Yamatoku-Classic Combined Shipping

[LowRes]

So I like buying junk from Japan and I've started to really like ebay seller Yamatoku-Classic since everything I've bought from them has been in really good condition and doesn't look like they attempt to repair anything.  It's like they do a quick test and if something isn't working properly it's Junk and put it back in the box.  I like that.

The problem is their shipping is high no matter what the item is.  They do offer combined shipping and offer to wait 14 days from the first winning auction for payment.  Has anybody combined shipping with them and it worked out well?  Before I started buying pc engine stuff I bought a couple famicom disk system games off them and the combined shipping invoice they sent me didn't work when I went to pay.  I ended up paying the high shipping twice and they were not willing to refund me any shipping.  So I'm curious what experiences you guys have had with them.

Now I only bid on large items from them or systems in the box to make it worth the shipping cost and I've got a few good deals that way. 

[Gypsy]

They used to have really cheap shipping but I think they got dicked quite a bit. Anyway they are known to shill bid so buyer beware.

[Flare65]

They used to have really cheap shipping but I think they got dicked quite a bit. Anyway they are known to shill bid so buyer beware.

I can't remember which message board it was, but there were a group of people who proved that they manipulate bids some how to drive up their own auction prices. 

I bought a few megadrive games off them a few years ago when the shipping prices were a bit more reasonable.  Now it's an arm and a leg no  matter what you buy.  Especially complete systems.

[nectarsis]

I have a bundle that should be here Monday shipping was a tad high but with a combined it wasn't too terrible and the prices were decent with $0.01 start bids so if they shill bids.. I still didn't overpay in my opinion

[Gypsy]

They used to have really cheap shipping but I think they got dicked quite a bit. Anyway they are known to shill bid so buyer beware.

I can't remember which message board it was, but there were a group of people who proved that they manipulate bids some how to drive up their own auction prices. 

I bought a few megadrive games off them a few years ago when the shipping prices were a bit more reasonable.  Now it's an arm and a leg no  matter what you buy.  Especially complete systems.

It was on another board but linked to by the user that proved it here I believe.

Who knows if they still do it and they don't have time to shill everything but just something to keep in mind with higher ticket stuff in particular.

[Koa Zo]

So I like buying junk from Japan and I've started to really like ebay seller Yamatoku-Classic since everything I've bought from them has been in really good condition and doesn't look like they attempt to repair anything.  It's like they do a quick test and if something isn't working properly it's Junk and put it back in the box.  I like that.

The problem is their shipping is high no matter what the item is.  They do offer combined shipping and offer to wait 14 days from the first winning auction for payment.  Has anybody combined shipping with them and it worked out well?  Before I started buying pc engine stuff I bought a couple famicom disk system games off them and the combined shipping invoice they sent me didn't work when I went to pay.  I ended up paying the high shipping twice and they were not willing to refund me any shipping.  So I'm curious what experiences you guys have had with them.

Now I only bid on large items from them or systems in the box to make it worth the shipping cost and I've got a few good deals that way.   

I've been shopping with them for over 15 years.
Indeed they were getting dicked with rip-off claims so they had to pay for tracking on all shipments, that is why the base price (to the USA) is $14.
They definitely had some growing pains maybe two years ago when they went to their new shipping system, where invoices were mixed up or not combined correctly. I haven't seen that issue in the past year or more though.
They've been right on point with the 14 day limit, that's something from eBay's rules I think.

3-4 games is what I usually shoot for in an order
2 games is typically $15-16 shipping, 3 games is 16-17, etc
I recently got a package with 7 games shipped for $26, but that included some light-weight Gameboy and GBA games.
Be aware, there is a tipping point that may screw your savings. If the combined package is over a certain weight, then it must be shipped via EMS and the price will drastically jump.
I know one time my per game average was to be like $3 shipping, but then I bought one more and the weight went over and had to go EMS, then my average was like $5 each. I asked them to split the shipment in two and use regular Air but they wouldn't do that.

I've definitely seen some price anomalies in their listings that would indicate shill bidding, but that's never impacted my shopping. I never have a hard time getting good games or accessories for very good prices.

One thing I have to say, Yamatoku always impresses me wit their meticulous packaging. everything is bubble wrapped so perfectly, and the items are tetrised into the boxes by pros. It's often impressive opening up a big order and seeing how they've packed it.

[xcrement5x]

I also used to use Yamatoku a lot but have cut back as of about 5 years ago maybe.  Like others mentioned, their shipping got a bit wonky awhile back so I rarely ever purchase from them.  They used to have a system that allowed you to calculate the shipping through their site, then request that amount as your invoice, but I think they got rid of it.

