As an American I have to say I feel extremely lucky that we don’t have to pay customs as many other countries do. I think most of us take that privilege a little bit for granted but nevertheless I can’t imagine how much more expensive it costs to be part of this awesome hobby in other parts of the world.
Yup, especially since a lot of good figure collectors have left youtube. Used to watch a channel called Go Figure then without a word, they stopped uploading.
Imo there isn't anyone like that boy KenKen, his videos go hard and I find myself watching alot more of his content and trying to copy how he does stuff in terms of recording. Everyone else just switches on their camera while he works hard to make his videos look cinematic and engaging but then again he did mention he had a thing for camera n stuff as a kid
@@shinxshinra oh yea that asien kid pretty good I like his vids. He put alot of effort on his work. I wanna know more about his cameras cuz I need one.
I work for DHL and am happy to hear you've had good experiences! With the amount of shipping you're doing, have you ever looked into maybe creating a "business account" with DHL Canada for your YT channel? They should be able to provide some discounts if you can get it worked out.
I love you guys too. I live in the US and have been collecting Sofubi from Japan for yeeeears and DHL is always my #1 pick. I’ve gotten to the point where I hate anything that isn’t shipped with DHL. Amazon Prime shipping is aight too though, but that’s for just basic home goods and whatnot that I buy off Amazon.
american here: before getting into this hobby, i used to think 25$ shipping was ridiculous. the fact that i'm prepared to pay double that now is crazy. these are alex's monthly spending habits before and after anime... be careful kids. and seeing EMS be that price on amiami...atp just take ems off the options, literally no one is picking them over 200 yen cheaper DHL. also i use usps to ship stuff myself and i think they're way too expensive. why does adding tracking to one letter make it cost more than a sheet of stamps. it's a piece of paper. but overall can't complain too much compared to what other countries go through for even higher prices
@@epicstyle160 80-150€ for 3 figures sometimes even more And the figures are heckin 80€ by themselves which is not much but the delivery to Serbia is insane
Maybe this is just a UK thing but that hasnt been my experiance with EMS, i had a package ship from Amiami just yesterday and my options were 5000yen with EMS (3 figures) or 12000 DHL, and EMS lets Royal mail take over once it comes into the country so I almost never get hit by the customs man. like its genuinely unreal how much cheaper it is than DHL over here.
@@111111hakar that’s interesting, ems is still more expensive here and it’s like 6000 yen for dhl w ems a couple hundred yen more. i’ve never had to pay customs tho. damn i hope the price goes down in the us too bc i feel dumb paying for premium shipping for some stuff just bc i don’t want it on the boat
@@melonramune IDK maybe they are just trying to tempt people back because EMS wasnt available in Britain until like last month so maybe the price will eventually go up, but for now I'm enjoying it.
Gwyn is FedUp! Thanks Gwyn, this was fun! I have thus far also had good experiences with DHL/AmiAmi. I find it amazing that DHL can bring me such clean, carefully handled packages from halfway around the world while FedEx/UPS packages - even domestic - often come dirty, bent, punctured, etc. In my experience this is another example of "you get what you pay for" being accurate!
Fedex got issues, underpaid employees, drivers confirming packages as delivered then stealing them, thats not just a fedex problem, but still. Also for here in the states another good one to do would be amazon, they are hit or miss though. I have been wondering if items bought from amazon jp get shipped through amazon once they hit the states or if its USPS UPS or Fedex as well.
I had an iPad shipped through FedEx and they did exactly that ;-; Never saw that iPad but at least I got a refund and was able to buy another (shipped through USPS the second time lol)
Fedex definitely doesn't underpay their drivers.. a buddy of mine gets paid $29 (usd) an hour. Amazon third party contractors actually pay low asf around where I live (16-17 an hour)
This video is every bit as funny as much as it’s salvage 🤣. Absolutely love this format, your reactions and your comments (especially for FedEx) are a joy. Please do such impromptu videos more!
The second I saw the F-tier I thought, "Might as well just say FedEx." Every time RightStuf sends me something via FedEx I audibly sigh because I know its going to take a week longer than the estimated delivery date.
DHL is SO amazing. I live 10 minutes from the warehouse in my state so I usually just go there and pick them up. The employees are super friendly and they see me coming in so they just have my packages ready when I walk in. Insane speed and service!
FedEx is the worst. Pretty sure I had a package stolen by the driver because it was marked "delivered" but I never got it :') Also, I wish I watched this video before I bought using surface premium... I can't wait to pick up my package from my ex months from now ...
You might be able to have it held for pick up once it hits the US, I would sign up for alerts through USPS with the tracking number so you get emailed/texted when it gets to USPS and call them asap to ask about your options.
Oh wow! its interesting to hear about your experience with FedEx. Maybe its just because i live in the US but I've always had them either arrive on time, or arrive a day earlier than estimated.
the last time I ordered a figure was still in 2020. Aside from the fact that I am currently unemployed, my go-to shipping methods were SAL Unregistered and EMS, which are both (still) suspended to Canada as of March 2022. SAL was my favorite because the waiting game pre-suspension was enough for me to contain. I only do EMS when I order scale figures. I want to do DHL but I'll only do it once I have work.
This explains why Surface Premium takes a long time for me. I have something I ordered in early May, and AmiAmi still hasn't even shipped it. It's been close to 3 months and it hasn't even left the store, let alone Japan itself. Oddly enough, something I preordered that was released in April was shipped and sent immediately, and was here in 2 months. So maybe it's because it's all preowned I'm waiting longer. Stuff I ordered earlier in the year came within the estimated 4 months, though.
Thanks for the video. As far as my experience recently with EMS, I had a huge $1,400 haul shipped from AmiAmi this past Saturday, Feb 26th. It was at my door by Tuesday, March 1st. Maybe it's because I live in NYC.
When small packet was available on amiami, that was my go to shipping. it was a little more expensive than surface but probably half the price of DHL and the same shipping time as EMS. It was perfect, but since then I was doing DHL when it was cheaper, AND THEN the price was raised :( . Now I do surface premium and be patient, even though it did take like 6 months for one of my things to come in.
As a Hawaii guy, DHL is very okayish. They typically take 5-9 days to deliver from Japan to Hawaii due to their detour to the western states and refusing to ship on weekends. This is crazy to say but I found Fedex to be much faster than DHL since every package takes 3-4 days from Japan while costing a fair bit less than DHL. According to tracking, they ship directly from Japan to Hawaii. That said, I used DHL a dozen times while using Fedex just twice. I might just be lucky.
I dread getting anything delivered by DHL. I'm in the UK and instead of getting you to pay custom fees before delivery, they bizarrely sell the debt on to some shady company that contacts you completely out of the blue by text message and have the rudest staff. Never experienced anything like it with custom fees. Though delivery is super fast!
@@stomachofchaos I had always received emails from DHL as well before this, which is why I thought it was a scam at first, but I contacted DHL about it and was told it was a legitimate company. I can't remember the name of the collection company but a Google search at the time showed other people had had the same experience with this company. Thankfully I rarely get sent anything sent via DHL, mainly Parcelforce, and this debt company seems to be incapable of any mode of communication beside text and calling, so they just stopped contacting me after a while.
Fedex has been really good to me where I live. I think it's just where you are, kinda hit or miss. Normally a package from Japan will get to me in about 3 days. DHL is about the same. However, I feel like DHL cares more about their customers. Normally the DHL driver that brings my shipments calls me like 10 minutes before they reach my house.
I live in Atlanta, Georgia and here we have several UPS and USPS hubs so packages get to where I am pretty quickly. To me their customer service is alright so I would give UPS a "B" and USPS "A" because of their dirt cheap price.
it's interesting to hear about your experiences with these shipping methods since i'm in the US. with everything that's going on now, i feel a lot differently about all these than i used to... really sucks that EMS delays are so bad now, i try not to use it anymore :( your rant about fedex was so funny LMAO. they also don't ever deliver on time here. package will be "out for delivery" 3-5 times before it actually gets to my house. i still use them tho if they are the cheaper option. DHL is good but WAY too expensive for me so i only use them if they are the only fast shipping method. and USPS is usually fine. have had a couple issues before but more often than not, they deliver on time.
honestly it's been such a surprise to hear so much positivity about dhl. i've ordered before, and never personally had problems, but a few years ago a friend of mine used them to deliver a parappa the rapper piggy bank and it disappeared into san francisco never to be seen again, despite being marked as delivered... my friend lives almost an hour away from sf, by the way! he was also never able to get his package recovered or even compensated. really put me off using them for a while, but it seems like perhaps that was a fluke...? i've been surprised at how few dhl horror stories i've heard, given how massively bad that one was! it makes me wonder if maybe my friend did something wrong, lol
I mainly use EMS because it's always the cheapest between it and DHL for me. DHL is good too, but always too expensive for me. USPS is fine for me, and UPS is alright too. I agree with you about Fedex lol. Like I literally live in Tennessee, and I've never gotten a package within the US on time. it always goes to the state beside me, and then next thing I know it shows my package is on the other side of the country. Surface wasn't bad, but I stopped using it because it takes too long lol. I want my stuff quickly lol.
Wow! Super informative! I got a plushie and chose premium surface cause it was cheap and sounded like the better option but now I guess this is why he’s still sitting in the amiami warehouse after 2 months 😭😭😭 also I wish my DHL was that fast! It’s normally a week now or if I’m lucky 5 days 🤣
Omg this video came at like the perfect time for me. I just got a shipment order ready to be paid for on AmiAmi and oh my god it's SO freaking expensive. I think I might cry. To use EMS it costs $80 and I don't even wanna mention the cost to use DHL lmao. Guess I have to go with Surface and pay the $47 shipping fee 💀. Also, how do you determine when it's cheaper to separate your orders instead of combining them? I always thought that combining orders would be more ideal to save on shipping costs but I recently found out that it can actually be more expensive sometimes to do that and I have a feeling that this is the case for my current situation.
