Bandai DX VF-31

[Sanity is Optional]

I'm not terribly worried about HLJ getting angry at me for cancelling the odd DX, given I buy a lot of gunpla kits from them.

[Lolicon]

As long as I can get the stuff I want with minimal hassle, the price differences between individual Japan retailers mostly ends up being a wash anyway. Also, HLJ is the only Japan-based shop I've dealt with whose customer service policy isn't "piss off" when there's a problem.

[mamboeidos]

To be honest , u spend so much n go through all the trouble just to save that 10-20? Come on man.....

Saving is gd for collectors but if u keep doing that then I dun think that's so gd

[kajnrig]

4 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I'm not terribly worried about HLJ getting angry at me for cancelling the odd DX, given I buy a lot of gunpla kits from them.

With more and more Gunpla being distributed internationally for prices more and more comparable to local Japan prices, it's getting harder for me to justify purchasing Gunpla from them. But since my Gunpla collecting has gone down and my other kit collecting has gone way way up, I still have plenty of reason to buy from them. Plus all the other weird Japanese things that they stock, and their customer service, etc., they're still and will remain my first stop.

[CharlesXavier]

Personally HLJ and amiami have the best customer services from my experience. They may not have the best price like NY but whenever there is a problem, they will get back to you fast and resolve it for you. That to me is worth the $10-30 difference. And let's not forget that NY overcharges on shipping so the actual difference is more like $8-15.

[Smacky]

32 minutes ago, CharlesXavier said:

Personally HLJ and amiami have the best customer services from my experience. They may not have the best price like NY but whenever there is a problem, they will get back to you fast and resolve it for you. That to me is worth the $10-30 difference. And let's not forget that NY overcharges on shipping so the actual difference is more like $8-15.

Not sure if I speak for many, but NY declares lower value on their packages so that I don’t end up paying an additional 40-50$ In Canadian duties and taxes.  HLJ and Amiami, while both having better customer service, end up costing me about 60$ more because they declare full value.

[CharlesXavier]

9 minutes ago, Smacky said:

Not sure if I speak for many, but NY declares lower value on their packages so that I don’t end up paying an additional 40-50$ In Canadian duties and taxes.  HLJ and Amiami, while both having better customer service, end up costing me about 60$ more because they declare full value.

You are absolutely right on that. Only NY and Madarake will under declare the value of your shipment. HLJ, CDJ and amiami will not do so. That is why I still go for NY for certain big ticket items. And of cos if i am lucky to sneak in a DX or MB during their crazy PO window, that's a bonus as well for using them.

The 31A remains a very bad experience though.

[Slave IV]

I shop at all the major stores and get the pros and cons of them all. On an expensive item like DX Valks, I save around $20 or more at NY and given how much I buy, it adds up to multiple free Valks a year and that is better than any insurance to me. 

I don’t abuse HLJs policy like what was mentioned before but just suggesting an honest communication with them, especially if they are already on the verge of cutting your account, nothing to lose. I get they don’t have the same policies there but maybe if they see enough reason to be competitive with prices, it will help us, the consumers. 

[F360]

i not sure replying back to HLJ with a "price difference" as a reason for having around 90% cancellation is a good reason at all.  At this time you already passed the point of "honest communication" especially when they already suspended /locked your account.  90% is not a small amount , choosing just to terminate your account at this point would benefit HLJ much more.  The suspension/locking of your account is more of a last warning and courtesy on their part.  

Depending on what you have already preordered, should you get your account terminated, you will loss all of those preorders.  So there's definitely something to lose there..

If you get the warning email., I would suggests you apologize and agree to their terms to reactivate your HLJ account first. 

Then you can choose what to do next for your future preoders with a reminder that you should only preorder item that you will get from now on, until you buy a ton of toys to cover your new cancellation buffer.

 

communication about pricing differences should be done when you are on better terms.

[Slave IV]

That’s pretty much what I said. Other than I still think it’s better late than never. Anyways, doesn’t make a difference to me what people do with their accounts. 

