Correspondence

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kojibear
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Re: Correspondence

Post by kojibear » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:22 pm

I also sent an email to GW, but alas I was not honored with a reply. Maybe I should have been more cordial...hmm...

Well, I think they don't care about a few ex-pats in Japan. They are selling to their Japanese customers and that is that, end of story. They don't need to explain the prices I suppose, because nobody is asking, at lease not up in Tokyo. If they were, would they not have addressed this issue already? I can see this as being a likely situation. There are many goods here that I would deem as being expensive, but by being expensive the item becomes elitist and quality is then naturally assumed to be representative of the price.

Then again, down here in Nagoya, many people are much more frugal, at least that is what I have heard and if my lovely Mrs is anything to go by, does indeed seems to hold some truth. Perhaps it is a regional cultural difference? Again, I may be speaking from me arse but clearly I am not the only one. GW :?:

I don't know...maybe...that is a daft notion. :?:

As for the shipping costs, don't companies that are involved in overseas trade have some relationship with mail services that entitle them to discounts? I really have no idea? Also, if GW UK/US was able to absorb these costs in the past, what has happened to change that? They did not answer that. Also, as Mike said, why only Japan then?

And yes, that crap about calling him, which will cost me money by the way, so he can do the ordering for us, makes the website superfluous. Wow, :roll: Why not just say this: "Don't worry good customer, we will have the website information written in both English and Japanese for your convenience." Maybe they can't afford the translation costs.

Nope, not satisfied with their response but I do feel sorry for the person writing to us, as he is clearly being forced to try and explain bu**sh**t with more of the same.

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me_in_japan
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Re: Correspondence

Post by me_in_japan » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:29 pm

Primarch wrote:
me_in_japan wrote:
Mike the Pike wrote:@MIJ: Sorry mate, they do use Royal Mail. At least I assume that's what all those Royal Mail stickers on my parcels mean. :lol:
I stand corrected. Looks like we needs us a new adjective, then...
Guess who Maelstrom use for shipping? Royal Mail! I'd hazard a guess that Wayland and in fact most companies sending small boxes that dont need to be there the next day do so. I know my mum does and I've never had a parcel go missing or be delayed except for when customs got their grubby mitts on it. :D
yes, yes - fine, OK. What is this - Let's all argue with MiJ night?
I just dragged my Space Hulk box out from the bottom of a pile of unopened boxes. I took the wrapper off and that was pretty much it. It does seem pretty heavy, though I have no scales with which to check it. If it is over 2kg, the price goes up fairly quickly. Plus, if your Dad thought to get insurance and/or signed for delivery and tracking for your expensive and limited edition game (I think Yellow Submarine in Nagoya may still have a copy) then that would explain the massive price as all those options are expensive and also totally unnecessary when shipping to Japan.
I have no idea what methods my dad used, but that's hardly the point, is it? He was nice enough to send it to me, so I aint about to criticize him for it, and I'd appreciate it if you'd do him the same courtesy, thanks very much.
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Wow. And then Corona happened. Just....crickets, all the way through to 2023...

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kojibear
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Re: Correspondence

Post by kojibear » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:42 pm

Games Workshop Japan as well is facing costs that are not influenced by the exchange rate (wages, rents etc.)
Exactly, how many stores do they have again? Did their rent and utilities suddenly go up by a few million yen?

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Primarch
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Re: Correspondence

Post by Primarch » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:47 pm

me_in_japan wrote: yes, yes - fine, OK. What is this - Let's all argue with MiJ night?

have no idea what methods my dad used, but that's hardly the point, is it? He was nice enough to send it to me, so I aint about to criticize him for it, and I'd appreciate it if you'd do him the same courtesy, thanks very much.
Every night is argue with M_i_J night. :D Just like every night is argue with Pikey, Spev and Badruck night.
Or more correctly every night is argue with Prim night. :lol: But I guess someone had a rough day at work. :D :D :D

As for your dad, I wasn't criticizing him, just trying to offer an explanation why you had to pay such a massive amount. After all, you were the one criticizing the Royal Mail for charging those prices and calling them unreliable, untrustworthy and scam artists.
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Primarch
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Re: Correspondence

