One of SMJ's major goals is to provide a shipping system that is quick and efficient while providing the lowest overall cost. Our system and the shipping
options can be seen as rather complex to a newer user, so we're providing a little insight to better educate the customer to make the best decisions.
These blunt tips and explanations evolved over 10 years of shipping experiance.
---------Shipping Options, from our Japan / Tokyo office.
>>-Shipping Rates: We created a page listing the shipping rates for packages sent from the Tokyo office. Be sure to use this as an estimate as it may not include additional service fees such as insurance.
http://www.shoppingmalljapan.com/internationalrates.html
Also, many areas have different size and weight restrictions. For example, while most countries take SAL packages up to 30kg in weight some such as Spain are limited to 20kg. We recommend that you assume the max weight of a package is 20kg, not only to avoid the weight restriction but the large weight can have an effect on a packages safety.
>>-EMS: This is the most common form of shipping out of Tokyo that we use. Its very fast, reliable, insured, and has tracking. The most common mistake made is the assumption that its also the most expensive service there is, and is certainly not the case. On average, packages that weigh around 3kg or less (depending on the country) it is actually cheaper to ship via EMS. Only after the 3kg mark do we start to see the cost savings from other services such as SAL. Our most common complaint is when we "auto-upgrade" a shipping request from SAL to EMS the customer then assumes they're paying more for shipping on a service they didn't originally request. That is not the case. Your package will only be auto-upgraded to EMS from a service such as SAL when the cost is equal to or lower than your choice. We also factor in insurance and optional service requests when making this decision. So if you get a shipping invoice that states EMS when you selected a different service rest assured we're not trying to hike the cost up on you, in fact the opposite is true, we're trying to save you some $$$.
>>>-SAL: This service should be used on a heavier lot of items when shipping cost is a major concern. EMS may be quicker and safer, but SAL can be around 20 to 30% cheaper on average for larger / heavier packages, but can take 3 times longer to arrive and has no guarenteed time frame (it can take over a month in some rare cases). The only major drawback we've had with SAL is that it can no longer be insured. We always recommend EMS over SAL.
>>>-SAL-printed: This is a very cheap service designed for small packages with only printed matter. Check the link on the shipping request page for restrictions. (we will not ship non-printed matter or other items that do not qualify via this service even if requested) Its not insured nor trackable, and in our experiance takes usually 10 to 14 days to deliver.
>>>-Surface: The only time you should ever use this service is when you need to cut shipping costs dramaticly, the items are not easily broken, and you don't mind if it takes forever and a day for them to arrive (can take 3+ months in some cases) This type of package can't be insured, can't be tracked, and has litterally no time frame for delivery. Even though average shipping times may be stated on the postal site, in our experiance it shows up when it feels like it. Should a Surface package get lost or damaged, there is no option to file a claim, no recouperation, and SMJ will not assume any of the costs. Use at your own risk.
---------Shipping Options, from our USA office.
>>>-Priority Mail: This is the most common service we use out of the US office. Domesticly (in the states) its fast, insured, and on packages under $500.00 insurance delivery confirmation typically comes free of charge. Internationally its also the most common service from the states (mostly to Canada). However, and Canadian customers may want to take note, the price difference between Priority Mail and First-Class can be huge. More detail in the First-Class section.
>>>-First Class: A cheap but reliable service both domesticly and internationally. In the states the shipping cost Vs. Priority mail is far less on larger packages, but nearly identical on smaller packages. The largest difference is for our Canadian / International customers. Use first class whenever possible as the cost savings is dramatic. While international First-Class cannot be insured, any packages under 4lbs and 1 cubic sq. foot cost less than 1/2 Vs. Priority Mail. For example, a Priority Mail parcel going to Vancouver may cost $28.00....while the same First-Class package cost only $7.00. The only difference is insurance. Priority Mail has it, First-Class does not. If you don't need insurance then First-Class shipping is the way to go.
>>>-Media-Mail: Pretty much the same as "SAL-printed" as mentioned above. However from the US office we can only ship domesticly. Its not available as an international service.
>>>-Express: Unless you need your items super quick use Priority Mail instead. Its fast (overnight in most cases domesticly), insured, and trackable......but very expensive compared to other services.
---------Shipping Tips!!!
1: Don't let your items reach the 30 day storage limit mark for those who have their goods stored in Japan! Due to limited space at our Tokyo office we cannot extend storage for any reason. If your items get flagged for an auto-shippment, then anything on hand (not just the item that expired) will be boxed up and shipped to you via EMS by default. We will use SAL or another service depending on your shipping history and the items involved if the shipping staff deems it a good option.
