hlj shipping "delay" of my Macross toy-orders.

[treatment]

I just have to vent.

My hlj-orders shipped on Oct-8, according to hlj.

It's Oct 22 now.

None of my orders have arrived.

Worse.

There's no friggin tracking anymore on hlj-orders.

I'm very very disappointed with HLJ. I thought I had enough faith in them since I've ordered from them almost exclusively for my Macross Toys and all my previous orders arrived promptly. Before they changed their shipping-policy/process.

Unless HLJ changes their shipping-policy/process in the near future, I, unfortunately am never gonna order from HLJ again. Even if they have really good sales.

*sigh*

--treatment--

[VF-19]

Whoa... You need to learn some patience.

HLJ ships via two methods international.

SAL: Slow, but cheap. Expect a minimum 2 week + delivery time if the order has to clear customs. If it doesn't have to clear customs, you can expect it within 2 weeks (often 10 days). Sadly, there is no formal method of tracking, but if you're in Canada, you can call Canada Post and see if your order has arrived in customs.

EMS: Super fast, and somewhat expensive. You can expect your order within a week, and you can track it.

Some examples of shipping times:

Smokescreen: Shipped on Oct 1, Just arrived on Oct 21. Shipped Via SAL

VF-11 and YF-21 FPs: Shipped on Oct 12, arrived on Oct 16. Shipped Via EMS

[Anubis]

That's the peril of SAL. It could take a week, could take a month. There is no way to know for sure. Thta's why I don't mind using EMS if I have to order something form HLJ. Expensive, yes, but quick and it can be tracked fairly well. There is no way I would trust SAL.

[VF Strike Valk]

Mine was processed on the 8th also...and I got my Max yesterday...for the price, its worth the wait. My box was kind of banged up though... <_

Edited October 22, 2003 by VF Strike Valk

[cobywan]

A friend of mine got a box from HLJ all banged up via SAL as well.

[Valkyrie Nut]

I used EMS to get my 1/48 VF-1A Max from HLJ. It arrived in perfect condition 5 days after they shipped it. I thought it would have taken longer with me living in England so I was quite suprised. By the sounds of things SAL isn't a very good service so I think I'll stick with EMS for my HLJ orders

[ZorClone]

remember guys, those people who handle your packages, regardless of the shipping company, are called "tossers" for a reason.. HLJ has nothing to do with your packages getting banged up.

I ordered 3 Banprestos from HLJ during the sale that shipped out on 10/14/03 via SAL, and I got them today. Not bad at 8 days including a weekend.

Edited October 22, 2003 by ZorClone

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

it's not their (HLJ) fault they had to change their shipping policies. you can blame that on UPS for charging 3x more than they use to for international shipping! that's why they changed it, just to be more fare to the people who order from their site.

yeah, SAL is cheaper but it takes longer for stuff to come here, i don't mind using SAL though since it only takes me at most 2 weeks to get anything here.

EMS charges 50% more than UPS did (before UPS changed their policies) and it does get to you faster.

i personaly don't complain about how long it gets here..just how long it takes them to process the order! (seems like i ordered right when they went on holidays but i didn't know until later so i was very impatient)

i'm still waiting for my order to come in...it's been a week since HLJ said it was shipped.

don't blame any of this on HLJ directly, you can always complain to UPS for charging an arm and a leg for international shipping

[gutter]

I just have to vent.

My hlj-orders shipped on Oct-8, according to hlj.

It's Oct 22 now.

None of my orders have arrived.

Worse.

There's no friggin tracking anymore on hlj-orders.

I'm very very disappointed with HLJ. I thought I had enough faith in them since I've ordered from them almost exclusively for my Macross Toys and all my previous orders arrived promptly. Before they changed their shipping-policy/process.

Unless HLJ changes their shipping-policy/process in the near future, I, unfortunately am never gonna order from HLJ again. Even if they have really good sales.

*sigh*

--treatment--

I had the same experience. I blame the shipping company, but once I did buy from HLJ prior to the Japanese Golden Week and my order took forever to arrive. During Golden Week Japanese companies give employees an entire week or two off. Being American, I was clueless, irritated, and jealous.

[Mr March]

I've ordered many times from HLJ and the only problem I've ever had is they sent me a Bandai 1/55 VF-1S when I was supposed to have a Yamato 1/60 Strike. They corrected the problem and I still shop there.

I pre-ordered my Yamato 1/48 VF-1J with FAST Packs today, so I'm expecting everything will go well as it usually does.

Edited October 23, 2003 by Mr March

[nedragdnuos]

HLJ shipping times for either EMS or SAL are all over the place.... I once had EMS and SAL articles shipped within one day of each other and the SAL took exactly 7 days to get to me, and the EMS, which left first up mind you, arrived 4 days after....go figure...