Post by Primarch » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:48 pm

kojibear wrote:
Games Workshop Japan as well is facing costs that are not influenced by the exchange rate (wages, rents etc.)
Exactly, how many stores do they have again? Did their rent and utilities suddenly go up by a few million yen?
7 a few months ago.
Now 2.
And this is compared to stores in the UK where they dont pay wages and rent is free. :lol: :lol: :lol:
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me_in_japan
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Re: Correspondence

Post by me_in_japan » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:50 pm

I guess someone had a rough day at work. :D :D :D
burned my curry. Was really looking forward to it. Not best pleased :(
As for your dad, I wasn't criticizing him, just trying to offer an explanation why you had to pay such a massive amount.
fair enoughski :) and it wasnt me who had to pay - he did. Hence my defence of him as a top bloke. :)
you were the one criticizing the Royal Mail for charging those prices and calling them unreliable, untrustworthy and scam artists.
For a number of reasons, including high prices. They've "lost" a sufficient number of the packages I've sent (i.e. more than one) to make me highly suspicious, as well as one of their staff nicking my sister's credit card from the sorting office. Say what you like, I don't trust em.
current (2019) hobby interests
eh, y'know. Stuff, and things

Wow. And then Corona happened. Just....crickets, all the way through to 2023...

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Mike the Pike
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Re: Correspondence

Post by Mike the Pike » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:56 pm

burned my curry. Was really looking forward to it. Not best pleased :(
How on earth do you burn curry?
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kojibear
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Re: Correspondence

Post by kojibear » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:57 pm

kojibear wrote:I also sent an email to GW, but alas I was not honored with a reply. Maybe I should have been more cordial...hmm...
Actually, I must correct myself. I just checked my inbox and they did indeed send me an email, today in fact. And it was exactly the same email that Mike received.

Well, at least they answered the email.

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kojibear
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Re: Correspondence

Post by kojibear » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:59 pm

Mike the Pike wrote:
burned my curry. Was really looking forward to it. Not best pleased :(
How on earth do you burn curry?
I've done it. Not using enough water and then leaving it for too long without stirring. Wow, this is off topic :lol: We shall have to swap curry recipes next. I usually use a bit of red wine and cardamon in mine!

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Spevna
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Re: Correspondence

Post by Spevna » Tue Nov 08, 2011 1:02 pm

Mike the Pike wrote:In line with my variation on the Spevna stance I sent the following missive to GW the other day (round about the time I was winding up a certain Customs official ;) )

To whom it may concern,
I am writing to you regarding the recent increase in Shipping prices from the UK to Japan (and other locations) and the extremely negative feelings this has created amongst the gaming community here in Japan.

The recent changes now mean that shipping on a Land Raider kit have increased from 10 pounds to 50 pounds. I find this price rise totally unacceptable and can find no logical explanation to justify it. To make things even worse, this huge increase seems to have been applied to only select markets. For example, Korea, Japan's nearest neighbour, hasn't seen a price increase. Neither has Pitcairn Island. This is especially strange considering all mail to Pitcairn Island is first flown to New Zealand (which also faces a shipping increase) and then sent periodically by ship to the island itself.

It has been suggested that the increase is to encourage gamers to buy their product from Games workshop Japan's stores and/or website rather than the UK site. This would then help to grow the hobby in Japan. However, I find this line of reasoning rather insulting. In the Nagoya/Aichi area where I live the hobby was thriving long before GW even opened a store in Japan. It continues to thrive despite an almost complete lack of interest or encouragement from GW Japan. On top of that, the GW Japan website has no English information whatsoever. The gaming community in Japan has a disproportionately large expatriate component, especially outside Tokyo, something even GWJ couldn't have failed to notice. While many members of the ex-pat community can speak Japanese, not everyone has the language skills required to navigate and buy from a Japanese website.

