Japan Post announces EMS and SAL temporarily suspended for some places.

Instinctoy offered me EMS or Yamato, even so EMS resumed. The EMS price was $100 to the $50with Yamato. These new surcharges go thru the roof when the package isn't tiny.

 

Heads up! Just found out Buyee's storage limits are in effect again. Don't let your stuff sit for too long.

 

Got an email from Zen Market, announcing the return of EMS shipping to the USA. Rates will be higher. Read more here...
https://zenmarket.jp/en/blog/post/10137/japan-post-june-2021-usa?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=en - email&utm_content=cta&utm_term=emsreturn

 

Buyee sent an email about EMS too.

 

Received my first EMS package since last year. Everything seemed to go smoothly.

 

Kind of disappointed that buyee has now removed options for DHL and fedex shipping, now that EMS is back. In almost all cases I prefer DHL.

 

I can imagine DHL and FedEx feel the same way.

 

I just paid to have a box shipped from Buyee and they still had the Buyee Air Delivery option, which I understood to be either FedEx or DHL depending on what's available. It was cheaper than the EMS option too. Was that just a cheaper way to get EMS?

Edit: Got my shipping notice this morning. Buyee is sending it EMS. So I guess it was a cheaper way to get EMS. Hunh.

 

Same experience here—it cost me less than half the price of EMS to send my last couple of packages by air delivery which both ended up being handled by EMS. The transit time on my most recent delivery was a bit longer than if DHL had been the carrier by 2-3 days, but that's fine by me. As long as I can still get a reasonable rate I have no complaints.

 

@blakewest I had the same experience as you. Thought my package was going to be sent FedEx or DHL, but they ended up shipping it via EMS.

Also, for the hell of it I ordered a couple of books from them and asked them to ship via sea mail. I was genuinely curious to see how long it would take, and I wasn't going to lose sleep if those books weren't in my hands immediately. The package left Kanagawa on May 13. No updates since then. ;p

 

@Roger I had an item shipped from Celga surface mail back on March 13. It arrived last week!

 

I just noticed the packing slip shows a postage price of what was originally quoted had I manually selected EMS. I'm curious if Buyee is taking a hit or able to reclaim some of that back somehow.

 

I ordered some koma spin tops from a store in Tokyo and chose EMS as the shipping method. The package has been sitting at the "outward office of exchange" for over a week.

 

That's odd, especially since it's in Tokyo. I just had an EMS package from Buyee that was accepted on the 26th and arrived on the 29th.

 

Do those tops have a metal piece/rod /pin, @Mark K ? I'm wondering if that caused a need for further inspection or scan.

 

@old_seaweed yes they do but I have ordered from them pre-pandemic and packages usually arrived in less than a week.

 

Expect EMS delays up to a week on the Japan end and up to 1-2 weeks on the US end. EMS is a far cry from what it once was, and the new EMS is more of a stop-gap service than a return to the old days. Your mileage will vary, of course, and things could improve once regular commercial flights (the backbone of EMS shipping) resumes between the US and Japan. That's also assuming the USPS improves its service and turnaround time.

 

I should add packages to and from the US are taking up to a month or longer when sent via regular airmail, with most of the delays on the US end. Worst I've ever seen it.

 

good to see you back, @andy !

 

Howdy ho!

 

Three Tatsumi Mooks, ordered from HMV via Buyee. Shipped to me using the International Parcel (Seamail) option. Fee was 1,800 yen. Departed Buyee on 5/12. Arrived today, 7/21.

 

Don't you have Air Small Parcel as an option with Buyee?

 

I do, but I wanted to see how long surface mail would take these days, and I didn't need instant gratification with the books.

 

amazing, I am already getting insane when I'm using EMS or SAL, don't want to try surface mail!

 

I think two months for seamail was pretty fast. The last time I tried it, it took four months.