TOM Shop Service Alerts

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Shipping Delays From Japan Warehouse For Obon Holidays (8/13~8/17)

Due to observance of the Japanese Obon Holidays, shipments may be delayed from 8/13 through 8/17.

Due to a possible buildup in orders during this time, shipments might be delayed by an additional 2-5 business days when operations resume on August 17th, 2020 (JST). We deeply appreciate and are grateful for your support and understanding.

Important announcement regarding the end of Tokyo Otaku Mode’s partnership with Akiba Catcher

We’re sad to announce that we’ve decided to end our partnership with Akiba Catcher over the next few months (detailed schedule below). Regrettably, we were unable to grow the available service content & quality at a pace sufficient to meet the fundamental standards that fans expect & deserve.



Although TOM and Akiba Catcher will be amicably parting ways—meaning that in the future it will no longer be possible to log into Akiba Catcher via your TOM account—the standalone Akiba Catcher service will continue to operate as usual.



Schedule



Normal service will continue until 11:00 am JST on September 1, 2020. After this point, TOM Premium member bonus daily free NP will no longer be distributed, and it will not be possible to purchase any new NP via your TOM account.



However, if you have an NP balance remaining in your TOM-linked account, you can still use it on gameplay until it expires or until 6:00 pm JST on October 31, 2020, whichever comes earlier.



Account Transfer Instructions



If you have over 1,300 purchased NP (the minimum NP needed for 1 play) remaining in your account, and you wish to be able to use it on gameplay even after the end of October, please go through the following steps. These steps must be completed before 6:00 pm JST on October 31, 2020. We recommend starting with plenty of time to spare.



Register a brand new account directly on Akiba Catcher, using the same email address as your original Tokyo Otaku Mode-linked account.



Contact Akiba Catcher customer support before the end of October and explain to them that you are a TOM-linked user who has registered a new account w/ a matching email address. They will grant your new account an amount of NP equivalent to the paid NP remaining in your old TOM-linked account.



Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. We’re truly sorry that we were unable to live up to your expectations for this partnership, and we’re deeply grateful for your support and interest over the past few years.

Resuming Shipping from our Japan Warehouse (Last Updated 9/16)

Update: 9/16

For shipments going out by our bulk method from our Japan warehouse to the US, please note that shipments are moving out at a steady pace. However, it may take a month or so for tracking updates to start appearing for your tracking number. This is normal due to how your shipments are being handled, as your tracking number is issued when your shipment departs Japan, but will not update while it crosses the ocean. If you have any questions please reach out to us directly and we’d be happy to answer your questions. Please do not contact our shipping partner as they will not have any useful information to share. Thank you for your understanding.



Update: 8/18

Many Japan Post shipping methods remain unavailable. To check which methods might be available to your country, please refer to the following FAQ: Available Shipping Methods From Our Japan Warehouse During COVID-19



Original Post:



Once again we would like to extend our deepest thanks for your patience during this uncertain time. We would like to explain how we will resume sending out shipments from our Japan warehouse while service from Japan Post remains limited. Please note that this is just a detailed preview to give you insight into our plans. No additional action is required on your end at this time. We highly recommend you to stay subscribed to our shop emails to ensure that you receive further communication from us and personalized information regarding your specific shipments.



We are sending surveys to those of you who have shipments already physically available & waiting in our Japan warehouse. The survey content will differ depending on where your shipment is going, and will reflect the most recent available shipping methods for your country at the time that it's sent.



I live outside the United States

The surveys will offer the following choices:



・Switch currently available shipments to trackable Surface Parcel (seamail)

・Switch currently available shipments to a higher-cost shipping method (Air SPR, EMS, or FedEx International Priority)

・Continue waiting for Japan Post to resume shipments of your originally chosen shipping method



Unfortunately, not all choices are available to all countries, but when sending the survey, we will try to be as clear as possible about which choices are available for your specific situation.



