Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

General topics regarding watches, accessories or tools
Dyiow

Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Dyiow » 12 Jul 2013 20:51

Hi bros, thinking of buying watches from there? Any bros have experience with them? If yes can share share how's the processes like? Shipping, authenticity, etc? Thanks in advance :D
Solanum88

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Solanum88 » 12 Jul 2013 23:32

Rakuten is just a middle man that informs the shops of your orders + provide them your payment information.
End of the day you are dealing with the individual shops directly and sometimes the shops dont speak english at all so communication might be a problem.

I have read of cases where products recieved were fake (I think one case was an IWC where the buyer opened up and realise it was fake) but also heard of cases that went smoothly so do buy with care.
User avatar
TheChef
Senior member
Posts: 3203
Joined: 01 Nov 2011 21:15

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by TheChef » 13 Jul 2013 00:04

Solanum88 wrote:Rakuten is just a middle man that informs the shops of your orders + provide them your payment information.
End of the day you are dealing with the individual shops directly and sometimes the shops dont speak english at all so communication might be a problem.

I have read of cases where products recieved were fake (I think one case was an IWC where the buyer opened up and realise it was fake) but also heard of cases that went smoothly so do buy with care.
Scary. :o
"Please touch your own favorite watch with your kind heart and love forever." - Ikuo Tokunaga, Chief Designer of SEIKO Dive Watches and Sports Watches
User avatar
ivan
HULK
Posts: 6696
Joined: 03 Sep 2011 18:22

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by ivan » 13 Jul 2013 01:04

TheChef wrote:
Solanum88 wrote:Rakuten is just a middle man that informs the shops of your orders + provide them your payment information.
End of the day you are dealing with the individual shops directly and sometimes the shops dont speak english at all so communication might be a problem.

I have read of cases where products recieved were fake (I think one case was an IWC where the buyer opened up and realise it was fake) but also heard of cases that went smoothly so do buy with care.
Scary. :o
I oso say.
Best buy from scs bros.


sent from the DARK side
Evirobie

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Evirobie » 13 Jul 2013 12:59

Can use 3rd party buyers like FromJapan to help you purchase items for Rakuten. Sometimes they have 10% discount off Rakuten items.

Recently used them to get a store limited watch from Rakuten.
Piano_Guy

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Piano_Guy » 13 Jul 2013 13:02

Feel like getting a tuna there. Relatively $200/- cheaper than Sg but was pondering whether safe or not
ruzmidah
Member
Posts: 306
Joined: 10 Apr 2011 22:15

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by ruzmidah » 13 Jul 2013 14:46

I bought 3x from Rakuten before.
The 1st 2 x were smooth. Easy transactions. Had to ship via Tenso though (which is their version of comgateway or borderlinx)

The last one (which was 2 mths ago) was not.
The seller said there was some trouble with the supply and they will only get the supply in mid July. I thought this was bulls**t and tried to order from Chino instead. But lo behold, Chino also had the same problem.
So lan-lan had to wait.

Another trouble is that most of the shops there cannot communicate in English. I had to use google translate to read their emails...LOL.

PS: I am not sure if the delay is due to supply issues or the factory is holding stock due to the weak yen at that time...Conspiracy theory ...lol.
Dyiow

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Dyiow » 13 Jul 2013 18:24

Solanum88 wrote:Rakuten is just a middle man that informs the shops of your orders + provide them your payment information.
End of the day you are dealing with the individual shops directly and sometimes the shops dont speak english at all so communication might be a problem.

I have read of cases where products recieved were fake (I think one case was an IWC where the buyer opened up and realise it was fake) but also heard of cases that went smoothly so do buy with care.
Thank you bro for the caution. That's why authenticity is one of my main concern hence checking with seniors on their experience with them.
Dyiow

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Dyiow » 13 Jul 2013 18:27

ivan wrote:
TheChef wrote:
Scary. :o
I oso say.
Best buy from scs bros.


sent from the DARK side
Yes totally agree bro!! But still have no access to the buy sell thread yet so can't do so. Frankly speaking I see the price posted at the site is quite attractive so tempted to try try but of cos I wanna check for feed back from bros here first.
Dyiow

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Dyiow » 13 Jul 2013 18:30

Evirobie wrote:Can use 3rd party buyers like FromJapan to help you purchase items for Rakuten. Sometimes they have 10% discount off Rakuten items.

