Bandai DX VF-1D - July 2021

[derex3592]

@sqidd  I agree, the fact that they are on MW Forums now addressing issues is a good idea. It's NOT 2019 anymore, a lot of people need to realize that and take a breath when dealing with supply chains, not to mention labor shortages of companies both here and abroad.  

[Alphahorizon]

@sqiddI agree. It is more then I have seen any other store do to date. Not saying there hasnt been. But still a decent attempt at customer service 

 

@LUNA PARKfor those of us that ordered the VF-1J GBP package is there anyway we can ensure the packaging for that is more solid and that DHL doesnt take it upon itself to remove any of the packaging to include the Tamashi brown box?

Good on you guys for coming here directly 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Alphahorizon

[jvmacross]

Yes, it is true that we are dealing in a vastly different business climate....but with that said, respect and trust in the places you do business with during these times are more valued now than they ever have been before...so thank you @LUNA PARK for addressing the issue here, you did not have to but I admire that you did (although you were told weeks ago and sent direct links to this thread) and I hope you can do much better on the next round of shipments....bad things happen to anyone and everyone deserves a second chance, but many will be watching how you do the next time and I would say most are not as forgiving after a second bad experience....good luck to you!

 

And to all the folks finger-wagging at members here for "not having patience or understanding"....

....your rhetoric is easy to spew when you don't have hundred's of dollars on the line or perhaps have already went through the experience of actually getting ripped-off under similar circumstances via Nippon Yassan.......how about some of you showing some "understanding" as to why some members may feel the way they do? 

Now that Luna Park has chimed in, let's take a pause on the complaints and let Luna Park correct their mistakes as they are promising to do...if you have not reached out to them, I advise you to do so now....

Until every member here who ordered from Luna Park receives their item(s) we shouldn't start patting them on the back for a job "well done"...talk is cheap...DX VF-1D's aren't...

 

[jvmacross]

 

...

Edited August 19, 2021 by jvmacross

[sqidd]

57 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

......how about some of you showing some "understanding" as to why some members may feel the way they do? 

 

 

This has nothing to do with people with no risk telling ones with some to "chill out". Everyone here understands exactly why people are feeling the way they do. Just about everything in the world is arriving really slow..........or not at all. It's the new normal.

[jvmacross]

18 minutes ago, sqidd said:

This has nothing to do with people with no risk telling ones with some to "chill out". 

It came out that way and it was not mentioned....I think you received a damaged -1D from them, so obviously you are not in that group...

"new normal" or not....some things have not changed...like paying for something and the expectation of receiving it.....others received theirs weeks ago upon the initial release...damaged or not........several did not and are still waiting after many weeks of "assurances"...it is not that hard to understand why some would start to feel they are being ripped-off.....

But, it seems the retailer is trying to fix things, so let's see if they do

Edited August 19, 2021 by jvmacross

[F360]

@LUNA PARK  thank you for coming here and addressing some of the shipping  concerns  

[Special Sauce]

Isn't EMS back to being an available option for international shipping or did they cancel it temporarily again because of Covid?  I just bought something from Mandrake within the last month and it arrived in just under a week.  I thought SAL was the one that's still suspended for the time being. 

[jvmacross]

1 hour ago, Special Sauce said:

Isn't EMS back to being an available option for international shipping or did they cancel it temporarily again because of Covid?  I just bought something from Mandrake within the last month and it arrived in just under a week.  I thought SAL was the one that's still suspended for the time being. 

Yes...has been for a while....

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

[F360]

1 hour ago, Special Sauce said:

Isn't EMS back to being an available option for international shipping or did they cancel it temporarily again because of Covid?  I just bought something from Mandrake within the last month and it arrived in just under a week.  I thought SAL was the one that's still suspended for the time being. 

Ems is available for some countries , but not all of them

[no3Ljm]

2 hours ago, Special Sauce said:

Isn't EMS back to being an available option for international shipping or did they cancel it temporarily again because of Covid?  I just bought something from Mandrake within the last month and it arrived in just under a week.  I thought SAL was the one that's still suspended for the time being. 

Out of curiosity. How much was the difference between EMS and DHL/FedEx at Mandarake? With HLJ, I chose DHL over EMS since the latter is around US$10 more than the former.