Trackable Surface Parcel (seamail)

Japan Post still offers Surface Parcel (seamail) to a number of countries for which it does not currently offer any way to ship packages via air. Surface Parcel generally takes 1-3 months to arrive.



There will be no cost to switch to the Surface Parcel option. If you paid for shipping, and Surface Parcel turns out to cost less than what you paid, we will follow up by granting you the difference in TOM Points.



Higher-Cost Shipping Methods

Depending on your original selected shipping method and your destination country, there are some cases in which it may be possible to upgrade to Air SPR or EMS. If Air SPR / EMS are not available to your country, you may instead be able to ship via FedEx International Priority.



Due to the higher pricing of these shipping methods, we will charge any difference between what you originally paid for shipping and the additional cost of shipping via the alternate method. Note that this applies even if you originally made your purchase with free shipping.



Again, if you already have packages ready & waiting, and any of the above alternate shipment methods are available to your country, in about a week from now we’ll reach out with the survey for you to mark your preferences. Until then, we truly appreciate your continued understanding, and welcome you to contact us if you have any concerns or questions.

I live within the United States

Update: 8/18



We have started bulk shipments from our Japan warehouse to the US. Please note that due to limited container size, we are filling containers in order, so all of your shipments may not fit into the the same container and may ship in later bulk shipments.

Please note that while you will be receiving a UPS tracking number when your shipment is loaded into a container, tracking updates will not appear until your shipment arrives in the US is inducted into the UPS network. Please allow between 1-2 months after your shipment has left our warehouse before tracking updates appear.



Original Post:



Please note that FedEx shipping upgrades are currently processed manually, so we ask that you give us around 1-2 weeks to process your shipping upgrade. If you have any question concerning your upgrade charge please feel free to contact us.



We will resume Japan-US shipments in two stages.



Stage 1: Starting in late May / early June

We will start by sending surveys to those of you who have shipments already physically available & waiting in our Japan warehouse. The surveys will offer the following choices:



・Wait for stage 2 (our recommendation)

・Switch currently available shipments to trackable Surface Parcel (seamail)

・Switch currently available shipments to FedEx International Priority



There will be no cost to switch to the Surface Parcel option. If you paid for shipping, and Surface Parcel turns out to cost less than what you paid, we will follow up by granting you the difference in TOM Points.



Due to the higher pricing of FedEx International Priority, we will charge the difference between what you paid for shipping and the cost of shipping via FedEx. If you select this option, it’s safe to assume that we will have to charge you extra before your package can be shipped. Note that this applies even if you originally made your purchase with free shipping.



Stage 2: Starting in July

From this point onward and until Japan Post shipping fully resumes, we’ll begin using the following method for all available & eligible Japan-US shipments. Although it involves some extra operational costs on our end, we believe this method offers the best possible balance between cost, the safety of your package, and delivery speed, and we will provide it at absolutely no extra charge to you.



We will engage a trusted partner company (Yamato Global) to start sending TOM packages to the US in bulk via ocean freighter. All packages will be carefully packed by TOM staff in our Japanese warehouse and safely arranged within 100% TOM-dedicated shipping containers. This will ensure that everything reaches the US in the best possible condition and in a timely manner, with an additional ocean transit time of just a few weeks (as opposed to 1-3 months for delivery of individual Surface Parcel packages).



Once in the continental US, the packages will be shipped & delivered as trackable UPS Ground shipments.



If your shipping address falls under any of the following categories, we are unfortunately unable to offer delivery by UPS Ground, and will instead continue offering you the options listed in Stage 1:

・Located in Alaska or Hawaii

・Located on a military base

・PO Box address



Please feel free to contact us if you wish to request a change of address.



What We Recommend

If you want to receive your package relatively quickly and do not mind paying extra, FedEx International Priority is the best choice right now.



