Rakuten Global Market Closing

[Olya]

For whatever reason, Rakuten Global Market is closing in two weeks.

 

I have shopped a couple of times with them and must say I am unhappy with the news.

Not sure what the alternative is exactly or where to go from here, esp if you're a regular shopper.

 

Though they now have some country specific shops, Germany, France, US and Taiwan (alongside their native Japanese one, obvs).

 

If you have alternatives or know anything more about this, please share.

 

Last possible shopping: 1st June (2 PM JST).

Last payment completion: 11th June (10 AM JST)

Last shipment: 15th June.

 

More info:

https://global.rakuten.com/en/event/close.html

 

 

[Karmachanic]

As mentioned in the notice: https://globalexpress.rakuten.co.jp/?lang=en&scid=rgm-closure-en-rgx

[yongsheng]

I shopped Kobe Nagasawa on Rakuten Global a couple of times and their service are superb, not to mention a reasonable price.

Now I'm wondering where to shop next.

[Karmachanic]

Direct from Nagasawa?

[Paul-in-SF]

I've shopped there a couple of times, but I'm not a huge collector of Japanese pens, and I have pretty much given up ordering anything from Japan for the time being, no matter what the shopping venue.

 

I expect (based only on optimism rather than facts) that once shipping is regularized again, some company will eventually step in to fill this niche. Maybe they will even do a better job at it. Always hoping for the best, that's me!

 

I just went on the site again to browse, and I got three warnings from Bitdefender about "suspicious sites" that were then blocked. Not confidence-inspiring.

Edited May 13, 2020 by Paul-in-SF

[XYZZY]

This is bad news.

 

As mentioned in the notice: https://globalexpress.rakuten.co.jp/?lang=en&scid=rgm-closure-en-rgx

That link doesn't show anything to me about closing. It's the generic "how it works" page, and a list of news announcements, the most recent being "28-Apr-2020Regarding Deliveries During Golden Week"

[steve50]

That link doesn't show anything to me about closing. It's the generic "how it works" page, and a list of news announcements, the most recent being "28-Apr-2020Regarding Deliveries During Golden Week"

 

It looks like 'Rakuten Global Express' is a different thing from 'Rakuten Global Market', and it says we can still use the former. But it also seems like one will have to shop on the Japanese website (Rakuten Ichiba) and then use the global express to ship items internationally.

 

So I don't think there will be a problem accessing individual pen shops through Rakuten Ichiba, although the websites will be in Japanese. Other than that, they should be the same as shopping on Rakuten global market. I think I'll manage by using Google translator. The quality of translation on Global Market wasn't that great anyway but there was no problem buying stuff from it. Just makes you wonder why they are closing it.

[Olya]

 

It looks like 'Rakuten Global Express' is a different thing from 'Rakuten Global Market', and it says we can still use the former. But it also seems like one will have to shop on the Japanese website (Rakuten Ichiba) and then use the global express to ship items internationally.

 

So I don't think there will be a problem accessing individual pen shops through Rakuten Ichiba, although the websites will be in Japanese. Other than that, they should be the same as shopping on Rakuten global market. I think I'll manage by using Google translator. The quality of translation on Global Market wasn't that great anyway but there was no problem buying stuff from it. Just makes you wonder why they are closing it.

My thoughts, too.

 

The Global Express is just a forwarding service, like White Rabbit Express.

 

The Global Rakuten site also had the problem, that when you clicked on some things (shopping history or something, don't remember exactly) it would switch over to Japanese. The site needed improvement, but the axing sucks, unless they add English to the Japanese version (like you can change the language setting on Amazon).

 

The German and French Rakuten sites already lack many products, so there's no reason for me to choose those two over other retailers.

 

Shopping from Japan won't change much for me, but this for sure is quite an inconvenience.

[yongsheng]

My thoughts, too.

 

The Global Express is just a forwarding service, like White Rabbit Express.

 

The Global Rakuten site also had the problem, that when you clicked on some things (shopping history or something, don't remember exactly) it would switch over to Japanese. The site needed improvement, but the axing sucks, unless they add English to the Japanese version (like you can change the language setting on Amazon).

 

The German and French Rakuten sites already lack many products, so there's no reason for me to choose those two over other retailers.

 

Shopping from Japan won't change much for me, but this for sure is quite an inconvenience.

 

May I ask what forwarding/proxy service you use? I stick with Rakuten Global not because they have good customer experience, but because they're big company in Japan.

