Play-asia.com enquiries..
 

Better if anyone Filipino. Just want to ask if play-asia is safe to shop in? I want to try here because they offer western union method which is applicable to me since i don't have credit card to purchase from cdjapan or yesasia.. so can anyone help me about play-asia??

can anyone teach me how to use western union with play-asia? Anything and everything about them that I should know? please!!!! Thank you very much!!

play-asia is I think a safe place..

cause my friend always buy PSP games from there...(and also the PSP)..but i never buy anything from there before~

btw, location: Malaysia~

Play-Asia is 100% safe. Ive used them many a time.

Yeah, Play-Asia is safe. I've used them for purchases before and they're very good. I've never had any problems with them (so far).

Online Shopping Help **READ FIRST**
 

Due to the influx of questions in regards to buying Ayu products online, please make use of this sticky thread.

Any questions about online shops can be asked in this thread. This includes but is not limited to shipping inquiries, questions about how trustworthy a site is, price comparisons, first press bonuses, etc.

Please read each online site's HELP section prior to asking a question here. Keep in mind that it would be better to direct certain questions to the Help Desk/Human Resources department for each respective site. Use common sense.
--------------------

Quick overviews of popular online shopping sites:

YesAsia.com
(see this thread for direct links to Ayu products)
- Accepts Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Paypal (for the US). See YesAsia's Help section for payment options for your country.
- Free Shipping for orders over $25 for the US; $39 for Canada (if living in another country, see their Global Site)
- Generally sends items in bubble wrap. You may ask them to box up your package in the comments section of your check out.
- Does not usually include the bonus items that Japanese online shops offer (such as posters, exclusive pamphlets, etc.) unless otherwise stated.
- Does not tell you if you will receive a First Press item, or when First Press items are sold out.

CDJapan
(http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/)
- This is a Japan-based store. All payments will be in Japanese Yen so prices will be based on current exchange rates for your country.
- Has a Frequent Shopper Program
- Accepts "Credit Cards and Check Cards (VISA, VISA Check Card, VISA Electron, MasterCard, Debit MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, JCB), International Postal Money Order, Cash (Japanese Yen or US Dollars), and PayPal."
- They ship by Express Mail Service (EMS), Registered Air Mail, Air Mail, or Economy Air (SAL). See shipping charges. These charges are an estimate. Actual charges may vary.
- CDJapan clearly states availability of First Press items and any external bonuses. See product info guide

HMV Japan
(http://www.hmv.co.jp/)
- This is a Japan-based store. All payments will be in Japanese Yen so prices will be based on current exchange rates for your country.
- If you cannot read Japanese, there is an English option.
- Has a Members Points Program
- Accepts "VISA, MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express, Saison, DC, UFJ NICOS,and JCB."
- Only ships by Express Mail Service (EMS)
- First Press items are listed separately from Regular Press items.
- Has been known to fold bonus items (like posters)

Mu-Mo
(http://mu-mo.net/index.html)
- This site is Japanese only.
- They will not ship items outside of Japan. If you are outside of Japan, you cannot order from here unless you purchase through a middle-man.

In case people plan to buy things from HMV HK like myself --

HMV HK site - www.hmv.hk

basically HMV HK works the same as HMV Japan when comes to payment options & the likes , it's just that HK's more reasonably priced , be it the prices of the items that they sell & also the shipping prices too .

Also an advantage over its Japan counterpart is that HK's do sell HK presses of certain CDs or DVDs which are cheaper unlike the original pretty pony~pretty pony~pretty pony~ press .

I never use Premium Shipping . I only use Standard Shipping which cost HK$39 for international buyers .

Standard Shipping cost HK$39 for a CD/DVD & the prices are obviously higher if you were to buy more .

It takes about 4-5 days for goods to arrive if you choose Standard Shipping even though on the website they state about 15 days .

