shipping costs from Japan

It is called a 53ft container....



;-)

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/6283455.stm

 

I finally decided to ship my stuff via seamail (surface or whatever). I spend two weeks of february in a transport company who does some seamail container-stuff and they know how dangerous it is - not really worth the higher airmail costs. 99% of all shipments reach their target, thats at least what some statistics say.

Well anyway, I'll looking forward to buy a big box in Japan. Are there shops who sell packing cases? I think these boxes would be ideal to ship big consoles such as PC-FX or NGCD:

(~50x40x80cm)

I'd appreciate it if somebody could tell me the japanese word for those (in case that "nimotsu" doesnt match)!

 

段ボール
"Danboru"

 

Got it.
Seems like I'll be playing console & game-Tetris for an ideal usage of space of the danbooru every evening then

 

Don't buy boxes !!! Just visit the backs of stores after 8pm and pick them up for FREE !! That's what I do all the time.

Yakumo

 

Some hints tips for sending stuff back

1 - As yakumo said, just pick up boxes from the back / front of shops, you can get some really large, strong, nearly new boxes for free.

2 - Bring gaffer tape, scissors, pens with you as it will be cheaper then buying them in Japan, this is especially true if you work in a office. Bring bubble wrap or cel-air too if you can.

3 - Post offices are great as all will have a cash machine that will allow you to withdraw money if you have a cirrus or visaplus card. As post offices are on all maps they are easier to find then a citibank.

4 - The larger post offices / sorting offices have a 24 hour(ish) counter that you can send international parcels out, most will speak a little english too, going here before the people come out during the day means you will get there quicker, you won't bump into people, you won't have to queue and you won't feel guilty.

5 - If you are lugging heavy parcels then bring a trolly or use a open suitcase with wheels. Bring stretch cords with you too.

6 - Insurance is good, but remember that trying to claim insurance if you aren't in Japan is a lot of hassle, if you have a friend in Japan then use them as the sender address. Also writing a lesser value for customs can make it harder if you do need to claim as you may not get more then the declared value.

7 - If you live in Europe then flying to Japan means that you normally get a 20/23kg limit on checked in luggage (1 or 2 bags) and 5kg for hand luggage. If however you go via the US then on most airlines you can check in 2 bags each with a 23kg limit and on some airlines this increases to a 32kg limit per bag.

Now if you don't mind sleeping in the plane and increasing your flight time by about 10 hours then you may find you can go to Tokyo via the US for about the same price as a direct flight if you look hard enough (Newark, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Detroit, Dallas Fort Worth, New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Seattle are cities you should search for).

I did this (London to Seattle, Seattle to Tokyo and back (Northwest Airlines) and it was a lot cheaper then posting it back and I got my stuff with me, just remember to wrap things well and use a amiercan customs lock (so they can look inside the bag without breaking the lock), do not overfill the bag either and use smaller boxes in the bag just to protect your stuff.

It's also likely that you won't get pulled to one side and have the customs people charge you for the stuff you bring back, make sure you do rip off all the price labels and have personal items in there too.

Extreme but worth looking at, 41kg extra is a lot of postage...

 

Wow, thanks for the wave of new tips!

Well I'm not familiar with the surrounding of japanese game shops but isnt it a bit dangerous / undesirable to walk around in dark backyards looking for boxes? ^^

2: Yeah, I'll bring my own bubble wrap . But a scissor on an airport could be a bad idea, I think I'll go the safe way and buy it in Japan.

3: No credit card here I'm afraid. I'll use traveller checks which I can convert into money at my youth hostel.

4: Thx for the hint, wouldnt have guessed there was a 24h service in a post office!

5: done already :nod:

6: Yeah, thats a risk I have to take. Unfortunately I have not enough money to pay the enormious german toll fees (24% on the value including shipping fees O_O), otherwise I would send everything insured to the max. This way, I'll send my stuff via seamail, uninsured and with a 20$ value written on each box...

7: I start in germany and fly to Tokyo via Paris. And indeed, there is a 20kg limit for my luggage, but as mentioned I'll send most of my stuff away (except pricy games, those'll be in my luggage).

 

And of course, once you got them there, they wouldn't work properly! You'd have to fiddle with them... something to do with the magnetic poles of the Earth or something.... you can't move CRTs from one hemisphere to the other without having to readjust it.

 

Generally each "area" will have a 24 hour post office. Whether you're close to one or not is luck of the draw.

Was this before 9/11. I'm told often (especially in the US) that I have to leave the luggage open. If they want to look inside, they will. Whether they open it up, or break it open is up to the owner.

News to me. I know people that've bought arcade CRT monitors from one region to another and had no issues. Wega's have a service menu though.... problem solved.

 

what the hell?
back in the days when i had my arcade we bought monitors from all over the world (yeah well, mainly asia ), never heard of or experienced that?

also about shipping stuff from japan, youll want to get as close to 30Kg as possible, everything over 5kg means an increase of 1500yen per kg which means for every package you send youll have to pay alot extra for the first 5Kg, it is definetly alot cheaper to send 2x 22,5Kg than 3x15kg.

i also managed to smuggle 40kg on the plane home, 20kg weight limit is for what you stove, and for what you bring as hand luggage is mosty size resticted, which means if it is reasonably small and doesnt look heavy theyll let you tag it along as handluggage i guess theres a small risk tho..

 

Don't be silly ! I go out at 2am feeling completely safe all the time. To be mugged or done in by a Japanese you'd have to be one of the most unlucky bastards on the planet. You've got a far greater chance of having a fight with some American army arse holes in Ropongi than anything.

Yakumo

 

Actually, I meant fiddling with the yokes, which means taking the back off and repositioning them with the set on... and don't forget, there's somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 volts floating around that CRT and its circuitry!

Read this for more info.

As for asian purchasing.... well, Japan is in the Southern hemisphere. We are in the Northern hemisphere. Oh, and China is in the Northern hemisphere, too! As, technically, are some parts of Japan. Ahh, confusing! hehe.

Yes, normally they work, but they can have problems.

 

I guess that disproves the whole thing right there. Last I checked, the Southern Hemisphere was below the equator. Not above it.

Anyways, I've known expats from the US & UK that had their CRTs shipped. No issues at all, and they're technologically worthless.

 

True but I found that in Shibuya, Kanda and Shinjuku they were very close by so quite easy, just a case of checking the area you are in.

It is recommended you leave them open but there are locks that the TSA can open with a master key but the baggage handlers can't so if things go missing then it's easier to claim.

See more information here

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/locks.shtml

As for scissors, just put them into the checked luggage and you will be fine, I've had stanley knifes and blades in the checked baggage before and it's been fine.

Most cash point cards have cirrus / visaplus logos on them so check it out, cheaper then travellers cheques.

 

Interesting... thanks. That looks quite useful.