The Q & A Thread (for questions that do not need a thread)

[Rui]

How would I find my importer number?

If you don't already have one you probably don't need one but some couriers were panicking after Brexit happened and it's more-or-less instant to apply for an individual 'EORI' number through the government website (you should be able to get away with giving just your delivery details though as you're presumably importing Marmalade Boy as a private person, not for commercial reasons, unless the sender filled in the documents incorrectly!)

R

 

[RadFemHedonist]

If you don't already have one you probably don't need one but some couriers were panicking after Brexit happened and it's more-or-less instant to apply for an individual 'EORI' number through the government website (you should be able to get away with giving just your delivery details though as you're presumably importing Marmalade Boy as a private person, not for commercial reasons, unless the sender filled in the documents incorrectly!)

R

In the end the package turned up today even though I didn't get around to contacting them, but thanks for your helpful advice Rui, I'll keep it in mind in future (I started rewatching Marmalade Boy already, I love it so much! XD)

 

[Stiivun]

Don't know if I'm alone or not (suspect not actually) but it seems Rightstuf has big issues with getting stock in.

An order I've placed back in July still isn't shipped out and this morning I got an email they've removed Bofuri LE from the order as they also earlier did with Cautious Hero LE.

One would suspect as a customer that when you ordered something and one or more titles in your order aren't in stock that the rest is at least set aside for you. This is clearly not the case with Rightstuf ... you've been warned

There was still one title in my order which hasn't been in stock for over two months (Date a Live III in fact) so now I had this removed from the order, so that the rest can finally be shipped out.

Also informed them that Duty and Tax Deposit should also be adjusted as it's still the same although $111 worth of items was removed from the order.

My personal experience with Rightstuf customer care took a serious dive in the last years, don't know if I'm the only one here.

 

[NormanicGrav]

Don't know if I'm alone or not (suspect not actually) but it seems Rightstuf has big issues with getting stock in.

An order I've placed back in July still isn't shipped out and this morning I got an email they've removed Bofuri LE from the order as they also earlier did with Cautious Hero LE.

Regarding Cautious Hero's LE, if you don't mind the shipping costs, the UK version (which is 100% identical as I own it) is still available if that helps.

 

[SkwigglesWorth]

Don't know if I'm alone or not (suspect not actually) but it seems Rightstuf has big issues with getting stock in.

An order I've placed back in July still isn't shipped out and this morning I got an email they've removed Bofuri LE from the order as they also earlier did with Cautious Hero LE.

One would suspect as a customer that when you ordered something and one or more titles in your order aren't in stock that the rest is at least set aside for you. This is clearly not the case with Rightstuf ... you've been warned

There was still one title in my order which hasn't been in stock for over two months (Date a Live III in fact) so now I had this removed from the order, so that the rest can finally be shipped out.

Also informed them that Duty and Tax Deposit should also be adjusted as it's still the same although $111 worth of items was removed from the order.

My personal experience with Rightstuf customer care took a serious dive in the last years, don't know if I'm the only one here.

Your not the only one I did 2 rightstuff order back when they did the summer birthday sale. One with all in stock items and then a second with some out of stock items with "expecting more soon", but I am still waiting on that second order: and I think those items holding it up are: interveiw with moster girls, Tales of the Abyss and unbreakable machine dolls. Kamisma kiss S1 they have since got in stock, but certainly a slow process.

But yeah I was hoping for the setting aside thing as well, although may partailly do it (just guessing/hoping) in the sense they just hold one item of stock in the stock counter so it can't be purchased

I honestly would have done the same as you and ordered BOFURI except I didn't see the message that my UK version got cancelled till after the sale. So I have since bought an AUS version, but it is a bit pricey at £67 so depends how much you want it really (but no Import costs), Amazon UK via US for US version used to have it in stock but they seemed to have all gone now (just the one like new, which I actually want to guess is my returns)

 

[Girls with Guns]

Yes, be aware if you order something OOS from Rightstuf and include other items in the same order, those items will not be put back for your order. I will NEVER order an out of stock item from Rightstuf unless it is in a order by itself. On average, restocking of OOS items has been taking anywhere from 2-4 months, so I don't even bother ordering OOS items until I see they've come back in stock.