[CharlesXavier]

Good news for me on a Monday morning for my VF-31A

[rdrunner]

30 minutes ago, CharlesXavier said:

Good news for me on a Monday morning for my VF-31A

Congrats! More orders being filled. I received mine over the weekend (SAL) and didn’t even realize it was the 31A at first because the value was declared as 6,000 yen. I thought it was the Alto super parts set. It came with the brown TWE shipping box as well. 

 

[CharlesXavier]

13 minutes ago, rdrunner said:

Congrats! More orders being filled. I received mine over the weekend (SAL) and didn’t even realize it was the 31A at first because the value was declared as 6,000 yen. I thought it was the Alto super parts set. It came with the brown TWE shipping box as well. 

Thank you and congrats for receiving a full 31A with the TWE shipping box. I hope to get mine by the end of the week if NY ships it out today. I will be happy whether or not my 31A comes with or without the TWE box, as long as it's still sealed.

[kajnrig]

4 hours ago, F360 said:

If you get the warning email., I would suggests you apologize and agree to their terms to reactivate your HLJ account first.

Maybe I read it wrong, but I thought they received only the courtesy warning email and their account was not yet deactivated?

[NeoVanguard]

Here is the official word about the shipping order from NY.

Name: Fiona Message: Hello  Yes generally it's send by the oldest to the newest and it depends also by the shipping method . Please don't hesitate to send another message if you need anything else. Kind Regards Nippon-yasan.com Customer Service   Fiona

I am still waiting for my VF-31A shipment but I used the lowest cost one and ordered , guess that is why my status is stil at  "Pre-Order Payment OK"? Order placed: 2017-10-07 09:34

 

 

Edited June 25, 2018 by NeoVanguard

[chyll2]

4 hours ago, CharlesXavier said:

Good news for me on a Monday morning for my VF-31A

Congrats dude. I know you are frustrated as well but cheers!

 

 

@kajnrig

 

They disabled my account when someone here posted that the 31F was back on stock. When I apologized and have it reactivated, I noticed that the 31F was missing from order. I email them about it and they told me that they cancelled my 31F order because of my high cancellation rate. Now, I can reorder it provided that it gets available again

[F360]

4 hours ago, CharlesXavier said:

Good news for me on a Monday morning for my VF-31A

congrats. 

[Saburo]

On 6/19/2018 at 12:34 PM, rdrunner said:

Still a big fan of your pictures.  This angle looks like the cover photo on the 31A box for the fighter mode?

Thank you @rdrunner I appreciate it.  Its funny it didn't dawn on me that the angle was the same as the box cover till you mentioned it.

 

On 6/19/2018 at 7:16 PM, mickyg said:

Sucked in!  I could have sworn it was one of your wide angle primes! 

Hehe.  Sadly I don't have a wide angle prime yet... I have one on my wishlist though.

 

4 hours ago, CharlesXavier said:

Good news for me on a Monday morning for my VF-31A

 

Congrats @CharlesXavier!

 

4 hours ago, rdrunner said:

Congrats! More orders being filled. I received mine over the weekend (SAL) and didn’t even realize it was the 31A at first because the value was declared as 6,000 yen. I thought it was the Alto super parts set. It came with the brown TWE shipping box as well.

 

Congrats to you @rdrunner, with the brown shipper too.

[Kinzoku VF]

8 hours ago, CharlesXavier said:

Good news for me on a Monday morning for my VF-31A

Finally, Congratz man. Wonder how many they still have to send off and if they'll be able to get as far as November?  

