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Japan Post suspension of international mail


pafy6285

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Mods/admins feel free to move this thread if this is not the appropriate section for this. Anyways, Japan post has an official announcement regarding suspension of international mail: https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0401_02_en.html

Please check the PDF for the specific list of countries and what type of mail is affected. If I understand the PDF correctly, US (and Canada) for example can still accept EMS/Airmails. SAL on the other hand (not sure if it also includes RSAL small packet or if it's under airmail) is suspended for all countries.

Edited by pafy6285
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Just now, pafy6285 said:

Mods/admins feel free to move this thread if this is not the appropriate section for this. Anyways, Japan post has an official announcement regarding suspension of international mail: https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0401_02_en.html

Please check the PDF for the specific list of countries and what type of mail is affected. If I understand the PDF correctly, US (and Canada) for example can still accept EMS/Airmails. SAL on the other hand (not sure if it also includes RSAL small packet or if it's under airmail) is suspended for all countries.

Thanks for the update. I didn't think they would have put the postal service on hold, it's basically the only thing that has kept working (and very well too) here in Italy during the quarantine! Anyway, i guess private carriers such as Fedex and DHL are still shipping though, right?

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3 minutes ago, Ryoma said:

Thanks for the update. I didn't think they would have put the postal service on hold, it's basically the only thing that has kept working (and very well too) here in Italy during the quarantine! Anyway, i guess private carriers such as Fedex and DHL are still shipping though, right?

haven't seen any suspension announcements/news from Fedex/DHL's site, but you may also want to double check if you gonna order something and use those couriers.

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On the bright side, I wasn't expecting anything to need shipping (for me at least) until the 0D hits. My VF-4G Focker HMR toy probably won't arrive until about the same time. Sigh... I'm looking forward to when the news starts improving.... seems like every day things just keep getting a little worse right now.

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42 minutes ago, jenius said:

On the bright side, I wasn't expecting anything to need shipping (for me at least) until the 0D hits. My VF-4G Focker HMR toy probably won't arrive until about the same time. Sigh... I'm looking forward to when the news starts improving.... seems like every day things just keep getting a little worse right now.

I work in healthcare. Current outlook is a year at least before things start to improve in the US. 

Edited by LRS
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23 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

Masks wont do much good against you getting corona. The virus will just go into any open crevices around your face. It is more effective at keeping infected people from coughing the disease into the air. Although if someone has the cough they should just stay at home period. 

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1 minute ago, HardlyNever said:

Well, that means my DX SSP from NY might not even get here... this year... ever?

I don't even know if I can cancel, since this is past even CC protection, I believe.

Hmm. I bought my stuff through paypal. I'm going to see if I can cancel. This embargo could easily last till the end of the year. 

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33 minutes ago, LRS said:

I work in healthcare. Current outlook is a year at least before things start to improve in the US. 

I've been curious about the math on this (not that I doubt it';s true). We hear things like "the virus has an r0 of roughly 2.4" (meaning every one person gives it to 2.4 people) and that the virus has an incubation period of 1 to 2 weeks and recover period of 2 to 3 weeks meaning a max of 5 weeks with the bug. One would think that social distancing would greatly reduce the r0 and ten weeks of of social distancing would be plenty of time for people who had just gotten sick to show symptoms, infect their family members, and all be on the road to recovery... but apparently that's not at all the case. 

The masks thing is unfortunate. People have been buying n95 masks and similar which is not what they need which created a shortage for healthcare professionals and caused the whole "don't wear masks" thing. The campaign should have been "make your own mask!" 

Edited by jenius
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11 minutes ago, LRS said:

Hmm. I bought my stuff through paypal. I'm going to see if I can cancel. This embargo could easily last till the end of the year. 

I submitted a ticket to see if I can at least change shipping method (which may not even be an option by the time these things are actually in their hands).  We'll see what they say.  Not holding my breath...