If you do not mind waiting longer, and your shipping address is eligible for UPS Ground, we do recommend holding out for the launch of our bulk shipment operation. This won’t cost you anything, and actually has a decent chance of arriving around the same time or even before our first batch of individual Surface Parcel packages (even those sent out much earlier).



Again, if you already have packages ready & waiting, in about a week from now we’ll reach out with the survey for you to mark your preferences. Until then, we truly appreciate your continued understanding, and welcome you to contact us if you have any concerns or questions.

Important Change for US > Canada Shipments

This is a notice specifically for those shopping from Canada.



Sometime in mid May we will be adjusting the amount of duties that are applied on shipments from our US warehouse to better match the actual duty rate charged by the Canadian government. It has come to our attention that on all of our shipments coming from the US, the duties that were calculated in the cart when checking out were not as accurate as expected and we were undercharging the duties on all of our US > Canada shipments. We expect the overall change will be between 5% to 7% from what is being charged now.



This change is not retroactive, and will only be applied to orders placed after the change has gone into effect. You will not be asked to pay additional duties for previous orders. This change only affects shipments coming from our US warehouse.



If you have any questions please feel free contact us and we’d be more than happy to assist. We appreciate your understanding and support.

Important Change for US Domestic Shipments to Alaska and Hawaii

This is a notice specifically for those shopping from Hawaii or Alaska.



Starting in mid May we will be making changes to the available shipping methods from our US warehouse to Alaska and Hawaii. Unfortunately due to the extremely unsustainable cost of free shipping to Alaska and Hawaii, we will no longer be able to offer free shipping benefits for shipments that ship from our US warehouse. Rest assured you will still be able to take advantage of free shipping for shipments that originate from Japan, and you can enjoy discounted shipping from our US warehouse on orders that are a minimum of $150.00.



We know that this makes the selection of items from the US warehouse slightly less appealing, and in order to maintain the service level that you’ve come to expect we will be doing what we can to start shipping more products from our Japan warehouse in the near future.



We apologize for any inconvenience and we appreciate your understanding and support.

Temporary Suspension of Sega Catcher

Due to the current world situation, it has become difficult to provide the high-quality online crane game experience that you deserve. Starting from April 30 (JST), Sega Catcher Online will temporarily suspend service in two phases.



Phase 1 (starting April 30 12:00 pm JST):

It will not be possible to link your TOM account to Sega Catcher (if you have not already done so) or to collect/purchase any new SP whatsoever (either free or paid). However, if you have an SP balance greater than 0 at this time, you will still be able to use it up on remaining prizes.



Phase 2 (starting after May 31 JST, exact date TBA):

After this point, in addition to the above, gameplay itself will also be suspended.



Again, this is a temporary suspension; Sega Catcher Online plans to resume service once the situation has stabilized enough to offer you a better overall experience. We truly appreciate your understanding and patience.

Notice about recent shipments returning to our Japanese warehouse

In the beginning of April Japan Post announced a list of countries with restricted shipping methods (please check our previous service alert for details). Despite being told that shipments that were accepted prior to their service cutoff date would be shipped normally, we have recently become aware that a number of shipments that left our Japan warehouse in March are being returned by Japan Post due to severe service disruptions and a lack of outbound flights as a result of the coronavirus.



If you find that your shipment is returning to us, rest assured that in light of this unique situation we are currently looking into ways to have your shipment be reshipped at no extra cost to you as soon as shipping services resume at Japan Post. Once we get closer to reshipping your order, you'll be receiving an email from us letting you know of the details.



We apologize for the inconvenience caused, and we greatly appreciate your support and understanding.

Important Notice about Japan Post service disruptions (Last Update 4/23)

Update 4/23:

Japan Post has announced that starting 4/24, they will no longer be accepting SAL type shipments, Air mail, or EMS shipments to the United States until further notice. Although their cutoff date is 4/24th, there may be a number of shipments that shipped prior to this date that will be returned or may see significant delays. We are currently looking into alternative shipping methods that would allow us to offer shipments to the United States. This includes reshipments for any items recently returned due to service disruptions at no extra cost to you. Once we have more information, we will share the details with you.