 

[sqidd]

2 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Out of curiosity. How much was the difference between EMS and DHL/FedEx at Mandarake? With HLJ, I chose DHL over EMS since the latter is around US$10 more than the former.

 

It's not linear. Some sizes are less expensive DHL and others EMS. On average it seems like the bigger the box gets the more expensive DHL is.

I just got a Bandai Spirits EVA out of Mandy that was quite a bit less going DHL. I am looking at a Yamato 1/48 VF-1S Weathering and EMS is less expensive for that.

[Angesdad]

I sincerely hope Japan Post resumes EMS service to Canada becuase I am tired of being ripped off in fees by DHL. For every item they’ve been charging me $19.99 processing fee on top of 13% duties.😱

 

By the way anyone having paint issues with your 1D? On mine the orange paint on the backpack isn’t great..looks like someone touched it up but left a bad brush marks..

Edited August 20, 2021 by Angesdad

[Special Sauce]

18 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Out of curiosity. How much was the difference between EMS and DHL/FedEx at Mandarake? With HLJ, I chose DHL over EMS since the latter is around US$10 more than the former.

 

I actually didn't even look at the DHL/Fedex prices because the EMS wasn't really that much.  The item was small, just an armor set for my VF-25 Alto.  I imagine it wasn't that much of a difference.

[sqidd]

4 hours ago, Special Sauce said:

I actually didn't even look at the DHL/Fedex prices because the EMS wasn't really that much.  The item was small, just an armor set for my VF-25 Alto.  I imagine it wasn't that much of a difference.

Looks like DHL was less.

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1063489192&ref=list&keyword=macross bandai dx vf-25&lang=en

[mechaninac]

Well, Luna Park came through and -- squeaky wheel syndrome or not -- I just received my DX 1D copy today, but, although mine was shipped with the outer Tamashi box, I still got a bit DHLled with some minimal to minor corner damage.

If items such as this are to be shipped without a dedicated shipping box and proper packing material, then I suggest that Luna Park take a page from Kitz Concept and look into using something like these plastic corner protectors:

Overall, this damage is not outrageous and I can live with it as the goods inside are in pristine condition; certainly not enough to raise a stink and go through the headache to send it back for replacement or refund...  And the toys are glorious!

[jvmacross]

23 minutes ago, mechaninac said:

Well, Luna Park came through and -- squeaky wheel syndrome or not -- I just received my DX 1D copy today, but, although mine was shipped with the outer Tamashi box, I still got a bit DHLled with some minimal to minor corner damage.

Congrats.....mine was lucky to evade all but the most minimal of "creasing" of the "shipper" box....in anycase it looks like it will be the one that gets to be freed from it's confines......the rest of mine will stay MISBIMSSB 

[Norland]

29 minutes ago, mechaninac said:

Well, Luna Park came through and -- squeaky wheel syndrome or not -- I just received my DX 1D copy today, but, although mine was shipped with the outer Tamashi box, I still got a bit DHLled with some minimal to minor corner damage.

If items such as this are to be shipped without a dedicated shipping box and proper packing material, then I suggest that Luna Park take a page from Kitz Concept and look into using something like these plastic corner protectors:

Overall, this damage is not outrageous and I can live with it as the goods inside are in pristine condition; certainly not enough to raise a stink and go through the headache to send it back for replacement or refund...  And the toys are glorious!

Mine wasn't as lucky as yours. 

[mechaninac]

^ Ouch!  Luna Park really need to up their game on the packaging... hope they're still following this thread and taking the constructive criticism and suggestions to heart.

[sqidd]

@LUNA PARK I really do feel for what you have to solve. I've had to "design" (pick the right stuff) all of the packaging for the stuff I manufacture. It's not easy. It gets very expensive very fast so you have to find that happy medium of safe enough but not overly safe. If you whittle the packaging down to be as inexpensive as possible (and keep the box sizes small so shipping costs don't go up) you will have some failures you need to eat. Then you decide if it's less expensive to eat let's say one out of one hundred that gets damaged, or to beef up the packaging.

Proper packaging and the infrastructure to support it doesn't happen over night. Well, that is unless you want to spend a TON of money. Pretty much anything can be solved with chunks of money.