I did the surface premium for my amiami since I wanted the 100% insured just in case. But, I would say that the best person to give you an exact amount on shipping fees would be to chat with the amiami team on their website. They calculate real quick and give you the full detail amount as long as the products that you are purchasing has a designated weight already. You can ask them if it's cheaper to separate the orders or pack it together. One thing to note, I ordered Eren from Crunchyroll with my membership and inserted a 25% off code I found online and ended up saving $10 vs amiami; and I got my figure within 4 days vs amiami's 3-6 months waiting.
Generally most shipping services ship by volumetric weight, so if you have larger/heavier boxes they're usually better to ship separately. The other thing to consider however, is with DHL you're always paying the handling fee and duties. Paying that multiple times might ultimately cost more than one more expensive shipping cost package
If shipping fees are a big issue you may want to keep Tokyo Otaku Mode in mind for purchasing figures. When AmiAmi says in a description that the package will likely have extremely high shipping costs I almost exclusively end up purchasing from Tokyo Otaku Mode if the figure is available there as well. Their figures are more expensive but in those particular cases, the free shipping (when eligible) will end up saving you money overall. Solaris Japan gives you shipping costs before you even start the purchase process so you can check there to get a general idea what it will cost, assuming the figure is also available there. If you're a TOM Exclusive Member then you get stuff even cheaper (including shipping if your purchase isn't eligible) with the perks. Beware though, they're notorious for figure shipping delays, which may have to do with the fact that they also use the dedicated shipping containers.
@@brentonhollis2175 provided the free shipping is still an available option. In Canada the only option for TOM is FedEx Express, which is super expensive. I paid $90 CAD to ship the ARTFX J Fushiguro Megumi 1/8.
@@avarachika Thanks I’ll keep that in mind next time! But I’m assuming that I would need to contact them first asking about it before actually making the order? Or is it possible to separate them after they already calculated the shipping cost? I think for this package I’ll just leave it as is and go for surface premium because I have a few other packages that are gonna take a few months anyways. Also with Crunchyroll I tend to avoid that site because everything is so much more expensive oof. I’d probably only buy from them once just to use that 25% off
Also yes my EMS packages were stuck in US customs for 1-2 weeks in Jan/Dec (for a total ship time of 2.5-4 weeks), whereas I could get packages in 3-5 days from Japan back in Nov/Oct. It has gotten pricier and takes way longer.
This post was made 6.19.22: I've been a buyer/seller/collector of things longer than many of you here are old. It's not intended as a boast nor is it a put down. As a US resident items going to Canada via USPS to Canadian buyers usually don't get hit with excise taxes, import fees whereas shipping with UPS, FedEx to Canada residents paying those fees are a given. History: In the 1960's-1990's US-Canada shipping almost required each country to have an onsite package forwarder a few blocks away either side of the border. On any given postal carrier shift International shipping was taken care of last. Usually this meant days, weeks getting a package across. Canada Post then was tactfully known as Canada's postal storage system. To expedite receiving anything US or Canadian shippers would rent a PO Box or space in a border town at a specialty facility, make a weekly trip to these places, drag their haul thru their country's customs (or sneak it thru), return home. Service this method was 2-3 weeks' quicker than waiting on the posties. It's different now. Getting items from Japan as a US resident: when I started collecting PVC April, 2012, EMS used to be the way to go. Service was fast, cost was reasonable (compared to now). Since Japan Post shutdown 2020-2021 USPS/Japan Post have raised their rates to almost match that level of the private sector carriers (DHL, UPS, FedEx, others) before restoring service. Since 2021 service restoration to US, depending on size of carton & weight, I usually choose DHL, FedEx Int'l, sometimes UPS World Saver (which it is NOT) over Japan Post / EMS. The shipping rates border on legal extortion but I will pay them rather than do without certain collectibles (though I have cut back immensely since covid hoax). Of the 3 private sector carriers used Internationally I prefer DHL, FedEx Int'l, UPS World Saver in that order and prefer all over Japan Post / EMS since covid hoax service reinstatement. I used Surface Mail 1 time getting a 1/4 Freeing Tenchi Muyo Ryo-Ohki Bunny to US from Hobby Search when EMS was still embargoing. She arrived 8 weeks' later in great shape but shipping cost $34. Here in US if I use EMS my shipments from AmiAmi will rest at US Customs (Chicago IL) 1-3 weeks at a time before being cleared. Before covid 3 days' max used to be worst service here. Recent Lily-Japan via Ebay purchase got here in 3 days' time Japan to US using FedEx Int'l; no bullshit lollygagging around US Customs waiting for the cows to come home. As an Ebay seller: I sell Globally. Some of it PVC, diecast trucks, trains. Since covid hoax restoration of service worldwide I rely on Ebay Global Shipping Program. It has its limitations (can't combine multiple global sales going to 1 individual) but I no longer have to worry about packages "stuck" overseas account government mandate, action, inaction. When covid shut down everything 2020 I had 1 item in England, another in Italy; both in an indefinite purgatory thanks to that shit head named Fauci. (And I used to lower valuations on certain items if buyer requested it when I did international shipping myself before covid). Whether you realize it or not the seller is 100% responsible for that sale arriving to buyer doorstep. It doesn't disappear once the package leaves your domicile. US shipping experiences as a seller: UPS Ground is great, fast, dependable, almost worry-free shipping. FedEx Home Delivery: I've had good luck 99% of the time. They only screwed up existence of 1 package on their tracking internet which forced me to call Memphis TN to verify snafu, how to fix it, keep buyer informed that item was not lost in transit. USPS: depends on package weight, package dimensions & destination. USPS charges on volume displacement now versus weight. If certain package dimensions exceed 12" the cost to send anything weighing more than 3-4 lbs rises exponentially. I can send a 19,17,16 dimension package to California via UPS Ground for almost 50% what USPS demands and the UPS service will be better and arrive on time. USPS packages going thru Texas for delivery seem to take almost a week whereas UPS can do same 2-3 days at same or less cost. My local postal carrier tells me the USPS is trying to have enough money on hand to service their postal carrier's pension funds for 75 years into the future NOW. This statement sounds like fiction to me but it would explain the exorbitant fees charged now by these folks. Our USPS people work real hard, seldom get their vacation time lately (everyone's quitting). I seldom see my guy since UPS does as good if not better job for less and is more reliable.
American here, I love using USPS domestically because flat rate packages ship super quickly and very cheaply. Tracking can take a while because you'll receive tracking info when a seller buys the label instead of when USPS receives the package. I've only used DHL once and the package arrived in like two days, but came wrapped in DHL tape because they soaked the box ;(. Luckily the store wrapped the figure box in plastic. Fedex from Japan has been pretty good, but domestic shipping is delayed 80% of the time. EMS is mid.
same issue with the delay between USPS Shipping Label created and the actual package parcel pick up. I have a feeling the Shipping label generated message is like when your order gets confirmed. I've noticed that when i buy from any US-based business. Shipping label created - 2-3 weeks - package pick up from the actual business.
Ive never ordered figures from FedEx. But when I ordered Japanese vinyl records they were by far the cheapest and always avoided duties. No damage to the packages either. I’m Canadian btw.
Yeah, FedEx Ground is crap. I ordered a Pop Up Parade from Crunchyroll's store. A strike against Crunchyroll is they didn't let me choose the shipping method. Anyway, for a frame of reference, the figure started in California and I'm just outside of Buffalo, New York. This thing took longer to ship across the US then DHL or EMS ships across the planet. It took like 3 days just to leave California then hopscotches across the midwest until it seemingly sits in Cincinnati for a week. Then without notice it just appears at my door one day. The figure arrived perfectly fine but it's not an experience I want to repeat if I can help it. It's actually part of the reason I'm hesitant to pre-order those Dragon Maid figures that are Crunchyroll exclusive for some reason. The fact that they did that still baffles me.
From my experience recently Ems is cheaper than DhL. For me DHL is usually twice the price of EMS. I usually buy in bulk which comes out to be 100 dollars in shipping but the box is about 770 mm x 577 mm x 373 mm. Fits about three 1/4 bunny figures
@@SonnyLando I live in the US. DHL is more expensive here. EMS takes about two weeks, comes with tracking. DHL takes about one week. From what I was told you can't buy too many items in bulk with DHL so if the box is too big dhl wont do it.
DHL and UPS have been the best value for fast shipping for me, the trick with DHL is to make sure to ship big things separately. That's what makes the price the same or a little better than EMS. I also have always had great customer service from UPS and never had any issues with deliveries, and it's easy to have the packages held for pick up or rerouted. I'm sorry to hear they bent some of yours. :( DHL is definitely my favorite though because you can also easily select the delivery day within a 1-2 week window to make sure you're home, and choose whether you want contact-less delivery. I've had several packages delivered by FedEx that came severely smashed when they had no right to be (the boxes were really thick and packaged well) and also wet. I always get mediocre customer service when I call or go in person. For some reason I could not have one of my VERY expensive MegaHouse figures held for pick up (shipped by a private seller) and I was sweating and stressing the whole time trying to make sure I was home and hoping they wouldnt damage my package like the previous ones. Thank goodness it also came boxed in the original MH box in addition to the shipping box. USPS is very hit or miss and they require in person signature for EMS, while only making three delivery attempts and holding packages for 7 days before returning to sender. Quality of service also depends on your local post office, at my old place they straight up would not use the parcel lockers or deliver to your door. If it didnt fit in the cluster box you HAD to pick up in person. They also damaged one of my packages by shoving it in the box when it said do not bend. They also never answered the freaking phone and would literally pick it up and hang up on you. 🙄
You're not alone on the USPS problem. There is only one figure I never had to personally pick up and it was shoved in horribly. I genuinely believe they tell their delivery people to not deliver packages on purpose LOL
I had your same FedEx experience but with UPS. Some friends said they had the same problem with DHL. I think Canada is an afterthought with these shippers. Amazon Japan with DHL is hot.