So far I have gotten 2 HK presses of DVDs from them & I have been impressed with their services . I'm gonna stick with HMV HK :D

Hi,

I have a question. Does anyone know how small CDJapan rolls up posters, and how small YesAsia's tube is? Or which of the two is better to buy a poster from? Because if it's rolled up to small I can't get it on the wall properly lol.

Thanks!

CDJ will roll it as far as it can be rolled I assume. The YA tube is like a standard tube I assume, which allows for more space. The length of the box (CDJapan) or tube (YA) is no smaller that the width of the poster.

Both will need to be un-rolled anyway, so it's whichever you prefer. Both methods are safe.

You can look at how CDJ does their packaging here: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/help/about_cdjapan.html

Hmm, thank you. I think I will go with CDJapan so I don't have to pay extra cash for the poster.

Aside from CDJapan, Is there any shopping sites that accepts Cash payment method?

How long does it usually take for a payment to go through with CDJapan?

My AT07 DVD was shipped on Monday March 10th.
Right now it's Tuesday, March 18 and it's as if the payment still hasn't gone through.

(The package arrived at the post-office yesterday, I had a note in the mail box, telling me to go pick it up today.)

2 questions:
1. With CDJapan's Air mail, it says 4-12 days but up to 8 weeks... does it usually take longer then the 4-12 days>
2. With HMV Japan, how much is the shipping to the US?

I can answer u the CD japan question:))) To me it always took from 4 to 12 days, never later:))) I guess that most late was 8 th day ^^

And I can answer HMV Japan one:

1200￥/ 15$ [ http://www.hmv.co.jp/help/helpmain.asp?q=024003002 ]

thank you so much marekcarey & Zemus!
That was very helpful! ^^

^ No, I paid with credit card.

But I just went and got them at the post office on Tuesday evening(the 18th) and the payment and yesterday(wednesday) when I checked my online banking, the payment finally showed up.

I'm just surprised it took that long, since they mentionned it's billed when sent, not when received...

^ Oh, it actually takes quite a while for them to charge you. I just got charged yesterday for my AT 2007, which came on the 10th like you. So they take, give or take, a week. The same thing happened for GUILTY and Kingdom for me.

I heard someone say that the new sale of her old DVDs (Arena Tour 2002, Clips collection, etc.) will stop selling on March the 31st this year. Is this true?

^ Yes. I read somewhere on here, though, that they have the DVD sale every year, so it should start again towards the end of the year.

Ow okay thanks! ^_^

Ordering from mu-mo~
 

Hihi! I was just wondering about ordering from mu-mo~ Because you have to live in Japan to order from them, is it possible to order through a courier service like Celga or Crescent Shop? If so, does anyone know any websites a bit cheaper than the two I mentioned? >_>; Thank you!

@CatGirl: I personally use Crescent Shop, and even though I've just recently started and haven't shipped any of the items I bought, it's been working great so far. I've heard of others like Lacus that use Celga without problems too. I have never heard of other ones that are 'cheaper' and I think you should be EXTREMELY careful if you happen to find middle-man with cheaper fees. Various things could happen such as: -you never get your item, -they take forever to respond, -they take forever to send your items, ect, ect.

@Melrose: I've said a few times that Ayu's early DVDs were on sale on CDJapan until March 31st. I plan on ordering 4 of them this week. Instead of being sold for 40-50$USD they are now around 25$USD each.

Now they are marked as 'Out of Stock' wouldn't that mean they won't have any at all anymore?

Alright, thanks!! ^__^ I think I'll try to order something using Celga, then~

HMV
can't find answer in Help section: can I see full price with delivery etc before I place order?

HMV Japan - http://www.hmv.co.jp/help/

you have to type in shipping in the search engine & then click on this option called " How much do I pay for freight?"

YesAsia VS HMV.hk
 

Ok i seriously can't wait any longer for AT07..to arrive in Singapore...

So im thinking of preordering it via either YesAsia or HMK HK. Which is more recommended?

TO BE HONEST, i already preordered with YesAsia but i realized they said Ship out on 19TH APRIL!? and i was shocked coz thats 2 weeks later and when they ship only on business days, which means i can only get my DVD 2 weeks+ later...