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23 minutes ago, jenius said:

I've been curious about the math on this (not that I doubt it';s true). We hear things like "the virus has an r0 of roughly 2.4" (meaning every one person gives it to 2.4 people) and that the virus has an incubation period of 1 to weeks and recover period of 2 to 3 weeks meaning a max of 5 weeks with the bug. One would think that social distancing would greatly reduce the r0 and ten weeks of of social distancing would be plenty of time for people who had just gotten sick to show symptoms, infect their family members, and all be on the road to recovery... but apparently that's not at all the case. 

The masks thing is unfortunate. People have been buying n95 masks and similar which is not what they need which created a shortage for healthcare professionals and caused the whole "don't wear masks" thing. The campaign should have been "make your own mask!" 

There is a critical shortage of PPE in my area. All non urgent appts and services have been canceled including labs, MRI, Xrays. No new patients accepted so if you happen to be one of those people who waited to find a primary care physician and now you need one you are SOL. Urgent care clinics have been turned into respiratory units. Even labor and delivery floors have been closed and converted to covid wards. All OB patients have been routed to only one hospital. Anyone who thinks this will blow over in a couple of weeks is sadly mistaken. 

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2 minutes ago, LRS said:

Anyone who thinks this will blow over in a couple of weeks is sadly mistaken. 

Did POTUS get that memo?:p

I would hope delivery services for paid items will be honored. But just take longer.  If postal services can upgrade their methodology,( concerning virus safe environment and transportation methods) perhaps goods can still be moving to and fro. Even if no one goes out much, shipments, in theory, should still be able to happen..

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1 minute ago, Bolt said:

Did POTUS get that memo?:p

I would hope delivery services for paid items will be honored. But just take longer.  If postal services can upgrade their methodology,( concerning virus safe environment and transportation methods) perhaps goods can still be moving to and fro. Even if no one goes out much, shipments, in theory, should still be able to happen..

I hope so. The pdf said that all accepted packages but not shipped would be returned to sender. 

So the question, how do you guys think the japanese people are likely to react to this situation. Places like mandarake. Will they hold packages, offer other shipping methods, offer refunds, or just say screw international customers. 

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20 minutes ago, Bolt said:

I would hope delivery services for paid items will be honored. But just take longer.  If postal services can upgrade their methodology,( concerning virus safe environment and transportation methods) perhaps goods can still be moving to and fro. Even if no one goes out much, shipments, in theory, should still be able to happen..

I suspect the problem is the effects of social distancing on logistics and not something that can be solved by better methodologies. If you're running a skeleton crew, and everyone else is running a skeleton crew, and you keep falling further and further behind, at some point it makes sense to say "let's just shut down and come back to this when we all don't have skeleton crews." 

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24 minutes ago, LRS said:

I hope so. The pdf said that all accepted packages but not shipped would be returned to sender. 

So the question, how do you guys think the japanese people are likely to react to this situation. Places like mandarake. Will they hold packages, offer other shipping methods, offer refunds, or just say screw international customers. 

Jungle didn't have their website for a year and basically just said "screw international customers." I'm guessing that most retailers will simply state that they are currently unable to ship internationally and not allow purchases to be completed at international addresses. 

EDIT  - that is any retailer that didn't already have a 'hold it for me' option. Places like AE, NY, HLJ, will only allow ship later options.

Edited by jenius
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8 minutes ago, jenius said:

Jungle didn't have their website for a year and basically just said "screw international customers." I'm guessing that most retailers will simply state that they are currently unable to ship internationally and not allow purchases to be completed at international addresses. 

EDIT  - that is any retailer that didn't already have a 'hold it for me' option. Places like AE, NY, HLJ, will only allow ship later options.

I got my HMR from mandarake and sent them an email. If they refuse to refund me and wont ship then it's time to talk to my bank. 

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9 minutes ago, LRS said:

I got my HMR from mandarake and sent them an email. If they refuse to refund me and wont ship then it's time to talk to my bank. 