I actually like FedEx, I've only had good experiences with them (except maybe for once when my package got stuck in china for a few days for some reason). I'm European tho, and from what I know other Europeans also like FedEx. I was surprised to see so many people from North America hate on the company, but maybe things are just different there
For the record, I live in Norway. I'm 100% agree with you about DHL. Yes it's expensive but the service is just superior to all the other! Just fantastic
I had a FedEx call like that, lol, ya same experience. But, it was my first time ordering figurines so, I had no idea what to expect. Wish I saw this first. And ya, another time, the package was even ripped open in a couple of spots, but the packaging saved the books.
I live in the Netherlands and my experience with fedex has always been good, never had a problem. They are sometimes even faster then they actually put the estimate for. Like the last time when I received a package via fedex was when they estimated the delivery on a thursday but it arrived on a wednesday. The tracking obviously got updated too. It's even better if you cba to wait for an email to pay customs and pay it up front. Like at nin-nin-game you have this option. However, I would still not choose the pre-duty paid customs because some stores have the option to declare the value of figures lower than they are actually priced at. Which makes customs tax so much cheaper. But I may be biased because I haven't received that many packages from fedex, I must be lucky.
I ordered sticker and ups happen to be the delivery where they would place my package randomly inside. Led to bent over some of my stickers. They can also be a little inaccurate got an email saying it was delivered but once I check nothing was there, had to wait until another hour or more until it finally showed.
I have literally only used two shipping methods since I started collecting (because apparently Australians don’t get many choices for shipping-), Surface parcel and DHL, so of course I’m gosh to be biased to think DHL’s 5 day arrival time is infinitely better than 2-3 months, lol.
I haven't watched this video yet, but making this comment to say FEDEX is the absolute worst. The best delivery service I've used was DHL when shipping from Japan to USA.
About the shipping is an interesting topic to discuss since we also have to consider it when buying figures abroad. In my experience, EMS is always my go-to when buying figures/items from JP since they're cheaper, decently fast and my package were safe. EMS may not be available for other countries. I tried FedEx once to ship a doujin comic worth 750 yen but my problem and that extra hidden charge I'm not aware of. When it was delivered, they charged me upfront again another 1.2k yen (for customs stuff they say but with the price of my item it should be duty-free) and that made the overall shipping fee thrice the price I paid. Delivery is fast yes but that made me not use Fedex again.
I get FedEx packages from I think the Pokemon Center and maybe Gamestop sometimes, no problems there. But I do think part of that is they are smaller, domestic shipments and I don't usually have to sign. I love DHL, they are so fast they usually deliver earlier then they say they will for me!
All your issues with FedEx are what I have with USPS which would technically include EMS, expect the for the customs and such. The dates they give are either wrong or short notice, so 9 times out of 10, I have to go pick it up or reschedule a delivery. But also sometimes the drives mark it as delivered so I have no choice but to pick it up. I love DHL and the no signature option or even scheduling a different delivery day 🙏🏻
DHL is A Tier they are the most reliable but too expansive for me Surface is S tier it just saves ton of money that I can buy with more figures EMS is F tier too slow for me for the money Air Small Packet Registered is S tier because it's much cheaper from EMS and it's cheap and reliable FedEx express is B for me just because they charge less than DHL and they are still fast but I hate the hidden fees
This really helps me with future orders, even though I am a Bulgarian collector and I deal with custom taxes no matter the carrier since all packages are outside the EU. However, perhaps the only change is with UPS? I used them only for packages from Germany (since that's where I got both of my bass guitars from, never for figure collecting) and they were extremely fast, but outside this, I could imagine the trouble... However, DHL and EMS really are most of the time the best option to go for (whenever I can afford it) and my best most reliable people at BG Post, because they have handled 89% of my packages for 2 years now and always inform me beforehand for fees, etc. I got to use Surface only twice, perhaps, and I did get nice treatment for packages even if the wait is a lot but my packages were all intact. Never interacted with FedEx even if we have one in Bulgaria, I'd rather run to Speedy or another courier, to be honest, after this rant, I am not sure if I want to even check them out in my country. And your opinion IS valid, indeed! Really enjoyed the video to see how it goes for the rest of the world and now I am curious how it works for other collectors in Europe.
I’ve had some strange stuff happen with USPS if the shipping originated in Chicago area it goes to Iowa or Missouri or sometimes both before getting delivered and I’m in Illinois like a couple hours from Chicago🤦🏼♀️ but honestly it is usually pretty cheap, fast, and usually no damage otherwise
I’ve lately been getting my packages thru Usps and the reason I like them is because I live in apartment and we have a special room at the main office we’re they drop off packages and the office sends me a code to unlock the room I really like that specially since most of the time I’m not home I don’t like getting packages left at my door for the fact that they can be stolen specially recently I bought the love throat binding figure I bought if from some one in the states and I paid a lot for her so I was glad that it was dropped at the office
fedex is good but they have the weirdest shipping routes. i got a package form them the other day and it came from a county away it was due to it being the closest distribution center but ive only ever seen this happen with fedex. so it went through a whole county before being delievered near the end of the day
Same! I tried out just leaving my signature and printed name with the tracking number on the door and they took it!^^ maybe try it for yourself if you know you won’t be home when it’s out for delivery^^
I live in Vancouver and when ordering thigns, DHL is by far the clearest in delivery. BUT there have been times where they don't even try to buzz my apt and leave a slip. Then trying to get the package from them is a giant pain in the ass. Canada Post also usually leaves slips if they can't shove it in my small mailbox, but they are by far the easiest to pick up. Fed Ex is very hit or miss, and packages usually come a bit banged up more than the others.
The shipping rates recently went up a bunch for all the services, but usually, shipping a package of 4-5 records from Japan with DHL was usually equal or even cheaper than EMS. And of course, package is here in 2 days. S-tier for sure. Now EMS is the cheaper option, so it's a harder choice.
The only bad experience I had with shipping is with USPS (including Japan Post into USPS, on the USPS leg). Two package was lost(one is known to have been destroyed, the other I will never know the status of) and one was VERY significantly delayed(I'm talking month) But I can't say confidently that that makes it worse than other methods, as one of the reason that I've so many bad experience with USPS is because I have the most experience with USPS. Probably around 70-80% of my package go through USPS at some point. As a result, I'd say my feeling on matters are primarily one of speed and cost, which tend to be correlated so... overall pretty flat. I also had a problem with Amazon, but that have to do with how they package things. The outer box was totally fine, the content was not.
I used to dislike DHL profusely as I have had bad experiences with them in the past but I'm begining to think that was only at the local level because lately DHL has been great, always fast and here on time or early.
FedEx always leaves my packages out in the rain. My figure boxes always get ruined by the time I get home to get them out of the rain. And they always have an option to put them under the open carport area, but they don't. It drives me crazy.
So interesting!I LOVE EMS...so insane...from japan to germany (where i´m from) in only 3/4 days,so cool!DHL is way more common here in germany and not that expensive,very transparent with their tracking system and these packing stations are really great,i´ve got to admit.
I think the biggest thing is always ship with insurance, signature required and the fastest method... you really don't want your package being banged around to long especially with USPS snail mail
I’ve only bought 2 Resin statues, one came from Japan with DHL (I payed €400), the other with UPS from China (I payed €375), the one from DHL took under 2 weeks, the one from UPS took over 5 weeks.
Fedex Express is generally good for me and my partner. We don't have a covered porch and our Fedex Express Courier always leaves the packages in a plastic bag if its raining which is nice. Fedex Ground is pretty meh if not flat out bad. Also, I love my USPS mail courier, but they're also super under funded so I understand pains with them.
EMS has definitely slowed down my last 2 shipments from AmiAmi have taken longer to get to me. DHL I agree is fast!! But expensive! FedEx has been ok here in America, with most of my shipments from KotoUS. UPS is trash, I ordered some adidas sneakers a while back and the box was trashed, plus they’re slow compared to other domestic shipping services. I’ve never used SurfaceParcel so can’t comment on that. I did order a 1/7 scale KDcolle Haruhi Suzumiya from “Big in Japan” recently with SAL Small Packet registered, so I’ll let you guys know how that turns out.
omg same every time I get something by fedex it gets delayed for like over a week. and they kept saying delivery attempted while i sit at my window and staring and waiting for them to come...
I'm in the US and DHL is my go to shipping service for items from Japan. It used to be EMS, but their price hikes made DHL the less expensive choice. I love USPS, but for shipping heavier items, FedEx is way cheaper than Priority and their delivery time has been just as good or better than USPS. Never had a damaged package delivered from DHL, USPS or FedEx. UPS is great about getting packages delivered fast, but they just aren't as careful in their handling of packages. I've had some boxes arrive with crushed sides or corners, holes in the sides and even a couple with the tops completely open which leaves my trust in UPS lacking. And finally, when it comes to shipping prices, I know how lucky I am to live in the US. When I hear about all the extra fees others have to pay, I cringe every time.