The sad thing on my part, even though I was supa pleased to finally receive my order, still  haven't even taken any pics nor even *played around* with it. (hardly ever transform my DX and certainly don't fancy transforming this one)

I really wanted to try and fit the 31-A in somehow. Had to mix up lines, some Delta stuff, with Macross II and Macross stuff (not forgetting  some HMR and some SD pieces) in order to cram it into a Detolf 'square'....you hardly see the thing...(;_;).  Due to a lack of Detolfs, (I have 6 for vintage, Popy etc, Sofubis and modern Giant robot stuff ) but only 3 for Macross stuff, and all are completely crammed. (I kept everything, my Toynamis, all my old Yamato V1 (love die-cast...) not to mention the 1/48s, 1/60 V2, vintage pieces etc....and of course the Bandai stuff, DX and HMR. So unfortunately the big majority of my Fighters aren't displayed in cabinets.

It's still certainly my favorite Delta VF so far, no contest. I like the others, but no way near as much.. Maybe the fact I didn't enjoy Delta has something to do with it....don't know..

If I ever sell the Deltas (fat chance as I tend to hoard everything),  I'd only keep the 31-A and the SV-262....

Erm....I rambled....my bad....only wanted to say 'Gratz' to CharlesXavier 

[cmal]

9 hours ago, CharlesXavier said:

Good news for me on a Monday morning for my VF-31A

god i wish that were me

4 hours ago, NeoVanguard said:

Here is the official word about the shipping order from NY.

Name: Fiona Message: Hello  Yes generally it's send by the oldest to the newest and it depends also by the shipping method . Please don't hesitate to send another message if you need anything else. Kind Regards Nippon-yasan.com Customer Service   Fiona

I am still waiting for my VF-31A shipment but I used the lowest cost one and ordered , guess that is why my status is stil at  "Pre-Order Payment OK"? Order placed: 2017-10-07 09:34

 

 

I ordered 2017-10-07 05:46:58 and shipped EMS, so I guess f me.

I just feel so f-ing burned by this crap I don't think I'll even feel happy anymore if I get mine, just relieved its over so I can wash my hands of N-Y.

[funkymonkeyjavajunky]

So, which shipping methods has NY been shipping first?

[rdrunner]

12 hours ago, CharlesXavier said:

Thank you and congrats for receiving a full 31A with the TWE shipping box. I hope to get mine by the end of the week if NY ships it out today. I will be happy whether or not my 31A comes with or without the TWE box, as long as it's still sealed.

Thanks!  Yeah to be honest the TWE box didn't really matter to me because I wasn't planning on selling mine, but it was a good feeling to open it up and hold a brand new Chogokin DX Valk in hand.  I checked under the wings and didn't find any blemishes.  So I guess that Bandai have started rolling out second batches in June (hence the TWE box if it came straight from Bandai to NY).  Hopefully they will speed up the deliveries for the rest of us who are still waiting.  

[spacemanoeuvres]

3 hours ago, cmal said:

god i wish that were me

I ordered 2017-10-07 05:46:58 and shipped EMS, so I guess f me.

I just feel so f-ing burned by this crap I don't think I'll even feel happy anymore if I get mine, just relieved its over so I can wash my hands of N-Y.

Yeah. I am very happy for all those receiving their orders.

At the same time I’m getting quite pissed that orders placed 3 weeks after mine are being filled; and I’m sitting here like...

...ship...SHIP!!!!

Edited June 25, 2018 by spacemanoeuvres

[ArchieNov]

2 hours ago, funkymonkeyjavajunky said:

So, which shipping methods has NY been shipping first?

I can only speak for myself, but I might be the only one here who chose UPS and I was the first one to get my VF-31A. So I guess I was right about my speculation that shipping method DOES matter the most.

[no3Ljm]

14 hours ago, CharlesXavier said:

Good news for me on a Monday morning for my VF-31A

Congrats Charles! Finally.  Out of curiosity, what shipping method did you use?

1 hour ago, spacemanoeuvres said:

Yeah. I am very happy for all those receiving their orders.

At the same time I’m getting quite pissed that orders placed 3 weeks after mine are being filled; and I’m sitting here like...

...ship...SHIP!!!!

Same boat as you, sir. Though I don’t have a cool looking chick besides me right now. 