For me, when shipping from Japan the best bet is always (if a few things) SAL Small Packet with tracking.  Max of 2 kilograms but that's still a fair bit of stuff.  Normally takes like 2-4 weeks, but I am patient.

[Gypsy]

For me, when shipping from Japan the best bet is always (if a few things) SAL Small Packet with tracking.  Max of 2 kilograms but that's still a fair bit of stuff.  Normally takes like 2-4 weeks, but I am patient.

This is a really good way to do it.

On a single game I'm always willing to take the super cheap non-tracked rate for really light weight stuff but I can understand why lots of sellers don't want to do that. Did this with the last two games and a toy I got from Japan. Shipping is only like a couple bucks or so this way.

[CZroe]

I've been buying from them since I signed up for eBay almost 19 years ago. They can't say so for obvious reasons but I figured out that they are deliberately trying to keep the values claimed on customs forms under a certain amount per-package so that you don't get slapped with hefty customs duties/taxes. That's also why they split up your larger orders into multiple packages even though it might cost more to ship. By inflating the shipping and "handling" charges, they actually save you money as long as you factor it into your bids. That's because they can write a much lower value on the item itself when you bid less and pay the same as you would if shipping were lower (you don't pay customs/duty taxes on the cost of shipping and handling).

I'm definitely concerned about the allegations of shill bidding but I haven't experienced it in any of their auctions that I have participated in. I usually make a large order every few years including one just a couple months ago (Neogeo AES stuff, ASCII GCN keyboard controller, gold N64 for UltraHDMI, etc).

[roflmao]

I haven't experienced noticeable shill-bidding from them either.

[soop]

I got something from them, paid and then asked if they'd be willing to combine if I bought more stuff.  They declined, so I didn't but that's completely within their right.  I did get a really cheap boxed toploading famicom from them though.  If you're willing to be patient on the stuff that they have for sale quite frequently, you'll probably eventually get a decent price, even with the shipping

[VmprHntrD]

So if I order from them since their base shipping (like a on Gameboy game) seems like a $14 ripoff, if I were going with just stand alone HuCards, how many would keep you out of the shipping bump?

I know with the case you're probably cutting that amount to probably 1/3 or 1/4 of that with the case and manual there.

[Kavas]

I ordered something from them 2 days ago. They shipped it out immediately. First time ordering from them. Wondering how it will go 

[CZroe]

So if I order from them since their base shipping (like a on Gameboy game) seems like a $14 ripoff, if I were going with just stand alone HuCards, how many would keep you out of the shipping bump?

I know with the case you're probably cutting that amount to probably 1/3 or 1/4 of that with the case and manual there.

It's less about how many and more about what the total value is. They are trying to keep the value of each package under some unspecified amount so that you will not be asked to pay customs/duty taxes to the postal service to receive your delivery. As long as that shipped Game Boy game was worth over $14 and you bid less accordingly, it makes sense. When you buy $200 of stuff from them that way and it comes in three packages, they just did you a solid.

By shifting more of that cost into "handling" fees, they can get more in a single package so that combined shipping discounts are still feasible, even if the shipping and handling discount isn't as drastic as you might've hoped.

[xcrement5x]

So if I order from them since their base shipping (like a on Gameboy game) seems like a $14 ripoff, if I were going with just stand alone HuCards, how many would keep you out of the shipping bump?

I know with the case you're probably cutting that amount to probably 1/3 or 1/4 of that with the case and manual there.

It's less about how many and more about what the total value is. They are trying to keep the value of each package under some unspecified amount so that you will not be asked to pay customs/duty taxes to the postal service to receive your delivery. As long as that shipped Game Boy game was worth over $14 and you bid less accordingly, it makes sense. When you buy $200 of stuff from them that way and it comes in three packages, they just did you a solid.

By shifting more of that cost into "handling" fees, they can get more in a single package so that combined shipping discounts are still feasible, even if the shipping and handling discount isn't as drastic as you might've hoped.

Really this is only relevant if you live in a country where customs/duty is charged.  In the US I have never paid customs on a foreign parcel, so I'd rather they ship all as one fat bundle and save me on shipping.  The only exception is if it is something rare/very expensive that I want to have insurance on and declared value is more than a given delivery method will cover. 

[CZroe]

So if I order from them since their base shipping (like a on Gameboy game) seems like a $14 ripoff, if I were going with just stand alone HuCards, how many would keep you out of the shipping bump?

