splattii

I am curious about pre-ordering Asian film, in this case Korean.

I would like to pre-order something and I would like to get it obviously as fast as possible. I would be willing to spend an extra $3 or $5 if the company has a quick turnaround.

Now there is a company like YESASIA which has a good reputation, and then there is DVDASIAN for example which is also a good company. I understand YESASIA is actually in Asia, where DVDASIAN is in the US/California from what I've been told.

If a dvd came out on the 5th of a given month for example, who would actually dispatch the DVD to me on the 5th? Does DVDASIAN have to wait for their packages to come to the US, and if so would they or do they have them on the 5th, or would they get them sent from Asia on the 5th so I have to wait for them to get it before I can have mine sent to me?

I don't know if I am explaining myself, but here is another example. If I pre-order something on AMAZON.COM it is usually dispatched the day before, or the day of the DVD release. I would expect the same from an import. What is my best bet? Use an actual Korean mail order?

Y2K Falcon

http://www.brides-4u.com/women/asian

myrdh

www.cd-wow.net is pretty fast. Ship from HK but arrive fast.

logboy

if you want a korean title, order from korea. yesasia.com is cheaper but fast shipping is expensive. dvdasian.com is USA based and will take time to get stuff in stock... cd-wow.com always get stuff in later than actual release with regards korean releases. koreandvds.com dvdfromkroea.com : theres no hard and fast rule in the end, but the one most likely to work is order from country of issue, where ever you happen to live (which you forgot to mention)...

fourizonly

Yesasia's US office is based in San Bruno, CA. Shipping is pretty fast even with free shipping.

logboy

its not just a case of shipping speed though, as places like cd-wow and yesasia.com actually take time to get things into stock as they are as far removed from korea as anyone (yes, they may well have a base there)... i still say order form country of origin.

splattii

Logboy : I'm actually in Canada. After reading your posts you know exactly what I'm getting at. The movie I am looking to purchase is A Bittersweet Life. I actually e-mailed one of the vendors listed above and asked them "Will you actually have this in stock on the 28th, will it be sent to you on the 28th, or would it even be possible to have mine dispatched on the 28th?". They have not answered my question as of yet. On another site, it's listed as August 2nd (or maybe it was the 1st) which leads me to beleive that they are actually listing the date they get it, not the date the film is out in Korea. I have a feeling you're correct in that ordering right from Korea is my best bet. The one factor I may have taken into consideration (outside of time) would have been duty/taxes, however living in Canada I'd pay duty on a yesasia product from the US BASE/HUB anyhow.

Thrawn_VA

Splatii I also think ordering from Korea would be the fastest. I live in Canada and customs never charged me any taxes. I always check my items as gift though. The online korean websites I ordered from also tend to send items via registered mail which is a big plus.

logboy

cool. yes i have also preordered both 'a bittersweet life' and 'crying fist' ... the only problem i can forsee is that the stock may not spread around everyone as much as hoped, and my first experience of this is 'crying fist' having been in stock twice now at koreandvds.com and still hasnt shipped because preorders are outstripping what theyve been allocated. hopefully this wont be the same with 'a bittersweet life'... dvdfromkorea.com i think has an option where you can select the value they put on items so no duty worries there...

slop101

DvdAsian is your best bet - I just got Crying Fist from them in the mail yesterday, which was it's Korean release date. They get their stuff in early and ship immediately. I usually get pre-orders from them early or on time, never later.

splattii

I've done a lot of digging and searching in the last 24 hours, and I'm noticing that dvdasian and yesasia release dates are all 5-7 days later than Korean stores. I'm guessing those are the days the product is in transit from Korea to the US. I might as well order Bittersweet life from Korea. It's only $20 US as opposed to the $28 from DVDASian or YesAsia, and I get it shipped this weekend as opposed to the 28th or 2nd on the North American Korean sites. Even if I take the slowest shipping of 7-14 days, my total cost is the same as YesAsia before shipping and I get a 5 day head start on their dispatch. If yes asia is 5-7 days, I'll get it the same time and save $8. Thanks everyone.

logboy

youre spot on. good little bit of research and logic. the slightly higher price for dvdasian is due to the stock of a range of products in USA-based location; i.e you pay a premium for their work in keeping track of everything and having it all to hand and stuff from all over the place there for youre 'convenience'. the reason for yesasia.coms slightly higher price is the 'free shipping'. from korean to me should be around a week, that plus some more time from yesasia.com. its a good rule : buy form the country of issue for best price and service.

my 'crying fist' shipped this morning btw...