I have had nothing but good transactions with Mandrake for the last year and a half of recollecting Macross and other lines. Maybe they will offer the other services (FedEX/DHL), obviously at a higher cost. I think I'm just gonna have to go on a collection hiatus for a while unless already in the states. And you in the Med industry, I in the military, this isn't going to be just a few weeks.

 

Regardless of toys, all of you stay safe out there and keep your families healthy. The problem with the lock-down is there are already numerous people throughout the world meeting up in masse and blatantly ignoring various countries orders. Or those countries that's own government officials state  "Don't worry, you can go to that (insert any gathering/protest/march), and show how strong and in solidarity with that cause you are.  Covid wont get ya. Well, now some of those countries are topping the list.

 

And if any of you are inclined

https://ncov2019.live/data

17 year old created the site. Damn smart kid and updates 2 times per day if not more.

Edited by Alphahorizon
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20 minutes ago, LRS said:

I got my HMR from mandarake and sent them an email. If they refuse to refund me and wont ship then it's time to talk to my bank. 

I'm pretty sure if you ask politely for a refund in light of the circumstances, they will gladly honor it. I've returned an item to them once and it was an incredibly smooth process. 

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4 minutes ago, jenius said:

I'm pretty sure if you ask politely for a refund in light of the circumstances, they will gladly honor it. I've returned an item to them once and it was an incredibly smooth process. 

Good to know. Dont get me wrong. I'd rather have the valks than the refund. However this is it for purchases. It's time to stop spending and settle in for the long haul. 

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34 minutes ago, Alphahorizon said:

I have had nothing but good transactions with Mandrake for the last year and a half of recollecting Macross and other lines. Maybe they will offer the other services (FedEX/DHL), obviously at a higher cost. I think I'm just gonna have to go on a collection hiatus for a while unless already in the states. And you in the Med industry, I in the military, this isn't going to be just a few weeks.

 

Regardless of toys, all of you stay safe out there and keep your families healthy. The problem with the lock-down is there are already numerous people throughout the world meeting up in masse and blatantly ignoring various countries orders. Or those countries that's own government officials state  "Don't worry, you can go to that (insert any gathering/protest/march), and show how strong and in solidarity with that cause you are.  Covid wont get ya. Well, now some of those countries are topping the list.

 

And if any of you are inclined

https://ncov2019.live/data

17 year old created the site. Damn smart kid and updates 2 times per day if not more.

Thanks for the info @Alphahorizon :good:

Johns Hopkins University also has a great dashboard updated regularly https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

This going to put a serious hold up on Macross toy collecting for us non Japan residents. Well, more resin kits to build anyway :unknw:

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@LRS Mandarake is great if you’re polite, but it’s also not unheard of for shops to just cancel your account, refund you and refuse to sell to you ever again if you’re a jerk. 
 

so I’d highly recommend going into it politely, unless you want to potentially cut yourself off from one of the few reliable sources for second hand Macross stuff out there. 
 

I imagine lots of shops are going to have to figure out what they’re going to do and we’ll see statements and emails over the next few days / weeks. 

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Going to step in this thread after reading it.

I actually have a MP on hold from Manda (via EMS) and the payment is nearing the 5 day deadline. Based on the PDF file, I'm not affected by Japanpost mail shipping into Canada where I'm at right now.

However, if Manda emails back and tells me another mailing option via DHL or wait till the present situation has subsided over (therefore keeping the package on hold till then), I'll then make my decision as I'm still going to pay for the purchase regardless. I only emailed Manda once as I doubled ordered the same item twice and they cancelled the secondary order.

This actually reminded me of my DX YF-19 Full Set that I ordered from the Utsunomiya branch (upon release) during the Typhoon season and I got it sent out by using DHL and got dinged with Custom Fees.

