fan_services | Shopping Service - In-Store Pick-up (Reply)

Hello everyone! I've run in-store shopping a few times upon private request, and so I'd like to elaborate on how it works, for others who may be interested. I'm considering two formats, depending on the nature of the shopping. (If you have any questions or suggestions about the below, please don't hesitate to ask, so I can clarify this post further!)

The first format is for standard shops, where the items in question are new and almost definitely available. Any sort of store is okay, from anime merchandise to regular books/magazines to clothing and more. Base service fees will start at Y2000 (for Ikebukuro stores, as that's along my commute this year) and will increase depending on the number of shops, items, and travel time/expenses. Release-day shopping for limited edition goods may run higher, to account for time spent lining up (often before the shop opens). For this, I will require:

a full list of items requested with images and prices,

shop/branch information where these items will be sold, and

a deposit covering the item and commission fees beforehand.

The second format applies to doujinshi and secondhand shops, like K-Books, Mandarake, etc. It's akin to searching for a needle in a haystack which might never have contained metal objects in the first place, so I can't make promises on what I can find. I prefer fandoms I'm familiar with, since it depends on recognizing character images and fan-names for pairings quickly -- western fandoms, Bleach, Naruto, AoEx, FMA, FF/KH, Saiyuki, El Shaddai, Tiger&Bunny, and a few others (feel free to ask).

Instead of a commission fee, since this will likely require many trips to shops in many locations, I will be marking up the price of the books to account for the shopping conditions. (For example, the book may be listed at Y432, but if it took 5 hours and Y1400 in train fares to actually find that title, you will not be getting it for that price. Sorry. That one would probably be closer to $30.) For this I will require:

your wishlist or "Do Not Want" list*,

your budget -- per book or overall (note that the absolute minimum for each book will be USD $10, and is more likely to run USD $20 or more),

a deposit covering your initial budget beforehand. (If I know you're good to pay from past experience, I'm willing to start shopping with only a partial down payment.)

*Request format may include:

specific titles you either want or DNW (ex. if you already own a title, or know you dislike an artist) -- please include cover images

fandom requests (ex. all "Boondock Saints" doujinshi in x price range) -- please include image examples on request, as well as the Japanese title (ex. "Boondock Saints" is 処刑人)

pairing requests -- please include images of characters and the common Japanese version of their names/pairing on request

content requests -- I can only judge by the cover, so this is not really reliable. Note that if it appears to match your request by the cover image, you will be responsible for its purchase.

IMPORTANT
Refund and cancellation policies:

At any point, you may close out the order, with any remainder in the deposit going towards shipping, PayPal fees, etc. If the total at this point is not zero, I will either invoice you for the remainder due or refund what still remains in from the deposit.

Before items have been purchased, you may cancel your order for a refund of your deposit minus a USD $5 cancellation fee.

There are no refunds for items already purchased. Cancelling your order at this point will result in a refund minus partial item price and a USD $5 cancellation fee, as well as a release of claim on the book (for it to be added to items for sale at fanservices).