So firstly, izzit really true that YesAsia will ship on the 19th if they stated it? Or will they ship out as long as there is stock?

Secondly, will HMV.hk be faster?

Hope someone can help asap..

Vash!!! and i ordered from HMV HK one day after the news was released regarding the availability of the DVD on HMV HK.

and i think the DVDs arrived on the 31st Mar. lol

YesAsia shipped out in 2 days for me, when it predicted 10. :)

The only thing I can do for sure is suggesting you to not order from YesAsia. I've had terrible incidents with them - I preordered GUILTY, it didn't arrive in two months, they re-shipped it in February and I still don't have it. Plus, they don't give back the money when the package is lost.
Basically, I wasted my 36$ on nothing.

^ OMG really???

I am ordering Mirrorcle world from HMV JP...i hope it wont get lost~

Um, YesAsia are excellent, kthx.

I'm waiting for my HK to be shipped, the status is "Ready to be shipped". Just order it from YesAsia.. :shrug

yikes..i was thinking i will get one-sided responses..HAHA!

But how long does HMV.hk take to process and confirm "shipped"..???

I use HMV HK & they've been excellent . HMV Japan's charges are nuts be it shipping & prices of their discs so I decided to go for HMV HK after comparing YesAsia , CDJapan , HMV Japan & HMV HK .

I have ordered HK presses of Ken Hirai's Saitama Tour DVD & 3 of Koda Kumi's DVDs excluding the latest black cherry tour DVD .

Shipping charges are extremely reasonable & I only go for standard shipping . It will take about 5 working days to get the stuff that I ordered from them .

If you're planning to order the HK press of the ATOS , then don't worry , they have plenty of stock on hand .

According to http://hmv.hk/product/product.asp?sku=97978 , the product will be dispatched within 24 hours which means to say if you were to order it now , it will be shipped out the following day .

HK's site works the same as Japan's in that they only accept credit card payments .

You have to register an account with HMV HK to view the prices in Sing $ as at the mo you only can see how much the products are in US$ .

Anyway shipping charges are counted as follows , standard shipping wise :

1 CD/DVD - HK$41 (S$7.26+)
2 CDs/DVDs - HK$56 (S$9.92+)

my advise's , if you're tight on budget/broke , go for HMV HK . They have HK presses of the latest ayumi's remix albums too which're much much cheaper than the pretty pony~pretty pony~pretty pony~ original .

not to mention , the region code for HK presses of their DVDs is 3 unlike pretty pony~pretty pony~pretty pony~ presses of DVDs which's region code 2 . So if you cannot play region code 2 DVDs , then go for HMV HK all the way .

^so if i preorder tomoro...how many days will it take to reach me?

how to use a YA coupon?

preorder ? the HK press of the ATOS DVD is already out , there's no need to preorder .

if you were to buy the DVD from the site tomorrow , at most it will take about 5-6 working days to reach your house

^hmm ok..i shall buy it tmr...Haha..i kept thinking preorder coz its not out in Singapore

haha ok

anyway Warner SG's importing stock over from HK . If you die die sibei cannot wait , then go for HMV HK .

I have used HMV HK for a few times now & they're really good . Prices are reasonable , be it the CD/DVDs & the shipping charges

^yea i noe...but...still no news...haiz
and now im waiting for YesAsia to cancel my order

how did you paid YesAsia ? via PayPal or credit card ?

I remembered I paid for my orders from YesAsia via PayPal but when I decided to cancel my order , they asked me for my transaction no. & I was being refund the full amount

I mean you have heard from people that YesAsia's horrible & etc . That's why after I did my homework & etc , I found HMV HK to be good for me especially since I'm not willing to spend a lot of $ on original pretty pony~pretty pony~pretty pony~ presses on CDs & DVDs

wow nice link there xD
out of all those i prefer cdjapan for new releases and for things i want almost straight away but for things i can wait for and old releases i'd use yesasia! =D

once again:

I need help, don't know how to use my YA coupon ^^

paste the coupon code in the "enter your coupon code" box?

