Hi-Metal R

[sh9000]

I've never paid import tax.

[wmkjr]

What country are you from? Speaking from being in the US, we don't pay an import tax from Japan.

[seti88]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for the reply to my question no3ljm, It definitely puts my mind more at ease. I do have one more question for you and the forum. When you order from Nippon Yasan and similar dealers from Japan is there an import tax you must pay before you are able to receive your item from the shipper? How, where and when do you pay it and what is the percent? Any insight from anyone on the forum would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. For your help.

Sometimes online retailers have options for you to remark as gift. In NY case, i think they do mark it as gifts, to take the heat off any checks on the packages..

[no3Ljm]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for the reply to my question no3ljm, It definitely puts my mind more at ease. I do have one more question for you and the forum. When you order from Nippon Yasan and similar dealers from Japan is there an import tax you must pay before you are able to receive your item from the shipper? How, where and when do you pay it and what is the percent? Any insight from anyone on the forum would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. For your help.

Thank you and you're welcome, sir! Glad to be of help.

And yeah, like wmkjr said, afaik we don't pay import tax from Japan if you live in the US. And also like seti88 said it also helps when it's labeled as 'gifts' on the package label for Customs.

[Scyla]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for the reply to my question no3ljm, It definitely puts my mind more at ease. I do have one more question for you and the forum. When you order from Nippon Yasan and similar dealers from Japan is there an import tax you must pay before you are able to receive your item from the shipper? How, where and when do you pay it and what is the percent? Any insight from anyone on the forum would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. For your help.

That is highly dependent on your country. I've encountered four scenarios so far:

1. The shop marked down the item price so it is below the amount where you have to pay sales taxes and import fees. Then the item will be shipped to your address without any issues. This results in other problems such as insurance because you it is only insured for the value of the package printed on it.
2. The correct amount is given and it is over the threshold for taxes and fees. If everything is correctly declared customs will handle the paper work and the package will be handed over to your national package carrier. You then get an invoice with the package and you have to pay the delivery man the amount stated on the invoice
3. The third scenario I've encountered only happens when you get a delivery from FedEx. Is the same as in example 2 the only difference being that you don't have to pay the invoice right away. You can just transfer the amount from your bank account in the next few days. Downside of this is that FedEx adds a handling fee to their invoice so you have to pay an additional 5% of the package value if I remember correctly.
4. The fourth scenario kicks in if customs thinks something is not right with the package. This could have multiple reasons like missing shipping fees (you have to pay tax for them also), customs unable to handle Yen currency etc. etc. If this is the case you will get a letter form customs that they have a package from you and some data is missing. Usually it is enough to send them the bill from the shop where you ordered from since it states all they need. Sometimes they also want to know what is inside the package (I usually state plastic toys). Then they will do the paper work for you and hand it over to your national carrier. The rest is the same as in scenario 2. Somethings you also have to go to the next customs office to pick up you package personally. I sometimes do this since my local customs office isn't that far away and I don't need to worry about my local carrier not being able to deliver the package and send it back to the retailer, misplace the package or don't inform me that a package has arrived and just dump it into their next storage facility (all this happened several times to me).

One good advice is to keep an eye on the package tracking so you know what the package does. If it stated as out for delivery and you don't receive a notice form the delivery man this means two things. Customs caught the package and they delivered it to the customs office or they misplaced the package. The latter means to take action by yourself to retrieve the package.

As I said this is highly depending on your country. If you don't have a trustworthy/capable local package carrier or customs it can be quite an adventure. Also the amount of sales tax and customs fee varies from country to country. For example I have to pay 20% sales tax as well as 5-8% customs fees which is a significant amount of money (imagine getting a package worth $1000 and you have to pay $250 on top). However I've read that this amount can be much higher in other parts of the world (for example 50% of the package value). This usually happens if there are some sort of protective duties on good from other countries.

Hope that helps happy shopping.

[Roy Focker]

Lil me still hasn't flown over from Nippon yet.

In the mean time I managed to free up 4 shelves in my detolf cabinets. My single Regult is feeling pretty lonely.

[ArchieNov]

Yeah like sh9000 said. Is there a particular reason you want to go with n-y rather than another retailer?

Even with a markup, the overall cost I will have to spend by ordering with N-Y will be cheaper than other retailer, mainly due to customs fees. The most expensive options for me are HLJ, followed by Amiami.

[hal9000]

Got my Roy in today, and it's missing a piece. but I did get the limited stand even though I placed the order after they started shipping. And given the n-y is the company I went through I have no recourse. Well at least it's not a major piece.