2: Do not make silly requests! Such as asking for Toys to ship SAL-printed, or asking us to value that $1000.00 dollfie at $2.00. We stick to shipping rules and regulations. Items will only ship SAL-printed if they meet the requirements. Values are declared accurately and are not falsely reduced for customs purposes.
3: Don't break up multiple shippments! Some customers think that shipping multiple smaller packages will be cheaper than 1 large package. 99.9% of the time thats false! The fewer packages the better.
4: Combine multiple items! Every now and then we get an email simular to "Why did it cost $13.50 to ship just a single CD from Japan, its outragous!". Its not outragous, its getting shipped 1/2 way across the world for Pete's sake. Try not to be in a hurry to get your items, be patient, and combine multiple goods. The more you combine, the cheaper shipping will be and it gets very substantial.
5: Keep your requests simple. Our shipping staff gets hammered on a daily basis with hundreds of shipping requests most of which have special instructions. Try to keep your items shipped to the same location, don't break up shippments, don't ask us to triple box pillow pad duct tape the box, etc. Let us do the work for you. With those 10+ years of shipping experience we know how to get you the goods safe and sound.
6. For our customers with items stored in Japan, do nothing. Sounds odd right? Its actually works very well. We have many customers who store goods in Japan who -never- make a shipping request and just let the auto-shipment take care of it. We'll use our judgement, pack up your items, and ship them out without you having to do a thing. The customers who do this love it.
---------------Reguarding "customs"
One of the most common misconceptions accross the globe is that certain shippments get past customs, while others do not. For example, one of our customers stated to us that in their country, EMS packages always get charged customs fees while SAL does not. So, they always reqeusted SAL. A few packages go through just fine without customs, then one finally got tagged and they had to pay customs fees.
The moral of the story is that reguardless of the type of shipping used, your items are subject to your countries laws. Just by shipping via one method instead of another does not mean you're "immune" to customs fees. If its a major concern, be sure to research your countries import laws. SMJ is not responsible for any of those customs fees wether its a shippment you requested, an auto-shippment, or otherwise. So educate yourself and know what to expect.
Have a question or request related to shipping? Feel free to post and ask. If it warrents an additon to the above we'll add it. Replies to this thread will be deleted after they're addressed.
---------Shipping Options, from our Japan / Tokyo office.
>>-Shipping Rates: We created a page listing the shipping rates for packages sent from the Tokyo office. Be sure to use this as an estimate as it may not include additional service fees such as insurance.
http://www.shoppingmalljapan.com/internationalrates.html
Also, many areas have different size and weight restrictions. For example, while most countries take SAL packages up to 30kg in weight some such as Spain are limited to 20kg. We recommend that you assume the max weight of a package is 20kg, not only to avoid the weight restriction but the large weight can have an effect on a packages safety.
>>-EMS: This is the most common form of shipping out of Tokyo that we use. Its very fast, reliable, insured, and has tracking. The most common mistake made is the assumption that its also the most expensive service there is, and is certainly not the case. On average, packages that weigh around 3kg or less (depending on the country) it is actually cheaper to ship via EMS. Only after the 3kg mark do we start to see the cost savings from other services such as SAL. Our most common complaint is when we "auto-upgrade" a shipping request from SAL to EMS the customer then assumes they're paying more for shipping on a service they didn't originally request. That is not the case. Your package will only be auto-upgraded to EMS from a service such as SAL when the cost is equal to or lower than your choice. We also factor in insurance and optional service requests when making this decision. So if you get a shipping invoice that states EMS when you selected a different service rest assured we're not trying to hike the cost up on you, in fact the opposite is true, we're trying to save you some $$$.
>>>-SAL: This service should be used on a heavier lot of items when shipping cost is a major concern. EMS may be quicker and safer, but SAL can be around 20 to 30% cheaper on average for larger / heavier packages, but can take 3 times longer to arrive and has no guarenteed time frame (it can take over a month in some rare cases). The only major drawback we've had with SAL is that it can no longer be insured. We always recommend EMS over SAL.
>>>-SAL-printed: This is a very cheap service designed for small packages with only printed matter. Check the link on the shipping request page for restrictions. (we will not ship non-printed matter or other items that do not qualify via this service even if requested) Its not insured nor trackable, and in our experiance takes usually 10 to 14 days to deliver.