I know with the case you're probably cutting that amount to probably 1/3 or 1/4 of that with the case and manual there.

It's less about how many and more about what the total value is. They are trying to keep the value of each package under some unspecified amount so that you will not be asked to pay customs/duty taxes to the postal service to receive your delivery. As long as that shipped Game Boy game was worth over $14 and you bid less accordingly, it makes sense. When you buy $200 of stuff from them that way and it comes in three packages, they just did you a solid.

By shifting more of that cost into "handling" fees, they can get more in a single package so that combined shipping discounts are still feasible, even if the shipping and handling discount isn't as drastic as you might've hoped.

Really this is only relevant if you live in a country where customs/duty is charged.  In the US I have never paid customs on a foreign parcel, so I'd rather they ship all as one fat bundle and save me on shipping.  The only exception is if it is something rare/very expensive that I want to have insurance on and declared value is more than a given delivery method will cover.

Ah, but the US DOES collect these fees from the addressee, but only on packages over a certain threshold. I'm in the US too and I had the same assumption as you for a very long time, even after I was aware of this in other countries (packages I've shipped to Canada, for example). As it turns out, practices like these from Yamatoku kept me from having to pay customs/duty fees on a foreign parcel.
https://support.shippingeasy.com/hc/en-us/articles/203708459-Who-pays-for-the-duties-or-taxes-that-may-be-applicable-at-the-destination-country-

See? USPS collects duty fees too.

Again, there is a threshold where the USPS doesn't bother. I think it's a bit high, like $150 to $200 but I don't really know because it's been nearly a decade since the last one I encountered. Many times I've received them with understated values or marked as gift or sample or wholesale (though I've never asked for that when it wasn't).

Edit: Found this thread discussing it - https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/what-will-i-pay-for-customs-tax-international-shipment-into-us.397993/

Looks like the threshold for "gift" items is actually LOWER than merchandise.

[xcrement5x]

In my anecdotal experience I have bought bundles of stuff from Japan that are over that $200 threshold, and still never been hit.  I use another proxy and he marks stuff as "GOODS" as well and puts the aggregate value  (in JPY) on the box.  I think the US threshold is very very high, probably in the thousands of dollars range.  If anyone in the US has ever gotten customs fees on a package from Japan I'd love to know though. 

[Gypsy]

Yeah I've had multiple shipments over $200 and never been taxed either.

[VmprHntrD]

I got a Core Grafx II setup with some games shipped out a the end of last year, arrived here earlier this year and it was a $150 shipped bundle and no fee there.  I imagine if there is a threshold it has to be probably notably higher doing a quick glance here and google.  Maybe $500-1000 or more.  Not really sure, but it sucks balls paying $14 on a 3oz GB game or a loose HuCard.

And that's not even getting into this guy having a couple shill bidding accounts too which is well known and documented on many gaming sites pissed at the seller.  I was watching 3 games and a controller yesterday that ended and each one were low for awhile and all them got bid from the same user account kicking it up to a heftier value.

I'm betting some of that $14 charge that guy starts at is to line his own pockets, passing off loss prevention expenses onto other buyers from lost goods, ebay buyer scammers, etc.

[CZroe]

Yeah I've had multiple shipments over $200 and never been taxed either.

It also depends on how it was classified on the form. "Gifts" and personal shipments are not the same as items marked "merchandise." "Wholesale" is also different. If you ordered a 10 pack of SCART cables then your supplier may mark it wholesale regardless of your intentions.

The US Customs and Border Protection site says: "Note: Most personal shipments worth up to $800, and gift packages worth up to $100, will pass duty-free as long as the recipient does not receive multiple packages in a single day whose cumulative value is more than these amounts."

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/126/~/mail---goods-requiring-duty

What that tells us is that there are still thresholds for the other types as well even though you are significantly less-likely to cross them.

I've made personal orders before and had them arrive marked "gift" or with a mis-stated value without me requesting that, so what matters isn't so much what you spent. It's more what value the sender declared and how. A high-volume seller like Yamatoku can't risk their business with illegitimate customs declarations, so they came up with this.

I got a Core Grafx II setup with some games shipped out a the end of last year, arrived here earlier this year and it was a $150 shipped bundle and no fee there.  I imagine if there is a threshold it has to be probably notably higher doing a quick glance here and google.  Maybe $500-1000 or more.  Not really sure, but it sucks balls paying $14 on a 3oz GB game or a loose HuCard.