Recently used them to get a store limited watch from Rakuten.
Oh bro can you share more on it like the process how to? Sorry if I asked too much cause really a noob in it.
Dyiow

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Dyiow » 13 Jul 2013 18:32

Piano_Guy wrote:Feel like getting a tuna there. Relatively $200/- cheaper than Sg but was pondering whether safe or not
Ya bro, I also see the tuna series like sbbn 017 & sbbn 023 quite ok le the price :lol:
Dyiow

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Dyiow » 13 Jul 2013 18:36

ruzmidah wrote:I bought 3x from Rakuten before.
The 1st 2 x were smooth. Easy transactions. Had to ship via Tenso though (which is their version of comgateway or borderlinx)

The last one (which was 2 mths ago) was not.
The seller said there was some trouble with the supply and they will only get the supply in mid July. I thought this was bulls**t and tried to order from Chino instead. But lo behold, Chino also had the same problem.
So lan-lan had to wait.

Another trouble is that most of the shops there cannot communicate in English. I had to use google translate to read their emails...LOL.

PS: I am not sure if the delay is due to supply issues or the factory is holding stock due to the weak yen at that time...Conspiracy theory ...lol.
Bro, do you remember the online shop name you have deal with them previously? If can share that would be good. Thanks for mentioning Chino, now can have another website to look see look see :D
CoolieND

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by CoolieND » 14 Jul 2013 16:24

Solanum88 wrote:Rakuten is just a middle man that informs the shops of your orders + provide them your payment information.
End of the day you are dealing with the individual shops directly and sometimes the shops dont speak english at all so communication might be a problem.

I have read of cases where products recieved were fake (I think one case was an IWC where the buyer opened up and realise it was fake) but also heard of cases that went smoothly so do buy with care.
Exactly what Solanum & ruzmidah said. Rakuten is an online 'mall' so to speak, each storefront there is run by different persons altogether. Look for those which are highly rated.

In the end, you must be sure the actual seller is trustworthy; Rakuten gives store ratings in Japanese on the Japanese site, though not really easy to find (search for "このショップのレビューを見る" on the product page). Still, there is always a chance something is defective with the watch / item, so it is not perfect.

Shop I have bought from directly: Time-Garden.
Ships to Singapore via EMS. Writes in broken English, but understandable. Cannot process non-Japan credit cards (as most Rakuten stores), need to use Paypal.

Guide to using FromJapan: http://www.fromjapan.co.jp/title/service" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Note, FromJapan is a good option, but you must understand they are a middle-man and are only responsible for ordering, accepting, repacking if necessary and shipping internationally. I've not had anything wrong with any item ordered through them, but if I did, I am unsure what support they could provide. The actual seller is the only one liable for any problem (or worse, fraud).

Evirobie wrote:Recently used them to get a store limited watch from Rakuten.
So... got yet? ;)
User avatar
Jeryltan
Senior member
Posts: 1069
Joined: 01 Jan 2013 10:26

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Jeryltan » 14 Jul 2013 17:02

CoolieND wrote:
Solanum88 wrote:Rakuten is just a middle man that informs the shops of your orders + provide them your payment information.
End of the day you are dealing with the individual shops directly and sometimes the shops dont speak english at all so communication might be a problem.

I have read of cases where products recieved were fake (I think one case was an IWC where the buyer opened up and realise it was fake) but also heard of cases that went smoothly so do buy with care.
Exactly what Solanum & ruzmidah said. Rakuten is an online 'mall' so to speak, each storefront there is run by different persons altogether. Look for those which are highly rated.

In the end, you must be sure the actual seller is trustworthy; Rakuten gives store ratings in Japanese on the Japanese site, though not really easy to find (search for "このショップのレビューを見る" on the product page). Still, there is always a chance something is defective with the watch / item, so it is not perfect.

Shop I have bought from directly: Time-Garden.
Ships to Singapore via EMS. Writes in broken English, but understandable. Cannot process non-Japan credit cards (as most Rakuten stores), need to use Paypal.

