Japan Post suspension of international mail

[vladykins]

12 hours ago, Anasazi37 said:

 

We also love getting the last word 

 

12 hours ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

No we don’t.

 

 

 

 

 

(See what I did there? I made a funny.)

 

[sqidd]

I just got hit for taxes/duties using DHL in the US. I was wondering if that was ever going to happen. $54.42 on a $1311.40 order. Not the end of the world I suppose.

[pafy6285]

1 minute ago, sqidd said:

I just got hit for taxes/duties using DHL in the US. I was wondering if that was ever going to happen. $54.42 on a $1311.40 order. Not the end of the world I suppose.

I believe the de minimis for US is $800. Greater than that and there's a chance you'll be taxed

[SUPERULTRAROBORIDER]

I received emails last night from CDJapan informing me that unregistered airmail is now a shipping option to the USA. I'm a bit nervous to go with that option. No tracking. It's probably going to be a long line, too. This may be a sign that registered airmail will be available soon, so I'm not sure what I'll do. I have quite a stash of goods sitting with them.

[Anasazi37]

8 hours ago, SUPERULTRAROBORIDER said:

I received emails last night from CDJapan informing me that unregistered airmail is now a shipping option to the USA. I'm a bit nervous to go with that option. No tracking. It's probably going to be a long line, too. This may be a sign that registered airmail will be available soon, so I'm not sure what I'll do. I have quite a stash of goods sitting with them.

I always check the Japan Post website for an official update after hearing news like this from a store:

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/1008_01_en.html

The "Air" option is highlighted in red, indicating some kind of update as of today (09 Oct). You can click on this link to get more detailed info:

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/overview_usa_en.html

Sure enough, you can now get unregistered small packet air shipments to the US.

[Chronocidal]

Just got an interesting email from HLJ, and I'm not sure if it will solve anything yet, but it looks like standard shipping channels are slowly opening up.

]

From the sound of it, we might be limited by item value to use that method, but it's a start.

[borgified]

Small packet for HLJ? 

Looks like that it will be only small items like Gundam kits and HMR. Anything larger will cost you double or triple the headache. 

Jungle Japan is now offering DHL for shipping if anyone doesn't know about it. Some of the items that was previously listed for grabs is gone or moved to the newer store that was opened in September (just needs to be listed)

* Check in the Dealers thread for further details). * 

[DewPoint]

On 10/9/2020 at 3:35 AM, SUPERULTRAROBORIDER said:

I received emails last night from CDJapan informing me that unregistered airmail is now a shipping option to the USA. I'm a bit nervous to go with that option. No tracking. It's probably going to be a long line, too. This may be a sign that registered airmail will be available soon, so I'm not sure what I'll do. I have quite a stash of goods sitting with them.

I got the same email from CDJapan. But when I try to change the shipping option for my Legioss Eta, I only get options for DHL and FedEx Priority for over $60.00 USD.  Non-Registered Airmail is nowhere to be seen.

[vladykins]

Yeah- it isn't much of a price advantage right now. I was checking HLJ to see if I could ship the Mospeada mook and the unregistered air mail option does come up, but look at the prices (and this is just for the mook):

[Jaustin89]

Anyone have anything shipped from Anime Export recently?

I had a preorder that was set for EMS that they upgraded to a "private courier service" and shipped a few weeks ago but I can't get the tracking number to work with anything and I haven't heard anything on the ticket I submitted last. Granted I put the ticket in late Friday so I'm not terribly concerned yet but was curious if anyone might have had the same situation and know where to track the package.

The tracking number's prefix is ECANI if anyone recognizes that.

[kajnrig]

15 hours ago, vladykins said:

Yeah- it isn't much of a price advantage right now. I was checking HLJ to see if I could ship the Mospeada mook and the unregistered air mail option does come up, but look at the prices (and this is just for the mook):

It's good for someone like me who has items that can't be shipped via the business couriers. In my case, I have some treats that have been waiting in my PW for... quite a while now. There's no risk of them going bad (fingers crossed ), though, so I'll probably wait a while longer for my PW fill up some more.

[Anasazi37]

34 minutes ago, Jaustin89 said:

Anyone have anything shipped from Anime Export recently?

