Surugaya-a-too :how reliable are they on orders?

[SignOfZeta]

If you mean Surugaya-a-too, then I've done business with them through Rakuten and generally been pleased. Haven't done much back and forth communication with them, only confirmed orders etc but they do take a while to respond and ship out sometimes. Maybe up to 2-3 days?

That said, mostly bought games/books/LDs and not more fragile things like figures etc. There have been times where I've ended up getting loose games, but those times I haven't read the description properly, or Rakuten's automatic translation done a poor job.


If we're talking about the same shop, they do only offer EMS shipping, to my knowledge at least, so be prepared for those shipping costs.

Also worth remembering as they only use EMS and state the actual purchase price of the item I got shazammed! with import duties here in the UK!  Not only with import tax but I also got whacked with a flat handling fee levied by the uk postal service as they handled an insured EMS parcel. Around £19 in changes for £45 of goods!

As this was the first time I have been hit with import changes for a good while it has put me off using them again.

However the items came perfectly packaged and as described on the site.

I'm in the US so customs are almost a non-issue. However a typical order from this shop for me consists of me paying $180 to ship $80 worth of stuff since EMS from Japan for something as heavy as a 13 disc LD box is very expensive. I don't give a crap though because the prices are incredibly low, very close to free in some cases. When you buy LDs from this shop you are basically paying by the pound. The only reason why the shipping is more than the purchase price is because the purchase price is incredibly low.

[DragonmasterDan]

I've ordered from them before, the biggest problem is shipping. They have to come back to you with a shipping quote and it usually takes a while. I think I paid 20.00 to ship a 15.00 item at one point . It was something I really wanted though so I'm not too upset.

[ProfessorProfessorson]

Yeah this really is a snails pace kind of transaction. It almost makes me wonder if they actually have the stuff in stock all the time, or if they are some business that just buys tons of stuff in from Yahoo Japan auctions and just list the items for sale in anticipation of their eventual arrival. At any rate, its been since Saturday, if I dont hear anything by Sunday I will shoot them one last message then move along to a more reliable seller if I dont hear anything back by a day or two of that. I just want someone to take mah cash and send me games. Shouldn't be this complicated, even for a seller/business in Japan.

edit: if anyone else knows of any other sellers with decent prices on import Saturn stuff shoot me a pm.

[ProfessorProfessorson]

So a update on this, just to dispel any thought that the reason for slow replies is due to language barrier, I sent a short brief message in Japanese asking if order was processed and shipping quote was ready. I made sure to send the email so that they would get it early in the afternoon their time. At any rate, they did not reply, and I'd say if they don't by this evening then their slowness definitely has nothing to do with any language barrier.

[SignOfZeta]

You might as well just forget it then if you're that impatient. They are really really slow but otherwise pretty great. If you need that 15 year old Saturn game to ship TODAY then go to eBay and pay twice as much.

[xelement5x]

I've used the Japanese storefront with a proxy for a couple LD ROMs and they looked amazing when I finally got them.  The lack of pictures is a bummer, but you kind of have to roll the dice.  Also, buy in bulk if you can since the shipping can get kind of crazy on any international stuff.

[ProfessorProfessorson]

You might as well just forget it then if you're that impatient. They are really really slow but otherwise pretty great. If you need that 15 year old Saturn game to ship TODAY then go to eBay and pay twice as much.

One day is one thing, 6 is another. 10 is basically my max limit, and thats with at least some bare bones communication going on. I also neglected to mention I placed a separate order prior to this one that they could not process due to a internal issue between them and supposedly how Rakuten handles customer info. My old Rakuten account info could not be updated with my new address correctly, so ship to and billing info did not match, so I had to make a new account and place the order again which resolved it.

If they don't reply back to the newest email in a day or two with a simple yes or no answer it wont be due to any language barrier, it is simply them kind of being slow/shoddy business ethic, or just not having the stuff actually in stock and not wanting to reply until they do. It reminds me of Rising Stuff really, but with no Americunts at the helm. It's not like I am just ordering a couple of $5 items either, it is a decent order, so you would think they would be a bit more motivated to process it after a few days and get my money.


Also Zeta, no offense, but for you to say they are "really really great" after basically ripping you off on a laserdisc set seems kind of odd, unless of course you like that kind of customer service anyway....

[Arkhan]

It reminds me of Rising Stuff really, but with no Americunts at the helm.

FallingJunk!

BEST YEAR EVRRRRRRRRR

[ProfessorProfessorson]

It reminds me of Rising Stuff really, but with no Americunts at the helm.

FallingJunk!

BEST YEAR EVRRRRRRRRR

I liked when they threatened to sue me for slander. BEST YEAR EVRRRRRRRRR

[Arkhan]

I liked when they threatened to sue me for slander. BEST YEAR EVRRRRRRRRR

I liked when Alex Wilson acted like he was doing me a favor because he ordered a bunch of untested PC-98s that he didn't even know how to hook up, and expected me to buy one.

Yeah right.

Wonder what that chucklef*ck is up to right now.   His Japanese Waifururu is probably beating him senseless with a kendo sword or something for being a failure.

[DarkKobold]

I've ordered twice from them, and my friend twice. It was always a ~9 day wait. One of my friends was in the $300 range. I don't think the money matters.

Auc-egames ships next day, but their prices are much higher.

I like using Celga for all my Japanese purchasing since they respond to e-mail within hours usually. (Sometimes within minutes), and they are pretty friendly and alright with you ordering 9000 things off Yahoo auctions.

