Originally Posted by Locke (Post 169177)

So Mandrake have replied now...and the postage is 15 quid! That is a fiver away from the actual toy, I'm not sure I'm willing to pay over thirty quid for Pegasus, I kind of expect that from like Amazon who rip you off but Jesus.

It didn't make clear what the postage was so I just went with EMS, is that like the most expensive shipping option or is Mandrake just very expensive to buy from anyway?

And if there is a cheaper option am I able to change my postage choice?

Originally Posted by Locke (Post 169207)

A quid is a pound. The postage was over twenty dollars if we wanna use that currency, mental! I emailed the international email and asked them to cancel my old order and I've put in another order with SAL postage instead.

I wish they'd just tell me on the page how much my shipping is going to cost, that is a big part of the reason I usually use HLJ or Amazon, it may cost more but at least I know how much I am paying and don't have to basically wait days to find out I don't want to pay that much.

Originally Posted by Locke (Post 169228)

I've never needed to before, I've only used HLJ and Amazon and they just tell me the postage flat out. As do pretty much every other website. But I'm quite shocked at how expensive EMS is, I'll never understand why people are happy to pay almost as much for postage as they are their item but then I'm not some hardcore collector so yeah.

AmiAmi and now Mandrake are the only websites I've come across where you have to gamble with an order and hope the postage isn't too expensive. Everyone jumps in their defence but to me this seems like a ludicrous shopping model. And I really have no clue why so many are so keen to defend it.

Imagine trying to buy an item of clothing in the shops and you get to the til and they tell you you have to pay for the item twice. It's not the same thing, sure, but in terms of money it is.

Really? The email says otherwise about cancellations.

Originally Posted by Locke (Post 169232)

Well if they ban me on just one cancellation, when I am technically still buying the item from them, just with a different shipping option then that is their loss, not mine. I can always grab the same figure, with much cheaper postage on eBay.

I don't have a massive collection but I've got a small collection of Figuarts and never needed to use this site before, so I'm not really broken up about it.

Originally Posted by Starscream Gaga (Post 169221)

As well as getting the item in a quarter (or less) of the time, you are able to track it and it is insured, which it is not in SAL (if the item's lost, you're out of pocket as long as they prove it was sent, for example).

Originally Posted by Locke (Post 169242)

I emailed them to change it over but then I realised I'd probably be waiting like a week for them to email me back

Originally Posted by Locke (Post 169242)

And if the middle postage is almost twenty five dollars then I dread to think how much DHL is.

Originally Posted by Locke (Post 169242)

And I still stand by the fact that if the rest of the world can tell you postage up front, I don't know why Mandrake can't. I'm not saying the site itself is bad but this way of ordering is totally new to me and seems ridiculous.

Originally Posted by Locke (Post 169242)

I emailed them to change it over but then I realised I'd probably be waiting like a week for them to email me back, to sort everything else out and redo my order so now all they have to do is repackage the same item with a new order number. If that is too hard for them then...

EMS is three to five days and I didn't realise the jump between EMS was five days to two months. And if the middle postage is almost twenty five dollars then I dread to think how much DHL is.

And I still stand by the fact that if the rest of the world can tell you postage up front, I don't know why Mandrake can't. I'm not saying the site itself is bad but this way of ordering is totally new to me and seems ridiculous.

Originally Posted by Starscream Gaga (Post 169247)

The longest Mandarake have ever taken to reply to anything to me is 4 days. That's a total exaggeration. I'm sure they'll get back to you within a day or two, I've never had a problem with them.

Originally Posted by Baltan II (Post 169251)

You realized wrong. Here you were thinking you'd have to wait three days for your order to be confirmed despite being told otherwise, and after Mandarake acted exactly the way we said they would, based on absolutely nothing you assumed a change to your shipping option would take forever?



Can't speak for shipping to the UK, but when shipped to the US, DHL costs maybe four bucks more than EMS and can sometimes take less than 24 hours. For those impatient or who don't care about the cost of shipping, it's a magical experience and can be even more convenient than EMS.



Despite the way we may refer to it, Mandarake is not a single online store that is anything like Amazon, HLJ, or the rest. Mandarake is a chain of multiple second-hand stores, each of which handles its figure orders separately and does so with its own limited number of employees.

Mandarake stock isn't a set of consistent, predetermined items with preorders known well in advance, it's whatever they choose to purchase from Japanese collectors and list for sale. As such, they couldn't keep a database of virtually anything possible that they could ship, with quotes worldwide, when, as actual open stores, these items can also sell to a local customer well before you attempt to place an order. I mean, weren't you wondering why Mandarake brought up taking potentially as much as three days to confirm your order?

That's also what makes your idea of buying a second Pegasus so amusing. Depending on the listing, you just agreed to purchase an entirely different Kuuga Pegasus, possibly from a wholly other Mandarake branch. You didn't order "the same figure".

Originally Posted by KamenRiderOOO (Post 169263)

Well, I found something odd with my GokaiGreen. While I can pull the head off like other Figuarts, the hole neck section likes to go along with it. I don't have problems like that with TaToBa, GokaiSilver and GokaiPink, so would you guys suggest the nail polish method on the ball joint connecting the neck to the torso?

Originally Posted by Infinitevirtue (Post 169303)

So with all this Mandarake talk, I Just ordered Figuarts Gokai Red (3000 yen) and the Morphin Blaster (2000 yen) which are hopefully good deals, but I am thinking of going SAL because its about 1380 yen and the registered part means its trackable right?

Originally Posted by Den-O (Post 169316)

Yes. All SAL orders through them go registered now, so you will have tracking available for the order.

Originally Posted by Barricade64 (Post 169363)

So I just got my package from HLJ containing some figuarts and all the boxes and trays were warped to some extent (and Red Buster's box tape was even cut!). Is it possible humidity from rain could have done this? The package was sitting in between my front glass and regular doors so it didn't get wet but this is annoying.

Originally Posted by Brainchild (Post 169376)

Is it hot where you are? That could explain all the warping, but I would still be suspicious about the tape. I'd probably tell HLJ about it at least.

Originally Posted by Locke (Post 169640)

Mandrake were fine with it by the way thread.

They said don't do this again and that is cool because I know for next time and I got postage for a fiver this time, rather than fifteen quid. So yay, Pegasus is mine!

Originally Posted by Locke (Post 169906)

I just got Deka Blue for 21 quid (with shipping) off the US Amazon. Bloody pleased with that!