I had a preorder that was set for EMS that they upgraded to a "private courier service" and shipped a few weeks ago but I can't get the tracking number to work with anything and I haven't heard anything on the ticket I submitted last. Granted I put the ticket in late Friday so I'm not terribly concerned yet but was curious if anyone might have had the same situation and know where to track the package.

The tracking number's prefix is ECANI if anyone recognizes that.

I've seen some members post that the private courier service worked out for them, with their packages arriving in about a week (I think), but it was just too sketchy for me to try. For the few items I still had there earlier this year, I paid $5-10 each to have AE ship them across Tokyo to Tenso and then had actual shipping professionals with access to brand name courier services like DHL send them to me. Since then I've avoided AE and will continue to do so until EMS is an option again. With that said, their customer service has been less than stellar lately (based on what I've read here), and they keep jacking up prices on popular POs, so I might never go back.

For what it's worth, it can take AE several business days to reply to messages. I'm not convinced that their online form works consistently, though. Sometimes I received a response and sometimes I didn't, so I switched to replying directly to my order confirmation email with my question and that did the trick. The address to try is info@anime-export.com. I hope your package arrives safely.

[Chronocidal]

1 hour ago, Jaustin89 said:

Anyone have anything shipped from Anime Export recently?

I had a preorder that was set for EMS that they upgraded to a "private courier service" and shipped a few weeks ago but I can't get the tracking number to work with anything and I haven't heard anything on the ticket I submitted last. Granted I put the ticket in late Friday so I'm not terribly concerned yet but was curious if anyone might have had the same situation and know where to track the package.

The tracking number's prefix is ECANI if anyone recognizes that.

I believe they are shipping via ECMS, which can be tracked on their own site.  I got my Kakizaki and Legioss order from them not long ago, and while the shipping did take a little while, it got here safe and sound.

Tracking can be found here: https://consignee.ecmsglobal.com/brige/showtracking

Edited October 13, 2020 by Chronocidal

[Jaustin89]

3 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

I believe they are shipping via ECMS, which can be tracked on their own site.  I got my Kakizaki and Legioss order from them not long ago, and while the shipping did take a little while, it got here safe and sound.

Tracking can be found here: https://consignee.ecmsglobal.com/brige/showtracking

Awesome; tracking number was recognized there, thanks.

History looks a bit odd with it departing and arriving to the same facility a 4 times for a week and a half but looks to be in progress now; i suppose that would partially explain the extended shipping time if not the actual cause.

[anubis20]

Im still waiting on a package shipped on September 28th from AE via ECMS. This is basically SAL shipping at EMS prices  If you go to the ECMS site when you track the delivery, at the bottom you will see a line that says "Delivery ID", you can copy that and track in on USPS. 

Edited October 13, 2020 by anubis20

[Kanedas Bike]

39 minutes ago, anubis20 said:

Im still waiting on a package shipped on September 28th from AE via ECMS. This is basically SAL shipping at EMS prices  If you go to the ECMS site when you track the delivery, at the bottom you will see a line that says "Delivery ID", you can copy that and track in on USPS. 

That's disappointing, I've got a handful of items at AE and was considering that option - but I'll just continue to wait for EMS to resume...eventually. 

-b.

[borgified]

Something I just stumbled upon while in TFW2005 for those that are not there at all.

From the G1- Focused Masterpiece Speculation thread.

* Note that this list is not alphabetized *

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/overview_en.html

 

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by borgified

[sketchley]

8 hours ago, borgified said:

* Note that this list is not alphabetized *

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/overview_en.html

Actually, it is; albeit in Hiragana order: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiragana#Table_of_hiragana

Edited October 14, 2020 by sketchley

[jenius]

Rumor is that EMS is coming back for the holidays... But will be significantly more expensive like DHL 

[sqidd]

6 hours ago, jenius said:

Rumor is that EMS is coming back for the holidays... But will be significantly more expensive like DHL 

Probably because it will be called EMS but subcontracted to another carrier.........................like DHL.

USPS does that with FedEx.

