hi all...

as the topic suggested..

maybe some of us bought their toys/model kits/replica/hobby stuff from online due to the "hard-to-get" nature of those thing... so we turn to online for sourcing...

so can anyone share your experience in dealing with these online store.

i know that some of use here prefer to get from Hobby Link Japan maybe due to their many stock and collection. or maybe due to the cheaper shipping rates? or currency rates (now RM1 = Y0.0329)

while other maybe prefer to get from a USA based retailer.

and others maybe prefer to get from Singapore (for example www.timemachine-studio.com)

or maybe your toys got stuck at Kastam.. how do you get settle it etc.. our forumer Kastam experience

what are the DO's and DONT's etc...

so can anyone share your experience because some of us here maybe (me raise my hand ) thinking of getting from online shop but just a bit paranoid about it.

thanks.. hopefully this can be helpful to all of us

kuman

This post has been edited by jhcj: Jul 3 2006, 03:10 PM

wah u keep opening new thread ah i bought my toy model from XL-shop and theres nth to worry haha good service.... and when things arrive stil in perfect condition but if from other country mostly the shipping cost are more exp than the toys itself....... so nvr try buying anything out of malaysia online store yet

I only had one internet purchace that is from lik-siang hong kong.
it's 4 MGS1 12" action figures which was on offer.
I can't remember the price but i did remember paying additional USD25 for UPS 3 day delivery.
Paid with Visa (had a long process applying for PayPal and verification process)
All in all, landed cost (inclusive of UPS) per figure was RM85, which is much much lower than what's on sale at our local shops (even if bought in a set of 4)
no tax and heck, customs didn't even bother to check the content.
I love UPS man... pricy though

Last time tried to order from this HK website for a Macross YF-19 toy which cost me abt RM300 including shipping. Bugger website swipe my credit card, issued an email saying order will be sent in the next 3 working days. Waited 1 week with no package in sight, so email the bugger, no reply, ok nevermind, call them, nobody pick up call, so decided to write to credit card company for a dispute. Money refunded, lost a few some $ due to exchange rate and no toy in the end.

Another incident, ordered some hard to find trading cards from USA, paid abt RM300 or so for the transaction including shipping by Fedex. Bugger customs withhold my package and proceeded to tax me for RM150, paid the tax but no receipt, called and made hell of a noise at the customs dept.

Those bugger customs, die far far lar.

i got once ask my freind in singapore buy and send something to me but a 500gram+ bungkusan cost me RM20++ for taxes!!!

If buy online from oversea the: price + postage + tax ???!!!

tats wat i worry........ so i onli order toy models within malaysia store

@Rusty Nail
ur mgs RM 85 per fig ? i bought it at XL for RM 40 + per fig leh or urs are diff from mine ?
http://www.xl-shop.com/xlshop/pages/produc...NAMI-340015SET7

LOL, not that one.
mine's MGS1 12" figure

Solid Snake
Liquid Snake
Meryl Silverburgh
Sniper Wolf

like these --> http://www.starstore.com/acatalog/Starstor...GURES_2077.html

wwah so big one ah...... haha my mistake

i used to buy a lot online from ebay but now stop for a while already. salary not enough to cover my household expenses... because now everything must spend on my little princess hehehe... wait until i finish my master then become a full time lecturer... then i'll go full time in ebay again.

no hard feelings here but the main reason i bought online because i was so pissed with the toys shop in kl... they simply hijack the price and come on lah i bought from ebay together with shipping still cheaper. and some cases, you are required to buy whole set and they dont sell separately.

i met a guy in ebay and for the past 3 years he's been helping me do combine shipping from texas back to malaysia. so consider save a bit on the shipping cost. but sometimes bad luck and still kena tahan by kastam.

i am waiting for my 8 new figures to show up shortly. settled with kastam ipoh last week and they taxed me rm54.

judge-the .... u always bought figure from ebay ah ? if we wan buy something there and ask u to help us pay can ar ? and of course i bank in the money to u first........ its because i dun hav creadit card but arent the shipping usually will be more than the figure itself ?

and btw i think malaysia seller must do tat la.... they hav to selll whole set ... if not i think the left over fig cant sell anymore... because who wan incomplete set leh ? and the price some shop really put it too high..... like i hav bought one AutoArts diecast Lancer Evo 6 ... it cost me RM 365 while the AutoArts jus selling at USD 50++

This post has been edited by Jackygwh: Nov 21 2005, 03:40 PM

luck you la judge-the.. its good to have someone abroad that can get a lot of those cool toys for you...

i regret not getting a lot of toys when i was there...

now i wish i have someone in Japan that can help me getting those model-kits at a much cheaper price...

this is a quotation i got from an online Japan retailer...
for a Gunze-Sanyo Mr Linear Airbrush set (regulator, compressor & handpiece)

Delivery method & cost(estimated):
A) SAL - 4300yen
AIR - 5700yen
C) EMS - 4500yen

---------------Copy & Paste End-----------------

A) SAL usually takes 2-6 weeks. (Not insured)
AIR takes 1-2 weeks. (Not insured)
C) EMS takes around 5 days.(Insured, Restricted delivery, Tracking Web

i dunno how much all of those item combined weight.. but will that be a possible approximation?
and will there be anymore increase in the cost?
hidden cost maybe?

