AmiAmi Character and Hobby

[cteno4]

I sent in a cs request asking why this is. KatoUSA is not showing any Japanese trains on their shop currently (they rarely do). Most all us orders I have seen in the last 15 years after mokei imports closed (and they ordered and shipped directly from Kato japan to him, not Kato usa) was modeltrainstuff, but they havnt done new stuff for a few years it seems.

 

I'm hoping this is just some mix up, would be sad to loose amiami as a source.

 

jeff

[bill937ca]

They're gone from my world already. I'll never order from them again.  I just tried a HS and a Kato tram through to checkout and there were no restrictions.

[arkh]

2 hours ago, cteno4 said:

I sent in a cs request asking why this is. KatoUSA is not showing any Japanese trains on their shop currently (they rarely do). Most all us orders I have seen in the last 15 years after mokei imports closed (and they ordered and shipped directly from Kato japan to him, not Kato usa) was modeltrainstuff, but they havnt done new stuff for a few years it seems.

 

I'm hoping this is just some mix up, would be sad to loose amiami as a source.

 

jeff

I ended up doing the same with a support request as well. I would be curious to know why it's happened as it looks like it you can buy a couple of older train releases (as in 2021/2020) without this restriction. Again, you can also purchase some non-train-model Kato items like most miniature people just fine. I assume there is some kind of misunderstanding.

I recently got some Tomix and MicroAce pre-orders from AmiAmi so at least it's still good for other brands, regardless. I also found a really cheap Tomix Shimakaze basic set that I threw into my order last month - they have some great deals with their train stuff that I find hard to beat. 

Edited October 5, 2022 by arkh

[cteno4]

I could see Walthers (the distributor here in the US with the Tomix distribution deal) force Tomix to block Japanese export thru other dealers that would compete with what Walthers is importing and distributing, but they are not doing trains, just structures and track and even that deal now seems dead (hardly a thing on Walthers site in stock anymore). Can’t see katousa doing any amount of us distribution of Kato Japanese trains, they have been disdainful of even bringing parts over from japan for the few trains the have brought over like the 500. Even with the few Japanese trains they have done it seemed more like it was pushed by japan, not katousa.

 

just odd…

 

jeff

[arkh]

I did end up getting a reply from AmiAmi and after a kind of stiff, standard initial reply, when I asked for a bit more clarity, they said they are unable to confirm anything but that it's just likely the deal they have with Kato unfortunately. They said other sites may have a different deal with Kato that allows them to sell those items to the USA and Canada. Still not really much information, but it seems AmiAmi is mostly putting it on Kato as they said they don't really have any control over the restriction since it is what the manufacturer requires for them to sell it. 

 

[disturbman]

Thanks @arkh, that's unfortunate. I had hoped it was a system mistake and not coming from Kato as we feared. I guess @bill937cashould boycott Kato instead of Ami to show his displeasure.

[cteno4]

I just got this

 

This is decided by the maker of the item and we abide by their distribution restrictions. We unfortunately have no control over this.

 

i replied asking if this was Kato asking for this as it could be a distributor. 
 

something is strange.

 

jeff

[cteno4]

My follow up if they had any more information got this reply

 

Unfortunately this is handled by marketing department which is separate from our own and we are not given any reasons, just the information for the product. 
 
We recommend contacting the maker if you would like more information.
 
For our store, we cannot sell them or make any exceptions.
 
If you have any other questions, please let us know.

 

so I guess a try at sending notes to Kato now, but not sure they will be looked at in English.

 

jeff

[chadbag]

Not sure we need to rock the boat on this.  Many shops still sell and we don't need to draw KATO's attention to the matter...

[arkh]

I was thinking the same thing @chadbag. If it's truly more to do with Kato than AmiAmi, then I wonder if the other shops potentially would also fall under this restriction. One thing to note is that AmiAmi has a physical store in Japan whereas HLJ and PlazaJapan are just online retailers, as far as I'm aware. So maybe it has something to do with that, in some way? Though that doesn't account for RG-Rokko which, to be fair, potentially could be in violation of this restriction. 

Either way, we do have other options for getting Kato products, so I feel it's not the biggest deal. Just inconvenient if you already shop at AmiAmi and want to add Kato trains or what-have-you to your order. It would definitely be way worse if we had no other places to get Kato items from. 

[cteno4]

I would think Kato knows all the major exporters. Something just feels off on this.

 

jeff

[Darklighter]

While searching for information on how the Tamiya ban started, I learned that Bandai has requested Japanese shops to stop selling their kits earlier this year: 

 

[1954G]

10 hours ago, chadbag said:

Not sure we need to rock the boat on this.  Many shops still sell and we don't need to draw KATO's attention to the matter...

Very much agreed on this. Who knows what Kato will decide in the future, but for now we can still buy from quite a few excellent Japanese shops. 

In fact, with the USD - JPY exchange rate being so favorable at present, now might be the perfect time to stock up on Kato products before any future restrictions are implemented. 

[JR East]

11 hours ago, chadbag said:

Not sure we need to rock the boat on this.  Many shops still sell and we don't need to draw KATO's attention to the matter...

totally aligned with you. Moreover, it's impossible in europe to have the same offer on Japanese trains as in Japan. Don't wake up the dragon ...

 

Meanwhile ... even if there is a ban, there is always a workaround. 

 

JM

Edited October 6, 2022 by JR East

[cteno4]

8 hours ago, Darklighter said:

While searching for information on how the Tamiya ban started, I learned that Bandai has requested Japanese shops to stop selling their kits earlier this year: 

well this seems to have passed at least for the US as bandai stuff can be ordered all the way to final checkout screen on HS. Tamiya is still available for military and car models (tools are gone).

