Attention: BANDAI will stop selling kits outside Japan

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

edge10 said:

Again, there will always be options. No one in China is going to give a Rats *****, about what Revell/Disney wishes them to do.

If Revell thinks this will help sell their garbage kits, they are sadly mistaken. Angering your customer base is no way to win their loyalty.

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If they enforce this, I will never, ever buy another Revell kit. I'm sure I won't be alone on that decision.

TazMan2000

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

I don't know how this could be if Bandai is making OT kits, not the FTA versions...
R. Robert

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

I knew this would happen. Revell is behind it, the company owning Robotech has been going after importers of Macross kits from japan for years to force people to buy their overpriced kits that are lower quality. The modeling community needs to spread this news that Revell may be behind this so they know.

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

TazMan2000 said:

If they enforce this, I will never, ever buy another Revell kit. I'm sure I won't be alone on that decision.

TazMan2000

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i agree. I also believe this can only be coming from Revell. Bandai is doing what they are supposed to be doing by selling to Japanese retailers. What does Bandai, or Disney for that matter, care who the Japanese store sells to. This is most likely Revell not wanting competition. Funny thing is, I thought Revell wasn't making kits for experienced modelers anyway...isn't that what all the Revell fan boys keep saying..."we aren't their market" "the models are aimed at kids and new modelers so stop complaining" ect.

Chris

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

rbeach84 said:

I don't know how this could be if Bandai is making OT kits, not the FTA versions...
R. Robert

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Not sure what you mean. bandai IS making TFA kits. And if Bandai has a license for for Japan/Asia only then it doesn't matter if it's TFA kits or not.

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

Has anyone else gotten any messages or info about this? Is there a way we can verify this info?

I wouldn't buy a Revell kit anyway.

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

I got an answer from hobby search today:
Dear Torsten,

Thank you very much for shopping at HOBBY SEARCH.

Regarding the Star Wars kits from Bandai, we were planning to deal
the product but were forced to remove the listing.

We had been contacted by Bandai and they had requested that
we stop the sales of the new Star Wars kits outside Japan,
and had asked that the old ones to also be removed as well,
so we have no choice but to stop the sales outside Japan.

As we cannot ignore Bandai's request, we are very sorry for
your inconvenience but we are unable to provide you the products.

We appreciate your understanding of this matter, thank you very much.

Sincerely Yours,
Ryo Negishi



hlj has not answered yet - they are not working over the weekend...

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

Bandai IS making TFA (which would be in direct competition with Revell's products & hence an issue)? Which kits are TFA? Figures don't count as Revell isn't doing figures... as the point was being made that Revell might be pressuring Disney, which then pressures the Japanese makers because of a perceived threat to Revell's sales. BTW, retail sales to individuals are not subject to the same rules as 'import sales' for wholesale distribution outside the country of origin.

Bandai is the manufacturer, not the seller to the end-user. Whole different situation. I personally think the stop-order has nothing to do with license issues but rather production problems or release dates more than anything.

R/ Robert

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

This was received by Invar over at Hobby Talk:

I received the same e-mail this morning for orders I placed for Star Wars kits:

Thank you very much for shopping at HOBBY SEARCH.
You have received this mail as you currently have a reservation
for the Bandai Star Wars kit listed below.

*************************************************
Manufacturer: Bandai
Product Name: 1/12 Boba Fett (Plastic model)
*************************************************

We have been contacted by Bandai that they do not want their
Star Wars kits sold outside Japan, so we are no longer taking
new orders for these items outside Japan and have removed them
from our English website.

Please note that although you will be able to see these products
on your account page, you will not be able to check the product details
as the product pages will be removed from our site.

We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause,
and your understanding of this matter will be greatly appreciated.

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showpost.php?p=5343314&postcount=239

- - - Updated - - -

Unfortunately, the above version leaves no doubt (as to supply issues being the cause).

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

rbeach84 said:

Bandai IS making TFA (which would be in direct competition with Revell's products & hence an issue)? Which kits are TFA? Figures don't count as Revell isn't doing figures... as the point was being made that Revell might be pressuring Disney, which then pressures the Japanese makers because of a perceived threat to Revell's sales. BTW, retail sales to individuals are not subject to the same rules as 'import sales' for wholesale distribution outside the country of origin.

Bandai is the manufacturer, not the seller to the end-user. Whole different situation. I personally think the stop-order has nothing to do with license issues but rather production problems or release dates more than anything.

R/ Robert

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you can not longer order already relesed bandai star wars kits or preoder new bandai star wars kits from hobby search and amiami, but the available kits can be ordered on the japanese website for japan residentials. This was happend on last friday, all bandai kits are gone from the english websites of HS and amiami.
And hobby search has responded, that bandai has been forced to stop selling there starwars kits outside japan. Hlj.com does not update there website or answer emails over the weekend. As soon i get an answer from hlj i will post it here.
BR Torsten

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

Well this is a bunch of balls isn't it?
I was really looking forward to buying some Bandai kits when I could afford them, of all the things to smuggle across continents.....I never thought it would have to be plastic model kits !