Update 4/9: Due to a further decrease in international flights, an additional set of countries are experiencing suspended service by Japan Post:



Sri Lanka

Nepal

Australia

Pitcairn Islands

Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Brazil

Eritrea

Bhutan

Syria

Bahrain

Fiji

Serbia

Zimbabwe

Botswana



Japan Post’s announcement:

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0409_01_en.html



Updated ist of countries to which all TOM Shop shipping methods are currently suspended:

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0409_01_01_en.pdf?200415



If you reside in one of the above countries, and a previously purchased pre-order or special order item arrives at our warehouse, we will continue reserving your item(s) until Japan Post announces that shipments can resume.



Additionally, Japan Post has announced that although mail is still being accepted for the United States, the low number of flights is expected to cause delays of more than two weeks. Your understanding is appreciated.



Update 4/3: Due to the on-going situation with a reduction in services, we are expecting shipments going out by still available shipping methods to take an extra 3-4 days to go out. Your understanding is greatly appreciated.



Japan Post has announced that from April 2nd (JST), they will temporarily suspend all SAL SPR shipments, and will also suspend all other shipping methods to select regions. This is due to the fact that the spread of COVID-19 has led to a significant decrease in international flights from Japan to other countries around the world, compounded by difficulties currently experienced by local postal systems in some countries.



Japan Post’s original announcement:

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0401_02_en.html



List of countries to which all TOM Shop shipping methods are currently suspended:

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0401_02_01_en.pdf



Although the PDF from Japan Post indicates that SAL type shipments are suspended for all serviced countries, contacts within Japan Post have infomed us that SAL SPR shipments are still being accepted for the United States, the United Kingdom, and France at this time. We will monitor the situation closely for any changes and alert you as soon as possible of any updates.

Update 4/2: Japan Post has clarified that all SAL type shipments are being suspended globally, including the United States, the United Kindom, and France.



What this means for you



If you reside in a country which we cannot currently ship to from Japan, and choose to place an in-stock order after April 2nd (JST), we will hold your item(s) for you in our warehouse until shipments resume. Please note that you may request a cancellation for in-stock purchases from your orders page.



If you reside in a country which we cannot currently ship to from Japan, and a previously purchased pre-order or special order item arrives at our warehouse, we will likewise continue reserving your item(s) until Japan Post announces that shipments can resume.



All pre-order and special order purchases made prior to April 2nd that were slated to ship via SAL SPR to countries experiencing service disruptions, regardless of release date, will be put on pending status on our system as a temporary precaution. Please be assured that these purchases are still safely reserved in your name. While our overall policy of not accepting cancellations for pre-order or special order items remains unchanged, if the SAL SPR suspension continues beyond the month of April, we will carefully consider what other options or compensation we can offer anyone who has been left waiting.



Please note that due to a large deduction in international flights, considerable delivery delays are expected even for countries with available shipping methods.



We understand that this must be worrisome news at an already distressing time. We'll keep you updated immediately if there are any further developments. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to our support team and we’d be happy to assist however we can.

A message from Tokyo Otaku Mode about the coronavirus

Update: 4/1 JST



Japan Post has announced service disruptions for a number of international destinations. For more information regarding these outages and how this may affect you, please read our separate service alert here: https://otakumode.com/shop/pickup/service-alerts#jpserviceoutage



Original Post:



To TOM members & visitors & otaku all over the world:



Our thoughts are with you as the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to grow.



The TOM Shop's operations have not been significantly affected at this time. We are following the social distancing guidelines announced in our respective countries of residence, and as many of us as possible are working from home. This is mainly a message to let you know that we're taking the matter seriously, following it closely, and that your health and safety are paramount to us (along with the health and safety of our own employees as well).