 

[Relaxo]

Yes, be aware if you order something OOS from Rightstuf and include other items in the same order, those items will not be put back for your order.

As far as my experience goes: Rightstuf actually does put the items back for my order, if they are going OOS. However this is not shown in your order status. So if you have a complex order, you might set instock notification alerts for items not yet in stock.

Regarding Bofuri and Cautious Hero:
My Bofuri-order was also cancelled. I placed it when it was listed "Out of Stock, More coming soon" - but Funimation failed to supply enough copies so my Bofuri-copy got cancelled too. Guess it was the same with your orders.
-> between placing my order and now, it was never in stock

Restocking might take a while at RS, and when placing a large order I always factor in that I might end up canceling some items that might stay OOP for ages. Since Covid, Funimation has serious issues in restocking their back catalogue, same for several manga / novel companies.
Sentai restocks faster - and the restock date listed at Sentai.com usually matches the date for Rightstuf (+/- 1 week)

Up1 however doesn't set aside copies, if other items are OOS. Thus they cancelled 3 of my items...
...and still charged 25 GBP for partial shipping.

 

[Girls with Guns]

Well, I just know there have been quite a few people over on blu-ray.com who reported having items removed from their Rightstuf orders that went OOP while the order was held up for an OOS item, so I'm pretty sure they do not put back any items. I myself have never gotten burnt with OOS items in any of my orders, because I won't even take the chance due to what I have read in the forum from others' expreriences.

Sentai restocks faster - and the restock date listed at Sentai.com usually matches the date for Rightstuf (+/- 1 week)

You do realize that all of Sentai's inventory is stored and shipped from Rightstuf, so of course the restock dates will be about the same.

 

[Relaxo]

Yes - and they share the same inventory. This can lead to the problem that from both stores combined more orders can be placed than stock was on hand. But only if these were placed in a small time frame.

Sorry, but for me setting aside always worked when ordering through the website and the item was actually in stock when ordering or at least came in stock later. Failure only when the item actually never was in stock and the supplier never restocked...
And as I can't afford partial shipping for international orders, it usually takes several months for backorders to arrive (or pre-orders, if included)

This can also be proven with the Uzaki-chan LE. It went to "no longer avaiable" weeks prior to the actual release, as they were informed by Funimation that they couldn't get more units than initally planned (and already reserved)

 

[Stiivun]

Regarding Cautious Hero's LE, if you don't mind the shipping costs, the UK version (which is 100% identical as I own it) is still available if that helps.

That's exactly what I did for Cautious Hero where I got the UK version, but due to personal reasons I forgot to work proactively for Bofuri.

Contrary to what Relaxo had, if I'm not mistaken Bofuri was still in stock when I ordered it.

@Girls with Guns , funny you say this, because I've ordered both the order where Cautious Hero and Bofuri was part of as well as another order during their summer sale, and guess what in that second order some titles which were part of the sale were actually OOS. Then I ask myself the question, why on earth to they put such titles in a sale then.

 

[Relaxo]

Then I ask myself the question, why on earth to they put such titles in a sale then.

Rightstuf thought Funimation would deliver additional copies, as Funimation themselves didn't state them as unavaiable at that time. And more often than not, RightStuf already "ordered" copies from Funimation, but Funimation failed to deliver.

 

[Gemsy-chan]

Has anyone ever ordered something from AliExpress? If so, how was it?

 

[Stiivun]

No experience with them Gemsy, so not able to help there.

Well Rightstuf finally shipped my first order after two items were cancelled earlier and I had Date a Live III removed. But still the Duty and Tax Deposit they charged me at the time I made the order remains unchanged read: in not a cent less) even with these items removed and somewhat cheaper shipment charge, boiling down to $163 less than the original final price. Bizarre extremely bizarre. So replied on my support case to ask why this is, as the support rep failed to answer that in my initial question.

Since UP1 also isn’t an viable option anymore for this EU citizen, it seems Rightstuf and their nose-dive customer support this will end in me getting a LOT LESS physical releases in the forseeable future … which is a shame.

 

[IdiomaticLynx]

Has anyone ever ordered something from AliExpress? If so, how was it?