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

What sucks is, Bandai isn't selling outside of Japan. They are selling to Japanese stores. The stores are a different story, but isn't bandai living up to their end of the liscence? How is selling to a Japanese shop the may ship internationally any different than me walking into a store in Japan, buying a kit and then taking it home with me? Just really bummed by this.

Chris

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

This going to drive the price of them on ebay sky high as you'll have folks in japan buying them and reselling them and since they're not companies or importers i'm not sure revell could stop it.

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

I wonder if we could petition Bandai and/or Disney/Lucasfilm to allow the sales.

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

Wes R said:

I knew this would happen. Revell is behind it, the company owning Robotech has been going after importers of Macross kits from japan for years to force people to buy their overpriced kits that are lower quality. The modeling community needs to spread this news that Revell may be behind this so they know.

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good lord. I remember seeing Yamato 1/48 valks at comic shopsfor like $250 over here. Yet I would pay about $80 from hlj.

Mind you, hlj was never forbidden from shipping over seas.

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

Has Hobby Link Japan said anything about this?

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

I just purchased the "Chicken Walker" from HLP--I just paid for it now--and the deal went through without a hitch.

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

We don't have a choice but to wait until Monday or Tuesday to see if this is going to affect HLJ. The question is, what can we do about it if it does? (Aside from exacting revenge on Revell or whoever was the architect of this debacle)

TazMan2000

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

The ban may as well be due to supply issues but I also doubt it because supply is up to retailers in this case, when the product is sold out and the production run is over, they'll need to wait for the company to reissue then they can begin selling again; Bandai even sets up a release calendar every month showing new and reissued items.

A good chunk of the other model kits Bandai makes is also shipped to overseas distributors/retailers so I don't see how demand from individuals abroad is adversely affecting local supplies and exceeding Bandai's production capacity that such regulation had to be put in place. Most people in Japan will buy theirs from local toy stores than purchase online and there are many popular Japanese online retailers like Digitamin and M's Plus who AFAIK don't ship abroad.

Also note that AmiAmi were still listing box-damaged bargain bin C3PO and Stormtrooper kits the moment the ban went in effect and, as said before, Bandai's other SW merch were unaffected. Was the demand for these low enough that the company decided not to prohibit overseas sales?

As for alternatives, there's always the stores based in HK or China and, while less convenient, eBay.

Re: Attention: BANDAI may stop selling kits outside Japan

Here is just some information on the legal Situation in Germany, which is the same in most other countries too.

Fine Molds had and Bandai has the license to sell their kits in Japan (Asia Market). They are not allowed to sell their kits to retailers or customers in other countries. The Japanese retailers are not allowed to sell the kits in other countries.

In Germany it is allowed to import those kits for private use from private persons. It is not allowed to Import them from a commercial retailer. If customs see that it is Star Wars and that there might be a violation of the license, they sent the products to an attorney representing Disney (or in the past Lucas Film). In that case, if Disney does not destroy the product they will lose the license and everybody can do what they want. I know this sound ridiculous, but this is American law! For example, if you could proof that Disney allowed one garage kit to be sold, they were no longer able to do anything against any garage kits.
(George Lucas himself confirmed this in public). I talked to the German attorney from Lucas Film and he confirmed this too! He did not say it, but it was clear that he and Lucas Film had no interest to go after the kits that were imported from private persons, but they will sure go after "Commercial importers". So the best thing for him is just not to know about private imports.
In the past, most custom employees did not care about those imports. Lucas Film or Disney had not been notified and everybody was happy. (Importing those kits is and was illegal. Nothing had happened, because nobody had interest to do anything against it.)

Now Disney wants (or have been pushed by some else) to limits those imports. They write a notification to German customs and then customs have knowledge. They have to send these kits to the Disney attorney. The Disney attorney has now the choice between destroying the product and losing the license.

If you do know a private person in Japan, it is absolutely legal that he sends you as many kits you want and nobody can do anything against it.
If you do not know a person in Japan and if you want to take the risk to order from a Japanese retailer my advice / proposal to reduce the risk is:
Order in small quantities per item (e.g. not 5 x-wings at the time). Nobody will suspect you to be a commercial retailer. If you get information that customs want to check on your kits, contact them instantly. Do not lose any time. I know that you will be upset, but be very polite and friendly and asked them to contact the attorney via phone, not via E-Mail. As long as nothing has been written down, most likely the attorney will say “no interest, just give this guy his kits.”

Michael