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Shopping & Shipping for Japanese Goods - A Report of Personal Experience
Posted by Ady001,
29 April 2015
·
1399 views
It all started about 4 months ago during Christmas.
It was a time when Christmas bonuses rein whims and I was no exception. I was under talks at that time with a local courier to reel in a planned 80 CD purchase (since I'm an avid JPop fan and CDs are my life.) Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, so I decided to purchase about half of that and do it the old fashioned way of how I imported music in my country- use a Japanese forwarder, take advantage of their lengthy storage period, and do it all the "legal" way possible.
Now I do not condone any wrongful activity to avoid any possible customs duties but at that time and during the course of the entire year, customs duties had been eating its way on my purchases and if I need to keep up with my hobby and my only vice, I need to make ways or at least lessen the damage.
It took a bit of time for me to pay for the freight (about 4 months) and the thing had been languishing in my forwarder's storage facilities. The entire thing piled up to nearly 6 kilos and I had to time in my purchases to kickstart my Sasaki Rikako photo collection as well as setting my sights in saving up for the rainy days (don't worry I had it timed; I could even send money to my parents, pay their bills, and even manage a JPop vinyl collection, though I feel guilty on all of this
)
In the meantime, good news about the local customs duties payments set in, which kept the package in my forwarder's facilities for a little bit more, and ANGERME, Country Girls, and Rikako just released and updated more photos and a BD which I really can't pass up.
It stayed there till last week.
The crux of it all started when I heard that the customs commissioner of my country resigned. You know you're in a effed up country when things as like this make you act up and do something crucial. Things like this can drastically change procedures and I am not willing to go back to the old ways. So I hurriedly paid my forwarder just to settle my dues once and for all (I need to send them a thank-you email, really, they're kind.)
This is the timeline of my package from the time it got logged in Japan Post EMS:
Kind of fast right? The Philippines is about 4 hours away from Japan but to have something delivered, it could take more days, even weeks for something to get through. And even things this fast need some extra legwork.
You see, when a package decidedly will be up for customs scrutiny, it definitely goes first to CMEC (short for Central Mail Exchange Center.) As the Philippines is an inter-island country, it could take longer for someone living in the provinces to get their expedited package and even longer for packages up for customs scrutiny. However, those that live in the Metro Manila area can get their packages swiftly and safely albeit with extra legwork and some homework.
In my personal experience, a package from Tokyo will take 2 business days to reach the Philippines, and Osaka will take 3 business days. So around Monday, despite the non-status update of the package in the tracking number provided, and without answers from the EMS Customer Service personnel, I went forth to CMEC, which is about 2 hours away from where I live (counting the walking, train riding, and bus riding)
I ended up making 3 such trips in the same day.
The first I went there was in the morning, and the customs official handling the checking said that package just arrived and will not be up for scrutiny till the next day. Dampened, I went back home and emailed EMS Customer Service again just to check and see what's going on. By the time I was home, they emailed back telling my package was already ready for pickup. So without any choice, I have to go back. And mind you, all of this considering the searing heat wave, bus standing, traffic, the overtime at work (I work graveyard) and lugging around a 6 kilo package by foot by the time I was done at 5 PM.
But it was necessary; I have to go back the next day anyway and I was impatient on these things.
So after all of that hubub, here's how it looks like:
The first time I saw this thing, I never thought it would be this humongous.
My forwarder or probably the store I bought it from went the extra mile putting in a load of paper to cushion these things.
And I think it really was too much.
But I really appreciate the care; packing them individually in these EMS packets is a whole load of work. I'm still wondering do they even make a profit even?
e-Lineup's photo packing is stellar despite the 600 Yen extra charge for Sagawa Express.
I have to admit that bookoff's packing these things can really be overkill to a point but really, you can't blame them. I had a rough time transporting this thing by foot going back home.
From left to right: Onishi Yuka's Le Reve, Yokoyama Kiichi's HIT ME, and Yuuyu's Yuuyukousen
From left to right: Fayray's Ever After, Girl Next Door's Next Future and Destination Type C, and Rev. From DVL's REAL.
From Top left to bottom left: Paris Match's Quattro, Kiroro's Kiroro no Uta 1, Team Shachihoko's Shuto Iten Keikaku, DEW's Hanazukan Bessatsu, B'z's The Best Treasure.