 

I don’t see the harm in asking Kato why amiami has been restricted from selling to us and Canada. If this is a general thing then they have sent this to all their distributors and it’s on them if they have decided to follow or ignore. Asking a specific question to a specific restriction publicized at amiami is a standard cs request to Kato.

 

jeff

[disturbman]

Exactly, don't have to mention anything else to them. It's not like they will suddenly discover there is other large retailers selling overseas, like HS or PJ.

I would very much like to know what's going on. A Kato sale restriction for US & Canada at Ami do not make much sense as long as its limited to them and not extended to others. Or maybe their pricing is so low that it irked someone enough at Kato USA to restrict the entire range.

[cteno4]

Yes they have had the best prices on a lot of preorders and may have broken some agreements on discounts.

 

but the odd thing is why would this be to the us and Canada only? This smack more of an exclusive distribution agreement  for these areas causing this issue.

 

jeff

[disturbman]

13 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

This smack more of an exclusive distribution agreement  for these areas causing this issue.

Agreed, but then you would expect HS and PJ to also be affected. Maybe their pricing is not viewed as problematic by whoever has the exclusive. Or Ami was just quicker to react.

[Darklighter]

48 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

well this seems to have passed at least for the US as bandai stuff can be ordered all the way to final checkout screen on HS. Tamiya is still available for military and car models (tools are gone).

Some Bandai stuff is still available, but, e.g., all Gundam and Space Battleship Yamato kits have been removed from the international shop. Glad to see that the Tamiya kits are back. They were removed last year: 

 

Edited October 6, 2022 by Darklighter

[Kamome]

3 hours ago, cteno4 said:

but the odd thing is why would this be to the us and Canada only?

I wonder whether this is their larger external market or if, as you say, they want retailers and consumers to go through their official channel at Kato USA. Other countries are served by independent distributors so Kato are not losing out directly to competition. Kato USA is a subsidiary and so maybe they want the majority share of supplying the stock in that region. As people are getting disgruntled, it may backfire for Kato. 

 

As for Tamiya and Bandai products, it must have something to do with distribution deals or license agreements. Tamiya auto sport models have sponsor names on them, Bandai have license for things like Star Wars in Japan whereas these licenses may go to other manufacturers elsewhere. I recently bought a Tamiya compressor which is essentially a rebadged Sparmax Zeta. In Europe you can buy from Sparmax but not Tamiya.  But the manufacturers put blanket policy to stop anything rather than the items that would breach these agreements. Many hobby shops in the UK have boycotted Tamiya due to the rig morale of getting products from them. 

 

This sort of thing has been going on with electronics manufacturers for decades to eliminate the ability to purchase cheaper products overseas and ship. Printer cartridges are ridiculous expensive in the UK and 1/3 price in the Japan. No surprises, the identical products don’t work with identical out of region printers. 

[Giugiaro]

3 hours ago, cteno4 said:

but the odd thing is why would this be to the us and Canada only? This smack more of an exclusive distribution agreement  for these areas causing this issue.

 

Exactly this. The issue is not exporting KATO overseas from Japanese shops. It's sending them to the US and Canada.

Europe has Lemke and Noch representing KATO, yet I don't find any restrictions for the EU and UK.
But, like I said before, European Modellbahnshops can't order from KATO to resell in Europe. That's exclusively done through Lemke and Noch.

Edited October 6, 2022 by Giugiaro

[cteno4]

If this is Kato wanting US and Canadian buyers to buy thru KatoUSA, then that’s going to be a huge change for KatoUSA. They have totally resisted doing much of anything of Kato Japan in the US and they do very limited direct sales. Just getting parts thru KatoUSA for Japanese trains has been very variable over the years and the last time I did it a few years back they charged more for the shipping to me from KatoUSA that the shipping would have been from japan and it took almost 3 months. They will need to implement inventory links to see what can be ordered.
 

If they plan to have you have to order stuff through a local Kato dealer that will be a huge mess as I doubt many will want to hassle with this and it’s going to push the SRP up a lot. While I’m not a fan of taking the local hobby shop out of the loop, most of them in the past have not wanted to stock or even order this sort of, to them, exotic stuff, as it’s low volume and prone to problems that will destroy their profit if there are any. Modeltrainplus stuff has been the only us dealer (also a Kato distributor) that has brought over Japanese trains consistently and that has been like 12 trains at the most and they sit for a few years at over Japanese SRP prices. Shipping may also be nasty if not drop shipped, with either delays waiting on a container to ship to KatoUSA or shipping to KatoUSA then the customer (not cheap these days inside the US, about $12 for a bookcase).

 

Maybe Mr Kato has some idea to pump Japanese trains into the US and Canada, but if so he just does not see the very limited market and if they attempting to block the exports from japan that will really kill the very small market here, not grow it.

 

Ardesh (from trainaidsa.com) worked on getting the Kato distributorship for india and then looked at trying to become a Kato dealer for Japanese trains in the US and he quickly discovered it was not going to be profitable unless he imported a full range of stuff from all manufacturers and that was a big investment and was not sure enough if enough market there to work.

 

jeff

[chadbag]

One of our local HS that carries KATO trains has a smattering of KATO and TOMIX Japanese stuff.  Not a lot but t was amazing to see any.

 

DD51s and one or two other things from KATO

 

Kitty Shinkansen and itty Haruka (and Kitty bus) from Tomix (yes I see a trend there).

 

They carry a lot of KATO USA stuff but I was surprised to see the Japanese stuff.

 

[Guest]

Seems a little hypocritical of amiami as they’re still selling new KATO Japanese trains on eBay.

Edited October 7, 2022 by Bob Martin

[katoftw]

1 hour ago, Bob Martin said:

Seems a little hypocritical of amiami as they’re still selling new KATO Japanese trains on eBay.

No need for pitchforks since we dont know the details