Edited May 2, 2016 by hal9000

[jenius]

My original hikaru hi-metal VF-1J was missing the same piece! My friend in Japan shipped me his and then was able to return the one he bought to a store.

[easnoddy]

Got my Roy in today, and it's missing a piece. but I did get the limited stand even though I placed the order after they started shipping. And given the n-y is the company I went through I have no recourse. Well at least it's not a major piece.

That sucks. That piece on mine falls off very easily.

[Negotiator]

wow that sucks, someone get on them shapeways

[RDX17]

Got my Roy in today, and it's missing a piece. but I did get the limited stand even though I placed the order after they started shipping. And given the n-y is the company I went through I have no recourse. Well at least it's not a major piece.

Sorry to hear this as well. Why is it that you can't contact NY and return/exchange it though?

[Chronocidal]

You might have more luck with a return/exchange, but time and time again, people requesting just a replacement part (missing or broken) might get one or two "We'll see what we can do" emails, before having their junk slammed in the door by Bandai refusing to offer replacement parts.

Since NY still has them in stock, you might have luck with returning it, but I don't honestly know if they offer any shipping coverage, so you might have to pay both the return and replacement shipping yourself.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Chronocidal

[hal9000]

It sucks but I'm not hart broken about it. I'm still planing on having fun with it:) I have already sent the hey I have a missing piece email we shall see.

But in the mean time...

Edited May 2, 2016 by hal9000

[wmkjr]

Cool background!

[fifbeat]

It sucks but I'm not hart broken about it. I'm still planing on having fun with it:) I have already sent the hey I have a missing piece email we shall see.

But in the mean time...

Nice. Should be getting mine any day now.

Sorry about the missing part. That would bug the hell out of me. Now, can't you just contact Bandai/Tamashii and have them ship you that part? it's obviously a manufacturer error, right?

May I ask: Is it grey darker than the VF-1S Strike Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijyou Model)? If so, what is the reasoning behind this?

Edited May 2, 2016 by fifbeat

[Chronocidal]

Sorry about the missing part. That would bug the hell out of me. Now, can't you just contact Bandai/Tamashii and have them ship you that part? it's obviously a manufacturer error, right?

You would think that, but Bandai doesn't like making that much sense. They've repeatedly refused to replace individual parts, even for people living in Japan, if I recall correctly. They pretty much go for an all or nothing approach, so you'd have to return the entire thing and play Bandai-roulette to see if the next one they send has all the pieces included.

Really though, the impression that I get is that Japan doesn't frequently operate on the principle of keeping spare parts around. I had a class on manufacturing a while back that was taught by a former Toyota engineer, and part of their strategy is to keep as few spare parts in stock as possible, since it saves a fortune on storage space, and helps their bottom line immensely. The premium on storage space is probably a very common issue for large production companies in Japan, so I can see that easily being part of why Bandai seems to have such terrible customer service.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Chronocidal

[sh9000]

Hope you get the replacement piece. Good thing it wasn't the nosecone.

[F360]

Nice. Should be getting mine any day now.

Sorry about the missing part. That would bug the hell out of me. Now, can't you just contact Bandai/Tamashii and have them ship you that part? it's obviously a manufacturer error, right?

May I ask: Is it grey darker than the VF-1S Strike Valkyrie (Hikaru Ichijyou Model)? If so, what is the reasoning behind this?

Technically it's for sale in Japan only , so there's no overseas support. You can't even order it on their website without a Japanese creditcard and address .

[Loop]

Technically it's for sale in Japan only , so there's no overseas support. You can't even order it on their website without a Japanese creditcard and address .

Actually with the Tamashii web shop, you can actually place orders with COD as an option. Goes to show you that system actually works to this day in Japan. I remember it used to be an option in the USA, but I frequently remember back in the 80's people ordering COD and then rejecting it lol. Most likely why it's gone here in the states, either way you will need a Japanese address to get the order placed.

[F360]

Actually with the Tamashii web shop, you can actually place orders with COD as an option. Goes to show you that system actually works to this day in Japan. I remember it used to be an option in the USA, but I frequently remember back in the 80's people ordering COD and then rejecting it lol. Most likely why it's gone here in the states, either way you will need a Japanese address to get the order placed.

Good to know , didn't know Japan do COD. But then it'll probably be easier with N_Y or a proxy . Never like COD much. But jjewelry stores and dental office still use COD in the USA, Its their way of having extra secure delivery , safer than any single signature.

[sh9000]

With several DYRL VF-1's already released, Bandai should squeeze in some DYRL Regults.