Sorry, no good FedEx experiences to share here lol! :-) Can attest to a few things you said in the vid about FedEx shipping. The only good thing I can say is that I did end up getting all my packages (so far) but the past couple ones I've had to drive down to pick up from their office , because of the no signature thing...… and the current package which is containing figures (which I literally can't w8 to get) got hit with a delay for an entire week, then I get a shipment exception update "Barcode label unreadable and replaced". I'd say I've had some type of delay and shipment exception around 75% of the time using FedEx. Hopefully I get my figures tmo, but they are way late on delivering. btw from the U.S :)
As a fellow Canadian, I collect different shit than you do mind you but I have little experience with FedEx so I can't comment really. But yeah UPS has been crazy hit or miss for me, your FedEx experience with the credit card is nearly identical to an experience I had with UPS once though lol. Fully expected F tier to be for Canada Post though they've just been absolutely atrocious for years before Covid even happened lol.
The only reason why I like USPS is because you need a key to get into my apartments so since they are the company that delivers everyone’s mail here in the US they have a key to my apartments so if I am at work or not home for some reason I know that I’m still going to get my stuff delivered. I hate UPS I be putting tape on the door of my apartments so people can come in and out of my apartment complex and I still get notifications about “delivery attempt failed” and I come back home and the tape is still there, then the next day they “attempt” again but I end up having to pick it up from a pick up location (T ^ T)
I have only had horrible experiences from DHL. They either are very late or they lose my package no other servers I've ever had to do that and it takes forever for them to reimburse me. The best is FedEx or USPS. I'm an American and honestly every time I've gotten both of those never had a problem. Always on time or early
As a former delivery driver (Amazon) based in the US, we get paid around 15-16 dollars an hour. I thought hey this would be an easy job and not too hard to do and i pronanly dont have too much to get done. Boy was I wrong. The amount of pressure these stupid managers put on you to get ALL of your deliveries completed is insane. I know people expect their delivery drivers to treat everything with care (and for the most part I did) , just had a few moments where I was like fuck this, it's waaaaay to damn heavy and big for me to lift and just trudged it (tho this was like my 3rd to last day) Anyway back to the topic. I know you (and me) expect for the drivers to be treating everything with care and caress but when your manager is up your ass about delivering each and every item In your truck (and it's usually over 200+ items with 150-200 stops depending on the area), it gets really tiresome and you end up not giving a fuck close to the end of the day. My shift would start from 10am until 11pm. Of course I got paid overtime but they expected us to do so every day. I cannot stress anough how hard it is on your knees to get up and off a truck with some packages weighing over 50 pounds and multiple at that in certain occasions. It gets pretty stupid how much work they give you. One time I had my truck filled up to the ceiling and has literally no space to walk through. They expect you to finish your deliveries and don't really care if there is bad weather or traffic problems. They do this while tracking your driving and amount of deliveries you completed. It's ridiculous how they you to finish everything and expect you to comeback in the morning all excited for the next day. I even came across some very aggressive people who just hated us being on their property. The point is the whole delivery system and shipping is just messed up and a very stressful environment, some companies are better but at the end of the day it really determines if the company has shitty managers that determine whether your items get there in pristine condition or not.
Do you get to pick which shipping when you order a figure from ami ami? I am going to start my collection with the Keade V3 Scale and am waiting for that to go up on pre order (I’m assuming all pre orders are ami ami but maybe I am ignorant I am very new to the hobby) I am doing all the research and your account is so helpful!!!
FedEx to the Philippines is horrible too! I literally just got a package delivered today and they always charge extra $11 at the doorstep took 5 days. Never happens with DHL for me, just takes 2-3 days max! Surprisingly, EMS works we’ll here too. Almost always just as fast as DHL but they also charge a $3 postage fee when they arrive.
I don't know about DHL. yeah they are super duper fast buuuut so so so expensive!!!!. The taxes and import fees are all over ranging from 20 to over 60 sometimes and that is on top of the high shipping fee you pay when placing the order. I live in Vancouver so i am not sure if that is a reason as to why things are different. Agree with all the other things though. I HATE HATE Fedex and also had to deal with it when ordering from TOM. Same experience as you. HATE IT lol Over all shipping is a nightmare for me right now.. I don't mind waiting months if it means it will come and it will be cheaper. But all the affordable options are out for the places i order like amiami. So most of the time i am stuck with DHL ;A; I did start using Byee, actually used your promo code haha. But yeah over all shipping for me right now is a nightmare usually.
Fedex is not giving me my w2 (It got lost in the mail) my employers can’t give me a copy because they do not have them, and when i call them i have to wait for an hour just for the call to get cut off
I live in Greece and for me the only available option for quite some time is surface parcel i mostly choose to buy from EU stores so i can avoid customs or Solaris as is more managable with the invoices! The only time i tried through TOM was with a nendo which costed me 65 euros with shipping and got shipped with Fedex, the customs were 146 euros xDD so i returned it and im never trying that again!!
As an American? USPS is pure garbo unless your shipping priority. I love fedex the most - and noticed recently just how fast DHL is. Most bad experience for me was with UPS.
Soo DHL had a 17% increase of shipping costs for US and i think for Canada as well right?? I mean.. i get it a lot of stuff is happening in the world rn but like WTH! I recently paid for luphia and taigas 1/4th scale and the shipping cost for DHL was $240, while ems was $100. I feel like ems is good for large packages and dhl for smaller packages, but if the price difference isnt too much ill just go with dhl since it does tend to get delivered safer. I once had a package delivered by ems with a rock punctured on the side.. which had me worried..
I'm not sure if it's cus I live in Singapore or not, back when I was working for a jeweler, the company always ships their diamonds via fedex and it seems there is barely any to no problem, the receiver got the items with 1-2 days too like dhl for you. (Though the signature thing is still a must or you would need to go to the post office to retrieve your item)
My beef with DHL is how they charge you 200% of the customs fee, I would rather go do the due process with my local mail over paying twice as much as I had to actually pay
I live in Vancouver. I hate FedEx as well. every time I ordered my figures from Japan. I have to pay all duty fees, and taxes. Also their distribution center is like 30 min drive from my home. not to mention the shipping cost is already the higher ones. and for everyone who lives in Canada, only limited ways to ship at this moment. which really sucks.
Live in sweden I can only pick dhl or some kind of surface shipment. I have holo b style preordered for August and do not want to now dhl price for her! I dont know if I dare take surface for her I am so afraid she is going to disappear
I actually hate using DHL and prefer EMS since DHL delivered my package to the wrong address and never recovered it. Price wise it's also way more efficient to use EMS for scales since it's by weight instead of volume weight.
My tier list as American. To be honest, never had a bad experience with Fedex. With UPS I have legit had stolen / opened packages before and with USPS have had packages lost and going through customer support was an endless nightmare it wasn't worth the hassle and I just re-ordered the item. DHL is god tier tho after using them to buy Japan imports. S- DHL A- Fedex Express B - Fedex Ground, UPS Overnight C- USPS Priority D- EMS, UPS Ground (I just don't like UPS, never really have) F- USPS (honestly they deserve it... horrible customer support, if your package is lost its game over.)
I hate fedex because when I ordered my kirishima 1/8 scale the box came beat up but he was still in good shape and my saber artoria pendragon alter casual version 1/7 box was a little beat up too but she was in good shape and too and when I got my latest nendoroid it keep get put on the vehicle and than not delivering it put it back on the vehicle but I was able to get it on the 13th of February
Want to know why your packages are damaged from FedEx? I used to work at one of their ''hubs'' and let me tell you, the people who work there do not care about damaging freight. I saw people throwing boxes, literally slamming them down if the person is having a bad day, and I can't tell you how many trailers that had some defect that caused rain water to destroy thousands of boxes. Not only is their shipping bad, but their internals suck too. All in all FedEx is a backwards company, and one of the reasons why they're understaffed is because they randomly decide to cut their employees hours.
yeah.. FedEx does suck... I order a glass display through a company and they used fedex to ship my glass display. It arrived broken in half and all the glass pieces shattered. Also I had to wait a few extra days than expected day, just to get my broken glass display at my doorstep.
I made my first order on amiami with dhl and the shipping cost was almost 7000 Yen for 1 figure... ridiculous. So I went with surface shipping instead which cost below 2000 Yen. It'll take a long time but I wasnt ready to pay more for shipping than the figure itself
I love DHL but the shipping costs to germany are ridiculous. I just ordered a figure and I have to pay 81 Euro for shipping. the figure isn't even that big. On top of that I have to pay customes. It's almost the same price as the figure and really frustrating.
As an American I have to say I feel extremely lucky that we don’t have to pay customs as many other countries do. I think most of us take that privilege a little bit for granted but nevertheless I can’t imagine how much more expensive it costs to be part of this awesome hobby in other parts of the world.
You don't wanna know... in my country it's about 25% value of the package... imagine paying this much a few times a month...
i pay extra 39% + extra 6€ for DHL fee on top if the figure costs more than 150€. If the Figure is under 150€ i pay ''only'' 19% + 6€ DHL fee
Ey what's good shipping for amiami is 6000shipping alot? Does it cost more for the weight or size?
I didn't know it was a thing until now
Animbae, Gwyn Collects and Daijububu are like the trinity of comfort food anime figure content lol, just put on a video and chill 😎
Yup, especially since a lot of good figure collectors have left youtube. Used to watch a channel called Go Figure then without a word, they stopped uploading.
Ahhh yes, Go Figure! had great content all the time. I miss her channel.
Thanks for the recs, I subbed to all of them 👍
Imo there isn't anyone like that boy KenKen, his videos go hard and I find myself watching alot more of his content and trying to copy how he does stuff in terms of recording. Everyone else just switches on their camera while he works hard to make his videos look cinematic and engaging but then again he did mention he had a thing for camera n stuff as a kid
@@shinxshinra oh yea that asien kid pretty good I like his vids. He put alot of effort on his work. I wanna know more about his cameras cuz I need one.
I work for DHL and am happy to hear you've had good experiences! With the amount of shipping you're doing, have you ever looked into maybe creating a "business account" with DHL Canada for your YT channel? They should be able to provide some discounts if you can get it worked out.
