Rakuten Free Shipping

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Rakuten

• 

  Frantic on 13/05/2014 - 12:22

  Anyone know if the kerosene heaters (or other kind) are good and efficient from here? Looking to heat a small-ish indoor room.. Have some airflow to the outside to prevent asphixiation.

  • 

    foobar on 13/05/2014 - 12:28

    +6

    When it comes to something like that, I'd be inclined to get it from an Australian retailer as it would (should) meet whatever standards are in place. If you import something that doesn't meet the standard and it burns down your house, your insurance is most likely worthless if they work out the cause.

    • 

      altomic on 13/05/2014 - 14:02

      japan is 110 volts. -so unless there is dual voltage…

      I used to use a kero heater in japan. yeah leave the door open a bit.

• 

  51ngh on 13/05/2014 - 12:27

  +1

  Rakuten: Same company which purchased viber earlier this year

  • 

    Forfiet on 13/05/2014 - 15:42

    also operates kobo ebook store I think……

• 

  ElWircho on 13/05/2014 - 12:54

  +2

  I don't know WHAT this is all about, but if the website greets me with riddles such as…

  If shipping fee exceeds 3,000 JPY, the remaining amount is covered by the customer.
  
  If shipping fee exceeds 5,000 JPY, the remaining amount is covered by the customer.
  

  …i don't want to know what it is about.

  • 

    Shirty Grizzly on 13/05/2014 - 12:57

    +1

    If you purchase something between 12,000Yen and 15,000 Yen (roughly 120$-150$) you get free shipping up to $30 (3000Yen) if it's more you pay the difference. If your order is over 15,000 Yen you get up to 5000Yen shipping then you pay the extra.

    • 

      ElWircho on 13/05/2014 - 13:03

      +3

      Thanks for the reply, shirtygrizzly, now i know what the main problem is: This far exceeds my intellect :(.

    • 

      oz-dave on 13/05/2014 - 15:57

      -1

      One seller wanted to charge me ¥10928 - about $114.22c (current exchange rate) - for a screen protector that weighed a few grams. Other vendors were offering me similar shipping costs on that item, and other low weight items.

      I can't see how it would possible to get free shipping, even on a piece of paper :p

      ---

      Edit : Asked for further explanation and got this

      Commodity price JPY 12248
      International shipping fees JPY 180

      Total Shipping JPY 8500
      - Shipping JPY 1500(～0.5 kg)
      - International money exchange fee + international money transfer fee JPY 7000

      ●Total payment amount your order is【 JPY 20928 】

      It seems the "money transfer fee" is the real killer, especially since there is no other option with some sellers :-(

• 

  ProggerPete on 13/05/2014 - 13:34

  Their site is busted in Chrome. Firefox works though…

  • 

    oz-dave on 13/05/2014 - 15:01

    It works for me in chrome - I just went through the purchase process with a few items…

• 

  samlor on 13/05/2014 - 13:41

  Any actual bargains? A quick look at external hard disk drives indicates they are not cheap. Or, perhaps good for exotic (to Australia) hard to find items?

• 

  impoze on 13/05/2014 - 13:58

  site seems a bit confusing, looked at global knives and there was plenty of listings but all different

• 

  oz-dave on 13/05/2014 - 15:22

  +1

  I am totally confused by the "FREE SHIPPING" offer.

  I have gone though the purchase process and received the confirmation emails asking if I would like to proceed. In each case they are charging me shipping.

  In one case the item is a small screen protector and with shipping the quoted total charge is 10 times the cost of the item itself - I find it hard to believe it could cost that much to post a screen protector of negligible weight.

  • 

    gallantgreg on 13/05/2014 - 15:53

    Both the ozbargain description and the landing page mentions you need to spend 12,000 yen to get the free shipping. That is roughly AU$125.

    • 

      oz-dave on 13/05/2014 - 16:00

      I tried some items over ¥12,000 and the shipping cost they were quoting me was still close to $100 Australian dollars despite none of the items weighing more than a few hundred grams…

  • 

    qwerks on 13/05/2014 - 23:57

    +1

    I hear ya. "FREE SHIPPING" not really.. only above the 12000JPY then capped (if over 12000JPY, capped at 3000JPY or if you spend over 15000JPY then capped at 5000JPY).

    I always get excited about these Rakuten "deals" (as I am always trying to source parts for my old Honda motorcycle) but am disappointed E-V-E-R-Y time. My 2 cents.. Not worth the trouble going through Rakuten (apart from the badly worded offers).. the few times I have grabbed a deal from JapanI've used a forwarding service, which others here have mentioned.

• 

  Kyou mo Kawaii on 13/05/2014 - 15:57

  Basically its like this:

  Your order needs to be a minimum of 12000 yen to qualify.

