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I Have 2 Swords Stuck In Japan...


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Friends-

 I am coming up on 3 months since I bought a couple of swords from Aoi. Both are fully paid for via bank wire transfer. I bought them at just the wrong time- right before the suspension of EMS, and right before I really got involved with the NMB and discovered Ray Singer's excellent matchmaking services.

 I have pleaded with Aoi to try to ship via FedEx and label these as "Antique Japanese Art (Nihonto)" not as "weapons" which FedEx will apparently not accept. I offered to pay more for the shipping.

 Aoi responded by saying that they tried to fill out the bill of lading as such, but FedEx would not accept the documentation. 

 So the total I wired in to Aoi is not crazy money, $5,000, but was the last I had budgeted this year for sword collecting, and like most of y'all, I have a wandering eye. Lots of temptation to resist. Kinda like I got married, but had no honeymoon, then discovered that there was a strip club right around the corner.

 Anybody have any ideas about getting swords from Japan to the US during this weird time?

 Should I just hold on and wait?

 Should I ask for a refund?

 If I asked for a refund, would Aoi be pissed and not want to do business with me in the future?

For what it's worth, I really like the 2 swords that I bought, I am just feeling a bit powerless in this situation with no idea when EMS will resume, and no sense of attentive customer service or engagement from Aoi. They have NEVER reached out to me to give any kind of update, I have always initiated contact and they have always curtly responded with a 2 line "wait longer" response.

  Am I the only one in this situation? Thanks for listening. --- JT

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Alex-

 The swords are still in their possession (I think). As far as I know, permission to ship from the Government has been given for one. I have asked on numerous occasions about whether permission to ship the second had been finalized, and gotten no answer.

 I sometimes wonder if I had bought a $50,000 blade if the service would be more attentive, communication more consistent, and shipping handled with more urgency and creativity. -- JT

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I would have no problem receiving the swords and then shipping them to you. My concern would be customs tariffs.

 

There is a company called cross border shipping that provides Canadians with a US address and trucks to Canada. Once here, items can be picked up or sent to my home. They prepay customs duties and import fees. The client pays a fee to them plus all the import expenses. They also take things by truck to the US for mailing there. All for a small fee.

 

I would mention that a member here has provided a service for members here to get their things in the EU for a small fee. A person in Japan purchased a catalogue and sent it to me. I'm still waiting for it to arrive but I do know that it is in Canada - has not moved for more than a week,! Patience...

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Patience is difficult but very much part of the Nihonto hobby, especially when you get into restoration where you may not see something back for years.

 

I too dropped over $7k on a blade from AOI a couple months back that's stuck in Japan. I decided to take the opportunity and send for some work and Tanobe's sayagaki. Hopefully things will be open by the time everything is finished.

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JT - I do a lot of business with AOI. I'm sure they would work with you; however, if you really like the pieces I would just wait. I also agree with Oshy in that this is a great time to consider a fresh polish or paper upgrade.

 

I may be heading that way in a few months. I may be able to bring them back for you.

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Hey James-

 Thanks for volunteering for Sword Rescue! Looks like Mike may have a similar situation...If things get really bad, maybe we could both throw in together.

 Have either of Y'all had a sorta "standoffish" relationship with Aoi, or is it just me? It's my first time doing business with them, but have found that my low-end Ebay vendors actually are more responsive and go the extra mile to deliver.

 I got an Ebay sword delivered from Japan last month...The vendor got creative with the item description, and charged me an extra $100, but I got it FedEx in 5 days. -- JT

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JT, I have a blade and some fittings stuck over there as well.  We may have to wait a couple of months, but I doubt it will be longer than that.  It all depends on when the coronavirus case numbers drop down in North America.  

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JT, i know it is frustrating but it will arrive eventually. I’ve had parcels from all over the world stuck lately, and some for a few months. They all arrived eventually but one (the oldest), which is still in limbo somewhere. The issue is the lack of planes. Some destinations are off limit, so parcels are flying from country to country until they finally find a plane for destination. In the meantime, the go through sorting in warehouses which are backlogged and then through customs which are backlogged too. Sometimes they get forgotten in a corner of the warehouse until someone notices them and put them back on the circuit, but eventually, I’m sure they will get to you.

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JT - I do a lot of business with AOI. I'm sure they would work with you; however, if you really like the pieces I would just wait. I also agree with Oshy in that this is a great time to consider a fresh polish or paper upgrade.