Yeah, and that is found before you finish your order. At the bottom of the Payment Information page.

HMV JP
 

my first time purchasing online. from HMV JP.

ordering mirrorcle world just now, and they said its limited press but dont come with poster. does it mean that I still get the long case?
anyone know which online store still giving poster?

and i also purchase a vinyl. Anyone know if there is possibilities that i need to pay custom tax or something like tat?
since the vinyl package is quite big... 12''

thanks~

thank you ^^ i will try it

Leo , regarding poster , you might wanna try CDJapan as I understand HMV has a tendency to fold posters

^karen, the cdjapan frist press is finished~

so, anyone know anything about custom tax?

oh is it ?

custom tax - I'm not sure about that Leo , maybe someone else can help you

maybe you can try YesAsia ?

oh..

yeah,,,im waiting for reply...
but it's OK since I've put my order and I wont change it anymore...
yesasia still giving poster away?

I don't know about that sorry Leo

it's best for you to personally go & email YesAsia to enquire about it since I don't have the answer to this

It's OK..
thanks for your reply karen~

How long does HMV.hk ship and take to reach singapore to my house?

they will take about 2 business days to ship out your item . Expect your item to arrive at about 5 working days later .

Just go for standard shipping , it arrives pretty fast . If you die die cannot wait then go for preminum shipping even though I don't know how long it will take .

If you're not picky about shipping terms then go for standard shipping lah

^5 days?!?! when its coming out tmr... =.=
thats next week la..
they shipped out my copy alreayd...
o man i feel so scamed =.=
haizz

eh sorry what're you saying in here ? I don't get you :S

wad does this mean "For shipping customers:The item will commence transit with Hong Kong Post within 2 business days."

So...now its confirmed processed.and i need to wait for 2 days (which is friday)..for it to SHIP here...form HK..??

eh

this means that your order has been processed already & they will ship out the item within the next 2 working days

which means to say that the item you paid for via HMV HK has been charged/billed according to your credit/debit card ala your order has been closed/shipped ie. cancellation of order's not allowed anymore once your order has been closed/shipped

& talking about this , I received this email statement from them this morning as I went ahead to order the HK press of Ken Hirai's fake star single

so from THAT 2 days...i will expect it to arrive within another 5?

yup so that means whatever you ordered might come next Tue or so

!!! ok..wise choice is to buy from SG and sell my imported copy..

Hello!
I always use standard shipping at YA and recieved posters in cardboard tube.
If I choose EMS shipping they'll send posters in cardboard tube too, right?

YA also has the tendency to sell posters seperately after a while. Don't know if that'll apply for this release as well.

I have a YesAsia question: If I order,let's say...9 albums in just one order,will they charge me more than I have to pay for all those items?
Or you can order unlimited items and it will cost you as they all together do cost?

If you are getting my point...

^ it will cost you cheaper because of shipping it's like 1 item = 1,500 yen and 2 items = 2,000 yen
So if you will make 1 order you will pay 2,000 for shipping, but in 2 orders it will cost you 3,000. Prices just random, for you to understand))

(I'm a bit confused but...)So they won't charge me more if I order like 9 items at once?

Ok,thank you!

Really?
WOW,that's cool :)

Thank you for clearing up!

Sorry can I ask whether the Dome Tour 2001 (DVD) concert in www.hmv.hk is subtitled?? I want the overseas version as there is translation I guess (probably?), but yesasia seems out of stock..they only have the japan version. So I was wondering whether hmv hk sells this with subtitle? And do they offer better rates?

not that I know with regards to the OS press of the Dome Tour 2001 DVD .

As far as I know , only OS presses of Johnny's Entertainment's DVDs have traditional chinese subtitles in built in their DVD footage unlike for avex's case where you get a separate translation sheet on its own in paper format

I know because I have quite a no. of OS presses of JE & avex artistes's dvds that's why

First time trying to buy from online...
according to yesasia, I am eligible for free shipping.. but what if *touch wood* my things got lost? Free shipping means no way of tracking right?
What are the chances of things getting lost?
I'm wondering if I should spend a little more just to ensure my stuffs will arrive...