[eciton]

I'm really disappointed about this. Rakuten was far from perfect -- having to wait for an incomprehensible email with shipping price AFTER placing your order -- but I bought products from there that I literally couldn't get from anywhere else, and for Japanese stationery the prices were very competitive.

[Olya]

 

May I ask what forwarding/proxy service you use? I stick with Rakuten Global not because they have good customer experience, but because they're big company in Japan.

I haven't used any forwarding services yet, I have so far bought off Amazon, eBay, Rakuten Global and European vendors, but always thought I'd use White Rabbit Express should I need such a service (I'd research again what's available, as I haven't looked into forwarding services in ages, but WRE is right at the tip of my brain!).

 

 

I'm really disappointed about this. Rakuten was far from perfect -- having to wait for an incomprehensible email with shipping price AFTER placing your order -- but I bought products from there that I literally couldn't get from anywhere else, and for Japanese stationery the prices were very competitive.

Those emails were quite something to experience! But actually easy once you read through and quite fair, as you got an exact shipping quote.

 

But same, I just hope their local Rakuten sites become more expansive with Japanese vendors offering goods, because so far my searches on German and French Rakuten were not good and I have no incentive to use those over other sites.

Not even Amazon offers the same stuff across their sites (marketplace and themselves), but regardless the choice is huge, which is what keeps me shackled to them.

Rakuten need to expand their sites and make the Japanese site more English friendly if they want success (like you can change language settings on Amazon).

[inkstainedruth]

I looked into Rakuten once a few years ago, but couldn't figure out how to navigate the site easily (or easily translate the page into English). I figured that if there was something I wanted and there was no other option, I'd go to a friend who lives in central NYS and ask her to do the translation stuff for me because she knows the language well enough to have considered trying to get a job in Japan (she has a PhD in some very obscure branch of Mathematics).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[A Smug Dill]

For whatever reason, Rakuten Global Market is closing in two weeks.

 

I have shopped a couple of times with them and must say I am unhappy with the news.

It looks like 'Rakuten Global Express' is a different thing from 'Rakuten Global Market', and it says we can still use the former. But it also seems like one will have to shop on the Japanese website (Rakuten Ichiba) and then use the global express to ship items internationally.

I have observed that, over the past 18 months, increasingly more shops on RGM from which I have bought in the past have stopped directly shipping orders to customers, and some have completely stopped listing their items on RGM (but were still trading on Rakuten Ichiba normally as always). Nagasawa Stationery Center, which continued to sell on RGM, removed shipping options such as JP Post EMS and JP International e-packet, but advises that, "International Shipping : These international shipping charges are set by Rakuten. Shipping is done via the Rakuten Shipping Center." You Style's item listing pages could still be viewed in English, if one has found the Japanese language listings on Rakuten Ichiba and then go to one's Recently Viewed Products list on RGM, but for delivery it advises, "This product cannot be shipped directly to Au Australia from the store. Please use a package forwarding service", even though it could still be added to one's shopping cart in RGM (and the order would simply be rejected).

 

So I'd say this change/closure has been a long time coming, with or without the current difficulties shipping internationally from Japan that could make the remaining RGM merchants' own order fulfilment operations hell.

 

Rakuten Global Express has given me so much grief by refusing to ship pens and inks for which I've already paid the Rakuten Ichiba merchants, and the goods already received by RGE on my behalf, I was completely turned off dealing with Rakuten ever again. While it might still work for some international customers, my experience of RGE asking for the impossible — putting the responsibility on me to provide a Material Safety Data Sheet for a fountain pen, before it will ship it; and when I asked Sailor for one, I was told there was never any need for such a document for a fountain pen and so the company never produced one — means I could well lose money in RGE's handling charges, as well as losing out of opportunity to secure and receive a pen at a favourable price even though I have already bought it. (The options RGE gave me were: 1. provide us with the MSDS document, and then pay us our shipping charges inclusive of handling charge to forward the item to Australia; 2. pay us to return the item to the seller; or 3. pay us to dispose of the item.)

 

There is also the gnarly issue of domestic and foreign consumption taxes. Few RGM merchants get it right, but I think first and foremost they just don't want to deal with whatever paperwork they have to file for exports exempt from the 8% domestic consumption tax; many of them insisted on charging the equivalent as a "handling charge" for international purchases, which I take it to mean they just treat it as a domestic purchase that is subject to be taxed. Some, though not all, RGM merchants then slap the foreign consumption tax (e.g. for Australia) on top, so in effect asking me to pay Goods and Services Tax on a (Japanese) tax; not only is that nonsensical, but also likely kills all the savings I would get by buying directly from Japan and having them shipped to me by EMS at my additional expense.