I've been using fromjapan. Comparing fees, It looks like fromjapan comes out a little bit a head, 200 yen + 5% per transaction. Note, the 5% covers the paypal 2.9%. I don't know how Celga deals with that (possibly built into their costs?)

I'm in the US so customs are almost a non-issue. However a typical order from this shop for me consists of me paying $180 to ship $80 worth of stuff since EMS from Japan for something as heavy as a 13 disc LD box is very expensive. I don't give a crap though because the prices are incredibly low, very close to free in some cases. When you buy LDs from this shop you are basically paying by the pound. The only reason why the shipping is more than the purchase price is because the purchase price is incredibly low.

Have you considered using Surface shipping instead?

[SignOfZeta]

Also Zeta, no offense, but for you to say they are "really really great" after basically ripping you off on a laserdisc set seems kind of odd, unless of course you like that kind of customer service anyway....

They credited me for the set.

I should clarify that I've ordered quite a few LDs from them and other that this hilarious exception things have been...pretty much a dream come true. I mean...literally a dream come true. I've actually had dreams about getting LD boxes that once cost $850 for $28 and this place actually has deals like this. The stuff they sell goes for 2-20 times as much money on American eBay if it ever shows up at all.

I've noticed that not every category they sell is as amazingly cheap. I bought an Arcade Card Pro from them for $25 which isn't bad but isn't anything like the prices on their LDs. I got an almost perfect Memories "black box" for $5 from them. It usually goes for $50-80 anywhere else that I've found, original price was about $150. I bought all episodes of Gundam 0083 for prices ranging from $0.60 to $5 each. I paid maybe $30 for the whole set (12 volumes). With deals like that I'll gladly deal with some delays and occasional f*ckups.

I would not buy a game from them just to save $5 or something like that. I've made a half dozen large orders from them over the past year or so and I've never been happier with my purchases.

Have you considered using Surface shipping instead?

Its not an option with them, and frankly I'm cool with that. It takes 3 or 4 days to get to my place from Japan has tracking and its always in perfect shape. Things sent SAL often get used for soccer practice on the deck of the ship, from my experience.

BONUS CONTENT: Regarding disc 8, this is the best disc to get if you are only going to get one disc. The Master Grade box is the three Gundam movies in CAV. The last disc has stuff like toy commercials, high quality versions of the original anime made for the Saturn game, and trailers. Getting just disc 8 isn't so bad. Getting just disc 4 or something...that would be basically useless. As for how anyone could screw up an order that badly, I'm not sure. I don't know how the disc got separated from the set but once it is it looks like a stand alone product. It has the same catalog number on it as every other disc and the set as a whole. To "some guy in a warehouse" (the theory presented above) this wouldn't look any different from any other anime series released in multiple volumes.

[ProfessorProfessorson]

Also Zeta, no offense, but for you to say they are "really really great" after basically ripping you off on a laserdisc set seems kind of odd, unless of course you like that kind of customer service anyway....

They credited me for the set.

I should clarify that I've ordered quite a few LDs from them and other that this hilarious exception things have been...pretty much a dream come true. I mean...literally a dream come true. I've actually had dreams about getting LD boxes that once cost $850 for $28 and this place actually has deals like this. The stuff they sell goes for 2-20 times as much money on American eBay if it ever shows up at all.

I've noticed that not every category they sell is as amazingly cheap. I bought an Arcade Card Pro from them for $25 which isn't bad but isn't anything like the prices on their LDs. I got an almost perfect Memories "black box" for $5 from them. It usually goes for $50-80 anywhere else that I've found, original price was about $150. I bought all episodes of Gundam 0083 for prices ranging from $0.60 to $5 each. I paid maybe $30 for the whole set (12 volumes). With deals like that I'll gladly deal with some delays and occasional f*ckups.

I would not buy a game from them just to save $5 or something like that. I've made a half dozen large orders from them over the past year or so and I've never been happier with my purchases.

Have you considered using Surface shipping instead?

Its not an option with them, and frankly I'm cool with that. It takes 3 or 4 days to get to my place from Japan has tracking and its always in perfect shape. Things sent SAL often get used for soccer practice on the deck of the ship, from my experience.

BONUS CONTENT: Regarding disc 8, this is the best disc to get if you are only going to get one disc. The Master Grade box is the three Gundam movies in CAV. The last disc has stuff like toy commercials, high quality versions of the original anime made for the Saturn game, and trailers. Getting just disc 8 isn't so bad. Getting just disc 4 or something...that would be basically useless. As for how anyone could screw up an order that badly, I'm not sure. I don't know how the disc got separated from the set but once it is it looks like a stand alone product. It has the same catalog number on it as every other disc and the set as a whole. To "some guy in a warehouse" (the theory presented above) this wouldn't look any different from any other anime series released in multiple volumes.

It is good that they refunded you on that set. I have read plenty of post where they did not refund others for short changed orders so that makes me wonder if maybe they have a thief in their employment or wtf is going on there.

[Arkhan]

I've been using fromjapan. Comparing fees, It looks like fromjapan comes out a little bit a head, 200 yen + 5% per transaction. Note, the 5% covers the paypal 2.9%. I don't know how Celga deals with that (possibly built into their costs?)

It's built into their costs as well.  Celga ends up costing a little more than other places, but the customer service has been excellent with them so I stick with them.

[SuperDeadite]

As stated, it's completely up to who gets your order.  And it is a giant warehouse.  I have an actual real life Japanese friend who interviewed with them to be one of the foriegn sales people, after the 3 hour interview, he had seen enough and decided to withdraw cause "they have no idea what they are doing."