[crackpot]

8 hours ago, jenius said:

Rumor is that EMS is coming back for the holidays... But will be significantly more expensive like DHL 

Lol! What's the point then? 3 days maximum with faster processing through customs versus 5 to 7 days or more due to the chance of something sitting in customs for who knows how long without it being processed. 

[pafy6285]

Be ready for Japan Post fee increase by next year especially for those going to the U.S. Japan Post has an official announcement about this (though no available english document yet), but as per https://www.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20201015/k10012664801000.html, it seems the U.S. will have up to 62% increase. This will be applicable to all other countries as well with an average increase of 39%. Aside from the pandemic (limited availability of flights), the main reason for the said increase is due to the U.S. complaint (remember the threat by US to withdraw from UPU) about the difference of fees received by destination countries (for example, fees for mails coming from China to US is too low)

Edited October 22, 2020 by pafy6285

[Slave IV]

Awesome...More reasons to try to stop collecting...Just try though. I'm an addict.

[sqidd]

5 minutes ago, pafy6285 said:

Be ready for Japan Post fee increase by next year especially for those going to the U.S. Japan Post has an official announcement about this (though no available english document yet), but as per https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20201015/k10012664801000.html, it seems the U.S. will have up to 62% increase. This will be applicable to all other countries as well with an average increase of 39%. Aside from the pandemic (limited availability of flights), the main reason for the said increase is due to the U.S. complaint (remember the threat by US to withdraw from UPU) about the difference of fees received by destination countries (for example, fees for mails coming from China to US is too low)

So, no different than right now. I guess this is the new normal.

Because of all of this I just signed up for a DHL Business account and I'm currently negotiating rates from Japan to the US. Good thing I have a buddy who lives in JP. He's going to be my new "Tenso". Also my Tamashii Nations buyer.

Edited October 22, 2020 by sqidd

[F360]

12 minutes ago, sqidd said:

So, no different than right now. I guess this is the new normal.

Because of all of this I just signed up for a DHL Business account and I'm currently negotiating rates from Japan to the US. Good thing I have a buddy who lives in JP. He's going to be my new "Tenso". Also my Tamashii Nations buyer.

hmm, if you are going to paypal your friend in japan in yen, then you will be stuck with paypal  currency conversion (checking accont) or the added Creditcard processing fee.... .. ... ..  .. of course it all depends on how good of a discount you can get.  

Also you can try setting up a fedex one too...Their international economy use to work great ,,but it's currently suspended ......

[Sanity is Optional]

I imagine someone who has a business has better options for sending money than Paypal.

[F360]

11 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I imagine someone who has a business has better options for sending money than Paypal.

yeah. that true.. ... just need to tip the "friend" for the extra work. 

[sqidd]

39 minutes ago, F360 said:

hmm, if you are going to paypal your friend in japan in yen, then you will be stuck with paypal  currency conversion (checking accont) or the added Creditcard processing fee.... .. ... ..  .. of course it all depends on how good of a discount you can get.  

Also you can try setting up a fedex one too...Their international economy use to work great ,,but it's currently suspended ......

He still has US based banking as well as JP banking. When I approached him about this he alreday had a system in place to move money back and forth. I'm not sure what it is yet. Early days.

He thinks that he can use a US based card through Tamashii as long as it's shipping to his JP address. I want a Gundam thingmajigger that goes live Nov 6th I think it is. We're going to use that as a test run. 

Kind of a crazy story. I'm really, really good friends with his Dad. We have been working on projects together for almost 20yrs now. His son (my buddy too) used to work for me trackside when I was dong suspension engineering. He would help unload the trailer, set up, manage making sure I was fed, took care of the money/transactions (if it was that sort of event), etc, etc, etc. He started when he was 14 and worked every summer through the end of high school. When he was back in the summers from college he used to work for me in my new gig and was also my bodybuilding workout partner. He got some sort of computer engineering degree or something but also learned Japanese. When he was done with school he bummed around for about a year as a personal trainer then landed a gig teaching English in JP. He moved over there and within a year met a Shinto Priestess and they're engaged now. I'm not sure exactly what that is but from what I understand it's kind of like minor royalty or something? Her family is certainly well off. He was always a little lazy. I think he landed right where he was supposed to. I was going to go visit this winter......but COVID.

