1 & Only Amazon Japan Thread

[Rhodes]

hmmm got hit with the declaration before... that was for the 2 Animelo BDs this year... but some of my other BDs came thru without needing the form. So I would think it's triggered by the amount declared on the invoice plus luck of the draw.

Someone else posted here they got a request for the form as well... forget who thou.

Oh well 2.7% tax isnt too bad... still cheaper than buying thru CDJP or HMVJP

[Martinman]

Alright, I would really appreciate some help from the importing vets....The only thing I've ever imported is a single cd, so I've never bought anything huge before. I'm seriously considering pre-ordering the Nanoha movie on Blu Ray from Amazon Japan since they seem to have the best price.

Reading through the thread, there seems to be some issue with importing Blu Ray discs. Would I be hit with some other charge on top of the $100 I'm already paying for this thing? $100 is quite a bit of money for me, and I'm having a hard time justifying the purchase as it is ("But it's NANOHA!").

Also, it says that free shipping is available; is that for Japan only, or is there some way to get free shipping to the US?

How long does it take for these things to ship and arrive in the US typically?

Thanks a lot for your help.

[something]

Originally Posted by Martinman

Reading through the thread, there seems to be some issue with importing Blu Ray discs. Would I be hit with some other charge on top of the $100 I'm already paying for this thing?

It is extremely, extremely rare. In the past ~15 months I have been charged for almost ~$8000 worth of R2 BDs and DVDs, the vast majority of which was Amazon, and none of it ever came with a customs/fedex/whatever fee. Maybe you'll be unlucky... but even if you are, it's 2.7% so it won't be the end of the world. More important is to know if your credit card charges a currency conversion fee, which will likely be 3%.

Also, it says that free shipping is available; is that for Japan only, or is there some way to get free shipping to the US?

Japan only. If this is the only item you're ordering, it'll be pricey, at ¥2000 just to ship. Cost gets more reasonable with more items (after the one time ¥1700 fee it's ¥300 per item) so if you have some CDs you've been meaning to import this would be a good time! Also, always always choose to hold for fewest shipments - you'll pay way way less and they'll still partial ship everything as it comes in anyway.

How long does it take for these things to ship and arrive in the US typically?

~34 hours to the East Coast after being released for shipment, if it doesn't get held up along the way, as it occasionally does (maybe 1 in 12 shipments for me take an extra day). Basically, stuff tends to ship ~1AM EST for me and arrive around 11AM the day after.

Items go out on street date or a day or two before.

[HitokiriShadow]

Originally Posted by Martinman

Reading through the thread, there seems to be some issue with importing Blu Ray discs. Would I be hit with some other charge on top of the $100 I'm already paying for this thing? $100 is quite a bit of money for me, and I'm having a hard time justifying the purchase as it is ("But it's NANOHA!").

If you live in the U.S., there's very, very, very little chance you getting hit with any import taxes (or whatever they want to call it). I've been importing for over year, with over 40 shipments in that timeframe, and I've never been hit with it.

Also, it says that free shipping is available; is that for Japan only, or is there some way to get free shipping to the US?

Japan only. For international shipping, the shipping charge is a 1700 yen base fee plus 300 yen for every item in the order. The base fee increases to 2700 yen if there are any books in the order. So if you are ordering just the Nanoha movie, the shipping would be 2000 yen. If you add another BD or CD, the shipping would be 2300. Assuming you check the "hold until all items arrive" (or however they word it) option. Even though they don't it, they only charge you the "base" fee once. If you choose the second option, to ship individually, they charge it to you for every shipment. They ship the same no matter what, they just charge you a lot more for one of the options. This is irrelevant if you are only buying one item though. But if there are any CDs or other BDs that have caught your eye, this would be a good time to buy them, so you don't have to pay that 1700 yen base fee again later.

How long does it take for these things to ship and arrive in the US typically?

Usually the second day after you get the shipping notice. It's rarely been more than that, and usually it was only because there was a Sunday and/or holiday in that two day window after I received the shipping notice.