And do I have to pay GST or whatever taxes? B'coz if I have to, I might as well get from local HMV.

And can I use debit card to pay?

If they loose something , send them a mail with the item lost ect ..
They will give you a date and if the item is not arrive at the date , they say to send another mail .
If you send at this time they will resend the item .
I had a problem with my calendar so I have mailed Yesia they said to wait and if I receive nothing they will resend me it .
I ordered many times here and no problems =)


If shiping is free you will not have taxes .

In the case of free shipping , yes there's no way you can track it should your items get lost *touch wood* .

But YesAsia always tend to give you an estimated time frame as to when to expect roughly when your items arrive . If it's over the estimated time frame & you haven't received your items by then , then best's to contact them .

For paying a bit more for the shipping to ensure your items arrive faster & in front of your doorstep , not worth it I say . Do so only if you have the means to afford it . If you can , then go for it .

I used the fast express shipping only once & my item came 2 days later :O

& also from my experiences ordering from YesAsia , you don't have to pay GST/taxes

you can provided only if the debit card that you have in question's this one -> http://www.dbs.com/posb/cards/master...s/default.aspx

I have it , used it & it works well like a credit card in disguise when I buy things online

if not then use PayPal

if you get a VCD version of the concert, it's embedded into the concert, but a DVD version have a separate sheet with chinese on it

idk about this one, but i've brought 4 ayu DVDs and that's how they do it

oh I didn't know about this til you said so Jasmine

now why can't avex do that for their DVDs ? :grumpy (except for OS presses of JE's DVDs that's)

weird that not all Avex DVDs aren't the same format

no no what I mean's that those artistes that're already under avex , the OS presses of their DVDs are not fitted with inbuilt chinese subtitles unlike in the case for OS presses of JE's DVDs where that happens

sorry if I confuse you :dead2

oo i get it
that's why i would rather buy the DVD of ayu's concert, the subtitles are always in the way, but unless you have a concert where someone talks a lot, then built in subs would be better

for me I can't be bothered to read the translation sheets that were provided separately from the DVD , I don't mind built in subs as I'm lazy & etc :laugh

Oh..a separate sheet, I think it is rather inconvenient. Because I have seen people uploading the Dome Tour 2001 with chinese subtitles and it doesn't seem embedded..it looks original. Is that the vcd version or wat? Haiz, I think I would go for DVD then since the quality is better..but the same time I want to see the subs too ><

Is there anywhere selling the overseas dvd version? can't find in yesasia..:(

well sometimes people can make fanmade subtitles too
have you tried yahoo auction? or ebay? but be careful around those places!

if you can wait , you can use YesAsia , it takes longer as compared to other online services that I used imo

if you can spend a bit more on the shipping , I say go for CDJapan . It takes about 4-5 days for my stuff to come which's quite fast & that's for normail airmail

I always order via YesAsia and it usually takes a week or a week and a half before it arrives.

CDJapan always ship a day or two before release. And speed of delivery depend on shipping method - so choose EMS + cdjapan and you will got fastest delivery

If price doesn't matter, use CDJapan. They will get it to you within a few days.

Yesasia has this new thing where items that qualify for free shipping can only use the free shipping method. The free shipping method will probably take about a week.

HMV.jp preorder status
 

I ordered from HMV.jp for the first time to preorder the USB and was wondering if you guys know when do they usually ship out preorders...is it on the release date? I know cdjapan ship before the release date and they update the order status to shipping in progress when the item is ready to be shipped. Does HMV do that?

HMV usually sends on release date, because it's real store and they will get cds on it's release date

usually HMV Japan tend to ship out a few days early before the actual release date just like CDJapan so no worries on that

^^ My order on HMV already in transit,so don't worry, they will ship in time^^