Anybody Used Global Rakuten In India?

[mehandiratta]

Has any of the following members bought anything from Rakuten.

 

How much time do they generally take to ship order and how much time does it take shipment to arrive.

Do we have to pay any custom...???

 

Also how reliable is this Ecommerce platform for international buyers....

 

[rohit1974]

Hi,

have purchased from rakuten

Delivery time about 7 days

purchased from bunkidou and hunnyhunt

reliable sellers

no issue whatsoever

had to pay customs once only - 40%

[Ambien]

I have used it 1-2x and items arrived quickly and well-packaged. I know the site looks shady but they are supposed to be like Amazon/eBay for Japan. They accept most forms of payment and stores will order items for you so it may not ship immediately after order is placed. Good place for deals as the yen is lower than normal for awhile.

[maverink]

yes a happy rakuten user i have used it a dozen or more times i have bought from officejapan, bunkidou, voice, horiman etc but they use EMs for shipping

i think jsubculture website is cheaper

[vig2432]

yes a happy rakuten user i have used it a dozen or more times i have bought from officejapan, bunkidou, voice, horiman etc but they use EMs for shipping

i think jsubculture website is cheaper

 

This might be a repeat question. Generally, what is the status of custom duties on writing instruments imported to india from abroad.

[mehandiratta]

yes a happy rakuten user i have used it a dozen or more times i have bought from officejapan, bunkidou, voice, horiman etc but they use EMs for shipping

i think jsubculture website is cheaper

what does EMs for shipping,,,, Is it EMS - Speed Post?? how much for shipping charges

[Ambien]

what does EMs for shipping,,,, Is it EMS - Speed Post?? how much for shipping charges

 

EMS= Express Main Shipping and it's the fastest overseas option. For example it'll take 3-7 days from Japan to NY, USA and for small items depending on weight it will cost $10. Many pen stores will ship this way because it's safer for expensive pens and more careful than other types.

[deepak23]

In India, EMS is delivered through Speed Post. Tracking is possible thru speed post site.

[deepak23]

 

This might be a repeat question. Generally, what is the status of custom duties on writing instruments imported to india from abroad.

Depends on your luck. Sometimes it passes through without any charge especially if from China. Japan and US orders may get charged. The rate is on assessed value if they feel the declared value is low...

[maverink]

yes i have been asked to pay customs on my pelikan m400 which was in a pelikan box, depends on the box, the pen, its value declared by the seller. even if you have a montblanc pen in a small box then they may not charge any customs. if they get suspicious that you have undervalued the pen then they ask you to come with the paypal receipt and charge customs on it. in case of purchases from europe we save 19%VAT and customs may charge that amount as duties.

 

EMS is the preferred way of shipping on rakuten it costs about 900yen or 10USD but then rakuten has the offer of free shipping upto 2000 yen etc thats the time to buy irozshuku inks which are heavier than pens.

 

jsubculture provides cheaper shipping options apart from EMS and they prices are better than rakuten as they dont charge 8% consumption tax

Edited February 27, 2015 by maverink

[rishminder]

did you get the pen??

[mehandiratta]

I tried to order the pen from rakuten...

They reverted me with message that they can't sell same to India... It is prohibited...

[rohit1974]

What ? very strange.

which seller was this

[mehandiratta]

Excerpt from Mail

 

"Dear customer,

Thank you very much for choosing Komamono-honpo online shop and thank you very much for your interest in our products.

Unfortunately, we cannot ship this product to overseas due to various issues.
（Dispatch of fountain pen to India has been prohibited.）

We appreciate your kind understanding.
Thank you very much.


Komamono-honpo"

[deepak23]

Strange. Ordered one three days ago without any issues. (Yet to be desoatched though)

[mehandiratta]

Strange. Ordered one three days ago without any issues. (Yet to be desoatched though)

you made payment through credit card or paypal... also what seller...??

[deepak23]

Office japan was the seller, paypal...

[mehandiratta]

Office japan was the seller, paypal...

alright.. let me check if they supply...

[bk123]

I tried to order the pen from rakuten...

They reverted me with message that they can't sell same to India... It is prohibited...

Rakuten is a marketplace just like Amazon. There are many sellers on Rakuten, Amazon and Ebay who don't ship to India. Most of them mention the excluded country in their shipping details.

In my opinion, one should always prefer Paypal to pay because Paypal has good policies in case of disputes. EMS is faster and secured mode of shipping as one can get information of every step once the item is shipped. As far as I know any fountain pen costing below Rs 5,000 does not attract any custom duty in India. But, you never know the custom guys. They can charge whenever they wish .

One possible way to avoid the custom duty is to request your seller to mark your item as gift. This may not work all the time though. I never paid any custom duty on my pens when the seller agreed to mark the shipment as gift. But if you are unfortunate, then your item may attract a custom duty of anything between 30-40%

Edited March 2, 2015 by bk123

[maverink]

yes buy from shops on rakuten which ship internationally sellers like officejapan, horiman, bunkidou voice etc ship intgernationally while some shops on rakuten may not ship outside japan.