Quote:
Originally Posted by Chigimus
Never used either, had a browse through both tonight. Mandarake seems slow to connect to and difficult to sort through their inventory. Jungle not as much. What are shipping costs like compare to the usual JDM importers like AmiAmi, AE, HLJ, NY, etc.?
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Mandarake is generally slow to initially load, but it picks up once you are connected. The inventory is a beast to wade through - often times, you have to hunt around with the search tool to find what you want. Occasionally, you get hilarity in the translation - for example, go look for Masterpiece Blue Streak...
But... I have been pleasantly surprised when I find what I'm looking for. I picked up a used Scoria for a very nice price. It's the online equivalent of a toy bazaar - you never quite know what you'll find, and there are lots of tasty surprises. Their inventories update at least once a day.
Jungle is about the same, and it's getting more crazy as they connect their stores' inventories to their site. When I started, they had one store's inventory, and now there's at least 6.
As for shipping, I have used EMS since the beginning, and for that reason, it seems the same as HLJ, NY, etc. My understanding is that the rate is the same for the same package size - so if I do something stupid and order a big box, the cost is the same, regardless. (Much like Canada Post domestically, for example.) My costs for EMS shipping from Japan, for roughly the same size and weight of shipment, are predictable. I can't comment on how they do with SAL or DHL/FedEx/UPS.
Mandarake and Jungle both have done fabulous wrapping of my orders, and all have been immaculate when they arrive. The tracking is easy, but again, using EMS.