  Case One: The total amount of your order is between 12000 to 15000 yen:
  If they calculate your international shipping cost to be less than 3000 yen, then its free. If it is over, then you pay the amount that exceeds the 3000 yen they offer. (e.g I would have to pay 500 yen if my shipping cost is 3500 yen)

  Case Two: The total amount of your order is over 15000 yen.
  If they calculate your international shipping cost to be less than 5000 yen, then its free. If it is over, then you pay the amount that exceeds the 5000 yen they offer. (e.g I would have to pay 500 yen if my shipping cost is 5500 yen)

  I've been buying stuff from the Japan Rakuten for years now, normally I'd use forwarding services but do use the Global Rakuten when the free shipping campaign comes.

  • 

    oz-dave on 13/05/2014 - 16:04

    +1

    Shipping fees obviously vary wildly, and it is quite annoying you have to wait, sometimes hours or days, to find out what they might be - in one example I was just offered a shipping fee of ¥8680 for an item weighing only a few grams, even with the ¥3000 deducted that is extortionate…

    Edit : After a request for further explanation, it seems maybe the price they are quoting for shipping is being artificially inflated by many places including an "international money transfer fee" - since no other payment methods are offered by some places I can't see how to get around this ?!?!?

    • 

      Kyou mo Kawaii on 13/05/2014 - 22:53

      I suggest you use a fowarding service that buys the item for you. I've been using FromJapan and have had no problems with their service.

      Low service fee, great communication, English compatible, choice of shipping method.

• 

  Xplosivpoo on 13/05/2014 - 16:05

  I've just ordered 2 futons and covers off Rakuten Global, been holding off until a shipping deal came along. Because originally the futon I wanted is $58 (each), but shipping was $82.

  Although not confirmed yet, hopefully deal goes through

  Have bought from the site one time before (Japanese snow crabs in cans), and was pleased with the outcome. They don't have amazing deals, but they do have things I can't get here easily

  thanks for the deal

  • 

    Forfiet on 13/05/2014 - 16:42

    snow crabs as in a food stuff? If thats the case….. Do you think a coffee can would also pass with customs the same way??? (collectable + can I want to order…)

    • 

      Xplosivpoo on 13/05/2014 - 17:24

      +1

      i'd only be guessing if i said yes

      the box did indicate "food" on the connote though in english

      but box didn't have signs of it being opened to be checked

      http://item.rakuten.co.jp/maruyasuisan/c-otamesi-c-ab/#c-ota…

      this is what I bought if you want to see

• 

  cheepwun on 13/05/2014 - 17:20

  +3

  Japan must be the most hostile place to order anything online from overseas.
  Amazon.co.jp; difficult, to say the least.
  Rakuten; difficult to say the least.

  Even when I've found bargains I tend to hit a brick wall at some stage.

  • 

    Xplosivpoo on 13/05/2014 - 17:28

    Agree with this, always a bunch of hesitation transacting

    would like to buy more things if i had confidence

• 

  tetsuma on 13/05/2014 - 19:52

  Hmm. Momotaro denim and Oni denim are super cheap compared to Au stores.
  Gonna snag a pair of 0702s. Thanks OP.

• 

  Raymoo on 13/05/2014 - 20:00

  +1

  It looks like some people think Rakuten is like Amazon. It's not. In fact it's more like a collection of eBay stores (or Amazon Marketplace at least).

  Rakuten itself does not sell you goods. Individual merchants have accounts and sell their goods using Rakuten's website. That means your service can vary between different merchants.

  • Not all merchants will ship overseas. However, you can get around this with a forwarding service. (Tenso often has deals in conjunction with Rakuten.)

  • Not all merchants participate in promotions.

  • Not all merchants will know English. Rakuten will automatically translate the important things but if you need assistance from the merchant you might have difficulty. (All the goods listings are automatically translated too so that's why the English is terrible.)

  • And each store will charge you separately for shipping.

  I've bought things off Rakuten lots of times without trouble (usually forwarded through Tenso when they have a deal) but you should know these things before you jump in.

  • 

    cheepwun on 20/05/2014 - 13:21

    It looks like some people think Rakuten is like Amazon. It's not.

    I am not suggesting Rakuten is like Amazon; I was just mentioning that Japan is one of the most difficult places to order goods from. Amazon and Rakuten were just 2 things I've tried and each time I was hit with roadblocks. Do you know of any native Japanese stores that actually send goods here and sell competitively with the least amount of hassle and don't require paying for a forwarding service? Every time I've wanted electronics I've tended to order from the USA or UK. The Japanese are so successful at selling electronics worldwide, but just try to order anything from their country and sometimes I feel it's easier to fly there…

• 

  Jared17 on 13/05/2014 - 23:06

  Cheers OP. I haven't had any experience buying from Japan. Any kind soul with recommendations of Japanese stuff that's awesome to purchase and fair value ? clueless if I'll be overpaying of not. Thanks