I'd like to preorder something that they have on their preorder list, but I'm leary about putting my card # out there to a site overseas that I know nothing about... Specifically, UH-1N Iroquois Fujimi 1/144 1/114-11 Thanks in advance!
Don't know the site/company; but, as a more general statement, keep in mind there can be a ton of Credit Card Fees & Extrange Rate Fee's involved when doing business oversee so check with the Creck Card company policies first before you get a huge $$$ surprise after the fact. I've seen some places change an additional 17% for using a US Credit Card oversees before and that was outside what the Credit Card company would have tacked on... :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd:
I've used Hobby Search (www.1999.co.jp) many times both ordering things in stock and preordering without a single problem, the Japanese are a very trustwothy and service oriented people. I also deal with Hobby World, http://hobbyworld.aoshima-bk.co.jp/eindex.asp, and recieved an email from them a few days ago about a preorder asking if I still wanted it. In the couple of days after I replied that I did, I recieved three more emails advising the progress of the order and apologetically asking my patience for having to wait such a long time. One thing about Hobby Search is that they only ship by EMS which is a priority service that is quicker than regular airmail but costs a bit more, I've gotten things from Japan to Australia in three days. I usually see who's got the best price, both shops have generous 'frequent flyer points' that you get for spending a certain amount that you can use anytime to deduct from the price of an order. When you compare the price of Japanese prototype equipment in Japan to what we are charged in Australia and the US it's still much cheaper even after adding any credit card charges.
I've ordered almost monthly from Hobby Search since April and I've pre-ordered. Pre-ordering is sometimes the only way to obtain some Japanese items as production runs are very limited. Your credit card will not be charged until the item is in stock. You will get a message when the item arrives from the supplier and another message when the item has shipped. At that point you will have a final figure with shipping included. The shipping number will include a trackable shipping number. The tracking link on the Japanese end is: http://tracking.post.japanpost.jp/service/jsp/refi/DP311-00100.jsp?locale=en I'm not sure about the tracking link in the US.
You could also check Rainbow Ten to see if the item is available. http://www.rainbowten.co.jp/english/index.html Just a note of caution. All Japanese suppliers are about to take a holiday break over New Year's which will see them shut down and not process any orders to as late as January 7.
Have ordered many times...no problems, Some credit cards like to hit you with a "foreighn transaction fee".
Most banks will charge a 'commission' on foreign transactions, usually in the 2-2.5% range. It's the same or less than American Express or similar would charge for travellers' cheques and cash, and shown as an additional charge rather than a poor exchange rate. I have yet to see any additional charges when ordering from Japan over those from elsewhere in the world. EMS will track to the local PO if your postal service supports it. I have watched my orders from Rainbow Ten leave their PO and show at Narita airport, then Sydney and on through to leaving the mail distribution centre for my local PO. I have no hesitation recommending any of the above mentioned businesses either. All are above board.
I concur with the comments about hobby search and hobby world. I have used them for over two years, and they have always provided excellent service. Credit cards on file are not a problem with them. EMS shipping is somewhat expensive, but it is bulletproof! Jim
I and perhaps many of the ones who used a credit card for foreign transactions between Feb 1 1996 and Nov 8 2006 am/are part of a US District Court settlement in which one can receive a refund of fees charged to eligible cards. Options are $25 refund with no additional paperwork or total estimated refund based on records of all transactions. Al
To clarify my statement after Al's post, when I say " I have yet to see any additional charges when ordering from Japan over those from elsewhere in the world", I mean when I buy from anywhere in the world other than Australia. The same fee structure applies, unfortunately. I would not of heard (nor should I have, really) of any court rulings regarding repayment of these fees. I wonder how many people in the US are unaware of this ruling? Which cards were (are) eligible and was the ruling repealed as of Nov 8 2006?
[off topic] I have this document in front of me, and I should immediately proceed to the website to claim the refund. It's the second or third I've received about this matter but the first on which I can act. At issue was undisclosed foreign transactions fees for the time period February 1, 1996 to November 8, 2006. I think November 8, 2006 was the date of the initial settlement with respect to the transaction fees. There are three options: 1) $25 "easy rebate" - if you haven't traveled outside of the US, take it-- free money! 2) A "Total Estimation Refund" rebate of presumably more than $25 based on an estimate which is in turn based on the number of days spent away from the USA and the type of travel (business, leisure, visiting friends/relatives, other). I am going for this since I easily went over the suggested "one week or more" estimate for that time period (see, business trips overseas are good for more than just finding train stores!). 3) An Annual Estimation Refund based on your records of what you spent by year by credit card for the time period. Even I'm not enough of a pack rat to have kept that level of detail, but I suppose that if you have that much information, it might be worth sending in. Meanwhile, the disclosures of foreign transaction fees and charges has been made more transparent-- and the fees have gone up, if you ask me. [/off topic]
I purchased a case of the Tomix N scale autos from Hobby Search this fall. I didn't pay attention to the shipping cost, which ended up being as much as the item itself! The foreign transaction fee added another couple of dollars. However, shipping to the US was very fast, it was very well packed and it was still cheaper than buying them here! I would recommend Hobby Search, especially if it's a hard to find item.
Hobby World give you the option of shipping via the cheaper SAL rather than EMS which means one to two weeks to Australia versus four to five days for EMS. An order on it's way as we speak for a Micro-Ace electric loco and 10 car set of limestone hoppers costing 17280 yen has shipping charges of 1780 yen, all up considerably cheaper than the price of Japanese imports at the LHS. I've never lost anything going the cheaper option and I'm not usually in that big a hurry to get it. It depends which store has items that I want.
Dave n, I order from Hobby Search quite often and they are excellent with emails, shipping and tracking numbers. As everyone has stated the shipping will be a little more expensive but usually they have items you can't get in North America. I wait and put together a list of items I want from them just to try and reduce shipping and credit card fees.
I ordered N-Scale Thomas from PlazaJapan a while ago and there were no hidden fees. He takes Paypal and the EMS shipping speed was amazing. Ordered/shipped from Osaka, Japan on a Tuesday and Thomas was in my mailbox on Saturday (northern NJ near NYC). The shipping was quite reasonable at $15.
