Shipping without EMS from Japan-is it a disaster?...

[dave4shmups]

So there's an item that I want to buy from Japan, and the store is offering EMS shipping, which I know is very fast and efficient, because I've used it before.

However, with this particular item, it would almost double the bill. I don't mind waiting longer for the item to arrive from Japan, but I do wonder if not using EMS is as safe; in terms of the item getting lost-which I definitely don't want to happen!

[brokenhalo]

So there's an item that I want to buy from Japan, and the store is offering EMS shipping, which I know is very fast and efficient, because I've used it before.

However, with this particular item, it would almost double the bill. I don't mind waiting longer for the item to arrive from Japan, but I do wonder if not using EMS is as safe; in terms of the item getting lost-which I definitely don't want to happen!

i've used SAL on a few packages from japan. other than it taking about 4 weeks for delivery, there wasn't any issue.

[njiska]

Yeah same here. Airmail, is airmail. It's generally reliable, just very, very slow. My SAL purchases took 2-6 weeks to arrive. Definitely be on the higher end this time of year. Usually I'd just try to find more to buy to justify EMS than take the wait of SAL.

[spadgy]

As with the guys above, on cheaper items I've gone with SAL, and its slowness has been the only issue.

Still, best to go with EMS if you're spending enough for it to concern you.

[louisg]

I've shipped ~$15-$20 items from Japan with cheap shipping and it eventually arrived. But if it's a hard to find item, I'd go with EMS

[undamned]

if it's a hard to find item, I'd go with EMS

That's basically the rule I use. Most stuff I buy from YAJ is bulky and not worth billions of dollars, so I go by boat on most things. If it's something crazy rare or uber expensive that I would forever regret if it got lost, EMS it is.
-ud

[rancor]

<----- see that 300+ feedback over there? 99% of those are from non-EMS orders. It works. However, you're gonna wait at least two weeks for arrival - Maybe 4 if you live on the east coast of the US.

[dave4shmups]

OK, thanks for the opinions and info!

[Observer]

Contributing to the thread:

Does your country support the Track & Trace system? For some godsend reason we developed it with the Japanese so we use the same and registered Air Mail packages are not only far cheaper than EMS, I can track them through Track & Trace, that's how awesome (albeit slow) it is! Because, let's be honest, the yen is like freaking high right now so I understand those saved bucks matter!

The small problem is that some stores won't give you the tracking for SAL (I gues out of pure lack of knowledge on this or because, well, EMS is the say-no-more in case something gets fucked up). CDJapan does though, which is why I use them quite a bit.

[GaijinPunch]

I send tons of packages, and quite a few of them are SAL, airmail,and boat. They all make it... some in better shape than others, so your mileage may vary. Generally if it's packed well, I find it's not an issue. I've only lost a few packages, and those are to miscellaneous countries with shoddy postal practices. To America you should be fine.

EDIT: I need to start selling on here more before rancor catches up with me.

[Gingerzilla]

I live in Japan and I use EMS all the time to send stuff to my family overseas. It is a very good service. Perhaps it could be a little quicker but I love the fact that it all gets to where it is going safe not sorry. So I say it's A OK
Hope that helps.

[Pyongyang]

I've used a range of Japan Post services; EMS, SAL, 'Printed Matter' and just recently Sea Mail. All arrived just fine.

As with the comments above, if you're prepared to wait it out then use something other than EMS. Sometimes though EMS is actually the cheaper option. Also, if it's something valuable or hard to find, look at it this way, you've likely paid a lot of money for the item(s) so what's the issue spending more on making sure the package is tracked and insured?

The only time I'd recommend Sea Mail is to save a fortune when ordering lots of items in one go, or when you exceed the EMS or Air Mail weight limits. Sure it took just over 2 months for my stuff to arrive, but it arrived undamaged (and somehow skipped customs ).

Bottom line I guess is use the postage method appropriate to the situation.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Many years ago, I had won an auction for a PC Engine joystick off of eBay from a seller whom resided in Japan. The ending auction was at a mere $20.00 USD but with the chosen shipping method, EMS shipping from Japan to the USA, it was more than the item itself...a whopping $55.00! It arrived mighty quick and had to personally sign for it as a smoking hot photogenic female mail carrier (she was endowed with a sexy hourglass figure with an ample rack as well - hot damn!) delivered it to my front door. It was well worth it in the end, especially with some bonus "eye candy" for that added sex appeal/factor. I thanked her for her time to deliver it.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[undamned]

It arrived mighty quick and had to personally sign for it as a smoking hot female mail carrier...

You had to dress up as a lady to sign for it?
-ud

[PC Engine Fan X!]