[Old Man]

With several DYRL VF-1's already released, Bandai should squeeze in some DYRL Regults.

WORD

[RDX17]

I have already sent the hey I have a missing piece email we shall see.

Their response may be delayed as it's Golden Week. Just something to keep in mind if they don't get right back to you.

Also, thanks again for sharing this information. Something to keep an eye out for on future releases.

[no3Ljm]

How long does the Golden Week lasts?

As for Nippon-Yasan's Terms and Conditions, looks like they covered all the angles:

--------------------------

Problems of Quality or Non-conformity

In the case of receiving a product that differs with the order (dis-functioning or non-conform), the Buyer must file his claim within the day of receiving the shipment.

The buyer will need to fill up a damage report with the delivery service if he received a damage parcel , this damage report need to be done before accepting the parcel, Any claim without the damage report will not be processed.

Claims shall be sent via email to Nippon-Yasan.com at the aforementioned address, and must include:

- The Buyer's address and identity.

- The references of the product.

- The motivations of the claim.

Product returns shall be done within 7 business days from the attribution of a return identification number by Nippon-Yasan.com Service Center.

In any other case, Nippon-Yasan.com may not proceed in any refund or any exchange of returned products.

All products to be exchanged or refunded shall be returned as Registered Airmail to Nippon-Yasan.com in their original packaging. The products must be complete with all their accessories, as in the original order.

Shipping costs are to be paid by the Buyer.

The Buyer remains responsible for all risks and damage resulting in the return of his shipment.

All responsibility of shipment rest on the shipping company selected by the customer, Nippon-Yasan.com is not liable for any problem for the shipment.

If the Buyer want the parcel to be resend, all additional Shipping costs are to be paid by the Buyer.

If the parcel is ship back in Japan for any reasons (absence, no claim, incomplete address....) all additional shipping cost will be pay by the customer.

In the case of non respect of the above procedure, the Buyer may not file any claim for non-conformity or defect of the delivered products.

--------------------------

Edited May 3, 2016 by no3ljm

[Jadis]

I just got my hi metal R vf-1s Roy version in the mail. I have have the original VF-1s Hi Metal release for some years now already.

I wouldn't say the new version is necessarily all better: the new Roy model is a little too dark gray in color. I prefer the whiter original version, the new one has several missing red painted details, the swiveling head laser pivots are looser which makes turning them easier and less prone to breaking but they also have a tendency to just fall out, near the top part of the shoulders there are sprue marks where there are absolutely none with the old one, I also find that the chest piece (the one with true yellow and black stripes) pops off easily during transformation whereas this was never a problem with the old version.

The pros with the new one are that the elbows are stiffer, the shoulders slightly stiffer and easier to pose but not drastically so. The legs have "UN SPACY" on them, it comes with more extra head guns (although the guns are far longer than on the original), more extra hands in different positions , and an extra fused wing piece for Battroid mode, and the feet are stiff and not floppy at all which was the worst thing about the original. The eye of the new one is much brighter than the old one too.

The box and packaging of the original version completely blows away the new one's. The glossy thick cardboard with the flip top display lid and copious English details and history written on it really added to the overall package.

[Bub]

Took these pictures today:

I'm sure you guys wanted to see if the brownie is in the TV or Movie version. Check out the rest of the pictures:

[seti88]

Whoa... who put pink lipstick on the brownie missiles?!

[Bub]

That must be the lighting. Or my phone Sony Experia Z3 Compact.

[sh9000]

Nice pics. Can't wait for the CF's.

HMR Tamashii web exclusives please.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

MyKombini finally decided to put up the Cannon Fodders on preorder:

http://mykombini.com/en/september-2016/4815-hi-metal-r-vf-1a-valkyrie-standard-production-model-the-super-dimension-fortress-macross-bandai-4549660062455.html?search_query=hi-metal+macross&results=7

[RDX17]

How long does the Golden Week lasts?

Here's some info on Japan's Golden Week (essentially a national holiday for a week): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Week_(Japan)

Thanks for the NY return/exchange info too. That's always good to keep in mind.

Edited May 3, 2016 by RDX17

[vlenhoff]

sorry to hear hal9000

Just got my hmr Regult and the Arcadia yf-19. I am terrified to open them

First macross purchase is many many years.

[arbit]

Lovely nose cone on that Brownie.

[no3Ljm]

Here's some info on Japan's Golden Week (essentially a national holiday for a week): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Week_(Japan)

Thanks for the NY return/exchange info too. That's always good to keep in mind.

Well, let's just hope the Golden Week is exempted to their 7-day return policy.