JHosk

Just to give this thread a post, as I think its got someuseful info for people who order foreign flicks.

Splatti did you receive your Bittersweet Life dvd yet ?? As an fyi I pre-ordered it from yesasia and it shipped today (the 28th). I'll post when it arrives.

Just to get a comparison on the ship times. I usually use yesasia because they take paypal and there are no hassles with customs. But if you guys are noticing quicker ship times and cheaper prices elsewhere I may have to take a look.

Cheers,
Jas

splattii

Hi,

I have no got my copy as of yet. The only thing I now is mine was shipped on the 25th. It is supposed to take 5-7 days. As an FYI, my total cost including shipping was US$ 27.42.

Please let me know when you get yours as I am curious for future purchases. I was looking into Bloodrain for my next purchase. What I found for Bloodrain was YESASIA's release date was 15 days after the Korean sites. I e-mailed them to see if the release date may not be wrong. I'm also in Canada, so I'm not sure how that would affect Yesasia shipping. None the less I am curious to hear when yours arrives. I will post when mine does. My gut feeling is you'll beat me, but we'll see

eXcentris

I'm also in Canada and my YesAsia order (includes A Bittersweet Life) shipped this morning. Their packages usually take from 5-7 days to arrive. I always buy enough titles to get free shipping. Note that I've never paid customs on a YesAsia package. The reason is simple, they do re-shipping from within Canada. That's why I always order Korean titles from them, plus their service is impeccable.

splattii

"The reason is simple, they do re-shipping from within Canada."

I did not know this!! I will keep this in mind for future purchases. DVDFROMKOREA allows you to enter your own customs slip. So I put $15 - Gift and should be ok. I also got a 2% discount because I used Paypal. One of the other reasons I didn't go with Yesasia was I didn't want to buy more than Bittersweet, so I would have to pay shipping which I beleive brought my cost to $34+. Maybe when "The Bow" comes next month I'll purchase that and Bloodrain and get the free shipping...

None the less, if you beat me and if I pay duties Yesasia may get my business next time

JHosk

Yup....eXcentris is right. I'm in Canada as well, and I've never gotten hit with yesasia orders and I've made some large ones.

With free shipping, yesasia is competitive with the other stores overseas. Its sometimes a few bucks more, but I'll gladly pay it to avoid customs fees.

Vision of Love

In Canada, YesAsia reships from Mississauga, where I live, near Toronto.

eXcentris

Holy crap I just got my package. I'd say 1 day is pretty fast!

Weird thing is this one came straight from HK with DHL Expedited Shipping even though I picked free standard Canadian shipping. I think I might know why though. My last package took almost 3 weeks to get here. I had sent them an e-mail, and after inquiries they figured out my package was stuck at customs. So I think they gave me expeditied shipping on this one without me even asking for it. As I said, their service is impeccable. So kudos to YesAsia!

slop101

I just got mine yesterday from dvdAsian through USPS mail.

JHosk

Man...luck bast*ard

I used priority shipping and mine is still en route

MSD

Damn I had no idea! I've been thinking about ording some R3 DVDs and have been worried about ordering from Asian sites (mainly DDDHouse) becuase of fear that the packages would get lost and i'd have to go through the hassle of a replacement. But knowing that YesAsia ships from MY city is great.

splattii

I got mine last night (Tuesday). I paid no duty and my total cost for Bittersweet Life was $27.02 including shipping. I'm happy. I will probobly order from Yesasia on orders with 2 or more discs to avoid customs, but for now I'm happy with the service I got direct from Koreadvd. I know YesAsia has free shipping, but unless I order more than one disc it's not worth it because their prices basically have the shipping baked in. I think YesAsia's cost for Bittersweet is $28 which is more than I paid for the disc and shipping combined. Anyhow, thanks to all. This was a good test for me.

splattii

Is there any way for me to be sure that something is being sent from the YesAsia Canadian hub? I want to order a disc that is over $60 US itself and I don't want to pay duty. If anyone knows it would be appreciated.

eXcentris

Don't worry, if you choose standard shipping it will be send from the Canadian hub. I've been ordering from YesAsia for years and I've never paid any customs charges.