After a few requests from members and many nudges, I am putting together a package of tasty convenience store treats for people who are living outside of Japan. (If you live in Japan you can also receive as well).
Japanese convenience stores, conbini, have a fast turn-over of products. Often, new products will only have a shelf life of 1 week, where they get the chance to either sell well and survive as regular products, or be dropped from the lineup and never be heard of again.
The “Conbini Box” will contain about 20-25 items hand picked, hopefully all safe to send overseas. I am expecting the package will cost around US$50 and then postage will vary depending on where you want it sent. You can choose whether you want the expensive EMS tracking post or normal cheaper post which is around US$20-$25.
Many of the items will have been featured in the Conbini Monday series, some items will be new.
I was planning to have the full Conbini Box ready today but didn’t get chance today to visit the Rilakkuma store after getting ill earlier in the day. I am all recovered now so planning to head down there tomorrow and will have final details of pricing, packaging and payment methods. I will put up Yen and US Dollar prices for easy comparison and probably use Paypal for purchasing.
If the “Conbini Box” idea is popular, I will make a new box every month and make it available through this Site. I wish I could email or tweet you some of the stuff, but trust me, it tastes better sent through the regular post.
This is just a taste of what will be available. Hope to have the details ready tomorrow. Start warming up your taste buds.
A few people have asked for different price points on the Conbini Box. What is your favored price? At the lower $35 level you would get less in the box with postage eating up quite a bit of your $35. The $75 box gets better value since postage doesnt spike up too quickly. Sounds like I am talking myself into the middle selection, which might be a balance between the two. Your thoughts?
If you’ll be offering less expensive Conbini boxes, I might just buy one. But $50 + shipping is a little too much for me, alas… 🙁
This is a wonderful idea. ^^ Though I agree with Irit. Maybe if $50 included shipping (with less inside of course) I’d go for it.
YUM !! can’t wait to order !!
Yeah, i’m not telling my wife about this one anytime soon. She really misses snacks the most since she moved here.
Hmm, may be a good valentine’s surprise.
I would like the $50 box with the option to “upgrade” to a $75 box if I find I need a bigger “fix” . . .LOL 😛
Agreed!!!
I would so want to order! The $50 box sounds good, enough to fill the need but it won’t hurt your bank account too much.
Yeah! I can’t wait to buy! 😀
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You’re a braver person than I offering a mail order box like this. I have never offered treats like this, but I did do mail order some years ago for collectible Japanese records. It was a great deal of work, and there was all sorts of hassle associated with it. People would complain about the postage (which we charged as close to actual cost as humanly possible) or the fact that we’d charge them for the boxes (which we had to pay $2 apiece for and had to special order to get). People also complained about tiny defects which you wouldn’t notice unless you were trying and there were also times when packages were lost and we were accused of cheating people. Finally, payment methods were also a problem as people didn’t want to shell out money for money orders (especially international ones).
We did this sort of mail order for about 8 years and it was not a fun business, so I wish you luck! We only did it for as long as we did because it was amazingly lucrative when you found some super rare Japanese record that had a lot of value. One piece of advice I will give you – do not sell to people in countries without reliable postal services (South America, in particular).
Thanks for the advice. I hope people understand the spirit in which this is being done, which is not as a business, but just a way to help people get a taste of Japanese convenience stores whilst living abroad. We’ll see what happens, but will also definitely keep your points in mind. Thanks 🙂
That sounds like a great idea to me =) It’s not easy to find Japanese snacks abroad. Mostly we have various noodles and all-you-need-to-make-sushi-at-home stuff.
I think, I can afford 75$ box, it’s the New Year coming, I can allow to give myself a present. =) The 50$ box is good too, I don’t mind lesser amount of snacks in case you decide to stick with this price.
The only thing that troubles me is, of course, the postal service, but it seems quite reliable now. At least I got all the books ordered this year, even though I was afraid the first ones would be lost or returned to sender. So, I’ll be waiting for a chance to order the box =)
ok, i am leaning towards a $50 and $75 box. If anyone wants the conbini box sent by EMS and trackable I can find out the cost, but it will definitely be more. Most postal goods sent out of Japan leave in good condition, once it hits your local postal system there are no guarantees. I have organized an actual box made of card by Japan Post rather than just using their plastic bags. I have sent before to US, Australia and UK and had no problems, but there are no guarantees. I think Australia Post was just on strike recently. That is one way to wish everyone a Merry Xmas, I suppose 😉
I now have the box, the postage rates and the goods. Just got to retake the pictures and give you all some guidance on order system. Stand by in next few days.
Sumimasen ? can you check what EMS would cost towards Amsterdam for a 50$ pack ? =^_^=
I’ll check with the post office and get back to you on that soon.
RT @tweetmeme Conbini Box, Japan Conbini | Shibuya246 http://bit.ly/88Cc1I Would really like to try this out but unfortunately in my situation will have to sit this one out, till my situation improves. as far as cost wise, the $50-$75 box might br more cost efficiant in the long run. More bang for the buck.
Thanks. Understand. Rilakkuma is always waiting for you 😉
This is a great idea for those who can’t get Japanese snacks locally 😀
You know what I’ve been dying to find… a guide to Japanese marketplaces, at least the simpler smaller convenience stores you find abroad. Just a general understanding of what to try and what to avoid.. and especially what is amazinggg. Oh and what half the stuff is!
^____^ Wow, I’ve been waiting for something like this! Would you mind checking into how much it would cost me to get a $50 box sent to Oklahoma, in the States? We have a Asian market here in town, but they don’t have quite the selection as these conbinis, and I’m not always able to get to it, not recently because of all the surprise snow we’ve been getting! I would greatly appreciate it!