[F360]

31 minutes ago, sqidd said:

He still has US based banking as well as JP banking. When I approached him about this he alreday had a system in place to move money back and forth. I'm not sure what it is yet. Early days.

He thinks that he can use a US based card through Tamashii as long as it's shipping to his JP address. I want a Gundam thingmajigger that goes live Nov 6th I think it is. We're going to use that as a test run. 

Kind of a crazy story. I'm really, really good friends with his Dad. We have been working on projects together for almost 20yrs now. His son (my buddy too) used to work for me trackside when I was dong suspension engineering. He would help unload the trailer, set up, manage making sure I was fed, took care of the money/transactions (if it was that sort of event), etc, etc, etc. He started when he was 14 and worked every summer through the end of high school. When he was back in the summers from college he used to work for me in my new gig and was also my bodybuilding workout partner. He got some sort of computer engineering degree or something but also learned Japanese. When he was done with school he bummed around for about a year as a personal trainer then landed a gig teaching English in JP. He moved over there and within a year met a Shinto Priestess and they're engaged now. I'm not sure exactly what that is but from what I understand it's kind of like minor royalty or something? Her family is certainly well off. He was always a little lazy. I think he landed right where he was supposed to. I was going to go visit this winter......but COVID.

For tamashii you will need a Japanese creditcard with a Japanese Billing address. 
 

Wow , your friend goes way back .  He can’t say no to your favors  .  

[DYRL VF-1S]

1 hour ago, F360 said:

For tamashii you will need a Japanese creditcard with a Japanese Billing address. 

I can vouch for that.

[sqidd]

11 hours ago, F360 said:

For tamashii you will need a Japanese creditcard with a Japanese Billing address. 

 

9 hours ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

I can vouch for that.

This could be a site mistake. but the Tamashii site says that over seas cards can be used. I wonder if that is a thing once you have established a real JP address (not Tenso, etc)???? I guess I'll find out the 6th.

[DYRL VF-1S]

Hmm...That isn't the P-Bandai site though - and p-bandai is where you order TWE, etc. Tamashii has actual stores so perhaps what you cited is for the physical store in Tokyo. I'm registered on p-bandai Japan - which most people don't get through - and my card is rejected every time for being international. Even if I use Rakuten Pay, it kicks back on me days later after they report my card is Int'l.

[sqidd]

1 minute ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

Hmm...That isn't the P-Bandai site though - and p-bandai is where you order TWE, etc. Tamashii has actual stores so perhaps what you cited is for the physical store in Tokyo. I'm registered on p-bandai Japan - which most people don't get through - and my card is rejected every time for being international. Even if I use Rakuten Pay, it kicks back on me days later after they report my card is Int'l.

Hmmmm, IDK. My buddy found that. Got a link for the P-Bandai site just so I can be sure i;m sending him the right one? Thanks!

[DYRL VF-1S]

2 hours ago, sqidd said:

Hmmmm, IDK. My buddy found that. Got a link for the P-Bandai site just so I can be sure i;m sending him the right one? Thanks!

No problem: https://p-bandai.jp/

In the States, the site can give you a hard time and force you to the International sites (p-bandai.com for example). And those sites don't have Macross because they're outside of the Japan. So, if you have trouble, you'll need to use a VPN that masks your IP as out of Japan. Your buddy won't have a problem accessing being in Japan.

Here is the specific place you can go for details on Credit Card payments for P-Bandai.jp:  https://faq.p-bandai.jp/faq/show/137?category_id=20&site_domain=default

 

Quote

cards issued overseas cannot be used.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by DYRL VF-1S

[sqidd]

6 hours ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

No problem: https://p-bandai.jp/

In the States, the site can give you a hard time and force you to the International sites (p-bandai.com for example). And those sites don't have Macross because they're outside of the Japan. So, if you have trouble, you'll need to use a VPN that masks your IP as out of Japan. Your buddy won't have a problem accessing being in Japan.

Here is the specific place you can go for details on Credit Card payments for P-Bandai.jp:  https://faq.p-bandai.jp/faq/show/137?category_id=20&site_domain=default