 

So, while I'm unhappy to see RGM closing altogether, I'm way past mourning having lost an avenue for getting a broad range of Japanese pens and inks relatively economically.

[Olya]

I have observed that, over the past 18 months, increasingly more shops on RGM from which I have bought in the past have stopped directly shipping orders to customers, and some have completely stopped listing their items on RGM (but were still trading on Rakuten Ichiba normally as always). Nagasawa Stationery Center, which continued to sell on RGM, removed shipping options such as JP Post EMS and JP International e-packet, but advises that, "International Shipping : These international shipping charges are set by Rakuten. Shipping is done via the Rakuten Shipping Center." You Style's item listing pages could still be viewed in English, if one has found the Japanese language listings on Rakuten Ichiba and then go to one's Recently Viewed Products list on RGM, but for delivery it advises, "This product cannot be shipped directly to Au Australia from the store. Please use a package forwarding service", even though it could still be added to one's shopping cart in RGM (and the order would simply be rejected).

 

So I'd say this change/closure has been a long time coming, with or without the current difficulties shipping internationally from Japan that could make the remaining RGM merchants' own order fulfilment operations hell.

 

Rakuten Global Express has given me so much grief by refusing to ship pens and inks for which I've already paid the Rakuten Ichiba merchants, and the goods already received by RGE on my behalf, I was completely turned off dealing with Rakuten ever again. While it might still work for some international customers, my experience of RGE asking for the impossible — putting the responsibility on me to provide a Material Safety Data Sheet for a fountain pen, before it will ship it; and when I asked Sailor for one, I was told there was never any need for such a document for a fountain pen and so the company never produced one — means I could well lose money in RGE's handling charges, as well as losing out of opportunity to secure and receive a pen at a favourable price even though I have already bought it. (The options RGE gave me were: 1. provide us with the MSDS document, and then pay us our shipping charges inclusive of handling charge to forward the item to Australia; 2. pay us to return the item to the seller; or 3. pay us to dispose of the item.)

 

There is also the gnarly issue of domestic and foreign consumption taxes. Few RGM merchants get it right, but I think first and foremost they just don't want to deal with whatever paperwork they have to file for exports exempt from the 8% domestic consumption tax; many of them insisted on charging the equivalent as a "handling charge" for international purchases, which I take it to mean they just treat it as a domestic purchase that is subject to be taxed. Some, though not all, RGM merchants then slap the foreign consumption tax (e.g. for Australia) on top, so in effect asking me to pay Goods and Services Tax on a (Japanese) tax; not only is that nonsensical, but also likely kills all the savings I would get by buying directly from Japan and having them shipped to me by EMS at my additional expense.

 

So, while I'm unhappy to see RGM closing altogether, I'm way past mourning having lost an avenue for getting a broad range of Japanese pens and inks relatively economically.

Interesting to know, basically their forwarding service seems to be slightly shyte?

 

I look forward to reading reviews from people, if anyone is brave enough to go through it...

 

Papers and forms needed for pens is really ridiculous.

[A Smug Dill]

I had some great experiences with Rakuten Global Express early on. In one case, three or four shipments from different shops on RGM, as well as Amazon.co.jp, arrived at RGX (apologies for my inconsistent use of initialisms; I just reviewed my old emails, and RGX is what the business uses to designate itself) over the course of a week. On Saturday morning to sent instruction to finalise the consignment and pack it up as a single parcel, and shortly after I was sent a 'request' to choose the delivery method and approve the corresponding quote. (That part of the process was slightly clunky.) I did that and authorised payment, and by early afternoon the parcel was dispatched. I received it just three calendar days later in Sydney.

 

But something in the customer-friendliness changed in the first quarter of 2019; and while correlation does not imply causation, that was around the time several sellers have stopped shipping international orders directly to customers, or stopped listing on RGM altogether. In spite of RGX having successfully forwarded parcels containing pens and bottled ink three times to me in as many months without rigmarole, bureaucracy or incident, they started making things more difficult, first with inks and then with pens; and I'd hate to think for what else they might ridiculously ask for MSDS and other documents. I pointed out the successful shipping history to RGX, and also referred them to Australian postal regulations that do not prohibiting the importation of ink, but ultimately they just refused to proceed (and, hey, they get money by way of handling charges either way, whether the consignment is shipped, or returned to the seller, or disposed of as waste).

 

So, never again!