>>>-Surface: The only time you should ever use this service is when you need to cut shipping costs dramaticly, the items are not easily broken, and you don't mind if it takes forever and a day for them to arrive (can take 3+ months in some cases) This type of package can't be insured, can't be tracked, and has litterally no time frame for delivery. Even though average shipping times may be stated on the postal site, in our experiance it shows up when it feels like it. Should a Surface package get lost or damaged, there is no option to file a claim, no recouperation, and SMJ will not assume any of the costs. Use at your own risk.
---------Shipping Options, from our USA office.
>>>-Priority Mail: This is the most common service we use out of the US office. Domesticly (in the states) its fast, insured, and on packages under $500.00 insurance delivery confirmation typically comes free of charge. Internationally its also the most common service from the states (mostly to Canada). However, and Canadian customers may want to take note, the price difference between Priority Mail and First-Class can be huge. More detail in the First-Class section.
>>>-First Class: A cheap but reliable service both domesticly and internationally. In the states the shipping cost Vs. Priority mail is far less on larger packages, but nearly identical on smaller packages. The largest difference is for our Canadian / International customers. Use first class whenever possible as the cost savings is dramatic. While international First-Class cannot be insured, any packages under 4lbs and 1 cubic sq. foot cost less than 1/2 Vs. Priority Mail. For example, a Priority Mail parcel going to Vancouver may cost $28.00....while the same First-Class package cost only $7.00. The only difference is insurance. Priority Mail has it, First-Class does not. If you don't need insurance then First-Class shipping is the way to go.
>>>-Media-Mail: Pretty much the same as "SAL-printed" as mentioned above. However from the US office we can only ship domesticly. Its not available as an international service.
>>>-Express: Unless you need your items super quick use Priority Mail instead. Its fast (overnight in most cases domesticly), insured, and trackable......but very expensive compared to other services.
---------Shipping Tips!!!
1: Don't let your items reach the 30 day storage limit mark for those who have their goods stored in Japan! Due to limited space at our Tokyo office we cannot extend storage for any reason. If your items get flagged for an auto-shippment, then anything on hand (not just the item that expired) will be boxed up and shipped to you via EMS by default. We will use SAL or another service depending on your shipping history and the items involved if the shipping staff deems it a good option.
2: Do not make silly requests! Such as asking for Toys to ship SAL-printed, or asking us to value that $1000.00 dollfie at $2.00. We stick to shipping rules and regulations. Items will only ship SAL-printed if they meet the requirements. Values are declared accurately and are not falsely reduced for customs purposes.
3: Don't break up multiple shippments! Some customers think that shipping multiple smaller packages will be cheaper than 1 large package. 99.9% of the time thats false! The fewer packages the better.
4: Combine multiple items! Every now and then we get an email simular to "Why did it cost $13.50 to ship just a single CD from Japan, its outragous!". Its not outragous, its getting shipped 1/2 way across the world for Pete's sake. Try not to be in a hurry to get your items, be patient, and combine multiple goods. The more you combine, the cheaper shipping will be and it gets very substantial.
5: Keep your requests simple. Our shipping staff gets hammered on a daily basis with hundreds of shipping requests most of which have special instructions. Try to keep your items shipped to the same location, don't break up shippments, don't ask us to triple box pillow pad duct tape the box, etc. Let us do the work for you. With those 10+ years of shipping experience we know how to get you the goods safe and sound.
6. For our customers with items stored in Japan, do nothing. Sounds odd right? Its actually works very well. We have many customers who store goods in Japan who -never- make a shipping request and just let the auto-shipment take care of it. We'll use our judgement, pack up your items, and ship them out without you having to do a thing. The customers who do this love it.
---------------Reguarding "customs"
One of the most common misconceptions accross the globe is that certain shippments get past customs, while others do not. For example, one of our customers stated to us that in their country, EMS packages always get charged customs fees while SAL does not. So, they always reqeusted SAL. A few packages go through just fine without customs, then one finally got tagged and they had to pay customs fees.
The moral of the story is that reguardless of the type of shipping used, your items are subject to your countries laws. Just by shipping via one method instead of another does not mean you're "immune" to customs fees. If its a major concern, be sure to research your countries import laws. SMJ is not responsible for any of those customs fees wether its a shippment you requested, an auto-shippment, or otherwise. So educate yourself and know what to expect.
Have a question or request related to shipping? Feel free to post and ask. If it warrents an additon to the above we'll add it. Replies to this thread will be deleted after they're addressed.