I've ordered from AliExpress several times in the past couple of years. This wasn't to the UK, mind you, but I'd be surprised if the experience was vastly different. Since you're basically buying from 'third party sellers' with AliExpress just serving as the marketplace, it's always good to pay close attention to reviews. In many cases it's either 4.5+ or no/low ratings, there seems to be no middle ground.

I've mostly ordered electronic components, and the price difference compared to local options is so huge, that even if I'd never see the product and order it a second or even third time, I'd still be cheaper off. But that's also my rule of thumb, I only really use AliExpress for (cheap) things that would've come from China either way. In those cases, I don't see the benefit of paying the middleman, unless I need it on a short notice as the shipping times vary wildly. I've had stuff arrive weeks before they were scheduled, but also things arrive months after they were supposed to. Though recently it seems most things I order somehow get bundled and reshipped from the EU and shipping times in general seem to be shorter. Don't expect anything from their 'tracking' for cheap/free shipping options, though.

Personally I'd never use it for brand stuff (I'd just assume I'd get a fake), electronic appliances (fire hazards for all I know) or very expensive stuff (just too risky). But if you set your expectations right, it's actually pretty good and it seems to steadily improve. As I noted above shipping times seem to be shorter than before, more often than not items even have warehouse options besides China and I haven't been hit by customs in ages (must have something to do with them reshipping from within the EU somehow). Just anticipate that it might take a while for it to arrive and once in a while something will go 'wrong'. Whether that is the wrong product, amount, colour, or even a no-show.

Obviously it might be different when shipping to the UK or for different product categories. If it's cheap and you could miss the money, I would say just give it a shot. For me it works best if I can just place the order and forget about it. If you worry about the order, I'd not recommend it, as there's so much to 'worry' about with AliExpress (inconsistent listing, wrong pictures, broken English, rubbish 'track & trace', long shipping/wait time, sloppy packaging, etc...)

 

[WMD]

Wasn't sure where to post this but figured here is fine.

Is there a thread somewhere on the forum that briefly describes the sub areas of anime such as shonen, seinen etc?

I realise I've been watching anime for years and I'm still not entirely clear on all of them. It might be nice/useful for new members to have a pinned thread that simply describes them. I realise it might be a lot of work for someone so no worries if it's too much hassle bit thought it might be good if someone who feels up to the task to put a post together.

 

[ActionFaust]

Wasn't sure where to post this but figured here is fine.

Is there a thread somewhere on the forum that briefly describes the sub areas of anime such as shonen, seinen etc?

I realise I've been watching anime for years and I'm still not entirely clear on all of them. It might be nice/useful for new members to have a pinned thread that simply describes them. I realise it might be a lot of work for someone so no worries if it's too much hassle bit thought it might be good if someone who feels up to the task to put a post together.

Not so sure on a thread but shonen and seinen are simply demographics. Shonen is aimed at teenage boys while seinen is aimed at young men. Same for shojo and josei which target a female audience. It's quite a big misconception that these four are seen as genres.

Would be quite useful to have a thread on specific terms.

 

[Girls with Guns]

A quick Google search found this, read to your hearts content, it is a very loooong article!

A Complete List of Anime Genres (and Subgenres) with Explanations

 

[ActionFaust]

A quick Google search found this, read to your hearts content, it is a very loooong article!

A Complete List of Anime Genres (and Subgenres) with Explanations

Unfortunately that article uses the incorrect definitions for shojo-ai and shonen-ai which mean something very different in Japan. It also refers to demographics as subgenres. Aside from a few issues it seems to be a decent enough reference but not one I'd recommend lol

 

[WMD]

A quick Google search found this, read to your hearts content, it is a very loooong article!

A Complete List of Anime Genres (and Subgenres) with Explanations

That does seem pretty in depth. I guess my point was that this is an anime forum where people might come to learn more about anime if they're just starting to get into it and as such it might be nice to have it's own glossary of terms (in an easy to find place) for stuff where we just use the Japanese word.

 

[Girls with Guns]

Well, the article could be useful as a reference and resource if someone wants to do up a thread - I just wanted to provide you with some instant gratification, lol.