I'll have to look into it for sure!
I love you guys too. I live in the US and have been collecting Sofubi from Japan for yeeeears and DHL is always my #1 pick. I’ve gotten to the point where I hate anything that isn’t shipped with DHL. Amazon Prime shipping is aight too though, but that’s for just basic home goods and whatnot that I buy off Amazon.
@@GwynCollects name for those 2 poster in the back right corner plz.
Too bad DHL isn’t bigger in the US, I’d be nice to have them competing with UPS and USPS more heavily. I love their fast shipping from Japan.
@@SpikeTheWolf MIKU HATSUNE X RASCAL 2021: B2 TAPESTRY the one in the door can't see to well
american here: before getting into this hobby, i used to think 25$ shipping was ridiculous. the fact that i'm prepared to pay double that now is crazy. these are alex's monthly spending habits before and after anime... be careful kids. and seeing EMS be that price on amiami...atp just take ems off the options, literally no one is picking them over 200 yen cheaper DHL. also i use usps to ship stuff myself and i think they're way too expensive. why does adding tracking to one letter make it cost more than a sheet of stamps. it's a piece of paper. but overall can't complain too much compared to what other countries go through for even higher prices
Agree a lot on that last part. From what I've seen so far, European collectors get screwed over with shipping prices
@@epicstyle160 80-150€ for 3 figures
sometimes even more
And the figures are heckin 80€ by themselves which is not much but the delivery to Serbia is insane
Maybe this is just a UK thing but that hasnt been my experiance with EMS, i had a package ship from Amiami just yesterday and my options were 5000yen with EMS (3 figures) or 12000 DHL, and EMS lets Royal mail take over once it comes into the country so I almost never get hit by the customs man. like its genuinely unreal how much cheaper it is than DHL over here.
@@111111hakar that’s interesting, ems is still more expensive here and it’s like 6000 yen for dhl w ems a couple hundred yen more. i’ve never had to pay customs tho. damn i hope the price goes down in the us too bc i feel dumb paying for premium shipping for some stuff just bc i don’t want it on the boat
@@melonramune IDK maybe they are just trying to tempt people back because EMS wasnt available in Britain until like last month so maybe the price will eventually go up, but for now I'm enjoying it.
Gwyn is FedUp!
Thanks Gwyn, this was fun! I have thus far also had good experiences with DHL/AmiAmi. I find it amazing that DHL can bring me such clean, carefully handled packages from halfway around the world while FedEx/UPS packages - even domestic - often come dirty, bent, punctured, etc. In my experience this is another example of "you get what you pay for" being accurate!
Fedex got issues, underpaid employees, drivers confirming packages as delivered then stealing them, thats not just a fedex problem, but still. Also for here in the states another good one to do would be amazon, they are hit or miss though. I have been wondering if items bought from amazon jp get shipped through amazon once they hit the states or if its USPS UPS or Fedex as well.
In Canada, Amazon JP ships through DHL
I had an iPad shipped through FedEx and they did exactly that ;-; Never saw that iPad but at least I got a refund and was able to buy another (shipped through USPS the second time lol)
Fedex definitely doesn't underpay their drivers.. a buddy of mine gets paid $29 (usd) an hour. Amazon third party contractors actually pay low asf around where I live (16-17 an hour)
This video is every bit as funny as much as it’s salvage 🤣. Absolutely love this format, your reactions and your comments (especially for FedEx) are a joy. Please do such impromptu videos more!
The second I saw the F-tier I thought, "Might as well just say FedEx." Every time RightStuf sends me something via FedEx I audibly sigh because I know its going to take a week longer than the estimated delivery date.
DHL is SO amazing. I live 10 minutes from the warehouse in my state so I usually just go there and pick them up. The employees are super friendly and they see me coming in so they just have my packages ready when I walk in. Insane speed and service!
FedEx is the worst. Pretty sure I had a package stolen by the driver because it was marked "delivered" but I never got it :') Also, I wish I watched this video before I bought using surface premium... I can't wait to pick up my package from my ex months from now ...
You might be able to have it held for pick up once it hits the US, I would sign up for alerts through USPS with the tracking number so you get emailed/texted when it gets to USPS and call them asap to ask about your options.
Oh wow! its interesting to hear about your experience with FedEx. Maybe its just because i live in the US but I've always had them either arrive on time, or arrive a day earlier than estimated.
the last time I ordered a figure was still in 2020. Aside from the fact that I am currently unemployed, my go-to shipping methods were SAL Unregistered and EMS, which are both (still) suspended to Canada as of March 2022. SAL was my favorite because the waiting game pre-suspension was enough for me to contain. I only do EMS when I order scale figures. I want to do DHL but I'll only do it once I have work.
This explains why Surface Premium takes a long time for me. I have something I ordered in early May, and AmiAmi still hasn't even shipped it. It's been close to 3 months and it hasn't even left the store, let alone Japan itself. Oddly enough, something I preordered that was released in April was shipped and sent immediately, and was here in 2 months. So maybe it's because it's all preowned I'm waiting longer. Stuff I ordered earlier in the year came within the estimated 4 months, though.
SUPER appreciate your breakdown. You are an asset to the figure collecting community. :)
Thank you so much!
Thanks for the video. As far as my experience recently with EMS, I had a huge $1,400 haul shipped from AmiAmi this past Saturday, Feb 26th. It was at my door by Tuesday, March 1st. Maybe it's because I live in NYC.
When small packet was available on amiami, that was my go to shipping. it was a little more expensive than surface but probably half the price of DHL and the same shipping time as EMS. It was perfect, but since then I was doing DHL when it was cheaper, AND THEN the price was raised :( . Now I do surface premium and be patient, even though it did take like 6 months for one of my things to come in.
I’ve enjoyed DHL because it’s default for shipping from amazon japan. It’s like coming through a wormhole it’s so fast
As a Hawaii guy, DHL is very okayish. They typically take 5-9 days to deliver from Japan to Hawaii due to their detour to the western states and refusing to ship on weekends. This is crazy to say but I found Fedex to be much faster than DHL since every package takes 3-4 days from Japan while costing a fair bit less than DHL. According to tracking, they ship directly from Japan to Hawaii.
That said, I used DHL a dozen times while using Fedex just twice. I might just be lucky.
I dread getting anything delivered by DHL. I'm in the UK and instead of getting you to pay custom fees before delivery, they bizarrely sell the debt on to some shady company that contacts you completely out of the blue by text message and have the rudest staff. Never experienced anything like it with custom fees. Though delivery is super fast!
Interesting to read this as any request for duty from DHL for my items had all been done online. I live in the UK too.
@@stomachofchaos I had always received emails from DHL as well before this, which is why I thought it was a scam at first, but I contacted DHL about it and was told it was a legitimate company. I can't remember the name of the collection company but a Google search at the time showed other people had had the same experience with this company. Thankfully I rarely get sent anything sent via DHL, mainly Parcelforce, and this debt company seems to be incapable of any mode of communication beside text and calling, so they just stopped contacting me after a while.
Fedex has been really good to me where I live. I think it's just where you are, kinda hit or miss. Normally a package from Japan will get to me in about 3 days. DHL is about the same. However, I feel like DHL cares more about their customers. Normally the DHL driver that brings my shipments calls me like 10 minutes before they reach my house.
I live in Atlanta, Georgia and here we have several UPS and USPS hubs so packages get to where I am pretty quickly. To me their customer service is alright so I would give UPS a "B" and USPS "A" because of their dirt cheap price.
it's interesting to hear about your experiences with these shipping methods since i'm in the US. with everything that's going on now, i feel a lot differently about all these than i used to... really sucks that EMS delays are so bad now, i try not to use it anymore :(
your rant about fedex was so funny LMAO. they also don't ever deliver on time here. package will be "out for delivery" 3-5 times before it actually gets to my house. i still use them tho if they are the cheaper option. DHL is good but WAY too expensive for me so i only use them if they are the only fast shipping method. and USPS is usually fine. have had a couple issues before but more often than not, they deliver on time.
honestly it's been such a surprise to hear so much positivity about dhl. i've ordered before, and never personally had problems, but a few years ago a friend of mine used them to deliver a parappa the rapper piggy bank and it disappeared into san francisco never to be seen again, despite being marked as delivered... my friend lives almost an hour away from sf, by the way! he was also never able to get his package recovered or even compensated. really put me off using them for a while, but it seems like perhaps that was a fluke...? i've been surprised at how few dhl horror stories i've heard, given how massively bad that one was! it makes me wonder if maybe my friend did something wrong, lol
I mainly use EMS because it's always the cheapest between it and DHL for me. DHL is good too, but always too expensive for me. USPS is fine for me, and UPS is alright too. I agree with you about Fedex lol. Like I literally live in Tennessee, and I've never gotten a package within the US on time. it always goes to the state beside me, and then next thing I know it shows my package is on the other side of the country. Surface wasn't bad, but I stopped using it because it takes too long lol. I want my stuff quickly lol.
Wow! Super informative! I got a plushie and chose premium surface cause it was cheap and sounded like the better option but now I guess this is why he’s still sitting in the amiami warehouse after 2 months 😭😭😭 also I wish my DHL was that fast! It’s normally a week now or if I’m lucky 5 days 🤣
Omg this video came at like the perfect time for me. I just got a shipment order ready to be paid for on AmiAmi and oh my god it's SO freaking expensive. I think I might cry. To use EMS it costs $80 and I don't even wanna mention the cost to use DHL lmao. Guess I have to go with Surface and pay the $47 shipping fee 💀.
Also, how do you determine when it's cheaper to separate your orders instead of combining them? I always thought that combining orders would be more ideal to save on shipping costs but I recently found out that it can actually be more expensive sometimes to do that and I have a feeling that this is the case for my current situation.
