Anyone dealt with AmiAmi ??

[RocketGTR]

I've dealt with AmiAmi a lot and as stated above it's all hit and miss depending on who looks at your box. I've had Macross 1/60 figures that are around 270k yen and nothing but the other day got dinged on a 120k item randomly

I do feel that with the dollar depreciating against the YEN that the bar is slowly getting lower for what will and will not get dinged but of course I have nothing to prove that.

[Darth Cylon]

The single most expensive item I've ever ordered from AA (or from Japan) was 27000 yen. Shipped with EMS and no duty.

[smoothyg35]

Much appreciated for all your input gentlemen - I guess I'll take the chance and see whether or not I get hit with duties or not.

Figure + shipping converted = roughly $85 CAN through AmiAmi

Figure + shipping (purchased through other online local stores) = $105-$120

Can someone confirm this?

[RedCell]

Amiami is a fantastic e-retailer. Excellent service, great prices and the shipping fees are on the lower end. But they are a very legit company and will not under-value their packages so you are more likely to pay duties.

If you don't want to pay duties, go with a e-retailer that automatically undervalue packages like Nippon Yasan. These guy will ship something that's like $200 and say it is only worth $20. You are guaranteed not to pay duties but if something goes wrong (damaged or lost packages), you will, at most, get back the declared value of the package of $20.

So it comes down to how much risk you are willing to take. Order from a more honest company like Amiami and have them take care of you if something goes wrong. Or go with someone like Nippon Yasan where you can potentially save a lot of money on duties at the risk of losing everything you paid for.

Personally, I prefer using Nippon Yasan. I ordered dozens of items from them and things have never gone wrong but I have made peace with the fact that if something does go bad, I am pretty much SOL.

[Chigimus]

Originally Posted by smoothyg35

Much appreciated for all your input gentlemen - I guess I'll take the chance and see whether or not I get hit with duties or not.

Figure + shipping converted = roughly $85 CAN through AmiAmi

Figure + shipping (purchased through other online local stores) = $105-$120

Can someone confirm this?

Confirm what? Whether or not you'll get hit with duties? From my personal experience, I doubt you'll get dinged. I've placed orders as high as $120 CAD with AmiAmi in the past and never once got hit with with any extra costs when their shipments arrived to me.

The only real negative I'm aware of with AmiAmi is that they really don't like it if you cancel a pre-order on them. I've heard once you backout, they pretty much blacklist you from their list of clients and just stop communicating with you, but if you're confident that you're going to stick with them until you get it, then that shouldn't be an issue for you.

[Darth Cylon]

Originally Posted by Chigimus

Confirm what? Whether or not you'll get hit with duties? From my personal experience, I doubt you'll get dinged. I've placed orders as high as $120 CAD with AmiAmi in the past and never once got hit with with any extra costs when their shipments arrived to me.

The only real negative I'm aware of with AmiAmi is that they really don't like it if you cancel a pre-order on them. I've heard once you backout, they pretty much blacklist you from their list of clients and just stop communicating with you, but if you're confident that you're going to stick with them until you get it, then that shouldn't be an issue for you.

Not necessary. I've cancelled with him once. I basically told them them final product is not the same as prototype shown for pre-order. Just be professional and courteous and you should be fine.

[Kristal]

I've ordered from AmiAmi before (most I spent was about 50$) for small lil anime merch stuff and i didn't get nailed with fees. It all depends when you order them and if customs cares about taxing toys. I've usually seen them tax clothes (ordered a 250$ dress, got 50$ in tax! Ow!) and electronics imo than toys.

[bishop]

Amiami is a great place to shop. Great prices, reasonable shipping and the preowned section has some nice bargains sometimes (found Red Alert when everywhere else was sold out).

I ordered MP-28 from them early March. I used unregistered SAL and I am still waiting my order. Should have gone registered, just to have tracking...

And yes they did accept I cancel an item, but I got a warning not to do it too often. If you are not sure, HLJ is more convenient regarding cancellations.

[joelones]

Noticed my shipment is still at Posting/Collection and it's been 4 days already. First time ordering with AA.

[smoothyg35]

Originally Posted by joelones

Noticed my shipment is still at Posting/Collection and it's been 4 days already. First time ordering with AA.

Hmmmm - Did you go with EMS or SAL for your shipping method?? I went with EMS for my order of MP-28 Hot Rod.

Ordered Tuesday April 5/16.
Shipped from Japan Wednesday April 6/16.
Arrived in Mississauga Thursday April 7/16.
I'm expecting it to arrive no later than next Wednesday April 13/16 if they are going by business days.

It's my first time ordering from AA as well. Hoping I don't get hit with duties ....