[Valkyrie]

I've gotten 3 packages from HLJ since they stopped using UPS. All 3 were shipped SAL, and all 3 were beat to hell. But thankfully, they were packed well, and the contents were completely unharmed. Also, they all took between 10 and 14 days to arrive.

But just because of the damage and the sheer unpredictability, I'll be choosing EMS from now on.

[newca]

i always choose SAL, 7 times, usually takes 7-10 days (i'm in shanghai, not far from japan), and every package has good looking, no any damage. HLJ never let me down. maybe your local post service problem?

btw, once i ordered a set of 1/700 us modern carrier fighters(1200 yen), they said it has clear parts(limited edition, 1600 yen) but actually not, wrong picture they put on web. after i told HLJ about this, they apologise to me and give the right information on the webpage soon. the fee is right.

Edited October 23, 2003 by newca

[Salamander]

I have ordered twice from HLJ this month. The second package arrived after two weeks, the first still hasn't arrived... It will probably take 5 weeks or so, like another one that still wasn't there after three weeks did.

If it has been lost, that would be the first time since I started ordering from HLJ (that's around 15 packages; everything went by SAL)

[Smut Peddler]

Whoa... You need to learn some patience.

Nah, no amount patience could make me order from HLJ again until they provide some better options for shipping. It is either an outrageous amount, or a just hope it gets there sometime delivery. Either one is not a choice I'm willing to make. So I'll stick to getting my models and toys else where.

[UN Spacy]

I've ordered many times from HLJ and the only problem I've ever had is they sent me a Bandai 1/55 VF-1S when I was supposed to have a Yamato 1/60 Strike.

The same thing happened to me also.

During HLJ.com's first Yamato sale I ordered a Hikaru 1/60 and they sent me a Hikaru 1/55.

Oh well....they wanted me to send it back but I figured it'd take too much time.

[tetsujin]

Whoa...  You need to learn some patience.

Nah, no amount patience could make me order from HLJ again until they provide some better options for shipping. It is either an outrageous amount, or a just hope it gets there sometime delivery. Either one is not a choice I'm willing to make. So I'll stick to getting my models and toys else where.

Do whatever you want. I got my last SAL package from HLJ 14 days after it shipped. The two before that (also SAL) were around 21 days. Very few places on the web can match HLJ's selection, price, or service. SAL takes some time, but I have about 50 unbuilt kits, so it's not that often that I need to have something "immediately". But, hey, you do what you gotta do.

[ychanus]

SAL does take time but I have never got a shipment later than 2 weeks.

However, I noticed that the exchange rate on yen to dollars is pretty bad for the US customer, I've cancelled tons of preorders from HLJ.

[Mr March]

I've ordered many times from HLJ and the only problem I've ever had is they sent me a Bandai 1/55 VF-1S when I was supposed to have a Yamato 1/60 Strike.

The same thing happened to me also.

During HLJ.com's first Yamato sale I ordered a Hikaru 1/60 and they sent me a Hikaru 1/55.

Oh well....they wanted me to send it back but I figured it'd take too much time.

Hmmm, something tells me HLJ should wise up a little. I was quite mad when they did that. Everything since then has been great, but they should feel lucky they didn't lose me over that. I've been known to walk over lesser circumstances.

[VF Strike Valk]

I've ordered many times from HLJ and the only problem I've ever had is they sent me a Bandai 1/55 VF-1S when I was supposed to have a Yamato 1/60 Strike.

The same thing happened to me also.

During HLJ.com's first Yamato sale I ordered a Hikaru 1/60 and they sent me a Hikaru 1/55.

Oh well....they wanted me to send it back but I figured it'd take too much time.

My exchange deal with HLJ took about 2 weeks...and they credited my shipping also...

[treatment]

just an update.

Well, my SAL-orders arrived today. Both boxes, too.

Finally.

The boxes were slightly dinged, with one of the toy's package being affected slightly. Good thing the contents themselves weren't damaged whatsoever.

a week of waiting for processing the order plus 15 days to deliver = 22 days to be exact.

plus aggravation of not being able to track the shipment.

whew!

Good thing this ain't x'mas season, yet.

Guess some venting helped. or something.

--treatment--

[indigofx28]

http://www.post.yusei.go.jp/

[Subotnik]

I've probably ordered from HLJ about 20-30 times over the past few years and I've never had a problem with shipping, either via SAL or EMS. Almost without fail (apart from around christmas) EMS has taken 3 or 4 days and SAL between 8 and 10, with no damaged boxes whatsoever. My last order seems to have gotten lost though, it's been 44 days since it shipped, but it's only something cheap and I'm not too worried. From everything I've heard HLJ are good at satisfying customers with complaints, so once the 60 days are up I'll let them know and hopefully they'll sort it out.