I did the surface premium for my amiami since I wanted the 100% insured just in case. But, I would say that the best person to give you an exact amount on shipping fees would be to chat with the amiami team on their website. They calculate real quick and give you the full detail amount as long as the products that you are purchasing has a designated weight already. You can ask them if it's cheaper to separate the orders or pack it together.
One thing to note, I ordered Eren from Crunchyroll with my membership and inserted a 25% off code I found online and ended up saving $10 vs amiami; and I got my figure within 4 days vs amiami's 3-6 months waiting.
Generally most shipping services ship by volumetric weight, so if you have larger/heavier boxes they're usually better to ship separately. The other thing to consider however, is with DHL you're always paying the handling fee and duties. Paying that multiple times might ultimately cost more than one more expensive shipping cost package
If shipping fees are a big issue you may want to keep Tokyo Otaku Mode in mind for purchasing figures. When AmiAmi says in a description that the package will likely have extremely high shipping costs I almost exclusively end up purchasing from Tokyo Otaku Mode if the figure is available there as well. Their figures are more expensive but in those particular cases, the free shipping (when eligible) will end up saving you money overall. Solaris Japan gives you shipping costs before you even start the purchase process so you can check there to get a general idea what it will cost, assuming the figure is also available there. If you're a TOM Exclusive Member then you get stuff even cheaper (including shipping if your purchase isn't eligible) with the perks. Beware though, they're notorious for figure shipping delays, which may have to do with the fact that they also use the dedicated shipping containers.
@@brentonhollis2175 provided the free shipping is still an available option. In Canada the only option for TOM is FedEx Express, which is super expensive. I paid $90 CAD to ship the ARTFX J Fushiguro Megumi 1/8.
@@avarachika Thanks I’ll keep that in mind next time! But I’m assuming that I would need to contact them first asking about it before actually making the order? Or is it possible to separate them after they already calculated the shipping cost? I think for this package I’ll just leave it as is and go for surface premium because I have a few other packages that are gonna take a few months anyways. Also with Crunchyroll I tend to avoid that site because everything is so much more expensive oof. I’d probably only buy from them once just to use that 25% off
Also yes my EMS packages were stuck in US customs for 1-2 weeks in Jan/Dec (for a total ship time of 2.5-4 weeks), whereas I could get packages in 3-5 days from Japan back in Nov/Oct. It has gotten pricier and takes way longer.
Never ever have I ever clicked so fast on a video of which I barely saw the title 👏🙌🥰
This post was made 6.19.22: I've been a buyer/seller/collector of things longer than many of you here are old. It's not intended as a boast nor is it a put down. As a US resident items going to Canada via USPS to Canadian buyers usually don't get hit with excise taxes, import fees whereas shipping with UPS, FedEx to Canada residents paying those fees are a given. History: In the 1960's-1990's US-Canada shipping almost required each country to have an onsite package forwarder a few blocks away either side of the border. On any given postal carrier shift International shipping was taken care of last. Usually this meant days, weeks getting a package across. Canada Post then was tactfully known as Canada's postal storage system. To expedite receiving anything US or Canadian shippers would rent a PO Box or space in a border town at a specialty facility, make a weekly trip to these places, drag their haul thru their country's customs (or sneak it thru), return home. Service this method was 2-3 weeks' quicker than waiting on the posties. It's different now.
Getting items from Japan as a US resident: when I started collecting PVC April, 2012, EMS used to be the way to go. Service was fast, cost was reasonable (compared to now). Since Japan Post shutdown 2020-2021 USPS/Japan Post have raised their rates to almost match that level of the private sector carriers (DHL, UPS, FedEx, others) before restoring service. Since 2021 service restoration to US, depending on size of carton & weight, I usually choose DHL, FedEx Int'l, sometimes UPS World Saver (which it is NOT) over Japan Post / EMS. The shipping rates border on legal extortion but I will pay them rather than do without certain collectibles (though I have cut back immensely since covid hoax). Of the 3 private sector carriers used Internationally I prefer DHL, FedEx Int'l, UPS World Saver in that order and prefer all over Japan Post / EMS since covid hoax service reinstatement. I used Surface Mail 1 time getting a 1/4 Freeing Tenchi Muyo Ryo-Ohki Bunny to US from Hobby Search when EMS was still embargoing. She arrived 8 weeks' later in great shape but shipping cost $34.
Here in US if I use EMS my shipments from AmiAmi will rest at US Customs (Chicago IL) 1-3 weeks at a time before being cleared. Before covid 3 days' max used to be worst service here. Recent Lily-Japan via Ebay purchase got here in 3 days' time Japan to US using FedEx Int'l; no bullshit lollygagging around US Customs waiting for the cows to come home.
As an Ebay seller: I sell Globally. Some of it PVC, diecast trucks, trains. Since covid hoax restoration of service worldwide I rely on Ebay Global Shipping Program. It has its limitations (can't combine multiple global sales going to 1 individual) but I no longer have to worry about packages "stuck" overseas account government mandate, action, inaction. When covid shut down everything 2020 I had 1 item in England, another in Italy; both in an indefinite purgatory thanks to that shit head named Fauci. (And I used to lower valuations on certain items if buyer requested it when I did international shipping myself before covid). Whether you realize it or not the seller is 100% responsible for that sale arriving to buyer doorstep. It doesn't disappear once the package leaves your domicile.
US shipping experiences as a seller: UPS Ground is great, fast, dependable, almost worry-free shipping. FedEx Home Delivery: I've had good luck 99% of the time. They only screwed up existence of 1 package on their tracking internet which forced me to call Memphis TN to verify snafu, how to fix it, keep buyer informed that item was not lost in transit. USPS: depends on package weight, package dimensions & destination. USPS charges on volume displacement now versus weight. If certain package dimensions exceed 12" the cost to send anything weighing more than 3-4 lbs rises exponentially. I can send a 19,17,16 dimension package to California via UPS Ground for almost 50% what USPS demands and the UPS service will be better and arrive on time. USPS packages going thru Texas for delivery seem to take almost a week whereas UPS can do same 2-3 days at same or less cost.
My local postal carrier tells me the USPS is trying to have enough money on hand to service their postal carrier's pension funds for 75 years into the future NOW. This statement sounds like fiction to me but it would explain the exorbitant fees charged now by these folks. Our USPS people work real hard, seldom get their vacation time lately (everyone's quitting). I seldom see my guy since UPS does as good if not better job for less and is more reliable.
To anyone who works for DHL, just know we all love you ❤️❤️
American here, I love using USPS domestically because flat rate packages ship super quickly and very cheaply. Tracking can take a while because you'll receive tracking info when a seller buys the label instead of when USPS receives the package. I've only used DHL once and the package arrived in like two days, but came wrapped in DHL tape because they soaked the box ;(. Luckily the store wrapped the figure box in plastic. Fedex from Japan has been pretty good, but domestic shipping is delayed 80% of the time. EMS is mid.
same issue with the delay between USPS Shipping Label created and the actual package parcel pick up. I have a feeling the Shipping label generated message is like when your order gets confirmed. I've noticed that when i buy from any US-based business. Shipping label created - 2-3 weeks - package pick up from the actual business.
Ive never ordered figures from FedEx. But when I ordered Japanese vinyl records they were by far the cheapest and always avoided duties. No damage to the packages either.
I’m Canadian btw.
Yeah, FedEx Ground is crap. I ordered a Pop Up Parade from Crunchyroll's store. A strike against Crunchyroll is they didn't let me choose the shipping method. Anyway, for a frame of reference, the figure started in California and I'm just outside of Buffalo, New York. This thing took longer to ship across the US then DHL or EMS ships across the planet. It took like 3 days just to leave California then hopscotches across the midwest until it seemingly sits in Cincinnati for a week. Then without notice it just appears at my door one day. The figure arrived perfectly fine but it's not an experience I want to repeat if I can help it. It's actually part of the reason I'm hesitant to pre-order those Dragon Maid figures that are Crunchyroll exclusive for some reason. The fact that they did that still baffles me.
From my experience recently Ems is cheaper than DhL. For me DHL is usually twice the price of EMS. I usually buy in bulk which comes out to be 100 dollars in shipping but the box is about 770 mm x 577 mm x 373 mm. Fits about three 1/4 bunny figures
So ems is about $30 where dhl is 60 but faster?
@@SonnyLando I live in the US. DHL is more expensive here. EMS takes about two weeks, comes with tracking. DHL takes about one week. From what I was told you can't buy too many items in bulk with DHL so if the box is too big dhl wont do it.
DHL and UPS have been the best value for fast shipping for me, the trick with DHL is to make sure to ship big things separately. That's what makes the price the same or a little better than EMS. I also have always had great customer service from UPS and never had any issues with deliveries, and it's easy to have the packages held for pick up or rerouted. I'm sorry to hear they bent some of yours. :( DHL is definitely my favorite though because you can also easily select the delivery day within a 1-2 week window to make sure you're home, and choose whether you want contact-less delivery.
I've had several packages delivered by FedEx that came severely smashed when they had no right to be (the boxes were really thick and packaged well) and also wet. I always get mediocre customer service when I call or go in person. For some reason I could not have one of my VERY expensive MegaHouse figures held for pick up (shipped by a private seller) and I was sweating and stressing the whole time trying to make sure I was home and hoping they wouldnt damage my package like the previous ones. Thank goodness it also came boxed in the original MH box in addition to the shipping box.