From Top Left to Bottom Left: Chemistry's Second to None, GLAY's Rare Collectives Vol. 1, Rails-Tereo's Piano Pop Life, Rev. From DVL's Do My Best (Regular Type B, case cracked upon arrival) and NMB48's Sekai no Chuushin wa Osaka Ya! ~Nanba Jichiku~ Theater Version
From Top Left to Bottom Left: S/Mileage's Mystery Night and Aa Susukino, Angela Aki's Today, L'Arc~En~Ciel's Real, and S/Mileage's Short Cut and Yumemiru 15-sai.
From Top Left to Bottom Left: MISIA's Greatest Hits, Matsumoto Eiko's Seasons, Chemistry's The Way We Are, Rev. From DVL's Love Arigatou (Type A Limited Edition) and The Yellow Monkey's The Night Snails and Plastic Boogie.
From Top Left to Bottom Left: Kanjani8's Zukkoke Otokomichi (Limited Edition Type A) MISIA's Ascension, Matsumoto Eiko's From the First Touch, Furuuchi Touko's Hourglass, and MISIA's Mars and Roses.
From Top to Bottom: Bird's Gokujou HYBRID, Furuuchi Touko and KREVA's A to XYZ, Suzuki Masayuki's Koibito, and SEAMO's Scrap and Build
From Top to Bottom: S/Mileage's Asu wa DATE nano ni, Imasugu koe ga kikitai (Single V Version) The Yellow Monkey's Punch Drunkard, Malice Mizer's Merveilles, and MISIA's Kiss in the Sky (Limited Edition)
Counting all the things I've spent so far there's been some buyer's remorse but knowing that JPop is something I really crave for and downloading just doesn't cut it, plus the fact that I got all of these as a bargain means that I'm still quite lucky.
Will I do it again? Probably. Will I buy again? Surely.
Until the next shipping
Stats:
Weight: 5.900 kg
Merchandise Price: 12,256 JPY (103.04 USD)
Domestic Shipping Charges : 600 JPY + 800 JPY + 304 JPY = 1,704 JPY (14.32 USD)
Shipping Price: 7,850 JPY (66 USD)
Customs Duties: 1,714 PHP (38.75 USD)
Postal Charge: 100 PHP (2.26 USD)
------------
Total: 224.37 USD (about 5.50 USD per CD)
It was a time when Christmas bonuses rein whims and I was no exception. I was under talks at that time with a local courier to reel in a planned 80 CD purchase (since I'm an avid JPop fan and CDs are my life.) Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, so I decided to purchase about half of that and do it the old fashioned way of how I imported music in my country- use a Japanese forwarder, take advantage of their lengthy storage period, and do it all the "legal" way possible.
Now I do not condone any wrongful activity to avoid any possible customs duties but at that time and during the course of the entire year, customs duties had been eating its way on my purchases and if I need to keep up with my hobby and my only vice, I need to make ways or at least lessen the damage.
It took a bit of time for me to pay for the freight (about 4 months) and the thing had been languishing in my forwarder's storage facilities. The entire thing piled up to nearly 6 kilos and I had to time in my purchases to kickstart my Sasaki Rikako photo collection as well as setting my sights in saving up for the rainy days (don't worry I had it timed; I could even send money to my parents, pay their bills, and even manage a JPop vinyl collection, though I feel guilty on all of this
)In the meantime, good news about the local customs duties payments set in, which kept the package in my forwarder's facilities for a little bit more, and ANGERME, Country Girls, and Rikako just released and updated more photos and a BD which I really can't pass up.
It stayed there till last week.
The crux of it all started when I heard that the customs commissioner of my country resigned. You know you're in a effed up country when things as like this make you act up and do something crucial. Things like this can drastically change procedures and I am not willing to go back to the old ways. So I hurriedly paid my forwarder just to settle my dues once and for all (I need to send them a thank-you email, really, they're kind.)
This is the timeline of my package from the time it got logged in Japan Post EMS:
Kind of fast right? The Philippines is about 4 hours away from Japan but to have something delivered, it could take more days, even weeks for something to get through. And even things this fast need some extra legwork.
You see, when a package decidedly will be up for customs scrutiny, it definitely goes first to CMEC (short for Central Mail Exchange Center.) As the Philippines is an inter-island country, it could take longer for someone living in the provinces to get their expedited package and even longer for packages up for customs scrutiny. However, those that live in the Metro Manila area can get their packages swiftly and safely albeit with extra legwork and some homework.