 

I may be heading that way in a few months. I may be able to bring them back for you.

Hey James-

 If you do a lot of business with them, do you personally know somebody there? Could you convince them to ship via FedEx? Like I said earlier, I had a sword shipped to the states with FedEx last month and it arrived exactly 5 DAYS after pickup in Saitama.

 I am not convinced that Aoi is making an effort to find alternate shipping, meanwhile our lowly Ebay sellers are shipping out no problem!

 My Ebay vendor labeled the blade as "Imitation Sword", FedEx took it, insured it, shipped it, delivered it to my front door in New Orleans, no problem!

 The total shipping cost was $150....I would gladly pay additional money for FedEx delivery, and offered to pay more to Aoi, but got no traction with my communication to them. -- JT

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 My Ebay vendor labeled the blade as "Imitation Sword", FedEx took it, insured it, shipped it, delivered it to my front door in New Orleans, no problem!

A major reseller like Aoi can't afford to lie. But they do take the easiest path, in my experience.

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Patience is difficult but very much part of the Nihonto hobby, especially when you get into restoration where you may not see something back for years.

 

I too dropped over $7k on a blade from AOI a couple months back that's stuck in Japan. I decided to take the opportunity and send for some work and Tanobe's sayagaki. Hopefully things will be open by the time everything is finished.

Mike-

 As a craftsman myself, I have NO issues waiting for a craftsman to execute work that takes time. What I have little patience for is delivery of good sold by a vendor, even if that means taking a hit to meet a client's expectations (I do this as a matter of daily business).

  There are at least 3 NMB members waiting on deliverables....I would hope that Aoi gets the message - The natives are getting restless. -- JT

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Hello JT,

 

This may or may not be helpful to you.

 

I recently purchased a sword product (Shirasaya wood) from a seller in Japan, he also told me about the postal system freeze.

 

However, he shipped my purchase via DHL airmail, shipped on 6-19-2020 and arrived at my house in the US on 6-23-2020 without a hitch.

 

Any attempted use of the Japanese Postal service will be a guaranty of it being halted for the foreseeable future, maybe see if AOI will try to use DHL.

 

Worth a shot!

 

Mark

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I just tried to buy 2 items from Japan yesterday, from 2 separate places....both told me that the Japan Post airmail is essentially closed (I verified this as such on line as well, current info as of 7/3/2020).

 

Very limited airmail, to very limited countries, with long and unreliable ship dates. The backlog of parcels needing to leave Japan is apparently very large, causing further delays and adding to the uncertainty.

 

Even sea freight shipping, they claim 1-4 months delivery time depending on destination.....ouch!

 

Exact same info from both parties, so it would appear we all get to wait for Japan Post to re-open service, then clear the backlog, then maybe they'll get back on an even keel.

 

Mark

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Mark-

 FedEx currently has a 5 day delivery time from Tokyo to New Orleans. As I said earlier- I just got a delivery of an Ebay Wakizashi no problem. Japan Post/EMS is dead, but FedEx is up and running. That is the issue here.

 I would argue that Aoi is not being creative enough with shipping...Aren't they supposed to be the experts in exporting swords from Japan? Why am I conducting the shipping experiments? I am a total novice and have successfully gotten a Sword from Japan to the USA. I shared the results of the experiment with Aoi. Again - why is a chucklehead nobody like me advising Aoi on how to ship swords?   --- JT

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Not sure that the Japan Postal Service is the culprit, as I received a tsuba from my grandson in Fussa-shi, dated less than a week ago.

Also received a tsuba today via EMS, that was shipped on the 2nd of july.

 

regards,

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Usagiya Sword shop and Namikawa Heibei supplies both have told me that I need to wait until Japan Post re-opens before they can ship, even then no control on delivery time.

 

For what that's worth.

 

I have asked them about EMS, UPS, DHL, Sea freight and Japan ground freight......the answer has been the same for all.

 

I have sent both of them an email request to use FedEx, we will see what they have to say.

 

Mark

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For what its worth i received my tanto from Japan via sea mail and it took 2 months to reach me in Australia. I am waiting for another one from Usagiya which will be coming by sea mail. If all else fails maybe ask aoi to send by sea mail.

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DHL delivered my Shirasaya wood no problem...same size package as a sword.....

 

I was quoted 4 months by sea mail to the west coast of USA as current time frame prediction, much patience needed there.

 

Mark

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