[CharlesXavier]

2 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Congrats Charles! Finally.  Out of curiosity, what shipping method did you use?

Same boat as you, sir. Though I don’t have a cool looking chick besides me right now. 

I chose EMS as usual.

I think the order that NY processed and shipped now is a little random since 2 weeks back when we first saw someone who paid on 27th Oct actually has his ordered shipped before those who paid on the 6/7th.

I hope to hear more good news from fellow members this week.

And thanks @chyll2, @F360, @Saburo, @Kinzoku VF, @rdrunner and @no3Ljm for the gratz. Now praying for a smooth delivery that it will reach me in good order and good shape this week.

[rasky]

Credit where credit is due, NY came through!

[no3Ljm]

1 hour ago, CharlesXavier said:

I hope to hear more good news from fellow members this week.

And thanks @chyll2, @F360, @Saburo, @Kinzoku VF, @rdrunner and @no3Ljm for the gratz. Now praying for a smooth delivery that it will reach me in good order and good shape this week.

You're welcome, dear good sir! 

46 minutes ago, rasky said:

Credit where credit is due, NY came through!

Sorry, I'm not sure if I'm going to feel the same way as you if NY finally shipped mine. And from the way they reply our inquiries, I don't think they need credit. I'll just charge this to my NY experience. 

 

[Solo Wing Pixy]

First transformation was somewhat nerve-wracking, but seeing this on my desk makes it all worth it.  Shoutout to the man from anymoon.com(forgot his name) for his excellent transformation guide.

[Slave IV]

15 minutes ago, Solo Wing Pixy said:

First transformation was somewhat nerve-wracking, but seeing this on my desk makes it all worth it.  Shoutout to the man from anymoon.com(forgot his name) for his excellent transformation guide.

Looking good. The man you want to thank is @jenius!

[no3Ljm]

20 minutes ago, Solo Wing Pixy said:

First transformation was somewhat nerve-wracking, but seeing this on my desk makes it all worth it.  Shoutout to the man from anymoon.com(forgot his name) for his excellent transformation guide.

That's a great pose!   

Yup, his name is @jenius. His reviews and guides is really a big help, along with CollectionDX's Andrew. So a big shout out to both of them.  

 

[David Hingtgen]

26 days via SAL, but Mirage’s super parts are now in the US.  

[Sandman]

4 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

That's a great pose!   

Yup, his name is @jenius. His reviews and guides is really a big help, along with CollectionDX's Andrew. So a big shout out to both of them.  

 

Not sure if andrew is still doing reviews anymore. It's been some time since his last macross review.

[no3Ljm]

10 minutes ago, Sandman said:

Not sure if andrew is still doing reviews anymore. It's been some time since his last macross review.

It's why I included Andrew's VF-31J review link since Solo Wing Pixy posted a 31J.

 

[ArchieNov]

On 6/24/2018 at 10:54 PM, Smacky said:

Not sure if I speak for many, but NY declares lower value on their packages so that I don’t end up paying an additional 40-50$ In Canadian duties and taxes.  HLJ and Amiami, while both having better customer service, end up costing me about 60$ more because they declare full value.

Quoted for truth. To be honest, I've only had a handful of issues (maybe around 5) with toys I've bought from online shops (NY. HLJ, Amiami, Mandarake, etc). The ironic thing though is that out of those 5 with issues, 2 were bought from HLJ, 2 from Mandarake, and 1 from NY. In terms of order count, the online retailer I've made the most orders with is NY (hundreds), followed by Amiami (dozens), then HLJ (less than 10) and Mandarake (around 5). 

While customer service is nice, it's not worth it when compared to the amount of savings I get from underdeclared items. In my country, import taxes can go up to 20-50% of the shipment's declared value. Also, the private warehouse that HLJ has which people like is completely useless to me since we have a threshold before items become taxable. Combining multiple orders into one shipment will only make the total value of my order break that threshold and therefore, make me pay even more taxes. So private warehouse makes me lose money instead of saving.