And that's not even getting into this guy having a couple shill bidding accounts too which is well known and documented on many gaming sites pissed at the seller.  I was watching 3 games and a controller yesterday that ended and each one were low for awhile and all them got bid from the same user account kicking it up to a heftier value.

In all honesty, that's how my bid behavior would appear when I am building up an order over a couple weeks. I watch all the upcoming items I'm interested in and attempt to win them with bid-sniping. Because I'm trying to pad my order with stuff that's only worth it to me after the shipping discount, I'm generally not bidding high enough to win all of them.

Most recently I was getting a lot of the cheap non-Charcoal N64s for UltraHDMI (had a lot of kits to install an sell) and I added a bunch of NeoGeo stuff including duplicate titles for testing a Junk AES that I was fixing up. The second copies of Fatal Fury Special and SamSho II will be used with DiagROM and I also needed a shell for my flash cart. Only afterwards did I realize that I don't need a shell for my DiagROM companion cart (only need one board from it too). I did not detect any kind of shill bidding as I got several of them for less than they were worth. Based on your description, I can see how someone interested in the same things but bold enough to bid earlier and offer more might assume my bids were Yamatoku shill bids.

They have a generous period to accrue items before payment so I spend a lot at once. This is why I only place orders with them every few years.

The past allegations regarding bid retractions to feel out your max bid and second-chance offers from suspicious accounts that outbid you seem pretty damning but, again, I haven't encountered it with Yamatoku myself. It's very possible that they were doing this for a time and stopped or that they only do it for particular items I haven't bid on. Perhaps eBay put a stop to it but didn't ban them. Giving one of their big long-term sellers some leeway when they might claim ignorance of the rules is something I can imagine them doing. They might have even invoked the "sorry-we didn't know-we'll stop" defense, bolstered by a language barrier.

[Koa Zo]

Whoa, Yamatoku done with auctions??
all buy it now now?

[wildfruit]

Uk is great for importing. No tax on video games from EU, no tax from outside EU under £135.
Well it used to be when £1 was $2.

[LowRes]

Whoa, Yamatoku done with auctions??
all buy it now now?

hmmm.... You might be right.  If so, that sucks cause I've won a few auctions for very cheap in the past from them lol.  If they don't do auctions anymore, then I'd probably rather buy from a different seller if I have to do buy it now.

[Gypsy]

The dream is dead.

[xcrement5x]

Uk is great for importing. No tax on video games from EU, no tax from outside EU under £135.
Well it used to be when £1 was $2.

Ya'll have no one to blame but yourself for that one and the whole Brexit kaboodle.  On the flip side, now all the resellers in France and Italy the have better prices for me!

[Gypsy]

There are still some decent auction sellers out there. A shame we lost a big one though.

[Winniez]

I never quite trusted the Yamatoku combined shipping completely. It seems whenever I got really good deals they used the shipping rate to compensate that. Since they didn't have any fixed rates that left them with plenty of leeway. And then there were the shill bidding allegations which in my opinnion were well founded.
Despite all that I still feel I got pretty good deals from them, I used to watch tons of auctions and maybe bid on 5% of them.

Still very suprised that they abandoned the auction format, end of an era I suppose. Looking at their buy it now prices I think I will not conduct much business with them in the future. Its probably the time to look at the various proxy bidding services in Japan.

Could well be that they will return to the auction format in the future though, due to the kit not moving.

[Winniez]

There are still some decent auction sellers out there. A shame we lost a big one though.

Yeah, the Dora-something is pretty good, I have got plenty of good deals from his auctions. I wonder why his feedback is so inperfect, always got what I ordered and even a refund once due to mild rust on game cartridge connector.

[Gypsy]

Still very suprised that they abandoned the auction format, end of an era I suppose. Looking at their buy it now prices I think I will not conduct much business with them in the future. Its probably the time to look at the various proxy bidding services in Japan.

Could well be that they will return to the auction format in the future though, due to the kit not moving.

Buyee adds a fair bit to the cost. Not sure about other options. Still it has been worth it for me a few times.

And yeah we were talking about this on another forum and really it's no lose for yamatoku to try this. Either they established enough of a loyal customer base for this to work or they go back to auctions.

There are still some decent auction sellers out there. A shame we lost a big one though.

Yeah, the Dora-something is pretty good, I have got plenty of good deals from his auctions. I wonder why his feedback is so inperfect, always got what I ordered and even a refund once due to mild rust on game cartridge connector.

Yeah, that is one of them I was thinking about. They start at $1 + $4 shipping.

As for the feedback they have over 700k transactions. Any time you sell that much you are going to run into scammers, lost mail etc...