[Martinman]

Awesome, thanks a lot for your help guys. I think I'm gonna go for it. It will be my last big thing before I start student teaching and have no source of income for 4-5 months.

[superdry]

Since I don't really import R2 DVDs/BDs...it's so hard to find items to lower the cost of shipping...especially artbooks and manga. Silly that some of the merchandise, like a keychain, Amazon sells can't be shipped outside (I guess it's easier to just not ship anything within Toys & Hobbies).

I forgot that the base shipping fee is 2700 yen if a book is included. I decided to cancel some orders to recombine them to lower the per unit shipping cost. I really need to be less indecisive (maybe less spontaneous?) when ordering from Amazon JP so I can lower shipping overall.

Anywho...my newly placed order is going to be split into 7 shipments (pre-orders that range from Dec 2010 through March 2011). Now, two items are going to be released within 10 days of each in the same month, but Amazon shows split shipment. I thought Amazon will ship together if the windows of item between release is short?

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by superdry

Anywho...my newly placed order is going to be split into 7 shipments (pre-orders that range from Dec 2010 through March 2011). Now, two items are going to be released within 10 days of each in the same month, but Amazon shows split shipment. I thought Amazon will ship together if the windows of item between release is short?

No, only if the items are within 10 days from the order date. Anything beyond that will be set to ship independently even if they're due to release on the same day.

[HitokiriShadow]

Originally Posted by superdry

Since I don't really import R2 DVDs/BDs...it's so hard to find items to lower the cost of shipping...especially artbooks and manga. Silly that some of the merchandise, like a keychain, Amazon sells can't be shipped outside (I guess it's easier to just not ship anything within Toys & Hobbies).

Yeah, I tried to order the Kirino Nendoroid with an order earlier this week only to get that message. So annoying.

I forgot that the base shipping fee is 2700 yen if a book is included. I decided to cancel some orders to recombine them to lower the per unit shipping cost. I really need to be less indecisive (maybe less spontaneous?) when ordering from Amazon JP so I can lower shipping overall.

Yeah, if you're going to add a book to an order, you'd better be adding several to make it worth it. Don't forget about the Dengeki G's issue with the OreImo figure coming out at the end of this month. If you're ordering some books, you may want to include that.

Anywho...my newly placed order is going to be split into 7 shipments (pre-orders that range from Dec 2010 through March 2011). Now, two items are going to be released within 10 days of each in the same month, but Amazon shows split shipment. I thought Amazon will ship together if the windows of item between release is short?

The only way things will ship together is if Amazon gets them in on the same day... and even then, they might not. If they are even one day apart, you're getting two shipments.

[HitokiriShadow]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

No, only if the items are within 10 days from the order date. Anything beyond that will be set to ship independently even if they're due to release on the same day.

I don't know that they'll even do that these days. They start processing in stock orders as soon as they possibly can. Earlier this week I made an order, with 4 of the items in stock. Two of started processing within about 30 minutes of placing the order and shipped out that night. The other two, still listed as in stock, didn't start processing until about 8-12 hours after the first two started and shipped out the next day.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by HitokiriShadow

I don't know that they'll even do that these days. They start processing in stock orders as soon as they possibly can. Earlier this week I made an order, with 4 of the items in stock. Two of started processing within about 30 minutes of placing the order and shipped out that night. The other two, still listed as in stock, didn't start processing until about 8-12 hours after the first two started and shipped out the next day.

Basically, it depends on the shipping date for the first shipment in your order. If your first shipment isn't until 10 days from now, they generally won't do anything on that order until then. But if your first shipment is set to "today", then they will split that and all future shipments however they want.

I have an order in now with my November pre-orders grouped into a shipment of 9 items on 26 November, and even though a few of those items are in stock already they haven't touched it yet. If by the 26th or 27th they don't have all 9 items in stock, then they'll split the shipment. This is the way I normally do things in order to reduce shipments, and it tends to work. But if any one of the 9 items in the shipment gets a revised shipment date, it causes the whole order to recalculate, and then all bets are off.