Possible group buy for Magical Chase soundtrack

[Bardoly]

Since there has been a lot of interest in the new Magical Chase soundtrack release,


Pic borrowed from Shadow.


Allrighty, here's the scoop.

To purchase one Magical Chase soundtrack CD from cdJapan costs 2500 yen, which at today's exchange rate equals about $25.63.

Their shipping charge options for one cd shipped to me in northwest Indiana are as follows:



FedEx International Priority: 1700 yen = ~ $17.43  -  total = ~ $43.06
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 days
Full Online Tracking
Signature Required

Express Mail Service (EMS): 1200 yen = ~ $12.30  -  total = ~ $37.93
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 days
Full Online Tracking
Signature Required

Registered Air Mail: 1160 yen = ~ $11.89  -  total = ~ $37.52
Average Delivery Time: 4-12 days (may take up to 8 weeks)
Online Tracking Available Partially
Signature Required

Air Mail: 750 yen = ~ $7.69  -  total = ~ $33.32
Average Delivery Time: 4-12 days (may take up to 8 weeks)
Online Tracking Not Available
Signature Not Required

SAL: 500 yen = ~ $5.13  -  total = ~ $30.76 - this is the cheapest option
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 weeks (may take up to 12 weeks)
Online Tracking Not Available
Signature Not Required

Registered SAL: 910 yen = ~ $9.33  -  total = ~ $34.96
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 weeks (may take up to 12 weeks)
Online Tracking Available Partially
Signature Required

cdJapan showed the exchange rate cost to me to be about 0.75% cheaper than the above price when I made an order to test the costs.
But, even when choosing to pay with my bank account, Paypal added about 2.7% to the above price when I made an order to test the costs.


To purchase 10 copies of the Magical Chase soundtrack CD from cdJapan costs 25000 yen, which at today's exchange rate equals about $256.30.

Their shipping charge options for 10 CDs shipped to me in northwest Indiana are as follows:



FedEx International Priority: 2540 yen = ~ $26.04  -  total = ~ $282.34 or $28.24 per CD
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 days
Full Online Tracking
Signature Required

Express Mail Service (EMS): 5000 yen = ~ $51.26  -  total = ~ $307.56 or $30.76 per CD
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 days
Full Online Tracking
Signature Required

Registered Air Mail: 3420 yen = ~ $35.06  -  total = ~ $291.36 or $29.14 per CD
Average Delivery Time: 4-12 days (may take up to 8 weeks)
Online Tracking Available Partially
Signature Required

Air Mail: 3010 yen = ~ $30.86  -  total = ~ $287.16 or $28.72 per CD
Average Delivery Time: 4-12 days (may take up to 8 weeks)
Online Tracking Not Available
Signature Not Required

SAL: 1700 yen = ~ $17.43  -  total = ~ $273.73 or $27.37 per CD - this is the cheapest option
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 weeks (may take up to 12 weeks)
Online Tracking Not Available
Signature Not Required

Registered SAL: 2110 yen = ~ $21.63  -  total = ~ $277.93 or $27.79 per CD
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 weeks (may take up to 12 weeks)
Online Tracking Available Partially
Signature Required

cdJapan showed the exchange rate cost to me to be about 0.75% cheaper than the above price when I made an order to test the costs.
But, even when choosing to pay with my bank account, Paypal added about 2.7% to the above price when I made an order to test the costs.


Then, to ship out within America, add $1 for a bubble mailer and $2-3 (for purposes of this exercise, I'll round to $2.50) for the post office shipping charge.
This brings the cheapest option to $30.87 which is very slightly more expensive than the cheapest option when ordering from them direct.  


To purchase 25 copies of the Magical Chase soundtrack CD from cdJapan costs 62500 yen, which at today's exchange rate equals about $640.75.

Their shipping charge options for 25 CDs shipped to me in northwest Indiana are as follows:



FedEx International Priority: 5650 yen = ~ $57.92  -  total = ~ $698.67 or $27.95 per CD - this is the cheapest option
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 days
Full Online Tracking
Signature Required

Express Mail Service (EMS): 8800 yen = ~ $90.22  -  total = ~ $730.97 or $29.24 per CD
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 days
Full Online Tracking
Signature Required

SAL ParcelPost: 8000 yen = ~ $82.02  -  total = ~ $722.77 or $28.91 per CD
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 weeks (may take up to 12 weeks)
Online Tracking Available Partially
Signature Required

cdJapan showed the exchange rate cost to me to be about 0.75% cheaper than the above price when I made an order to test the costs.
But, even when choosing to pay with my bank account, Paypal added about 2.7% to the above price when I made an order to test the costs.


Then, to ship out within America, add $1 for a bubble mailer and $2-3 (for purposes of this exercise, I'll round to $2.50) for the post office shipping charge.
This brings the cheapest option to $31.45 which is still slightly more expensive than the cheapest option when ordering from them direct.  


To purchase 30 copies (maximum order size) of the Magical Chase soundtrack CD from cdJapan costs 75000 yen, which at today's exchange rate equals about $768.90.

Their shipping charge options for 25 CDs shipped to me in northwest Indiana are as follows:



FedEx International Priority: 6310 yen = ~ $64.69  -  total = ~ $833.59 or $27.78 per CD - this is the cheapest option
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 days
Full Online Tracking
Signature Required

Express Mail Service (EMS): 9400 yen = ~ $96.37  -  total = ~ $865.27 or $28.84 per CD
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 days
Full Online Tracking
Signature Required

SAL ParcelPost: 9490 yen = ~ $97.292  -  total = ~ $866.19 or $28.87 per CD
Average Delivery Time: 1-3 weeks (may take up to 12 weeks)
Online Tracking Available Partially
Signature Required

cdJapan showed the exchange rate cost to me to be about 0.75% cheaper than the above price when I made an order to test the costs.
But, even when choosing to pay with my bank account, Paypal added about 2.7% to the above price when I made an order to test the costs.


Then, to ship out within America, add $1 for a bubble mailer and $2-3 (for purposes of this exercise, I'll round to $2.50) for the post office shipping charge.
This brings the cheapest option to $31.28 per CD which is still $0.52 more expensive than the cheapest option when ordering from them direct.  


This exercise has shown me that the only way to make a group buy for this be cost effective would be if one could cut out the ~$3.50 for the U.S. shipping (packaging materials included), so maybe the people coming to The Video Game Summit in July would like to do a group buy and pick up their copies at VGS?

Thoughts?  Ideas?

[ElSeven]

I'm interested in a copy and will be at VGS to pick it up, if needed.

[tggodfrey]

I would be interested in a copy for VGS.

[Necromancer]

I'm too anti-social to go to VGS, so I guess I'm gonna have to sit this one out and go it alone.

.... so ronery. 

[Arkhan]

I want one, but I am not going to VGS.   GIMME SOUNDTRACKS! *pew pew*

[DarkKobold]

Just as a heads up, most credit cards charge a currency conversion fee. You may need to add that into your cost per item.

[Aggie Tsubi]

That's a shame that buying in bulk doesn't help much, although I'm really digging the current exchange rate. It's amazing how much it's dropped recently after years of it being so lousy. Being able to buy a brand new OST for $30 is fantastic.

[chany60126]

I am definitely interested, count me in!