Current research seems to indicate that the virus does not survive for over a day on cardboard. However, it's best to err on the side of caution. Do continue to follow hygiene best practices (such as washing hands for 20+ seconds and not touching your face) during & after your handling and subsequent discarding of any cardboard delivery boxes--whether from TOM or anywhere else.



We hope that anime, manga, games, and other aspects of otaku culture & online community will be able to bring you a little bit of joy during these difficult times. We'll continue to hold you in our thoughts and will keep you updated ASAP if there are any new developments from our end in the future.



Information from postal carriers:

・Notice from Japan Post regarding service disruptions for international mail

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0319_01_en.html



・Notice from Japan Post regarding temporary suspension of mail to China and delivery delays for mail to Korea

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0312_01_en.html



・USPS Statement on Coronavirus

https://about.usps.com/newsroom/statements/usps-statement-on-coronavirus.htm



・How UPS is responding to the Coronavirus (updates & FAQ)

https://www.ups.com/us/en/about/news/important-updates.page

Price Adjustments Due to Exchange Rate

Update: 3/15 PDT



In response to the fluctuations in the exchange rate we have gone ahead and made adjustments to our shipping rates from our Japan warehosue, but we have decided to hold off for now on adjustments to product pricing. If we decide to make adjustments to product pricing, we will make a new service alert with information.



Update: 3/13 PDT



As of 3/13 we have yet to implement any price changes as we continue to monitor the exchange rate. Should any changes be put into place, we will again update this alert.



Original Post:



Due to recent extreme fluctuations in the dollar-yen exchange rate, we are adjusting the prices of most (but not all) products that ship from our warehouse in Japan.



Affected items may have their prices raised by up to about 5%. Similarly, shipping costs for products from Japan will go up by around 10%.



The following will NOT be affected:

- Pre-order and made-to-order products purchased prior to the change

- All products shipped from our US warehouse

- Shipping costs for items shipped from our US warehouse



Barring a sudden recovery of the exchange rate, we expect this adjustment to take place in the near future; likely in the next day or so. We will continue monitoring the exchange rate closely going forward. Thank you very much for your understanding!

Combined Shipping Option for New Pre-Order Purchases

We’re excited to introduce the option to have some pre-order items combined into a single shipment at checkout. This long-requested feature has the potential to significantly reduce your shipping costs.



Combined shipping will be applicable to pre-orders placed after 11:00 AM on Feb. 12th 2020 JST that have the same release month and are shipping from the same location (with the US or Japan). Note that pre-orders will not be combined if the combined estimated shipping cost is higher than the cost of shipping them separately.



Eligible items will be combined by default in your Shopping Cart. However, you can choose to move them into separate shipments at checkout. And of course, you can still buy combined items together with shipments of non-combinable items.



In general, we recommend shipping pre-orders together as much as possible to enjoy benefits like lower shipping costs and less wasted packaging. But please note one major current limitation. Due to the complications that would be involved with needing to charge you extra shipping costs (and/or cover them ourselves) post-purchase, as a general rule, we cannot offer to split a shipment for you post-purchase, even if one of the items in it is delayed. This is something to keep in mind if speed is your absolute highest priority.



If you have any questions about combined pre-order shipping, please feel free to reach out to our support team and we'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Important Notice about TOM Points

This is an advance notice that barring any unforeseen issues, starting February 6, 2020 (JST), we will add a percentage cap to the amount of TOM Points that can be used per individual order on the TOM Shop. This percentage cap does not affect the total dollar value of TOM Points you can use across multiple orders.



★★★ Please carefully read this full message for important details about exactly how the cap will work, as well as details of a special bonus we have planned for Premium members holding unused TOM Points. ★★★



Non-Premium members: 20% cap per order



Premium members: 50% cap per order.



This means that if you are a Premium member, for each future order you’ll be able to use TOM Points equivalent to up to 50% of the Product Subtotal shown on your checkout page. (This can be easily done by selecting the “max amount possible” option when applying TOM Points to an order.)