You got me there ud. Lol, it was the gal whom made the delivery and not the "other" way around. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Ed Oscuro]

Yeah, those mail carriers can sure be cute in their dress uniforms indeed ^_~

Anyway, I would make sure first to arrange with the person sending the package to have it be sturdy. No bubble mailers for cardboard boxes.

I don't know if SAL or EMS either would have saved the two tube monitors I've had sent out. At this point I forget how they were sent, although the X68000 one had a return address from the USS Kitty Hawk That was my intermediary at the time. That package wasn't totally destroyed but it didn't do very well, despite being in a relatively sturdy cardboard box.

You shouldn't be importing that kind of hazardous waste anyway, though. Plenty of mostly compatible monitors to be had domestically.

[drauch]

I always ship SAL as well. I've never had a problem with it. Just bought a kinda pricey figure and debated going the EMS route, but yeah--shit's expensive.

[AweOfShe]

I haven't had a problem with SAL/Airmail myself, though I noticed I usually end up having to pay a customs tax on some of my orders, which I haven't had to pay whenever I used EMS. Not sure how it ends up like that though, since I'm pretty ignorant to customs policies.

[Austin]

Airmail is fine for games. Consoles though I personally wouldn't risk it.

[cools]

The only thing I've ever had go missing from Japan was by EMS. But it got lost in the UK.

EMS/SAL/SEA all fine just different speed.

[greg]

I haven't had a problem with SAL/Airmail myself, though I noticed I usually end up having to pay a customs tax on some of my orders, which I haven't had to pay whenever I used EMS. Not sure how it ends up like that though, since I'm pretty ignorant to customs policies.

You're Canadian. They like to charge customs a lot. Not sure about the disparity between regular and EMS, though. Americans don't get charged customs the way Canadians do.

[GaijinPunch]

You got me there ud. Lol, it was the gal whom made the delivery and not the "other" way around. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I've seen quite a few films with this as the main pretense of the story. I hope ended for you as well as it did for that guy receiving that package and the gal receiving his package.

You're Canadian. They like to charge customs a lot.

The Germans are the worst. I have to jump through flaming hoops to get packages there.

[nZero]

The only thing I've ever had go missing from Japan was by EMS. But it got lost in the UK.

Same here, except that according to the tracking information mine never made it out of Japan. Considering the sheer amount of mail that I've received or sent from Japan, that's still an extremely high success rate.

[NTSC-J]

I once shipped a box of magazines with SAL back to my home in the states that took months to arrive, and when it finally did come it went to the university I was attending (not my home address as I had written on the package) in a different box, and was filled with a few of the magazines I had sent plus a bunch of Hamburger Helper and photos from someone's trip to Japan.

Go with the EMS.

[RaidenViper]

Never had any problems with regular airmail from Japan. Normally it arrives faster than EMS.

[CIT]

I shipped five boxes from Japan surface mail once. A week later everything arrived in Germany. Go figure.

[undamned]

I once shipped a box of magazines with SAL back to my home in the states that took months to arrive, and when it finally did come it went to the university I was attending (not my home address as I had written on the package) in a different box, and was filled with a few of the magazines I had sent plus a bunch of Hamburger Helper and photos from someone's trip to Japan.

Haha, I remember that story
-ud

[MX7]

I've only used EMS once. Was ridiculously expensive and took ages. Most standard delivery stuff I get from Japan comes well packaged, and generally only takes a bit over a week. Even if it does take 4 weeks or so, think of it this way; if you've lived your life thus far without those J-pop LPs, another month isn't going to kill you. Globalisation seems to have led to some kind of expectation of instant gratification. I'm still getting over the awesomeness of being able to buy things on the Internet.

[gabe]

The small problem is that some stores won't give you the tracking for SAL (I gues out of pure lack of knowledge on this or because, well, EMS is the say-no-more in case something gets fucked up). CDJapan does though, which is why I use them quite a bit.

My understanding of this is that not all SAL packages are "registered" and thus not all are trackable. Registered SAL is my shipment method of choice, as it offers a nice balance of track-ability, speed, and value (I'm in the US). The only downfall is that it has a 2kg weight limit.

[AweOfShe]

You're Canadian. They like to charge customs a lot. Not sure about the disparity between regular and EMS, though. Americans don't get charged customs the way Canadians do.

Huh, I kinda figured that was the case. On the plus side, I can use EMS pretty consistently now, ever since I moved here to BC (from Winnipeg). EMS costs were a nightmare for me, when I lived out in the boonies.

I THINK the customs charge whenever I used SAL, were for any orders I made over ~$150 to ~$200, because I know when I bought a single game from rancor or Play-Asia, there was never any additional charge. But with the bigger orders I make on Amiami using SAL, I end up having to pay an additional $20 - $30 customs.