Sawada Denki Ordering Instructions

Part A

1. Print out the form.
2. Indicate the unit(s) desired and calculate the total in Japanese Yen. Shipping charges (including express mail service and insurance) are included in the prices.
3. Specify how long you are willing to wait for an item that is temporarily out of stock. If unspecified, 2 weeks is assumed.
4. Print your name and address in large clear block letters in the shipping label section. Don't forget to include the name of your country.
5. Fill in the ``Customer Information'' section. They need this so they can contact you, should there be a problem.
6. Select one of these six payment methods, only these methods will do. In particular, bank drafts not denominated in Japanese Yen will not work, if you send one it will be returned to you, uncashed.
   1. International Postal Money Order (Recommended for the US. Canada and Australia do not offer IPMOs. If you send something from Canada or Australia it is a bank draft and you need to add JPY3000). For Australian customers: If you are paying by WESTERN UNION IMO you must add 3,000yen to cover bank fees because the WESTERN UNION IMO uses the same handling as a Bank Draft.
   2. Postal Money Transfer to Sawada Denki's Post Office Giro Account (Recommended for Europe, where available)
   3. Wire transfer to Sawada Denki's Japanese Bank Account
   4. Bank Draft denominated in Japanese Yen
   5. Cash in Japanese Yen (not recommended, see below)
   6. Cash in US$ (not recommended, see below)
   and carry out part B of the instructions appropriate to your selection.

Part B -- Payment

1. Using an International Postal Money Order

   1. Find out what the Japanese Yen is currently worth by checking the Federal Reserve Bank Foreign Exchange Rates, AFEX, UBC, or using the currency converter (call a bank for a recent quote if the WEB information is more than 5 days old). Fill in the form with the yen rate and the date on which that rate applied. Convert the Yen total to your local currency by dividing by the Yen rate. The Japanese Post Office will convert your money order to JPYen, up to 10 days after you mail your order. If the Yen has recently been rapidly increasing in value please hedge the conversion rate so that sufficient JPYen will be available to cover your order despite changes in the exhange rate during the intervening period. This is the most inexact part of the whole process and I apologize for there not being some more certain method.
   2. At your post office purchase an International Postal Money Order suitable for sending to Japan for the amount needed. Only an International Postal Money Order will do (they look like this:
      
      in case you're not sure). This will cost $3 (in the USA) plus the amount in question. If Yasuo Uchida's name is to be written on the postal money order, make sure you give both his first and last name. Gary Gilliland gives some tips for getting IPMOs at US Post Offices.
   3. Mail this money order along with the filled in form to Sawada Denki, at the address shown below:

      Mr. YASUO UCHIDA
      SAWADA DENKI
      4-10-1 NIPPONBASHI
      NANIWA-KU, OSAKA 556
      JAPAN
      

      (Phone: +81-6-643-1414 FAX: +81-6-643-1417
      Store Hours: 10AM - 7PM JST, Closed Thursdays)
      You can also send Email.

      You can send it via normal air mail, or via registered mail, which is quicker and allows you to certify that the order was received.
   4. Allow approximately 20 days for delivery.

2. Using a Postal Money Transfer to Sawada Denki's Post Office Giro Account

   This uses a service provided through the Post Office in many European Countries (specifically the institutions shown in parenthesis in the following list: Austria (P.S.K), Belgium (POSTCHEQUE), Denmark (GiroBank A/S), Finland (Postipankki Ltd.), France (LA POSTE), Germany (Postbank), Italy (Banco Posta), Luxemburg (P&T), Madagascar (PTT), Morocco (PTT), Netherlands (Postbank), Norway (POSTBANKEN), Republic of Korea (Ministry of Communications), Spain (Cajal Postal), Sweden (Postbank Ltd.), Switzerland (PTT)). This service allows you to transfer money directly to another Post Office "Giro" acount.

   (A customer has reported his experiences using Post Giro Transfer from Austria).

   1. If this service is available in your country you should be able to go to your post office and transfer the total amount due in JPYen to Sawada Denki's Post Giro Account. The transfer information is as follows, note that this is different from their mailing address:

      Sawada Denki's POST GIRO ACCOUNT (not their mailing address, don't send your order here):
      

      Sawada Denki's Post Giro Account:

      Post Office Name	NANIWA, NIPPONBASHI
      Acct Number	00970-6-108381
      Acct Owner's Name	Mr. YASUO UCHIDA
      Address	4-2-24-102 NAKANO-CHO MIYAKOJIMA-KU OSAKA-SHI 534 JAPAN

   2. The post office will no doubt give you a receipt with a reference number for the transfer, copy this number onto the order form, in the space provided.
   3. Mail or FAX the form to Sawada Denki using the address or FAX number shown above (sending a copy of the transfer receipt could provide an extra measure of certainty).
   4. Allow 20 days for delivery (10 days if FAXed).