I think the best packaging I have seen come my way from Asia is from Mandrake. Those boxes are super thick and "spongy". I've never seen them anywhere else. They must be spending a ton of money on that packing paper. That stuff gets really expensive really fast and it takes up a ton of room. I bought a machine that makes the air filled "packing pillows". One of the best investments I have made. Something like that with those plastic corner protectors would go a long way to all but eliminating damage.

 

[Tking22]

3 minutes ago, sqidd said:

I think the best packaging I have seen come my way from Asia is from Mandrake. 

Seconded, Mandrake always does a fantastic job with packing and shipping, they pack every item like it's made of glass, I love it. Speaking of which, I grabbed a 1D at 28,000 plus shipping from Mandrake, it'll be here tomorrow, I'm excited. 

[F360]

AmiAmi is my top packaging 

[crackpot]

1 hour ago, F360 said:

AmiAmi is my top packaging 

Heavy ass box with tons on space inside for recycled newspaper. Shipping price is on the high side as a result. 

[F360]

1 hour ago, F360 said:

AmiAmi is my top packaging 

 

 

updated with photo by @Saburo

[Sanity is Optional]

I like FromJapan's (which Amazon Japan also uses sometimes )

Items shrink-wrapped to a cardboard sheet, which is adhered to the bottom of the box. That's it.

I have never seen anything damaged when packaged this way.

Edited August 21, 2021 by Sanity is Optional

[F360]

9 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I like FromJapan's (which Amazon Japan also uses sometimes )

Items shrink-wrapped to a cardboard sheet, which is adhered to the bottom of the box. That's it.

I have never seen anything damaged when packaged this way.

 

I like the Shrink-Wrapped way too. but then Fromjapan sometimes shrink-wrap your item in a much bigger box  which makes the shipping much more expressive    

 

 

[sqidd]

4 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I like FromJapan's (which Amazon Japan also uses sometimes )

Items shrink-wrapped to a cardboard sheet, which is adhered to the bottom of the box. That's it.

I have never seen anything damaged when packaged this way.

I've had more than a few damaged that were packed this way from AmazonJP

[Anasazi37]

13 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I like FromJapan's (which Amazon Japan also uses sometimes )

Items shrink-wrapped to a cardboard sheet, which is adhered to the bottom of the box. That's it.

I have never seen anything damaged when packaged this way.

HLJ always packs items well. In more than 20 years of ordering from them, I've never once received a damaged shipment. They seem to "right size" the packing method to the item(s) being shipped. Always a thick and sturdy outer box, but inside it's either air pillows or the shrink wrapping without a lot of extra space. I normally see the wrapping on books and magazines, so they don't slide around in the box, but also for smaller items like model kits. Granted, for popular items like DX toys, it's almost impossible to get them from HLJ these days because they are too well-known and their ordering system is terrible, but for everything else, I usually go there first because I trust that my order will get here safely.

Edited August 21, 2021 by Anasazi37

[ValkAddict]

15 hours ago, Tking22 said:

Seconded, Mandrake always does a fantastic job with packing and shipping, they pack every item like it's made of glass,

+1 vote for Mandarake, they are great!

[Slave IV]

Mandarake and AmiAmi have the best packaging. HLJ is inconsistent but decent. There was a time when a lot of their items came loose in a box with an air pillow and they moved around and got slight damage. Cdj and from japan have pretty good packaging. AJ is getting better and when they shrink wrap the item to a board glued to the box, it helps but they were using paper thin boxes for a while. It really helped that DHL was so fast to reduce chances of damage. I know no one cares but NY always wraps items with bubble wrap and tape and then fills in space with paper and size their boxes to the items inside.

[dot.mog]

My cat loves Mandarake boxes. 

[sh9000]

https://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/topic/49497-general-discussion-of-stores-store-policies-and-practices-shipping-and-handling-types-of-packaging-supply-and-demand-favorite-cardboard-from-stores-pics-of-shipping-boxes-from-stores/

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by sh9000

[jvmacross]

18 hours ago, sh9000 said:

 

Next pose on my list.  I’ll see about taking a final pic this weekend.

Nice...looking forward to the final pic! 👍

[sh9000]

7 hours ago, jvmacross said:

Nice...looking forward to the final pic! 👍

Thanks.  

[Lolicon]

10 hours ago, dot.mog said:

My cat loves Mandarake boxes. 

Mine too.