USPS is very hit or miss and they require in person signature for EMS, while only making three delivery attempts and holding packages for 7 days before returning to sender. Quality of service also depends on your local post office, at my old place they straight up would not use the parcel lockers or deliver to your door. If it didnt fit in the cluster box you HAD to pick up in person. They also damaged one of my packages by shoving it in the box when it said do not bend. They also never answered the freaking phone and would literally pick it up and hang up on you. 🙄
You're not alone on the USPS problem. There is only one figure I never had to personally pick up and it was shoved in horribly. I genuinely believe they tell their delivery people to not deliver packages on purpose LOL
I had your same FedEx experience but with UPS. Some friends said they had the same problem with DHL. I think Canada is an afterthought with these shippers. Amazon Japan with DHL is hot.
I actually like FedEx, I've only had good experiences with them (except maybe for once when my package got stuck in china for a few days for some reason). I'm European tho, and from what I know other Europeans also like FedEx. I was surprised to see so many people from North America hate on the company, but maybe things are just different there
For the record, I live in Norway.
I'm 100% agree with you about DHL. Yes it's expensive but the service is just superior to all the other! Just fantastic
have you ever done a tier list for figure shops ? andddd i gotta agree on fedex lol
I had a FedEx call like that, lol, ya same experience. But, it was my first time ordering figurines so, I had no idea what to expect. Wish I saw this first. And ya, another time, the package was even ripped open in a couple of spots, but the packaging saved the books.
I live in the Netherlands and my experience with fedex has always been good, never had a problem. They are sometimes even faster then they actually put the estimate for. Like the last time when I received a package via fedex was when they estimated the delivery on a thursday but it arrived on a wednesday. The tracking obviously got updated too.
It's even better if you cba to wait for an email to pay customs and pay it up front. Like at nin-nin-game you have this option. However, I would still not choose the pre-duty paid customs because some stores have the option to declare the value of figures lower than they are actually priced at. Which makes customs tax so much cheaper.
But I may be biased because I haven't received that many packages from fedex, I must be lucky.
I ordered sticker and ups happen to be the delivery where they would place my package randomly inside. Led to bent over some of my stickers. They can also be a little inaccurate got an email saying it was delivered but once I check nothing was there, had to wait until another hour or more until it finally showed.
I have literally only used two shipping methods since I started collecting (because apparently Australians don’t get many choices for shipping-), Surface parcel and DHL, so of course I’m gosh to be biased to think DHL’s 5 day arrival time is infinitely better than 2-3 months, lol.
I haven't watched this video yet, but making this comment to say FEDEX is the absolute worst. The best delivery service I've used was DHL when shipping from Japan to USA.
About the shipping is an interesting topic to discuss since we also have to consider it when buying figures abroad. In my experience, EMS is always my go-to when buying figures/items from JP since they're cheaper, decently fast and my package were safe. EMS may not be available for other countries. I tried FedEx once to ship a doujin comic worth 750 yen but my problem and that extra hidden charge I'm not aware of. When it was delivered, they charged me upfront again another 1.2k yen (for customs stuff they say but with the price of my item it should be duty-free) and that made the overall shipping fee thrice the price I paid. Delivery is fast yes but that made me not use Fedex again.
I get FedEx packages from I think the Pokemon Center and maybe Gamestop sometimes, no problems there. But I do think part of that is they are smaller, domestic shipments and I don't usually have to sign. I love DHL, they are so fast they usually deliver earlier then they say they will for me!
Dhl is super fast 90% of the time and here in America ppl seem to not like dhl
All your issues with FedEx are what I have with USPS which would technically include EMS, expect the for the customs and such. The dates they give are either wrong or short notice, so 9 times out of 10, I have to go pick it up or reschedule a delivery. But also sometimes the drives mark it as delivered so I have no choice but to pick it up. I love DHL and the no signature option or even scheduling a different delivery day 🙏🏻
DHL is A Tier they are the most reliable but too expansive for me Surface is S tier it just saves ton of money that I can buy with more figures EMS is F tier too slow for me for the money Air Small Packet Registered is S tier because it's much cheaper from EMS and it's cheap and reliable FedEx express is B for me just because they charge less than DHL and they are still fast but I hate the hidden fees
This really helps me with future orders, even though I am a Bulgarian collector and I deal with custom taxes no matter the carrier since all packages are outside the EU.
However, perhaps the only change is with UPS? I used them only for packages from Germany (since that's where I got both of my bass guitars from, never for figure collecting) and they were extremely fast, but outside this, I could imagine the trouble... However, DHL and EMS really are most of the time the best option to go for (whenever I can afford it) and my best most reliable people at BG Post, because they have handled 89% of my packages for 2 years now and always inform me beforehand for fees, etc.
I got to use Surface only twice, perhaps, and I did get nice treatment for packages even if the wait is a lot but my packages were all intact.
Never interacted with FedEx even if we have one in Bulgaria, I'd rather run to Speedy or another courier, to be honest, after this rant, I am not sure if I want to even check them out in my country. And your opinion IS valid, indeed!
Really enjoyed the video to see how it goes for the rest of the world and now I am curious how it works for other collectors in Europe.
I just got invoiced for a 1/7th figure last night. On Amiami, DHL was over 26k yen and EMS was 13k yen. I usually use DHL but had to go EMS this time.
Where are you from? I have a PO this July and I'm nervous about the new pricing for DHL as it's my first time to buy from Amiami.
@@_lybyrinth I’m in the USA.
I’ve had some strange stuff happen with USPS if the shipping originated in Chicago area it goes to Iowa or Missouri or sometimes both before getting delivered and I’m in Illinois like a couple hours from Chicago🤦🏼♀️ but honestly it is usually pretty cheap, fast, and usually no damage otherwise
I’ve lately been getting my packages thru Usps and the reason I like them is because I live in apartment and we have a special room at the main office we’re they drop off packages and the office sends me a code to unlock the room I really like that specially since most of the time I’m not home I don’t like getting packages left at my door for the fact that they can be stolen specially recently I bought the love throat binding figure I bought if from some one in the states and I paid a lot for her so I was glad that it was dropped at the office
fedex is good but they have the weirdest shipping routes. i got a package form them the other day and it came from a county away it was due to it being the closest distribution center but ive only ever seen this happen with fedex. so it went through a whole county before being delievered near the end of the day
I'm with you on the DHL love. I'd like EMS better if they didn't require a signature.
Same! I tried out just leaving my signature and printed name with the tracking number on the door and they took it!^^ maybe try it for yourself if you know you won’t be home when it’s out for delivery^^
I live in Vancouver and when ordering thigns, DHL is by far the clearest in delivery. BUT there have been times where they don't even try to buzz my apt and leave a slip. Then trying to get the package from them is a giant pain in the ass. Canada Post also usually leaves slips if they can't shove it in my small mailbox, but they are by far the easiest to pick up.
Fed Ex is very hit or miss, and packages usually come a bit banged up more than the others.
The shipping rates recently went up a bunch for all the services, but usually, shipping a package of 4-5 records from Japan with DHL was usually equal or even cheaper than EMS. And of course, package is here in 2 days. S-tier for sure. Now EMS is the cheaper option, so it's a harder choice.
The only bad experience I had with shipping is with USPS (including Japan Post into USPS, on the USPS leg). Two package was lost(one is known to have been destroyed, the other I will never know the status of) and one was VERY significantly delayed(I'm talking month)
But I can't say confidently that that makes it worse than other methods, as one of the reason that I've so many bad experience with USPS is because I have the most experience with USPS. Probably around 70-80% of my package go through USPS at some point.
As a result, I'd say my feeling on matters are primarily one of speed and cost, which tend to be correlated so... overall pretty flat.
I also had a problem with Amazon, but that have to do with how they package things. The outer box was totally fine, the content was not.
Love DHL shipping speed but they go completely deaf when i ask them to do anything more (hold a package, forward it to a pickup station)
I used to dislike DHL profusely as I have had bad experiences with them in the past but I'm begining to think that was only at the local level because lately DHL has been great, always fast and here on time or early.
FedEx always leaves my packages out in the rain. My figure boxes always get ruined by the time I get home to get them out of the rain. And they always have an option to put them under the open carport area, but they don't. It drives me crazy.
So interesting!I LOVE EMS...so insane...from japan to germany (where i´m from) in only 3/4 days,so cool!DHL is way more common here in germany and not that expensive,very transparent with their tracking system and these packing stations are really great,i´ve got to admit.
I think the biggest thing is always ship with insurance, signature required and the fastest method... you really don't want your package being banged around to long especially with USPS snail mail
I’ve only bought 2 Resin statues, one came from Japan with DHL (I payed €400), the other with UPS from China (I payed €375), the one from DHL took under 2 weeks, the one from UPS took over 5 weeks.
I got charged 59 CAD for customs with FedEx once. Most I ever had to pay for customs.
Fedex Express is generally good for me and my partner. We don't have a covered porch and our Fedex Express Courier always leaves the packages in a plastic bag if its raining which is nice. Fedex Ground is pretty meh if not flat out bad. Also, I love my USPS mail courier, but they're also super under funded so I understand pains with them.
EMS has definitely slowed down my last 2 shipments from AmiAmi have taken longer to get to me. DHL I agree is fast!! But expensive! FedEx has been ok here in America, with most of my shipments from KotoUS. UPS is trash, I ordered some adidas sneakers a while back and the box was trashed, plus they’re slow compared to other domestic shipping services. I’ve never used SurfaceParcel so can’t comment on that. I did order a 1/7 scale KDcolle Haruhi Suzumiya from “Big in Japan” recently with SAL Small Packet registered, so I’ll let you guys know how that turns out.
How much more expensive are we talkin for dhl?
I agree with you about DHL honestly so far it's been great. Yes it's pricey but it just good you know?
omg same every time I get something by fedex it gets delayed for like over a week. and they kept saying delivery attempted while i sit at my window and staring and waiting for them to come...