3. Using a wire transfer to Sawada Denki's Japanese Bank Account

   Direct wire transfer can be made to Sawada Denki's Japanese Bank Account. In this case JPY2500 must be added to the total to cover the Japanese bank's commission fees. You must also pay the wire transfer fees (check the ``Sender Pays'' box of the wire transfer form). Sawada Denki's bank information is as follows:

   Sawada Denki's Japanese Bank Account:

   Bank Name	SUMITOMO BANK
   Bank Account Name	Sawada Denki
   Bank Account Number	232093
   Branch Number	133
   Bank Branch Address	SUMITOMO BANK NIPPON ICHI BRANCH 1-17-17 NIPPONBASHI, CHUO-KU OSAKA, 542 JAPAN
   Bank telephone	+81 6 632 3041

   Mail, FAX or email the form to Sawada Denki (sending a copy of the transfer receipt could provide an extra measure of certainty).

4. Using a Bank Draft Denominated in Japanese Yen

   A Bank Draft (Bank Check) may be used for payment, but in this case a handling charge of JPY 3000 must be added to the total amount to cover bank handling fees. The draft must be denominated in Japanese Yen. (David Brunacci describes the procedure he used in Australia.)

5. Using Cash in Japanese Yen or US Dollars (not recommended)

   A customer from New Zealand had JPY93,000 lost in the mail (see ``Problems so far'' below). Sending cash is not recommended. However, Sawada Denki will accept cash in the mail, preferably in JPYen but US$ are also acceptable with a 2% surcharge. The procedure is to buy enough JPYen to cover the total amount due on your order and then mail the JPYen along with the filled in order form to Sawada Denki at the address given above (make sure to insure your letter for the appropriate value, and ensure that the postal insurance covers sending cash in the mail). You can probably buy your JPYen through a large bank in your area.

   If you are sending US$, you must add 2% to the total price to cover the handling charges for currency exchange.

Please Note the Following:

• You are sending a large sum of money off to a far away land. Please double check everything before posting your order. With proper care your transaction will be completed quickly and at little risk.
• Please print in large clear block letters on all your documents. Go slow, be neat. You are sending this information to a country in which the people do not normally deal with the Roman alphabet. Sawada Denki must transcribe your shipping label information onto the EMS form, please make it easy for them.
• I am not formally associated with Sawada Denki and I receive no remuneration. I have asked them to accept mail orders from abroad and have made these pages simply so that people outside Japan can purchase MD equipment at reasonable prices. I bear no responsibility for your dealings with this store, and cannot make any personal guarantees about Sawada Denki's trustworthiness. This being said however, their treatment of customers, at least those I have had anything to do with, has been exemplary. And, were I to find out that even one customer had been in some way cheated, be assured that I would take down these pages promptly.
• US Customs may charge duty on consumer electronics related overseas purchases which exceed US$200.
• If for some reason the amount of your money order is insufficient (this could be caused for example by a large, unfavorable currency fluctuation after you purchase the money order) Sawada Denki will mail back your money order to you, uncashed.
• The staff at Sawada Denki are not fluent at spoken English, but Mr. Uchida can handle an English language FAX or email providing it is written in simple and clear language. (Please read the instructions for sending email to Sawada Denki).
• Return Policy: Sawada Denki is involved up to and until a working piece of equipment arrives intact. If damage or loss occurs during shipping, Sawada Denki will recover money from the shipping insurance and reimburse you or reship the unit. If no shipping damage has occured but there is a problem with your unit, Sawada Denki will exchange your unit for a working one provided you report the problem within 14 days of receiving your unit (so please check all the equipment functions promptly and thoroughly!). After 14 days, Sawada Denki will accept Japanese domestic models for warranty repair, but you must pay shipping to and from Japan, see the Sawada Denki warranty policy for details. If you have an International model with a world-wide warranty, contact the manufacturer's service organization in your country for warranty repair procedures.
• Sawada Denki is a small shop among many in Osaka's highly competitive DenDen Town. As far as I can tell they are honest and maintain good business practices.
• If you send me email ([email protected]) telling me of your experiences ordering through here I will keep a summary so that others may know the relative risks.