We’ve seen from past data that a small minority—hardly a tenth—of all Shop orders use greater than the equivalent of 50% TOM Points. So we’re setting the Premium cap at 50% per order in hopes of minimizing the overall impact.



That said, we understand that given a choice, it would of course be preferable to have no percentage cap at all. We spent a long time agonizing over this, but ultimately decided to implement the restriction for business reasons, as a necessary measure to ensure our ability to continue providing you with stable & sustainable service long into the future.



Premium Point Bonus

As our apology for any inconvenience caused to Premium members who have been saving up TOM Points, we will grant Premium members a 5% bonus on their remaining TOM Point balance, as follows:



Recipients:

Current Premium members as of 12:00 JST on February 17, 2020.



Bonus amount:

5% of total TOM Point balance, as measured at 12:00 JST on February 17, 2020. For example, if you have a balance of $500 TOM Points on this date, your bonus will be $25 TOM Points.



Bonus granting date:

Bonuses will be granted within February 28, 2020 (JST).



Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions about the details.

Shipping Delays From Japan Warehouse For New Years Holidays (12/30~1/6)

Due to observance of the Japanese New Years Holidays, shipments may be delayed from 12/30 through 1/6.

Due to a possible buildup in orders during this time, shipments might be delayed by an additional 2-5 business days when operations resume on January 6th, 2020 (JST). We deeply appreciate and are grateful for your support and understanding.

Important Notice Regarding US→Canada Shipping Method & Shipping Fees

This is a notice specifically for those shopping from Canada.



We ship items to Canada from both our US and Japan warehouses. The vast majority are shipped from Japan; about 20% are shipped from the US. We're received plenty of feedback regarding the speed and service of our current US→Canada shipping method, and as a result, we plan to switch to a faster and more reliable method going forward.



Along with this, we are also making the following two changes to our shipping fee structure for US→Canada shipments. This does not have any effect whatsoever on Japan→Canada shipments.



All changes will be implemented at the following time and will NOT impact any purchases made prior: 12/25 21:00 (PT) | 12/26 14:00 (JST)



1. We will stop using a flat shipping rate of $30 USD. The shipping fees listed at checkout will instead reflect the actual shipping cost of the item. In some cases, this will be lower than the previous flat rate; in others, it will be higher.



2. Due to the change to faster shipping, US→Canada shipments from orders placed after the above date will not qualify for Free Standard Shipping over $150. Like EMS orders, they will instead be eligible for up to 50% off shipping fees.



Again, a relatively small percentage of our Canada-bound shipments are sent from the US; however, it is our hope that these changes will allow us to provide much better service for these shipments. To see which warehouse an item will ship from, you can check the "Warehouse Location" section under Shipping Info on every product page.



As always, we truly appreciate your understanding and feedback.

Caution for Delivery Delays During the Holiday Season

Due to a possible increase in orders during the holiday season, it may take additional time for packages to reach their recipient’s address from both our Japan and US warehouse. Items from our Japan warehouse may take an additional 1-3 business days to be dispatched, while items from our US warehouse may take additional 1-2 days.



Delays in customs and by local delivery companies can also increase shipping time. SAL SPR deliveries especially can take up to an addition of 1 month from it’s usual time (3-5 weeks) frame to be delivered.



Tips for Holiday Ordering: Special Order/Pre-order items estimated to be shipped in November and December can still be subject to manufacturer delays, so we do not recommend ordering these for gifts.

estimated to be shipped in November and December can still be subject to manufacturer delays, so we do not recommend ordering these for gifts. Select EMS (when applicable) and ordering items already in-stock to help ensure that your package arrives as quickly as possible.

Keep a close eye on the tracking information, or share your tracking info with your gift recipient. Local postal services are not always reliable about leaving delivery notices or attempting redelivery. Check your tracking information often and contact your post office with any inquiries.