I'm in the US and DHL is my go to shipping service for items from Japan. It used to be EMS, but their price hikes made DHL the less expensive choice. I love USPS, but for shipping heavier items, FedEx is way cheaper than Priority and their delivery time has been just as good or better than USPS. Never had a damaged package delivered from DHL, USPS or FedEx. UPS is great about getting packages delivered fast, but they just aren't as careful in their handling of packages. I've had some boxes arrive with crushed sides or corners, holes in the sides and even a couple with the tops completely open which leaves my trust in UPS lacking. And finally, when it comes to shipping prices, I know how lucky I am to live in the US. When I hear about all the extra fees others have to pay, I cringe every time.
Sorry, no good FedEx experiences to share here lol! :-) Can attest to a few things you said in the vid about FedEx shipping. The only good thing I can say is that I did end up getting all my packages (so far) but the past couple ones I've had to drive down to pick up from their office , because of the no signature thing...… and the current package which is containing figures (which I literally can't w8 to get) got hit with a delay for an entire week, then I get a shipment exception update "Barcode label unreadable and replaced". I'd say I've had some type of delay and shipment exception around 75% of the time using FedEx. Hopefully I get my figures tmo, but they are way late on delivering. btw from the U.S :)
As a fellow Canadian, I collect different shit than you do mind you but I have little experience with FedEx so I can't comment really. But yeah UPS has been crazy hit or miss for me, your FedEx experience with the credit card is nearly identical to an experience I had with UPS once though lol. Fully expected F tier to be for Canada Post though they've just been absolutely atrocious for years before Covid even happened lol.
The only reason why I like USPS is because you need a key to get into my apartments so since they are the company that delivers everyone’s mail here in the US they have a key to my apartments so if I am at work or not home for some reason I know that I’m still going to get my stuff delivered.
I hate UPS I be putting tape on the door of my apartments so people can come in and out of my apartment complex and I still get notifications about “delivery attempt failed” and I come back home and the tape is still there, then the next day they “attempt” again but I end up having to pick it up from a pick up location (T ^ T)
I have only had horrible experiences from DHL. They either are very late or they lose my package no other servers I've ever had to do that and it takes forever for them to reimburse me. The best is FedEx or USPS. I'm an American and honestly every time I've gotten both of those never had a problem. Always on time or early
As a former delivery driver (Amazon) based in the US, we get paid around 15-16 dollars an hour. I thought hey this would be an easy job and not too hard to do and i pronanly dont have too much to get done. Boy was I wrong. The amount of pressure these stupid managers put on you to get ALL of your deliveries completed is insane. I know people expect their delivery drivers to treat everything with care (and for the most part I did) , just had a few moments where I was like fuck this, it's waaaaay to damn heavy and big for me to lift and just trudged it (tho this was like my 3rd to last day) Anyway back to the topic. I know you (and me) expect for the drivers to be treating everything with care and caress but when your manager is up your ass about delivering each and every item In your truck (and it's usually over 200+ items with 150-200 stops depending on the area), it gets really tiresome and you end up not giving a fuck close to the end of the day. My shift would start from 10am until 11pm. Of course I got paid overtime but they expected us to do so every day. I cannot stress anough how hard it is on your knees to get up and off a truck with some packages weighing over 50 pounds and multiple at that in certain occasions. It gets pretty stupid how much work they give you. One time I had my truck filled up to the ceiling and has literally no space to walk through. They expect you to finish your deliveries and don't really care if there is bad weather or traffic problems. They do this while tracking your driving and amount of deliveries you completed. It's ridiculous how they you to finish everything and expect you to comeback in the morning all excited for the next day. I even came across some very aggressive people who just hated us being on their property. The point is the whole delivery system and shipping is just messed up and a very stressful environment, some companies are better but at the end of the day it really determines if the company has shitty managers that determine whether your items get there in pristine condition or not.
Do you get to pick which shipping when you order a figure from ami ami? I am going to start my collection with the Keade V3 Scale and am waiting for that to go up on pre order (I’m assuming all pre orders are ami ami but maybe I am ignorant I am very new to the hobby) I am doing all the research and your account is so helpful!!!
love how passionate u are abt this XD
FedEx to the Philippines is horrible too! I literally just got a package delivered today and they always charge extra $11 at the doorstep took 5 days. Never happens with DHL for me, just takes 2-3 days max! Surprisingly, EMS works we’ll here too. Almost always just as fast as DHL but they also charge a $3 postage fee when they arrive.
I don't know about DHL. yeah they are super duper fast buuuut so so so expensive!!!!. The taxes and import fees are all over ranging from 20 to over 60 sometimes and that is on top of the high shipping fee you pay when placing the order. I live in Vancouver so i am not sure if that is a reason as to why things are different.
Agree with all the other things though. I HATE HATE Fedex and also had to deal with it when ordering from TOM. Same experience as you. HATE IT lol
Over all shipping is a nightmare for me right now.. I don't mind waiting months if it means it will come and it will be cheaper. But all the affordable options are out for the places i order like amiami. So most of the time i am stuck with DHL ;A; I did start using Byee, actually used your promo code haha. But yeah over all shipping for me right now is a nightmare usually.
UPS is S Tier (if you pay for premium service) if you paid as much as you do for DHL, they're comparable
Fedex is not giving me my w2
(It got lost in the mail) my employers can’t give me a copy because they do not have them, and when i call them i have to wait for an hour just for the call to get cut off
I live in Greece and for me the only available option for quite some time is surface parcel i mostly choose to buy from EU stores so i can avoid customs or Solaris as is more managable with the invoices! The only time i tried through TOM was with a nendo which costed me 65 euros with shipping and got shipped with Fedex, the customs were 146 euros xDD so i returned it and im never trying that again!!
As an American? USPS is pure garbo unless your shipping priority.
I love fedex the most - and noticed recently just how fast DHL is.
Most bad experience for me was with UPS.
Country post can rank at B!? my country post can only ranked at Z (mean always sleeping zzz).
Soo DHL had a 17% increase of shipping costs for US and i think for Canada as well right?? I mean.. i get it a lot of stuff is happening in the world rn but like WTH! I recently paid for luphia and taigas 1/4th scale and the shipping cost for DHL was $240, while ems was $100. I feel like ems is good for large packages and dhl for smaller packages, but if the price difference isnt too much ill just go with dhl since it does tend to get delivered safer. I once had a package delivered by ems with a rock punctured on the side.. which had me worried..
I'm not sure if it's cus I live in Singapore or not, back when I was working for a jeweler, the company always ships their diamonds via fedex and it seems there is barely any to no problem, the receiver got the items with 1-2 days too like dhl for you. (Though the signature thing is still a must or you would need to go to the post office to retrieve your item)
My beef with DHL is how they charge you 200% of the customs fee, I would rather go do the due process with my local mail over paying twice as much as I had to actually pay
I find it funny and cute how you made your own tier list instead of using Tier List Maker website like everyone else lol
I live in Vancouver. I hate FedEx as well. every time I ordered my figures from Japan. I have to pay all duty fees, and taxes. Also their distribution center is like 30 min drive from my home. not to mention the shipping cost is already the higher ones.
and for everyone who lives in Canada, only limited ways to ship at this moment. which really sucks.
Live in sweden I can only pick dhl or some kind of surface shipment. I have holo b style preordered for August and do not want to now dhl price for her! I dont know if I dare take surface for her I am so afraid she is going to disappear
I actually hate using DHL and prefer EMS since DHL delivered my package to the wrong address and never recovered it. Price wise it's also way more efficient to use EMS for scales since it's by weight instead of volume weight.
My tier list as American. To be honest, never had a bad experience with Fedex. With UPS I have legit had stolen / opened packages before and with USPS have had packages lost and going through customer support was an endless nightmare it wasn't worth the hassle and I just re-ordered the item.
DHL is god tier tho after using them to buy Japan imports.
S- DHL
A- Fedex Express
B - Fedex Ground, UPS Overnight
C- USPS Priority
D- EMS, UPS Ground (I just don't like UPS, never really have)
F- USPS (honestly they deserve it... horrible customer support, if your package is lost its game over.)
Does anybody know what thay poster in the back? Hatsune? Also the one on the right?
I hate fedex because when I ordered my kirishima 1/8 scale the box came beat up but he was still in good shape and my saber artoria pendragon alter casual version 1/7 box was a little beat up too but she was in good shape and too and when I got my latest nendoroid it keep get put on the vehicle and than not delivering it put it back on the vehicle but I was able to get it on the 13th of February
EMS is the best option to ship to the Middle East Half the price or less than DHL the shipping speed is 5-8 days
Want to know why your packages are damaged from FedEx? I used to work at one of their ''hubs'' and let me tell you, the people who work there do not care about damaging freight. I saw people throwing boxes, literally slamming them down if the person is having a bad day, and I can't tell you how many trailers that had some defect that caused rain water to destroy thousands of boxes. Not only is their shipping bad, but their internals suck too. All in all FedEx is a backwards company, and one of the reasons why they're understaffed is because they randomly decide to cut their employees hours.
yeah.. FedEx does suck... I order a glass display through a company and they used fedex to ship my glass display. It arrived broken in half and all the glass pieces shattered. Also I had to wait a few extra days than expected day, just to get my broken glass display at my doorstep.
I made my first order on amiami with dhl and the shipping cost was almost 7000 Yen for 1 figure... ridiculous. So I went with surface shipping instead which cost below 2000 Yen. It'll take a long time but I wasnt ready to pay more for shipping than the figure itself
I love DHL but the shipping costs to germany are ridiculous. I just ordered a figure and I have to pay 81 Euro for shipping. the figure isn't even that big. On top of that I have to pay customes. It's almost the same price as the figure and really frustrating.