Sawada Denki Mini FAQ

1. I understand the process described for sending payment, but what happens on the way back? Does U.S. Customs charge duties on these products?
   Few people if any have reported owing duty on MD equipment shipped to them in the US. However, whatever duties are officially owed are established by Federal Law. Contact your local Customhouse or the United States Treasury for details.
2. Do these taxes and/or charges vary from state to state?
   Customs duties are exclusively Federal in the USA. Taxes can be Federal, State or Local in origin and will vary by jurisdiction. Charges could be of governmental or private origin and are often more variable than even taxes.
3. Is there a limitation to this?
   Duties and taxes are limited to the amounts set by elected representatives. Other charges may or may not be limited by legislation and regulation. For example, many jurisdictions limit the charge a common carrier may impose for handling a shipment of a given weight and kind, but there is practically no limit on the amount of incidental charges that school students can be required to pay.
4. Are they shipped to the purchaser's home or are they kept at the post office?
   Sawada Denki will ship to the address you state, whether post office, home, business, or a vacant lot. What the Postal Service does with the package is up to it, but usually they attempt to deliver it as addressed.
5. Is there a legal way to avoid paying these tariffs if there are any?
   There usually are legal ways to avoid or minimize tariffs. Contact an attorney or Customhouse Broker for details.
6. Tell me about the Japanese domestic units.
   The manuals for the Sony domestic units as well as the Sharp models have a summary of the unit's features and functions in English. The other manuals are Japanese only. The 'R30 and 'R4ST have Japanese buttons and labels on their cases, but all the LCD prompts are in English. The Sony 'E50 and 'E30 and Sharp units are entirely English on the case, buttons, and display. All Japanese domestic units run on 100V AC power, the easiest way to deal with this is probably to buy a ``universal'' DC power adapter from Radio Shack or your local equivalent that produces the correct DC voltage at sufficient current for your portable.
7. What about the warranty on the Japanese domestic units?
   The warranty is only valid in Japan, for warranty repairs you must send the unit back to Sawada Denki and include sufficient funds to cover its return postage to you. See the Sawada Denki warranty policy for details.
8. Tell me about the International units.
   The buttons and labels on the case are in English. They come with instructions in English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese and Korean. The power adapters are universal (100-250V AC), and there is a 3 month world wide warranty.
9. Do the units come with all their normal accessories?
   Yes, the units come in little boxed kits from the manufacturer, the kits are sold as is, nothing is added or removed by Sawada Denki.
10. How are the prices shown on the form arrived at?
    It's the normal Sawada Denki street price for the unit, plus 5% tax, plus JPY4000-5000 for EMS shipping and insurance.
11. Sawada Denki has given me the EMS tracking number for my shipment, can I use that to see the status of my parcel?
    The US post office has a Tracking page that is reported to work for EMS shipments. The Japanese post office has an EMS tracking page in English.

    Mark Corner reports: The English Tracking Page is: http://www.postal.mpt.go.jp/eng/3-1-6.htm Unfortunately I could not get the English tracking page to work. There is a broken link or a missing script. It will probably work in the future. In the meantime you can loosely understand the Japanese tracking page by looking at an example of an english tracking report: http://www.postal.mpt.go.jp/3-1-6.htm.

    Eugene Lipkin reports: Even though the EMS tracking page is in Japanese only, Americans can find out where the package is by just calling the USPS 800 number and giving them the tracking number (they are the same across Japanese and our postal computers).

Comments from purchasers (so far):

Problems (so far):

• Up until September 26, 1997, Sawada Denki had, for some reason, an invalid Post Giro Account number. They have since created a new Post Giro Acount whose information is posted above.
• Dec 97:A customer from New Zealand sent cash to purchase two machines (JPY93,000). His local bank could not give him enough JPY10,000 notes, so he used many JPY1,000 notes, the envelope he sent contained 30 bills in all. When the envelope arrived at Sawada Denki they discovered (after signing for it) that it had been opened and all the money removed. Though the customer sent the money via registered and insured mail, the insurance did not cover cash or other valuables. The result was that the customer lost the entire sum of JPY93,000. Because of this, payment in cash is discouraged.

Sawada Denki Order Form

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