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  #1  
Old Sep 6, 2016, 04:29 PM
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leatherhead333 leatherhead333 is offline
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Default CDjapan/Fedex getting more expensive each year?

I took quite a long break from importing anime CDs due to me not thinking about regular expenses before buying.

Now that I'm back I've noticed that it seems importing from my favorite site is noticeable more expensive than I remember. Just trying to import 2 regular CDs seems to cost close to 90 bucks when it used to only be a little above 70 when I bought stuff before. That might not seem like much but when you are a frequent buyer obviously that adds up. Sure it's nice that Fedex can reliably get you your CDs the day of or sometimes before the release date but unfortunately the raising of shipping costs is kind of driving me away from them. I'm going to try out EMS for a while since they are the next best thing. Everything else is kind of sketchy looking lol.

Note: I noticed that for some reason certain CDs caused Fedex to charge roughly 10 more dollars than EMS but others only 3. I can't tell why this as they are from this months lineup but I'll see if it's because of a specific company in the future.
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  #2  
Old Sep 6, 2016, 06:25 PM
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Japan Post increased the prices of EMS and Surface Mail on June 1st. EMS now costs 2000/2200 yen to North America and Europe.

I would recommend Amazon.co.jp since they don't seem to rely on Japan Post. They still charge only 1050yen for international 3-4 day shipping (to the US, at least). You also get a pre-order price guarantee which often saves me an additional ~400yen.

One of my upcoming orders would have cost 4200yen from a seller like CDJapan but with Amazon it only costs me 2821yen.

And by the way, it's supposed to be 3-4 day shipping but I usually get packages 1-2 days after release. They use DHL over here.

Last edited by cal; Sep 6, 2016 at 06:37 PM.
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  #3  
Old Sep 6, 2016, 09:22 PM
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TerraEpon TerraEpon is offline
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Exchange rate difference is also a factor. It was up around 120yen/dollar for well over a year until dropping down drastically in February, where it eventually settled much closer to 100yen/dollar since July.
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  #4  
Old Sep 7, 2016, 08:27 AM
Boyblunder Boyblunder is offline
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Amazon JP are the worst for UK shipping, forcing me to use FedEX (minimum £45) shipping service.
Amazon UK are the only company here who CHARGE for delivery, which is why I refuse to use them anymore. Banging on about Amazon Prime and charging a delivery subscription to their customers for me is an absolute disgrace.
I'm pretty much done with Amazon on all levels, I can't stand them.
CDJapan are decent but ALWAYS put the invoice in the docs so I get screwed for customs fees even tho I specifically ask them not to.
CDJapan are for me the cheapest overall I guess but Otaku are to me the most reliable and give me what I want.
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  #5  
Old Sep 7, 2016, 09:13 AM
LiquidAcid LiquidAcid is offline
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I've used SAL for shipping with CDJapan for as long as I can remember, and I can recommend it to anyone who prioritises cost over shipping time. Takes around 4 weeks to Germany, where one week is time spend in customs. Point here is, this one week doesn't significantly change if I opt for more expensive services. So it's always 1wk + X and personally I'm not willing to spend insane amounts to reduce X to one or two days.

At some point you really stop caring if it takes one or four weeks. Nowadays I just place an order and usually forget about it after a week. I just enjoy it when a package arrives eventually. I don't wait anymore, as in counting days or constantly checking the tracking page.

And no horror stories to report about lost shipments and stuff. In fact the only times where packages got lost was when I used EMS, but that was not with CDJ.
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  #6  
Old Sep 7, 2016, 10:11 AM
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Illidan Illidan is offline
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Can recommend Amazon JP if you want your stuff fast and at a reasonable price. No idea where you live but they always used DHL for me and they arrive here in a couple days.
In case you're in a country with custom fees, they charge it beforehand so you don't have any surprises when you get the package, and you actually end up paying slightly less than what DHL would normally charge you when ordering from other places.

Personally I generally prefer SAL with CDJapan since most of the times I don't really care about having something the day it's out. Saves a lot of money in the long run since often SAL packages do not get custom fees here.

TerraEpon is probably right about the changes you're seeing from last year though, the exchange rate has definitely been pretty bad for importing lately.
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  #7  
Old Sep 10, 2016, 07:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Illidan View Post
Can recommend Amazon JP if you want your stuff fast and at a reasonable price. No idea where you live but they always used DHL for me and they arrive here in a couple days.
In case you're in a country with custom fees, they charge it beforehand so you don't have any surprises when you get the package, and you actually end up paying slightly less than what DHL would normally charge you when ordering from other places.