Guide to using FromJapan: http://www.fromjapan.co.jp/title/service" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Note, FromJapan is a good option, but you must understand they are a middle-man and are only responsible for ordering, accepting, repacking if necessary and shipping internationally. I've not had anything wrong with any item ordered through them, but if I did, I am unsure what support they could provide. The actual seller is the only one liable for any problem (or worse, fraud).

Evirobie wrote:Recently used them to get a store limited watch from Rakuten.
So... got yet? ;)
I bot fm rakuten bef and i must say the svc is damn good. The wrapped up in a box so big packed with so much protection i tot.. Wow! The seiko box must be damn big since it,s a ltd edn.. End up the seiko box std size, the rest all huge tubes of plastic air foam thingys :)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
CoolieND

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by CoolieND » 14 Jul 2013 17:15

Jeryltan wrote:I bot fm rakuten bef and i must say the svc is damn good. The wrapped up in a box so big packed with so much protection i tot.. Wow! The seiko box must be damn big since it,s a ltd edn.. End up the seiko box std size, the rest all huge tubes of plastic air foam thingys :)
It'll depend on which specific store on Rakuten you buy from. There are very pro-level stores, and some not-so-pro level stores. My most recent purchase (through FJ, with 10% off! ;)):
Image
Last edited by CoolieND on 14 Jul 2013 17:25, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
Jeryltan
Senior member
Posts: 1069
Joined: 01 Jan 2013 10:26

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Jeryltan » 14 Jul 2013 17:23

CoolieND wrote:
Jeryltan wrote:I bot fm rakuten bef and i must say the svc is damn good. The wrapped up in a box so big packed with so much protection i tot.. Wow! The seiko box must be damn big since it,s a ltd edn.. End up the seiko box std size, the rest all huge tubes of plastic air foam thingys :)
It'll depend on which specific store on Rakuten you buy from. There are very pro-level stores, and some not-so-pro level stores.
Oh. I tot rakuten is a store by itself? Interestg


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
CoolieND

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by CoolieND » 14 Jul 2013 17:30

Jeryltan wrote:Oh. I tot rakuten is a store by itself? Interestg
Yea, as Solanum mentioned, Rakuten in Japan is really just a middleman for other stores to sell things.

Don't confuse them with Rakuten in the USA, however, which is the former Buy.com that Rakuten Japan bought and rebadged. They do operate more like Amazon, with their own sales / warehouses / etc, but also allow other stores to sell through them.
User avatar
Jeryltan
Senior member
Posts: 1069
Joined: 01 Jan 2013 10:26

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by Jeryltan » 14 Jul 2013 17:50

CoolieND wrote:
Jeryltan wrote:Oh. I tot rakuten is a store by itself? Interestg
Yea, as Solanum mentioned, Rakuten in Japan is really just a middleman for other stores to sell things.

Don't confuse them with Rakuten in the USA, however, which is the former Buy.com that Rakuten Japan bought and rebadged. They do operate more like Amazon, with their own sales / warehouses / etc, but also allow other stores to sell through them.
Oh!! Sorry sorry. I meant toukukien? Nt sure spellg coreect. Mistaken. Toukukien was the shop i bot fm. Within rakuten :)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
CoolieND

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by CoolieND » 14 Jul 2013 18:20

Yea, Tokeikan always seems to come up on all my global.rakuten.co.jp searches. Never bought from them, though have been thinking about a few...
greencat

Re: Any bros here bought watches from Rakuten??

Post by greencat » 15 Jul 2013 17:22

I've purchased from Rakuten twice.

Both times were good. I actually went back to the same seller.

The process is a bit long-winded, but shipping was fast & cheap, cost about S$10 once confirmation was done.

First, after selecting what you want from the Rakuten site, you key in your details and email address. Before reaching this point, ensure that you have selected the seller with the best price, as you will notice that different sellers have different prices for the same item.

Depending on the time, the seller might email you on the same day or the next day. The seller will inform you of the shipping cost and if you are agreeable, he will start the process.

Upon shipping, the seller will send a EMS Tracking Number. On both occasions, it took about 3 days for the items to reach me.

Hope this helps.



8-)
Post Reply