In my personal experience, a package from Tokyo will take 2 business days to reach the Philippines, and Osaka will take 3 business days. So around Monday, despite the non-status update of the package in the tracking number provided, and without answers from the EMS Customer Service personnel, I went forth to CMEC, which is about 2 hours away from where I live (counting the walking, train riding, and bus riding)
I ended up making 3 such trips in the same day.
The first I went there was in the morning, and the customs official handling the checking said that package just arrived and will not be up for scrutiny till the next day. Dampened, I went back home and emailed EMS Customer Service again just to check and see what's going on. By the time I was home, they emailed back telling my package was already ready for pickup. So without any choice, I have to go back. And mind you, all of this considering the searing heat wave, bus standing, traffic, the overtime at work (I work graveyard) and lugging around a 6 kilo package by foot by the time I was done at 5 PM.
But it was necessary; I have to go back the next day anyway and I was impatient on these things.
So after all of that hubub, here's how it looks like:
The first time I saw this thing, I never thought it would be this humongous.
My forwarder or probably the store I bought it from went the extra mile putting in a load of paper to cushion these things.
And I think it really was too much.
But I really appreciate the care; packing them individually in these EMS packets is a whole load of work. I'm still wondering do they even make a profit even?
e-Lineup's photo packing is stellar despite the 600 Yen extra charge for Sagawa Express.
I have to admit that bookoff's packing these things can really be overkill to a point but really, you can't blame them. I had a rough time transporting this thing by foot going back home.
From left to right: Onishi Yuka's Le Reve, Yokoyama Kiichi's HIT ME, and Yuuyu's Yuuyukousen
From left to right: Fayray's Ever After, Girl Next Door's Next Future and Destination Type C, and Rev. From DVL's REAL.
From Top left to bottom left: Paris Match's Quattro, Kiroro's Kiroro no Uta 1, Team Shachihoko's Shuto Iten Keikaku, DEW's Hanazukan Bessatsu, B'z's The Best Treasure.
From Top Left to Bottom Left: Chemistry's Second to None, GLAY's Rare Collectives Vol. 1, Rails-Tereo's Piano Pop Life, Rev. From DVL's Do My Best (Regular Type B, case cracked upon arrival) and NMB48's Sekai no Chuushin wa Osaka Ya! ~Nanba Jichiku~ Theater Version
From Top Left to Bottom Left: S/Mileage's Mystery Night and Aa Susukino, Angela Aki's Today, L'Arc~En~Ciel's Real, and S/Mileage's Short Cut and Yumemiru 15-sai.
From Top Left to Bottom Left: MISIA's Greatest Hits, Matsumoto Eiko's Seasons, Chemistry's The Way We Are, Rev. From DVL's Love Arigatou (Type A Limited Edition) and The Yellow Monkey's The Night Snails and Plastic Boogie.
From Top Left to Bottom Left: Kanjani8's Zukkoke Otokomichi (Limited Edition Type A) MISIA's Ascension, Matsumoto Eiko's From the First Touch, Furuuchi Touko's Hourglass, and MISIA's Mars and Roses.
From Top to Bottom: Bird's Gokujou HYBRID, Furuuchi Touko and KREVA's A to XYZ, Suzuki Masayuki's Koibito, and SEAMO's Scrap and Build
From Top to Bottom: S/Mileage's Asu wa DATE nano ni, Imasugu koe ga kikitai (Single V Version) The Yellow Monkey's Punch Drunkard, Malice Mizer's Merveilles, and MISIA's Kiss in the Sky (Limited Edition)
Counting all the things I've spent so far there's been some buyer's remorse but knowing that JPop is something I really crave for and downloading just doesn't cut it, plus the fact that I got all of these as a bargain means that I'm still quite lucky.
Will I do it again? Probably. Will I buy again? Surely.
Until the next shipping
Stats:
Weight: 5.900 kg
Merchandise Price: 12,256 JPY (103.04 USD)
Domestic Shipping Charges : 600 JPY + 800 JPY + 304 JPY = 1,704 JPY (14.32 USD)
Shipping Price: 7,850 JPY (66 USD)
Customs Duties: 1,714 PHP (38.75 USD)
Postal Charge: 100 PHP (2.26 USD)
------------
Total: 224.37 USD (about 5.50 USD per CD)
Anyway .. you didn't include the forwarder charge, commission, fees etc .. how much is it?
and it is obvious you got those from resale sellers so there should also be domestic delivery charge .. how much is that too?
These are the hidden cost which I am more wary about when I buy from Japan ..