what is mandarake?
 

ive looked at it but i still dont get it so here are my questions that i have for now!

1: are they reliable?
2: how fast do they ship?

1. They are ridiculously reliable. Nearly anyone will tell you that.
2. Depends on the shipping method you select when placing the order. Just like any other retailers. You go SAL it takes several weeks, you go EMS it takes a week or less.

Mandarake is imminently reliable. As for shipping, they usually ship the day after receiving payment. Sometimes it can take a day or two, but that is the exception rather than the rule. How long it takes to get to you depends on the method you chose to ship it.

ok good... i was wondering why would you want to shop there though, they barely stock ANYTHING.

like no matter what i look for weather it be go-onger, shinkenger, goseiger, zoids, pokemon etc etc etc, no more then 5 random items show up...

Mandarake generally has a better selection than anyone else, especially for older series. The catch is you have to search in Japanese, not English.

really? i have to search in japanese? well ok then! japanese it is then!!!

Are you, serious? Mandarake has the widest selection of any online Japanese retailer hands down. Their site covers like 12 physical store locations throughout Japan. Just because they don't have a huge selection of items from a particular show doesn't mean anything. No retailer is going to always have those things, especially on older shows like the ones you mentioned. And searching in Japanese will get you real results so as Thessair mentioned, do that.

sorry i did not mean to offend... i did not know you had to search in japanese but now i did that and i see youb guys are right mandarake has a huge selection

As Den-O pointed out, Mandarake has multiple locations, which brings up another important point. If you're placing an order that includes items from multiple stores, they will not combine them and each item will ship from whichever store it was purchased from. For example, if you buy one item from Nakano and another from Sapporo, they will ship separately, and you will be charged for shipping from each store, even though you purchased them together on the website. If you're buying multiple items at once, It's best to try to stick to one location so that you're only paying for one shipment.

Also of note is the fact that they charge a small fee ($5) is you're order is lower (before shipping) then 5,000 yen ($50).

So that's what that is! I remember mentioning here a while back that I was charged an extra $5 on an order, and some people had no idea what I was talking about, and others did. I'll remember to make bigger orders if I ever use them again.

That is indeed it. I don't know why they do it exactly, but it's just something they do. That's why you'll see a lot of us just do a big order, that way we don't have to the fee. Well either that, or we find so much stuff we want that we just have to get on the spot :lol

Also, and correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Nakano store have a deal with DHL that makes their shipping expenses less expensive than the other stores?

You are indeed correct. If you buy from Nakano I definitely suggest using DHL. It's cheap and you'll get your items in a matter of days. I paid for an order on a Wednesday and had my package that Monday.

Heck one time, I ordered DHL from Nakano and it shipped out sunday morning japan time, and got here monday afternoon. Very lucky that time.

But any other store I am pretty sure the shipping is expensive for DHL.

Although the Mandarake website continues to make a note of a deal it has in place with Nakano and DHL, personal experience has suggested that this is not the case at all, at least not any longer. DHL rates for all packages seem consistent and affordable for what they are regardless of the Mandarake store where my order is placed.

I believe the deal in place with Nakano was one that existed in the past, possibly when the service was first made available, and any difference is now nonexistent or so negligible that I can't tell the difference. All of that aside, DHL is a ridiculously fast service, regularly delivering packages across the Pacific and the US in under 48 hours. For heavier packages due to the way in which their rates are charged, it can even be cheaper than EMS. As long as someone is around to answer the front door and you don't have to worry about customs fees (ie. being in the US), I highly recommend its selection.

so should i use ems or dhl to ship ky orders?

Great site, very reliable and super useful for collectors.

Although I will say that it's become a lot less useful in recent months. It's become so well known across the fandom that most things sell out very quickly and their stock of older/rarer releases has pretty much dried up. This is also why many new releases skyrocket in price too, since they know they're pretty much the only place we can go for exclusives once they're released, they can charge almost whatever they like for popular items.

Still a great site, but the competition for certain items makes other sites a bit more useful these days.

ive noticed that mandarake has a lot of gaoranger power animals for sale... how do i tell if they are the korean versions or not?

DHL will also let you leave a signed note on your door instead of requiring a person be physically present. Heck, one time my note blew away and the driver let me send a text message instead.

I thought originally that the box shape was different, but it seems that the best way to tell is the logo. The Jungle Force (Korean name for Gaoranger) logo looks like a Power Rangers logo, complete with a lightning bolt. The text on the Japanese box is more boxy than the text on the Korean packaging, so they can be distinguished even if you don't know either language. Also, the Japanese ones have "Power Animal" written in English over the logo.

btw i see mandarake carrys zoids at pretty good prices... is it qorth buying them or will they be built/broken already?

They're worth buying for the prices they're asking for. As for the broken/built question, I'd say they'd probably send them out not already combined. I've never heard of anybody ever buying something broken from them, so I wouldn't worry too much.

I believe this thread has done it's purpose in establishing Mandarake's credibility. Should you have further questions about them or another online retailer you should refer to our list of Japanese Import sites in the marketplace forum.

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