Finally, it has long been apparent, to Japanese and expatriate gamers alike that there is a huge discrepancy between what UK hobbyists are paying for GW products and what shops in Japan are charging. Using the example of the Land raider mentioned above it is plain to see the huge difference. The GWUK price for a Land Raider is 41 pounds or 5114yen. However the price from GW Japan is a staggering 9000 yen. While taxes, shipping, Japan-side overheads and the like can probably account for some of the difference there is no logical justification for such an extreme difference. Why is this? It would seem GWJ's prices are set to reflect a exchange rate of around 220 yen to the pound. Unfortunately that has not been the exchange rate for around two years, not even close. Does this sort of disparity seem fair? Would it not be rather simple to set a new pricing system that reflected current exchange rates? No-one expects prices set to exact exchange rates but some sort of happy medium that includes a fair profit for GW but also reflects the ongoing strength of the Japanese yen. Either that or returning shipping costs from the UK to more realistic levels.

I would very much appreciate it if someone there could take the time to reply to this mail and answer some of the above queries that have come up. While I realize that Games Workshop is a busy company I think that the Gaming community in Japan deserves some answers. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Which I think covers some of our recent concerns. I just received the following reply from GW Japan's Giovanni....

Dear Customers,



Thank you for your messages regarding the price rise of the shipping fees from the UK/USA to Japan.

I can understand your frustration in not being able to enjoy a service you where very comfortable with, and we are very sorry that you are feeling upset. Many of you mentioned they wouldn’t receive a reply from Games Workshop, but since we take pride in our customer service I am very glad to share some thoughts and explain the reasons why we had to take such a decision.



Concerning the English language support, we understand that a lot of English speaking foreigners find it hard to understand Japanese. We won’t leave you alone to deal with the Japanese web store by yourselves. We are happy to provide you with guidance, and help to place your orders. I will be more than happy to help you ordering your items through the Japanese web store. You will enjoy an easy and straight forward service with reliable and inclusive prices.



English Language Support Benefits:

l Japanese Bilingual Customer Service:

You can ring from Monday to Friday at 03-3296-3512, and I will personally provide help and guidance to either place an order on the Japanese webstore or placing an order on your behalf using the Customer Service System.

l Access to all of the English and Specialist Games range:

Simply browse through the other countries web stores and once you have decided what products you need just ring the Customer Service Team we will be able to place an order on your behalf. You can also find the same English language products on the Japanese web store in the related section.



Now I think are in order some explanations about the recent changes in the shipping fees. You might not know that shipping items from a country to the other is extremely expensive and the process is very long and often difficult. These difficulties are reflected by the shipping prices most companies will charge you when you send products from a country to another. Games Workshop unfortunately is no different then other companies and we have to face a lot of costs during the shipping process. Until now Games Workshop UK/US where absorbing this extra cost but the actual economic situation does not allows Games Workshop UK/US to absorb these costs any longer and as a consequence the latter are reflected on the shipping charges to our customers.

In case you are not convinced I would suggest you check the shipping fees companies such as UPS or DHL charge their customers you will be surprised as I was when I asked.

Games Workshop Japan as well is facing costs that are not influenced by the exchange rate (wages, rents etc.) therefore if you add all together this factors you will undoubtedly have higher prices, but on the other hand through the Japanese web store we are able to offer much better shipping fees and services to our customers



Japanese Web Store Benefits:

l Access to the full range of Games Workshop products and English language products. (Note that this is a service we only offer for Japan, if you want to buy for example an Italian Codex from Japan you will have to do that from the Italian web site with related shipping fees!)

l Inclusive Japanese Shipping Fees:

1) Free shipping for orders over 10.000 Yen

2) Standard Shipping 750 Yen (orders under 10.000 Yen)

3) Express shipping 2250 Yen (1500 Yen for order over 10.000 Yen)

4) Cash on Delivery Service 2250 Yen (1800 Yen for orders over 10.000 Yen)

5) Access to all of the English language products and Specialist game range





I hope this message can give you an idea of why certain decisions where made and I hope you will understand the future benefits these changes will make possible.



Sincerely

Games Workshop Japan

Customer Service Manager



Giovanni Allari

Excellent letter Pikey. Very well put.
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