HLJ are a damn good company, I don't see why people complain about things that are out of their control. Once a package is posted HLJ no longer have control over it.

[VF-19]

I'm quite tempted to send an email to HLJ conerning the holidays. What I would like to see on HLJ is a calander on HLJ showing ALL of the national holidays that affect order processing and shipping times. That way, if you're ordering on a schedule, you at least know in advance that your order may take longer to ship. Like this month for instance there was about a week's holiday that I had no clue about.

[Mr March]

HLJ are a damn good company, I don't see why people complain about things that are out of their control. Once a package is posted HLJ no longer have control over it.

My complaint was not about shipping. Actually it was a legitimate complaint about something very much within control of HLJ...shipping the proper merchandise to the customer. Like I said, it was just one time and I haven't stopped buying from them. But my orders better be flawless from that point onward. Everyone deserves a second chance, but my patience ends at the third

[Subotnik]

My complaint was not about shipping.  Actually it was a legitimate complaint about something very much within control of HLJ...shipping the proper merchandise to the customer. 

Which is why I wasn't talking about problems such as yours.

An HLJ calender is a good idea. They seems to have an enormous number of holidays so it really would be a good idea to know in advance when they are.

[Omni Existence]

EMS is the best way to go. Expensive but worth it. NO fears of it arriving busted up like SAL.

My last pacakage (GX-04B and Yamato 1/48 FP's) arrived 7 days after being shipped. The box was squared away.

[macrossworks]

HLJ are a damn good company, I don't see why people complain about things that are out of their control. Once a package is posted HLJ no longer have control over it.

My complaint was not about shipping. Actually it was a legitimate complaint about something very much within control of HLJ...shipping the proper merchandise to the customer. Like I said, it was just one time and I haven't stopped buying from them. But my orders better be flawless from that point onward. Everyone deserves a second chance, but my patience ends at the third

I too had my share of problems..

They have been great with my past orders.. took them 2weeks to reach here by SAL.

But I lost 1 package, & it's been 2months since they promised to look into my case by either

sending me another item or some other sort of bargain i think..

The bad thing ..wuz..it's a MACROSS item!!!!! (i know you guys are sad & crying tooo)

But they have not replied any of my mails..

I think they've got soo many business they need to have more ppl on their customer supp. side..

[Hikuro]

I only ordered from them once, and never again. Not only did it take a week and a half to get the whole thing squared away with just confirmation, but it took another week for them to say they shipped it, and than nearly a month to recieve the package. When I got it, there was no package stuffing, it was just the box and the model kit. When I opened the kit, I found a few pieces broken and was so mad I almost sent it back asking for a refund. The sad thing is, you can't get refunds with opened packages, just exchanges, and I wasn't going to wait another month for the stupid thing to come back.

Worse off, the kit turned out so bad I stopped mid way and gave it up, the paint was off, parts didn't fit right even when I started to stand some areas to help that out. So I more than likely will look else where for Macross merchandise or model kits period.

[NSJ23]

SAL Works fine for me, my 1/48 Fast packs came in 14 days in perfect condition, On my order before that I paid for EMS and it took 10 days.

[Sumdumgai]

I only ordered from them once, and never again. Not only did it take a week and a half to get the whole thing squared away with just confirmation, but it took another week for them to say they shipped it, and than nearly a month to recieve the package. When I got it, there was no package stuffing, it was just the box and the model kit. When I opened the kit, I found a few pieces broken and was so mad I almost sent it back asking for a refund. The sad thing is, you can't get refunds with opened packages, just exchanges, and I wasn't going to wait another month for the stupid thing to come back.

Worse off, the kit turned out so bad I stopped mid way and gave it up, the paint was off, parts didn't fit right even when I started to stand some areas to help that out. So I more than likely will look else where for Macross merchandise or model kits period.

I've ordered once from them too, and I'll be damned if I order anything from them again.

So far it's taken about a month for my orders to come in, that's between confirmation and having to receive items back in stock (they should have something showing if the items are in stock or not). Plus, it shouldn't take an entire month to get some items back in stock when they should normally be available in Japan (some non-Macross items).

Then I got butt-raped on duty fees, €45 x2 ($52 xtwo packages).

At least when I ordered from Valkyrie Exchange I got my 1/48 no problem, box in great condition, and no duty fees. From now on I buy from Valkyrie Exchange and not HLJ.

Hell, I could have bought my valks out here, overpriced as they are here in Paris, and saved money in comparison to what I had to pay in the end through HLJ.

I scream at them: ANGRY!!