They also have negative feedback like this: Bad seller. Charged for 4 shipments, but the products came in a single package

Which is kind of funny. I always bid assuming a seller will not combine shipping cost and that shipping charges from the seller are just part of my final cost.

[Winniez]

Which is kind of funny. I always bid assuming a seller will not combine shipping cost and that shipping charges from the seller are just part of my final cost.

Yeah absolutely, same here. Although its worth it to send him a message asking about combined shipping or the cheapeast possible shipping. After that he usually knocks few euros from the final shipping fee.

[Winniez]

Still very suprised that they abandoned the auction format, end of an era I suppose. Looking at their buy it now prices I think I will not conduct much business with them in the future. Its probably the time to look at the various proxy bidding services in Japan.

Could well be that they will return to the auction format in the future though, due to the kit not moving.

After looking at the prices more closely I take that partially back, some of the Nintendo stuff is pretty cheap actually.

[Ergot_Cholera]

I've bought 3 items from dora_ts. The first didn't arrive so I had to get a refund through ebay, I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt and bought another item which I did receive, so I thought the first time was a one off and bought another which I didn't receive. Now you know what the negative feedback is about.
 I think they list things for sale that they don't have or have previously sold and then hope that people forget they even bought them.
Importing items into the UK is terrible, the customs duty threshold is £15. No wonder I always get the seller to mark the value down.

[ClodBusted]

Customs duty threshold in Germany is something like €20 for the total price including shipping costs. If you go higher, you've got to pay 19% VAT on the total price.
Once you go over €150, there are additional customs charges depending on the type of item.

If you choose standard shipping, you might or might not receive a customs slip first, for collecting your item from the customs office and paying the fees. Chances of getting stung have been 50/50 for me if an item happens to exceed the €20 threshold.


However, choosing express mail service (EMS, DHL Express, etc.) often stings you with additional handling charges you've got to pay to the mailman.
I bought my girlfriend some Zelda spiritual stone necklaces from Sanshee.com (US) last year, total amount was €60 including DHL express shipping. Dumb me, thanks to the express service, DHL collected the 19% VAT plus the handling charges right at front of my door, which meant spending another €30.

[Gypsy]

Handling charges....what a load of crap lol.

[NecroPhile]

Only €20 threshold?  Damn, you gonna get pinched on a lot of stuff, seeing as that little amount won't buy much nowadays.

Those handling charges are crazy.  I could see 'em charging a little for their "effort", but your example works out to them banging you for about 30%.

[ClodBusted]

Agreed. They call it a "service" for the recipient not having to go to the customs office by himself. Even though I didn't even asked for it. Although doing customs stuff by myself would usually add at least one week for the customs slip to be created and posted, and another week to find free time to go there within opening hours. If the parcel isn't an urgent one, I'm fine with having to wait.

Next time, I will just use regular registered shipping without express mail service.

[Winniez]

Agreed. They call it a "service" for the recipient not having to go to the customs office by himself. Even though I didn't even asked for it. Although doing customs stuff by myself would usually add at least one week for the customs slip to be created and posted, and another week to find free time to go there within opening hours. If the parcel isn't an urgent one, I'm fine with having to wait.

Next time, I will just use regular registered shipping without express mail service.

Very similar here in Finland, the threshold used to be 50e but they lowered it to something like 25e. Go above that and a 24% VAT is added. Those are also based on the total price (item+shipping).

Funnily enough Yamatoku-classic has always marked my items of having value of $10-20 without me even asking and almost all of their shipments have dodged the customs.
For customs (and otherwise too) its seems like picking the cheapest shipping is often the best value, unless the item is something really expensive.

Nowadays you can do the customs declaration digitally and it only takes few minutes. I heard that before, when it was done manually the customs system (considering online orders) actually costed more money to run than it generated in tax revenue. Brilliant piece of bureaucracy.

[Winniez]

I've bought 3 items from dora_ts. The first didn't arrive so I had to get a refund through ebay, I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt and bought another item which I did receive, so I thought the first time was a one off and bought another which I didn't receive. Now you know what the negative feedback is about.
 I think they list things for sale that they don't have or have previously sold and then hope that people forget they even bought them.
Importing items into the UK is terrible, the customs duty threshold is £15. No wonder I always get the seller to mark the value down.

Ah, interesting. I have bought something like 10 cheap Super Famicom and Famicom carts over the years from him. I have received every item but sometimes it takes really long. Like a month.
Same deal here with customs, seems to be in the most of Europe.