HobbyLink Japan

[modelcarmaster16]

i dont get it from hlj it doesnt tell me how much shipping is.how do you guys work things in hlj.

[Tea]

There is a shipping estimate along with size measures for each product

you are looking at about 20% to 40% off the total shipping charge if you order 2 or more items.

When everything you order is in stock they will process with payments and work out a shipping charge till then.

Make a note that unless they got every single item on your list or it has been too long a wait (over 2 months) they will not ship,

but of cuz you could always ask for a partial shipment

just my experience with them

PS: they pack REALLY GOOD, everything arrived undamaged at all and it probably took me more time to unpack than for them to pack.

[modelcarmaster16]

when i put my street adress AND EVRYTHING IT SAYS THIS........


We've got your order! Thank you very much!

Be sure to watch your mailbox for important e-mail from us.

Please note that this order will not be entered into our accounting systems and online order status system until June 13. At that time, we will send you an order confirmation message with your order number and other information.




do i have to wait for them to send me something?then i could buy the item?

[935k3]

They will send another E-mail stating that your order has been shipped,they will also give you a tracking number. It will show the cost of item and shipping in Yen.

[modelcarmaster16]

so they will ship it first then ill have to pay cuz i ont think it will work like that.they dont even give ma adress so i could send the money.

[modelcarmaster16]

ops sorry my bad just checked my email.it told me evrything i needed to know

[Tea]

it can be confusing for the first time
At least it confused me

"send money"?
are you mailing a check or money order to Japan?
This process takes longer tho

Why not use credit card?
If not, Paypal is also a good choice.

[exhaust smoke]

I find the HLJ FAQ section is pretty comprehensive. If not they will be happy to entertain your questions.

[doraemon]

yes, they take their time to tell you the final shipping price, but at least... you can see the shipping cost of each item by ups or sal, an if you want airmail instead of SAL, you must add a 20% (i think) and by EMS another %, aI dont remember, after this... if there are various items, you get a total discount of 20 or 30% more or less, this way... you have an idea of the shipping cost, hobbysearch is diferent, like they dont say any shipping cost.... for a decal clear of 5 sheets for printer, a polyester putty 120grs, tamiya putty 40grs, and a F-1 jordan 191 I've been charged 3700 yens!!! wich are....more or less... 31.5$ of shipping!!!!, I've never thought of such a expensive shipping, eventhough its trhough EMS, cause they say that SAL or Airmail takes about 1 or 2 months... and.... airmail from japan takes only a week to my house in spain, and sal only 17days exactly, so... 1 or 2 months.. makes me think about surface instead sal or airmail, and like surface is the worst... I have to select EMS, so.... eventhough they have better prices than hlj.... hlj is better since you can select airmail or sal, get the item in a reasonable time... and with good shipping costs. that's all folks

[Tea]

Umm....Ya, shipping can be a bitch on top of the nicely priced items.

I got my package about 9 days after I received my shipping notice from HLJ, and that was done with SAL. (ships do move fast lol )

Only con is that it is untrackable, (possibily uninsured??)

[chaos]

Originally posted by exhaust smoke
I find the HLJ FAQ section is pretty comprehensive. If not they will be happy to entertain your questions.

True - the FAQ is comprehensive to a point. But, as far as them entertaining any questions - I wouldn't depend on that. They took quite some time to get back to me on a shipping quote (cos I wanted to make sure I was pricing the order correctly) and the reply did not specify a shipping estimate as I queried.

[SwooshICE]

hey i m in canada and is wondering how much they charge for custom tax (or do they not charge at all)??

[doraemon]

I've never readed anything about taxes in the faq, but i my country there is no taxes charges, so... I cannot say it 100% sure, about shipping costs... I know, ebay sellers allways can say a shipping costs, sometimes a bit higher, but at least... you know exactly what are you gonna pay for the s&h, not in hobbylink or hobbysearch, as I said.... the last order to hobbysearch only for a 1/20 f1, a 120grs polyester putty and a 40grs tamiya putty, and 5 sheets of clear decal papers... they charged me about 36$!!!!!, pfffffff too much, but they almost charge you the same for EMS than for airmail or sal, so.... I only order here thinks that I dont found anywhere else, the first order was before knowing ebay, and this one for the reason told before, I didnt found the decals anywhere

[Tea]

I am also in Canada.

I was charged the GST and PST, and $5 handling fee,
total would have been about 20% of the total purchase.

After doing the math, it was still cheaper to get it from HLJ.


hope this helps

[Dublinguy]

Hi Guys,

You all seem to be a little confused as to how to work out your shipping costs from HLJ or Hobby Search. Well firstly I would like to say I have only ordered from HLJ and found them exceptional.

Here is how it works, firstly when you place an order with them they will forward a copy of the order to you, this will not include the shipping costs simply because no has started packing your order. When they have physically packed and shipped your order they will send you another email to inform you so its from this date that you can expect your order and also they will tell you the cost of the shipping.

Now how they work out the shipping is this and I am open to correction on this. For an SAL package if the weight (inclusive of packaging, normally around 400g) is under 2KG and the Height + Length + Width is less then 90 cm then the most you will pay is 1080yen. So in HLJ they give you the weight and dimensions (Were applicable) of each item. Sal is perfectly fine even though they say it can take upto 2 months my last order arrived in two weeks to Ireland and it was in perfect condition.

HLj will also put items into the kit box to save on space and are even considerate enough to put a post-it on the kit box to tell you this. My last order was a 98 Monte Carlo Impreza, TS-50 spray paint, 1200 grit Sand paper and Modelers Decal fit. The Shipping came to 1080yen. Which Im sure you will agree is pretty reasonable. The whole lot including shipping was about €30, €5 less the average cost of a kit in the only decent hobby shop in Dublin.

So when you order from either of these companies use HLJ as a guide as to what the weights and dimensions are. A rough guide though is 2 kits and a couple of extras like rubbing compound sand paper and the like can fit in a SAL pack for about 1080 yen.

Ciaran

PS hope that helps a little and like I said I am open to correction