Personally I generally prefer SAL with CDJapan since most of the times I don't really care about having something the day it's out. Saves a lot of money in the long run since often SAL packages do not get custom fees here.

TerraEpon is probably right about the changes you're seeing from last year though, the exchange rate has definitely been pretty bad for importing lately.
That's always been my issue unfortunately. I'm kind of impatient about this kind of stuff and tend to want instant gratification. If I'm getting something old I do usually use SAL but I tend to just get ongoing stuff these days so that option is less tempting. I'll break free of that bad habit eventually.................maybe :P.

I'll try out Amazon soon though it appears that digital downloads don't seem to work for me. I tried to get this http://vgmdb.net/album/56398 and it kept denying me. Do have to do something weird with my address if I live in America?
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  #8  
Old Sep 10, 2016, 08:36 PM
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They don't sell digital overseas so you need to buy a gift card and use a jap address. nextday posted a nice guide here, I *think* it should still work but not really sure since I don't usually buy digital.
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Last edited by Illidan; Sep 10, 2016 at 08:43 PM.
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  #9  
Old Sep 10, 2016, 11:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Illidan View Post
They don't sell digital overseas so you need to buy a gift card and use a jap address. nextday posted a nice guide here, I *think* it should still work but not really sure since I don't usually buy digital.
It still works as of earlier this year. I don't think there's anything they could do to stop it from working.
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  #10  
Old Sep 11, 2016, 06:34 AM
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Alcahest Alcahest is offline
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Also in the CDJ SAL camp (registered SAL to be precise).
And since amazon.co.jp indeed pre-charges custom fees, that makes them just not an option. I must get striked 2 out of 10 packages for customs, there's no regularity whatsoever where I live (or I'm a super lucky bastard, which I doubt) so having AmazonJP strike me in advance for every single order is beyond retarded for me to even consider.

This is a recent change btw (the amazon custom precharge), I used to order from them when this nonsense wasn't implemented.
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  #11  
Old Sep 11, 2016, 06:41 AM
Boyblunder Boyblunder is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alcahest View Post
Also in the CDJ SAL camp (registered SAL to be precise).
And since amazon.co.jp indeed pre-charges custom fees, that makes them just not an option. I must get striked 2 out of 10 packages for customs, there's no regularity whatsoever where I live (or I'm a super lucky bastard, which I doubt) so having AmazonJP strike me in advance for every single order is beyond retarded for me to even consider.

This is a recent change btw (the amazon custom precharge), I used to order from them when this nonsense wasn't implemented.
lol this is exactly my feelings towards them. Customs don't check every single parcel. I get stung maybe 1 or 2/10 for customs fees. Plus I should be able to choose my shipping method, if it gets lost cos I chose SAL then my tough shit. Its almost verging on £35-£45 postage for 1 CD, absolute laughable nonsensical rubbish. I won't use amazon uk or amazon JP again.

Last edited by Boyblunder; Sep 11, 2016 at 11:40 PM.
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  #12  
Old Sep 11, 2016, 06:55 AM
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Depends on the country I guess. With SAL (registered or not doesn't matter, I do use registered most of the time though) I get charged about 80% of the time, while every other method (Airmail, EMS, or any company like DHL, Fedex, whatever) is 100%.

Shipping from Amazon is not that bad for me, it's usually pretty much the same as RSAL from cdjapan for small orders (if not cheaper), plus the import deposit but there's no way you're getting around that with DHL, at least here.
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  #13  
Old Sep 11, 2016, 07:54 AM
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In Canada, if I use EMS it gets delivered to me here via Canada Post. I usually don't get dinged for customs as they don't always flag everything going through for duty charges. but if I choose FedEx I will always get charged, same with ordering via Amazon Japan because they use DHL over here to deliver. I've also found for me DHL service is not that great.
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  #14  
Old Sep 11, 2016, 11:26 AM
Andvari Andvari is offline
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Amazon JP is good i've used them before DHL is awesome I usually get it in 2 days to the States and they charge 11 something for shipping which is great also CDj is ok if you want to get stuff on the day of release i almost always use Fedex unless i'm getting a single then i'll use EMS
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