I'm putting my Macross collection of hold for now until the next DX pre-order goes up (either the DYRL Roy/Max 1s or the YF-21)

 

Thanks for the info @Alphahorizon and @Bolt for the links as I will be also checking it now and then. 

  

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21 minutes ago, jeniusornome said:

@LRS Mandarake is great if you’re polite, but it’s also not unheard of for shops to just cancel your account, refund you and refuse to sell to you ever again if you’re a jerk. 
 

so I’d highly recommend going into it politely, unless you want to potentially cut yourself off from one of the few reliable sources for second hand Macross stuff out there. 
 

I imagine lots of shops are going to have to figure out what they’re going to do and we’ll see statements and emails over the next few days / weeks. 

Thanks for the info. No worries, I'm always polite and so was my email. I'm hoping they will allow me to choose another shipping method. All of my purchases from them already went through to shipping. But they were all SAL so they will be sent back to them. 

Edited by LRS
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5 hours ago, jenius said:

I suspect the problem is the effects of social distancing on logistics and not something that can be solved by better methodologies. If you're running a skeleton crew, and everyone else is running a skeleton crew, and you keep falling further and further behind, at some point it makes sense to say "let's just shut down and come back to this when we all don't have skeleton crews." 

I can't speak for the situation outside of Japan, but the website appears to put the main reason on the severe reduction of international flights—which is most likely the main reason why some of us non-Japan based MW members are experiencing delays in getting their packages.

I'd also hazard a guess that Japan Posts' storage depots for outbound mail are at, or near  capacity.  And due to the complexity of keeping staff at all postal outlets up-to-date on which countries are currently accepting/not accepting mail and estimating how long it will take to be delivered, it's just simpler to pause all international deliveries.

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5 hours ago, LRS said:

So the question, how do you guys think the japanese people are likely to react to this situation.

Currently, it's a non-story on places like Yahoo News and the Yomiuri Newspaper.

Right now, the biggest story is whether or not schools in the Tokyo area will remain closed until May, or reopen in April (about a week from now) as currently slated.  The situation in Tokyo is... well, the outbreak is still containable, but it has a very strong possibility of an explosive increase in cases—there's been an increase of another 78 cases in the past 24 hours*.  Total 521.  About half of that is from the past 4–7 days.

 

* https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/topics/20200129-OYT8T50025/

 

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1 hour ago, sketchley said:

Currently, it's a non-story on places like Yahoo News and the Yomiuri Newspaper.

Right now, the biggest story is whether or not schools in the Tokyo area will remain closed until May, or reopen in April (about a week from now) as currently slated.  The situation in Tokyo is... well, the outbreak is still containable, but it has a very strong possibility of an explosive increase in cases—there's been an increase of another 78 cases in the past 24 hours*.  Total 521.  About half of that is from the past 4–7 days.

 

* https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/topics/20200129-OYT8T50025/

 

Interesting...given the state of the medical system in the US, it would not surprise me if the schools remained closed over here for the rest of the year. Covid is not going anywhere. It is now a permanent addition to the list of diseases. The best case scenario is a vaccine is developed much like the MMR or pneumococcal we give to infants. But even if a vaccine were to be found today it would be a year at least before sufficient quantities could be made for the US. The elephant in the room at doctor's meetings is what would happen if it were to mutate before the vaccine is created. There is preliminary research that it could have gone airborne already and in my taskforce meeting today they projected a death toll of around 200,000 in the US.

Edited by LRS
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I got an email from mandarake stating that all shipments including EMS are delayed by several weeks. They told me that if I don't get granted an export license they would refund me. I'm cool with that. It took me 16 years to rediscover this hobby. What's another month or so. 

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2 minutes ago, seti88 said:

Ok sit back and wait. 

I suppose my HMR VF-4 from N-Y has a chance to be a christmas present to my self this year. :nea::huh:

That's rough man. 

I suppose the fast packs and missile pack preorder will be delayed as well for the 1/48. That's fine I cant exactly pose ordinance anyways. 

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