer service and they give you discounts for preorders too!

[cteno4]

Yes rg Rokko is one of my main sources along with mtp, hs, and amiami. Only stuff I’ve gotten in the past for trains with amazon jp is stuff I’ve missed the window on with the other sources sold out… because of amazon’s old big Pre-order shipping and low discount I never used them for preorders. I still only use Amazon jp as a last resort, I’d rather give the business to the shops.

 

jeff

[Kamome]

Yep, I bought a few bits from Amazon JP that were out of stock everywhere else.

 

Bought a bulk load of Tomix Kokis with Yamato Ta-Q-Bin containers which had sold out in other places, 215 series add on set as well as a few HO Kato bits such as 80 series diesel cars and 20 series blue train coaches which were difficult to find in the usual options without preordering a full consist. 

 

 I tend to use them as a last resort although some smaller businesses have Amazon shops. Procuring those YSK military loads was much easier through Amazon than the process directly from the manufacturer.

[alain10025]

I pre-ordered a "seven stars in Kyushu" from Plaza Japan ( https://www.plazajapan.com/4949727672571/ ). I really appreciate their care in packaging, I never received any damaged item from them. 

 

It is true that packaging at Amazon.co.jp can be uneven from time to time, though, so far, I never had any damaged item neither... 

[cteno4]

Japanese store packaging is amazing! All the small shops do a wonderful job packaging boxes, and why I was irked at amazon jp…

 

btw one of my most precious art books is “package design in Japan”, it’s part of the Japanese aesthetic to package well. I have a beautiful hand done round Japanese vase a friend gave us for our wedding. The wooden dovetailed box it came in is almost as beautiful as the vase!

 

jeff

[Kamome]

Seems hit and miss with Amazon but they do seem to hold a lot more Kato product than they used to have. I’ve actually been eyeing some Kato HO light units as they’re competitively priced and I can order in bulk. They seem to be a pig to fit into some Kato coaches but install easily with 24 series coaches. 

 

I’ve had things packaged incredibly well from Amazon and other things literally thrown in the box.  3rd party sellers on Amazon have been good too, in my experience, although all have had a bricks and mortar shop somewhere.  

From Amazon, smaller railway related stuff is usually shrink wrapped to an inner piece of cardboard. The Tomix set with case came bubble wrapped but definitely not the personal touch you get from most of the independents.

 

Do any still ship out candy with orders? That used to be a thing for a while but not sure if it still exists. 

[Shinjinkun]

18 hours ago, alain10025 said:

I pre-ordered a "seven stars in Kyushu" from Plaza Japan ( https://www.plazajapan.com/4949727672571/ ). I really appreciate their care in packaging, I never received any damaged item from them. 

 

It is true that packaging at Amazon.co.jp can be uneven from time to time, though, so far, I never had any damaged item neither... 

Do they fill IOSS or DDT to have taxes prepaid? I never bought from Plaza Japan, so I am not sure how they handle it. Actually, I was thinking maybe I should look for a retailer that allows order cancellation, as some of them don't allow it. Do you know any?

Thanks

[bill937ca]

You pay up front on pre-orders with Plaza Japan.

 

[Shinjinkun]

4 minutes ago, bill937ca said:

You pay up front on pre-orders with Plaza Japan.

 

Then that's not an option... any other suggestions?

[katoftw]

Knocks me out also. AmiAmi is cheaper and you post pay your pre-orders. Also a fairly flexible combining order system. Just slow to ship on non priority shipments.

[Kamome]

The item is now listed on Ami Ami as ¥28,100 + ¥500 domestic delivery and a number of sellers on Amazon Japan, including Ami Ami for ¥28,105 with free domestic delivery. Another Amazon seller, Toytopia selling for ¥27,980.

 

Not sure if Amazon have same USA/Canada restrictions that Ami Ami sometimes impose. 

 

Definitely Ami, you only pay once all

items on your order are in stock (unless chosen option to dispatch when available) , but yeah, dispatch can be pretty slow.  Probably even worse now as they may have to prioritise Amazon orders or focus on their core, Anime-related customer base. 

 

In practise,  you can not easily cancel an order with Ami but you don’t have to pay it either, if you decide against it. It used to be the case they got uppity and kicked off accounts that made serial cancellations but since covid, they may have become more lenient as people have lost livelihoods etc..