if everything is ok... i might try to order something from HLJ.com and see how it turn out..

whats the best shipping rate from Japan to here?

thanks..

kuman

if you only buy 1 item and ships it back directly to msia... it will be expensive and not worth it. but if you buy few items and do combine shipping then you'll save a bit.

sure no prob... just pm me and we'll see how to work things out. nowadays i stop for a while buying from ebay us. already stop for 1.5 years because my daughter now is 1.5 years. i am waiting for all 8 new figures i bought about 1.5 years ago from ebay to arrive these few days. my friend in texas kept them in his home all thise while.

since i am on 18months study leave now with some study allowance monthly i'll be buying again from ebay . so if you wanna share shipping then we can always work things out later. just wait till i receive all my toys that i bought 1.5 years ago.

yeah true also cannot blame the shops selling toys in a full set. those left over sure nobody wants it.

actually i never met my friend in texas lah. i bought toys from him in ebay about 3 years ago. then he helped me with combine shipping. he will keep all my toys in his home and ships everything back here 1 shot. he already sent all my toys back here more than 5 times.

but my latest package really making me worried with sleepless night. i bought 8 figures 1.5 years ago and he kept them in his home because i cant spend on toys after my wife gave birth to our 1st child. only 2 months ago paid him the shipping cost and he ships them back here. i am still worried who knows what can happened since 1.5 years is damn long so just wait for my package these few days.

already got confirmation from pos msia and settled the kastam tax in ipoh. package should be arriving here in 2-3 days time.

I deal with HobbyLink Japan frequently....
Just purchased 3 more warships models from them....
Well, so far theres no issues dealing with them using credit card payment....
About the customs tax? They arent taxable items unless u bring it into this country in bulk....
Anyway, everytime when my package reached, the plastic sheeting in which wrapped the model kit boxe will surely been opened up and inspected by customs. ( using SAL mail )

good to hear the good experience from a customer of HLJ..
i'm thinking of getting some aircraft model from them since i calculated the total is cheaper then getting it here....

below is the calculation i made(since the HLJ provide us with the basic weight of each model)

HLJ Shipping Info Page

Calculation:
4 items (1:72 scale aircraft model kits)..

Total weight (item only): 1270g
Weight of the shipping material: 600g
Total Weight for shipment: 1870g (still less then 2Kg, can use SAL )
Total item cost: YEN 7300
Total cost for shipment: YEN 1780 (estimate to the max of 2Kg for using SAL)
TOTAL cost: YEN 7300 + 1780 = 9080 * 0.0329 = RM298.73

maybe will add in a couple more items... a marker maybe..

i guess this is going to be cheap.. will that be all the charges will be incured for the above transaction.. since the item is not taxable?

They can open the shipment just as long as they didnt take the decals for their kids.. but the feeling of not being the first to open a package sure is dissappointing..

anymore experience guys..

kuman

This post has been edited by kuman: Nov 22 2005, 08:20 AM

hey i jus compare the Japan Hobby site with Xl-Shop.... actually the price from XL are very reasonable....... its like Japan Hobby site are selling a Diecast model plane for RM 102 then XL are selling it for RM 128.... i think its reasonable..... if we plus all the shipping cost and worry bout our toys kena "tax" and everything... i stil prefer to buy it from XL... even the diff's are up to RM 50

Hobby Japan
http://www.hlj.com/product/DRA50007

XL-Shop
http://www.xl-shop.com/xlshop/pages/produc...ctId=DRA-500052

But the problem is XL stock are very limited and theres not many.... but if we all wanna order sth from Hobby Japan i think we can share the shipping cost then that will be the best

Kuman, i would suggest that you dont calculate the actual figure as if you are purchasing through credit card. This is because your merchant / credit card bank will do the conversion for you. (it might be higher or lower than the actual cost) Anyway, those prices stated in HLJ are only meant for reference only. For instance, i calculated my 3 ships that i bought from HLJ was about RM150++ but in actual fact, i was only charged RM143++ by my credit card bank.


Jackygwh, about sharing the shipping cost together, i think its a good idea but im afraid that the customs might not release our shipment because they would say we bring it in bulk.
Perhaps, they would tax us.

maybe the credit car is using an updated currency exchange but at least we can have an estimated cost then can compare with the credit card.. in your case then its good for you since the cost charged is lower then expected..

Jackygwh
Ya.. i also heard about Kastam not really like the bulk thing.. and will tax us for it.. another thing is that.. if we're living in the same are then ok laa.. if we're far apart... then have to courier through Poslaju would incur some additional charges...

as for the local shop.. yup the stock and selection is a lil limited.. but we certainly save on the shipping cost though..

my 0.0329 YEN --> current currency exchange for YEN
kuman

haha ..... but post laju oni RM 10 cheap and realiable but as for the kastam.... if we bring in diff toy model then tat should not be tax ma rite ? cause one type each.......

hmmm..

so far it seems that most of the ppl here having a great experience with Hobby Link Japan (HLJ).. so i guess i'm goint o get some stuff from them and hoep that everything is smooth sailiing for my order..

as for Kastam, they didnt tax toys.. as long as it's not in bulk..
and if ANYTHING might go wrong with kastam, i guess Kastam Penang is the place to go since i'm my address would be in Kedah... and Penang Airport will be the entry point.... right?

off to HLJ..

kuman